Sweet Caroline

Due Date Update

2009-06-09T22:57:00.003-04:00

We learned today that our little inchworm (who measured exactly one inch) is due to arrive around January 4. Their "best guess" due date is January 11, but my c-section will likely be scheduled around the 4th. So the countdown begins (mainly until this first trimester is over)!

A little Monet and a lot of fun!

2009-06-09T22:24:00.010-04:00

Caroline and I are fortunate to have our friends Madeline and Julie to throw a little culture into our normal routine. Friday they invited us to be their guests at a preview of the Monet exhibit at the High. So, we loaded up early (for us) and headed downtown. It was not the first time I've seen Monet there, but it was the fastest I've seen an exhibit. Two pre-schoolers certainly keep things moving along at the art museum!

You can imagine the deep appreciation they had for the painting behind them.

Fortunately, after looking at the "ba-fas" (While Julie gave Madeline a detailed art history lesson, I taught Caroline the word "flower"), there was a great kids' area where our little butterflies could let loose.

(Haven't her art skills come along nicely?)

Followed by lunch at Doc Chey's, it was a perfect day!

Fun in the (even hotter) Sun

2009-06-08T22:20:00.001-04:00

We left the warm temps of Atlanta last weekend for an even sunnier week in Florida visiting family. We stopped in Orlando for a couple of days to see Mike's "little" (not so little anymore!) cousin, Andrew graduate from high school. Congratulations, Andrew!

While we were there, we got to see Gogo, Grandma Daisy, and all the aunts and uncles...and Caroline got to make her pool debut for the year in the Whatley's pool. Daddy braved the cold water with her, but Mommy and Aunt Vickie opted to take pictures on dry land!

From Orlando we headed to West Palm to spend a few more days with Gogo and Grandma Daisy. We had a lot of fun...

visiting

swimming

meeting our new friend, Joshua (and visiting with our old friend, Brian, too!)

seeing Baby Cousin Brooklyn (and Cousin Tarrah too!)

and playing with Maddison (and Grampy and Grammy too!)

Unfortunately, Caroline got sick on our last day there, but fortunately Nurse Gogo was there to check her out and make sure it was nothing serious. After a pitiful (and messy!) morning, she perked back up and seemed to feel ok again. BUT, now poor Mike seems to have come down with whatever she had (only worse) and is feeling pretty pitiful himself.

Hoping for a healthy family soon so that I can resume my position as the pitiful one (with all day "morning" sickness) in the family! :)

Update: I guess I will be more careful about what I hope for. This post is a little delayed because I did become the pitiful one in the family when I got the virus, and it hit me hardest of all. I don't remember ever having been sick like that before. We are finally all back to normal--unfortunately that is still not "well" for me--but I'm glad that my family is well again!

Ghosts of Battles Past

2009-05-26T16:33:00.000-04:00

Back when Caroline started eating finger food on her own, she also started throwing finger food on her own. And each time she did it, along with a firm, "we do not throw food on the floor" (which always brought tears), she had to help clean up whatever she threw. It took a couple of weeks of testing me before she finally started handing me the food she didn't want instead (I pick my battles). She'll occasionally, however, tests the limits again--in case it has suddenly become ok to throw food. So last week, we had to get in the floor and pick up bits of boiled egg. As usual, there were tears, but she really does work hard at helping to clean up her mess!

(Look at that shaggy hair! I'm debating about whether it is time for her first haircut.)

Be Still My Beating Heart

2009-05-22T14:40:00.000-04:00

No, actually, you just keep beating away, little heart. We were so excited to see you for the first time today!
Still no due date for this little munchkin, but it may be later than we thought--possibly in mid January. We'll go back for another look in a couple of weeks.

The Five Finger Method

2009-05-19T22:07:00.000-04:00

I've let Caroline "help" with the spoon before, but today I left her to her own devices with her oatmeal. After several misses at the bowl, her frustration got the best of her and she resorted to this: (sorry it's sideways!)

The Evidence Remains

2009-05-18T15:25:00.003-04:00

Last Thursday was not our best day and, if you come over, you'll still see the evidence. First, poor Caroline took a tumble and hit her eye on the corner of the coffee table. I thought she had hit her head and could tell it really hurt from the way she cried. So, I picked her up and was trying to console her when I noticed a big black/purlple thing popped out under the outside corner of her eye. Within about two minutes, it looked like this...

and, until yesterday, it got darker and bigger each day. Her eye is black almost up to her eyebrow now.

And then a little later, Caroline and I were on our way out of the driveway for a walk when we met a new neighbor hanging out by our mailbox...
My fear of snakes runs pretty deep, and I really surprised myself when I didn't totally freak out. He didn't seem to be going anywhere so I took a few pictures and tried to teach Caroline the word, "snake" and tried to calmy (while my heart was racing) explain that we shouldn't get too close to them. (I figure she needs to know the danger, but no reason to pass my insane fear on to her). Fortunately, Mike was on his way home and only a mile or so away. So, after the quick (very quick) lesson, Caroline and I backed away and waited for Daddy to come home and save the day by...

wrestling the snake to its death with his bare hands?

getting a shovel and chopping its head off?

catching it and releasing it into the wild?

Uhh...no. He ran over it with his truck.

Eight times. (Mike is almost as unfond of snakes as I am). And then took us to get ice cream.

I'll spare you the "after" photos, but it was gross. And neither of us were interested in dealing with the remains...so even though a few days of sunshine and a couple of rain showers have cleaned things up a bit, our deceased visitor is still on the curb. And Caroline's eye still looks like she was in a boxing match. But the most lasting "remain" of that day is my new snake paranoia. I am constantly scanning for them and gasping if I step on a stick. Hope that fades with the black eye or we may have to move again!

(By the way, anyone know what kind of snake it is? I guess it's probably "just" a harmless black snake...but I definitely saw some kind of light pattern markings on its back.)

Left Behind

2009-05-14T22:19:00.005-04:00

We got an especially early start one morning recently so Mike fed Caroline breakfast and had a few minutes to play before he left for work. When he picked up his laptop and keys to go, Caroline ran to the playroom, quickly found both her purses, and marched right up behind him as he was walking out the door. You can imagine the tears that ensued when she was left behind.

Since you've been gone...

2009-05-13T22:50:00.000-04:00

So, apparently, no one has been reading our blog for the past four months (since nothing was posted)---and we've missed sharing our adventures with you! We've had quite a busy few months...

First, Caroline turned ONE! We celebrated with snowflakes, cupcakes, and some special people.

It was a fun weekend, but by the end, our little birthday girl had had enough fun!
Then, we bought a new HOUSE...

which means Caroline got to go to her first closing...

and we got to spend a lot of time getting ready for the move--thanks, Papa Jim and Grandmother for the countless hours of hard work!
Just a few days before the move, Caroline started WALKING...And hasn't slowed down since.

Then a few weeks later, I turned THIRTY (yikes!)...and got to spend the weekend celebrating with sweet friends and family.

And, finally, today, Caroline got a fun new T-SHIRT!

That's right...around Christmas this year, we'll be getting quite a present! For those of you that know we had some difficulty having Caroline, you know that this "surprise" baby is truly a surprise! It's not exactly what we had planned, but we are THRILLED!

Thanks for coming back by to check on us--don't stay away so long next time!

Georgia On Our Minds

2008-12-25T09:30:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas to Grandmother, Papa Jim, Aunt Judy, Uncle Bruce, Granny, Pop, and Grandma! We miss you very much, but as you can see, Caroline has been busy "helping" her family here prepare for Christmas. We can't wait to see you all next week!

Oh, you better watch out.

2008-12-24T23:30:00.006-05:00

You better not cry...

You better not pout...

I'm telling you why--Santa Claus is coming TO-MORROW!

As soon as she finishes her bottle.
Good night, everyone We'll let you know what Santa brings in the morning!

A White Christmas

2008-12-16T22:24:00.005-05:00

Our annual White Elephant Gift Exchange party with our friends from church was at our house on Saturday night, and it was quite a different party than it was a few years ago before we had kids! I think there was a total of 15 kids here at some point during the evening. Caroline was thrilled to have so much action in her playroom!Tabitha stuck right with Caroline the whole time she was here, and that couldn't have made Caroline any happier.
And, of course, she loved playing with her buddy, Carson.Could anything be sweeter than these little sugarplums?
The grown ups had a good time too--some of the best treasures at the White Elephant gift exchange were John's light up, cat themed Christmas tree,
Spencer's three pairs of underwear...only one pair has been worn, but the gifter didn't specifiy which pair,
Merrit's very large remote control (I actually bought this as a real gift last year for my grandfather.), and Carson's shiny new PCI adapter.

But bad gifts or not, we loved celebrating Christmas with these great friends.

Christmas Trees, Candy Canes, and Carriage Rides

2008-12-16T10:15:00.008-05:00

Last weekend, we met some of our nearby friends to welcome Santa Claus to town at the lighting of the Historic Norcross Christmas tree. I underestimated the cold and didn't have Caroline (or myself) properly bundled so everyone chipped in with extra blankets, gloves, and handwarmers to keep us warm!
It was still pretty frigid, though, so as soon as we had our pictures snapped with Santa, we made our way to the coffee house to warm up with hot chocolate and Cheerios.
There were some high school kids playing music, and Will was a big fan. He rushed the "stage" and was the center of attention on the "dance floor".
The next morning Will was still dancing (this time to the children's choir with Megan joining him) at our church's Candy Cane Breakfast.

After our family pictures,
we decided to get a picture of all the kids in our Sunday School class.
Hmm.
We finally decided we better include the adults for restraint purposes.
That evening we headed back to Historic Norcross for dinner and carriage rides with the Braley family. Once again, we ended up escaping the cold with hot chocolate at the coffee house.

Dear Santa,

2008-12-05T14:22:00.004-05:00

Did you lose an elf? Cause I think I found her.Only this one unwraps presents instead of wrapping them.

This Little Piggy Went...

2008-12-04T16:12:00.008-05:00

crazy with our pink pig themed day. Caroline woke up this morning and took a bath with her favorite pink pig squirties...

and we read her pink pig bath book. Then, after naptime, we headed to Lenox Square to ride
Some of our friends rode too!
Tressa and Will

Julie and Madeline

Valerie and Megan

Katherine, Alexander, and Abigail

Leslie, Riley, and Colter

Amy and Bryce

Alexander and Shelby (I think Shelby and her mom, Missy, and her brother, Jackson, were taking a potty break when I was taking pictures of the mamas and their kids!)

Caroline watched as the pig headed her way...

and then we were on our way! She looked like such a big girl sitting in her seat by herself. I wish I could have gotten a picture from outside the train!

Right down to her snack container,

it was a pink pig kind of day!

The Lighting of the Trices' Great Tree

2008-12-03T14:54:00.001-05:00

Caroline and Daddy examine the tree before Caroline heads to bed and the "real" fun begins...two tries at stringing the lights, one trip to Target, one tipping over of the entire decorated tree, a few broken ornaments, and many hours later, Caroline got to examine our handiwork...

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Thankful

2008-12-03T14:43:00.004-05:00

We had much to be thankful for this year...

Gogo came to visit.

Caroline got to help make the pumpkin pies. I have been helping Uncle Bruce make them since I was 3 years old...and now he's teaching Caroline too!

Caroline didn't get to eat any of the pie, but we let taste some of the pumpkin right out of the can...and she went back for more.

Our families. We spent Thanksgiving Day at my Aunt Sandy's with some of the people we love most. Caroline had six grand(and great-grand)parents, five aunts and uncles, and lots and lots of cousins to play with.

Gogo helps Caroline get to Luke.
Judy and Bruce volunteer for dish duty.Aunt Sandy always has lots of toys to play with!
The bride and groom-to-be. This is Jill's last Thanksgiving as an Elliott. She will be Jill Tereshinski in less than two months!
Everyone pitches in in the kitchen.

Aunt Annie shares some wisdom with Caroline.

And, of course, I'm thankful for this...Post-Thanksgiving festivities are almost as much fun as Thanksgiving itself...

Caroline saw her first Christmas tree light up, but was far more interested in Aunt Judy's glasses.
Then Grandmother helped her to "see the light".

And then they went on her first pony ride.

Caroline got to go to the hardware store to visit Papa Jim and help get the Christmas tree in her True Value t-shirt.Caroline and Gogo found Santa at the hardware store...Caroline, is your Gogo really Mrs. Claus??And, before we left, Caroline and Papa Jim had to take care of a little business.

It's me...Caroline!

2008-12-03T10:50:00.001-05:00

Sometimes Mommy's blogging stinks worse than me after I have prunes and pears for breakfast...so I'm gonna tell you what we've been doing for the last few weeks since she fell off the blogging wagon.

After Halloween (when we last left you), my WHOLE family on Mommy's side got together to remember my Uncle Evan. Mommy said it was a big deal to have all these people together at once and that we are really lucky to have such a great family.That night, Aunt Heather joined us at Granny and Pop's for dinner. See, that's me in the blue shirt in front.The next day my friend Will came over so we could celebrate his daddy's 40th birthday. Will and Jacob played trains on our coffee table, but that was before I could stand up at the table...

so I just hung out by my toy basket and watched.

A few weeks ago, I upgraded my ride at the grocery store.

No more stroller--now I ride up in the cart close to Mommy, and I like it so much more. I can see everyone and everyone can see me! While Mommy shops, I spend my time crinkling up my nose and making faces at people so they will tell me how cute I am. If they don't, I lean toward them and grunt and make noises until they acknowledge me. Sometimes even grumpy people smile at me. (By the way, Mommy realized after she took this picture that she could pull the cart cover over the handle bar so I don't touch the germy handle.)

I also took a couple of spins in Riley and Colter's ride. I'm cracking up because Colter tells funny stories like his daddy.

I don't know if you heard, but my friend Sydney is getting a new little sister soon so my mommy had a party for her mommy. We were supposed to spend the day with our daddies, but they got Falcons tickets, and we got ditched! So...we got to go to the party!I got to visit with my friends Jackson and Julia from Cincinnati, and Jackson played my favorite game with me.Also, if you can't tell from the pictures, over the last few weeks, I've gotten a lot bigger...and so have my bows...

A couple of weeks ago, Riley came and spent a couple of days with us. I LOVE Riley, and get so excited when she comes over. But sometimes all that fun wears a couple girls out...

Another good thing about Riley's visits is that it's a little easier to be sneaky. One time when Mommy was busy, I got to pull about half of the wipes out of the box before she noticed. And just so you know, they don't taste very good--not any of them. I tasted each one to be sure.

One night, Papa Jim and Grandmother came over to visit. They brought Bogey, and Papa Jim bought me a tiny snow globe. It turns out that one medium sized dog and one tiny snow globe are all it takes to make me one happy baby!
So, as you can see, we've been busy! And Mommy just said I don't have to write my own blog anymore...she'll tell you all about our Thanksgiving herself so stay tuned!

This message has been approved by Caroline

2008-12-02T23:11:00.004-05:00

"Way to go, Saxby!"

Looks like that secret advice I gave you finally paid off!

All kinds of treats...

2008-11-06T22:01:00.010-05:00

This was Caroline's first Halloween, and she LOVED her costume...

Well, maybe not, but she did love delivering bags of pumpkin muffins to some of our nearby friends and neighbors... Ok, mabye not that either, but she really DID love playing in the candy her cousin Marin got from trick or treating. She played...and played...
and played... and played...until Marin decided that was enough baby slobber on her candy.
She also loved having so much family over for trick or treat...

Cousin Damon joined us for trick or treating.

Showing off her costume with her cousin Marin, the princess on a unicorn

"Can someone come get this thing off my head?"

Meeting Morgan

Picking leaves with Papa Jim

Marin heard it was time for Caroline to eat and handed her a hot dog.

Caroline thought that sounded a lot better than pureed chicken and peas.

And our newest little pumpkin, Rylan

Remembering Evan

2008-11-01T08:00:00.006-04:00

Today marks three years since my brother died. I want Evan's memory to be as real as possible to Caroline so here's a little "remembering" for her... Evan and Grandpa plowing in the garden. I like to think there is a very similar scene playing out in heaven right now.

When Evan was too little to protest, I decided that he would be a lot more fun to dress up than my dolls. The outfit was complete with powder and blush from Mom's make up bag. I can't remember if I got in trouble or not, but Mom must have thought it was funny because she took quite a few pictures. We always said we were going to pull these out for his wedding. Unfortunately, we never got to do that, but I'm making good on my promise to show the world!

As a kid, Evan aspired to be a farmer like Pop and Grandpa...so Christmas morning always involved cowboy boots, overalls, toy tractors, and camoulflage. Here he was trying out his new tractor in his new overalls. Caroline, I love this picture because Uncle Evan's face reminds me of yours.

Dad and Evan on a trip to Lake Ontario with my family. We drove, and it took about 2 days each way. This was the trip where Mom accidentally gave Evan the adult sized dose of Dramamine on the way home. I guess that was a bad thing, but it sure did make the trip home a lot more peaceful!

Evan and our cousin, Jill, were born about a year apart and were probably the two most mischevious kids in the state. We always said they were the boy and girl version of the same person. I'm not sure if this picture was taken on the day they hid on the roof, dipped Grandma's cat in a bucket of oil to see what would happen, got the golf cart stuck in a mud pit, or something else, but you can bet they had been up to something.

We used to spend a week or so during the summer at my aunt and uncle's house on Lake Burton. This is where we first learned to tube, ski, and take a bath in the lake so we didn't have to take a real bath later.

Evan's funniest school picture. I wish I had the one from a year or two before where he was wearing a suit and thought it was the best thing he had ever seen. He asked Mom if he could have the 8x10 to hang in his room. Caroline, looks like you may have gotten your healthy self esteem from him!

My family always took our vacations to the beach, but one year Mom and Dad took us to Washington DC. It happened to be inauguration weekend (which they didn't know when they booked the trip), the temperature was so cold that it broke all kinds of records (the WCF was well below 0), and Evan woke up sick the morning we left. The picture above is him on the floor in the airport after throwing up the whole ride there. He got over it the next day, and that vacation ended up being one of our most fun ever.

This is the deck at the house we used to rent every summer on Amelia Island.

Evan loved, loved, loved to be outdoors. He hunted, fished, hiked, and camped everywhere from Granny and Pop's yard to the wilds of Alaska. This is one of his trips to Alaska with our cousins, Damon and Prentiss.

This is one of the last whole family gatherings before Evan died. It was the Thursday night before our wedding, and we had a fish fry with both of our families and a couple of our closest friends from out of town. I knew then that having those most important people from all over the world (literally) together at once would be an important memory. Now that I know we won't ALL be together here again, it means even more to me.
Evan hated this picture. The photographer had told him to "gaze" at me, and he was not happy with the result. He said, "it looks like I'm in love with my sister." Cracked me up.

This one he was ok with apparently. He had it in a frame in his room when he died. His framed copy now sits in my kitchen. I'm so so thankful he was here on my wedding day. Caroline, I only wish he could have met you.

Thanks to my friend, Amanda, for collecting, scanning, and uploading hundreds of pictures of Evan so I had easy access to these. I will never be able to fully express how grateful I am for the way all of my friends have loved on my family and me when I needed them most.

Healthy Self Esteem

2008-10-30T09:17:00.004-04:00

Of all the things to explore now that Caroline is moving around, her favorite thing is...herself! I have this framed picture in the living room floor while I decide where to put it. Caroline discovered it, and it is her current favorite crawling destination. She loves the baby in the frame. She pats it...
And kisses it...

And snuggles up with it...I'm glad that we're getting her self esteem issues taken care of early!

So you liked that, Gogo?

2008-10-24T18:16:00.006-04:00

Well, we have plenty more where it came from!

And since Caroline has learned to get around on her own, she's picked up a few hobbies...

Online Shopping

Dusting

Reading Phllip Yancey

Just kidding about that last one--she can't really read.

My Little Pumpkin

2008-10-23T12:39:00.003-04:00

Girl on the run...

2008-10-22T17:10:00.005-04:00

Well, she's not running, but she's definitely mobile. After a lot of lessons from Daddy,this is what Caroline can do.

It is a combination of combat crawling and awkward-calf-on-all-fours crawling. It's pretty cute. I love to watch that skinny little bottom pop up in the air and start moving, but the only incentives that will do the trick are non-toys. None of the bright, colorful, music playing things are worth crawling for. Only forbidden fruit like cell phones, camera cases, and remote controls are worth the effort. Stay tuned for more of our on-the-move adventures!

Lazy Baby, Busy Mommy

2008-10-17T08:22:00.000-04:00

Caroline is perfectly capable of holding her own bottle, but the other night, she wasn't up for it and neither was I. So, we got creative.

Storytime and Playtime

2008-10-16T17:44:00.005-04:00

Yesterday, I took Caroline to storytime at the coffee house in the historic downtown area near our house. It was on a cute little patio at the back of the coffeeshop, and Miss Donna read some fun stories. Caroline was very attentive!After storytime, we walked over to the park where a bunch of our friends were. Caroline cheered on Eli while he danced for her...and shared her toys with Colter and Riley (kind of)...
It's interesting to see how grabby she is getting. The last couple of times they have played, she and Colter have had a small tug-of-war over a toy. Usually, though, as long as there are plenty of things to gum, everyone is happy!And it sounds like all this gumming was productive because yesterday, Riley got her first tooth!

Not letting bow-gones be bow-gones...

2008-10-13T10:23:00.006-04:00

These days may be drawing to a close.

Caroline usually doesn't leave home without a bow. She started wearing them when she was one week old.
This is partially because I think they are cute and partially because it helps to avoid some of those awkward "well, actually, she's a girl," exchanges. I also wanted her to be accustomed to having something in her hair so she would keep them in when she got older. Well, you can see how that has worked out for me.Over the last few weeks, as she has gained more dexterity in her fingers, I've noticed she'll accidentally pull her bow out sometimes. Yesterday, I caught her patting around her head, actually looking for the bow, snatching it out and sticking it in her mouth. I guess she thinks it's a reserve toy in case there there's nothing else interesting around.

But I'm not giving up this easily! I'll keep trying.

And this will probably be the only time we will ever disagree over what she wears, right?

Look what Caroline pulled...

2008-10-11T19:29:00.012-04:00

The weather was beautiful today, and Caroline loves being outside so we went to to the Smith Plantation in Roswell for their Fall Farm Days.We saw the Braley family for a few minutes when we first got there...as you can see, Caroline was very sad they were leaving. Or maybe she was sad Madeline wasn't the toy bunny again today.

We ate hotdogs and pumpkin bread, drank apple cider, went on a carriage ride, visited with a llama and some other fuzzy friends, and got down on the farm with some square dancers--ok, we didn't really "get down" with them, but we ate lunch at a table with them while Caroline entertained us all.

Caroline loved the animals most of all.

Unfortunately, the animals didn't seem to love her...and then we saw why...

Our fuzzy friends aren't quite as fuzzy anymore.

(Sorry, sheep--I know how it feels--she gets me all the time.)

Our next stop was at Ferrero Depot for Jake's train themed birthday party.

We saw our friends, the Selfs, that we hadn't gotten to see in a while. Caroline saw more hair to pull.

"Watch out--you might be my next victim!"

Notice Jake's DJ table that entertained her for most of the party. Maybe if she's good--and doesn't pull too much hair--Santa will bring her one!

It's Not Easter!

2008-10-09T12:45:00.005-04:00

What was Caroline so intrigued by this morning?A visit from a bunny...who brought new toys!

And who was this bunny? Madeline!

Julie and Madeline came over for a visit this soggy morning, and Madeline decided she didn't want to take her rain gear off. I think this is part of the reason that Caroline was totally fascinated with her...well, that and the fact that she brought two of her fun baby toys for Caroline to borrow.

Madeline couldn't wait to show Baby Caroline how they worked.

Madeline, thanks for sharing your toys--and your mommy--with us!

Old Friends and New

2008-10-07T22:31:00.006-04:00

This past Sunday was another day full of fall celebration. Mike, Caroline, and I walked down to the art festival in our town's historic district Sunday afternoon where Caroline made all kinds of new friends...including this fellow. She seems to love dogs and is always excited to meet a new furry friend. But, even more than the canine pal, she loved the man at the WSB radio booth who gave her the best thing the festival had to offer her: She spent the rest of the day tucked under Dad's arm and holding on tight to her new ball...

That evening we had an old fashioned church potluck. Being with so many of our friends at the same time and watching all of our children play together reminded me how grateful I am for our church family. I love watching Caroline begin to interact with these kids that she will likely grow up with and that may become some of her lifelong friends.

(Note the toy in Caroline's lap. It looks a whole lot like her beloved Freddie the Firefly that Aunt Heather gave her, but it is actually Colter's Freddie the Firefly. Caroline had just reached over and yanked it out of his hand when he pulled it right back. Leslie and I watched the whole thing, but were too curious about what would happen to intervene. When it looked like we might see tears, Leslie appeased Colter with one of Caroline's toys, and Caroline ended up with the firefly. As soon as she learns English, we'll talk to her about sharing!)

And, after all the activity, Caroline decided to finish out the day by running a hot bath before bed.

Fall Fun

2008-10-06T13:00:00.003-04:00

Fall is here so we decided to show our little pumpkin what it's all about. My cousins were planning to take a trip to the pumpkin farm in my hometown Saturday so we decided to head that way--the whole family came out for some fun. When Caroline heard that most of the activities were for older kids she didn't want to stay, but she found out that there is a lot for babies to do at the pumpkin patch too!

You can hang out in the hay.You can people watch during the family photo shoot (but not the 6 people behind the camera calling your name, rattling toys, and making silly faces). You can dance with Daddy in the pumpkin plants.

You can pet the goats with Papa Jim.

You can do your streches...
and play in the dirt...while catching some rays. And you can get a ride with Aunt Judy when you've had enough pumpkins!

When we had seen everything the patch had to offer, we went back to Katie's for BBQ and cousin lovin'...Kicking back in Luke's swing.

Hanging out on the patio with Grandmother....and Luke (below).

"I love you, Luke."

"I love you too, Caroline..."

"so give me a kiss!"

"Luke, you're my cousin...gross!"

"Oh yeah, then--take that!"

"What am I going to do with this guy?"

Hee hee--just kidding! We had lots of fun with our cousins.

Happy fall, y'all!

Baby Gourmet

2008-10-03T15:21:00.008-04:00

Instead of our usual afternoon walk with our Landon friends, we got up early this morning to go over for a baby food making party! While the little friends took turns napping and entertaining one another... Colter enjoyed a production of "The Caroline Show".

Mr. Jeff, who was working from home today, came to see what was cooking. He wasn't impressed with our pureed treats, but Caroline was impressed with him!

the mommies steamed, pureed, and jarred. All three babies were very cooperative, and it just took a few hours before we had this to fill our freezers... Black beans and rice, chicken, broccoli, green beans, and blueberries.
Thanks for a fun day, Landons!

Look, Ma! No Fingers!

2008-10-02T10:17:00.004-04:00

This video of Caroline eating breakfast this morning may not look remarkable if you haven't seen her eat before...

but the absence of her two middle fingers in her mouth after each bite is a major accomplishment! A couple of weeks ago, I started holding her left hand so that she couldn't put her fingers in her mouth for a couple of bites at each meal. We worked up to meals with more bites without her fingers than with. Now, as evidenced above, I don't even have to hold her hand. She eats on her own without even trying to use her fingers!

But, old habits die hard, and when the going gets rough (and the pears get too thick)...

That's ok--you've come a long way, baby!

A Not So Date Night

2008-09-29T22:47:00.012-04:00

This is what sat across from me on my "date night" at a fancy restaurant tonight:

And to my left:
I planned a last minute date night tonight so Mike and I could use a gift card that was about to expire. I didn't have a babysitter for Caroline...so we, unwisely, decided to include her in our date. It is one thing to have your squealing baby squirm and grab silverware and throw toys on the floor at Moe's. It is a different thing entirely at a very nice restaurant.

Our (extremely patient) waiter kept our food warm while Mike took Caroline out to try and walk her to sleep. So I spent most of the evening waiting at the table, playing with my camera and snacking on Gerber sweet potato puffs. I'm sure I looked very sophisticated to the other diners.

When Mike and a very wide awake Caroline finally returned to the table, the squealing seemed to have subsided, and we made the best of it. Once she was quiet and we weren't worried about totally annoying the people around us, it was actually a lot of fun to watch Caroline try to eat her first finger food (the sweet potato puffs) and speculate about what other people were saying about us. But, needless to say, next time we'll just let the gift card expire!

Our "family date night".

Good Things Come to Those Who Wait

2008-09-29T10:35:00.010-04:00

...and wait, we did. We didn't take our summer vacation until the end of September, but it was totally worth the wait. The weather was perfect, rental house prices were inexpensive, and we pretty much had the city to ourselves while we were there. Until Caroline is in school, we will definitely be early fall vacationers. Here are a few more shots from the trip.

Our home away from home:

The wind, water, and hat-wearing didn't do much for Caroline's hair: Caroline was too little to ride any rides during our trip to the fun park... but her daddy made up for it on the beach the next day:

Macie,who has a bit of a baby obsession, almost got away with the two babies...

Bryce, we've gotta get out of this thing!

On the way home, we made a detour through Macon for a surprise birthday party for Mike's good friend, Mark:

Former roommates Mike, Mark, and Jason with Caroline, Emma Kate, and Caleb.

"See ya, folks!"

To read other accounts of our trip, check out the blogs of our housemates, here, here, and here.

Life's a Beach

2008-09-25T12:05:00.006-04:00

Well, this week at least. We are on our first official family vacation, and we are having a great time! We rented a house with several other families and have enjoyed having plenty of friends around to keep things exciting.

We've done so many fun things...Caroline (finally) learned to write her name.

She has been trying really hard to master flying, but so far can only spread her arms and lunge for the birds...Macie loves "the baby", but when she tried to give Caroline a kiss, she was not expecting Caroline to slip her the tongue!

Later they put they put their heads together to try and come up with something to do...

and Caroline decided she'd hang out with her daddy on the beach. (I think I see the similarity everyone else does)...

It turns out that she doesn't really care for her water boat in the water, but it makes a great seat for playing in the shade.

And just playing in the sand is fun too...But all that playing wears a girl out!

Thanks for checking in on me and my beach trip! We'll tell you more about it later!
Love, Caroline

Sweet Potatoes with Sweet Cousins

2008-09-18T12:41:00.007-04:00

Caroline and I met some of our Elliott cousins for dinner at Longhorn Tuesday night because we were running an errand at the mall in their neck of the woods, and they were headed to the mall to add some things to Jill's registry. (I can't believe "baby" Jill will be married in just a few months!)

Caroline was napping soundly when we arrived...

so she was a little grumpy when I woke her up getting her out of the car, making dinner less than peaceful. She finally settled down when Jill fed her part of my sweet potato, though. Ellie (smiling for the camera below) was a big helper. She is so good with "Ca-kwine"!

Sucking her fingers to swallow. If you hold her hand after giving her a bite so she can't use them, she has no idea what to do. She just holds her mouth open and screams.

I Might Be the Only One Laughing...

2008-09-16T14:11:00.008-04:00

There may not be anything overtly funny about this video, but this footage of Caroline playing yesterday really cracks me up. Maybe it's because she looks funny sucking on the preemie pacifier she found that she wanted no part of as a newborn, maybe it's because her hair is so poofy and sticking out over her ears, maybe it's because (if you listen very carefully) you can hear that she is pooping up a storm, maybe it's because she is focusing so much on pooping that she is grunting and looks like she is directing an orchestra at one point, maybe it's because she falls over at the end but was so preoccupied by the pacifier and pooping that she never seemed to notice and went right along doing what she was doing...but this just makes me laugh!

(Turn the volume all the way up for the full experience!)

A Chip Off the Old Block

2008-09-15T15:42:00.008-04:00

Block

Chip

Everyone always comments on how much Caroline looks like Mike. When I woke her up this particular morning, her hair was standing straight up like his does. I was actually taking the picture of that, but before I could snap, she grabbed the remote and kicked back, making herself really look like him!

Back from our Blogging Break

2008-09-15T10:42:00.018-04:00

We've been offline for a while because Caroline was feeling overwhelmed with all the blog publicity and felt like she needed a few weeks out of the public eye. Ok, not so much. The truth is Caroline's mama went back to work for a couple of weeks, was without a camera for a little while, was without a computer for a week, and then just didn't get back into the blogging groove...but we're back! Here's a recap of what we've been doing.

We said goodbye to our dear friends, Jeff and Courtney, before they moved to Mississippi.

We miss these two so much! Caroline and silly Miss Angel show us how sad they are that Miss Courtney and Mr. Jeff are leaving during their going away party.

Caroline became a very proficient sitter. She's realigned her efforts now to focus on crawling...she's not doing it, but she sure tries. Much to her dispair, she usually goes backwards when she's trying to crawl forward toward a toy. This leads to a lot of frustrated screeching and sqealing (her other new skills).

I got to spend the first two weeks of the school year with Mrs. Sewell's 5th grade class. What an honor that I got to be with the 14 smartest, funniest, kindest 5th graders in the world! Caroline visited us in class several times and LOVED the students. They loved her right back. It was a lot of fun watching them together.
Caroline and I also got to go visit with Mrs. Sewell herself while she is home letting her body get well.

Caroline and I got to deliver some things we made for her at school.

Doesn't Mrs. Sewell look beautiful in her new wig? She looks nicer to lounge around the house after chemo than I do for church on Sunday!

Caroline has expanded her diet to include a lot of new things. She eats rice cereal, oatmeal, avocado, applesauce, pears, blueberries, peas, carrots, green beans, spinach, sweet potatos, bananas, squash, and corn. It's all pureed, of course, and she still has no idea that she can swallow without sucking her fingers. So...after every bite, she pops the fingers in, sucks for a few seconds, and pulls them out to wait for another bite. Eating is a full body experience.(You'll have to turn your head for the first couple...I couldn't get them to load correctly!)

Speaking of new foods, Mama had a little poop panic. I won't post the pictures (there are pictures), but I'll just tell you that banana fibers look a lot like tiny worms to a new mom.

Mike has a new "greener" work schedule. We don't get to see him until a little later every evening, but he gets to stay home an extra day every two weeks! We're so happy to be able to include dad in some of our daytime adventures.

Going for a walk at the park.

I'm flying!!

We celebrated Madeline's 3rd birthday. Sorry, Caroline, but your mom's cakes will never be as beautiful as Madeline's mom's! Eating dinner by the river.

Caroline's first time in a real swing!

Thanks for inviting us to your safari party, Madeline!

We went to the Yellow Daisy Festival at Stone Mountain with our cousins. Julie and I loaded all three kids in the back of her Armada and headed toward the big rock.You can see how it went for yourself. At one point, Ellie joined in the fun too, but I didn't get that on video. (Make sure to scroll down and silence Neil if you haven't already. The audio is much more important than the video.)

Thanks for catching up with us. We'll be posting Trice happenings regularly again now!

Happy Birthday, Gogo!

2008-08-24T10:11:00.003-04:00

Today is Gogo's birthday, and Caroline wanted to send her lots of love from Norcross!

Happy Birthday, Gogo!

(Gogo, your birthday package will be arriving next week. Caroline and I spent all morning yesterday getting it ready, but got to the post office to mail it right after they closed!)

Four Years Ago Today...

2008-08-14T07:30:00.001-04:00

I married the love of my life. They say maintaining a healthy marriage is one of the most important ways to parent well. I'm thankful to be married to someone who is as committed to being a good husband as he is to being a good father. We've learned in our four years that life isn't always easy, but there is so so so much to be thankful for! Happy Anniversary, Mike!

And just for fun...

Here's a memory for any of you who attended our wedding...do you remember what prompted these expressions?

Someone said I'd look back in five years and just think it was funny. Well, it's been four, and it still makes me cringe a little. I'll let you know if things have changed next year!

Another Kind of "Pea"

2008-08-13T22:26:00.006-04:00

A quick run down of Caroline's six month check up today:

She weighs 13 pounds and 1 ounce which puts her just below the 10th percentile for weight. I think she weighs about the same as her 6 week old cousin, Cole. The doctor isn't terribly concerned, though. He says she is progressing, and he doesn't see any real reason to worry. We'll go in for a weight check in a few weeks to be sure.
She is 26 inches long (maybe--the way they measure doesn't look very accurate to me). That puts her just below the 50th percentile.
She was very forgiving when it came to her shots --she cried for less than five seconds after the last shot, regained her composure, and was all smiles when a lady in the waiting room spoke to her on our way out.
She was less forgiving when it came to the "under the diaper" part of the exam--she showed Dr. Gorvy how she felt about his intrustion by relieving herself on him. Oops...sorry about that!

Back to Africa...

2008-08-13T22:20:00.000-04:00

Yesterday we said goodbye to Uncle Steven, Aunt Monica, Lacie and Nathan. They had a layover in Atlanta before the long flight back to Swaziland, and we got to spend their last few hours in the states with them. Monica's good friends, Jennifer and Stephanie, were able to be there too. Thanks, Jen, for sending these pictures!

Uncle Mike and Nathan have a chat.

Snuggled up with sweet Lacie.

Mike and Monica get ready to say goodbye.

See how sweetly Nathan is reaching over to give Caroline a little pat? Well, what you can't see is that Caroline rared back and popped Nathan in the eye, making him cry then and everytime Caroline got near him. Nathan may be the only one that was NOT sad to say goodbye to his family.

One last shot before we said goodbye.

Steven, Monica, Lacie, and Nathan--we are so grateful for you and the chance to spend some time together over the past few weeks. We love you very much!

Peas Sneeze

2008-08-11T19:24:00.006-04:00

Tonight, Caroline learned what happens when you sneeze while you are eating your peas.

Who am I kidding? This is what she usually looks like when she eats whether she sneezes or not! Her daily menu now includes brown rice cereal, avocados, and peas. She's a pretty decent eater, but she still has to suck her fingers between each bite--which leads to messy fingers and eventually messy everything!

Wild Weekend With Our Friends From Franklin!

2008-08-11T18:39:00.001-04:00

If you know Mike, you've probably heard him talk about one of his oldest friends, "Best Friend, Dave". (Dave's wife and I always laugh at the way both of them usually include the title, "Best Friend" when saying one another's name.)

Well, "Best Friend Dave" is extremely talented and just resigned from one very cool job (in radio) to take an even cooler one, and he has a few weeks off in between--so he and his super fun family came down from their home in Franklin, TN this weekend to visit. We always have fun with this wild bunch! You would never guess how much personality could be packed into Dave's tiny little wife, Natalia (even 6 months pregnant with baby #3, she and Caroline occupy about the same amount of space)--and their kids are just as personality packed. They are always up for an adventure--during their day and a half visit, we hiked, skipped stones in the creek, played on a playground, went to church, went to the water park, ate out, roasted hotdogs (well, in the end we microwaved hot dogs), made s'mores, played board games, and just had fun hanging out!

As soon as Simone (3) saw this tire swing she said decidedly, "that gonna make me thow up." It didn't stop her from jumping on, though. Fortunately, everyone kept their lunch down.Simone and Sebastian wading in the creek.

Caroline was popular with the boys at lunch on Sunday. (Uh oh, Carson--Sebastian may be moving in on your territory!) I snapped this right before Sebastian played "Kung Fu Baby" with Caroline. He would use her arms and legs to hit himself in the face and chest and then pretend to fall over will full sound effects. Caroline thought it was pretty funny!Our families after lunch on Sunday.We got to witness the loss of Sebastian's second tooth!

Playing dominos with "Tio Mike". (Natalia's family is from Columbia so they are raising the kids to be bilingual. Mike and I are "Tio" and "Tia"--"Uncle" and "Aunt".)Sebastian wanted to hold Baby Caroline one more time before leaving early this morning. So, of course, Simone wanted a turn as well!

Thanks for the fun visit, friends! Can't wait until next time!

Happy Birthday, Grandmother!

2008-08-10T10:00:00.000-04:00

Caroline wants to wish her grandmother, my mom, a happy birthday today!(Having cake to celebrate a few days ago--and Caroline's first exposure to fire. She was enamored!)

Happy Birthday, Grandmother! Hope you have a good day!

We love you, Mike, Suzanna, and Caroline

One Half!

2008-08-06T17:07:00.006-04:00

Today is Caroline's half birthday. We'll celebrate in a little while with a half cake (which, of course, Caroline will get none of)... It's almost impossible to believe that it was six entire months ago tonight that we were here. At the same time, it's hard to believe that she's only been here for six months. Already, it's hard to remember what life was like before her. It doesn't seem like I could have grown to love her this much in only six months. Mike and I still look at each other almost every day in disbelief that we have this little life to care for. It is humbling, exciting, scary, and wonderful all at the same time. In spite of all the woes and worries that come along with a new baby, this has been the best six months of my life!Happy half birthday, Baby Girl!

We knew we would love you, but we didn't know it would be even half this much fun!

Church and Chicken

2008-08-06T17:00:00.002-04:00

Last Sunday was Caroline's baby dedication at our church. Some of our nearest and dearest came to witness as she was introduced to the congregation and our little family was prayed over. Mike and I also had the opportunity to publicly dedicate ourselves to raising her in a Christian home. This was our message to her.

Caroline,
When we were dating, we discovered that we shared the same favorite Bible verse. Jeremiah 29:11 says that God knows the plans He has for us and that those plans are to give us hope and a future. Through times of hardship and doubt, the Lord has shown this truth in both of our lives over and over in many ways—one of the greatest ways being you.
We know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Lord created you with a distinct purpose. We are wholly committed to making sure you have every opportunity to know and love Him and to find His perfect plan for you. To guide you as this plan unfolds is the greatest and most wonderful responsibility either of us has ever had.
We love you more than we could ever describe, and we know that God’s love for you is even greater than ours. May that love always be a source of security, confidence, and inspiration as you grow into the woman God designed you to be.

Mom and Dad

God had clearly planned the day perfectly as the message that followed happened to be based on that same verse, Jeremiah 29:11--and the speaker used his own story, which included a struggle with fertility before receiving a baby girl, to illustrate.

Afterwards, our visitors to church came back to our house for a fancy gourmet lunch...

Ok, so not fancy or gourmet, but it was good--and the company was great...

Carson and Macie, the children Mike's college roommate and good friend, Jeff. Carson loves Caroline (and we know the feeling will be mutual when she's a little older) so we were especially glad to have him here for her special day.

Our sweet little pal, Sydney, and her dad, Steven. Our good friends, Scott and Christina.

Caroline napped until most everyone had left. But she came down for the after-party, sporting the cute new outfit Jeff and Courtney gave her in honor of her special day. Posing with "Aunt" Heather. (Apparently my dad, on the left, thought someone was throwing something at him.)

"Wrestling" with Papa Jim.Hanging out with Gogo.

We are so grateful for our church, our family, and our friends who will come alongside us as we raise our baby the way God intended.

Look, Daddy!

2008-08-05T16:47:00.005-04:00

Mommy and I have been working on sitting again today, and I did this by myself for about 30 seconds at a time...at first Mom only took pictures from the back so she could catch me if I fell over,but she's getting more brave...and it doesn't really hurt when I fall over anyway.I'm getting there!

Love, Caroline

Odds and Ends

2008-07-31T12:34:00.005-04:00

For those of you that asked after seeing this post--no, we did not take a full wooden cradle to West Palm for Caroline to sleep in. I'm not that prepared. You may remember from this post that Mike and all the kids in his generation used it, and now all of their babies are using it. His Aunt Martha called before our trip and asked us to bring it back for a "friend" to use. A friend wants to use a 40 year old cradle that has only sentimental value in our family? Sounded suspicious. We were excited to find out once we got there that actually Mike's cousin, Tarrah, is having a baby in January! Congratulations, Tarrah and Jesse!

And just a little nostalgia...here is a picture I took the first time we put Caroline in it...

and the last time--right before we loaded it in the car.

Thanks, Amy, for adjusting the picture above for the header. I (and all of Amy's friends) am spoiled by her generosity with her time and talents!
Caroline and I are busy today as we get ready for an exciting weekend! Gogo is coming tonight so that she will be here for Caroline's baby dedication on Sunday and a family lunch at our house afterwards. We are very excited about publicly dedicating ourselves to raising Caroline to know and love the Lord!

Rice Trice Tries Rice

2008-07-29T16:36:00.008-04:00

Some of you may remember Caroline's first nickname, Rice Trice, that seemed to stick after I mentioned something about our "rice sized Trice" in an email in the early stages of my pregnancy.

Fortunately, no one calls her Rice anymore--but she was a little rice covered Trice yesterday when she tried her first solid food. I resorted to using the video camera to take still shots, and that didn't work out very well, but at least we have some fuzzy shots to document the occasion.

I started with this

and this

It took some of this

and this
and this
before we got this

and finally ended up with this

and this

Unfortunately, you can't tell from these grainy pictures, but, thanks to her recent discovery of her feet, she literally had rice cereal from head to toe. It was caked on on her calves and even in her eyebrows. Needless to say, she went straight from the Bumbo to the bathtub.

What I've learned in our three and half days of "doing solids":

Caroline strongly prefers "mom's milk" to formula or water as a mixer.
The runnier it is, the better is goes down. I started with consistency of grits and learned that the consistency of a melted milkshake is better.
The longer it sits, the runnier it gets...so if I start with grits, we have melted milkshake by the time we get to the end of the bowl.
The portable swing with a changing pad cover works better than the Bumbo since Caroline still isn't very steady in the Bumbo.
Letting her suck her fingers between each bite is the best (and only) way to get her to swallow. And it really takes two people to feed her and stop her from putting her fingers in her mouth at the same time so there isn't much of a choice when I'm solo. It's not ideal because I'd like to be sure she won't be on her first date and have to suck her fingers between each bite of her salad to get it down, but I'm sure that will work itself out.

Beach Bums

2008-07-29T10:58:00.006-04:00

Because it is rare that this side of the family is all together at once, we decided to have Mike's cousin snap some family photos on the beach during our visit. It's funny how my standards for "good photos" have changed now that there are babies around. If the lighting and background is nice, everyone is looking at or in the approximate direction of the camera, and no one is crying, I consider it a great photo--no matter how unflattering it might be to me. That's the case with these...I think they are awesome despite the fact I don't think I'd win any beauty contests. The whole family
Gogo and her grandbabies

The Allen Family

It is so much fun to compare this to the pictures we took a couple of years ago in the same spot wearing the same clothes...of course the clothes are a little tighter and we look a little worse for the wear, but it is all worth that third little person in the front!

Some close ups of that third little person:

And her cousins

Lacie had quite a job holding both babies...she didn't let go (or look away from the camera) no matter what!

Sharing Firsts

2008-07-28T23:00:00.001-04:00

Hi, everyone! We're home!

We just got back from our family visit in West Palm Beach, and despite the camera catastrophe, I do have some pictures to accompany our tales about the week thanks to Aunt Monica!

Caroline and her cousin Nathan...shared many firsts this week, one of which was their first trip to the

We had so much fun strolling...and I do mean strolling... around and seeing all the animals. Both babies stayed awake for most of the trip, and Caroline really seemed to take in the sights.

Caroline says hi from the bird show where several large birds landed on a perch only a few feet away from her while she watched, wide eyed!Next time Caroline and Nathan will be able to join Lacie in the fountain!

The next first was a visit to the beach. While Nathan spent this first napping, Caroline braved the waves without him.

Posing with Dad and Mom before the first dip. You can see in the background that Gogo had already ventured out a little further.

Waiting for the wave...Woosh! As you can see from her blank expressions, she wasn't overly impressed.

Our little family.

Hanging out in the water with Aunt Monica.

Notice how pink her face was. She wasn't burned, but just hot. We were only actually at the beach for a little less than an hour because a storm rolled in right after we did. That was after two hours of packing supplies, driving to the beach, finding and paying for parking, unloading the cars, setting up our towels and baby equipment, and slathering everyone with sunscreen. Caroline says that worked out just fine for her, though. An hour was plenty!

That night Caroline had another first.

We give her a bottle with a couple of ounces of formula and her vitamins after her last feeding each night. Gogo was doing the honors when Caroline reached up and held the bottle all by herself! She usually puts her hands on it and "helps", but this was the first time she held it without any other support.

Speaking of mealtime, Nathan had a big first during our trip--he started solid food (if you can call runny rice cereal solid food). Caroline wasn't far behind as she had her first taste of rice cereal today. More about that tomorrow!

A Happy Homecoming...and A Sad Goodbye

2008-07-21T15:49:00.008-04:00

We're having a great time this week with our family in Florida! We drove through the night Thursday night, headed straight to the West Palm Beach airport and arrived just in time to see the Allens get off their plane. We, along with fellow welcomers, Gogo, Grampy, Grammy, and Nancy (Monica's long time friend) were so happy to see them! Caroline was excited about the big meeting!

Everyone should have their own Uncle Mike!

Lacie and Gogo are big buddies!

Finally meeting her little cousin, Nathan. Caroline is a month older than Nathan.

Grammy and Grampy are happy to see their grandbabies.

After a few minutes of loving on the kids, Mike remembers to hug his sister.

The whole crew!

Mike's cousin, Tarrah, has some rental property and generously offered us a big house with lots of space for everyone to use this week. We spent the next day or so visiting and lovin' on the cousins!

Lacie LOVES her baby cousin! And Caroline loves her right back!

If Caroline cries, we can count on Lacie to be there with a hug and sweet words.

While Mike is usually pretty popular with the babies, things don't always work out for him.

So Gogo stepped in to lend a hand.

Aunt Vickie has some words of wisdom for Caroline.

It was all fun and games until...

(no pictures)

my camera was dropped. It wasn't the first tumble it has ever taken, but it was its last. Those were the last picture my little camera will ever take...

So, unfortunately, even though we are still here having fun and making lots of memories, I don't have any other pictures to post...but I'll figure something out very soon. Caroline is already wondering where that flashing light is that used to go off in her face every few minutes!

Over the hill and through the woods...

2008-07-17T11:20:00.005-04:00

to Gogo's house we go! Mike's sister and her family are coming home from their mission work in Africa for a visit, and we are headed to West Palm to spend a little over a week with them. When we last saw them over a year ago, Lacie (now 4) was the only grandchild, and now we have a total of three! So everyone has a new cousin to meet! We'll drive through the night (that seemed to work best last time we made the 10 hour trip with Caroline) and arrive in time to greet Steven, Monica, Lacie, and Nathan at the airport. Caroline and I have had a long day of packing...I had to work hard to keep her busy while I got everything ready.

She cooperated for a little while

...but most of the time she did not!

I have never been one to travel light, but on a 9 day trip with a baby, I have outdone myself...

(And that is just the very back--but it's actually much more organized than it looks.)

I was never a Boy Scout, but I've always been a big believer in their motto to"Be prepared!"

Baseball Hypnosis

2008-07-16T23:06:00.001-04:00

My grandparents, Granny and Pop, are true baseball fans. They NEVER miss a Braves game, and they were closely following UGA in the College World Series a few weeks ago. So, of course, that's what was on tv when we stopped by for a visit. At first Caroline seemed to reflect my sentiments about the game...

but as she watched the bright red and black uniforms on the big screen tv, she became more and more interested (as you can see by her posture)...
until she was completely mesmorized.
We try not to let her watch tv so I guess a few minutes of unrestricted access to the big screen was pretty exciting!

And the winner is...

2008-07-15T22:11:00.005-04:00

Papa Jim!

You may recall from this and this that Caroline has been assisting Papa Jim in his race for county commissioner. The votes are in and Dad has been re-elected.

Way to vote, Oconee County!

Cow Day at Chick-fil-A

2008-07-15T16:00:00.004-04:00

If you didn't catch the marketing frenzy, Chick-fil-A celebrated Cow Appreciation Day last Friday by offering a free combo to anyone who showed up at one of their restaurants dressed in full cow costume. It took a little convincing for Mike to dress like a cow rather than just pay the $6 for his lunch, but in the spirit of a good time, he went along with it. In the end he admitted the fun was worth the 10 minutes it took to transform the three of us into cows. We looked ridiculous, but our little calf was as cute as she could be. We didn't just happen to have a cow costume for her tucked away, but thanks to the popularity of white elephant gift exchanges among our friends at Christmas time, we did have a penguin costume in her size that was easily converted into a cow costume with a few safety pins and a pair of Dad's socks.

You can't see in the picture, but Mike and I both have ribbon "tails".

The calf.

A close up of her "hooves".

Those Hilarious Haymans

2008-07-15T14:43:00.001-04:00

We have some great and, as they have teasingly pointed out several (hundred) times, underblogged friends that we love to spend time with. Scott, Linda, Abby, Dillon, and Will are some of the funniest, kindest, and most generous people you'll ever meet. Mike and Scott worked together years ago and have always kept in touch, primarily through their shared passion for all things sport. I sometimes refer to Scott as Mike's boyfriend because they talk on the phone just about every day...usually about their pretend football teams (Fantasy Football ranks up there with oxygen and water this time of year). I could tell Scott and Linda would be longtime friends the first time I met them and we spent most of the evening laughing so hard we had a hard time getting our words out. Linda is sweet and compassionate and always has something funny to add to any conversation. And I love hanging out with Scott because he likes to tease Mike about all the same things I do (...like the fact that Mike thinks in a very black and white way. If you say, for instance, there were a thousand people somewhere when there were actually 997, Mike would be quick to point out that there were only 997 and that you are grossly exaggerating.) Scott is hilarious, and needless to say, Mike has to take a lot when we are all together...but he loves every minute of it!

Their whole gang came down to hang out for the afternoon a couple of weeks ago...

Having three children, Linda has been a valuable source of information and advice when it comes to little ones.
The proud papas played with the kiddos on the playground while Linda and I had some girl time.

Haymans, we know you were teasing about your lack of representation on Caroline's blog, but you are very important to us and we are excited that you are now a part of Caroline's life too. Can't wait to hang out again soon!

Happy Birthday, Mike!

2008-07-14T12:00:00.004-04:00

Thanks for being such a great husband and loving daddy.

We love you,

Suzanna and Caroline

Our Little Firecracker

2008-07-12T23:59:00.001-04:00

Our little patriot may not understand the importance of the celebration of our nation's independence, but she does understand that America's birthday is LOUD! We spent the 4th (and 3rd, 5th, and 6th) celebrating with cookouts, fireworks shows, and a parade...Caroline was momentarily adopted by the Reams family as we waited for the fireworks to begin at the July 3rd celebration in historic Norcross near our house.

Our neighbor's little boy, Collier, provides more pre-show entertainment.

The display was pretty stunning...

or, in Caroline's opinion, startling!

She decided this is the kind of thing you watch from the safety of your daddy's arms.

Or better yet, in only your underwear sucking your fingers.

By the end, she didn't think fireworks were anything to get worked up about...in fact, they are pretty boring.

We spent the next morning at the annual Dunwoody Parade with our Sunday school class.

This was our best attempt at rounding up all the kids for a picture. Note the displeasure on Bennett's face for having been chosen as the propping support for Caroline.

Watching the parade pass by, which, Caroline noticed, was also very loud.

Again, Dad's arms are the best place to be.

And, again, this stuff is only entertaining for so long.

Caroline slept through most of the cookout and fireworks show at my Aunt Sandy's house that night, but her Cousin Ellie didn't. While she rotated from lap to lap during the show, her fingers never left her ears.

Happy Birthday, America!

Triple Excitement

2008-07-12T23:49:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago, Mike and his friend, Steven, went to a Braves game--so Caroline and I packed up and headed to visit Steven's wife (and my good friend), Alison and their little girl, Sydney. Caroline L-O-V-E-D Sydney. Sydney wanted to "carry" (hold) her multiple times--and every time, Caroline ate it up.
But this is the boring part...the evening got a lot more exciting. First, Sydney informed me soon after we arrived, very matter of factly, that "there's a baby in Mommy's belly." Congratulations to the Muttons on their bundle-of-joy-to-be! I can already tell from the way she loved on Caroline that Sydney is going to be a super big sister!

But that wasn't the end of the excitement--as I was loading up to leave, I put Caroline in her car seat and set my keys down on the seat beside her so that I could go around and open the back of the car to load her stuff. I am usually careful to leave at least one door open anytime Caroline is alone in the car--but their driveway is on an incline, and--you can guess what's coming. Before I knew it, my keys (and Caroline) were locked tightly inside the car...after 10:00 on a Saturday night. While this would usually have been a crisis, it wasn't so bad considering the weather was cool, Caroline had just been fed, changed, and pajamaed for the night--I watched her fall peacefully and comfortably asleep through the window--and I had nowhere to be. While Alison went to have my "Mother of the Year" plaque engraved, I called Triple A (who, I am sure has me red flagged in their system as a potential scam artist--in the four months I have been a member, I have had to call them five times). Alison pulled a couple of camping chairs out of the garage, and we sat in the driveway, watching Caroline through the window with a flashlight, for nearly two hours as we waited for the nearest available locksmith to arrive--from Dahlonega, almost an hour away. The funniest part was that when they did get there, the locksmith team (and I do mean team--they were a serious duo) came roaring into the driveway, screeched to a halt just inches from my car, busted out of their SUV (wearing headlamps and armed with fancy locksmith tools) looking like the Ghostbusters, nearly knocked me down getting to the car, opened the door within 10 seconds, and literally jumped out of the way (out of breath from hurrying) so I could open the door. It was very sweet of them to be concerned about the baby being locked in the car, but I'm not sure what difference 30 more seconds would make after the two hour wait!

Newly pregnant Alison decided just before midnight that she HAD to have some baked beans--with a hot dog on the side.

The end of the excitement? Nope. Caroline and I were finally safely on the road headed home and, as I was fiddling with the GPS to make sure we were going the right way, I noticed the overhead light in the back of the car was flickering--and it looked kind of blue tinted. Wait. I couldn't believe it. I had no idea I was speeding. After all of this, I was going to get a ticket too?? I put on my emergency lights, pulled into a lighted parking lot and started working on my sob story (which included actual tears). It turns out I wasn't speeding at all, but as I was using the GPS, I was not doing a great job of staying in my lane (Dad, it was late, and it was a wide highway with several lanes with NO other cars on the road--it was safe, calculated swerving--and, remember, I wasn't speeding :) The officer was very nice and apologized for pulling me over--he thought I might be a drunk driver since it was so late on a Saturday night.

I finally got home and put Caroline in her bed just before 2 AM--she never stirred the entire time.

(Just in case you are thinking I am a horrible mother, please know that Caroline was never in any danger--I would have broken the car window with my fist to get her out if I had thought she was--and my driving on the way home really wasn't reckless.)

Welcome, Cole!

2008-07-12T23:10:00.000-04:00

Happy (Very Belated) Birth Day, Cole Thomas!

Cole Thomas Woodson was born on June 23, and Big Sister, Ellie, came over to spend the day with Caroline while we waited for him to arrive.

Surrounded by Family and Friends

2008-07-12T23:00:00.001-04:00

As we said goodbye to Grandpa a couple of weeks ago, our family and friends congregated at my mom and dad's house during the days before the funeral. It was nice to see and spend time with people that we don't see as often. I got a few shots of Caroline "visiting"...

Meeting Dr. and Mrs. Forehand (Amanda's parents) for the first time.

Getting one of her favorite things--Ellie kisses!

Grandma and our cousin, Brenda, loving on Caroline. Brenda's husband (who was Grandpa's nephew) passed away a few weeks ago. We were glad to have Brenda around!

Caroline and Luke (my cousin Katie's little boy)--Caroline had a lot of toys at my mom's house, but she was most interested in Luke's playmat...and Luke!

An End to Blogger's Block

2008-07-12T21:28:00.002-04:00

If you check our blog out very often, you might have noticed I've been on a bit of a blogging hiatus--we've had a lot going on, and I've gotten behind in recording everything...I'm going to try and catch up a bit so that this blog (which will hopefully be an archive for Caroline when she's older) won't skip everything she's been doing lately. We're heading to West Palm at the end of the week for Caroline to meet her cousins, Lacie and Nathan, for the first time...so we'll have lots to report next week too!

Fishing Again

2008-06-25T09:26:00.008-04:00

Grandpa

Grandpa with his grandkids (L to R: Me, Julie, Evan, Jill, Katie)

I have been fortunate live 29 years with all four of my grandparents alive and an active part of my life. Today, my grandpa died around 5 AM. He had a degenerative brain disease and several physical ailments so he had become very sad and very confused over the last few years--it was time for him to go. His two children, my dad and my aunt, and my grandma were with him--and I know he is so much happier in heaven than he has been here the last few weeks. I like to think that my brother got up early (which would be rare!) today and was waiting for him. They've probably already gotten their rods and reels and are out on the lake--although, they'll only be out there for a little while before Grandpa will decide there is work to be done. Grandpa has always valued a good day's work and didn't believe in sitting around very much. Evan will be on the lawnmower by this afternoon! (I know that's silly, but heaven is hard to comprehend--it's easier to think of it in earthly terms and just wait until we get there to see how much better it is!)
Even though he has been barely aware the last few weeks, Grandpa was lucid on Monday night when Mike, Caroline, and I went to visit him in hospice. He had seen Caroline several times before, but was always hesitant to hold her--on Monday night when I held her in front of him for him to look at her, he laughed and reached out to take her. She let him hold her close to his face for a minute before she got restless. He played with her and talked to her several more times that night. I don't think he really know for sure who we were, but he was still able to carry on a normal conversation, and I showed him a picture of Cole, his newest great-grandbaby that was born that day. (Julie, he said he was a "good lookin' fella"!) By yesterday afternoon when I saw him again, he had pretty much gone to sleep for the last time.

Although this video is dark and grainy, it is one of my favorites. You can't see in the video, but Caroline was pretty amused by Grandpa.

Goodbye, Grandpa--we will miss you, but we are so glad your body is well and you are able to work and enjoy the good things again. Take care of Evan!

Rock...and roll!

2008-06-21T15:52:00.004-04:00

Caroline had two big firsts today! This morning she went to her first "rock" concert. While she wasn't able to dance along to Miss Gail and the Jumpin' Jam Band like the bigger kids, she did seem to enjoy the lights, music, and movement.

Our friends Eli, Abby, and Jake were able to get their groove on, though.

(Ok, so no one is dancing in these pictures, but they were all dancing fools at one point or another.)

And, then, as if that weren't enough excitement for one day, Caroline came home after all that rock and did her first roll! Mike and I have spent quite a bit of time cheering her on, laid out in a sea of toys just out of her reach, as she tried to roll over. Today we went through the same drill before giving up and letting her do tummy time on her own. Mike had laid back to take a nap, and I was on the phone when, out of nowhere, Caroline just flipped over on her back, unassisted. I watched her do it, but it didn't even register at first. Mike had to point it out. Now he claims she's probably done it ten times already, but I just didn't notice. I don't think so...I think she just needed a little rock to make her roll.

Father's Day in Review by Caroline

2008-06-17T16:00:00.003-04:00

It's me again, Caroline! I wanted to post to tell you about my daddy's first Father's Day. First we went to a Father's Day party with a few of Daddy's friends, and I wore a onesie that Mommy made telling everyone how much I love him.
Here's a picture of me with our friend, Carson, at the party. I like him a lot because he always tells me how cute I am. I think he's pretty cute too!
He better watch out, though, because this is what Daddy does to boys who think I'm cute.
Here's Daddy and me with the present I gave him.
It's a book--if you want to see it, click here.

Here we are before church...
...and here we are after along day of fun.

Happy Father's Day, Daddy!

Happy Father's Day, Papa Jim!

Happy Father's Day, Grampy!

This Day in History

2008-06-17T13:53:00.007-04:00

Four years ago today was a VERY big day. The world became a better place when Lacie Joy Allen arrived.

Happy 4th Birthday, Sweet Girl!
We wish we could be with you today, but we are SO EXCITED about seeing you and introducing you to your baby cousin in a few weeks.
We love you,
Uncle Mike, Aunt Nana, and Caroline

Also, one year ago today was Father's Day. This is what we gave my dad.

(The card inside reads, "Your newest golf partner will be here in nine months.")

This year, we gave him golf shoes again--this time in his size--but the reaction wasn't quite the same. I think he still prefers the pair from last year.

S'More Visits With the Laginess Family

2008-06-17T11:02:00.001-04:00

My friend, Amanda, has been in town , and for the first time in a LONG time, her whole family was able to visit with our whole family. They came over on Friday night, and we made s'mores on the patio.

Jackson "firing" his marshmallow. He had scolded Amanda earlier for eating a piece of chocolate before it was "fired".

Julia loving on Caroline.

Julia with Linda, a good friend of their family who accompanied them on the trip (and who reads this blog--thanks for keeping up with us, Linda!)

Jackson in Caroline's excersaucer. (He had been playing in Caroline's playroom by himself when I heard, "Hey, look at me!" I went in to find him giggling from inside the toddler seat. I asked him how he was planning to get out and he said, excitedly, "Like this...watch!" And then, after a few attempts and no progress, he said, with a bit of panic in his voice, "How AM I going to get out?" For more Jackson stories (that will have you rolling in the floor), check out Amanda's blog.)

Look at this...

2008-06-13T10:36:00.000-04:00

Maggie, look at this!

Thanks for all the tummy time tips! She played like this this morning for over 20 minutes! And, maybe because we have been on a tummy time marathon since you and I talked yesterday, I think I am already starting to see more tendancy for to reach out to touch or manipulate something with her arms. She's still not showing a lot of coordination, but look who her mama is. That may not ever happen!

We've also been working on the boppy sitting...

But, don't worry, we have been taking lots of breaks:

(Maggie is my pediatric physical therapist friend from college that I called yesterday all concerned because Caroline didn't seem to be hitting the typical four month old milestones where upper body movement is concerned. (If you know me, you know that not worrying isn't really a strength of mine!) Maggie explained a lot of helpful things to me and gave us some (obviously effective) tips about tummy time and other things to help develop some of that upper body strength.)

Gogo, look at this!

Remember these pants? They finally fit...and they are super cute! And they obviously make her very happy!

Thanks for letting us benefit from your super bargain shopping skills!

(When Gogo (Mike's mom) came to visit recently, she found these cute little pants on clearance for $1 and, even though she knew Caroline had tons of clothes, she couldn't pass them up. They have turned out to be one of our favorite pairs because they are comfy for her and an easy match for the white onesie or t-shirt that she is almost always wearing when we are at home.)

Leslie, look at this!
Remember our brainstorming session on the Poly Vi Sol predicament? Well, I know one approach that WON'T work!

We did that about 8 times, and every drop that went in came rolling right back out.

(My friend, Leslie, has twins 10 days younger than Caroline, and we spend a lot of time swapping stories and problem-solving together. Not only are our babies the same age, but we go to the same church, have all the same doctors, and live in the same community. So we run into a lot of the same things! Of course, she runs into twice as much as I do, but I am so thankful for a friend to so closely share mommy-hood with. Anyway, Poly Vi Sol is the smelly, clothes staining, nasty tasting vitamin that all breastfed babies are supposed to take daily.)

Readers of Amy and Sandy's blogs, look at this!

You read about the "great race" here and here...so here's the footage of the end of the race...it's not great quality, but, since the winner had finished before the camera started rolling, it's pretty clear who the swimmer in the group is.

What cracks me up is that my husband, clearly in last place, comes out of the water with a triumphant cheer like he's just taken the gold for the US. Sorry, Mike and Michael, when Carson, Macie, Bryce, and Caroline join the swim team, looks like probably only Jeff's phone will be ringing with an offer to coach.

A Second Dip

2008-06-09T12:34:00.000-04:00

We went to the pool again this weekend, this time to the aquatic center about a mile away. This will be so much fun when Caroline is a little older!

Notice the fun waterslides in the background...the little kids' area on the other side of the pool is even more exciting!

Daddy hiding that baby skin from the hot, hot, hot sun!

Watching the fun from the safety and shade of her seat.

We finally take a little dip!

Trying to get rid of those tacky diaper-tan lines.

(Just kidding--we made her a soft, shady nap spot, and she liked it so much that she rolled back on her side, mid-diaper change, to continue her nap.)

Multitasking

2008-06-09T11:52:00.000-04:00

If you have spent any time with our little one, you know about her coping mechanism:

The only problem was that her fingers would easily slip out of her mouth, and she'd have a hard time tracking them down again. So our little problem solver learned to put her right hand on top of her left to hold them in...this is what we have been seeing for the last few weeks:But now, innovative as she is, Caroline has added a whole new element to her finger sucking, allowing her to accomplish two tasks at once:

And I was worried about how we'd break the finger sucking habit when she's older!

A Good Day Gone Bad

2008-06-07T02:44:00.000-04:00

Our day was going well today--we slept late, visited with Julie and Madeline, Caroline played in the bathtub and had a good nap--she never suspected what was coming at 3:00. Time for round two of immunizations. I wasn't dreading this trip because the first round was less traumatizing for all of us than I anticipated. We made up for it this time. Caroline cried so hard that she didn't breathe for a long time--it was long enough that even the nurse was alarmed. And I was brave for a while, but eventually couldn't hold back the tears myself. Our sweet baby was in so much pain, and she didn't forget about it easily...she cried and coughed and struggled until the Tylenol finally kicked in and she kicked out. Her little thighs have swollen knots where the shots went in so we've been applying cold compresses and watching her for fever. We're hoping for long and restful sleep tonight.

She remains long and lean--her weight is in the 1oth percentile (10 pounds and 9 ounces), but her height is in the 50th (25 inches). There are no major concerns because she has been gaining weight steadily, but the doctor did recommend that we go ahead and start introducing solids over the next two months--so we'll have a bit of a change in lifestlye. I didn't anticipate thinking about all of that for a while. I guess we'll be shopping in the baby food aisle now. It makes my heart hurt a little--not sure if it is because she is growing up so quickly or because I am concerned that she is having to start this early. But regardless, I am so very thankful we have a growing, developing and apparently healthy baby.

Madeline, complete with tutu, wants a turn to hold the baby.

Madeline is kind enough to share her tutu with Caroline.

Dr. Gorvy entertains while he checks her out.

Things start to get dicey with the oral vaccine.

My poor baby!

Nobody is happy here!

Cousins and Homemade Outfits

2008-06-04T23:42:00.000-04:00

Caroline visited with her cousins, Ellie and Luke today...
Would you believe that Caroline is three months older than Luke?? Don't they look like they are about the same size? (I'm not so sure Caroline was happy to be squished in the middle.)

On the way home, we stopped to buy the supplies to make this for her to wear next time she visits Oconee County...

(front)

(back--for some reason blogger won't let me rotate this one so you'll have to rotate your head...sorry!)

Fun in the Sun

2008-06-04T09:12:00.001-04:00

Well, Caroline wasn't really in the sun most of the time, but she still had fun. We took our first trip to the pool over the weekend. Our neighbors, the Branfords, invited us to be their guests at their swim and racquet club, and we couldn't get our towels and swimsuits out fast enough! Here's Caroline all dressed and ready waiting for us...

While she spent most of her time napping and giggling at her bugs (the toys that hang from her the handle of her carrier) under the umbrella...

we did manage a couple of quick dips in the pool, even if it was only her toes that we dipped. She is too little for sunscreen so we didn't want to expose her to the sun for more than a few minutes.

As you can see, she wasn't so sure about it as first, but as Daddy reassured her, she calmed down and felt the water with her feet.
She actually seemed to enjoy splashing with her feet on the stairs...She loves splashing in the bath now so, hopefully, when she gets a little older, she'll enjoy the pool. We're planning to start baby "swimming" lessons in late summer or the fall--they don't actually learn to swim, but they get acclimated to the water. She's come a long way from the hysterical little worm that we struggled to bathe a few months ago!

Caroline Hits the Campaign Trail

2008-06-03T13:30:00.000-04:00

Look out, Oconee County, Papa Jim has chosen his running mate for the upcoming Board of Commisioners election, and she's pretty charming! Caroline and I stopped by a senate candidate's bbq fundraiser to eat lunch as we drove through town the other day, and Caroline joined Papa Jim on the campaign trail.

Caroline wearing the official BOC candidate nametag.

Shaking hands and asking for votes.

Dad and Ray Goff comparing grandbaby stories.

Campaigning is hard work for babies--Caroline needed a little rest after that!

Caroline says to all her OC friends, "Vote Papa Jim!"

My Day at the Farm and Other Interesting Stories by Caroline

2008-06-03T00:52:00.000-04:00

If you haven't noticed, my mom has really dropped the ball on my blog updates because she's been so busy lately...so, for anyone that is interested, I thought I'd let you know myself some of the things we did last month...

Early in May, I went with Mom and Dad to a big festival on a farm near our house. As you can see, I thought it was pretty boring...

You see that yellow bow in my hair? Well, it fell out during my nap, and since Mom had dressed my kind of like a boy that day, it was crucial to my outfit. So here's a picture of the man who told my dad what a fine looking young man he had...
And, even though they usually do, Mom and Dad didn't correct him. They just said, "thank you!"

"Uhhhh...WHAT?"

but I didn't say anything. I just pretended to be asleep. I think Mom and Dad thought that would be it and they could keep walking, but the man continued talking about how lucky Dad was to have a son to raise and how blessed he was that his wife had provided him with a son...he even quoted scripture saying as much! I think Mom and Dad were trying not to laugh as they nodded and agreed. Mom reached down and hid my bow that had fallen in my lap so the man wouldn't realize I was a girl after he said all of that.

You'd think that was enough, but our trip wasn't over yet. Mom saw some yellow daisies on hay bales and thought it would be the perfect spot to get some good pictures of me.

That would have been fine if they had paid a little more attention to me and less attention to the camera!

Finally, I told them I had had ENOUGH...

and we left that yucky old farm for good!

The next day was Mother's Day. Here is a picture of me and Mom. I am wearing her dress that she wore when she was little like me. You may remember from this post that we both wore that dress when we came home from the hospital after we were born. It was way too big for me then, though--it's fitting much better now!

But the best part of that day was meeting my cousins, Prentiss and Marin. They were visiting from Alaska. Here I am with Prentiss...

I'm not big enough to play catch with Dad and Marin,

but I got to watch from my nap spot on the kitchen table...

and later Marin came inside to play with me too! Well, that's about it...I'll let Mom take it from here!

Introducing the Littlest Trice

2008-06-02T23:23:00.000-04:00

Caroline got to meet her Florida family in West Palm Beach over the Memorial Day weekend. We had lots of fun showing of the littlest Trice! We left home at bedtime hoping that Caroline would sleep through much of the 10 hour car ride. And she did!! She literally cried for less than five minutes during the entire 10 hour trip! We were thrilled! Coming home took a little longer because it was during the day, and we had to stop to feed her every few hours, but she still only cried about 30 minutes total. Of course, she did get tired of sitting in the back by herself and insisted on trading seats with me for a while...

Our first stop was Aunt Vickie's house. She and her family were a midway point so we stopped for a quick nap and visit. And Caroline got a new bunny out of the deal. Thanks, Aunt Vickie!
After settling in at Go Go's house, we visited for a little while...

and started making the rounds over the next few days. Caroline got to meet so many important people...here she is with just a few:Grandma Daisy was very impressed with Caroline's strength. She commented over and over on "how strong she is". Here, Caroline is showing off that strength as she tries buck out of Grandma's arms!

She was a little grumpy for Grampy and Grammy, but they didn't seem to mind! Thanks for the fun new outfit, Grammy and Grampy!

We spent Memorial Day at a cookout at Aunt Martha's ranch house. Caroline got to spend some quality time with Go Go, Aunt Martha, and Cousin Tarrah while Mike and I "played" with the rest of the family on the 1200 acre ranch...

Making faces with Aunt Martha.

Hanging out with Hailey.

Haiden tries to sush a very loud Caroline!

Mike's cousin, Harry, explaining to us the difference between a turtle and a tortoise. (Do you know?) This picture was taken immediately after the tortoise relieved himself while Harry held him out for us to examine...and he must have been male. Mike and Harry were significantly showered!

Before we left, we were even able to squeeze in a few visits with some good friends.

Mrs. Senes, the mother of Mike's, "best friend, Dave". (Dave's wife, Natalia, and I always laugh at how both of them usually include the title, "best friend" before the name when referring to one another.) Thank you for the pretty dress, Mrs. Senes!

Out to lunch after church with our good friend, Brian, who we actually met at church here, but now lives in West Palm. Fun fact: The first date Mike and I went on together was a double date with Brian...only Brian was my date and Mike was with someone else!

Oh, and, if you were wondering, a turtle lives in water part of the time and a tortoise lives only on land.

We're Baaack!

2008-05-22T16:11:00.000-04:00

If you check our blog very often, you may have noticed that Caroline and I took a short hiatus from blogging. I had to finish up my last two weeks at work (and the day of work usually spilled into the evening) while driving back and forth to Athens as often as possible to visit with our cousins that were here from Alaska. This left very little extra time for posting about everything we've been doing. It's been a fun couple of weeks, and we are very grateful to all the people who helped take care of Caroline...

Grandmother
(As you can see, Caroline still hasn't found enough storage space inside her mouth for her super long tounge. She pokes it out a lot!)

"Aunt" Jill (pictured here with soon-to-be "Uncle" Joe)

Aunt Sandy, Ellie, and Luke (Ellie and Luke's moms helped too)

"Aunt" Heather

(Despite what it looks like in the picture, Heather was not pinching Caroline, and Caroline did enjoy her day with Aunt Heather! You can read about their day together here.)

More to come soon on what we've been up to, but now we've got to get ready to head south so that Caroline can meet all of Mike's family and friends in Florida. Can't wait to see everyone there!

Tiny Answers to BIG Prayers

2008-05-09T23:33:00.000-04:00

Caroline has two very special friends. Colter and Riley Landon are twins that were born just ten days after she was. Colter and Riley's parents, Leslie and Jeff, are good friends of ours who waited and prayed for very long time before they found out they were expecting these sweet babies. And, as you may know, my pregnancy didn't come easy either. It was a little over a year ago that Mike and I were having dinner at a nearby pizza place with Leslie and Jeff, feeling discouraged as we discussed the difficulty of fertility issues. Tonight, a little over a year later, at the same restaurant, our table looked like this...

We are so grateful for these tiny answers to our prayers!

We are also excited about raising Caroline alongside Jeff, Leslie, Colter, and Riley!

Welcome, Luke!

2008-05-09T22:55:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, we finally got to meet our newest cousin,

Luke Thomas Burnett!

We got to the hospital while my cousin, Katie, was recovering from her c-section. Caroline waited...

...and waited...

to see Luke. Here she is getting a little preview through the nursery window.

She wasted no time sticking her tounge out at him...

And then she waited some more (her Aunt Sandy, Luke's Nana, was pretty excited too)...

until he finally came out to play! Heeeeere's LUKE:
Well, he didn't want to play, but then again, neither did she...

Welcome to the world, Cousin Luke!

We are so excited you are here!

The new family.

Already watching golf with dad.

I got a turn too!

Meeting Some Very Important People

2008-05-06T17:53:00.000-04:00

I had a quick meeting at school yesterday which meant Caroline made her third visit to CCA. She was just as popular as ever, and it was fun for me to introduce her to more of my young friends. Here are some shots of our first two visits over the last couple of weeks.

Caroline meeting some of my middle school students for the first time. This was exciting because these folks spent every day with me as Caroline (and my belly) grew before our eyes--they were so sweet as they waited and anticipated with me over those months.

(You can't see her, but Caroline is somewhere in the center of that mix.)
Caroline loving on just a few of the whole group of incredible CCA women that had been praying for her long before she was even conceived...

My "partner", Vicky. We've worked side by side since I started teaching three years ago. I've gone to her with questions about everything from stain removal to scriptural interpretations. Just because we won't be sharing yogurt in the cafeteria everyday anymore doesn't mean my questions will end, Vicky!

My next-door-classroom-neighbor, Mary Brooks. Here, Caroline is asking her if she'll stick around so she can be her teacher when she gets to 5th grade.

De Ann is our Head of School. I think she was as excited as I was when we found out Caroline was on the way. Here, Caroline is already trying to make a good impression so her Cornerstone application will be accepted in a few years!

Some of the younger CCA crowd was eager to meet the little gal too...

We joined 2nd and 3rd grade for part of their recess.

And, of course, we had to have a picture with our fourth grade friend, who is also named Caroline! When we decided on Caroline's name, this Caroline was one of the first to know!

These are some of our CCA friends in the spring musical that we went to see...their performance was incredible! I was hoping to get to catch some of them to snap a few pictures before they ran off after the show, but noticed they all immediately disappeared from the stage after the last round of applause. I was disappointed until I realized they had run off to congregate in the back around Caroline!

Most of the cast.

Caroline and Maggie are old pals now...we've gotten to visit with Maggie and her family several times since Caroline arrived!Showing Hannah's mom how she likes to suck her fingers.
After all of the new friends and excitement, Caroline needed a little down time with her old friend, the pacifier.

What is Caroline such a big fan of?

2008-05-02T14:03:00.000-04:00

This is what Caroline spent an hour by herself doing this morning...

(The footage wasn't the best...she was all laughs for most of the time.)

Can you guess what she was enjoying watching so much?

The lights, music, motion, and colors on this?

The mirrors and sounds on this?

These?

The adoring face of her mama?

Uhhhh...no. It was this:

Moms and Dads-to-be, before you buy every toy in Babies R Us, try this. Watching it is Caroline's FAVORITE thing to do. Nothing makes her laugh like the ceiling fan. Next time you come to our house, don't be surprised if we have one installed in every room.

Caught ya!

2008-05-01T02:59:00.000-04:00

I have discovered that keeping Caroline awake from her late evening feeding until her late night feeding makes for a better night's sleep for everyone. She goes down more easily and sleeps longer. Tonight, I had to do a project for work that took a couple of hours. Mike's job: keep Caroline awake. He was kind enough to take her upstairs to watch basketball so I could work in peace. I was impressed at how quiet he had been able to keep her...I didn't hear any crying or anything after they left. When I finished around 11 and headed upstairs, I found this: Real cute now--not so cute when she is wide awake in a couple of hours.

Seriously though, she has been a great nighttime sleeper lately. She recently slept for 7 hours and usually makes it around 5 or 6. So much better than those first few weeks!

Old McDaniel Had a Farm...

2008-04-30T16:01:00.000-04:00

and it's a great place to walk...and it's really close by. Who knew??

My friend, Amy, called today to see if Caroline and I wanted to visit McDaniel Farm Park, a historic farm that's been converted into a park only a few miles away...so we got dressed (in overalls, of course, because what else do you wear to a farm??): and got ready to go. Caroline was pretty excited when I told her where we were going:

She may not have learned a lot...

but I had a great time exploring the old farm and hanging out with Amy and Bryce...

An actual old outhouse with the moon shaped cutout. I wonder why all outhouses have that same shape cutout in the door?

Bryce inspects the stroller wheels while Caroline continues to snooze.

...and we'll go back...Caroline just wouldn't hear of us not!

Next time, maybe we'll go on a Saturday when all the exhibits are open and take Dad with us!

Home, Sweet Home

2008-04-29T00:14:00.000-04:00

Granny's three week stay at the nursing home (that I mentioned in a post last week) was cut short as the quality of care at the nursing home became less and less impressive. My parents and aunt and uncle have decided to help her recover at home, and she is glad to be back! Caroline and I are spending the night at my Granny and Pop's house tonight with them and my Aunt Judy and Uncle Bruce (who are staying here to help them out). It was fun to see Judy and Bruce--it had been a few weeks since we've seen them because they have been in Alaska visiting my cousins (their sons), Prentiss and Damon. (We are SUPER excited about a visit from Prentiss and his family in a couple of weeks!)

Caroline seemed very happy to catch up with her great Aunt Judy (who, by the way, is one of Caroline's namesakes--Judy's middle name, Ann, is part of the reason we chose "Anna" as Caroline's first name.)

She was very interested in what Uncle Bruce had to say as well.

Here's Pop on his laptop chatting online with some of his cyber buddies...Just kidding--but I was able to teach him to use the up and down arrow keys so that he could see this blog and scroll through pictures of Caroline.

When bedtime came, Caroline got to sleep in the cradle that both of my cousins, my brother, and I all used as babies. Now, the next generation of cousins, (Marin and Caroline--and Marin's soon-to-be little sister) use it when they visit Granny and Pop:
But there's an even cozier place that we all slept in as babies...and Caroline got to sleep there tonight too:

"I SCREAM" with a cherry on top...

2008-04-28T17:21:00.000-04:00

3 Incidents and a Funeral

2008-04-22T16:18:00.000-04:00

We had a full weekend in the Trice family--so full that it dragged into Monday! We were glad we got to spend another day with Dad, but not so glad about the reasons. We got of to a fun start on Friday when we had dinner with the Tipton family, some of our friends from CCA:

and on Saturday when we celebrated our friend, Jeff's, birthday

Jeff cut his tool themed cake with a real knife.

Caroline and Jeff's wife, Courtney, chatting it up after the party.

But things went south on Sunday when I got sick--really sick. I don't remember ever feeling that bad. Fortunately, it was gone in 24 hours, and I am 100% better. But with Daddy in charge of Caroline and a needy Mommy, poor Caroline spent a lot of time in the swing engaging her new favorite pastime, sucking her fingers...

Somewhere in the mix, I had misplaced my car key, (it was only a matter of time before I lost it as it was broken and detached from the rest of my keys...having a new one made was such an ordeal we hadn't gotten around to it) and it was Monday morning before Mike finally gave up on finding it. But with no spare key to copy, the whole car had to make the trip to the dealership...

...and all of this had to be done in time for us to make it to my hometown Monday afternoon in time for the funeral of my dad's cousin, Ted, (whose suffering from ALS ended Friday when he got to heaven) and a visit to my 87 year old grandmother who fell and broke her back last week. Granny is not at all pleased about the mandantory 3 week nursing home stay while she recovers, and we aren't either as the accomodations are not impressive. My mom and aunt have done a lot to make her little room more liveable, but the rest of the facility is nothing short of gross. We even opted to change Caroline's diaper in the parking lot rather than in the building.

But the trip did allow for one of our favorite things, some Ellie lovin'!

And visiting with some of our other favorite folks too...

Caroline thought Grandma Luke was hilarious!

Aunt Sandy got in on the fun too!

And, in the midst of it all, Caroline picked up a new skill: swatting at her toys...

But sometimes she looks like she thinks they might swat her back...

Got Milk?

2008-04-18T15:38:00.000-04:00

Yes, Caroline, I do. But, judging from what you just left on each of my shoulders, you no longer do.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho--Off to Work We Go!

2008-04-18T02:45:00.000-04:00

Mike has been excited about showing Caroline off to his coworkers so we stopped by his office today to let her meet some of his pals. Here they are in front of his building:
It was fun to see and meet some of the folks I haven't seen in a while and show off our little gal. It was funny to hear so many of them tease Mike about how smitten he is with Caroline...a few comments I heard:

"THAT is a Daddy's Girl!"
"Did you file your change of management request?" (implying Caroline is his new boss)
"Mike used to come by and look at my reports for me at the end of the day, but now he doesn't. As soon as he's finished for the day, he has to get home to that baby!"
"That little girl is all he talks about anymore!"

I'm very grateful that my baby has a daddy who loves her so much!

Next stop: Mommy's friends at CCA!

Almost Sisters

2008-04-18T01:30:00.000-04:00

I don't have sisters, but I do have two old friends who are almost as good. Amanda, Laurie, and I have been best friends since high school. This is a picture of them from the weekend of my wedding (obviously discussing something good!):
The three of us live in different states and are each busy with our own families and lives, but we try to see each other as often as possible. Whenever either of them are in our hometown (I'm the only one still in GA), I always make it a point to be there. This week was a real treat because all three of us were "home" at the same time. Sadly, Laurie's little girl, Annaleigh, was sick and couldn't be around our kids--Amanda and I had to visit with her separately--but we got most of the gang together. Here are some shots of Caroline with her almost aunts and almost cousins:
Caroline had been crying, but stopped to listen when Aunt Amanda took her and started telling her how pretty she was.

Snuggling with Aunt Laurie. Meanwhile...

I got to snuggle with Amanda's little boy, Jackson.

Caroline and Julia (Amanda's baby girl) were fascinated by one another. This is the first time Caroline had a chance to really check another baby out, and she liked what she saw! The two of them were content for quite a while to just stare and reach for each another:

After the staring contest, (at someone's suggestion) Jackson counted to make sure Caroline has enough fingers and toes (he diligently counted each one...and the wiggle worm didn't make it easy for him!)

Thanks for the fun, everyone! Glad you all made it home safely...can't wait for next time!

Misleading Marketing

2008-04-14T15:30:00.000-04:00

The picture on the package indicated that it would make baby and mama smile and giggle as they read books, eat peas, and play with blocks. Not the case:

Caroline says the Bumbo is dumb-o. I've heard it takes 10 times for something to become normal for a baby...we're at three. We'll try it again in a couple of weeks.

Proud Papa

2008-04-12T22:40:00.000-04:00

A little bird told me that my dad is a regular visitor to Caroline's blog. If you know my dad (or his busy schedule--among other responsibilities, he owns two businesses, is a county commissioner, and is constantly invovled in some kind of project), you know that he's not exactly the blogging type. Caroline (who is, by the way, Dad's namesake--his middle name is Carroll) is very honored that her Papa Jim takes the time to keep up with her online life. These are some of my favorite shots of Caroline and her Papa.

Dad was our chauffeur to the hospital...

Right after her arrival...

Caroline and Papa Jim hanging out...

(Notice Bogey, Mom and Dad's Boston Terrier, in the background. He hasn't been allowed to get too close, but he is fascinated with the curious little crier that comes to visit. He goes where she goes.)

Thanks for reading, Papa Jim!

A Double Grandma Day

2008-04-11T22:04:00.000-04:00

Caroline and I took Grandmother and Gogo to lunch today at the Fickle Pickle in historic Roswell. I thought it would be a beautiful day that we would capture in beautiful photos that we would have forever. Well, my little fickle pickle was a little on the sour side and didn't really care about my beautiful photos. This is my happy baby in her pretty dress before we left: (Notice her dress--she is finally wearing some 0-3 clothes--it's a little big, but it works--woo hoo!) She slept happily while we ate, but when picture time came, she didn't want to cooperate. Mom tried to soothe her... And tried... And tried... We finally took a few pictures anyway. When we got home, the pickle was still pretty fickle. If she wasn't being held just the right way or her bow got touched or any little thing at all didn't go her way, she let us know! When Mike got home, we tried the photo shoot again, but no matter what we tried, she just wasn't in the mood. So ironic that once the cameras were put away and Caroline was in her least favorite spot (the pack-n-play all by herself, not even swaddled), she was all smiles and giggles. (Fortunately, the camera is never too far away!)

(Note: I realize this video is probably not terribly exciting to most people, but I could--and do--watch it over and over so I couldn't help but share.)

On a more somber note (speaking of grandparents), one of my closest friends, Laurie, called early this morning with some bittersweet news. Her grandfather, our beloved Papa Moore, finally met Jesus today. I grew up visiting Mama and Papa Moore with Laurie and was fortunate to have been able to spend a lot of time in the home of these sweet, godly people. As a leader in the church, a devoted husband, father, and grandfather, and a friend to many, his influence went far. We will all miss him very much.

We survived!

2008-04-09T19:30:00.000-04:00

Today was the day I've been dreading--Immunization Day. Four shots and one oral. We prepared by giving her Infant Tylenol before we left, but, according to the nurse, that doesn't help.

This was my unsuspecting girl in the waiting room at the pediatrician's office before her shots:

Still no idea what was coming--just happily sucking away on her pacifier:

Ouch--the pacifier didn't help!

The nurse was great and finished quickly so I could pick her up. She acted pretty pitiful for a few minutes...

but recovered quickly and fell asleep. We went home to get Gogo and took a quick trip to the park...

until she looked like she had had enough.

We came home and broke all the rules--we put aside schedules and even safety sleeping rules (but watched her closely)--she gets the call the "shots" tonight!

My HUGE Baby

2008-04-09T00:05:00.001-04:00

Most people would not consider my 8 pound, 8 ounce baby huge. Especially because at 2 months old, she is in the 10th percentile for her weight. (So out of 100 randomly selected 2 month old girls, 90 would be bigger than Caroline.) But for me, having watched her almost double in size over the last 9 weeks, she seems HUGE. Last night, we put her in the Moses basket that my friend Amanda lent us (I love the idea that, even though Caroline and Amanda's daughter, Julia, are in different states, they spent their earliest days sleeping in the same spot.) for the first time in a couple of weeks. I could not believe how much more space she occupied than she did just a few weeks ago! This was taken about seven weeks ago when Caroline was around two weeks old:

This was last night:

This is one of the hospital shirts that she lived in for two weeks before we went out to buy her preemie clothes. The sleeves were so big her arms would not always stay in them, and the shirt would pull down and cover her knees.

This is the same shirt now. It has 3/4 length sleeves and just reaches the top of her diaper.

I know it has been nine weeks, but I missed the moment when we transformed from a brand new family, fresh from the hospital to the parents of a wide eyed, chunky cheeked, smiling, cooing, HUGE baby!

Now, don't get me wrong. I am very happy with this "new" baby. In fact, I seem to somehow love her even more now than I did then. Sometimes I wonder if it is normal to love your baby as much as I do...
Is it normal to almost look forward to the 4 AM wake up call on the baby monitor because it means you get to go pick her up?

Is it normal to realize an hour and a half has passed and you have done nothing but stare at her and try to make her smile?

Is it normal to look in the mirror and realize you have given up, to varying degrees, your body, your career, your social life, your right to a good night's sleep, your clean (sometimes) house, and even your scented fabric softener for her--and not have even one tiny ounce of regret?

As abnormal as it feels, I suspect this is totally normal--and what being a parent is all about.

Gogo is here!

2008-04-08T15:34:00.000-04:00

Mike's mom, Gogo Polly, is visiting us this week from Florida. ("Gogo," if you were curious, is the SiSwati word for "grandma". Caroline's cousin, Lacie, whose family is doing mission work in Africa, calls Gogo Polly by that name--and we think it is cute--so Caroline will do the same.) Anyway, Caroline gave Gogo a warm welcome when she arrived last night...

Hugs and kisses for Gogo!

After Caroline and Gogo chatted for a few minutes...

and told a few jokes...

Gogo had to head to bed because she is sick. We are hoping she feels better soon so that we can play later this week!