COUSINS!

My sister Becky and her family (husband Mark, Ella (3) and Charlie (9.5 months) came in town this week for Easter.  ALL of us at my parents has made for some craziness!  We went to Deanna Rose, a wonderful farm/petting zoo and along with some of our KC friends.  All the kids had a blast.

I also had to add some pics of Ella and Caroline taking a bath tonight.  Ella is so sweet with Caroline and loves playing a "mommy" role to the babies.  She made sure I washed Caroline up to her standards and also helped me rinse her off (over and over.)

We love having them in town . . .I'm sure we'll have more to share after Easter this weekend.

Cousin Charlie (9.5 months), Caroline, cousin Ella (3 yrs) and friend Evie.  Caroline was too busy pooping to smile.

Friend Reece and cousin Charlie with Caroline.

Caroline, deep in thought . . . or still working on a poop.

"Hey Caroline, let's break out of this place!"

"Umm, we're so over this place!"

Cute little booties

Loving bath time with Ella!

Ella was so sweet and motherly with Caroline!

7 Months Young!

I can't believe we're more than halfway to one!!  Caroline still loves to take everything in.  As you can see,  I could hardly get her to even look at the camera, because she was far too busy watching our dogs and everything going on outside.


Caroline continues to be a little foodie.  She loves all food, especially all the new finger foods we started.  She is drinking from a sippy cup fairly well if she is laying back or on a pillow . . . she hasn't quite figured out how to tip the sippy cup if she's sitting up straight.  She LOVES reading books, and will try to turn the pages (or eat them.)  She still seems to be teething (drooling, biting, etc), but no teeth poking through yet.  Caroline also makes tons of noises and is giggling more than ever.  She is hilarious when she "talks," because she often gets a serious look on her face (furrowed brow and all.)  Clearly this means she will one day have a PhD in English Literature (after she goes to law school and med school, of course.)

I can't believe how big she is now, and I feel like the luckiest person on earth to watch this beautiful little person learn and grow every day.  We love you, sweet Caroline!

Some Fun Pics

I was really dying to get some professional pictures taken for her 6 month photos . . . I had a photographer picked out that I loved and everything.  After figuring out how much it would cost, I decided I needed  to make a more financially responsible decision and canceled our session.  Instead, I took Caroline to one of the mall picture studios and got tons of pictures for next to nothing.  With such a great model, how could they not turn out great?!

I still hope to get a great outdoor session with the photographer I've had my eye on for her 1st birthday (hey, my birthday is a week after hers so it would be a great present for myself!)

To the park we go!

The weather was great today (finally) so we spent the morning at the park.   I figured since Caroline is such a great sitter,  she would love the baby swing.  Her little bottom didn't come close to filling out the swing, and she more stood than sat in the swing . . . either way, she had a blast. 

Sitting on the grass for the first time.  She was so amused by this new green stuff!

She didn't get upset, but she was definitely unsure of the slide!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Ready for some green beers!

This Little Lady is SERIOUS About Her Food!

Caroline loves to eat!  She gets so excited sometimes, you'd think we were starving her!  Also, our little peanut is definitely teething and she loves anything cold to chew on.  We tried putting some frozen grapes in a food teether (I'm not sure what else to call it), and she went crazy for it!

6 Months Young!

Here's a few more pics of Caroline lately.  Had to get a few pics with our "6 month" sticker!  Please ignore her wet top, our little drool monster is getting ready to pop a tooth!

Trying to make her laugh and she gives me this look!  (aka "My mom's gone crazy!)

Sitting up like a big girl!  Right now Caroline can sit by herself for about a minute or so at a time (we have to stay right next to her to make sure she doesn't fall back and hit her her head.)

6 Month Appointment

Well RSV hit us a little over a week ago and it was no fun!  My great little sleeper went back to a newborn schedule and was up every hour or two feeling miserable.  She was wheezing, had a runny nose and an awful cough.  We had to take her to get suctioned at the doctor's three days in a row- although it helped her clear the mucus, it was so hard to watch her.  This was the first time Caroline has been sick, and the worst part is that she looked so sad and just wasn't her happy self.  Most of the time she wanted to be held and mommy couldn't do much else last week except for lay around with our sick little C.  She is finally feeling better and is almost 100% now, except for a little cough that we're told could hang on for a few weeks.

We had her 6 month appointment today and she looked great (and her lungs are sounding clear again!)  Here are her stats:

Height: 27 1/4 inches  (92nd Percentile!)
Weight: 15 lbs 2 oz (40th Percentile)
Head Circumference: 16 3/4 inches (57th Percentile)

Although she is still gaining, I am surprised at how much her weight has tapered off because she's such a great eater.  She LOVES sweet potatoes, carrots, squash, peaches, pears, bananas and applesauce.  She's not so excited about any of her green veggies, but she will eat them if I switch off bites with one of her preferred foods.  Caroline will now hold her bottle most of the time by herself, tries to sit by herself, transfer toys from one hand to the other and is babbling and laughing a ton!

6 month pics and videos coming soon!

A Little Des Moines Overnight "Vacay"

Okay, so this wasn't really a true "vacation"- we stayed one night and left before naps the next day- but it was still crammed full of friends, family and laughs.  My dear friend Lindsey and I decided to make the best use of my time off while I'm job searching and take our kiddos up to Des Moines (about 3 hours from Kansas City) with our kiddos to visit our friend Katie and her kids.  Lindsey has Sofia (2 1/2) and Henry (10 months) and Katie has Jack (2) and Wilson (4 months.)  With Caroline, we had FIVE kiddos under 3 sleeping under one roof (are you surprised Katie's husband stayed at his parents to allow us a girls night, ha!)  In addition, Chris's sister Courtney stopped by with her husband and three kids to see us (Riley, 5 years; Walker, almost 3; Maggie, 19 months.)

Jack, Wilson & Caroline

Caroline, Riley & Jack (Riley's biggest fan all night)

It's amazing we got them in one spot for a group shot.  Mind you, it only lasted about 10 seconds and Wilson's face is a little blocked!  Clockwise from left: Walker, Caroline, Riley, Jack, Maggie, Sofia and Henry

Sweet Maggie

Jack and Sofia playing in the barn

Ireland brothers: Jack and Wilson

It was a madhouse, and Caroline tuckered out early.  I realized how little noise Caroline is used to being the only child right now, and she was a little shell shocked from all the noise and kiddos getting in her personal space.  Although when we had ALL EIGHT kids running around it was a little overstimulating for all of us!  I am so excited to have her be around kids more often in Kansas City so it becomes a little less overwhelming to her . . . we're hoping she won't be the only child in our house forever (don't get any ideas, she won't be getting siblings anytime too soon!)

Not So Sure About This Stuff!

Caroline had her first taste of solids on Sunday- rice cereal- and she wasn't quite sure what to make of it.  Since our initial try she has started really enjoying it.  We'll probably try to add in some tastes of veggies next week!

5 Months Young!

Our happy girl is getting so big!  She loves to eat and is turning into quite the chunky monkey.  She is giggling and "talking" more than ever.  Caroline is also quite the observer.  We notice when she meets new people or in a new place, she is usually really quiet while she first looks around and takes it all in.  We've got to get one of her giggle fits on video- they're the best.  However, Mommy and Daddy acting like complete idiots is usually the catalyst for one of these.   We're not sure if we're prepared to show you how pathetic we get just for a giggle from our peanut.

We're all in Kansas City now and it still feels a little surreal.  We are living with my parents until we find a place here.  We will be renting our home in Arizona for now, not wanting to sell in this market.  We hope Gigi and G-Daddy can handle 2 adults, 2 dogs and a baby for a month or two!

Videos!

Chris started his job and Kansas City on Monday and it is going great so far.  I am finishing up work this Friday and promptly flying out with Caroline and my mom to our new home- Kansas City.

It's been crazy packing and moving the last few weeks, so the blog has been the first thing to suffer.  Caroline is babbling a TON and continues to be so fun!  She is now rolling over- it felt like she took forever to start.  I know she needed a little extra time because she was a preemie, but she has finally got the hang of it instead of just falling over.  This probably was a blessing with all the chaos of moving . . . Caroline being mobile with the amount of stuff we had all over our house could have been trouble! 

She will now try to hold her bottle and can occasionally do it for a few minutes by her self.  She's babbling a ton- we got a little on video, but it's hard to catch her because she gets distracted by the camera!  She is doing tons of consonant and vowel sounds and blowing raspberries at us.  We are starting solids next week, so I'm sure we'll have some fun videos of that.

 Rolling Over

Moving Details!

We are so proud of Chris!  He graduated from ASU's engineering school on Friday, December 17, and by Monday he was getting flown to Kansas City to interview with a well-respected engineering firm, Burns and McDonnell.  Although he was told at his interview he would not hear back until after the new year, Chris got a phone call two days later offering him a position.

Our heads have been spinning with so many things to think about these last weeks: the housing market in Phoenix is awful and we will have to rent our house (and likely rent in KC as well), I have a great job and set-up for a working mom, we love our friends and family here, the weather, etc!  In the end, we decided it was the best decision for our family to take the jump.  We will be scrambling these next few weeks packing up our house and getting details taken care of.  We are so sad to leave our life in AZ, but we know there are many things to look forward to, including being closer to family in friend in the Midwest and a wonderful opportunity for Chris.

We know Arizona will always have a place in our hearts and we will definitely make a point to get back often.  How can we not with such wonderful family and friends we will miss so much?!

Kansas City here we come!

Caroline is getting ready for the cold . . . we didn't get the best timing on our move.  We are leaving great 60 and 70 degree weather for the cold and and snow!