8 Months Young

Caroline hit her 8 month mark on Mother's Day, and we had a great day!  We spent the day at Loose Park (one of my favorite parks in Kansas City), ate lunch on the plaza and celebrated with my mom out to dinner.  Caroline had a little surprise of her own, as her first tooth poked through that morning too!  We've been thinking she had some coming for a while based on how much she has been chewing on things and drooling, but she really didn't seem to be too fussy the days leading up to it, so I was surprised to see a tooth!  She's got a few more that seem close to cutting, so hopefully I will be getting pictures of her new pearly whites soon.

Caroline is laughing and "talking" a lot more and has started scooting and army crawling a little.  We've only see her get completely up on her hands and knees a few times, so I'm thinking we have a little more time before she is fully crawling.  Her favorite toy right now is her xylophone, mostly because she loves anything she can bang.  I'll try to get some videos of her playing, but I swear the stinker will stop whatever she's doing when she knows we're videotaping!

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!)