Talk to me, baby!

I've been on the fence about teaching Caroline baby sign language. I don't know why but I was. But, ever since we put the first bite of cereal in Caroline's mouth at 4 months old, I've been doing the sign for "all done" when we were finished. When she got a little bit older, I introduced the sign for "more". It was something we did at every meal and I also knew that those two signs were some of the many they teach them in Caroline's classroom.

Well...she finally got it!!! I almost cried last week when she did the sign for "all done" at dinner and didn't scream when I started to walk away with the food. Then, the very next day, she did the sign for "more" when I was feeding her a snack! My child is a genius!!!!

I'm ecstatic for many different reasons. On one hand, I feel like this is just one of many wonderful things I am going to teach my daughter (although, I have to give her teachers some credit for this one, too!). But, on the other hand - and this is why I want to cry because I'm so happy - she is actually talking to me. She may not be able to say the real words, but she is still telling me exactly what she wants. I feel so blessed to have such a smart little girl.

Houston, We Have A Walker

It's official. We have a walker. Of course, it came a week later than her birthday party. I willed her to walk by her birthday party so she could show off...but, surprise surprise, she has a mind of her own! Haha! Anyways, she's been taking multiple steps here and there for about 3 weeks. Then, at the doctor's office on Thursday at her check up, it seemed as though she just "got it" there. Then, she's become better and better over the last day or two. Today was the first day I noticed that she can go from sitting to standing unassisted and she will just take off. My life will never be the same now, I'm sure!

A Fiesty Little One

It’s an understatement to say that I’ve had my hands full lately. I have a very busy, very independent (most of the time), very strong willed little girl. Here are some of her antics as of late…

1. Hanging from Things – Yes, you read that right. She loves to hang. From the very beginning I have called her my little monkey. I knew there was a reason why. When Caroline was about 7 months old and learned to walk around furniture, I walked into the den one day to find her hanging from the end table. Just this week, Caroline’s teacher (Ms. Anna) told me she had to put her in her crib because she was hanging from the high chair. Oh, and did I mention that I caught her hanging from the oven door??? (Please don’t contact DSS – the oven was off and I would NEVER let her near it if it were on.)
   
2. Climbing – She hasn’t done this at home, but apparently at school she climbs up the end of her crib – as in hangs from the top and walks her feet up the solid end of the crib. Also, she climbs out of her chair at lunch at school and stands on the table.
   
3. Gagging – She things it’s cool to shove her entire hand in her mouth and gag…multiple times…when we’re riding down the street. Mommy doesn’t think it’s cool. Thankfully (or not thankfully?) she has only done this in the car.
   
4. Major Meltdown Getting into the Carseat – She will straighten her little tiny body to where it’s stiff as a board the minute I get her car door open. If I have time, I let her throw her little fit and when she calms down, she loosens up enough to hold down and buckle her in. If I don’t have time – like in the mornings – it takes ALL MY MIGHT to fold her in half to buckle her in. Then, she’s fine. Just like that.
   
5. Taking Her Clothes Off – Ok, so I’ve never actually seen her do this, but her teachers at school have told me she takes her pants off by herself.
   

Do you see why I’m so tired by the time I get anywhere? My mom says this is payback. Mom – I’m sorry!!!

One Year Check Up

Caroline’s 1 year check-up was Thursday and she passed with flying colors. She has met all the milestones that were asked – clapping, banging toys together, drinking from a sippy cup, starting to walk – and after the check up, Dr. Rabon said she was a perfect, healthy little 1 year old. Just as I suspected. I could have told him that she was perfect (and little).

Unfortunately, she is having some seasonal allergy issues – just like her mama. We’ve tried Zyrtec and Claritin and both just seem to quit working. Now, we’re on a prescription of Allegra and hoping that starts to clear things up soon. I feel so bad for her because I know exactly how frustrating dealing with seasonal allergies can be and I pray that this is not what every spring and summer are going to bring for her.

Stats:
Weight: 19 lbs., 4 oz (25%)
Height: 30 inches (75%)*
Head: can’t remember measurement (60%)

*You may be thinking to yourself…75%!?!? Yeah, that’s my thoughts, too. But, I saw her measure her and it seemed accurate enough to me! It’s safe to say she’s had a little growth spurt, but I still don’t think she’s going to be very tall.

Milestones:

• Still a mover and shaker – but she is THISCLOSE to walking! She stands like a pro by herself for many seconds and takes 5-6 steps here and there. I just keep thinking I’ll turn around one day and she’ll be walking and won’t look back.
• Eats real, table food 97% of the time. She still snacks on Gerber snacks – puffs, yogurt melts, dried diced fruit and baby cereal for breakfast – but she eats school lunches and the same as what we’re having for dinner. And she hasn’t turned anything down except for baked beans. So far, she’s loved bologna & cheese sandwiches, all kids of pasta (spaghetti & fettuccine alfredo are her faves!), chicken bog, hot dogs, mac & cheese, nutrigrain bars. And she loves to nibble on my food when I’m eating breakfast – Rice Krispies, bagel & cream cheese, Lucky Charms
• Can feed herself with a fork & spoon if I put the food on it for her
• Weaned her to whole milk at 11 months when my stash of frozen breastmilk started to run low. She didn’t have a drop of formula!!!
• Says quite a few words – hi (with the Ms. America pageant wave, too), mama, dada, papa, no, uh-oh, and imitates me when I say “brrrrrrr cooooooold” with a shaky little voice!
• Learning that she can make new and fun sounds with her mouth
• Totally in between sizes right now and it’s very frustrating. 9 month clothes (if I can find them) are too short & tight, 12 month clothes are too long…so we make do with what we got.
• Has 3 bottom teeth (the third is about ¾ of the way in) and 2 top teeth – but I can see her 3rd & 4th top teeth thru the gums
• Can wear hairbows!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so happy!!!!!!!!!
  

Likes:

• Being held and being paid attention to at ALL TIMES
• Bathtime – she LOVES to splash around in the water – I can’t wait to take her to a pool!
• Eating
• Her new kitchen
• Hangers & the laundry basket
• LOVES school – she has 2 BFFs in her class – Katherine & Meredith – that she does everything with and her cousin Collier is right next door!
• Being outside…she giggles every time the wind blows in her face (even funnier is to watch her hair blow in the wind! HAHA!)
  
  

Dislikes:

• Baked beans
• Being walked away from
• Being tied down in a high chair at a restaurant for too long
• Being put in a carseat -yeah, this has been fun...
  
  

She is growing up WAY too fast!

Happy Birthday, Caroline!

We had another very busy day on Sunday – Caroline’s actual birthday. I thought my emotions would get to the best of me – but surprisingly, they didn’t. I didn’t cry until 8 PM that night! HA!

I wanted to do something extra special for her on her birthday and thought long and hard about what a 1 year old would like to do. Ripley’s Aquarium, right?! I just thought FOR SURE that all the fish and colors and water would be so exciting for her. WRONG. I couldn’t have ever been more wrong in my life. More on that in a minute.

Before we went to the aquarium, we took Caroline to lunch where she feasted on an appetizer of yogurt melts and puffs and a exquisite meal of corndog and French fries (yes, I cut up the hot dog into TEENY TINY pieces first). Loved the corndog, hated the French fries. On a side note – it was at this restaurant where my suspicions were confirmed…I am going to have a STRONG, INDEPENDENT child. As Wally was waiting on the check, Caroline and I were walking around. She was bound & determined to walk in one direction while I was trying to get her to walk in the opposite direction. As in, pulling so hard on my hand that she would have face-planted if I let go.

Next stop – Ripley’s Aquarium. We brought her in her stroller because, if anybody knows her, she’s a squirmy little girl. However, strollers can’t get real close to the glass so, we decide to take her out to hold her up closer to the fish. That lasted about 5 minutes (maybe) until she was ready to be put down. That would be fine if she was walking, but she’s not walking. So…what did we do? Let her push her stroller. She’d get tired and want to get back in it or be held eventually…right? WRONG. My sweet little girl pitched a FIT if we picked her up to show her anything. I mean MAJOR MELTDOWN. So…Caroline pushed her stroller around for an hour and a half while Wally and I looked at the fish and took stupid pictures like the tourists do.


This is what Caroline did everytime you picked her up! Click here to see Aquarium pictures.

Then, for dinner, we met up with Aaaaaash, Uncle Bubba & Collier at Myabi’s to keep up with the birthday tradition. Who doesn’t love a good Japanese meal on their birthday? Since Caroline has started to eat a lot better these days, I was excited about letting her try this, too. She LOVED the zucchini and the rice. YES!!

Oh yeah! I forgot! Wally and I got Caroline a pretend kitchen for her birthday! She loves it. She loves to take the kitchen sink out, drop stuff in the hole, reach in and get it and put the sink back. Who knew it would be that entertaining? I wish my kitchen duties were that simple.

Caroline's First Birthday Party

Whaaaaa!!!!!! If anybody heard this loud uncontrollable wailing this past weekend - it's because my sweet little baby turned ONE! Just kidding. I did really well and didn't even cry until about 8 PM on Sunday - her actual birthday. Go me! We had a WONDERFUL weekend. Saturday was her big birthday party and Sunday we took her to lunch, Ripley's Aquarium AND dinner!! Haha - I think lunch & dinner were more for me & Daddy. I will post on the Aquarium trip next…but beware – it was a total bust.

Saturday's party was so much fun. For it being my first rodeo, I thought I had everything covered! I chose to have her party at The Trestle in Conway - so I wouldn't have to cook or clean my house...hee hee, sneaky, right? It was worth it. The room was perfect for a little birthday party; I was able to set it up how I wanted and the food was delicious. There was lots of family & friends there - thank you everybody for coming! Caroline wasn't 100% totally interested in her cake; I figured she wouldn’t make TOO big of a mess – but she would have just ate icing if I had let her. I didn't let her get too much because I was afraid she was going to have a tummy ache. But, she was a happy little girl the whole day. It couldn't have been any better. She must have had a sugar rush after the party because she didn't didn't go to sleep until 6:45 that night...NO NAP!! We all were pooped.

She got tons and tons of wonderful gifts – lots of pretty little clothes, a couple of bathing suits & cover ups, some books & toys – you name it, she got it and she loves it all!! By the way – I didn’t even begin to make her sit down to open the gifts with me. I knew right where that was going to go.

Here’s my favorite picture from the entire day, but you can click here to see more pictures!

Easter Weekend

I love Easter. I have always loved Easter. The weather is (usually) beautiful, people in their new spring clothes, and a good Sunday brunch...ha! Well, last year, I was given a whole new reason to love Easter. My sweet little baby was born the Saturday before Easter. It was, by far, the best present the Easter Bunny has ever given me. Luckily, Easter fell the close to Caroline's birthday this year and I felt like I was able to celebrate Easter in many different ways.

On Saturday, we joined our cousins, Lindsay & Chris, and their precious little girl, Ellie, for an Easter Egg Hunt! Caroline actually won a prize for least amount of eggs won!!! We are so proud of our little winner!! In other big developments, Caroline has perfected crawling on the grass without letting her knees touch. She hates the grass.

I love this picture because it shows her cute little hairbow.

Hey Ellie - whatcha got under there?

My parents came down Saturday night to stay with us and to join us for Easter mass and brunch. We got some great pictures of Caroline in her pretty Easter dress before church. After church we came home and rested before going over to Wally's sister house for dinner and to celebrate Aunt T's birthday!