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Celebrating ONE Special Year!

2011-11-25T22:07:00.004-05:00

We celebrated Avery's 1st birthday October 30th. This year has been nothing short of amazing. At only 26 weeks 2 days gestation, avery was born weighing only 1 lb 8 oz, and today you would have no clue looking at her. She's a healthy, happy, 18 lb one year old!

She was such a good birthday girl after taking over a 3 hour nap before party time. We all sang Happy Birthday before blowing out the candle and letting her dig into her cake. My sister's mother in law made the adorable birthday cakes to go with our Look Whoo's Turning One theme.

Caroline didn't mind sampling the cake with Avery.

But Avery didn't need any help, she knew exactly what to do! That cake tasted just as good as it looked :)

Of course there were a lot of helpers to open presents with Avery.

Avery riding in her birthday present from us, she likes for Caroline to push her all around the house.

Precious one year old.

Avery's Baptism

2011-11-20T12:17:00.005-05:00

Avery was baptized October 2nd at our church in Wilmington, Wesleyan Chapel United Methodist. Our co-pastors David and wife Andi, along with our whole church family have really been there for us since Avery's premature birth. This was a special day for everyone!

Catching Up - Sept & Oct 2011

2011-11-20T11:40:00.002-05:00

I didn't mean to let so much time pass since the last post, but as usual we've been busy. Here are some miscellaneous pictures from September and October. I'm planning to do a separate post for Avery's baptism and her 1st birthday pictures, eventually!

Avery's 9 month pictures -

Avery graduated from her little tub to a bath seat in the big tub, which means she can take a bath with Caroline. They both love bath time together!

Caroline and friend Brianna followed by Margo at Brianna's 4th birthday party.

Caroline had to have a cavity filled at the dentist, she was such a trooper. She wanted a picture of her with the elephant trunk (laughing gas mask) on. Notice she has her sidekick Rooty with her. It's a kangaroo with baby in pouch that her Great Aunt Nancy sent after Avery was born. It accompanies her often, including on her current trip to Wisconsin (pictures from WI will be posted one day too.)

Travis and I took Caroline to the state fair while Grandma and Grandpa kept Avery one Sunday. Everyone had a great time!

We took the girls to pick out pumpkins and get some pictures. Avery wasn't too excited about this.

Caroline and Travis carved a couple of the pumpkins, and then we roasted the seeds.

Halloween night was cold. Avery stayed warm in her chicken costume, and Caroline had to put on some layers under her Tinkerbell costume. We trunk or treated at the church where Caroline goes to preschool. They had over 50 cars with some elaborately decorated trunks and lots of candy!

Growin' Girls

2011-09-03T16:51:00.003-04:00

Caroline is still crazy about her baby sister and ALWAYS wants to help, here she's helping Avery sit up and play, but Avery doesn't need help sitting up anymore, she's doing that all on her own now!

Caroline and Avery rocking before bedtime, two sleepy girls.

Avery got to spend a couple of days with her good friend across the street, Zachary, while her regular baby sitter took some time off.

"see, I can sit all by myself when my big sissy lets me!"

Future piano player?

Loving the exersaucer (with bow on head so everybody will stop calling her a boy!)

Caroline just finished her 1st week at Northside Baptist Preschool and is loving it! Here she is posing before going in on her 1st day...such a big girl!

And waiting in the drop off area before going to her classroom. I didn't go all the way to her classroom with her because she was doing so well and I didn't want to chance any tears leaving her in the classroom (from her or me.)

Overdue

2011-09-03T11:25:00.005-04:00

This post is long overdue, and there are lots of pictures to share, some of which haven't made it onto the computer yet, so I'll have to try to post again soon to get the most recent stuff on here. But these are a few from over the past month.
Caroline getting a little cuddle time with Grandpa or Peepa (she calls him both names.) Not sure if he's awake or asleep in this picture.

Taking a bath with cousin Brayden after a VERY WINDY day at the beach. Thanks to Grandma for staying home with Avery so we could go to the beach.

Caroline at one of the many pool parties we've been to this summer. This girl loves swimming in the pool now!

Avery met Travis's cousin Toby a few weeks ago, and she was mistaken for his child when we were all at a restaurant. I guess it must be the hair...or lack thereof. :) Although his new baby girl has a beautiful head full of hair?

And Avery now loves to roll all over the place. Put her on the floor and she'll roll from one side of the room to the other in no time. This day she made it all the way under her crib. Now she is really starting to stretch and reach for toys out of her grasp, trying to figure out how to scoot her way to it, so I think she'll be crawling before too long...I'm not rushing it though.

And she discovered her toes. They are her favorite toy on the changing table and in while in her car seat now.

She's become a pro at eating her baby food, she can now pick up puffs (similar to cheerios) and get those to her mouth on her own too. And she's trying to figure out what to do with this sippy cup, mostly just banging it around and throwing it on the floor at this point.

That's all for now, but I will try to post more soon so stay tuned....

Lots of Firsts

2011-07-18T06:28:00.004-04:00

First Food
Avery started spoon feedings recently. She had been putting everything in her mouth and watching intently when we were eating so we figured it was time. We started with rice cereal which she enjoyed, then a few days later tried oatmeal which she absolutely loves. Last night I tried some green beans, and she's not so sure about them...we'll try again tonight.
First Time at Church
We took Avery to our church for the first time yesterday, we went to an earlier service so it wasn't as crowded as the 11:00 typically is. She stayed happy and awake the whole time, and her church family was thrilled to finally see her in person. She made her first appearance at Grandma's church a couple of weeks ago and was able to go to their nursery since Margo and one little boy were the only other ones in there. Below are a couple of shots of sisters just hanging out on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

First July 4th

We had a busy July 4th weekend. That Friday Caroline's daycare did the annual July 4th parade. Each class makes some sort of decoration to carry as they march around the parking lot to patriotic music. Afterwards they all enjoy a cool treat too. Caroline wanted me to march with her, then of course wanted to go home early since I was there...unfortunately for both of us, I had to go back to work.

Saturday we headed to Smithfield for Margo's birthday party and to spend a couple of nights at Grandma's house.

Monday morning was the July 4th parade in Grandma's neighborhood. We decorated Caroline's bicycle and she rode right behind the fire truck for the whole thing. In this picture, Lydia, Caroline, and Madeline are bringing up the rear.

Caroline wanted to pose by the fire truck afterwards.

Avery didn't stroll in the parade, but she came outside to wave everyone on with Grandma and then came down the street for the celebration after the parade.

Avery went to the NICU follow up clinic last week. She weighed 13 lbs 11 oz and was 24 inches long. A psychologist and physical therapist played with her for a while to evaluate her development. She fell into the 6 month age level for both of their criteria, which is great based on her adjusted age of 5 months. There was a new doctor that we had not met before, but he was impressed with her weight gain and her development. They will continue to monitor her, and we're scheduled to go back in 3 months. After her appointment, we went by the NICU and visited a few of the nurses and doctors who were working that day, they were happy to see Avery and her fat rolls! Going back and talking with them makes it seem like we were just there, hard to believe she's been home over 5 months already!

Laughing

2011-07-17T22:53:00.002-04:00

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Caroline was getting some good laughs out of Avery the other day, they're both so sweet!

Eight months old

2011-06-30T22:22:00.003-04:00

Avery is growing up right before our eyes! I really cannot believe she's 8 months old already. She hasn't been weighed in over a month but has to be about 13 pounds now. She's wearing 3-6 month clothes and ready to graduate to size 2 diapers.

She loves to sit up (and spit up too :) ), she can't do it on her own yet but with support, she loves it. The girl loves to smile and "talk," all you have to do is look her way to get a sweet response from her.
She doesn't always take long naps during the day, her best ones are in her swing......BUT she sleeps ALL night long! (Wish I could say the same for Caroline) AND since Father's Day, Avery has been sleeping in her crib at night, no more pack n play in my room, kind of sad :(

She's really made a lot of progress when it comes to tummy time. She's not always crazy about getting on her tummy, but in the last few weeks she has really started picking up her head while on her tummy.

And Caroline still can't get enough of Avery, she likes to be by her side (or in her face) all the time, and I think the feeling is mutual most of the time. Avery watches every move her big sissy makes, just taking it all in.

Sisters snuggling after church in Caroline's room.

Most recently Avery has started joining us at the table. I got out the high chair for her although she's not eating yet, but she enjoys being at eye level with the family rather than in her bouncy seat on the floor during meals.

And below is Caroline showing off her catch from a Father's Day weekend fishing trip with her Daddy. Travis and her took off to Lake Waccamaw for the day and caught all these fish. Caroline even learned to put them on the stringer (yuck!) She had a ball and even saw some alligators a little closer up than Mommy liked.

Caroline turns FOUR!!

2011-06-18T13:51:00.004-04:00

Caroline turned four years old Thursday and was very excited to say the least! She's growing up so much and has become a very loving great big sister to Avery, and her energetic fun personality attracks lots of friends. Mommy and Daddy are so proud of our big girl!

We've been celebrating her birthday for a few days. Below is her birthday supper at Chuck E Cheese's Thursday night with a few good friends. Earlier that day we had cupcakes with her friends at day care and then went to the movies to see Kung Fu Panda 2. It was her first trip to the movie theatre, and during the previews she whispered to me "I love the movies!"
Grandma and Grandpa got her a new bike since she's already outgrown the one she got just last year. I'm hoping she'll ride a lot in the weeks to come and take off the training wheels this summer.

We went to the beach with her cousins last weekend after her birthday party. Here she's showing off the swim mask she got from Brayden. It was a big hit at the beach among the children and the daddys.

Madeline and Caroline playing with their fish.

Brayden loves plaing this guitar when he comes to our house.

Caroline took time out to eat some lunch at her birthday party this year.

Blowing out the candle on her Toy Story cake.

We set up some water toys this year to keep everybody cool during the birthday party.

After cake we played Pin the Tail on Bullseye (the horse from Toy Story). Madeline assisted me in organizing this game for the little ones.

Garden

2011-06-01T22:09:00.006-04:00

Travis planted a rather large garden this year for the first time. He's put a lot of time and hard work into it, and it's starting to pay off. He even got a new toy for working in his garden the other night - a used rotatiller found on Craigs List, it's older than we are but it's built to last and he's already put it to use.

A few huge cabbage plants, we've picked and boiled a couple of heads of cabbage already and they're good!
Neither of us really like tomatoes, but he planted 3 tomato plants anyways, so we'll have plenty to share with all those tomato lovers out there.

Can't have a garden without corn, it's getting tall.

Strawberry plants are starting to produce now, just in time since Lewis farms is running out of them.

From left to right - stawberries, beans, leaf lettuce, potatoes, heads of lettuce & carrots, corn, tomatoes and more corn, onions, cucumbers & squash. He's also got pumpkins, watermelon, and zuchinni in other areas of the yard too.

We've already had one squash casserole fresh from the garden, and now we've got enough squash for another one plus some.

Cucumbers have taken off since this picture was taken, Travis brought in 2 good sized ones tonight.

The bean plants were the hardest to get going, he had to re-plant most of them, but they're finally starting to produce.

Caroline helped pick the first batch of potatoes, she was picking them of all sizes, some a little too small probably, but they all tasted good!

Caroline showing off some squash from the garden.

Not unlike the vegetables in the garden, Avery continues to grow too. She's about 11 1/2 lbs now! All that growing is hard work which can make her sleepy as shown below. :)

May 2011 Update

2011-05-15T19:14:00.003-04:00

I returned to work a couple of weeks ago and we've been getting used to a new routine. Week days are crazy and hectic, I miss my days at home with Avery but enjoy every minute of nights and weekends with my family. Avery got a cold the weekend before going back to work which led to an ear infection a week later. Antibiotics seem to have cleared the ear infection but she's still battling a lot of congestion. Her weight was up to 10 lbs 7.5 oz when she went to the doctor on Mother's Day.

Me and my two favorite girls, Mothers Day weekendCaroline's favorite thing to do lately is hold Avery and watch Caillou together on TV. She still loves being a big sissy.

Avery is getting bigger and stronger, she's started sitting in her bumbo seat for short periods of time. You can tell when her head gets too heavy after a while, it gets lower and lower. She also rolled from her back to her belly one day last week, but hasn't done it again so it may have been a fluke? And look at those little piggies, she's so sweet!She's also starting to enjoy bathtime a little more. Before it was kind of a race to get her clean before she got cold and started fussing, but now she likes to moves her arms and legs and splash in the water some.Grandma and Grandpa were able to visit yesterday for a few hours and stayed home with Avery so Travis, Caroline and I could go to church together as a family. Caroline usually goes into big church until the childrens' moment, after which she goes to the nursery. But yesterday she finally agreed to go to children's church rather than the nursery and did well, yay! She's growing up so much.

March for Babies

2011-04-30T17:48:00.005-04:00

Today we pulled of the impossible, a picture of all 6 grandchildren with Grandma and Grandpa as we celebrated Grandpa's birthday. As you can see cake and ice cream were involved, how else can you get these 6 still and happy at the same time long enough to take a picture?!

Team AVeryTinyBlessing

L to R: Gina Grimes, David Grimes, Leslie Parr, Genie Grimes, Terri, Kelsey, Catherine Huffman, Christi Monroe In strollers L to R: Margo, Brayden, Caroline

Gina, David, and Margo

Terri and Kelsey

Christi, Leslie and Brayden, Grandma and Caroline

Caroline had a "Sleepover" with her cousins the night before and didn't get much sleep, luckily she got a little in her stroller during the walk.

We participated in the March of Dimes March for Babies in Wilmington today. Team AVeryTinyBlessing raised over $800 for the March of Dimes to fund more research for premature babies. Hopefully it is something we can continue to do annually in honor of our special Avery. This year she actually sat out for the walk and stayed home with Daddy, Grandpa and her big cousins Madeline and Lydia. But next year I hope to take her with us when she can better tolerate a long stroller ride and being around a large group of folks.

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T22:02:00.006-04:00

We celebrated a beautiful Easter Sunday. Caroline and I went to church, then we all had lunch with some neighbors and supper with more friends.

Below is my Azalea Belle posing in her Easter dress at grandma's house last weekend. She looks so grown up!

Yesterday we went to a Spring Fling where Caroline did pony ride, hay ride, egg hunt and jumped and slid on a bunch of inflatables. She played hard and then rode the lawn mower with daddy when she got home which put her right to sleep.

Last weekend we visited Grandma and grandpa. It was Avery's first trip and she did good. She started sleeping through the night a few days before our trip and I was worried the trip may interrupt her progress, but it did not!

Caroline is modeling a shirt Grandma and Grandpa gave her, it says "wild"... I agree.

Avery met Granny Lura for the first time and a couple of other family friends too.

Cousin Lydia could not get enough of Avery which was very different than when her other cousins were little babies. She was really good with her though and enjoyed feeding her.

Caroline and Avery after a good FULL night's sleep, Caroline is ready for some of Grandpa's blueberry pancakes.

This is my last week at home with Avery before I have to return to work. :( I'm not looking forward to leaving her at all, but I have found a good sitter who is going to keep Avery at her house, so I feel confident that she will be in good hands.

Circus

2011-04-13T15:37:00.004-04:00

Somehow the pictures uploaded little out of order, but there are a couple of Caroline at the circus with her friend Caitlin. We went Sunday afternoon after much anticipation . Caroline loved riding the elephant and watching the clowns perform the most.

Avery had another good report from her pediatrician yesterday. Big girl now weighs 9 lbs 2 oz and is 20 1/2 in long. They did follow up bloodwork which looked good enough to discontinue her iron each day and decrease her formula feedings from 3 to 2 a day.

Arboretum

2011-04-06T09:52:00.003-04:00

We visited the arboretum while Grandma Jean was here, made for several good photo ops. We'll have to go again when it's warmer and more stuff has bloomed, and when Avery is awake and able to be in some pictures too. But I thought I'd share these. Caroline really enjoyed feeding the fish and was able to touch them too!

Family

2011-04-05T12:55:00.004-04:00

Grandma Jean was finally able to come down for a visit. She enjoyed her time with her youngest granddaughters and especially enjoyed holding Avery for the first time. We were thrilled to have her here too.

Trixie has even taken an interest in Avery lately. I'm sure it will be shortlived, she'll want nothing to do with Avery once Avery discovers her!

Avery met her cousins for the first time a couple of weeks ago too. Madeline and Lydia both held her. Couldn't get Margo to join in for the picture.

Brayden wasn't so sure about his mommy holding a baby, he wanted Avery to go back in the swing.

Doctor and Children's Museum

2011-03-10T16:40:00.007-05:00

Avery went to the dr yesterday for her 4 month check up. She now weighs 6 lbs 14 oz (a gain of 1 whole lb in 2 weeks!) and is 18 1/2 inches long. She got 2 shots and 1 oral vaccine, and her heel was pricked for bloodwork. Once again the dr was pleased with her growth and I got a call today that bloodwork showed levels moving in the right directions so no change in her formula feedings and vitamins for now. We also got the ok to get rid of her home monitor, yay! Her next Dr appointment will be in a month and she goes to the NICU follow up clinic in a couple of weeks.

Caroline and I went to the Children's Museum last Saturday after Travis' plans for taking her to the Dixie Deer Classic were postponed. We had a great time, and she had fun Sunday too!

Just stuff

2011-03-03T14:57:00.004-05:00

Avery is continuing to thrive at home. We loaded her in the stroller to enjoy the warm weather outside Sunday.
This is Caroline at supper the other night. When I sat down to eat, she very seriously told me that she had taken all the sausage off her pizza because she's alergic to them! Not sure where she heard that, or a lot of other things she says now that I think about it.

And her truck has been a bigger hit than I could've ever imagined. She and caitlin filled up the back of the truck with lots of stuff from our garage the other day to take on their "campout" in the cul de sac.

We've been working with caroline to get her sleeping in her bed all night all by herself again. She used to do this fine but got out of the habit back when I was in the hospital. Candy has been a good source of bribery, each time she sleeps in her bed all night she can pick out some candy to eat in the morning before breakfast. Worked like a charm the first few nights, then one night she announced her tummy hurt and she didn't want candy, she just wanted to sleep in our bed. Oh well, we're getting closer!

Visitors & truck

2011-02-18T16:49:00.006-05:00

Avery continues to grow and thrive at home this week, she'll go back to the doctor next week and I'm looking forward to seeing how much she weighs. She has outgrown most of her preemie size clothes and is officially wearing newborn sizes now, although she can't keep pants on her tiny waist.
Caroline got a new used power wheels this week, and today was the perfect day for a ride. No pink Barbie mustang for her, it's a black Harley Davidson Ford truck :-)

We had a few out of town visitors this week. Uncle Greg came by for a visit after working in Wilmington yesterday. He got to hold Avery for his first time.

Grandma spent Monday night with us and is probably in no hurry to stay overnight again...no one slept well that night. Avery is doing better about sleeping at night now, but just not in her bassinet. Usually she'll sleep in the bouncy seat or swing, but she always sleeps best in someone's arms!

And Buzz Lightyear came for a visit too!!

We have also had some unwanted visitors in the form of days diarrhea for Caroline, a nasty cold for me, and the flu for Travis. Avery has avoided all of our bugs so far, we're praying she continues to do so. The rest of us seem to be on the mend, so here's to hoping for better health next week for us!

Welcome Home Avery!

2011-02-13T10:40:00.006-05:00

After 100 days in the NICU, Avery finally came home! We are so excited and yet a little anxious at the same time. So far she's doing well, typical newborn behavior. She sleeps like a champ all day long, not so much at night, but we're learning something new everyday and working on the nighttime routine. Reflux is not fun to deal with...I thought Caroline spit up a lot as a baby, but Avery does more than I ever remember Caroline doing. We go through several clothes, blankets, burp cloths, etc each day. Luckily she does not seem to mind noise at all, when the whole family is here, there are not many quiet moments in the house.

Caroline absolutely loves her, the first thing she wants to do when getting home from daycare is hold Avery (after washing her hands at least of course.) Caroline kisses Avery on her head and even offered to share her favorite pink blanky with her baby sister. She wants Avery to call her "sissy" like Margo calls Madeline. Caroline also enjoys putting dirty diapers in the diaper champ and putting Avery's paci in her mouth when needed or not needed.

Travis noticed there were only a handful of kids in Caroline's class at daycare Friday, the teacher told him something was going around. So we weren't too surprised when Caroline had diarrhea Friday night and Saturday followed by a fever. Now we are praying Avery doesn't catch anything as we take care of our big baby.

Snowed in

2011-01-10T15:22:00.003-05:00

When I asked Caroline what was her favorite part of our snow day, she said "My favorite part was being with you."...melted my heart!

Christmas

2011-01-10T14:54:00.005-05:00

Toy Story on Ice

2011-01-10T14:27:00.003-05:00

Been meaning to post this for a while...Caroline and I went to see Toy Story On Ice last month which she LOVED!! Here she is dancing along during the show.

And sitting with one of her best pals, carl.

It's Fall Y'all!

2010-10-17T08:45:00.003-04:00

We've been trying to get out and enjoy the nice fall weather as much as possible the past few weeks.

We spent a weekend at Grandma and Grandpa's last month, and Caroline got to help Grandpa make her favorite breakfast that she always looks forward to at their house - blueberry pancakes. Last weekend she went back all by herself for some one on one time with them (and a chance for Mommy and Daddy to get some things done around our house.)
We welcomed our friend and neighbor's new baby, Zachary. Caroline loves him and can't keep her hands off of him any time he's around. She's going to be a BIG helper when her little sister arrives.

Wilmington's Riverfest was a couple of weeks ago, and they had a big area set up for the kids. Caroline sat still long enough for a clown to paint this butterfly on her face.

She rode a little train with Caitlin who had her whole face painted like a princess kitty.

And she enjoyed the inflatables. We had to wait in line a while to go on this inflatable slide and then she wanted to go again right away. After waiting in line the second time, she went up and took her time jumping around for a while before sliding down...guess she wanted to make it worth the waiting.

Yesterday we participated in a breast cancer awareness walk downtown and then went out to get some pumpkins and mums.

It was hard to get her to sit still for a picture. She immediately wanted to start picking up pumpkins and flowers for us to take home.

I think she was most proud of this tiny pumpkin she picked out. As soon as we got home she wanted to wash it so it would be clean, then played with it for a while before finally putting it on the porch with the others.

Our summer so far...

2010-08-15T17:34:00.006-04:00

May - our first boat outing of the season, it started drizzling when we got the boat in the water but we decided to ride around a little at least. And we were so glad we did, we got to follow a group of 3 dolphins around the intracoastal for a while, it was great to see them so up close.
We started a Friday night cards tradition with some friends in the neighborhood. Caroline, Caitlin, and Samantha enjoy themselves while mommies and daddys have fun too.

We began June with what turned out to be a family trip to Camp Don Lee. This was our first time camping with Caroline and she enjoyed it.

Got to take her sailing for the first time.

Our attempt at a group shot of the 5 grandkids (no one knew at the time that #6 is on the way!)

Relaxing in the CDL pool (glorified pond.)

The whole family.

Travis' mom and step dad came down the week of Caroline's birthday. Doug along with some help from Travis built Caroline a swing set in time for her birthday party.

Grandma and Grandpa Grimes came down on Caroline's birthday and brought her birthday gift..a big girl bicycle. She's gotten very good at riding it now.

We had a princess and pirate themed birthday party at the house for her.

Couldn't get her to stop playing to come eat pizza, but she finally slowed down long enough for some birthday cake.

After cake everyone headed inside to open presents, Caroline's 2 best helpers were right by her side as ususal!

Caroline as Buzz Lightyear.

I visited her daycare for their July 4th parade. Caroline were her "Big Sister to be" shirt to announce that we're expecting #2. We surprised my family the next day at their local July 4th parade too where caroline shared the exiting new with them too.

April 2010

2010-04-26T21:14:00.003-04:00

It's been a while since the last post, so here are several pictures to catch up.

Easter weekend we went to see the Disney Live Rockin Roadshow with Brianna. Caroline loved it and is still talking about it.
She participated in a few Easter Egg hunts this year, this one was after church on Easter Sunday.

Caroline posing with Maggie, she asked me to take their picture this morning before I got her dressed. Caroline is wearing her Buzz Lightyear pajamas which she loves. We "borrowed" them while at a friend's house several months ago and Caroline just kind of claimed them as her own. Maggie is still worn out from "helping" us around the house. She is so loyal and wears her poor old legs out following us around 24/7.

We go the Certificate of Occupancy for our new house March 31st! We didn't have time off from work to move until April 9th, but started taking a little at a time to the new house that week before. This is a picture of us having our first meal in the new house on the card table and chairs.

Trixie hid between this mattress and boxspring for a couple of days after the move.

But not Shelby, she claimed the stairs as her territory.

Caroline picked out pink and "lellow" for the colors in her new big girl room. We got her a new big girl bed which she has fallen out of one time during the night. The mattress and boxspring are just sitting on the floor for now so she didn't have too far to fall, just enough to scare her a little.

This is the game closet upstairs, I love this closet! It's big and has lot of shelves to store all of Caroline's toys and some other stuff too.

Our new dining room complete with new table and chairs. We can look out this window every evening and watch the 3 deer that come to the edge of the back yard to eat the corn Travis has put out for them. The first night we saw them, he was so excited and was pointing them out to Caroline.....her reaction, "Shoot them Daddy!"

And finally this is what we spent this past weekend doing, 20 pallets of sod for the yard, that's 1,000 rolls. It made for a long weekend and we were very fortunate to have some wonderful friends willing to help us with it. The end result was worth it though.

By Sunday afternoon we had grass over part of the back yard.

And all of the front yard. What a big difference grass makes! We plan to get a few more pallets this weekend to finish what we're going to do in the back yard in case there are any volunteers out there who'd like to help.

Almost Done!

2010-03-22T21:59:00.004-04:00

Our new house is almost complete, only a couple of weeks away!
The exterior brick and vinyl siding is done.
Kitchen cabinets, countertops, and appliances are in. Lighting is up throughout as well as plumbing hardware.

Garage door was installed.

Back porch still needs to be screened in and deck needs finishing touches.

Hardwood floors were installed today (no pictures yet,) and carpet should go in Wednesday.

Caroline has been busy as usual. She and Caitlin thought these closet shelves would be a good place to nap the other day.

She enjoyed helping Mrs. Swartz clean up. (Hope she doesn't lose interest in that!)

She thought she was something else being the "big" cousin pulling Brayden around in his wagon last weekend.

T-R-O-U-B-L-E! Need I say more?!

Coming along

2010-03-12T07:18:00.004-05:00

Feb 19th - Trim work has started
March 6th - Most of the interior paint is complete, and exterior brick is going up.
This is the bonus room upstairs.

This is our bedroom.

Living room, kitchen and dining area are all this color.

The brick outside.

I can't wait to see it this weekend - interior paint is complete now, exterior brick is almost complete (couldn't beat the rain) and the cabinets and countertops are scheduled to be installed tomorrow. We're hoping everything will be complete a month from now!

My Princess

2010-03-08T14:29:00.005-05:00

This is Princess Caroline, complete with her high heels that unfortunately you can't see in this picture.
Caroline's cousins came down for a visit Saturday. After playing hard for a while they snuggled up for some down time to watch a little TV in my bed.

After only a week of truck shopping Travis got his new used truck to replace the wrecked one. This one is a year newer than what he had, with less miles on it, and a lot of features that his old one did not have....he's happy.

And Caroline likes driving Daddy's new truck too.

Caroline graduated to her "big girl" bed a few weeks ago also. She tried to learn how to peddle her bicycle the same day, but I told her she's not allowed to grow up that much in one weekend. She's about mastered the peddling now, who knows what will be next?

Snow in Wilmington?!

2010-02-13T17:13:00.006-05:00

We had a very unusual snow in Wilmington this weekend. Caroline had a good time playing in the snow again and enjoyed making snow balls.
Maggie had fun frolicking in the snow too.

And this snow packed well allowing us to build a snow man.

We also went to the new house to see the latest progress. This is taken from the deck looking into the back yard.

Inside, the sheet rock went up this week.

And this is our first "snow picture" of our house, may be a few years before the next snow picture since this doesn't happen often down here.

Unfortunately, Travis did not have such a good snow day. He was determined to go on a pheasant shoot that was postponed to today after the icy conditions a couple of weeks ago. He left home early this morning and was in an accident crossing the bridge leaving Wilmington. Luckily he is OK, but we're not sure if his truck will be fixed or considered a total loss.

I think he now understands that the South is just not equipped to keep the roads as clear as he's used to in Wisconsin, and that's why everybody freaks out and businesses close when there's a little bit of snow down here.

Snow 2010

2010-01-31T18:48:00.007-05:00

We traveled to Smithfield this weekend so we could enjoy playing in the snow (Wilmington got nothing but cold rain as usual.) It was Caroline's first time in the snow since she was about 8 months old, and she had a good time. We weren't able to make a snowman though because the snow wouldn't stayed packed together, but she quickly got over that.

Madeline helped me pull Caroline and Lydia on the sled from their house back to Grandma's.

Caroline thought it was very cold Saturday and we played outside for a few minutes at a time before going back inside to warm up.

After warming up we enjoyed some (crunchy) snow cream.

We came back to Wilmington today and went straight to the new house to see last week's progress. We now have a front door...

...a deck and paved car port...
...and paved garage...
...and the electrician finished wiring the house. Next should come the insulation and then the drywall.

We have to pick out a color for the vinyl siding shakes that will be on the front porch and on the gable areas. I was thinking tan, almond, or light gray...any suggestions are welcome. Here's a picture of the brick color again, it's a whitish color with gray mortar.

Updated House Pictures

2010-01-23T16:35:00.004-05:00

January 8th - Frame & roof sheathing complete, house wrapped

Included this picture to show the color brick we're using

January 16th - Windows & doors installed (except for the front door), electrician's boxes installed, shingles started.

I took this picture from the back of the front half of our lot that we cleared.Caroline and Caitlin playing in the back yard, in the dirt of course. Caitlin lives a couple of houses down and across the street. From what I understand there are quite a few small children in the neighborhood which is pretty small, so I'm sure Caroline will be making lots of new friends. Behind the cleared part of our lot is almost an acre that is still wooded and backs up to a creek (Travis has big plans for bow hunting back there.)

Inside the house - stair case from kitchen

Travis' "Man Cave" (that he also has to share with Caroline.) When we first walked up there, a bird was flaying around but he finally figured out how to get out of the house.

January 23rd - fireplace, plumbing pipes, tubs, and shower, HVAC installed, shingles completed
The shower will have two shower heads, one coming from the ceiling on the left side (something Travis wanted since he's tall and almost has to dunk under a regular shower head) and a regular one on the right side

We're getting more excited as more progress is made on the house. Next week the electrician should come back to do wiring, then insulation will be installed. Will post more pictures soon. Caroline has been camera shy lately, so I have no good pictures of her to share now.

We're really building a house!

2010-01-02T18:47:00.003-05:00

It's been exciting to see the progress of our new home being built. After a slow start things have really started moving along the past 3 weeks.

Dec. 13th - footings dug out, rebar in place

Dec. 19th - foundation complete

Dec. 24th - first floor framed

Jan. 2nd - house and roof framed

Christmas 09

2010-01-02T18:13:00.004-05:00

Christmas was a lot of fun this year. Caroline learned how to sing a couple of Christmas tunes and had a pretty good understanding of Santa. He made an appearance at her school Christmas party and she wouldn't get near him. I took her to see Santa again on Christmas Eve and while in line she said she didn't want to sit with him, she even laid on the floor not wanting to get up. But when we got to him, he reached out to give her a candy cane, I seized the moment and plopped her in his lap where she sat and smiled and told him that she wanted an airplane for Christmas. I'm waiting to get a copy of the picture from the bank and will have to do a late post when I get it.

Later on Christmas Eve, Caroline played the part of an angel at the church service. Here's a clip of her debut performance.

Back at Grandma's we mixed up some magical food to leave in the yard for Santa's reindeer. After coming in Caroline put all her pacis in her stocking for Santa to take for little babies that need them. Caroline went to bed fine without it, but woke up during the night very upset that she couldn't have her paci. A couple of hours later she (and everyone else in the house) fell asleep again. And that was the end of her paci.

Christmas morning she woke up to find an outdoor playhouse and lots of other toys and goodies that Santa left her.

Saturday night, my old friend Nicholas came by to see us. Caroline warmed right up to him and jumped in his lap for a story after showing him all her new toys.

And Sunday we gathered with my aunts, uncles, and cousins. Caroline warmed right up to all of them as well. She demonstrated her independence by taking Greatest Aunt Jackie to the bathroom with her, using the potty, emptying it's contents into the real toilet, and rinsing it in the sink all by herself. Later she welcomed the newest member of the family, cousin Anna's husband Tim by climbing all over him.

2009-12-06T22:13:00.001-05:00

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Cool Tricks

2009-11-22T22:35:00.002-05:00

Caroline enjoyed playing Grandma's piano this weekend. She caught me a little off guard when she played a few notes and then turned around on the bench and said "My name is Ethan and my cool trick is playing piano." It's a line from Yo Gabba Gabba's Cool Tricks segment. Of course I got a kick out of it so she continued to do it from that point on. I was able to catch it on camera. stop the play list so you can hear her.

Halloween 2009

2009-11-02T21:31:00.004-05:00

Trying to get a picture together, but Caroline had other plans...

After trunk or treat, candy was used as bribery to keep her still.

Enjoying some of her candy with Princess Brianna

After another trunk or treat on Saturday, with Cowboy Carl, Alex the Builder, and Aunt Marci

Riding a horse Saturday night. She loved it and was so excited when she got down, she told everybody "The horse farted!"

Flying the helicopter with Daddy

Driving with Daddy (I later did this one with her, but I had to sit in the back)

Riding on the duck with Mommy

It's been a fun Halloween this year for all of us. We started celebrating Wednesday night while Caroline and I were in Smithfield, Caroline wore her Carolina Panthers cheerleader costume to the church's fall bazaar. Friday night she got to dress up again for her school's Halloween carnival. And Saturday we were out for 5 hours doing trunk or treat, trick or treat, and another Halloween carnival. As if that wasn't enough fun for one weekend, we went to the fair Sunday afternoon, which Caroline LOVED! She enjoyed all the different rides, and Miss Independent didn't want us to sit with her on a lot of them.

We closed on our lot Friday afternoon, and started clearing it today. Tomorrow we have to pick out what trees we want to keep in the yard....just the beginning, but I was excited to see how much progress was already made today. A friend across the street took some pictures for us of the before and after, I'll post those later.

September & October

2009-10-17T22:33:00.004-04:00

Here are some pictures from the past few weeks:

Riding the trike at Grandma and Peepa's house, wearing Madeline's Hello Kitty helmet

Cheering on the Packers with Daddy

Wearing Daddy's hunting boots up to her waist

Flying a rocket after church with Madeline and Margo

Her first hair cut (look at how long it was!)

Bathtime with Zoe after the haircut

We've done a lot the past few weeks. We moved, sold our house, went to 5 birthday parties in 4 weekends, spent a week at Grandma and Peepa's, and have stayed on the go about every day.

Caroline has been enrolled full time in daycare for a couple of months, and she has settled in and is comfortable being herself there now.....the teacher has written in the comments section of her daily report "Wide Open!" a couple of days recently, and she asked me if Caroline just doesn't seem to listen sometimes......she's definitely 2 :-) I can tell she's learning a lot, she's counting, singing ABC's and knows her colors pretty well now, doesn't forget a thing, doesn't stop talking and loves using her imagination and pretend play.

We're feeling a little cramped in our rental house. It's smaller than our old house, which we sold because we needed more room. I keep reminding myself that it's only temporary..... we're finalizing house plans for the home that we hope to begin building soon.

Caroline had her first haircut this week, it's very cute and was long overdue, but I still wanted to cry when I saw how short it is.

She's also made a little progress potty training this week, little being the key word, but it's a start. There was some confusion a couple of weeks ago when she saw one of her friends who is a boy go potty....for a couple of days, she tried to stand up on her stool to pee pee in the potty, but she seems to have gotten past that now!

2009-10-08T20:16:00.001-04:00

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Been busy

2009-08-26T22:44:00.012-04:00

I've been super slack about taking and posting pictures obviously, but here's a few random shots taken during the past couple of weeks.

Caroline still loves jumping on her trampoline. She can now jump "high"!
As Travis predicted when we bought her a baby doll set complete with pack n play, she gets in it rather than putting her babies in there.

She enjoyed a visit with cousin Brayden, Aunt Leslie, and Uncle Greg and we gave bathtime with a boy another shot.

Looking serious and wise wearing Grandma's glasses when we spent a week there while I had trust training in Raleigh.

While in Smithfield she and Madeline and Lydia had a "dance recital" one night for cousin Maks. They danced to some old Beatles records wearing Aunt Leslie's old dance costumes (until those came off and she was dancing in just a diaper.)

Her new favorite breakfast is "cereal with milk." What a big girl!

She was sooo excited to go fishing with Daddy in the boat. Here she is posing before the big trip.
And demonstrating her technique.

She loves this ginormous puppy that Travis picked up for her (more clutter for our already cluttered house that we've been trying to declutter in order to sell.)

And this is a picture of the extended Thomas family (my mom's side) at Wiseman's View, beautiful setting where we spread my grandmother's ashes.

We are very excited that we have a contract on our house now, scheduled to close on September 28. We're purchasing a lot to build a house on, so now we have to find a place to rent for a few months until our new house is complete. I can't believe I don't know where we're going to live in a month!

Yesterday was our 8th wedding anniversary. Perfect anniversary gift was finding my wedding album that had been MIA for a couple of years. We didn't get to do anything to celebrate our anniversary because I had a meeting after work last night, but we're trying to find a babysitter this weekend so we can go out to dinner and a movie maybe.

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-04T23:09:00.009-04:00

We've had a great holiday weekend, took the boat to Lee Islands Friday and Saturday and enjoyed Wilmington's fireworks Saturday night. I was a little nervous about taking Caroline to see fireworks since they don't start until after her bedtime and not knowing how she would react to them, but she did good and enjoyed the show.

Maggie came with us to the beach Saturday for the first time this year, and she chased minnows in the water for about 5 straight hours. Caroline enjoyed playing in the water too.

And in the tube with Caitlin.

And in the sand.

And in other news, we became the owners of a minivan this week. My Honda Odyssey was delivered Tuesday. It's very nice, but I'm still getting used to the idea of driving a minivan.
Caroline had NO problem getting used to the DVD player in the back seat, and she learned how to get her headphones on real quick!

Caroline's birthday

2009-06-21T22:00:00.010-04:00

Tuesday was Caroline's actual birthday. Travis and I spent the day with her and tried to make it truly "hers." We started the day by making her favorite breakfast - blueberry pancakes, although they weren't quite as good as Grandpa's. We took her to Fit for Fun to play. She helped me make some birthday cup cakes. And we met up with Carl and Alex and "Aunt" Marci at Chuck E Cheese for supper and more play time.

mmm, mmm, strawberry cup cakes!

watching Chuck E's band sing

flying high on one of the rides

riding with Barney

watching her boys play air hockey - this reminds me of me and Carrie at some campground arcade when we were growing up :-)

It's hard to believe how much Caroline's grown and changed over the past 2 years. Don't remember what life was like before June 16, 2007!

our precious angel 6/16/07

Sweet Girl 1 year old 6/16/08
Birthday Princess 2 years old 6/16/09

Birthday party

2009-06-14T22:46:00.009-04:00

Yesterday was Caroline's 2nd birthday party at Power of Play, the theme was Yo Gabba Gabba! Everyone had a good time, especially the birthday girl. The biggest challenge of the day was keeping her still long enough to open presents. Her actual birthday is coming up on Tuesday, Travis and I will both be off work to spend her special day with her. Below are a few pictures from the party and you can view more by clicking here.

Where did May go?

2009-05-31T21:47:00.008-04:00

Hard to believe it's been a month since the last post, I don't know where the time has gone. Here's just a few pictures to summarize some of what we've done.

We enjoyed going to Fit for Fun with Adrienne and Zoe

My Grandma passed away May 9th, here Caroline is helping us pack to go to the funeral. She loves to buckle things, so she strapped herself in the suitcase.
We celebrated my Mom's birthday in Smithfield and Caroline got some quality time in with her younger cousins, Margo and Brayden, while the older ones were at a movie. I think she's teaching them how to properly ride a rocking horse while drinking a cup of milk here.

Travis' cousin and family from South Dakota came down Memorial Day weekend. Caroline had her first bloody nose after meeting these cousins for the first time - she and Aspen accidentally collided while running on the beach in the dark.

For the past couple of weeks, she's reminded me of a little homeless person, loading up her most precious possessions in her shopping cart and pushing it all around the house. She'll put everything in there - dolls, toys, cups, food, blankets, clothes, etc.

And for the past couple of weeks, I've been party planning. I sent out these invitations for Caroline's 2nd birthday party coming up June 13th. I'll be gone for an entire week right before the party so I'm trying to take care of everything before I leave this Friday.

Definitely shouldn't be another month before I post again, we'll have lots of birthday pics in a couple of weeks!

We love Gabba!

2009-05-03T15:32:00.006-04:00

I couldn't pass up this singing DJ Lance hat with glassess at Target yesterday. It's from Caroline's favorite TV show Yo Gabba Gabba. She really does like it more than you might think from this picture.

And I think it's cool too. And so does Travis!Her birthday party is going to have a Gabba theme this year too, maybe Travis can dress up like DJ Lance if we can only find a bright orange unitard in his size now...

I've also been meaning to post a few pictures from Fit for Fun with Carl and Alex a couple of weeks ago. Caroline has been there several times before but this was my first time going with her. It's a great place for her age group and she had a blast as usual, especially getting to spend time with her old pals.

Spring Break - Part 2

2009-04-14T20:56:00.012-04:00

As promised, here is the rest of our "Spring Break" pictures.

Tuesday we went to the aquarium, which Caroline loves.

After the aquarium, we visited the battleship where Travis was teaching Caroline to shoot big guns and steer the ship

Wednesday was brunch with the Easter Bunny

Followed by some playtime at Jungle Rapids Time flies when you're having fun. We packed a whole lot of fun in a few days and before we knew it our mini vacation with the extended family was over. They left early Thursday morning for the 2 day trip back to Wisconsin.

Spring Break - Part 1

2009-04-13T22:15:00.009-04:00

We took an unofficial spring break last week when Travis' family (Grandma & Grandpa, Aunt Donna & Uncle Charlie & cousin Hailey) came down from Wisconsin to visit. Caroline warmed up to everybody quickly and we all had a great time together. They live so far away, we don't get to see them often enough. Travis and I had to work their first day here, but Caroline stayed home and kept them entertained. She showed off her new handstand.And got to ride on Aunt Donna's back like a horse

Saturday was the Azalea Festival and we went to the circus. Caroline was proud of the flower she planted at the Home Depot tent

And she enjoyed an elephant ride with Daddy and cousin Hailey (and some other people)

Sunday we took the boat out to Lee Islands and played in the sand (and the COLD water)

We went down to Myrtle Beach Monday and ate and saw the show at Medieval Times

Spring Break - Part 2 and Easter pics to come later, too many pictures to put on one post.

2009-03-12T22:36:00.008-04:00

It's been a few weeks since the last post and they have been busy weeks. Most of our time outside of work has been spent getting our house ready to sell. It's officially on the market now and we hope someone wants it! One of our biggest accomplishments was ripping down wallpaper in the kitchen and bathroom and painting....that was quite the weekend project but we're pleased with the finished product.

Maggie is back in the kennell while we're gone during the day, and Caroline likes to play in it too.

We took full advantage of the warm weather last weekend and played outside as much as possible. She liked digging in the dirt with her cousins.

Caroline is becoming more and more independent everyday, but she still likes to check out "baby" toys when she's around them although she's way to big for them now.

And she's still a messy eater, this is after pizza pasta, yummy yummy!

Mommy's Valentine

2009-02-16T21:03:00.008-05:00

Unfortunately Caroline was sick on Valentine's Day, but Mommy got to spend lots of time with her and give her some TLC to help her feel better.

Of course she always feels better when she loves on her kitty cat too, although I don't think the cat feels the same.
Last weekend she spent the whole weekend at Grandma and Grandpa's house and didn't miss Mommy and Daddy one bit. She enjoyed spending time with them and playing with her cousins. We took advantage of the warm weather when she came home and played outside where she discovered how much she loves dirt!

A couple of weekends ago we went to a birthday party at Chuck E Cheese. I'm amazed that she isn't scared of the big characters, but she walks right up to them giving high fives and hugs, she couldn't get enough of them. Earlier that same day she did the same thing with the cow at Chick Fil A.

January fun

2009-01-24T13:05:00.010-05:00

Caroline has really been talking more and more every week. Her vocabulary is growing and she's babbling a lot more. Her favorite word lately has been "showa" (shower), don't know why? She still loves putting on our "shoos" too.

We had a little bit of snow Tuesday, just enough to cover the ground and for Caroline to play in at the babysitter's house.

Definitely not as much as she saw last year in Wisconsin though.

The cold weather was the perfect opportunity for her to wear the cute outfit that Grandma Jean made for her.

This morning she wanted to put a diaper on her baby, then took her baby to the potty.....I think she may be a little confused.

Caroline peed in the potty twice a couple of weeks ago but now she won't even sit on it. Oh well, it's a start. I hope she'll try again soon, the thought of her being out of diapers is very exciting!

Dressing up

2009-01-14T21:28:00.008-05:00

I guess Caroline is beginning to practice playing dress-up. I snapped a few pictures of her recently wearing some interesting combinations........

In this one, she had taken off her pants, put on one of my shoes, and is carrying a basket as she pushes her stroller around the house, she later added a pair of sunglasses.

Here she's wearing one of my slippers with Travis' camoflauge hat and nothing on but a diaper.

Tonight she walked all the way through the house wearing both of Travis' shoes pushing her stroller of course.

We went to visit extended family including Great Grandma the weekend after New Years and captured a picture of the 4 generations.

This past Friday night her friend Carter came to visit, and she took her last ever bath with a little boy. It didn't take her very long to notice he looked a little different than her as she reached down to put it out to us.

Christmas 2008

2008-12-29T22:14:00.008-05:00

Hard to believe Christmas is over already. Caroline enjoyed it and loves all the new toys she got from Santa Claus, family and friends. Christmas Eve she wasn't feeling well, but luckily she was over it by Christmas morning.

This is a picture of the spread that Santa left for her.

First thing she went for was the trampoline. She loves to jump, I'm hoping this will save our furniture.

She got to hold a real baby-cousin Margo.

Grandma and Grandpa gave her a cute table and chairs set that Grandpa painted himself, turned out great!

Brianna gave her blocks that she likes to stack and then destroy.

There's lots more, and she plays with it all. Now we just have to make room for all of her new stuff!

We've been elfed!

2008-12-19T20:56:00.001-05:00

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'Tis the season

2008-12-10T22:07:00.005-05:00

The past few weeks have been filled with things to do and places to go almost everyday but I guess it's just that time of year. This past weekend was no exception. Travis was in a wedding Saturday and then it was off to Smithfield Sunday for Margo's baptism. We snapped this quick family pic before leaving the church.We finally got our Christmas tree up Monday night and decorated it Tuesday night.........and it's still standing! Caroline is definitley interested in all the Christmas decorations, and we have one that she can actually play with too. It's the cutest Little People nativity set, Caroline loves it (and so do I)! I had to take a picture of it because it is just too cute, you can push the angel on top and the star lights up and it plays Away in a Manger....so sweet.
Tonight she was feeding her baby doll a bottle and decided to put the doll in her seat where she continued to feed her. Of course she started to take her out by the time I was able to get a picture. She's becoming a good little Momma.

Tomorrow night we're going to attempt to have Christmas pictures done...........

Give Thanks

2008-12-02T21:29:00.004-05:00

We had a good Thanksgiving, and now we're thankful that Travis is back from his week long trip to visit his family in Wisconsin. He didn't get a deer this year but returned home just in time to celebrate his 30th birthday!

Caroline and I had a fun girls' week together, and then she got to spend lots of quality time with her grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins over the long holiday weekend.
She love TV show Yo Gabba Gabba more and more each day. Her first word when she wakes up, finishes eating, comes in from outside, gets out of the bathtub, etc is "Gabba" She'll even start pushing buttons on the remote control to try to get "Gabba" on TV. Here she is watching it as soon as she woke up Sunday morning....in a trance!

funny

2008-11-18T07:12:00.002-05:00

Caroline learned how to take off her shirt today. She happened to have on her pink camo pants at the time. Complete with what looks like a mullet hair do, she reminded me of a little redneck girl.

Earlier in the day she climbed out of the pack and play at the baby sitter's house and ate some cat food. I guess she thought it fitting since she had on a cat shirt........before taking it off.

Caroline and Brianna

2008-11-11T17:10:00.006-05:00

Brianna came to visit Caroline this past weekend. The two of them had a good time playing together, and we took them to the Cape Fear Fair. Caroline of course loved the animals (until a rooster bit her) and she able to go on some of the rides with us. She spent part of the day asleep on Travis's shoulder but woke up for more fun before we left the fair. We hope to see Brianna and her mommy and daddy again soon!

Halloween

2008-11-04T21:37:00.007-05:00

Caroline enjoyed Halloween this year. She got to trick or treat around the neighborhood a little and then met up with friends Alex and Carl at a church festival. There she trunk or treated and went on a hayride. She hasn't seen Alex and Carl in a while and boy has she missed them!

She was full of sugar at the end of the night and couldn't stop sharing it with them.....we're gonna have to keep her away from these boys in a few years :-)

Saturday morning she woke up ready for more candy.......as if she's not sweet enough!

Sunday funday

2008-10-26T21:56:00.009-04:00

What a beautiful day! We took advantage of it and had a funfilled Sunday today. After church we ate one of Caroline's new favorites, a cheesesteak at J Michaels (a favorite of mine too!).

Then we played outside for a while when we got home and posed for a few pictures.

Later this afternoon Caroline wore her Halloween costume to the Poplar Grove Halloween Festival and had a ball. There she rode a pony for the first time, went on a hayride (and actually sat still for the most part), jumped and slid on the inflatables (with my assistance-it wore me out but she could've kept going), and ran around squealing in delight.

We hope next weekend it just as fun!

Then there were five....

2008-10-19T21:07:00.005-04:00

.....Grimes grandchildren, finally a boy to add to the mix. We spent the weekend in Smithfield and got to meet Brayden for the first time. He is precious, and Caroline loves him already. I think she likes not being the baby of the family now and enjoys her role as a big cousin. She kissed on the babies, Brayden and Margo this weekend and even helped Grandpa feed and burp Margo (unfortunately we don't have any pictures of that though). We can't wait to see everybody again!

Brayden's here!

2008-10-13T22:00:00.010-04:00

Our new nephew Brayden was finally born early this morning, and we can't wait to go meet him on Friday. Caroline enjoyed looking at some pictures of him earlier and kept saying "baby, baby" Congratulations Greg and Leslie!

We've not been doing much since the last post. Travis took his boat out fishing, perhaps for the last time until spring, last weekend and posed for some pictures afterwards since we realized that we have no pictures of it. And of course Caroline got in on the pictures with him.

Caroline's been trying a few new things too. She helped me bake a cake the other night and quickly learned the best part.....licking the batter off the beaters! More recently she helped me make some chocolate pudding and loved it as well. She does like to eat, especially her sweets.

And she's definitely showing an interest in her baby dolls now, feeding them, kissing them, and pushing the stroller around the house, with or without baby in it.

Wisconsin

2008-10-01T22:50:00.006-04:00

We took a short trip to Wisconsin to see Travis' family last weekend. Caroline had a great time with her Grandma, Grandpa, aunts, uncles, and cousins up there. And she was an excellent traveler on the plane and in the car, so we can do it again sometime!

She enjoyed riding the 4 wheeler around the yard with Grandma.

Playing in the leaves with Wesley and Ava.

And she loved riding this bear!

We came back just in time to celebrate my birthday Tuesday, the big 3-0, gosh I feel old!

Rather than tradional flowers, the girls at work thought of decorating a cake with lots of 30s.

Our next trip out of town should be soon....as soon as my nephew Brayden is born! Hang in there Leslie!!

So grown up

2008-09-09T22:08:00.007-04:00

I'm amazed everyday at how much Caroline has grown in less than 15 months and how much she continues to grow everyday. She's no longer a baby....she wants to be like the "big kids" so bad!

She was dancing with Lisa's son Josh at her wedding reception.

So proud to drink a juice box all by herself, she will NOT allow adult assistance!

Her first painting (It's a birthday cake at Fit for Fun that the kids paint)

Playing on the slip n slide with her cousins rather than in the baby pool Aunt Gina blew up for her.

Busy girl

2008-08-27T21:04:00.008-04:00

The past couple of weeks have been busy. Caroline went to Power of Play with the twins playgroup one day, we went to Smithfield for Aunt Leslie's baby shower followed by her first trip to the Family Pool, she went to the NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher with a new baby sitter, and we went to her friend Emma's first birthday party. One note to add about Caroline's trip to the pool: she is not scared of water and managed to walk right into the kiddie pool face first by herself.....thank you to Aunt Gina for swooping her up so quickly, she didn't even cry!

Travis and I celebrated our anniversary Monday, hard to believe it's already been 7 years. We were able to go out to eat ALONE, thanks to Marci!

Tonight I saw that Caroline's fourth tooth FINALLY broke through the gum. Her first three teeth all came in one month, and now it's been over a month since the last tooth.

Shopping in the grocery store at Power of Play

Here Caroline realized for the first time that she has a baby cousin, Margo. Madeline, Lydia and Caroline all swarmed in while Grandma was holding her at Leslie's baby shower.

Playing in the pool with Madeline and Lydia, she loves the water!

This picture was taken right before getting in the bathtub. Caroline decided to sit back in her chair with a bag of chips to munch on....so grown up!

Weekend Fun

2008-08-12T23:03:00.004-04:00

Uncle Greg and Aunt Leslie came to visit last weekend. We spent the day at the beach where Caroline loved playing in the water and the sand. She also got some good sleep on the boat ride to and from the island. Our next few weekends are going to be busy in and out of town but we hope to be able to enjoy the boat and beach a few more times before summer ends.....Caroline is definitely a Beach Girl!!

You can see more pictures by clicking the link for View My Photos on the right side of the page under My Favorite Websites. You should be able to save and print pictures from there.

Welcome!

2008-08-06T22:19:00.004-04:00

I've decided to try something new.........rather than sending pictures through Snapfish, I'll try updating a family blog every now and then in an attempt to keep up with how much Caroline is changing and growing everyday! (And if there's anything worth mentioning about me or Travis, I'll post that as well :-) )

As of today, Caroline is walking, running, talking (she can say a few words, some much more clearly than others), climbing, jumping, etc .............. she is full of energy all the time and very curious.

She couldn't resist Trixie's cat carrier which was out after her trip to the vet the other day. Luckily Trixie didn't pee in there like she usually does!! After snapping this picture, Travis had to unscrew the top to get Caroline out....she was stuck and not very happy about it!