At Home in Sewanee

Caroline is 1 year old and doing great! She weighs 23lbs 13ozs and is 30.5 inches long. She is walking nonstop and talking a lot, too. Caroline is staring to recognize certain words that we say. She has a small baby that is in her toy basket and when we ask her to "bring mama the baby" she finds it and walks it over to us. Caroline has started to eat more "big girl" foods. She loves Kix, diced peaches, bananas, cheese, and of course Goldfish. One of her favorite things to do is to play with Chad on the floor. She loves to climb over him and she especially likes to be upside down. She is tough! Caroline was a Bumble Bee for Halloween, thanks to Bigger Paige! She had a great time strolling around the neighborhood with her friends...no candy, just Teddy Grahams! Here are some current pictures...I am still working on pictures from her birthday!

A Walking Girl

Caroline has started walking...and I'm not sure she will ever stop! She is constantly on the go! The ladies at daycare always tell me, "she has walked her little legs off." Her top two teeth are almost halfway in, so that means lots of drool and also new sounds. Her newest game is to bite the spoon as we are feeding her and then eventually she will make eye contact with you and start laughing...still with the spoon in her mouth. It is hard for us not to laugh with her! Caroline was a trooper on our 3 day, 12 hour road trip (just Caroline and Mom!) We made a stop in Knoxville to stay with Lee and the we stayed in Farmville with Courtney and Hayden. That was fun! It was in Farmville on our return trip that she actually started to take 8-9 steps without holding on. While on the Shore, Caroline went swimming for the first time with Aunt Annie. She loved the salt water! No pictures of that experience, but we do have pictures of Chad and Caroline in the pool at a Sewanee picnic. (The chlorine was quite an issue for Chad, but Caroline didn't mind at all!) We tried to get pictures of Caroline walking, as she tends to look like Frankenstein with her arms out in front of her! Enjoy! (Next time we post, there will be pictures of Caroline's 1st birthday party!)

Caroline's New Friend

Caroline has taken the summer off from the blog...Sorry!! We are now settled in Sewanee, Tennessee and Caroline seems to be adjusting well to her new home and friends. In May, we spent a week in West Virginia, and then in June we travelled to Boston. That was Caroline's first plane ride and she did great. We also went to the Shore for a few days, so Caroline could experience her first boat ride...she slept the whole time. She is now 10 months old and very close to walking. She has loved having all the boxes sitting around so she can pull up on them. She even does a little dance (shakes her bum) when she hears music. Caroline is slowly starting to understand what the word "no" means. If she hears is repeatedly, which sometimes she does, she will start to pout and fake cry. She is into everything she can get to. Toys don't seem to be nearly as fun as boxes, tape, flip-flops, etc. We have posted some pictures for everyone to see what a big girl Caroline is. I think she probably weighs around 20 pounds now. The picture of two babies is Caroline and her new friend Hattie. Hattie and Carline will have a lot in common as they are both going to be big sisters in the coming months. I'll try to keep the blog more current this Fall!

First Easter

Caroline is 6 months old! She went to the doctor on Friday and weighs 15lbs 4ozs and is 26.25 inches long. She is growing so fast. She loves to grab everything and has finally perfected taking her pacifier out of her mouth and putting it back in all by herself. Of course she puts anything she can get her hands on in her mouth. Her feet are still her favorite. She has started using her "exersaucer" this month and loves it. When she is playing in it, she is at the same level as our dog, Patton. He enjoys watching her play too, and occasionally feels the need to give her a kiss! She loves to watch him. Caroline is still eating baby food and actually eats green beans without a fuss. She is getting stronger, as she loves to stand up on our laps. She is rolling over (only when reaching for a toy) but gets stuck on her stomach and makes noise for us to help her turn back over. Caroline is constantly making new noises. She gets louder and louder to get our attention. She had a good first Easter with her own special Easter basket from Bigger Paige.

All Smiles at 5 months

Hard to believe, but tomorrow Caroline will turn 5 months old. She is all better from her week of being sick with RSV. She is talking a lot, or actually squealing and grunting. She seems to know that when she makes these noises, she gets attention! As you can see in the picture, she has started eating baby food. She loves carrots and applesauce, but she is not crazy about green beans. Who can blame her? She is still smiling and laughing. However, when I try to get a picture of her, she immediately opens her mouth and stares at the camera. Each night she gets a bath and loves to splash and make lots of noise. Caroline puts everything she can get her hands on in her mouth. She has started to really grip onto things, especially my hair and earrings. Daycare is still going well. She gets so excited in the morning when I put her in her carseat. Caroline likes it when Chad reads to her at night. Really, she likes playing with her feet while he reads his book out loud. She goes back to the doctor next month for her 6 month check-up! Until then...enjoy the pictures!

4 Months Old

Caroline turned FOUR months old yesterday! She weighs 12 pounds and 11 ounces and she is 24.5 inches long. The doctor commented on how strong she is. Chad and I think she is probably going to be strong willed, too! She definitely knows what she wants and if she doesn't get it, then she acts like the world is coming to an end. Caroline is still loving daycare. The teachers frequently comment on her "pretty pink outfits." (They are used to boys!) Caroline is starting to investigate her feet. She loves to kick and stick her feet up in the air. She loves it when we play with her feet. She is still smiling a lot and starting to laugh. Here are some pictures of Caroline in action. Her hair is not as red as it appears in the pictures. (Isn't her sweater so pretty? Thanks Bigger Paige!)

Big Blue Eyes

Caroline is doing great! She has started to sleep through most of the night. We put her in her crib around 10:30 and she usually makes it until about 6:30. Every now and then she looses her pacifier and once we put it back in her mouth she is back to sleep! She loves daycare and they love her too! She smiles every morning when we get there. Caroline also smiles every time she sees Chad. After a few Saturdays together she has found a new favorite thing-her Dad! She is a pretty strong little girl. She likes to pull down the tangerine giraffe on her bouncy chair. She is so happy with herself when she does that! Caroline has also found her hands! They are in her mouth 75% of the time. Actually, she tries to fit her entire fist in her mouth. If that doesn't work and she has not yet pulled off the tangerine giraffe, then she puts him in her mouth. She is so proud of herself! She goes back to the doctor on February 13th. I will update after that visit and post her current stats! Until then...enjoy the pictures!

Chillin' with Papa

What a busy time it has been for Caroline! She has travelled from West Virginia to the Eastern Shore, attended two birthday parties, visited three churches, been on several shopping trips and as of yesterday, she went to daycare for the first time. Caroline had a great Christmas (even though she slept through most of it) complete with a pair of cowgirl boots-thank you Aunt Lee! Caroline got to meet a lot of new people including "bigger Paige" and Uncle Pemberton. On December 13, we went to the doctor for her 2 month check up. She now weighs 10 lbs 2 ozs and is 22.25 inches long. Caroline loves playing on her activity mat. She "coos" and "goos" and tries to run. It won't be long before she rolls over. Finally, the most exciting thing for Mom and Dad is Caroline's smile. She now smiles when you talk to her and it lasts longer than ever! When I took her to Daycare yesterday, she couldn't stop smiling! Maybe because there are five boys and she is the only girl!