Caroline's New Trick

Caroline has a new trick...jumping off the side of the pool!  She does this over and over.  She hardly has a chance to catch her breathe between jumps.  Caroline may be turning into a fish! (This video was much longer, but something happened with the download so this very, very short clip is all you get...don't blink, really)

Monkey Jumping on the Bed

This is a short video of Caroline jumping on the bed.  She calls this dancing.  Again, there is no sound but just imagine Caroline laughing and trying to sound like a monkey.

Tucker and the Whale

Tucker finally has the camera to himself for a few moments!  Here are some pictures of him after church on Sunday.  He was super cute in his whale outfit!

Tucker's New Toy

So Tucker finally gets a toy of his own, not a hand-me-down from Caroline and she is still insistent on "breaking it in" for him.  He loves his new Winnie the Pooh themed activity center.  Caroline thinks it is pretty cool too!  Caroline even likes to get in it even though she is way too big.  She will play in it for a little while and then says "out, suck," of course she means "stuck!"  We have also included in this post a short video of the kids.  There is no sound but you can see how much Caroline loves her brother!

Evening Walk on the Beach

Chad and Tucker showing their love for the Red Sox! Tucker had just put his feet in the Gulf when a wave (small wave) had just crashed and gotten him soaked from the waist down.  He laughed!

Caroline usually says "oh gosh" when the waves crash on the shore.  Tonight was no exception!

Typical Caroline, running away from me as I try to take a picture.  Ever wander why there are so few pictures of Caroline looking at the camera?  She is always on the move.

Caroline watching the "airpanes."

Sleepers

The best sleeping boy ever!

Caroline and Her Father

What else can I say?

Time to Eat!

This morning we went to the Naples Zoo.  Mom forgot the camera so there are no pictures to share.  Caroline learned about Zebras, a new word for her today.  We saw tigers, lions, leopards, kangaroos, alligators (aka "gate-a"), monkeys, turtles, cheetahs, and much more.  Kids are free and Mom got a membership so we will be making lots of trips to the zoo!

Tucks is now eating baby food and likes most everything but peas.  Today he had some green beans and bananas for lunch ... yummy!

Of course, Caroline was right in the middle of it all and insisted on having a "bite."  Caroline liked this bite of green beans and banana and  continued to say "bite...pease "(no "l" in please)

In between bites, Caroline talked to Hyacinth. This was Tucker's lunch after all. Caroline had already eaten!

No worries ... Tucker did get his share of food and now he he sleeping peacefully on a full belly.  Life is good.

A Few More Pictures

This is Caroline and Tucker's room.  Caroline is in a big girl bed and doing quite well, except for the occasional 3am visit to our room!  The room gets lots of morning sun so I had to put up curtains to help block it out in hopes that they would sleep a little later.  These "curtains" were assembled without a sewing machine.  It is amazing what you can do with duct tape!

Caroline's top five reasons for staring out the window: 1) the pool 2) "Ebie", actually that is Elin our neighbor who babysits Caroline  3) Elin's Dad, Greg  who Caroline loves to watch leave for work and then come home in his "truck" ...which she says a million times until you acknowledge that "yes, that is Greg and his truck." 4) "airpanes", no mistake, I left out the "l" on purpose and now she knows they are in the sky 5) did I mention the pool?

I think Tucker was looking at Caroline wondering why she always has to be the center of attention.

Tucker on a Roll

Here are pictures of Tucker on his activity mat, minding his own business.  All he wants to do is play with his jungle friends and roll over.  Oh, and he also likes to suck his thumb if he gets bored.  But how could he ever be bored with a big sister ready to play at any (and every) moment?  If she could only learn to roll him back over when he gets stuck on his belly then we would be in good shape!

"Cay-Ray"

Here are some random shots of Caroline or "Cay-Ray" as she calls herself.  I guess it is as close to Caroline as she is going to get for the time being.  Caroline is upside down in the first picture.  You can see she is all smiles, as this is one of her favorite positions.  In the next picture she is watching her favorite lady, Hyacinth.  How dare I interrupt her for a picture.  After all, she has only seen that particular episode over 100 times.  Finally, Caroline is trying to "sneak" up the stairs in her church dress. Unfortunately for her, it didn't work and once I got a picture she had to come right back down.

Fun at the Park

This Saturday morning we went to the Naples Park.  It was lots of fun!  Caroline had so much fun running around and exploring that there was no time to stop for a picture.  She was the only child there for about the first ten minutes and loved having it all to herself.  However, two older boys came over to play and she was a little concerned about them invading  her space...note the first picture.

Caroline Loves Tucker!

As you can see in these new shots, Caroline is always with Tucker. Poor kid hardly ever gets a moment of peace with big sister around. He doesn't seem to mind being kissed 8,000 times a day (of course he has never known any different!).  Tucker really is a good sport when it comes to Caroline's love for him.

Seer Sucker and Tucker

Morning Rounds

Caroline loves to play in the kids' garden at the hospital.  Her favorite thing to do is "make music."  We do this every day!

Since Caroline doesn't have her Sewanee pals down here, she has to make do with the "statue kids" in the hospital's Garden of Courage and Hope.  Each day we stroll down to the garden to see her new friends.  She talks to them, waves to them and kisses them.  She will be very excited to see her "real" friends again!

Here is a picture of the pond that we walk around each morning.  The hospital where Chad works is in the background.  Caroline loves to see the ducks and ducklings, turtles and lizard things.

Apartment Blues?

Our apartment is a good bit smaller than what we are used to, but don't be fooled by Caroline's sad, sad face...it's not that bad!

One afternoon, Tucker was taking a nap in his pack-n-play and suddenly I hear a little voice say "Hi Tuck!"  Caroline must have thought it was time for Tucker  to wake up, so she thought she would entertain him by playing in the box.

Here is Tucker enjoying his time alone on the activity mat.  Usually his big sister thinks she needs to be down there with him!

Chillin' At the Pool

Literally outside our front door is the pool (you can see our door in the background).  Caroline says "Pooh" for pool.  Though, admittedly, she's confusing this with "Pook" which apparently means #2.

Who knew that southwest Florida had a "rainy season?"  I thought those only existed in the subtropics.  Anyways, every afternoon comes a thunderstorm with heavy rain and wind.  It seems to always happen as Daddy comes home from work, thus preventing a fun afternoon poolside.

Well, this day was an exception and we all got to go out and enjoy Father's Day at the pool.  Tuck even got in the mood to swim, and suited up for the occasion!

Sewanee, We Miss You!

Each Friday during the summer months, the seminary community gathers in the Woodlands for a cookout--it's the thing to do on a Friday night!  We were fortunate to attend the first one this summer before we left for Florida.  Hopefully, we'll be back in time to make it to the final one. We miss you Sewanee!

Pictured below (from left to right):  Chris Caddell (Texas), Daddio, and Stephen Carson (Texas).

We also had to get one more shot of the kids, being perfectly polite and hungry.  From left to right are Hannah Caddell, Ryan Carson, and Caroline.

P.S.  Whenever we show these blog pictures to Caroline, she names all of her friends (as she giggles of course!).