Happy 3rd Birthday, Caroline!

Dear Caroline,

Happy Birthday sweet girl! I can't believe you are already 3 or "free" as you like to say. In fact you have said it so much that Tucker thinks he is 3, too. I tried to sing Happy Birthday to you when you woke up this morning but you quickly reminded me that "they sing Happy Birthday at school" and you did not want me to sing. Thanks for helping me make your confetti cake last night while the boys were already in bed. Thanks for not eating it, too! I know you wanted "just a little baby taste" but you did a good job listening and waiting until school today to try it. You looked so pretty in the pink crown Ms. Julie made for you. You looked a little timid when your friends sang to you and in fact you covered your face for a bit. That was pretty silly for a girl who likes attention!

We are so proud of you and thankful to have you. You are an amazing little girl with lots of personality and love in your heart. We couldn't have asked for a better little love girl :)

Lots and Lots of LOVE,

Mommy, Daddy and Tucker

School Today

Mommy read Caroline's favorite book today in honor of her birthday. Pinka - licious!

Hattie and Caroline being good listeners?!?!

Henry, Ryan and Tucker - all January babies!

Caroline refused to have her picture taken this morning. Here is her back.

Cousin Love

Caroline, Tucker and Will loved playing together. Nena even had matching dinosaur jammies for Will and Tucker to wear. I think Will was a little overwhelmed by Tuck and Caroline, but then again, who isn't?!?!

Party Time

Some more pictures of the party in Huntington to celebrate Caroline's 3rd birthday, Haley's 30th birthday and Poppy's 60th birthday.

Picture Time!

This past weekend we went to West Virginia to visit Nena, Poppy, Pappaw, Uncle Brian, Aunt Haley and Will. This was our first time seeing "Baby Will" as Caroline calls him. Here are some pictures of the kids playing on the steps (aka riding the bus), wearing Nena's lipstick, and working on a puzzle with Uncle Brian.

Make-Up

Just Stuff

Caroline and Tucker do a lot of talking these days. The best is seeing Tucker get so excited to see Caroline and say "Hi Carwine!" He does this every morning when he first wakes up. Just the other day he said "Mama...I scared." Another new one for him is "don't like it." Once upon a time he used to eat anything we put in front of him. However, he now has an opinion about what he eats...Seriously, chicken nuggets - "don't like it." Not true, I say!

Caroline has said a few noteworthy things recently as well. Just yesterday she said "being a Mommy is hard work." What a smart girl! She also told me while trying to get dressed that "I can do it by my-big-self." She has been calling Tucker "Buddy" a lot recently. "Buddy-you got to get in your car and close the door so the peoples don't get in your car." "Buddy-are you alright? You OK, Buddy?" It is really cute because he knows that he is her "Buddy" and she is talking to him when she says "Buddy."

I don't have any new pictures for this posting. I haven't been feeling well which means no pictures because that takes extra energy and time. Currently I don't have either! We have made lots of trips to the fire station at Tucker's request. "Mommy, fie-ya trucks" I hear every time we pass the road that the fire station is on. We also ride out to the riding center to see the horses. Today Caroline said "Where are the horseys Mommy...are they in their tables?" (yes tables, not stables!)

Caroline is still enjoying her dance (creative movement) class on Wednesday mornings. Both kids are having a great time with our Monday babysitter, Porter or "Poorda" as Tucker says. Tucker always cries when I leave but the babysitter informs me that it is just a show because he has usually stopped crying before I am even out of the driveway. He must have learned that one from Caroline!

Well, that's all for now. PMO bake sale tomorrow, DuBose formal at the end of the month, Halloween (costumes are about half way finished), auction in November and another craft fair to do in early December, then the final fundraiser for PMO on December 5th! Not to mention two more date nights to organize, Caroline's 3rd birthday party to plan and a trip to West Virginia this weekend...it never ends!

What's Your Emergency?

This morning, as I was unloading the dishwasher, Caroline was apparently coloring on her legs with a red marker. (on another note, when I was taking this picture she said "Thanks for taking a good picture of my legs, Mommy.")

Meanwhile, Tucker was playing with the phone. To me this was better than him trying to climb in the dishwasher. Next thing I know, the phone is ringing and it was Kimberly. Kimberly, the 911 operator, was calling to make sure everything was ok because she had just received a call from this address. It seems as though Tucker had accidently dialed 911 and he was not answering her questions so she needed to find out what was going on.

I kept waiting for the lecture about how you should not let your children play with real phones for this exact reason. Kimberly was very nice and asked how old he was and told us to have a nice day. I can't help but wonder how he managed to dial "911." I have thought about that before (as he likes to play with the phone any chance he gets) but never thought it would really happen. Well, lesson learned and at least now we know the system works. Thanks, Kimberly!

Car Talk

Yesterday, Caroline was not convinced she needed to nap. However, we were having a bunch of people over for dinner and I wanted her to be well rested so she would be in a good mood while we had company. After refusing to nap, I told her fine, but she had to go in her room and "rest." To me that meant she needed to stay in her room and leave me alone so I could fix dinner.

After being in her room for about 15 minutes I heard the door open. She came out in just her shirt and pink tutu pushing her stroller. She looked at me and said "I'm just taking my kids to the park, Mom," and proceeded to walk out the back door onto the deck. All I could do was try not to laugh! I could see her out of the kitchen window and she was not bothering me so I caved and let her play.

She pulled all her vehicles in one area and talked and talked to herself. In the bottom picture you can see that she is holding a phone in her right hand...she spent some time talking on that as well.

Playing Outside with Daddy

Tucker was trying to help Chad build book desks.

Caroline thought that hanging on Chad's neck would be helpful!

Here is Caroline in the new car. At this moment she was telling me to leave her alone she was just trying to drive her car.

Tuck was happy with pushing his stroller around.