Caroline's First Thanksgiving

Give THANKS to the Lord, for He is good. His love endures forever!!!

Caroline had a fun, first Thanksgiving. She woke us up bright and early...I guess she was so excited to celebrate. She drank her morning bottle and then played in the kitchen while I finished up breakfast. We had our traditional holiday breakfast: egg-sausage casserole and coffee cake. Caroline ate baby food fruit and oatmeal for breakfast. Too bad she didn't get to enjoy any of the yummy stuff.
Playing in the kitchen
"Mommy, PLEASE pay me some attention...look... I'll clap for you"
Modeling her Thanksgiving dress

"Why am I so dressed up and Daddy is still in his pajamas?!?"

"Time to say a prayer and thank God for all of His wonderful blessings!!"
Tracing Caroline's hand for our Thanksgiving craft Here is Caroline's artwork. Caroline's hands look much bigger in the picture than they really are. This little turkey is actually really small. Isn't Caroline great at coloring between the lines? :-)
Me and Matt
We spent Thanksgiving with my family this year. From Left to Right: Nanny a.k.a. Big Nanny to Caroline, Aunt Jean, Matt, my mom (Kalo) and my brother, John a.k.a. Uncle J-Rock (at least that's what he wants to be called...I think Uncle John is good :-)
Family pics: Caroline, my mom and Nanny
John and Matt (after eating...can you tell?) They are watching the Cowboys game in this pic...a tradition in our family.
Me and my broJohn and Caroline (somewhere along the way, Caroline lost her bow, dress, tights and shoes)

We had a delicious Thanksgiving meal cooked by my mom who really is the most fabulous cook I know. She made a deliciously moist roasted turkey, cornbread dressing, gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans with bacon & roasted red peppers, Commander's Palace salad, and of course sweet tea and Sister Schubert rolls. For dessert, my mom made an oreo cheesecake as a surprise for Matt (cheesecake is his favorite dessert) and a carrot cake too. I seriously think I gained back all of my post baby weight I've been trying so hard to lose. It was worth it though!! Thanks for such a wonderful meal, mom!! We watched the Cowboys game, played a riveting game of 42, then came home to put Caroline to bed. Overall, a great Thanksgiving...not because of what we ate or what we did, but because we were with our family who we love so much (we missed you Grammie, Grandpa, Uncle Marcus, and Grandad). And now...let the Christmas decorating begin...whoo hoo!!

So Thankful

This time last year, I was visiting my wonderful in-laws in Virginia for Thanksgiving. I was pregnant with Caroline (just beginning my 2nd trimester), and I remember being so thankful for the little life that was growing in me. How amazing that this year we get to be thankful for our sweet daughter who brings us so much joy everyday.

Matt, Caroline and I want to wish all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving. More to come tomorrow on baby girl's FIRST Thanksgiving holiday!!

Some Sunday Snapshots and Fun Videos

Caroline is starting to do really well when standing up and holding on to something. She's not pulling up yet but is pretty steady when we put her in this position. She loves it too! She'd stand up all day if she could.

She's very close to crawling. She gets up on all fours and can move one knee and one hand forward...it won't be long! I'm not in any hurry for her to be mobile though. I haven't baby-proofed our house yet, and I really enjoy getting to sit Caroline down with her toys and leave the room. I know I won't have this freedom much longer.
Peeking over my shoulder at Daddy
"I'm comin' to getcha!"
Caroline has also started to work really hard at getting herself from a sitting position onto all fours. She keeps getting one leg "caught" underneath her...she gets tired, lays her head on the floor, rests for a second or two, then gets back to work. It's really funny to watch. Here's a pic of Caroline taking a break from all the hard work.

This first video is of Caroline's new trick...she can clap! This last week she learned to clap her hands together when we say "clap, clap, clap" We've made such a big deal about it that she now does it all the time. She's also starting to wave "bye-bye" every now and then but I couldn't get her to do it in this video. She was too excited to clap. Disclaimer: Please excuse the horrible quality of these videos. I had to take them with my camera...long story but we'll have better videos from our real video camera up soon. Also, please excuse my most incredibly annoying commentary/voice on all of the videos. I promise I don't talk to Caroline like that all day...I had to do it to get her to perform for the camera :-)

This video is of Caroline's other new trick...babbling! She never stops gabbing (at least at home around me and Matt)

This last video is Caroline playing in her favorite toy.

FREE AT LAST, FREE AT LAST!!

Today, Caroline is officially my sweet baby (helmet-free) girl!! Yay, woo-hoo, yipee!! As you can tell, I'm not excited at all and did not decide to throw her a Happy Head party last night. Wait, I'm mistaken :-) We had our community group over last night for a chili dinner, and I decided to turn it into a little party for Caroline since it was her last day wearing her helmet. So with some decorations and a present or two, we were all set.

Caroline's decorated high chair

The HAPPY sign

Her gifts: a winter hat and some bows (of course :-) to celebrate the occasion
Here are the last pictures taken of Caroline wearing her helmet. She's waving bye-bye :-)

Here is Caroline having her head scanned for the last time. We will miss that funny doo-rag!

I had this long post I was going to write about all the things I will not miss about the helmet (that include, but are not limited to...the stares from strangers, the rude/weird comments, the fact that Caroline's head has smelled like dirty feet for the past 10 weeks, etc..) However, I decided if I wrote a post like that, I would sound ungrateful. And that's not how I really feel. I am actually SO grateful for this helmet and the medical intervention (physical therapy included) that helped Caroline's torticollis and plagiocephaly (flat head). My most fervent prayer (when we finally decided we would get Caroline a helmet) was that she would not be distressed or uncomfortable in the helmet. My prayers were answered, and she never even knew anything was on her head. This was not characteristic of Caroline given she is a super sensitive baby. We were so blessed that it all went smoothly and are happy that she now has normal neck muscles and a beautiful, round head. I would show before/after pics but her flat spot doesn't really show up so you can't tell. Here are some pics I took after our appt. today. Adios helmet...although we are so grateful for you, we will not miss you!!

Cause that's my funday

Well, it wasn't a Manic Monday but we had a fun day yesterday (Thursday). The past week and a half, I've been on "house arrest" with Caroline because she's been sick. Yesterday was her first day back to normal and feeling 100%. So I made it a point to NOT be at home. I have been going STIR CRAZY! So where did we go first? The mall of course :-) I figured it couldn't hurt to get a jump start on some Christmas shopping.

Here's Caroline ready to go. Look how happy she is to be getting out of the house. Her little doll is her most fav toy at the moment and it accompanies us everywhere we go.

I was so happy to be out of the house that I treated myself to the most delectable Mrs. Field's peanut butter cookie and...

...a REAL coke, with REAL sugar (gasp) It was so heavenly!!
After my lovely snack and some shopping, I happened to glance down and see that my wedding ring was covered in some kind of nasty, green vegetable baby food. So disgusting, I know! I walked right into the first jeweler I came to and they cleaned my rings for FREE, even though Matt had not bought them there. Awesome! Yay for Ben Bridge!

We had a great time at the mall then Caroline took a nap when we got home. When she woke up, we went outside to play with some of the neighborhood big kids. They are so much fun. Here are two pretty gals:

Hannah and Caroline (who's skin tone do you think Caroline inherited? Goodness gracious!!)

Hannah took Caroline's doll away but quickly had to give it back. Caroline was NOT happy about that. Look at her face, she's like "THIS IS MINE"

Hannah, Maddie and Caroline
Tickle, tickle!!
Hannah, Maddie, Luke and Caroline

After playing outside, it was bathtime. Look at my big girl in the big bathtub. Caroline loves her "big girl" bath. She splashes a TON and has a blast.

All clean, pretty, and ready for a night out on the town. Okay, maybe not out on the town but to dinner at Mi Cocina anyway. I guess that's a big night out for Caroline since her evenings usually consist of supper, bath, a bottle and bed.

My good friend, Katie (one of my fun roomies from college), her ADORABLE son Will, and her mom, Julie were in town so my mom, Caroline and I joined them for dinner.

Seriously, how cute is this little boy?!? I just love him. Will is quite the flirt and social butterfly. Once he was finished eating, he would wave at everyone who walked by and say "hello". So cute! He also has a full head of curly, blonde hair that is just awesome. Quick side note, Katie and Reagan (her hubby) have set up a Whiterock marathon/relay team to raise money for Scottish Rite. Check out Will's website here

Another big girl moment...this is Caroline's second time in a high chair at a restaurant. She ate dinner along with the rest of us. She's growing up so fast!
Will puttin' the moves on Caroline...she loved it!

They kept trying to hold each other's hands...it was hilarious and had us laughing so hard.

Caroline and Katie

Me and Will...two curly-headed kids

Two proud grandmothers: Julie with Will and my mom with Caroline

Thanks for eating with us Katie, Julie and Will. We had so much fun and can't wait to see you guys again soon!!