An apple a day...

...doesn't keep the doctor away when it's time for the big 1 year old check up with Dr. P!! Caroline is actually almost 13 mos. old now but we postponed this appt. because she was sick, and I didn't want her getting vaccines when she wasn't feeling 100%. So yesterday we showed up at Dr. P's office excited to get some shots (j/k). Poor Caroline...she has unfortunately developed a fear of Dr. P. She remembers who he is now and also remembers that he's the guy who always checks her ears (which she hates). So sweet Dr. P walked in and Caroline started crying before he even touched her. Needless to say, there was lots of self-soothing going on during the appt. I couldn't get a picture without Caroline sucking on her fingers. Good thing I brought Caroline's baby and Dora ipod to held with the trauma!

Caroline was given a clean bill of health!! Here are her 12 month stats:

Weight: 21 1/2 pounds (55%)

Height: 29 1/4 inches (55%)...time to switch to a big carseat now because the max height limit is 29 inches

Head: 17 1/2 inches (30%)

So it turns out Caroline is pretty average with a small head (which she gets from me...you know what I'm talking about if you've ever seen me in a hat :-) I was a little worried about Caroline's weight which has always been above the 8oth percentile. But the doc said it's nothing to worry about. A lot of kids drop some in weight percentage at this age because they don't eat as much and are moving more.

"Uh-oh...I know what's coming now!!"

At the end of the appt., Caroline got her Hep B and chicken pox vaccines. We're waiting 3 more months for the MMR since we're still on somewhat of a delayed schedule. Caroline also had blood drawn to check her iron level. She was a real champ...especially since Baby was there to make her feel better.

All-in-all, a great check up. We feel very blessed to have a healthy and happy 1 year old! Now, on to big girl things, like getting rid of these bottles once and for all and switching to a regular car seat.

These days...

...Caroline enjoys:

Watching Matt work in the yard,

swinging (really high),
playing her piano,

her slinky,

talking on the phone (a girl after my own heart),

and bubbles!!!

These are a few of Caroline's favorite things (well, they're some of her favorite things this week anyway :-)

Learning Time

Caroline is starting to feel a little better. She still has a low-grade fever so she's not 100% yet, but I THINK we might be on our way back to normal. We got our first full night's sleep in a week last night which was wonderful. Since we've spent a TON of time at home this week, Caroline had lots of time to practice some animal and letter sounds. Here is a video of what Caroline has been learning lately (she doesn't quite have the "sheep" sound down yet but we're working on it :-)

Sick and Tired

***Warning: "Debbie-Downer" post below--read at your own risk!!***

Is that not the saddest face?!? Caroline is sick and tired of being sick and tired!! It has been one.rough.week!! Seriously, folks, it's been tough. It all began with some lovely top molar teething-trauma. Who knew that molars were so painful?!? Actually, I had heard it was pretty bad, but I still wasn't prepared. Then, to top it all off, Caroline came down with a horrible "fever virus" (that's what the pediatrician is calling it) and has been having temps up to 103 degrees.

Sleep is a thing of the past and we are all exhausted. These kind of weeks sure do leave a mommy (and baby and daddy :-) feeling very worn out. Hopefully, it will all be over soon. And in the spirit of rough weeks, check out my friend, Nikki's, post. It's awesome and she says a lot of what I'm feeling better than I could articulate.

I'm praying Caroline feels better soon so this sad face will be full of big smiles once again!!

Good Times at the Arboretum

Last Saturday, Matt, Caroline and I went to one of my favorite places...the Arboretum! It's so pretty this time of year and we had fun showing Caroline all of the flowers, despite the chilly weather.

She loves riding in her wagon!!

Caroline's future house...haha :-)

Signing "please" to get down off of the bench

Good times had by all!!

Easter Blessings

Happy Easter!

Love,

Matt, Laura & Caroline

Caroline, discovering her Easter basket right after waking up

She really liked the "shaker" eggs (eggs with pennies inside)
But these rubber ducks were her fav!

Matt thought he'd put Caroline's tights on her head to make her look like a bunny. Silly Daddy!!

Family pic after lunch...excuse the squinty eyes

Caroline playing in her Easter dress

We hope you had a very blessed Easter celebrating the true reason for the holiday!!

Good Friday, wagons, bubbles, and more...

Happy Good Friday! I.love.Easter. I love that it's a time we get to celebrate Jesus dying on the cross and rising from the dead so that my sins are forgiven, and I can spend eternity in Heaven with Him. I love the Easter egg hunts and baskets filled with Reese's peanut butter eggs (at least that's what I like in my basket :-) I love the Spring weather and the beautiful flowers everywhere. I LOVE that my daughter was born this time last year and now Easter will always bring sweet memories of holding my first newborn in my arms. It's really a wonderful fantastic holiday.

Speaking of wonderful weather, it's been so nice around here, Matt and I decided to take Caroline on her first wagon ride after Matt got home from work the other day.

Just taking a break to drink some water and take in the scenery

"Hi mommy...whatcha doin' back there?!?"

Just sittin' in the front yard

Caroline has recently discovered the wonderful world of bubbles

I think this is some kind of yoga pose

"Wheeeeeee" (this REALLY scares me)

Climbing on Matt

These next 3 pics are just random ones I took of Caroline. Is it me, or does she look like such a big girl (sniff, sniff)??

Speaking of big girl, I discovered Caroline's top 2 molars coming in today. It explains her fussy behavior at nap time the past couple of days. I hope those teeth come in fast!!