eleven months

this girl is:

approaching a year so very quickly

 looking older, longer, toddlerish

becoming more outspoken when things don't go her way

saying "mama" "dada" "ayah" (elli) and "da" (duck and dog)

loving to explore the world around her 

crawling, cruising, climbing

beginning to stand up all by herself

 giving sweet kisses (for reals!)

voluntarily giving lots of snuggles

doing the actions to 'wheels on the bus'

making smacking noises while having tea parties with her big sister

practicing "pat-pats" on ginger and getting pretty good at it

trying to color (after sampling the chalk/crayon/marker of course - she's impartial)

 still nursing four times a day and loving it

eating anything and everything i give her

but especially loving meat of any kind and strawberries

needing a cup of water whenever her sister gets one

still taking two naps, but doing fine on a day when she misses one

still sleeping about eleven hours at night

  

this girl is:

- precious - fun - strong - ticklish - flexible - busy - communicative - playful - curious - passionate - relational - sweet - loved -

Sad Sad Sleepy Sickies

 Oh goodness.  There is nothing more sad than a sick baby girl, am I right?

Caroline had her first real fever this weekend. Such a sad, sweet little sickie.  Saturday night she spent most of the night snuggled up on my shoulder as I rocked her. 

 Sunday, when she wasn't singing slow sad songs with her head down, or lethargically leaning into me;

 She looked like this.  Poor baby.  What a sad, sweet little sickie.  Breaks my heart!

And also my back a little bit, but that's nothing when she just wants me to hold her so she can nestle her hot little head into my neck.  Poor baby.  Let's hope tomorrow is less sad and sick but just as sweet.

Nine Sweet Months

Sweet Caroline, there are so many wonderful things about you at nine months. Your daddy and I love to witness your precious personality budding right in front of us, and we feel so blessed that we get to be your parents.You and your big sister sure do make this an amazing adventure!

You love to blow raspberries with your tongue.  You blow the sweetest kisses.  

You can say Da-Da and Ma-ma.  You can sign "more," "milk," and "all done."  

Sometimes you say "ah duh" when you sign all done.

You give the biggest, wettest, sweetest kisses. And you always aim for the mouth. Oh, how I love them!

You smile easily. You have a deep, raspy chuckle. You giggle the most at your big sister.

You got your daddy's dancing gene and do a little bounce and wiggle anytime there is music.

You crinkle up your eyes when you smile sometimes.  That precious, gummy smile.

You are constantly drooling and gnawing on your fingers, but no teeth have made an appearance yet.

You are eating pretty well, although you definitely prefer yellow and orange veggies.

You are crawling, scooting, squirming, diving, rolling, pulling, jumping, and standing. 

All.of.the.time.  

Your new confidence suits you quite well.

Peek-a-boo is still your favorite game.

You are so curious about everything.  You watch closely everything your big sister does.  

You are busy and silly and sweet.

We love you so so much!

Eight Months

I am so bummed I didn't do a six or seven months post. They were such sweet months.  You grew and mastered so many new skills, and we all love seeing your sweet personality shine more and more.  What an answer to prayer you are, baby girl!  You light up a room with your ever-present smile.  At six months: you were inching yourself around a bit; sitting up with help; eating a few solids; and experimenting with all kinds of vowels and consonant combinations.  At seven months: you could scoot anywhere you wanted to get (albeit slowly); sitting up all by yourself; eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables; and playing your very own version of peek-a-boo.  At eight months: you are scooting like a pro (always with your right foot and left arm); bringing herself up into a sitting position; just beginning to crawl; and planking longer and with better form than I can. :)

 

You adore your big sister and shadow her around everywhere.  You give hugs and (big, wet, open-mouthed) kisses freely.  Peek-a-boo is still your favorite game.  You started clapping on your eight month birthday, and now you do it all the time with such an expectant look in your eyes, just waiting for me to notice.  Whenever I'm working in the kitchen, you are right under my feet, exploring the lowest drawer or smiling at your reflection in the refrigerator.  Your baby babble melts my heart every time.

Oh, I'm sure there's mischief ahead (see below expression), but for now, sweetie -- you are truly delightful and fun and sweet.  Your daddy and I are so crazy about you, Care-Bear.  Elli is your biggest advocate and your best friend already.  She goes to bed an hour after you do, but she usually tip-toes over to your crib and peeks in at you.  Last night she whispered to me, "She's so shweet."  She loves to make you laugh, and the only time she makes you cry is when she squeezes you too tightly.  You are a loved little girl.

Five Months

 Our sweet Caroline is getting so big!  She rolls; she scoots; and she's getting pretty good at grabbing toys (especially her big sister's!).  These bright eyes are constantly watching what's going on around her, craning her neck to see what Elli is up to or where Daddy is going.

She nurses about every 3-4 hours and has tried a few bites of cereal, mostly for practice at this point.  I've realized that starting solids is probably a bigger transition for me than anything else!  Mealtimes are about to get a little crazy!  She loves all the attention Elli gives her when I do feed her.  "Good job, Yai-yai!  You do it!  You do it!"

 She continues to be a great sleeper, taking two long naps and one cat-nap during the day, and then sleeps about twelve hours at night.  She went through a phase where she would wake up around five in the morning and just chatter away.  I am hoping we are done with that! 

 Her little personality is definitely starting to peek out, which is really fun!  She is relatively quiet, especially in public.  In fact, she just plain loves to be home, becoming very happy and active when we walk through our door.  She is easy-going and really only cries when something is wrong.  She laughs the hardest for her daddy, especially when he "helps" her chase Elli around the house. Like her sister, she is very curious and wants to be held so she can see what is going on around her.  A bundle of joy, we just can't help but smile every time we see her!

We love you, little lady!

Four Months

 Even though it's only been a few years since Elli was Caroline's age, I had forgotten how much I adore having a baby around.  The sweetness, the cuddliness, the delicious squishiness.  I can't get enough!

Caroline is all these things and more, making her absolutely irresistible!

At her four month appointment, she measured 25.5 inches and weighed 14lbs 11oz, which put her in the 50th percentile for both. Pure perfection... but we already knew that.  Those chocolate eyes are not going anywhere, but is it just me, or is her hair getting lighter? 

She is smiling and giggling up a storm, especially at her big sister! Whenever Elli is in the room, she is watching her intently.  Caroline rolls from back to front every time I lay her down and occasionally makes it to her back again.  She is very interested in her toys and loves to read books.

 

Caroline continues to be an awesome sleeper, usually going twelve hours at night, although I do sometimes wake her up for one feeding before I go to bed.  On a normal day, she takes two long naps and one short one in the early evening.  I am learning, however, that with two littles and my job, there are a lot of "abnormal" days.  No matter what kind of day we are having though, she is rarely fussy or needy.  I'm so thankful for my sweet, content baby girl!

Three Months

 Oh my goodness, I love this sweet girl.  I know I allude to this in almost every post, but how on earth do three months slip by so quickly? 

The reason I am almost two weeks behind posting these pictures is because I wanted to try to take some more when Daniel was home, because as you will see... Caroline was much more interested in chewing on her little fingers than smiling for the camera.  Daddy always gets big old smiles from her, but photo shoot number two never happened.  So enjoy the drool my friends.

 Oh yeah.  This little miss has definitely discovered her hands.  I love when her two hand find each other and fold together on her chest like she's praying.  Gets me every time.  As does that little tummy.  So kissable.

 She continues to be a great baby, eating every 3.5 - 4 hours, sleeping 10-11 hours at night and beginning to transition to three naps a day.

I did manage to capture one sweet little picture of her without her hands in her mouth. Those big brown eyes are mostly interested in her big sister right now.  She follows her all around the room, turning and twisting around to keep her big sis in sight.  Elli loves the attention and gets a very proud smile when Caroline smiles at her.  

The girl wants to roll so badly, and is working very hard to make it happen (more pics of that soon). She laughed for the first time for both Daniel and I on August 13, and so of course we will make absolute fools of ourselves to get more.  She is such a happy girl.

 See?

Beating the Heat

 Along with the rest of the country, we have been in a terrible heat wave!  Several days have broken records, and I read somewhere that we are on our 26th day in a row of highs in the 100s.  Yuck.

Despite the heat, we managed to enjoy some morning activities with my parents.  Saturday was cloudy and breezy, so we walked to our "blue park" where Elli showed Grandpa and Mia the ropes.

 And got a little sweaty (and adorable) in the process.

On Monday we spent the morning at the zoo, complete with a ride on the choo-choo.

Instead of visiting all the animals at the zoo, we spent the morning in the toddler cove where the pool is cool and mostly shaded! Elli fed the turtle...

 built sand piles with Grandpa...

and practiced sharing our toys (um, yeah... still a ways to go on that one!).

And Caroline had all kinds of smiles for Grandpa and snuggles for Mia.

This picture needs a caption.  Any ideas?

(Thanks, Mom and Dad, for letting me have some of your pics!  You got some awesome ones!)

Two Months

Two sweet months already!  Time seems to be moving even faster with Caroline than it did with Elli, so I really am treasuring each little stage - like the fact that I am absolutely her favorite person right now.  

I get a smile almost every time she sees me, and sometimes when we make eye contact while she's nursing, she'll unlatch and give me a huge, milky smile!  Oh, these are the moments that make my heart stop! 

Although I am her favorite, she also has eyes for her Daddy, and is drawn to her big sister whenever she is near.  Daddy has even gotten an almost chuckle, so we are all working hard to hear that precious first laugh!  Elli continues to be very loving with her little sister, and is doing such a great job of being gentle with her!  She still requests to hold her and will often stop in the middle of what she is doing to run over and give her a kiss.

 

Caroline is really starting to explore her world with those little hands.  They are in constant motion, usually back and forth from her mouth (not sure if she might end up being a thumb-sucker?) to her tummy, and she is really starting to give her toys a good swat (and occasional kick) on her play mat!

Her doctor's appointment is next week, so once again, I don't have any official stats, but according to our scale she was 11 lbs on her two month birthday.  Her little rolls are growing perfectly!

She continues to be a really easy baby, sleeping 8 hours at night, eating about every 3-3.5 during the day, and still napping between each feeding.  She really only cries when she is hungry, tired, or needs a diaper change.

Caroline, you are a delightful baby and bring so much joy to your daddy, sister and I!  We praise God for you every day!

One Month

 My sweet little Caroline is already six weeks old.  This year is going to be gone before I know it!  One thing I love about being a second time mommy is that I am much more (forgive the cliche) "in the moment" than I was with Elli.  Because I have an idea of what is on the horizon and also because I know how quickly this season will pass, I am really much more aware of the everyday miracles.  I also don't stress out as much if Caroline has a bad feeding or seems fussy. I love feeling so comfortable in my mommy skin!

Speaking of skin... is there anything softer than newborn skin?  I do not think so.  Every little inch of Caroline is so delicious.  I could (and do) kiss these little piggies all day long!

          

These are a few weeks late.  I wanted to take Caroline's monthly pictures in our new rocker, but it took longer getting here than I thought it would.  So, technically, the pictures are six week photos, but the stats are from one month.

At her two week appointment, she was weighing 7lbs 4oz and measuring 20.5 inches.  When I weighed her on our bathroom scale at one month, she was 8.5lbs (give or take... our scale only measures by the half pound).  Developmentally she is right where she should be - trying hard to hold her head up, especially when big sister is around during tummy time, and beginning to swipe at things within reach. 

Caroline began to really smile right at her one month birthday.  Now we get them all the time!  I love those gummy grins.  Her verbal skills are also developing.  She likes to have your complete and undivided attention when she tells a story, which we're happy to give her!

Caroline is a terrific sleeper!  Since we came home from the hospital, we have had very few nights without at least a five hour stretch, and most of them she sleeps between six and seven.  We are liking this trend and hope it doesn't change anytime soon!  She sleeps best when swaddled and still likes that pacifier. 

Truly my rock-star baby (mo-hawk and all!), she was a pro at eating right from the beginning.  She eats about every three hours, except at night.  If all my babies are as easy as Caroline, I might just never stop having them!  :)

One of my favorite "everyday miracles" is how Caroline follows me with her eyes wherever I go.  My ears had grown accustomed to "Go 'way, Mommy"  and "No, I do it, Mommy."  It's nice to feel needed and adored.  :)

Happy one month birthday, sweet girl!