Greetings & Birthday Shoutouts!

Things are finally getting back to normal schedule-wise. Judd is back to work (sadness!) and Caroline and I are hangin out at home! I will definitely say, things are way more fun now that she's smiling, laughing, cooing, and rolling around on her own. A light switch flipped at 3 months old and she gets more fun every single day. She's now in 3-6 month clothing even though she just started wearing her 3 month clothing 3 weeks ago. Ha! It's mostly the 3 month footed onesies that don't fit anymore. She's too long! Oh well, she's healthy and growing! Can't complain about that. She's 13lbs, 2.5oz - that's after a breathtakingly (and not in a good way...I mean literally) huge diaper. Y'all - I weighed the diaper. It was an 13oz diaper. Seriously. FULL. Ha!

We really didn't enough snow to even dust the ground. Just flurries in the air. At first I was disappointed until Judd got off work anyway! I was so happy! We spent the day together not really doing anything...but it was nice nonetheless. I did spend part of the morning at the doctor's office. I've got to kick this sickness, y'all. It's terrible. I've been sick with one thing after another since Caroline was born in the end of August. Misery. Had the flu (with 103* fever) when she was 2 weeks old, stomach virus, TONS of sinus problems........and on, and on, and on.... I'll stop. But truly, I've been sick. This latest bout of sinus troubles brought a large amount of fluid to both of my ears. So I got loaded up with a decadron shot, cough/decongestant, and an antibiotic. He said the fact that this problem has stuck around for 4 months makes him worry it could be partially due to some bacteria...so to really knock it out - I got an antibiotic as well. I'm happy to take it all if it will make me feel better. My ears HURT. So I'll be glad when this cleared up!

Caroline is doing fabulous! She went to the doctor last week (or week before?) and got a decongestant and cough medicine and it REALLY helps. She sounded really bad. Women at church gasp when she coughs. Makes me feel horrible - but I really am doing everything I can do! Ha! She never acts like she feels bad. Anyway, she's much better with the medicine. She can now roll over both ways (although she can roll much better from tummy to back) and I'm so proud! She halfway enjoyed her rice cereal today because we mixed it with some stage 1 applesauce. She seemed to like it much better! By the end of the meal (she didn't eat a ton) she was opening her mouth for the spoon! I was so proud. She still ate 7oz afterwards. Ha! This kid can EAT. She still eats about every 3 hours. Every once in a while she'll go 3 1/2...and rarely 4 hours. And if she's been 4 hours, an 8oz bottle doesn't stand a chance! Her playmat is her favorite toy - and she still naps best in her swing. I was a little worried about that until I looked up the max weight for the swing...25lbs! Ha! We're good! ;) She's still cuddly - which I l.o.v.e. She really only likes her paci when she's needing some security in a strange place or trying to sleep. Otherwise, she spits it right back out!

In house renovation news - they still haven't been able to pour concrete for the addition. :( It's either been too wet or too cold. Judd says to pour concrete it has to be in the mid-40's. Right now it's like - 10 degrees outside. Supposedly next week it's supposed to warm up a little so hopefully it will stay dry so they can pour concrete. My wonderfully gifted DIYer sister-in-law, Cassie came and looked at my bathroom situation and gave me some great ideas! I'll share when I think it's possible! Gotta check on measurements! I'm getting excited about it, though. I think we'll get to see Judd a good bit more and it will actually force us to eat more meals at home. The temptation of fast food/mexican/eating out in general is so strong when it takes less than 10 minutes to get there, get the food, and get home. So maybe we'll eat healthier...which is always a plus.

In this post, I need to make special mention of a couple of people who mean a lot to me!

First, my wonderful sister celebrated her 25th birthday on December 21. Yes, I'm extremely late...but extra sincere in my apology. Audra, you mean more to me than you'll ever, ever realize! On my worst day, I can call you and you always make me feel better - even if you have nothing to say and only listen! I love how close we've become. You're one of the best friends I've honestly ever had in my life. I hope it only gets better!

You've always been such an inspiration to me. Your unwavering faith amazes me every single day! You have such a wonderful heart and you're such a wonderful Christian wife and mother. Your family is so blessed to have you! I truly, truly, TRULY consider you one of my "best" blessings that God has given me. He knew what He was doing when He made you my sister.

I love you so much! I hope you never, ever forget that!



And next on my list...

Daddy celebrated his birthday January 6th, 2010! I'm not nearly as late with his post!

Daddy, what a joy it is to watch you with Caroline! I beam with pride when you ask to hold or feed her. I hope that means as much to you as it does to me! I hope Caroline makes as many wonderful memories with you as I have! Fishing, watching you gut fish on the back porch (gross!), jumping on the trampoline, watching classic movies, hearing you sing, hearing you do your "Donald Duck" voice to make us laugh over and over again....I could go on and on!

You've always wanted nothing but the best for me. I know that now. Even though I couldn't see it way back when. I'm so honored to call you my father. In the last few years, I've learned to cherish every moment with my Daddy! You always make a special effort to make me happy. Like visiting me on my birthday when I was 36 weeks pregnant and Judd had to work. I was so surprised! You've done so much for me - and I love you so much for all that you continue to do. You are truly a blessing in my life!! Thank you for loving my mother the way you do. That is so important...and I love seeing your love for each other. I especially love to see it get stronger every day! You're a wonderful Christian father, and I couldn't ask for anyone better!

I love you BOTH very much!

4 Months Old!

I can't believe she's 4 months old! Time is just flying past us. I'm really trying hard to cherish these little baby moments because they'll be gone before I know it!

Likes: Rocking, using the paci when rocking, eating, playing after eating, the playmat, the jumperoo, laughing at mommy and daddy, watching tv, grabbing things, rolling from your belly to your back, anything RED, bathtime.

Disklikes: Being put in the swing when you want to be held, your carseat "the green prison", rice/oatmeal cereal, having your nose suctioned, when someone takes your food from you prematurely, getting hot, and being put down when you first wake up.

I never realized I could love someone THIS much. I actually worry that I can't love more than one child this much! (I know that's not true, but it's hard to imagine!) Our lives have been richly blessed!

Judd and I were sick a few days ago and Mrs. Candy had to come get Caroline and keep her overnight. I cried! I missed her so much! I snuggled her every chance I got when she came home.

Caroline is a WONDERFUL baby! She sleeps from about 11pm-6am when Judd gives her a bottle before he leaves for work. Then she wakes me up anywhere from 2-4 hours later. This morning she didn't wake me up until 10:15am! I was SHOCKED when I saw the clock! That was a great night's sleep!

And here's what Caroline thought of rice/oatmeal cereal in ONE picture:

Four months has been the most fun so far! She smiles all.the.time. Her Granna even made her laugh out loud on New Year's Eve! It was possibly the cutest thing I've ever seen. She laughed and laughed. I got her to giggle yesterday but since Granna left she hasn't laughed anymore! Guess we need Granna to come back and visit! ;) Really, Caroline is a pretty "easy" baby. She hardly ever cries anymore unless she's super tired or needs to poop. We really can't complain! If all of my children are just like her - we'll count ourselves VERY lucky!

I can't wait to watch her grow up, but at the same time, I wish she would stay little forever. Last night, she put her head on my shoulder and we rocked. She was so content. I was so content. I wanted that moment to last forever! But since she has to grow up - I'm glad I got the privilege of being her mom. I can't wait to watch every single second! We love you, Caroline!

Wonderful Christmas!

To say we had a wonderful Christmas is a total understatement! Caroline was literally showered with toys, clothes, and handmade blankets! :) Judd and I definitely got lots of wonderful gifts, too! Judd even got me my comforter that I mentioned on here a while back! SO exciting. Judd's parents gave us a note that said "We owe you one king size bed whenever you're ready for it." YAAAAAAAAY! Mom & Dad gave Judd is coffee maker and he has made coffee every single day since then. I also got boots that are TO DIE FOR! I wanted them so badly but they were too expensive. Mom & Dad went back and got them for me! I was SO excited to open them!

It was such a fun time and we enjoyed our time with our families. Cassie & Aaron are going to see Brad Paisley with us in February! Mrs. Candy is coming and keeping all FOUR grandbabies! Should be interesting! To all of our family - thank you all SO much for being so generous! We love you all!

Caroline is just days away from being 4 months old! We're going to try rice/oatmeal cereal this week so we'll see how that goes.

In the meantime, here's the link to our "Holidays 2009" (<---- click those words, Deda!) that contains all the Christmas pictures! There were just too many great ones and not enough time to upload them all!

Just to make you want to see them - here's a sneak peek! :)

Recap

We've had such a whirlwind last 2 weeks! Talk about traveling! We visited Cassie & Aaron and all the kids week before last and had so much fun! We played Digital Monopoly (very fun, by the way! Definitely better than the old monopoly) and Aaron whooped us all. We also sat around and let Aaron and Austin play their guitars and we tried to remember words to songs we hadn't heard in years! We had a lot of fun just visiting and being with them all. We also need to make special mention of Davis - who offered up her full size swing to Caroline who was SO unhappy with her travel swing. Ha! Caroline literally wanted nothing to do with her travel swing. Lesson learned. The big swing comes along! Ha!

Last week we visited Audra, Andrew, and Drew! We played more monopoly, cards, and the wii! While we were there Judd and I went out for our anniversary. He took me to see the Wizard of Oz at the Orpheum!! He planned the whole thing himself! I was so proud! We ate at The Butcher Shop (YUM steak!) before the show and had such a good time. Thank you Audra for keeping Caroline for us! When we got home, Caroline suddenly rolled over all by herself! We were so surprised! Aunt Audra taught her something while we were gone, apparently! She's been doing it over and over ever since we left! We had so much fun visiting with them. We also drove through Starry Nights in Memphis! It was so cool! I even remembered some of it from when I was little.

Caroline has decided her swing is NOT where she wants to be right now so I must be going!

She rolled over!

Aw, 2nd post for today! :) Caroline has officially learned to roll over from tummy to back. She did it on our anniversary for the first time and did it again 5 more times tonight! I think she has it mastered! I'll have to find the camera so I can video it and post it! I'm one proud mommy!

KEEP SCROLLING FOR ANOTHER POST!

Christmas Time Pictures!

So sorry that I don't have time to type a post! Caroline has been kinda sickly with a nasty cold this week and she's not sleeping as well as usual. She's needing me now! I'll tell you about our wonderful last two weeks, soon!

3 Months Old!!

Can you believe it's been 3 months since we had Caroline? It's been the hardest, best 3 months of my life! We are really looking forward to this FINALLY being Judd's last week of work. Hopefully tomorrow will be his last day! (Yes, I've been saying that for a long time, but I think it's finally true.)

Caroline is definitely getting her own personality. Can we say DRAMA QUEEN?! If you put her down when she wants to be held, she's upset before your arms come out from under her! When she's nursing and I begin to switch sides, she screams because her meal has been taken away for two whole seconds! She's getting bigger every day. I'm pretty sure she's over 10lbs now...although I'm not positive. She sure feels like it! It seems like she's grown SO much in the last week! Growth spurt? It could account for how fussy she's been! Ha!

She loves to sit and coo and laugh. She has also shown interest in her first toy! It's a bear that sings "twinkle twinkle" and has little red lights that blink on her cheeks. Caroline just stares at it and actually attempted to swat at it once or twice! She smiled at the bear a few times, too! She also stares at high contrast patterns a lot! She smiles when you laugh at her - and sometimes you can make coughing noises and she'll laugh. She also thinks it's hilarious when she sneezes! She's getting way better at holding her head up on her own but still hates tummy time. Honestly, she hates being out of anyone's arms. Ha! She also sleeps through the night now!! She's been doing it for a few weeks now - and I'm SO thankful! :) Sometimes, she'll be smiling at you when you're not looking and she wants you to pay attention to her. Y'all, she's precious! Check out our 3 month pictures!


She's getting so big!

Blue eyes!!

"What is this stupid thing on my head?!"

I never knew I could love someone so much! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and finally got to meet baby Davis. She's so cute! I loved holding and cuddling her! We're planning L-O-T-S of traveling in December and I'm pumped about it! I probably won't be blogging much (what else is new, right?) since we'll be gone but I'll do my best!