Half year

Caroline is 6 months old today. That meant going to the doctor for her 6 month checkup. Her doctor said she looks great and is right on target for all her milestones. She had several shots to endure - poor thing. But she recovered quickly and had a great rest of her day. We got the go ahead for solids so we will officially be starting those soon. We've already been practicing a little with rice cereal, banana and rice crackers.
Here's a few pictures of the big girl.



Here's some of her eating her rice crackers. These were taken a couple of weeks ago.





This is too cute not to share


I have a bunch of Christmas pictures - I promise I will post them soon!!!

'Twas the Saturday before Christmas

We had a busy Saturday. We started off early by going to the mall for pictures with Santa. This is Caroline's third time with Santa this year, so hopefully by now he knows everything on her list. She likes Santa and even had a death grip on his sleeve.

It appears that Santa drives a Hummer. We saw his H2 outside a local children's store later in the afternoon.

Later we went to Downtown Disney for dinner. The weather was great and the colored balls of lights on the trees were so pretty.




Tomorrow we will be packing our warmest clothes as we get ready to head into the aftermath of the huge blizzard in D.C. We'll be trading our flip flops for boots and hats. Although I'm looking forward to spending time with family, I'm really not looking forward to trading the gorgeous weather we've been having for 2 feet of snow and bitter cold. Although I was born a Minnesota girl, it's like I've lost all ability to stay warm when the temperature dips below 50. Weak you might say and yes, I agree. But sadly it's true. I am going to be freezing my fanny off. The upside is that Caroline will get to meet two cousins she hasn't met yet and her Great Grandma Byrd. She might even get to play in the snow a little and hopefully tour the White House and check out some of the Smithsonians.

To all the readers that are on the east coast: Stay warm and stay safe!

2nd visit with Santa

A couple of weeks ago my MOMS club had our Holiday Party and guess who showed up? Yes, Virginia, it was Santa Clause. Caroline has been working hard on her list so she made sure she had a little chat with Santa. She was fascinated by his beard and we had trouble getting her to let go.

Pictures

Back in early November we had some pictures taken at Treasure Island Beach in Laguna Beach. They were taken as part of a fundraiser for Families Forward which is an organization that helps Irvine families that are in need. Southwest Irvine Moms Club raised over $1300 for Families Forward. With that money we were able to purchase gifts from the wishlists of 20 children! Tonight I am going over to the Families Forward's warehouse to help put together bags of gifts for families in need. As a "Holiday Angel," we will be given lists of requests from the families and will rummage through the shelves of toys and find the item that most represents the request and then put it in the bag. The bags are then marked, stuffed with wrapping, and placed in an area for pick up. I'm excited about doing this small act to help others during the holiday season.

We finally got the pictures and here they are:

And it hasn't stopped....

I think since she started saying mama last night, she hasn't stopped! It's so funny - I know it's just babble but I absolutely love hearing it. Sometimes she just practices the motions without the sounds. Can I just say how much fun she is?

Mama?

She said it!!!! Sadly it wasn't to me, but Jeremy heard it last night and she's been doing it a bunch today.

Last night we were playing with Caroline on the floor in the living room. She was babbling a bit and I was babbling with her. I went into the kitchen and when I walked away she said it. Now the next step is for her to associate it with me. Regardless, this makes my heart melt whenever I hear it. And I guess we need to work on "dada" now too.

Correction

I just realized that the first elf dance that I posted was some crazy barn dance. Whoops! It should have been this one.

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Fa la la la la, la la la la!

I'm a little late in posting this, but last weekend we put our tree up and decorated it. Our little angel helped put the angel on the top. :)

Santa

A couple of weeks ago we went to a Baby Fair at a local hospital. Santa was there and Caroline sat on his lap. She didn't mind it at all, but there was so much going on that we had a hard time getting her to look at the camera. Of course she pulled through and gave us her melt-your-heart smile. We've been waiting to get the picture and it finally came!

And another one

I couldn't leave Rudy and NaeNae out.

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Happy Holidays

Wishing you a happy holiday season from my family to yours!

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5 months!

Here's a few pictures that I took today.





I laugh at this every time I look at it.

Caroline's First Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving we went to a friend's house in San Clemente. We were sad that we weren't able to be with family over the holiday, but we had a very nice time with friends. Our friends' house isn't on the beach, it's actually probably a couple of miles from the beach, however they have an awesome ocean view. And the sunset that evening was absolutely stunning. I wished I had my camera with me so I could have captured it. Besides the sunset we could also see the elusive islands of Catalina and San Clemente. Because of the marine layer that seems to be present more often than not, Jeremy and I have probably only seen Catalina a handful of times since we've lived here. I think this might have been a first sighting of San Clemente Island for both of us. As the sun was dropping out of view, the islands seemed to pop out of nowhere. Of course it's only the silhouette, but it's still quite a sight. The sky also layered with brilliant dark blues and oranges - such a beautiful contrast. Throw in the silhouettes of the islands and palm trees and it was breath taking. What a gorgeous view for Thanksgiving.

Saturday we took a little outing to Balboa island. I was hoping that there would be more Christmas decorations up, but that will give us an excuse to go back in the next couple of weeks. For those of you that don't know about Balboa Island, it's literally about 6 miles down the road from us. It's a tiny island with quaint houses. Caroline and I were down there before Halloween and some of the houses had the cutest decorations. After we had lunch at Wilma's Patio, we stopped at the frozen banana shop for dessert and then headed to the sidewalk that takes you around the island.


This is Caroline getting tickled:


There were even some kayakers out there


Later that evening:

Just some quick pictures

We've been staying busy and I really haven't taken too many pictures lately, but I thought I would share a few.
Here's Caroline playing with her Whoozit



We set up her high chair the other night just to try it out. She wasn't too sure about it, but she got the hang of it.



No, we aren't feeding her in there yet. Her doctor has recommended that we wait until she's about 6 months until she starts eating solids. This will just be another seat for her to sit in while Jeremy and I eat dinner. She's been sitting in her BeBe Pod chair with us for awhile now. We're trying to start "family dinners" early. This is an older picture that you've already seen, but it gives you the idea.


This one is from last night. This is how Caroline looked when we arrived home last night. She had all her favorite things with her and was obviously so content that she was sleeping peacefully in the car. Her favorite things (besides me, of course!) are her Frog Guy, Sophie la girafe, and any of her burp cloths.

Caroline found her feet

This is so cute. Caroline was hanging out in her chair this afternoon while I did a few things in the kitchen. When I came back to her, she was bent over in her chair, grabbing at her feet. Rudy makes his debut in this - he's such a ham!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Beach pictures

Yesterday we had some family pictures taken at Treasure Island Beach in Laguna Beach. The session was actually part of a fund raiser that my MOMS Club was doing. The money raised will be donated to Families Forward which is an organization that helps families in Irvine. Jeremy and I had been to this beach when we first moved here in the summer of '08, but hadn't been back since even though we go to Laguna quite a bit. This beach is on the far south end of town, right next to The Montage. (Someday I hope to spend a few days at The Montage.) We had forgotten how beautiful it is. We also realized that since I found out I was pregnant, we really hadn't been on the beach very much at all. This was Caroline's first time in the sand and the photographer captured some fun shots of her in it. I am so excited to see the pictures!

After the shoot, we took a few pictures of our own. Since it won't be until later this week that we will get to see the proofs, here are some of our nonpro pics.

It has been a year

since we found out that we were expecting a little one. Last year on Sunday, November 9, I took a pregnancy test and it came out positive. I immediately told Jeremy and then took 2 more tests just because I really couldn't believe that it was true. We had been trying to get pregnant since July, so after four months of trying and waiting, we were both absolutely thrilled to finally have this great news. Over the next couple of weeks I took a few more tests just because I was still in disbelief that I could actually be pregnant. It wasn't until our first ultrasound on November 25 that I truly believed that I had a baby just starting to grow inside of me.

And here, a year later we have our amazingly beautiful daughter. All I can say is Wow! She is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I love her so much and love how she fills my days with absolute joy and wonder. Jeremy and I remark to each other everyday that she is awesome. And she really is.

I love you Caroline!

A new voice for Caroline

Apparently Caroline has discovered another one of her voices. This one is another type of squealy shriek - but different from the one a couple of months ago. It can come out any time...after she eats, when Daddy gets home, after her bath, but it always comes out when she is on the jumper. She goes nuts on that thing. Check it out....

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Part of the "Swing Set"

Caroline has a lot of standing "dates" each week. Fridays are with the Lovebugs which are a group of kids born in '08 and '09. As of now, she is still the youngest in the group. Which means she spends a lot of time watching the bigger kids eat solid foods, crawl, walk, run and play. Each week we meet some place different. Today was at a neighborhood park. After we watched her friend, Annie, eat some crackers (Annie is 8 months old), we set out to try the swings. Caroline is a little small for even the baby swings, but I hung onto her hands and pushed/pulled her back and forth. She smiled and kicked her feet.
(And yes, it was in the 70's today. And sunny. Absolutely gorgeous. Gotta love SoCal!)


She is very observant and curious about the bigger kids. I think she is just taking it all in and processing what she sees. She is going to be hell on wheels when she starts walking!

Kung Fu Caroline

Here is Caroline all dressed up to do her trick or treating on Halloween.

She looks happy, but do you think she's flipping me off? Maybe she didn't think I would notice. ;)

And an update on her pumpkin - it won a prize in the pumpkin carving contest! Woo hoo!

Happy 4 months Caroline

Poor Caroline. She started off the day at the pediatrician's office for her 4 month appointment. Everything checked out great. Her doctor is very impressed with her sleeping habits and the strength in her legs and neck. She loves to stand up and look around at everything. Of course, this is with us supporting her for balance, but she bears a lot of weight on her legs too. She is hitting all of her milestones in great stride. Her laughs and giggles are probably my favorite. I have found her ticklish spot and can get awesome laughs from her pretty much anytime that I want. She weighed in at a whopping 15 pounds, 2 ounces and she is 25.5 inches tall.

I love you Caroline!

I didn't get a picture of her today, but here's a couple from yesterday.


Her hat is a little big in this one, but I think it looks cute. :) She is with her first pumpkin, ready for her first Halloween.

Halloween Parade

Yesterday was the Halloween parade at an assisted living home in Irvine. We met up with all our MOMS Club friends and visited with the residents at the home and then listened to a Halloween story. After that, we headed to a local park for a potluck/party. Caroline dressed up in her Panda costume, but I don't think she was too thrilled with it.


Caroline's friend, Abby


And Julian. He is such a little cutie pie.

Some random posts

A MOMS Club friend of ours is letting us borrow her daughter's jumparoo. She gave it to us yesterday and I set it up this morning and let Caroline try it out. Even though she's still a bit too small for it (her feet don't quite touch), I let her try it out and she had a ball in it.



And last night she slept for 13.5 hours! She crashed out at her normal bedtime of 8 p.m. and aside from her usual fuss around 5 a.m. for her pacifier, she didn't wake up until 9:30 a.m. I had actually started to go in there to wake her up to feed her because I felt like this was maybe too long for her to go without eating. I'm going to check with her doctor about this. She usually sleeps a good 10-12 hours anyways, but 13.5? Wow!