Life, Life, Life!

Life is...wonderful, exhausting, fantastic, difficult, and ever changing. Caroline isn't that much older than Landon, but I definitely forgot that once a routine is established and things get going good...BOOM! Something else changes and everything is haphazard again. I love my husband and the life we've built together. I love our children. In our wedding vows we promised to love one another, in fortune and trial, and to always walk a Godly path. I just recently watched our video and was reminded of what we vowed in front of our Lord. I cried and was awestruck at how this life is trying and tiring, but we are keeping those promises daily, even when times are tough. Seasons of life can be hard and we're in a hard season right now. Rewarding, but hard.



We've been busy, as always, but enjoying life as much as we can. Our sweet baby boy is a crier. Bless his heart, sometimes I have done everything in my power to help him and he still cries. For a long time, most days felt like bad days, but things are looking up. I am prayerful that he will continue to cry less and smile more. He won't be a baby forever, and I try and remind myself that I will miss the baby stage.



Caroline is growing and changing everyday. She's become a huge help around the house. She loves "5 minute pickup." I play the song of her choice and we spend 5 minutes picking up toys, plates, trash...anything in our main living area that doesn't belong. She will sing and work. It's enjoyable and then I have a clean space during nap time, which I appreciate so much!



We went up to Aunt KK and Uncle Judd's house 2 months ago (which is where all the pics are coming from...sorry they're so old!) and met up with Opa, Oma, Uncle Bryan, Aunt Stephanie, and Annalise at a pumpkin patch. The girls had a blast.











I have no pictures from Thanksgiving, other that one Aaron's cousin took. It's a good one though...if I do say so myself!



Have a great weekend!

The Zoo

While we were in St. Louis, we also made a trip to the zoo. Caroline had never been before and I knew she would love it because she really likes to look at animals. She's not much of an animal lover...she's still afraid of dogs and cats, but she enjoys looking at them. So, the zoo was perfect for her!



Uncle Micah and Isaiah riding the carousel...Uncle Micah rode an animal, but I think technically he wasn't supposed to. This is one of my favorite pictures from the trip.



I stood beside Caroline, and she loved it. She is really into riding Carousels...we cannot go to the mall without riding. I guess I could say no, but we're rarely there so I always let her.



Can't remember the exact name of this "monkey" but she adored standing there looking at him. He was right there too, had it not been for the glass she could have plopped on his lap.



If I'm remembering correctly, they weren't actually looking at an animal, but I love this shot. I think it's adorable.



According to Caroline, this is Aubie.



Caroline thought the Ostrich was absolutely hilarious. She just giggled and laughed at it. She said we were "so silly" because we told her it was a bird. We stood here for a long time too, while a bathroom break was going on. Aaron stated he was pretty sure the Ostrich could jump that fence if he got a running start. I moved Caroline at that point.



Another one of my favorites.





Aren't they precious?

The Magic House

We visited my brother and his family a few weeks ago in St. Louis. It was a long drive with two young children, but overall, everything went fine. We had a few mishaps here and an accident there, but we had a good time. I enjoy riding in the car with my family, assuming no one is screaming, because we talk and sing and it's just a good time to be together without a lot of other distractions. We did take a dvd player for Caroline, but I made a point not to have it on all the time. When it was on though, Aaron and I were able to talk to each other, laugh together, and think about things going on in our life. Our entire relationship we've talked out problems and made plans while riding in the car. I remember driving home from Birmingham 2 weeks before our wedding and we talked and talked about the day we would marry and all that lay in store over the next fortnight. We worked out some issues surrounding the day and our excitement grew. I remember similar conversations when I was pregnant with each of our children. The car is a haven of communication for us.

I will no inundate you with pictures from the trip!



We went to a children's museum called The Magic House. Caroline loved it and could have stayed and played all day. They had this vine that went downstairs and the children could climb it instead of walking down the stairs. Caroline enjoyed it at first, but began to freak out when she realized we wanted her to go all the way down. She came out and walked down with Aaron. :)



Uncle Micah spent a lot of time with Caroline...I'm not sure what they're doing here...I was off sitting down at the restaurant feeding Landon.



I was still gone at this point, but I think you put the balls in this and they are blown out and it makes wind. Maybe? Either way, I remember them saying Caroline loved it!









Aaron and Caroline enjoyed the "Oval Office". It was a room, shaped like an oval, that had replicas of the President's desk and podium. When you were at the podium, you were also on camera, and could see yourself on a TV as if you were giving the State of the Union. Caroline sat and talked on the phone for a long time. Along the walls were pictures of all the Presidents and questions about them. It was a neat room.





You could catch a fish and then let it go and watch it swim back to the pond. Caroline really enjoyed this. You can see her green fish swimming back.





This exhibit was scooping out ice cream. Caroline and Isaiah played here for a long time.



They also had a hospital nursery with real looking dolls that weighed about 8lbs. You could give the baby a bath, rock, feed...it was neat. Caroline had great time with this!

It was such a fun day! I didn't get a shot of all of us together, (our camera battery was dying...) but we really enjoyed the Magic House!

At the Dentist

It's been well over a month now, but Caroline had her first dentist appointment this year! Her Pediatrician recommended she go sometime before she was 3, so since that's this Thursday (where has the time gone?) I went ahead and took her. To prepare her for the trip, I took her with me to my dentist appointment. My dentist and his staff were so sweet to her and I know it helped her not be afraid of her dentist. I was really impressed by the Pediatric Dentist we saw. It's a father and daughter team who work together and the father is also an orthodontist so if she needs braces someday we won't have to find another office. I like that. She already sees more doctors than Aaron and I combined. Anyway, 2 good friends also recommended this office and it's clear to me why they did. When we arrived, they brought Caroline back to play with some toys.



You could tell they wanted her to feel comfortable there. After she had played for about ten minutes (long enough for me to fill out the paperwork), a sweet hygienist came over and let Caroline pick out a bracelet to wear.



She wrote Caroline's name on the bracelet and then let her pick out a toothbrush. She said she needed Caroline to show her how to brush teeth. Caroline was happy to oblige. She had Caroline brush her teeth for her and let her look at herself in a small hand-held mirror that the hygienist called a "princess mirror."



(Picking out a Dora toothbrush.)



(Showing that she knows how to brush her teeth.)

After Caroline brushed her teeth, the hygienist showed her all the tools she was going to use that day to clean her teeth. She took the electric brush and let Caroline feel it on her hand so she would know what it was going to feel like. I was so impressed with how well the office worked to help her be comfortable and feel involved in her first appointment.



She gave Caroline the "princess mirror" while she cleaned her teeth. Caroline loved watching the cleaning!



She did great while the dentist "counted" her teeth. The verdict was that we are taking good care of her teeth! No cavities and all her teeth seem to be coming in just fine. The dentist told me that I should expect Caroline to lose her teeth in the same order they came in. I had never heard that before, but thought it was an interesting tidbit!



Caroline and her dentist!

A couple of bonus shots!

Life with Caroline

We took Caroline to Chuck E. Cheese for a last hurrah before Landon was born.





I was huge and pregnant and couldn't do much other than smile for the camera and eat pizza. As I recall though, the pizza wasn't too good so I had only one slice! It was a fun night though. She really loved every minute of it. Aaron took her around and helped her ride the rides she wanted to ride and play the games she wanted to play. Aaron and I played a few games of ski-ball, my personal favorite, and won her some tickets. She actually won some herself too! It was a game where you just push a button and whatever it lands on you get that many tickets. Complete luck...and she pushed and got the most you could win! We were more excited than she was!





All four of her grandparents were able to come with us that night and Oma even climbed up in the big play equipment with her!



I don't think she loves Caroline at all...do you? :)





It was a really fun night and one I'm glad we got to spend with Caroline. Now, if I can just get her to stop asking to go back!

When we were at the hospital, someone brought us a gift in the HUGE bag. Caroline immediately took out all the tissue paper and climbed in. She had a blast climbing in and out of that bag. I love her creative mind!



I found this Elmo toddler bed at Kids Market for $40. We have been on the lookout for something like this to help Caroline sleep better at Opa and Oma's house. We went to visit Uncle Jud and Aunt KK a couple weeks ago and took this up there. She loves it. Oma and I like that it will work for other grand kids as they all get older too. Uncle Jud and Daddy loaded it up in Opa's truck and it now awaits her at their house!



She's an amazing little girl with a happy heart and kind spirit. I am so thankful to have her in my life and I love each and every moment I share with her. Her 3rd birthday is only weeks away. How did that happen???

Fall Imagination

You know you're living in the deep south when 85 is considered "cooler temperatures." :) However, I am so happy that it's finally cooling off a bit! According to the 10 day forecast, we're going to be in the 70s from Sunday until next Friday too...so that is exciting! I absolutely LOVE fall! October-Christmas is my absolute favorite time of year. I love the colors, the smells, the weather, the food, the time with family and friends...just EVERYTHING!



I'm having trouble locating my fall decorations though. I haven't unpacked them yet. I'm fairly certain they are in a box with Christmas items. (Which, incidentally, is also where I'm pretty sure the gravy boat is, Oma! I remembered after you left that at the old house the gravy boat was in the same cabinet as the Christmas dishes, so I'm sure it was packed with them.) At our old house, I had my pumpkins on a shelf, not in a box, along with some Christmas things, so I think that is where they got packed. I'm going to look for them and hopefully get them out this weekend.



Caroline is really getting an active imagination. She loves to play with figurines, dolls, and stuffed animals. She has 5 small princesses. She has Belle, Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Ariel. They all have on fabulous ball gowns. Before you think we've gone overboard on giving her so many, let me explain. Cinderella and Snow White were Landon's gifts to Caroline when he was born. They sell these little princess figurines in the checkout line at Target. EVERY TIME we were in there she asks to buy them. So, when we were trying to decide what to let Landon give her, I had picked out another doll, that cost $10. When I was in the checkout line, I saw those figures and remembered how much she liked them. I was able to get them both for $8, saving me $2 and she LOVES them! So, after Landon's arrival, we've had a bit of potty training regression. So, I made up a sticker chart. After she gets 5 stickers in a row, she earned another princess. While this sounds simple enough, bless her heart, it took her almost 2 weeks to earn Belle, who was the first one. Once she did though, I loved how proud she was of Belle and how she beamed when asked about her. It didn't take quite as long for the next one, although still over a week, and the next one only took 6 days. She hasn't had any accidents this week, so hopefully we're back on the upswing of that situation!



I've totally copied my friend's blogging style. She often will blog about things going on in their lives, or thoughts she's having and just post lots of cute pictures of her children. I'm doing that some now. I always used to feel like I had to have pictures of what I was talking about in order to blog, but since I'm taking so many pictures right now of the kiddos (that happens when you have a new baby and are home more often!) I just thought I wouldn't worry about it. I will still have some "themed" blogs though...such as Caroline's first trip to the dentist which was this last week. I'll do that one later on!



I'm going to Kids Market tomorrow morning with some friends. This will be the first time I've left Landon with Aaron for a long period of time. He'll have to eat while I'm gone. I'm nervous about that. I'm sure everything will be fine, but I am a nervous nelly about anything concerned with his feeding. I am really excited about Kids Market though! (It's a huge consignment sale that has great deals!) I get just about all of Caroline's smocked Sunday dresses from there and I'm sure I'll do the same for Landon's church clothes. I am excited! I'm also looking for a high chair this time around. Should be a lot of fun!





Caroline is playing over at Granny and Poppy's today, and Landon is napping at the moment...so I should probably go clean or fold laundry! Have a wonderful weekend!