Happy birthday to you!

Happy 1st birthday to our little Peanut!

5 months

12 months

Time flies!  I cannot believe how much can change in a year.  Caroline is the sweetest, happiest little girl with the best smile I have ever seen.  I know I am her Mom and therefore biased, but she really could not be any cuter- inside or out!

On her birthday, she:
*says three words- Mama, Dada and Bye bye
*will eat ANYTHING!
*is really starting to walk
*got her first pair of shoes
*loves school
*is a happy, happy girl!

12 month stats:

Height:  31 inches- 92%
Weight:  23 pounds- 75%
Head circumference:  47.3 cm- 94%

She is such a sweet little thing and I really could not imagine our life without her.  I always knew I wanted to be a Mom, but I never knew just how much it would really change just about everything about me.  I am proud and blessed to be Caroline's Mom and I hope she learns as much from me as I do from her.  In some ways, I hope she stays this sweet and small forever, and in other ways, I can't wait to watch her grow up.  I hope she always knows how much she is loved!

Baby steps

Caroline has been taking a few steps over the past few days...no more than 3 so far, but she is starting to get the hang of it.  Tonight, we caught it on camera! 

11 months

At 11 months, Caroline:

*Says "da da" and will wave and say "bye bye."  These are still her only two words and she repeats them all of the time!  She still babbles a lot, but nothing else we can make out or that seems intentional. If you ask her to say "ma ma" she laughs and shakes her head no.
*Has good balance.  She is starting to let go of things and stand in place.  She will cruise around holding onto the furniture and anything else that seems stable enough.  She hasn't taken any steps on her own yet, but I'm guessing it won't be long.
*She will also walk holding on to her push toy.  She is getting fast!
*Is eating all sorts of table food.  She likes just about everything, but some of her favorites are cheese, bread, cantaloupe, watermelon, ravioli, goldfish, cheese puffs, and fruit loops (on special occasions).  She is eating 3 meals of "real" food and has started to drink out of her sippy cup much more often.
*Still loves her bottles- having 4 bottles of 5 or 6 ounces each day.
*Loves the beach and the boat.  More posts and pictures on that to come!

Caroline is an angel baby.  She sleeps well, eats well and has a very happy little personality.  She loves an audience and is not afraid to show off a bit.  She is a joy to be around.  I LOVE being her Mommy!

10 months

Caroline is 10 months old!

At 10 months, she:
*Smiles all of the time.
*Has a great little laugh.
*Says "da da" and still refuses to say "ma ma."
*Loves to shake her head "no."
*Has no new teeth- still at 4- two on top and two on bottom.
*Pulls up on everything.
*Eating more and more table food.

9 months

Caroline's 9 month stats:

28.62 inches- 82%

20 pounds 6 ounces- 76%

Head circumference- 94%

Look at all of my hair- a little curl, even! 

Loves her bath, hates putting on pajamas all of the sudden.  

She has 4 teeth and is a serious drooler!  

I see you, Sydney!  She has started to pay Sydney more attention- the dog usually runs in the other direction.

Ready to take off.  She is all over the place these days.  It is hard to get her to sit still.

She is starting to pull up!

She has the best little laugh.

Caroline is 8 months!

At 8 months, she:
*can CRAWL!  She started doing a military style crawl on Saturday, February 16.  There is no stopping her now. 
*has two top teeth starting to poke through.
*sleeps from 8:30 pm to 7 am.
*loves Ms. Barbara at daycare. 
*still says da da.  I'm still not sure she is directing that at her Dad, but she sure does say it a lot.
*will eat anything, but her favorite things are sweet potatoes and bananas.  These also happen to be her favorite flavor of Puffs.  She is now taking all formula in her bottles. 
* insists on holding her bottles herself. 

Caroline remains the sweetest and happiest baby around!  I LOVE being her Mommy! 

7 months!

At 7 months, Caroline:
*can sit up and stay up!  She still tips over some, but stays up for long periods of time now.
* has 2 bottom teeth
*loves bath time
*continues to be a good sleeper, going down about 8:30 pm and waking at 7 am.
*loves to eat.  She is a big fan of Puffs right now!

Caroline is 6 months old!

I can't believe our little peanut is six months old!  People aren't kidding when they tell you it goes by too quickly.  We are amazed at how fast she is growing and changing.

Six month stats-
Height: 27 inches 88%
Weight: 17 lbs 12 oz 80%
Head Circumference:  44.2 cm 90%
The Dr. told me she is the size of an average nine month old :)

At six months, Caroline:
*continues to be a very happy baby.  She smiles constantly and has a great temperament.  She entertains herself very well.
*still babbles a lot.  She will say "da da" a lot, but so far, that is about the only syllable that she repeats that we understand.
*is a little roly poly.  She rolls around anytime she is on the floor or in her crib.  She can really move now and has no problem getting to where she wants to go.
*is taking six bottles a day.  She is getting about six ounces in each bottle, 12-15 ounces each day are formula.  
*has started eating solid food at dinner time. She has had rice cereal, peas, carrots and sweet potatoes so far.  She is a good eater and has loved each new thing we have given her.  Her pediatrician has now recommended two meals a day, so we will be starting breakfast of oatmeal and a fruit and dinner of rice cereal and a vegetable.  
*puts everything in her mouth!
*is starting to get some new hair.  It looks like it may even be blonde!
*plays with her toys.  She moves things from hand to hand and of course to her mouth.
*loves her jumperoo. She is quite the little jumper and will keep herself occupied in the exersaucer for long periods of time.
*is a good sleeper.  She goes down between 8:30 and 9:00 each night and wakes up about 7.  She only sleeps on her belly these days with her little booty up in the air.  She will occasionally wake up once in the night and fuss for a bit, but has learned to put herself back to sleep.
*can sit up by herself for short periods of time.  She is getting better and better, so it won't be long until she can sit unassisted!

We are so lucky to have such a sweet natured baby.  We fall more in love with her every single day!

Clemson/Carolina

On Friday, we said goodbye to St. Matthews and hit the road for Clemson.  We made it in time for a great dinner at Pixie and Bill's with my parents, then went to bed early to rest up for the big day. We bundled up and took Caroline on a walk around campus and downtown Saturday morning.  Although a night game isn't ideal for a five month old, we had a babysitter for the night, so it was fun to have the morning to spend in Clemson without being in a hurry to get to the stadium.  We got a few good pictures of Caroline dressed in her orange!

Nice and warm in my orange fleece from Pops and my tiger hat from Daddy!

Then it was time to head to the game.  We left Caroline with Nana for a few hours before the babysitter arrived, but we managed to get a few pictures in before we left the hotel.  

Obviously the game didn't go our way, but we still had a great weekend in Clemson!