Milkshake!

We took Caroline to Chick-Fil-A tonight and after she ate her chicken tenders, Jeff thought it would be a good idea to get a milkshake. He said it was for Caroline, but I know he really wanted it, (especially when he said to get chocolate!). We all shared the milkshake and Caroline was so cute when she sipped from it. She had a few sips from one before and loved it. She's so cute when she gets a taste. It's like her eyes light up and she smiles like she knows it is a special treat.

Pool Time!

We got Caroline in the pool for the first time of the year today. Since it rained recently, the water was cold and Caroline wasn't too thrilled. After a little bit, she warmed up in the water and got in her new float. She just couldn't understand why this big bathtub was cold and not warm. Hopefully, we will have some hot days to get the water warm again before we get in next time. Ginger joined us outside, but decided not to jump in this time.

Suited up, sunblock on, and ready to go!

Caroline with Daddy and Ginger, testing the waters

She wasn't too happy at first. The water was a little colder than we expected.

Finally, a little smile with Mommy

Ginger to the rescue?

I still can't believe what happened last night. Jeff was swimming laps in the pool and Caroline and Ginger were outside with me watching. Ginger has always been intrigued by Jeff swimming laps and diving in. She always gets excited and runs along with him and sometimes barks when he dives in. Jeff was swimming laps around the perimeter of the pool instead of going back and forth and stopping or slowing down. He was swimming about two feet from the edge of the pool and suddenly, Ginger jumped in! I screamed because I was so shocked that she had done this for the first time ever after all these years of watching us in the pool. Jeff felt her claws on his back and didn't know what was going on until he saw Ginger swimming. I'm still not sure what was going on. Maybe she was trying to save him. Maybe she just wanted to know what it would be like to jump in after all these years of thinking about it. Who knows. I would love to read her mind.

1-year Checkup

Caroline went for her 1-year checkup today. She was so happy when she got there, dancing around and babbling up a storm. She was so good for Dr. Nikki, but after she left, the nurse came in and gave her two shots. Of course, she screamed, but she was fine by the time we left. She weighed 18 lb. 15 oz. and is 29 in., staying on track in the same percentiles that she has always been. Wow, I still can't believe she's a year old!

Birthday Cake!

Caroline had her own cake to dive into however she wanted and could make as big of a mess as she wanted. I just had to capture some of this on video. Just wait for her to dive in face first.

Happy Birthday Caroline!

Caroline turned 1 year-old on Saturday. I can't believe it has been a whole year. Time flies so fast. Our little girl is growing up. It seems like yesterday, we were bringing her home on Mother's Day. Jeff can't wait to turn her around in her car seat and was eager to weigh her today, but she missed the weight mark by 1 pound. She'll be 20 lb. before we know it and see car rides in a whole new light. Surprisingly, she does like facing backwards because when I put her in the seat, she gets happy and lunges forward at the mirror. I can imagine we will have a few toys thrown our way in the front seat. She has a habit of throwing toys in the back seat and sometimes I can reach them to toss back at her before she gets upset. I have learned that if you can tether any toys, do it. Those little rings work great. Then she can't really throw them because they stay connected. This also works great for riding in the stroller.

The birthday girl woke up happy!!! A great start to a fun-filled day! She even had the Glow Worm on.


Claudia and Caroline riding their matching 4-wheelers in the backyard. What a beautiful day it turned out to be! The weather could not have been more perfect for Caroline's first birthday.


...and CRASH! Caroline is not too good at the whole steering thing yet. One day, I hope she will grasp this concept, but for now, we'll just have to settle for running into everything.

Caroline with Mommy & Daddy

Jeff with the party girls

First bite of HER cake! She dove right in face first.

This is some good stuff! We should do this more often.

Getting a little help from Aunt Stacey and Claudia

King of the Hill

Yesterday, Jeff competed in the 5th Annual King of the Hill Triathlon at Tombigbee State Park. This involved a 1/2 mile swim in the lake, 20 mile bike ride, and a 3.6 mile run. He has been training really hard and it paid off. He won his age group and finished in a total time of 1 hour and 48 minutes (19th place overall out of 110 people). Way to go! We are so proud of you!

Here comes Peter Cottontail

Thanks to Vickie Lindsey, we were able to get pictures of Caroline with a live bunny. Our good friends Katie and Nora Foster came, too. We had fun and took lots of pictures.

Where's the Easter Bunny? Unfortunately, there were a few times that we had to chase him down. He just didn't want to be still for very long. He was a slippery little bunny!


Caroline's first Easter Bunny picture


Sitting pretty in the chair


Caroline playing with the buttercups

So sweet of Nora and the bunny

I guess practice makes perfect

When Caroline was 9 months old, she began saying "Ma-ma" and "Ba-ba", not "Da-da", which Jeff didn't like too much. Every time Caroline would say Ma-ma, he would say back to her "Da-da." She would just look at him and do that blowing sound with her lips (I have no idea what it is called but it must have a name). I promise that I never taught Caroline to say "Ma-ma," but I sure didn't stop her from saying it after she started. I have always repeated sounds back to her. I tried to make Jeff feel better by explaining that she must not know exactly what she is saying because she says it to him, too. So, every time she says "Ma-ma," he repeats back to her, "Da-da." Well, all of a sudden on Saturday, she started saying "Da-da." Of course, she says it to both of us. She has been babbling so much more lately. I wonder what she will say next!

Fun on the 4-wheeler

We got Caroline a Barbie 4-wheeler on Friday. After riding Claudia's a few times, we knew we had to get her one by her birthday. Toys R Us had a sale in the Sunday paper that was just about as good of a deal as it might have been on Black Friday, so I took this as a sign that now was the time to get her one. Check her out on the video. She can't steer yet, but she is having so much fun! She'll just run right over or into anything right now. Hopefully that will change soon. I can't wait for the weather to get warm so we can take it outside. For right now, going down the hall, around the dining room table, and into the den and around the coffee table will just have to do! HINT: Make sure your volume is turned on. It makes it so much better.

Cousin Claudia's 1st Birthday

Caroline's cousin Claudia turned a year old on February 25. She had her sweet treats birthday party on Saturday. There was more candy than you can ever imagine, unless you've been in a candy store lately.

Whoo hooo! The party girls are here! Pre-party activities included Caroline riding Claudia's 4-wheeler and a nap for Claudia just in time for the party.

Look at her go!

A couple of hours before the party. Let's get this party started!

We were trying to take pictures of all of the babies and kids at the party. This turned out to be harder than we thought.

This is definitely harder than we thought!

I think this is the best one I could come up with. As you can see, Caroline is too busy playing with her shoe to look at the multiple cameras flashing at her and the others.

Claudia trying to blow out her candle. She got pretty close to touching it.

Caroline tasting the 1 from Claudia's cake. This is probably too much sugar for her. She didn't get to eat all of it. Thank goodness or she might not have slept that night!

Jeff with Caroline and Claudia. Caroline is taking notes on what to do with her cake when her birthday comes in just 10 weeks. Apparently, you just put your hands in it and squish and make a mess (and then maybe eat some of it). Ok, I think she can handle that.

The birthday girl with her daddy. Happy 1st Birthday Claudia! We hope you had a good one. We had so much fun! It looks like you did, too!

Playing with Ginger

Ginger was the baby until Caroline came along. She has never shown a sign of jealousy, unless bringing us a toy when she thinks she's not getting enough attention counts. Ginger truly loves Caroline and Caroline loves her. Caroline is just fascinated with Ginger. She will pull up on furniture where Ginger lays and let out a scream and reach for her. So far, Caroline has only made Ginger squeal a few times from pulling her hair and ears. Ginger tolerates it very well and usually just looks at me like "when is Caroline going to take a nap?"

Ginger brings Caroline the toy so she can throw it for her. One day, she will. We are all looking forward to it.

Look how they play together. It's so funny to watch them tug toys together.

Ginger shares her toys so well and lets Caroline have her turn

Ginger waits for her to throw the toy

She looks like she wants to throw it, but just isn't sure what she wants to do with it

Does this ball taste like an orange? Sorry Caroline; it doesn't

Hey, if I throw it, will you go get it?

Who knew pillows and a coffee table could be so much fun?

Ever since Caroline started crawling and pulling up, she began to discover lots of new things. I think her most favorite new discovery is pulling pillows from the furniture and crawling through the coffee table (it's supposed to have baskets in it, but Caroline likes it better without them).

Caroline grabbing pillows. She'll grab them even if you are laying on one. If you don't let her have it, she gets mad.

Here she comes

It's almost like a little funhouse!

No more pillows! What do I do now? Now it's time to romp on them on the floor.

Who knew this could be so much fun? It's funny how it's always the simple things that are the best in life. Watch out, Ginger. She'll pull that blanket right out from under you!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

Well, we don't get snow too often, so of course we have to document it before it all melts away in a few hours. This was Caroline's first snow. It actually stayed for several days (patches of it, at least). It barely got above freezing for a week!

Look at the snow falling!


Ginger had to check it out. She wasn't sure what to think at first. She has only seen snow a few times in her life.

Ginger has to check everything out. She is very protective of her territory.

Caroline woke up happy from her nap. Let's go out and play in the snow!

Ok, I realize she doesn't have a coat on. She was only out there for maybe a minute to take a few pictures. She does have shoes and a hat on though and her top is fleece. She just didn't know what to think. Does this thing have wheel drive? Don't worry, Mommy does!

Caroline's First Christmas

Oh, what a blessed day! Unfortunately, Caroline was sick with a cold and cough around Christmas. She was so sleepy from the medicine and the drainage that we didn't get to have our Christmas morning that we were anticipating. I guess I just had it in my head that we would be opening presents early in the morning. She actually didn't get to open presents until after lunch. Oh well, when you have a baby, (and especially when you have a sick baby) you just roll with it.

What's with this paper stuff? It's hiding something.


Mmm! This is the best part!

Her first car. She's making sure she knows how to check the oil.

Caroline & Daddy

Checking everything out. What is all this stuff?

I hope I have time to play with everything.

Wow! These bows are great!

Caroline & Mommy. This is the best gift ever!

Caroline & Mommy checking everything out

Merry Christmas everyone!!! It's been so much fun!!! Caroline is having a blast playing with one of her favorite new toys.