Eleven Months

Well needless to say I've been AWFUL about keeping up with this blog, but I figured since Caroline is almost a year old that I need to get my act together.  I know I'll never remember all of the cute things that she does now when she's my age, so I best get to recording everything for posterity!

So Caroline is officially eleven months old today!  She's SUCH a big girl now!  She is walking all over the place.  Walking is actually not the proper term.  She flat out runs most everywhere.  She started walking right at the end of her ninth month (July) and she hasn't slowed down for a minute!  

She says "mama" and "dada" all the time now but I really think she only understands "dada" when she says it.  She is most definitely a Daddy's girl.  She loves Joe so much and her sweet face always lights up the minute she sees him.  

We've all bought Caroline so many fun and cute toys to play with but of course she wouldn't care one bit about most of them.  Her favorite toys?  Socks.  She will walk all around the house carrying her daddy's socks.  We also have some silicone coasters from Disney World that she loves carrying around too.  She also loves to harass our dog, Rylee.  Rylee is just now beginning to get as interested in Caroline but only when she has food.  ;)  If we're out at a restaurant Caroline will keep herself entertained almost the entire time with a straw.  Especially if they're a solid color like black or red. 

Caroline's favorite song is "Wheels on the Bus" and it usually will calm her down if she's cranky.  Her favorite book is "A You're Adorable" which is also, I guess, technically a song too.  She loves to sing and dance.  She likes to "shake it baby, shake it" which consists of her standing up and shaking her booty.  So cute to watch!  

She already loves Pooh and Piglet and can point them out when asked.  Although the same can't always be said for Mama and Daddy when showing her a picture, so we know who ranks the highest in her world.  But that's her taking after her Mama. 

Her favorite fruit is bananas and her favorite veggie is corn, but she loves her cereal most of all.  Her other favorite food is cheese.  If she could figure out how to open the refrigerator the girl would eat her weight in cheese!  :)  Even though she's almost a year old, she still has no teeth.  She is definitely taking after her Mama in that aspect as I didn't get my first tooth until I was eleven months, so maybe this will be her month! 

She loves going for walks in her stroller and she is the biggest flirt with everyone we pass.  She can wave hello and bye-bye and if you're on the phone she wants her chance to listen.  Of course, she instantly becomes silent, but she wants to hear what the other person has to say to her!  She is a big ham and loves having her picture taken.  She also loves to look at herself in the mirror.  She takes after her Uncle Robert in that aspect.  I remember many a night as a kid growing up that my brother would sit at the dinner table making faces at himself in the reflection of the windows behind me.  Caroline is just the same! 

She goes to day care every day and has a bunch of little friends - Emily, Abby, Gabby and Tyler.  Her teachers right now are Ms. Stefoni and Ms. Ashley but her favorite teacher is still Ms. Sharon who was her infant teacher.  She has to wear shoes to school every day but just like her Mama, she hates wearing shoes. 

All in all Caroline is the sweetest little girl.  She is ridiculously laid back and goes with the flow.  She gets that from her Daddy.  I can't believe how ridiculously blessed we are to have such a wonderful little girl!  We're already planning her first birthday for next month (of course it's a bumblebee theme!) as well as another trip to the beach (this will make Caroline's 5th time!).  

I promise to try harder at keeping up on all that's going on in our world!  Next time I'll talk more about what's going on with the rest of us, but let's be honest... you're only really reading to find out about Caroline!  ;) 

Snow My Goodness!

Well they have been predicting snow for days now - warning us of the impending doom heading our way.  Who knew if it would really come or even be as bad as they said it would.  People ran for the grocery stores to stock up as they always do.  I will say that I went on Saturday afternoon and it wasn't *too* bad but then had to go again yesterday and they were completely out of skim milk.  I guess no one drinks 2% or 1% these days because they were stocked up on those.  

Anyways - about 10:00 last night it started snowing and in less than an hour we had about 2 inches of snow.  I went to bed hoping and praying that it would just keep on snowing because it tends to take a LOT to get our bosses to close up the office.  I didn't even bother setting the alarm because I was just counting on Old Man Winter to make all of my wishes come true!  I woke up a little after 7 and went to look outside and he did not disappoint.  I came to find out later that we have about 4 inches here at my mom's house and other places had 5 to 6.  I can't remember the last time we had this much snow.  Thankfully my office is closed today and schools are closed so Mom, Caroline and I are enjoying a snow day.  In fact, Mom and Caroline are both asleep in bed as I type this being a bunch of lazy bums!  :)  

I went outside and took the requisite photos that everyone and their brother is posting on Facebook and I even got Caroline outside to participate in the fun.  I only wish she was a little older so she could've understood what was going on.  

This morning looking out from the front porch...

Snow on the chairs on the front porch

It was pretty cold out!

Snow piling up everywhere!

Looking at my mom's house from the street

4 inches on top of the mailbox

My poor little PT Cruiser!

Measuring one of my footprints

4 inches deep there too!

Miss Caroline is ready to go outside!

Whatchu lookin' at, Mom?

We're just chillin' in the snow!

What is this stuff, Mom?

Just plain worn out after the morning's excitement!

Caroline's First Christmas

I'm finally getting around to updating again and hope to try and keep up on a regular basis with pictures and updates about Caroline. As of her last doctor's appointment (12/10 - 2 month check up) she was 11 pounds, 9.25 oz (62nd percentile) and 23 inches (66th percentile). She's doing great!

On Friday night Caroline got to have her first experience with "Twas the Night Before Christmas". For as long as I can remember, my mom has always read this story to my brother Robert and I on Christmas Eve - complete with hand motions. I couldn't wait for Caroline to have this same opportunity! She absolutely loved it!!


Then Caroline's Daddy made some cookies for Santa and we made sure to leave him a full plate and milk and to let him know that Caroline had been good so that he would leave her lots of gifts!



On Saturday we celebrated Christmas - my mom, Joe, my step-brother Brian, Caroline and I. It was definitely a bittersweet holiday for us. I was so very excited because it was Caroline's first Christmas, but sadly we had members of our family not with us. It has been almost 6 months since Harold passed away, but it honestly some days just feels like yesterday. In Duluth (where my mom lives) they have crosses that the town will put up on Memorial Day and Veterans Day to honor those that have served in the military and have now passed away. A dear friend of ours got the city to put one up for Harold this year and Mom took a picture of it on Veterans Day. For Christmas Brian had it framed for her and it definitely reminded me of how much he was missed.



My brother Robert and sister-in-law Rebecca also weren't with us as they now live in Macedonia. We definitely missed having them around to share in the festivities and provide us with their witty commentary. :) Although they definitely helped in adding to the ridiculousness that was Caroline's gift bonanza. Here is a picture of my sweet girl surrounded by her bounty. Insane isn't it?? :)



She anxiously waited the opportunity to open all of her gifts and find out what she'd gotten!


Caroline had the most exhausting day ever and she slept very hard most of the afternoon and loved all of her new toys and outfits. But she especially loved the bows...



The greatest part (in my opinion) was that it snowed. In all my thirty-two years it has never snowed where I lived on Christmas Day. Caroline's first Christmas and she already gets a White Christmas! How exciting! She heard about it and immediately put on some boots and was ready to go out and play in the snow!

Too bad we said it was too cold for her! :)

All in all it was truly a wonderful Christmas and I am so glad that Caroline just loved it. I look forward to many more Christmases with her and watching her grow up. It was just so much more magical with her in our lives.

Welcome Caroline Marie!!

Well considering the fact that on January 6th Caroline will be three months old, I'm falling a little behind on the updating! We've been pretty busy around here and I think that Caroline and I are finally getting into a routine. Although, I did sit down to start writing this with her asleep and now by the fourth line she's awake and starting to fuss. Here's hoping she goes back to sleep and lets me finish updating the world on her! :) (**I started this on her one month birthday and am just now finishing it. The joys of motherhood!**)

Here are the main details on Caroline's birth. I went to the hospital on Tuesday, October 5th at 6:00 to be induced. I got there and the doctor put me on Pitocin and we began the long wait for Caroline to make her appearance! Needless to say that labor was much, MUCH harder than I thought it would be. I ended up taking some pain medicine to help and that did help me get through a good bit of the pain and helped me to sleep for a while. I finally made it to about 7 cm dilated and the pain got to where I just couldn't take it anymore, so I asked for the epidural. Oh it was so gloriously wonderful and I wish I'd asked for it earlier! :) I labored for another couple of hours after the epidural and they kept increasing my dosage of Pitocin because she wasn't progressing like they wanted her to. Finally after 14 hours of labor my doctor came in and told me that, unfortunately, Caroline's head just wasn't dropping like it was supposed to. He said that we could keep going but he didn't think it was going to happen and more than likely I was going to need to have a c-section. By this point I was getting such a high dosage of Pitocin that I was starting to be able to feel the contractions through the epidural and so I was agreeable to just move forward with the c-section. I was exhausted and ready for Caroline to be here!

So Joe and I went into the OR and within about 20 minutes Caroline was here! She arrived at 9:37 a.m. and weighed in at 8 pounds, 1 ounce. She was 20 inches long and she was absolutely beautiful!!


The doctor and all of the nurses that were in the OR with us repeatedly told us how gorgeous she was and we were all just so excited and glowing. Joe got to go over and take pictures of her as they cleaned her up and weighed her. I just got to lay on the table and wait. :) It was excruciating waiting to see her and even when Joe got to bring her over, I still had to wait until I was in recovery before I could hold her! But it was worth the wait!!

My very first moment of holding her. She was just so breathtaking!

Happy Mommy and Baby Caroline!

Because I had the c-section, I had to stay in the hospital from when she was born (Wednesday morning, 10/6/10) until Saturday morning. I have never hated being in a hospital more than that. You never get any sleep because the nurses are always in there and because the bed is so awful. I was so happy to come home!

We finally got to leave on Saturday morning. Joe had to work, but my mom came and brought us girls home. Caroline absolutely loved her first car ride ever!!

I am so glad that she is finally home and we can enjoy this journey together. She is so stinking fabulous!!

Nugget Day!! Well, hopefully...

Today is the day that I go to the hospital to be induced. Apparently this child is really developing this stubborn streak and she is holding on for dear life. They have been checking me every week for the last 4 weeks and each week I've progressed very slightly from the week before. Finally last week (on my due date) the doctor just decided that it wasn't happening on my own and we were going to have to give her a push. :) I've told Joe that I honestly believe she's lost. She is really pushing on my stomach a lot and so I think she thinks she's supposed to head out that way. Joe said, well it is dark in there. HA!

I am very glad and thankful that up until the last week and a half I have still felt super. It's only since I stopped working that I've started feeling rundown and easily worn out. Just taking a shower usually tires me out. So even though I really wanted to avoid being induced, I'm so ready to have her out in the real world and my body can go back to somewhat being my own. :)

So essentially this is the rundown of what's going to happen today. I'm going to go to the hospital this afternoon at 5:30 and they will start off with using this balloon device that is supposed to inflate and try to force my cervix to begin dilating. After we get that going, I'm supposedly going to get started on Pitocin (a drug that is supposed to help move labor along). Now I've heard numerous horror stories about Pitocin and how it can make your contractions much harder and much more painful. So I really had wanted to avoid Pitocin, but it looks like it's inevitable since this little girl won't come on out. So if anyone wants to tell me about their experiences with Pitocin and how great it was, I will gladly welcome those stories. :-D

So with going in at 5:30, there's always the chance that this will take a while and she won't be born until tomorrow, so we'll see about what her actual birthday will end up being. Joe is currently on his way home from south Georgia as we speak. He got on the road at about 12:30 and it's about a 5 hour drive give or take. So he has to go by our house first to drop off our dog and then he'll be on to the hospital. So he should be to the hospital by about 6 or so. So we could use prayers that he has a safe journey and doesn't encounter any obstacles in arriving here on time.

I am so very nervous and excited and scared all at the same time. Like I said, I've heard some horror stories about being induced and so that has me kind of freaked out. Also, because we're inducing that still leaves a chance that if it doesn't work that I'll end up with a c-section and I honestly don't want that either. So there are just so many unknowns out there! But I am so very glad that she'll be here by tomorrow at the latest! I have waited for this day for SO LONG and to know that she'll be here in less than 24 hours is SO EXCITING!!! I can NOT wait to meet her and start getting to know her! I can't wait for all of y'all to meet her too! I will update as soon as she's here and I physically can. :) Thank you so much for all of your thoughts and prayers as we enter this whole new phase of our lives.

39 Weeks!!

Your baby's waiting to greet the world! She continues to build a layer of fat to help control her body temperature after birth, but it's likely she already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds, a mini watermelon. (Boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls.) The outer layers of her skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.

I never thought I'd be this close! Today I am officially one week away from my due date. It is just insane to me that I'm literally about one week (give or take) away from having a baby! It really just blows my mind. I'd say about 90% of the time I am completely ready and eager for her to come and be here and to begin our lives and begin getting to know her. But then there's that other little 10% that I am scared out of my mind and saying, am I really ready for this? I know that there is no way to ever be completely prepared for a baby, especially the first baby, but I just have to keep reassuring myself that I am ready. And at least I am so incredibly blessed to be living with my mom right now, so I'll have an expert around to help me out! :) I figure my brother and I both turned out pretty awesome, so I will take all the advice and help she's willing to dole out!

I did go to the doctor yesterday for my weekly checkup and the doctor I saw told me that unfortunately I haven't progressed any at all. Nothing. No movement, no dilating, no thinning - nothing. So she said that I needed to start walking and eating Eggplant Parmesan! :) Have y'all heard of this place? http://www.scalinis.com/Bambino.htm It's over in Smyrna and supposedly you eat their EP and it puts you into labor! I'm willing to try anything!! I appreciate the fact that they're willing to put their recipe up online! The doctor yesterday even told me that she's sent 5 of her patients there and it worked for all 5 of them!

The upside to things not moving along is that I reallllllllly wanted to go to the Duluth Fall Festival this weekend. My mom and I go every single year and it was a tradition that I just really didn't want to miss. So there was always the fear that I'd end up going into labor right beforehand and not be able to go. I know there's still that chance, but it seems less likely. So that's definitely a plus!

I go back to see my doctor next Tuesday and hopefully I will have progressed. If not, I'm hoping that he will be willing to do something to move this process along. My mom has to go down to their condo in Orange Beach the weekend of October 8-10 and Nugget and I were supposed to go along, but that won't happen if she's too young, so the sooner we get her born the better! :)

In the meantime, if you need me, you'll find me walking around my neighborhood trying to walk this baby out!! :) If you have any other suggestions for what will help bring on labor - I'm willing to try them all!!

38 Weeks!!

Your baby has really plumped up. She weighs about 6.8 pounds and she's over 19 1/2 inches long (like a leek). She has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold her hand for the first time! Her organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb.

Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? You may not be able to tell right away. If she's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If she's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time she's 9 months old. That's because a child's irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after she's born, but they usually won't get "lighter" or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.)

Well this is the first time I've ever updated this late in the week! This week has been insanely busy for me. I had my external cephalic version last week and despite being ridiculously painful - it was a success! It honestly wasn't THAT bad because the whole thing lasted less than 10 minutes. She was very cooperative (for once) and the doctor was able to easily turn her into position. Then I had to lay there in the hospital for another hour to make sure she didn't go into distress and everything was ok. All in all, a pretty successful event! I did manage to find out though while we were there and I was being monitored, that apparently I've been having Braxton Hicks contractions and didn't even realize it! I'm glad they haven't been bothering me though.

I am very fortunate that my doctor also happens to attend my church and is in the Sunday School class that I go to with my mom. So on Sunday he was asking me how things were going and how I felt. He said he was kind of surprised with the contractions that I was having on Thursday, that things hadn't kind of started moving along. In fact, he told me he wanted me to come in on Tuesday so he could check things out and see how I was progressing. He told me to also keep my initial appointment on Thursday because he might want to check things again on Thursday depending on what he saw on Tuesday. Well, I got there Tuesday and nothing. I hadn't progressed at all. He said my cervix had thinned some but I was dilated at all yet. So I had gone from thinking "oh my goodness, she's coming this week!" to having my appointment for Thursday canceled and told that he'd be really surprised if she did come this week. Sad! I had run around like a crazy person trying to finish up last minute things and get all of my bags packed for the hospital. The good news is that I am all packed and ready to go! :)

So I go back on Monday afternoon to see where things stand. I'm about ready to start trying all of those old wives' tales to see if anything will help speed things along. :) I went walking with a friend of mine yesterday and it definitely got Nugget up and kicking, so maybe walking is going to be the thing. Mom and I are going to start going walking every day next week. We're also going to go to Suwanee Days this weekend and walk around there. If we get desperate and she's not here by next Friday, we're going to Provino's for some Eggplant Parmesan!

In the meantime, we're going back to my house this weekend to try and finish up last minute cleaning so that my house can be in tip top shape for when I finally come back there in November when Joe gets home. It's going to be a VERY busy weekend. I'm hoping that come Monday I will be showing some progress towards this baby being born!

I would appreciate prayers though for this coming arrival. My biggest fear in all of this is that Joe is currently 5 hours away (6 if he's at work when he gets the call) and I'm worried that he won't make it in time for the birth. My prayer right now is that she holds off and comes next weekend (the 24th or 25th) because Joe will be coming home that weekend and he'll already be here. That would be my ideal birth situation. Of course, I know that this is all in God's time and this little girl is only coming when she's good and ready, but it never hurts to put in a request, right? :)

I would also appreciate any prayers for my sanity. :) I am currently training my temporary replacement at work this week (which may spill into next week, we don't know yet) and it is definitely a bit stressful and frustrating. I don't think I'm a very good trainer as I don't always have a lot of patience - I know, not good for dealing with babies and children, but I'm hoping to learn some along the way!! ;) But, in the meantime, I'm struggling to train and keep from losing my mind because training means I'm really not getting much of my work done at the same time. I really want to be able to go out on maternity leave next Friday (the 24th) and have everything caught up and up to date and not feel worried about things when I'm gone. I know that once Nugget gets here I won't even be thinking about work, but for the time being I don't want to go off and leave my bosses in a bad situation. So I'm working my butt off to get it all done. I know it'll all be worth it in 6 work days when I don't have to go back for 2 glorious months!! Woo-hoo!

I promise to update again (on time next week!) when I go to the doctor next Monday. Fingers crossed for lots of progress and good reports from the doctor then!!!