More snow!

We had fun in the snow this morning and built our first snowman. Here's the proof!

22 Months

It's hard to believe that we are almost to the point of counting in years instead of months... so happy 22-months, Caroline! She is turning into such a big girl. I can't even count how many words she says now... she's moved onto sentences (very basic ones, obviously, but sentences no less). My favorite things that she does now are singing the alphabet, counting to 10 and when she takes a tumble she says "what happened?!" She's also become a lot more daring when it comes to climbing and running. I took her to an indoor playground in Mason called the Go Play Cafe (about 30 minutes away) with her little friend, Sanjay, and his mom on Tuesday since we've had such nasty wet weather all week. They have this 3 story set up of tubes and slides and climbing equipment big enough for adults to climb in too

- so we did, and she had a ball. I had to drag her out of there after two hours.

Otherwise, we've just been preparing for the holidays and trying to stay out of the cold, wet weather. We're supposed to get a pretty big snow this weekend so I know she'll have fun playing in that again. And this time I'm prepared.... we've got a snow suit, so hopefully we can last a little longer outside this time!

Snow Day!

We had our first snow of the winter overnight and woke up to a little over an inch of very wet snow... and it's still coming down a bit. Caroline had lots of fun exploring in our back yard with Maggie. There was one minor topple that ended in a complete face plant in the snow (which surprised her, but didn't seem to upset her at all). We made a tiny snowman on top of our table and I had to drag her back in the house when I started to get cold and thought that she might be too. The city was prepared for it though and it doesn't seem to slow anyone down around here (except me - I've declared us home bound for the day because I'm still afraid to drive in it).

Happy Thanksgiving!

We all spent Thanksgiving in Nashville with my parents and my great Aunt Doris. Caroline's vocabulary has grown exponentially and she's getting really good at picking up names. It was cute to hear her call Aunt Doris by name and she loved looking at lots of family photos naming everyone in the photo (Joy - she says "Aunt Joy" when she sees your pictures now too!).




Mom and I attempted to get a photo of Caroline with Santa.... it went worse than last year (and I didn't think that was possible!). We got her all dressed up, stood in line for 20 minutes, she was waving to Santa and saying "Hi Santa" from the line, but when it was her turn things went south the moment I set her in his lap. Mom caught it on video - Josh and I are still debating whether it is blog material since it was not one of her best moments (but pretty funny video). So, there will be no picture in Santa's lap this year... this is as close as we could get her to the scene and still have smiles!

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Weekend with Mimi & Pappy

Caroline spent the weekend before Thanksgiving with her Mimi & Pappy in Nashville while we went to Knoxville to visit the McDowell family and take in the UT vs Vandy game (so close...ugh!). She had lots of fun making up new games, playing hide & seek, sharing her favorite Wiggles' songs & an outing to the bookstore (and I was only away for 2 days!). Most of the pictures from the weekend are on my mom's camera, so I'll have to add more later.

First hair cut

I gave Caroline her first hair cut last night. It was getting really long in the back so it was time... but I wasn't brave enough to take her to a salon (as much as she hates going to the dentist, I was just sure putting her in one of those chairs would not go very well). So, I took it upon myself! She kind of looks like a 1920's doll we've decided, and it was much easier to tame this morning.

Early bird

The time change has been rough... Despite our efforts, Caroline's clock has not switched over yet, which means some early mornings. On the plus side, we were up to have a bowl of cereal with Josh before he left for work.

Twick o Twick

Caroline went with Josh to about 7 or 8 neighbors' homes and said "twick o twick" then roared and had a blast. I sat on our front porch handing out candy to the other kids and she would yell up to me as they walked by the house "Hi Mommy!" She's getting to be such a big girl!




Earlier in the day...

I really should have started sooner, but Halloween snuck up on me this year, and and we have not taught Caroline much about the holiday. So, this morning, I have infiltrated her with Charlie Brown's Great Pumpkin (which she only half watched while she played), we had a dress rehearsal in the costume and I started trying to get her to say trick-or-treat. The closest we've gotten so far is "Twick o Twick". We've still got some time before tonight, so I'm sure she'll have it mastered. She's a quick study. ;)
Here's a pic from the "dress rehearsal." Her roar is getting more ferocious though... so watch out neighbors!

Play time

Over the last few weeks as Caroline has gotten more comfortable on her feet and gained some confidence, our "play time" has changed quite a bit. She really enjoys the playground now and after some many attempts, seems to have finally decided that she likes the slide. This was one of our first positive slide experiences...





This weekend, Caroline's "Mimi" came to visit and like many visits from grandparents, some new toys entered the house. This time, it was a rocking horse that neighs and sings his own little song. He is very popular! (Lambie gets to ride a lot too.)

Weekend with the cousins

Caroline's Aunt Amy, Uncle Rob and cousins Haley, Mary Pat & Madeline came to visit this past weekend. We filled the weekend with lots of activities and the girls (and adults!) had a great time. Thanks for coming to visit us!

With the fishes

Sunday we all went to the aquarium for Caroline's new friend, Sanjay's 2nd birthday outing. This was our first outing where Caroline walked by herself and for that matter, refused to hold our hands at all, which is quite a change. And she's really taken off - she's running and quite a job to keep up with at times!
Here are a few pictures from the day...

Potty Time

Caroline has become increasingly interested in the potty. I thought she was probably a little on the young side to start potty training. Then, last week when she was running a fever for several days and had no other symptoms, I took her to the pediatrician. (She's fine by the way - just a little virus that gave her fever for a few days and now is gone) The doc ruled out all the usual suspects and decided we should try to get a urine sample. I was a little worried how we would go about that exactly.

To make a long story a little shorter, they basically put a little bag inside her diaper and told me to just wait until we had some results. Well, we waited... and we waited... It had been about 20 minutes and nothing. And being the anxious patient she is, she just kept walking over to the door and saying "Bye-Bye! Bye-Bye!"

Finally in an effort to try to explain why we couldn't go bye-bye, I told her: "We can't go bye-bye until you tinkle." She gave a concentrated look and then I heard a small gush. She had done it! On command! And promptly pointed to the door saying one last emphatic "Bye-Bye!" again to remind me that we could finally go home.

Needless to say, we are now the proud owner of an Elmo potty that sits in our family room. So far it has been used as a seat to watch her favorite program (the Wiggles) and to hide small things. This will probably be slow going, but let the potty times begin!

All dolled up

We're a little behind on our posts with traveling the last two weeks - first to Nashville for my sister's wedding and then Josh and I took a trip to Seattle for a conference/adult long weekend without Caroline. The official pictures aren't available yet from the wedding, but here's one that was snapped of our family on route to the outdoor pictures before the wedding. Caroline looked so sweet in her in her little silk dress (which will probably be making more appearances at Christmas/Easter/whatever other holidays I can squeeze her into it!).

Papa's hat

In the video (check the archive on the left), witness Caroline sporting a hat in support of Papa's workplace. However, in the end she reveals her true allegiance.

First real trauma

Well, it's happened. We've had our first traumatic incident. Caroline fell and chipped one of her front teeth - pretty good too. Of course, just in time for my sister's wedding and all the pictures to last eternity! The strange thing was, she wasn't even walking when it happened - just sort of stumbled when she was hopping around like a bunny and fell tooth first on the hardwoods. It even left a little dent in the floor (something to leave behind in Cincinnati, I guess). :(
We had a quick trip to Indy to visit our pediatric dentist and got a pretty good report - but still a 30% chance she may have to have a root canal if there was damage to the tooth - yet to be determined. She must be trying really hard to follow in her daddy's footsteps as he had a root canal as a 15-month old after repeated falls and bumps too - so it runs in the family. We'll have it bonded at some point, but I'm waiting until she's a better patient at the dentist so we don't have to sedate her (not such an amiable patient at this time).


It really just looks like the gap between her front teeth has gotten bigger more than anything, I think. I don't think anyone will notice much with all that hair anyway!

Independent Ambulation

As you can see from the video above, Caroline has decided to venture into the world of unassisted walking (with a dance break sprinkled in here and there, of course).

18-Month Stats

Caroline had her 18-month check-up today. She weighs 22 lbs (so she has moved up a bit closer to the 20% group now) and is just over 32" tall (moved down a bit towards 60%). This afternoon, she had a renewed interest in her Sesame Street stethoscope... she's had it on for about an hour now and it hasn't slowed her down from emptying the cabinets into the grocery sack or trying on her glamorous sunglasses. She cracks me up!

Merry-Go-Round

Caroline and I ventured out in the heat and went to the county fair with my Grandma - one of her favorite things to do each year. It was quite an experience. We saw the "Pork Queen" pin the blue ribbon on the award winning pig,

ate fried bologna sandwiches and had lots of fun seeing the cows, chickens, ducks, horses and rabbits

and even had a turn on the Merry Go Round.

New Picture

We had Caroline's picture taken yesterday for her 18-month portrait so I thought I'd post it. We go for her doctor's appointment next Monday, so I'll have new stats then. She is really getting the hang of talking and is acquiring quite a vocabulary. Some of the newest additions are either social or food related: bye-bye, baby, up (for when she wants to be picked up or go up a step), cracker, cereal, cheese, and all sorts of animal sounds. Other than that, I think the only really new thing is that we've discovered she loves popcorn shrimp.

The dentist appointment

Well, we have some catching up to do... Our family spent the week in Indianapolis at Nana & Papa's house while Josh went to a microsurgical course. We had an enjoyable week other than Josh coming down with appendicitis and having surgery on Thursday night (he's recovering fine, thank goodness!). Otherwise, we enjoyed time with the family - Caroline had lots of fun with her cousins, as always.
One notable event of the week was her first trip to the dentist. She received a good report card and I'm told she acted just like all toddlers do for her first dental appointment, but to sum it up, I would say it was mild torture for all invloved. Here's the polaroid they took of her before her cleaning and exam - you can see she's not quite sure about all this.

Art time

Caroline has taken an interest in art. Thank goodness for washable markers! So far she spends about equal time coloring on the paper and herself.

Take Me Out to the Ballpark

We took Caroline to her first Reds' game last night with Josh's parents. Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate at first, and with a 90 minute rain delay, Caroline only made it through one full inning. But we had fun... she saw Ken Griffey, Jr. at bat and enjoyed some waffle fries and crowd watching.


We've been traveling so much that we've focused more on where she's been rather than what new things she is doing. She is STILL taking her time with learning to walk independently. She will walk all day long with you holding her hands, but still not sure about taking steps alone. Lately she has been entertaining us with singing the alphabet - or her attempts to do so. She's actually got the rhythm and pitch down really well, and the letter sounds are close, but the best part is when she gets to "L-M-N-O-P", she just rolls her tongue in a quick "la-li-la-li-EE." We're going to try and capture it on video so we can load it soon.

Bluff City, baby!

We're down in Memphis, Tennessee, the home of the blues and the birthplace of rock and roll. Caroline and Leslie got their first taste of this fair river city with a brief city tour yesterday. Stops included a "lite" rib lunch at the Rendezvous (my belly is still thanking me) and a trip to the Peabody to see the ducks march into the lobby fountain. Of course, we took a stroll down Beale Street in the process. To finish up the day, Caroline enjoyed a dip in the kiddie pool with her cousins, Evan and Francesca. A good time was had by all.

The zoo isn't the only place for piggies

Today we made our first trip to the famous Cincinnati Zoo. This place did not disappoint. Caroline really enjoyed our trip, including a nice ice cream treat after lunch. Check out this picture of her encounter with an American Black Bear (he's cowering in the background).
Later today, Les made her first foray into the world of little-girl hairdos. Witness Caroline's first pig-tails: