95th Percentile? Who? Me?

June 22nd marked Caroline's 2 month-a-versary.  We celebrated the occasion by visiting our favorite pediatrician, Dr. S.  She was amazed by her growth and how well she's moving around.  Her measurements show that she's in the 95th percentile for weight(!) and 50th for height.  At 13.5 pounds, she has almost doubled her birth weight in 2 months!  Dr. S isn't concerned about her big belly because she's a breastfed baby.  She told me to keep feeding her, but try to cut out the middle of the night feeding.  Caroline let me know what she thought about that advice by staying up from 1:00-4:00 the following night.  Thanks, honey. That was sweet of you!

At 2 months, Caroline can:

Hold her head up!  This is her favorite trick.  She'll show it to anyone who asks her to. 

Roll from her tummy to her back.  I think it's gas related, but nonetheless, it's still a big accomplishment at 2 months.

Drool like it's going out of style.  Dr. S said it's not teeth just yet, so just grab some bibs and get ready for the next few saliva filled months.  It's a good thing she's got so many cute drool catchers!

Smile, coo, laugh and giggle.  I'm trying to capture video of her in action.  The only thing she's done on camera so far is fill her diaper.  Charming, I know. 

She loves to be in control of her pacifier.  She's getting pretty good at the hand-eye coordination. 

Lil' C behaves MUCH better in public now!  Thank the Lord!  I was getting worried that she had a slight case of social anxiety.  It turns out she just gets over stimulated and freaks out a little when there's too much going on.  I fixed the problem by pulling the hood on her stroller so that she can't see anything.  It works!
Speaking of the Lord, Caroline acts like an angel in church.  I think she knows Baby Jesus is watching her. 


Here are some pictures of her on her 2 month-a-versary!

Just hanging out...

Posing with the only dog she'll ever have (Luc and I are allergic).

Sitting pretty with her 1st baby doll.

Smiling with the teddy bear her daddy gave her!



Here are some fun pictures I took this afternoon:

Father's Day Fun

Happy Father's Day to all the grandfathers, fathers, and fathers to be!  Thanks for all you do!

Luc's first Father's Day was spent enjoying food (I cooked 3 meals!), fried turf, and family. 

I attempted my first Pioneer Woman recipes today.  I'm so impressed!  The mashed potatoes were some of the best I've ever made and the steak was delicious.  I only wish there was more time to make her chocolate pie...maybe another day...

Poor Luc...this Texas drought is just killing his grass.  Between the brown spots and the Bermuda grass that is trying to invade our yard, he's in a constant struggle to keep the HOA away.  I must say, though, for someone who hasn't had a lot of yard experience, he's very good at it!  Our lawn is one of the nicest on the block and it's all thanks to good ol' daddy.  And his tools.  He's got lots of tools.  Come over and he'll show them to you.  He tried to hang and display them today but I put a stop to the hammering because the garage wall is also C's wall.  No need to wake the beast...especially not today.  For the daughter of 2 people who love to sleep, she is hell bent on breaking that family tradition...

Speaking of family traditions, we look Caroline swimming today!  Our neighborhood has a fantastic pool system that we were itching to try out.  I'm so glad we did!  C loved the water and her adorable swim attire.  We were only there for 15 minutes, but it was 15 minutes well spent.  Here are some pictures of our family outing:

We had every intention of bathing her right when we got home, but she had other plans.  Luc laid her down to change her and she was asleep before he grabbed a new diaper.  So we let her sleep.  And she did.  For 20 minutes...lil' stinker.

I hope all the dads out there had a great day!  I can't wait to see what next Father's Day brings us!

Only a love this strong...

For 10 long months I stayed away from many, many things that I love.  Ice cold Corona with salt and lime.  La Crema.  Santa Margherita.  Zydeclaw's boiled crawfish.  Miyako's delicious and irresistible sushi happy hour.  Various Hebert's spicy stuffed chickens.  Front Porch Pub.  Sleeping on my back and stomach.  Sleeping.

I told myself it was for the good of the child, even though I knew my child wanted me to be happy.  I thought those days of child-forced deprivation were gone. 

WRONG

Caroline is a gaseous little thing.  She's far from lady like when her stomach is full of air.  Sometimes, it's like the wind section of the New York Philharmonic is playing in our house.  This is kind of what it looks like when her stomach is sorting out food from flatulence:

We found ways to alleviate her pain and our giggles by giving her Mylicon.  That stuff is amazing!  But, being the Science based nerds we are, we thought it's better to stop the problem before it starts.  I talked to other nursing mothers, Luc googled it, and both agree that cutting out spicy foods and dairy are the way to go.  The spicy part I understood - even during her stay on the inside, she hated spicy food.  So I've cut spicy food out.  I skip the crawfish and the Tony's.  The Tony's was a hard thing to cut.  I didn't realize it until now, but I put it on everything!  Oh, Mr. Chachere, I'll miss you...

Dairy is another thing altogether.  I love cheese.  I love cheese and crackers and wine.  I love a good, sharp cheese and a crisp white wine.  I love a good queso partnered with a Mexican beer.  It's a meal (dairy, grains, and veggies...).  I also can't get enough of the ice cream place down the road, Culver's.  I dare to say it's better than TCBY. Gasp!  I know!  See, Culver's has this thing called their Flavor of the Day, or FOTD in text messages between Luc and I.  It's something new and delightful every day, and the calendar on our fridge tells us what exciting flavors we can experience with $3.00 and short drive down Timber Forest.  I've been using Culver's as my excuse to get out of the house (topic of future blog post) and have grown accustomed to sampling their delicious ice cream on a regular basis.  It's delicious, just ask all of Eagle Springs.

I've been so blinded by the blended creamy goodness of dairy products that I failed to see that the majority of Caroline's gas issues happen after I eat Culver's ice cream.  Or snack on cheese and crackers.  Boo, Caroline, boo.  So, I've decided to bite the bullet and forgo dairy for a couple of weeks to see if that clears up Lil C's issues.  We'll see what happens.  Keep your fingers crossed and your noses pinched...

Goodbye, cheese.  Goodbye, ice cream.  Goodbye, yogurt.  I'll see you guys next year!

I must love that little girl a lot...

Meetings and Milestones

Oh, Lawdy!  Where do I begin?  The Smith Family has been super busy the past few weeks.  Luc's Dad and step-Mom came to visit for a week and meet their granddaughter.  We had such a great time!  Caroline decided to start a growth spurt while they were here, but it didn't stop us from having a good time.  Their visit included Caroline's first trip to a real restaurant!  We went to Tin Roof BBQ for some tasty brisket and outdoor dining.  She did well...she slept the whole time.

Caroline met her great-grandfather this past weekend at PaPa's 85th birthday party.  The weekend started with a short drive to Lafayette where we met up with my dad's side of the family.  They are NUTS!  It's always a good time when that bunch gets together.  Caroline got to meet most of her (2nd) cousins over the weekend, either at the hotel or at the party.  Speaking of hotels, that was her first hotel experience.  She did great!  (If you are a parent of a small child, I highly recommend Marriott's Residence Inn.  It's like a small apartment!  We had a full kitchen with a living room and 2 bedrooms.  We shared it with my parents - it was quiet and perfect.)  The weekend started with where it all began for Lucas and my family - Riverside Inn.  It's the restaurant where he met my dad's side of the family.  Dinner was fun, but the real party was Sunday morning at Uncle Mike and Aunt Harriet's house in Sunset, LA.  Here are a few pics from the party:

Papa is so excited to have another Aggie in the family!  For those of you who don't know, he taught there way back when.  My dad was born in Bryan, so I guess PaPa worked there in the early 1950s. 

PaPa with me, Caroline, my brother (Steve) and his two adorable boys.  Don't let the cute smile on the one in bright yellow fool you - he's a turkey!

PaPa with me, my dad, my mom and my crazy Aunt Shawn.  She's half turkey, half saint...depends on the day and her mood. 



Caroline is pushing 13 pounds at 7.5 weeks old.  She's 24 inches long.  That's right, folks.  She grew almost 5 inches in just under 8 weeks. Yeah, she's huge.  She outgrew size 1 diapers in just over a week...remember that growth spurt I was talking about?  My Aunt Kellie asked if I ever pick her up in the morning and think she's grown overnight.  YES!  All the time! 

With that growth spurt has come some major changes:

Caroline has slept through the night a couple of times!  She's experiencing 8 hours of nightly bliss.  Notice I said SHE, not me.  I still wake up in a panic.  I run into her nursery to make sure she's still there.  And breathing.  She always is, but a mama still worries.  I hope that passes sooner than later.  We think this newfound length of sleep is partially due to introducing Mylicon into our world.  She's a gaseous little beast, but the Mylicon takes it away and allows her to sleep for longer.  Halleluia!  Here's a picture of her after a night of growing/8 hours of sleeping bliss.  Look at that belly! (By the way, she loves to get into staring contests with that lamb.  It's hilarious!)

Speaking of starting contests...here's Caroline and Daddy in a rather lengthy one...wanna guess who won?

We think her eyesight is getting better because she follows with her eyes when we leave or enter the room.  How fun is that?!? 

Our little love is also rolling over!  She loves her tummy time - always has - and I guess she has decided to spice it up.  She pushes herself up then rolls onto her back.  She becomes as stuck as a turtle on its back at that point...but....we flip her back over and she tries again. 

Lil' C met her first suitor today!  Connor B. is the son of my good friend, Julie B.  We've worked together for the past 5 years and become really great friends!  He's almost 2 and giant, but the sweetest little boy you'll ever meet.  Here's the honey bunnies...

The biggest milestone is that she is smiling!  Real, genuine, not accidently muscle spasms, smiles!!!  It's the sweetest thing to see!  I'm trying to get pictures of it, but she's being camera shy about her new skill. 

I'll leave you with a letter to my growing-by-the-minute mamma.

Dear Caroline-

Oh, you make a mamma so proud.  It's amazing how much you've grown in the past 8 weeks.  You've gone from a little itty bitty newborn to the cutest baby a mom could ask for!  You continue to melt my heart on a daily basis, especially now with your cooing and smiling.  I could listen to you talk all day!  I sometimes want to wake you up just to listent to that sweet voice, but I know better and wait patiently for you to finish your nap.  My favorite part of the day is when you first wake up because that's when you're the most talkative.  I imagine that you're telling me about the good baby dreams you just had.  What do you dream about?  Me and Daddy?  Pretty clothes?  Ceiling fans?  I can't wait until you are able to use real words, but until then, I'll keep loving the sweet sound of your baby voice.

I love you so much and thank God for you every night,

Mom

If you were a flower, I'd pick you!

Here are some pictures of Caroline that I took this morning.  She had just finished sleeping a long 8 hours - for the first time ever - so I decided to document the joyous event!  She's wearing one of her ridiculously cute outfits from Janie and Jack.  I normally don't like the color purple, but on her, it works!

(Please excuse the quality of some of the pictures.  Although little mamma got 8 hours of restful sleep, big mamma was up every hour to check on her.)

We're heading to Lafayette tomorrow to wish my PaPa a very Happy Birthday!  He's going to be 85 years old, but you'd never know it by looking at him.  He's still a very active senior with many more years to share with us.  This will be the first time Caroline has met her great-grandfather and the first time PaPa has had a great-granddaughter.  He already has 2 stinky great-grandsons!  Here's a picture of 4 generations of Maher men and their ears:

If you're ever in the Lafayette area and need some plants or gardening advice, stop by and see him.  He knows just about everything there is to know about things that grow.

Have a great weekend!

ROYGBIV

For the most part, I'm a pretty organized person.  I like my utensils in their respective compartments.  I appreciate a well planned event.  I really like the library because everything is so, well...organized.  After my recent maternity clothes clean out, I got my closet back to it's former glory.  Everything is in order by type of shirt, pant, skirt, etc...then by color.  That's right. ROYGBIV.  In this case, it's WROYGBIVBB.  I had to add the white, brown and black to the color spectrum.  Now, before you start referring me to your therapist of choice, go look at my dad's closet.  It's worse than mine.  His is also organized according to type of plaid.  Go figure. 

I tell you this only because I've got a slight closet crisis on my hands.  Well, maybe not a crisis.  It's more of an urge to put things in their place.

Caroline's closet is a bit of a mess.  Not too long ago, a good friend of mine told me that not all baby sizes were created equal.  A 3 months onesie at Carter's is not the same as a 3 months outfit at Janie and Jack (which is a ridiculously cute store, by the way).  I didn't feel the need to worry about sizes at the time because I thought Caroline would be in Newborn clothes for at least 2 months.  WRONG.  She's somehow managed to almost skip the 0-3 months size and move right into the the 3-6 months size, and in some brands, 6 months!  What happened to my little, itty, bitty baby?  She now weighs close to 12 pounds and is getting longer by the minute.

Time to start changing her outfit midday.  She's got some clothes to wear before the next growth spurt hits!


No letter today, but I will share some pictures of our little momma with you.  They were taken this afternoon after her lunch and bath.  She's pretty content with just chillin' in her chair...wearing her 6 months onesie...

First Day of the Rest of Her Life

For my first entry, I thought I would recap the day before I became a dad as I remember it 6 weeks ago. My sister-in-law told me that "a mom is made at conception, but a dad is made at birth." That definitely rings true in my experience. For the past 9 months, Katie has been getting all the fun of nauseousness, waddling and uncomfortable waistbands while I've been sitting on the sidelines only getting to hear about it. Now we have a sweet little angel that I get to hold, cuddle and play with and feel part of all the fun.

So, as I remember back to around April 2oth.... It was Katie's last day of school before the Easter holiday. It was also her last day as a teacher for the foreseeable future because that is the day she had chosen to hang up her ruler and chalkboard eraser to become a fulltime mom. Caroline's original due date was May 5, so Katie planned on getting the last two weeks to finish out the nursery, rest and get ready for the baby to come. The morning of her last day at school, I drove over to her campus to load all of her boxes into the Tahoe to bring home. It was ridiculously humid that morning (as it is 11 months out of the year in Houston) and I worked up a real sweat, but I was happy to do it so that Katie could enjoy her last day with all her pals at work.

The next morning (Thursday), I got up to go to work and Katie got to sleep in until whenever she wanted. She made this abundantly clear the night before saying "have fun getting up early to go to work tomorrow". However, when I awoke, Katie was already up flopping around in bed and complaining about how sore she was and how sick she felt. I figured she had worked too hard packing the boxes and was going to need a day or two to rest back up. I went off to work and told her that I hoped she felt better and I'd call her later on in the morning.

Around 10 am she calls me at work and says she still doesn't feel very good. Only she doesn't feel good for just a few minutes... but only like every 5 or 10 minutes... and then it clicks in my brain what she is saying. I swear to you the first thought through my mind when I realized she was having contractions was that I hadn't bought her "push present" yet and I was going to be one of those jerky husbands that all the girls at my office complain about. I didn't want to be that guy.

For those of you who aren't aware, a "push present" is a new tradition (most likely invented by jewelry stores) where a husband buys something nice for his wife in return for her going through the delivery process and screaming obscenities at him for 12 hours.

My original idea (and I have witnesses) was to buy Katie a bracelet with the birthstone of our child. The only problem was that with a due date of May 5, the birthstone was most likely an emerald for May... but could be a diamond for April. So I hadn't bought anything yet and I was actually holding out until May to go ahead and buy the bracelet. But now I was going to be that guy.

So back to the phone call... Katie tells me that she has a call into her doctor, but they hadn't called her back yet. She says that I don't have to rush home, but that I should plan on coming home after lunch in case the pain keeps coming closer together. I tell her that I have an errand to run at lunch time and will come home right after that. I grab my buddy from work (not just for moral support but because he has insanely detailed knowledge of the Houston Galleria shopping mall) and we race down to Westheimer. We rush into Tiffany's and I ask to see the bracelets. I already knew the one I wanted from the internet so I point to it say I want to buy it. Sales guy asks if it's for something special. I tell him it's for my wife's push present for our first child. He asks when she's due. I say she's having contractions at the house right now. He gift wraps the bracelet faster than I've ever seen in my life.


So my buddy and I get back to my truck in the garage and Katie calls me again. She had heard from the doctor and they want her to go ahead and come into the hospital. I think Katie and I both expected to be sitting around the house with a stop watch and tea kettles of boiling water for a few hours before making the drive in to the hospital, but now we were already supposed to be on the way. Katie sounds a little panicky about when am I going to get home, but I tell her my errand is done and I'm on the way. I drop my buddy off back at the office. He gives me a good pep talk and I'm on my way home to get Katie.

As soon as I get home I see the mountain of school boxes in the Tahoe that I had put in there from the day before. Dang, our car seat and hospital bags are not going to fit in there so I go to work stacking the boxes in the garage. (If anybody is wondering what's in the boxes, my wife has a very sick and twisted obsession for office supplies and desk organizers from Office Depot that you will have to ask her about). So the boxes are out of the car and I get inside and Katie is looking a little under the weather. I am once again covered in sweat from the Houston gulf coast sauna. I know I'm about to spend the next 48-72 hours sleeping in a chair with the same underwear on so I sheepishly ask for a quick shower. Katie (though looking less then perfect) has actually got her spirits back and says that should be fine. So I rinse off, put the last few odds and ends in my hospital bag and start to load the car. First is my bag, then Katie's bag, then the baby's bag, then the car seat, the hospital wreath, the pillows, the blankets, the snacks and Katie's barf bucket (she's really not looking too hot). With all this stuff I was really glad we got those boxes out of there.

Everybody's loaded in the car, house is locked up, Katie is calmed down, we back out of the drive way and the fuel light goes off in the Tahoe.... Katie is famous for driving around town for weeks at less than 1/4 tank. Thankfully this is not one of those times. Without panicking we make it to Valero and put a splash in the car to get us to the hospital. Of course it is a Tahoe so a splash is still $20. Katie and I actually remember the exact price because it was $20.02 which is our graduation year at Texas A&M... whoop! This was also on April 21st which is a special tradition at A&M as well.

We finally get to the hospital and pull into the dropoff zone. Katie's mom works at the hospital as a Nursing Education instructor and is at the front door to meet us. This is when the real fun got started, but I'll save that for another post... I'll close out with a letter to Caroline.


Dear Caroline,

While your mother was pregnant I was very nervous about what kind of dad I would be for you. Now that you are born and I've held you, and I've listened to you breathe, and I've stared into your eyes gazing back at me, and I've felt your tiny little hands and toes, and I've soothed your crying, and I've bathed your soft skin... I know that I love you more than anything and that I won't be able to help but try to be the very best dad for you.

So now what I wonder about is what you will be like as a daughter. Will you like to read books or will you like to rough house outside? Will you like to learn about history and science or watch trashy television with your mother? Will you want to play soccer and softball or will you want to sing in the choir and play in the band? Will you sing to the radio with me or will you roll your eyes and laugh and groan at your old dad? All these questions and so many more I look forward to learning about you everyday for the rest of your life.

Love,
Dad

Thank you, Kingfish

I'm a Louisiana native.  It's a huge part of who I am.  People always tilt their heads and get slack-jawed when I tell them that I never took Texas History.  I know!  I know!  Don't judge.  I took Louisiana History from Mrs. Jury in 8th grade.  Or was it 7th?  I can't remember.  I do remember making a Caddo Indian head dressing and learning how to fold a map.  I remember learning all about Huey P. Long, the good and the bad, and why he was called the Kingfish.  I vividly remember sticking my finger in the bullet hole in the wall in the state capitol where he was shot.  Neat stuff, huh?

The thing I remember the most from that class is that You Are My Sunshine is the Louisiana state song.  Kingfish declared it so.  He failed at turning the US into a communist country, but succeeded at making one of the sweetest songs of all time a #1 hit tune.

Caroline has an adorable yellow outfit that reminds me of this song.  She looks like a ball of sunshine!  I thought it was too big and therefore didn't put it on her earlier, but as it turns out, it's almost too small.  I guess milk does her little body really good!  She wore it yesterday (and will wear it tomorrow) and I took some pictures to document this little ray of sunshine. 

Enjoy!

Please excuse the mess on her face.  Mommy missed a fingernail during her daily manicure.  I guess she used it to remind me to do a better job next time!  On a side note - look at the focus in her face!  Guess who's a daddy's girl?

Bonus picture!  Isn't she a cutie?  Her cheeks are so fat!  I love it!

Keyholes and Chin Dimples?

We meant to start this blog months ago. We had intentions of getting it started in March. March turned to April. April turned to May. Here it is, June 1st, and it's finally getting done. This blog was supposed to start out with me writing about the joys of being 8-9 months pregnant and Luc writing about the joys of being married to someone who is 8-9 months pregnant...there are joys, I promise!

Well, if you've been keeping up with the Smiths, you know that a lot has happened in the past few months. For starters, we sold our downtown Brownstone and moved out to the 'burbs. Apparently 3 flights of stairs and no interior walls aren't good living conditions for a baby. Who knew? We LOVED our Houston house, but it was time to move on. So we did. About 20 miles North of Houston to an area known as Eagle Springs. Luc's commute is longer than the 4 minutes he was used to, but he's adjusting very well and learning to live without bars within walking distance. I'm learning to live without shopping 3 minutes away. *sigh*

After our move in March, we had just enough time to buy furniture, slap paint on the walls, and take a childbirth class before the arrival of Sweet Caroline. My last day of work was April 20th. I had intentions of getting a lot done in the 2 weeks before her May 5th due date, but she had other plans. I left work at 5:00 on Wednesday, started labor at 7:30 am on Thursday, and delivered Caroline at 4:19 am on Good Friday morning. For those of you doing the Math, that's 21 hours of labor. TWENTY ONE! She was well worth the wait. She's beautiful and worth every bout with heartburn (she's got the baby mullet to prove it).

To sum up events so far - sold our dreamy Houston house, bought a new one in the burbs, furnished and partially decorated new house, I packed up and (temporarily) ended my wonderful career, and we had a baby. That's a lot in less than 2 months! All of that activity is probably why we didn't start writing earlier. That, and the fact that we couldn't agree on a name for our blog. I wanted something personal and cute, Lucas wanted something with big words. I don't know if I won or if all of the big words were taken, but we ended up with keyholes and chin dimples. Let me explain...

I have an oddly shaped pupil. It looks like a keyhole. The medical term for it is Coloboma, but I call it a keyhole. Meghan and Stephen also like to use that term to address my Christmas presents (to: Keyhole, from: Santa). They are obviously the original ones in the family. Anyway...it doesn't affect my vision because my vision is horrible to begin with. The only thing it does is freak people out when they first notice it...especially my high school boyfriend that didn't notice it until after 6 months of dating. Needless to say, that relationship didn't work out.

Here's a picture of said keyhole taken during Halloween a few years ago. I was Carmen San Diego, Lucas was Waldo. We were the "hard to find" couple. haha...get it?

Lucas has a little bitty dimple in his chin. It's not very noticeable because it's usually covered with a 5:00 shadow, but it's there. Caroline has the same cute little dimple. It's the only thing that was really clear from her ultrasound pictures...that and her massive amount of mullet hair. Here's a picture of her little dimple pre-birth:

Here's a picture of that same adorable chin dimple now:


There you have it, folks. Keyholes and chin dimples. I don't think you'll ever find another blog with that title, so it should be pretty easy to remember!

The purpose of this blog is to keep family and friends current on the happenings with Sweet Caroline and hopefully have a little bit of fun in the process. I'll write entries and Luc will write his own, but we'll both be writing letters to Caroline in the process. I'll have the blog printed each year so that we'll have some sort of family album to show the kids throughout the years. It'll be nice to look at when Caroline is and ornery 15 year old and about to get a one way ticket to Grammy's house... :)

Off to bed. I'll leave you with another letter to Caroline:



Dear Caroline -

Thank goodness you were a sweetheart today. After your night last night, I wasn't sure if we needed to get you checked for bi-polar disorder or not. Let me explain....You're a sweaty beast when you sleep, so we attempted to wrap you in a lighter blanket when we noticed your hair was getting a little damp. FAIL. You woke up and stayed up for a few screaming hours. You were up for 8 hours. That's what I like to call one of your "benders". Let's not do that again anytime soon, Ok?

I love you so much and thank God for you every night,



Mom