Smith Family Hullabaloo

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Don't Blink

There's something to be said about small towns whose descriptions include "Don't blink. You'll miss it." They usually have one stop light and one store and about 100 residents, most of which have been there since they were born. Don't blink while you're driving through it, otherwise, you'll miss it.

The same can be said about a growing baby. Don't blink, or you'll miss them growing from babies to little girls. I knew my itty bitty baby was growing, but it didn't hit me until recently that she's grown into a little girl. She's full of giggles and mischief, pigtails and scraped knees. It seems like just yesterday she was my cling-on! I don't know where the time went, but that cling-on is a full-on little girl.

Here are some pictures from our trip to the park today. No more little baby. Welcome to the world, little girl!

(I must apologize for her outfit. It was her 3rd shirt of the day and 2nd pair of shorts. I was beyond making sure it matched by that point in the day.)

Climbing onto the equipment by herself. When did she learn to do that?!

Ugh! Doesn't she look like a little girl in this picture? Tennis shoes and all!

Made it to the top!

She knew exactly what to do when she got to the top of the slide. I kept picturing her going down head first, but she saved that for later.

Same smile. So happy!

She also climbed all the way to the top. She's that kid that goes up the slide and down the stairs! I've got to train her before she goes to school.

Walking around, like she's been doing it her whole life.

Daddy's twin.

She loved the wood chips. She brought some home in her shoes and in her diaper.

"What's this, Mom?"

Sweet girl got to the first step and was stuck. She didn't know what to do after that.

If there's water, she will find it.

Soaking wet baby. Time to go home!

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Walkin' Shoes

It's a good thing I bought her so many pairs of cute shoes. She's walking! Caroline is finally walking on her own! Yahoo! She took her first "steps" on the same night that Lucas and I went out to celebrate our anniversary. We dropped her off at Mom's house and 15 minutes later we got a video text with a short clip of Caroline walking to her MayMay (my sister, Meghan). It only took her 14 months to get there, but she's finally walking.

Here's a little video of Caroline walking down the street with Luc:

Isn't she the cutest?!? In addition to all of the great things that come with her new method of mobility, the greatest is that she gets to move up in the child center at the gym!!! This is great news for me because it means I don't have to make an appointment to bring her up there. It's great for Caroline because she has access to more toys and her good friend, Taylor, is in there. It's a win-win for everyone! My most favorite thing about her walking is when she comes up and hugs my legs. It's so sweet.

As mentioned earlier, Luc and I just celebrated 4 years of wedded bliss! We went to a nice steakhouse to celebrate and even slept in the next day, thanks to Mom and Dad. It was a great gift! We also got a great Edible Arrangement from Ms. Diane and Luc's brothers. It was the perfect gift because the 4th anniversary gift theme is "flowers and fruit"...good match!

I'll celebrate my 32nd birthday next week. Thirty two doesn't seem very glamorous or big, so I don't think we're going to do anything too big. Maybe I'll get to sleep in again...we'll see!

Here are some pictures of the latest shenanigans around the Smith House:

Trying on Daddy's boots. This didn't go as planned. It was much cuter in my mind.

She loved Jacob's goggles. She knew exactly what to do with them. Swimming is in her blood! She loves jumping off the side into the pool.

Playing in the backyard. Naked. Silly baby!

Rough day of playing = great nap! Snuggled up with her GiGi.

Helping mommy water the concrete. So sweet! By the way, those leggings protect her knees and feet when she crawls around on the concrete.

Sweet anniversary gift from Ms Diane and the boys!

The tantrums have started. So have Time Outs!

Funny story about these shorts. She saw them in Target and grabbed them from the rack. She WOULD NOT let them go, not even for the lady to scan them at checkout. She was tugging her shorts of as I unloaded the bags from the car!

I put them on her when I finished putting the Target goodies away. She loves them. I think she loves the bow! She also loved this sweet card from Grandma Jane and Grandpa Norm!

Speaking of love...this little honey loves ice cream!

My sister's house has trees! Won't be long now until we're neighbors.

Always has on "purses".

Taking a break from walking.

Blowing kisses to the firefighters at the July 4th parade.

Parade time with Alyssa and Tyler!

Playing on a hot day. That was my dress when I was her age.

Relaxing with her new purse, which came with that pink bracelet.

I made those bow holders! I might need another one...she has so many bows!

Someone fell asleep eating...

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Breakin' Records

I know! I know! It's been a long time since I last posted, but I assure you I had good reasons for my absence. For starters, Caroline is all over the place. She's in the cabinets, up the stairs and on the furniture. She's constantly begging to go outside and loves helping me water the plants. She does a lot for a little girl who REFUSES to walk! I just keep telling myself that she's trying to break the Maher record. My brother currently holds the record of walking at 14 months, it was my dad before that at 13.5 months. I hope she doesn't wait much longer because my lower back can't takemuch more! I have a dull pain in my lower back that won't go away and I'm reminded how I got it each time I pick up my 27 pound daughter.

We've been pretty busy around here lately. We took a trip to Tucson to visit Luc's Dad and Step mom, Eva. We even got to see Grandma Smith! It was a great trip and Caroline did really well on the plane. She slept for most of the ride and was able to keep her shouting to a minimum. I was so proud of her!

She had her second bout with a nasty virus a few weeks ago. It was so gross, to say the least. I think she picked something up at the gym's daycare. It's amazing what she can catch in the short hour she stays there. Gross!

We took a whirlwind of a trip to Louisiana last week. For starters, my sister (Meghan) had a bridal shower hosted by my sister-in-law (Becky) and her mom on Saturday. We got a call on Wednesday saying we needed to come to LA soon because my grandfather, PaPa, was really sick and probably wouldn't make it through the weekend. Becky's grandfather passed away that day, so our trip started with sadness in our hearts for her family. We got to visit with PaPa on Thursday, said our goodbyes, and drove to Baton Rouge thinking we'd said our final goodbye to a great man. Well, PaPa decided he wasn't going anywhere! He was up reading the comics by Sunday morning! We got to visit with him again on Sunday, this time knowing it wasn't for the last time. He's back in his own home now, reading the comics in his bed instead of in the hospital. :) The rest of the weekend was great - Meg's shower was beautiful and we got to spend some relaxation time at Steve's camp at Lake Rosemound.

Other than that, things have been pretty quiet around here. Ha! Life with a 14 month old is a blast. I can't imagine it any other way!

At 14 months, Caroline Jane is:

- talking up a storm! Her current vocabulary includes up, down, baba (bottle), juice, all done, go, bubble, ball, mama, dada, bath, fish, outside (kind of), babydoll, pup-pup (puppy). She also makes the animal sounds for dogs, cats, fish, chicken and cow. It's so cute! I'll try to get it on film.
- climbing! She can't walk, but she loves to climb. It makes me very happy that she knows how to get down once she climbs up.
- eating. eating. eating. She had a fig the other day and didn't care for it. Other than that, anything is game.
- singing with her daddy. It's so cute! I'll get that on film, too.
- she pretty much begs us for a puppy on a daily basis. Poor thing! My sister is about to move down the street from us and has an adorable puppy. That'll have to do!

Here are some pictures from the last month or so:

I love it when she reads in the car. It's so cute! This book is all about a dog, so she barks from the back seat.

This was the morning after one of the nights she was sick. This was also right before she got sick. All. Over. The. Bed.

That little toy is so cute! Uncle Michael and Aunt Kat gave it to her.

Post nap lunch of pasta, berries and crazy hair!

Luc, Grandma Smith, Caroline and Mr. Wayne

She loves calling DaDa on the phone.

Ready for a wagon ride to the pool! I know she's got Cajun in her blood because she treats the wagon ride like a Mardi Gras parade. She throws everything out of the wagon!