Memory Lane

Take a walk with me, will you?  Let's go down that familiar road called Memory Lane and see what we can find.  I bet it's one cute baby with so many rolls and lots of baby giggles!

Awwwww!  Caroline was exactly a month old in that picture.  I guess she wanted Daddy to read her a bedtime story.

Sweet angel baby just snoozing away...

Remember her lamb?  She loved a good staring contest.  Still does!

Fatty baby!  She had napped on me for a few hours.  Those were my favorite times with her!

Pretty girl!

Haha! She did not want to be looked at while she was sleeping.

Baby burrito before...

Baby burrito after!

She still wakes up like that. Except now she has more hair.  Thank goodness!

Dreaming about eating!

She's changed her mind about bikinis.  She loves them now!

Oh, sweet Jesus.  She was a fat baby!

Caroline's first bow!  Bow was her first word. 

Piggy!  That reminds me...I need to get her a costume for this Halloween.

Six months old!

Thank you for indulging my need for nostalgia.  She's growing up so fast that I sometimes forget to slow down and appreciate every moment with my little baby girl.  Well, maybe not little...

Caroline now has a whopping 7 teeth and is currently working on breaking 3 more.  It's tradition for her to get really sick when she has a new tooth coming in, so she had a nasty cold and got a bottom tooth the next day.  She's almost 30 pounds and 35 inches.  She has been eating more than me during dinner lately, so I have a feeling she'll meet that 30 pound mark pretty soon.  She tends to pack on the pounds right before she hits a growth spurt.  I'm not complaining!  I need her little legs to grow so that she can fit into some adorable fall outfits that await her. 

She's getting more "girly girl" by the hour.  She now chooses her outfits in the morning and which accessories she needs to go check the mail with.  You never know who you're going to run into, right?  She really enjoys helping Luc and I do yard work, especially watering the plants.  Her new fascination is water.  She's perfectly content playing in my bathtub with a little stream of water running.  Caroline moves from the tub to my jewelry box to the closet while I get ready in the morning.  The bathroom is a wet mess by the time she's done, but she has such a great time helping me get ready.  She LOVES Mickey and Minnie and puppies.  My sister moved in one street over from us, so we go visit her pup-pup daily.  I've had to chase Caroline down the street a couple of times as she makes a break towards Meghan's house to see "pup-pup".  Her latest and greatest new thing to do is give kisses!  It's adorable and heart melting.  I love her!

Things have been crazy around the Smith house as of late.  We are gearing up for a busy, busy fall and what will hopefully be a more relaxed spring.  For those of you who might be living under a rock, football season has started which means frequent road trips to College Station and beyond.  Our first home game was this past weekend and Luc and I went for the day.  The weather was perfect and although the game was less than great, we had a good ol' time.  I can't wait to bring Caroline with us in a few short weeks.  I think she'll appreciate it more this year.  I'm working on making her a new Aggie outfit.  I'll be sure to take pictures of our little Aggie fan in action.

We're hosting a shower for Meghan and Rusty this weekend, which should include lots of Cajuns from Louisiana. We are looking forward to seeing family and friends!  Luc is taking a trip to Oxford, Mississippi for the A&M-Ole Miss game.  I told him to be careful of those Rebel fans, but he insists they (friends) know what they are doing.  We'll see.  He'll miss our annual National Night Out block party, but I'm sure we'll have fun without him.  Meghan and Rusty get married a month from today, so we're super busy getting ready for that.  I can't wait!  Let's hope our little flower girl makes it down the aisle without melting down. 

October wraps up with Halloween parties and a baby shower here a few days after.  Thanksgiving will be here before we know it.  This year will be especially fun because we're hosting Luc's family for the week.  It's going to be a great time.  I hope his mom, aunts and grandmother are saving their nickles for me to win!  ;)

Trying to take her stuffed puppy for a walk.  She was upset he wasn't moving.

We were at my friend's house and she saw those shoes...she took off her pink ones and walked around in the heels.  She was upset that they wouldn't stay on her feet!

She was so excited to see her Dada when he got back from a guys' weekend.

Morning accessorizing

Just checking the mail. With her purse, sunglasses and hat.

She loves to eat whole apples! It cracks me up!

She was trying to straighten her hair.  Don't worry - it was turned off.

Again with the glasses.

She loves driving!

Caroline taking our neighbors' dog for a walk.

Dada teaching her how to clean! 

Typical morning.  She grabs two of my shirts and puts them on, then heads for the jewelry.

Scariest Moment of My Life

Luc and I have been blessed with a pretty healthy child.  I've only had to take Caroline to the doctor once because she was sick, and that came back with her nasty RSV diagnosis.  She's never had an ear infection and is able to fight off colds pretty well.  I know of lots of kids who have had tubes put in their ears by this age, or are on a regular medication for something or another.  Our little trooper has never had issues with any of that, and for that we are thankful.

Caroline woke up with a nasty cold on Saturday morning.  I blame this entirely on the daycare at the gym where I work out.  I dropped her off on Friday morning, only to be greeted by a little boy with snot all over his face.  (Seriously! Who does that? Who brings their kid to the gym when they are so obviously sick?? Go for a run. Do a workout video. Do jumping jacks while your kid watches Disney. ANYTHING but bring them to a place where they can infect other children!  RUDE!  Keep in mind this is the same place where she picked up RSV.) I was hoping she would stay away from him, but some sort of nasty germs found their way to our sweet toddler.

Her cold was mainly congestion on Saturday, but progressed into a feverish cough and cold by Sunday morning.  By Sunday night, Caroline's breathing was shallow and labored and her energy was low.  I sat with her in a steamy bathroom in hopes of breaking up her chest congestion.  She hated it and vomited at the end.  Thank goodness for Luc and his mopping skills!  We put her to bed and prayed that she'd feel better by the morning.  Around 10:30, I turned on the monitor to check on her and noticed that her leg was stuck in the crib slats, so I went in her room to help her out.  I noticed that her breathing was very shallow so I put her in the bed with us and held her for a few minutes.  At that point she sat up and vomited again and was listless.  Needless to say, I was scared.  So scared.  I called the Texas Children's Nurse hotline and spoke to a nurse who lead me through a series of questions.  After answering one about Caroline's "retraction", she told me to hang up the phone and dial 911.  That's something a mother never wants to hear.  Ever.  I got hysterical and couldn't speak for a minute.  She tried to calm me down and when I did I asked her if we could drive Caroline to the emergency room instead, and she said that would be fine.  We made it to Kingwood hospital 10 minutes later.

The following 30 minutes were very frustrating, as all of North Houston was in the ER as well.  We were checked in by a greeter nurse, and finally admitted 30 minutes later.  They immediately put Caroline on a long breathing treatment because her pulse/oxygen levels were low and her demeanor mirrored it.  They took chest x-rays that came back negative for pneumonia (thank goodness!), as did her RSV test.  The doctor said she had a nasty virus that causes Bronchilitis (sister to Bronchitis).  He also said it's a contagious disease that masks itself as a cold.  Thanks, gym mom with the sick kid!  Caroline received another breathing treatment and a steroid shot and we were finally released around 3:00 Monday morning.  She blew kisses to everyone and we were on our way.  FYI - the CVS in Kingwood has a pharmacy that is open 24 hours. 

We made it home just before 4:00 and put our little angel to bed.  And she woke up at 7:30, ready to go.  Like nothing had ever happened.  Like she had never scared the tar out of her mother!  Luc keeps bringing up a good point - what would have happened if I hadn't checked on her that one last time?  Scares me every time he says it and makes me thankful that God gives me the energy to check on her, one last time.

Side note - the worst time to bring your kid to the ER is when they have a giant bruise on their head. 

She's back to her normal, crazy self and is ready to play and run.  I have to keep her body temperature down so we're taking it easy for a few more days.  She's on breathing treatments, steroids and an antibiotic, plus fruit snacks to bribe her to take her nasty meds.  Steroids + sugar snacks = one fun baby!


Here are some pictures of our adventuresome week:



Sassy pants!



Eating some ice cream and enjoying the sunny weather.



Yep. That's the bruise. It only got worse after that.  The scrape on her hair line is from the day before.  She also managed to get a bruise on her cheek during her nap that afternoon.



Trying to take her pup pup for a walk.  She doesn't understand why it won't get up and walk.



Breathing treatment #1.  She insisted on holding it herself!



Treatment #2!  Again, she wanted to hold it. 



Doing her at home treatments with Dad.  She is so good about taking them. 



Morning after the scariest night ever.  She was so worn out!



I found a way to hide her bruises!

Ugly Cry 2012

We celebrated my PaPa's life on Saturday in a beautiful and moving memorial service.  The lovely funeral home was packed with family and friends, customers and gardeners.  We had a few hours to visit (pre-party) before the service and an hour after (post-party) to say good-bye to the people who had traveled to pay their respects to PaPa.  My aunts had approached me prior to the celebration and asked me to read my previous blog post at the funeral.  I reluctantly said yes, knowing that I'm not good under emotional pressure.  Good under pressure, yes.  Emotional pressure, no. 

Weeeeelllll....

I brought my iPad and planned to read the post from it sometime during the service.  Uncle Mike went first.  He did a marvelous job talking about the skills PaPa had besides gardening, such as building every square inch of his house from the ground up to taking apart engines and putting them back together.  Aunt Kathy was next.  She talked about how PaPa was probably up in heaven giving God design tips on the human body, being that his earthly body contained many artificial parts.  Next up was cousin Sean.  Picture in your head a fair skinned, red headed gentle giant that speaks with gusto and boom.  He began to talk about how his father (PaPa's brother) cherished PaPa and always looked up to him.  Sean himself saw PaPa as a hero, an idol.  Tears started flowing.  He continued to talk about how all of PaPa's siblings worshipped and adored him and how much he would be missed.  Tears, again.  He went on to list so many wonderful things about PaPa and how his life touched so many...and the tears kept coming.  He did a beautiful job.  A touching job.  And I though to myself "there's no way I can follow that."

WRONG.

My brother nudged me up to the podium and again, I reluctantly said yes.

I opened the iPad, pulled up the post, took one look at the picture of PaPa and Caroline and did this:

Yep, the Ugly Cry.  It me about a minute to get it together, I talked for a minute about my Granny, then I lost it again.  And again.  And again.  I'm not really sure what I said by the time I finally sat down.  I tried to talk about his legacy and how great his children are.  I tried talking about the party that's happening up in Heaven.  I tried to hold it together, but I mainly just cried.  And cried.  Not the cute, pretty, dab the tears with a tissue...the ugly, sobbing, give me the whole dang box of tissue kind of crying.  My dad came up to support me at one point, although I felt the support of my entire family during the whole Ugly Cry 2012 experience.  :)

The service ended soon after and I was able to enjoy a cold beer at the post party.  I was also about to share more great stories with family members and bond with others I hadn't seen in a while.  All in all, we had such a great time celebrating the life of a great man. 

Rest in peace, PaPa.  You are missed.

Goodbye to a Legend

Caroline lost her great-grandfather today.  I lost my grandfather.  My dad lost is father.  More than that, the world lost a great man who was loved by many.

Dr. Thomas Maher, or PaPa to a select 15, passed away today surrounded by his family that loved him, in the home that he built almost 60 years ago.  He almost left us about 6 weeks ago, but he was determined not to leave this world from a hospital bed.  He decided, instead, to leave us from the bed he built so many years ago.  Papa was a remarkably healthy man, eating mainly things that he grew in his garden, but a heart issue took his life in the end.  We are all thankful he didn't suffer for very long and that he was in good spirits until the end.  He was eating apple fritters and reading the comics in the days before his passing.  What a way to go!

Here's the obituary from the Lafayette paper:

Dr. T. F. “Tom” Maher, 86, Lafayette’s leading gardener for more than 50 years, died Wednesday, July 18, 2012 at his home.

Maher was a retired UL Lafayette professor of agricultural engineering, but he was better known in the community for his huge garden and greenhouse. He sold both plants and vegetables from his Mimosa Place home, and from the Acadiana Farmers’ Market at the corner of Foreman and Dulles streets. Hundreds of area gardeners got their plants from Maher’s greenhouse. He introduced to the Lafayette market many new varieties of plants, from improved blackberries to heat-resistant tomatoes to a wide range of pepper plants, melons and eggplant.

Maher grew up on a farm in Ardmore, Oklahoma and served in the United States Navy during World War II. His bachelor’s and doctoral degrees are from Oklahoma State University; his master’s degree was from Texas A & M. He taught agriculture at UL Lafayette from 1953 until 1980. He was one of the first three Distinguished Professors honored by the UL Foundation.

He was preceded in death by his first wife, Eileen McGraw Maher, and by his third son, Dan Maher.

He is survived by his second wife, Ruth Ganucheau Maher, by two sons, Michael Maher of Sunset, La., and Patrick Maher of Houston, Texas; by four daughters: Kellie Brame of Hammond, La, Kathy Feldmaier of Austin, Texas; Shannon Maher of Atlanta, Ga., and Shawn Williams of Lake Arthur, La. All of his seven children are graduates of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He will also be missed by fifteen grandchildren and three great-great grandchildren.


What the summary of PaPa doesn't include is that he had a wonderful sense of humor and a calming disposition.  He was a lovely man who loved his garden and bouncing a baby on his knee.  He was smart as a whip and had the clearest blue eyes.  His legacy will be his garden, from which many new varieties of plants were created.  He loved sharing that gift with the local garden enthusiasts. His greatest legacy will be his children - all of them successful and wonderful in their own way because he and Granny raised them that way.  The right way, in a home full of love and humor.

Rest in peace, Papa.  Give Granny a big hug for me and tell her all about her great-grand daugther, Caroline.  Watch over us and help me raise my children to be as great as the ones you raised! 

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!