She's Got the Music In Her!

While the moves definitely need some refining, Caroline loves to dance when she hears music.

Cooking 101

Recently we have begun to join the "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em school of parenting", and we loaded all lower cabinets and drawers in the kitchen (the ones we couldn't put locks on) with various things Caroline could play with. Of course, we both (or maybe just me, Kevin seems to be much more realistic about these things) had visions of us doing our domestic thing in the kitchen while she happily sat with various bowls and spoons being precious. It's nice, but not the beautiful picture I imagined, as usually she ends up right where I need to be. And then there's the fact that she can find a certain metal cake pan no matter where we put it, and delights in alternately banging it on the ceramic tyle and throwing it into the air to hear the loud bang it makes when it falls. I guess you can't win them all. Here's a short clip of her first day with her new "toys".

Remind anyone of the story of my 4H demo in grade school???

Another Milestone - Louisiana Style

Tonight was Caroline's first visit to Randol's. She liked the music a lot, but couldn't really find her beat at first. When we went back to the table, she found it - and she danced right through her dinner!

Just A Few Steps

Caroline is very close to walking. She could walk all day as long as she's holding on to something. Occasionally, she forgets and lets go and she takes a few steps. Here is one of those occasions.



You can't really blame her for wanting to fix the "pants situation" she's in, but once she loses concentration she can't stand up!

YES, We're Older Parents, Okay?!?

We were at a restaurant for lunch with Caroline on Monday and the waitress came up and said. "Awww, she's so cute. Grandchild?" Strangely without missing a beat I informed her that she was my daughter. AS IF that wasn't bad enough, she said "Ohhh, I'm sorry" and quickly walked away. Funny, I think when people say that (this is not the first time by far) it sometimes comes from people seeing Kevin and I and realizing that she doesn't look like us more than it comes from them thinking we are too old to have a child her age. BUT, when you're about to turn 40, it stings! I did have an interesting thought today, though. When Caroline is old enough to go to college, Kevin and I will be retiring. How many people can say that?

Good Morning!

Mackenzie and Jackson have spent some days here this summer and Caroline loves it when they arrive. On this morning they came in when she was waking up. She loved it!

Jackson Versus Jackson

Jackson (the dog) got bitten by another dog at the boarding kennel when we were in Jackson (the city). As a result, he has to wear this collar. The collar itself is pretty funny, but so is this new game that Jackson (the boy) taught him.

It's a Rite of Passage

The first visit to Chuck E Cheese . . . a big occasion in a girl's life, indeed. Actually, it's Caroline's second visit but the first time she was only four months old and she slept through the whole thing. As you can see, she enjoyed herself a little more today.

Stuart Little seemed to trust her driving just fine, he looks like he doesn't have a care in the world.

This guy in the car with me is crazy!

Maybe he won't notice if I try to get out.

Yee Haww!

New House

Here are some photos of the new house, for the Mississippi folk who haven't yet been here!

Back Patio:

Here are a few shots of inside:

My Favorite Place:

And, finally, the room of the princess:

Now You See Her . . . Now You Don't

When we first moved into the house, Caroline would occasionally crawl under the upholstered chairs at the dining room table and then cry because she couldn't figure how to get out, or who "turned the lights out" for that matter. Common sense finally prevailed today and she couldn't seem to get enough of her new-found fun!



Go ahead and get a good chuckle at how much our lives have changed!

Jackson Pics

Obviously, we did a good bit of eating while in Jackson. As you can see, many of our photos are from the kitchen table:

Popsicle time wasn't going to be stopped just because we were across state lines:

So many new faces, so many new things . . . really tire a girl out!

Road Trip!!

Recently, we went to Jackson, Mississippi to visit Kevin's family. It was our first road trip with Caroline, and we were really a little nervous about how she would react to spending four hours in the car. As you can see, it really didn't bother her much.

She slept almost the whole way there and on the way home, she kept me thoroughly entertained. One of her favorite new "tricks" is to make sweet eyes on command. However questionable the sweetness is, you have to admit it's cute:

We will be posting pics from our Jackson visit soon. Hint, Hint to Kevin's dad!

Summer Splash Day

We took Caroline and Mackenzie and Jackson to a sprinkler park one day last week to cool off. Caroline's cousins also came along and everyone had a blast. Caroline couldn't resist a drink or two.

Popsicles, Anyone?

One of the favorite traditions of this summer has been nightly popsicle time. Caroline gets excited when she hears the plastic wrapper of the popsicles. Then she makes a bee-line straight for her daddy to sit on his lap. As you can see from the video below, she is very excited to share. While they are sharing, she keeps an eye on how many are left. Like a typical Louisiana girl, she is sad when the food runs out!

My How She's Grown

The photos above were taken each month, much appreciation to my sis for her patience. I love to see how Caroline's personality begins to form and see how she changes from month to month!

Oh Yeah, Babies Change Everything

Well, let's see. Time since September has flown by so quickly. Our days and nights are filled with being mommy and daddy to Caroline and learning as we go. And learning some more. And some more. Lots of tears, some hers some ours. Our adoption was finalized in May. Here's a photo of Caroline and her daddy on her special "Gotcha" day.






She had no idea of the magnitude of the event, she was just Caroline as usual. We celebrated with the family the next weekend.

We moved into a new house at the end of the school year. Here are some photos of her playing in her new, much larger, space!

Both of us are enjoying our summer off with her!

When I look back to my post "The Lazy Days of Summer" from last year, I can't help but laugh. Yes, babies really do change everything. But I wouldn't want it any other way!