Meet my sister...

One of my favorite things about Caroline right now is the PRIDE she takes in her little sister Emily! Every time we see someone new, have anyone over, or have family arrive- the VERY first thing she does is to reach over and touch Emily as if to say "Look at my sister!!" It thrills my soul to see her love for Emily. It's precious...and here are just a few pictures of why I think Caroline is so in love with Miss Emily.

What do 18 month olds do?

First let me start by saying- WE FOUND THE ICE CREAM MAN!!! Yesterday evening Brad heard the music and they were able to get out there quick enough to catch it. I credit it to...her ice cream dress that she was wearing of course! Why didn't I think of that earlier?? We also learned a quick tidbit about this icecream WOMAN....since we live in the amazingly safe area of Cammack Village and we have our own police on patrol at all times, Nana Deb asked him yesterday if he could tell us when/where/usual routes that the ice cream truck takes around the neighborhood. He told us that he was also LOOKING for the ice cream truck because they do not have a permit to be in our neighborhood- everyone that comes through has to have a background check, etc. in order to interact with the children and families- pretty cool I thought. I am so thankful that we are in such a great neighborhood- a LITTLE different that Macon. :) So without further ado- here are some prized pictures of CGH and her ice cream. There is a video at the bottom too.



Caroline turned 18 months several weeks ago...on May 19th. Here is a little bit of what my precious little Caroline is up to these days. What do 18 month olds do?

They bathe there dolls and stuffed animals

They draw with sidewalk chalk

They put a diaper on any and every object she can find

They eagerly wait for daddy to get home (see video below)

They wear tutu's

They try out new hair do's...I attempted pig tails in the back.

Farmer Brad

Brad has a new hobby! He decided to plant a vegetable garden about 2 weeks ago. He started out with a few...and it grew and grew until he was making midnight runs to Walmart for more soil and pots. He also started a compost pile- so now I get to save all kinds of fun stuff to put out in it. ;) I took pictures the first week and have been trying to get them posted- so finally here they are. Brad wants me to keep taking pictures to track how much they grow each week...so there will be more to come. He actually ended up moving some of these plants further down the "alley" so that they would get a little bit more sunlight, and this doesn't show the compost pile. He loves his garden...he comes home and asks about it everyday and takes the girls out to water it. We can't wait to see the produce start popping up. He planted tomatoes, green pepper, red pepper, zucchini, and squash (hope I didn't leave anything off the list). I am proud of my little midnight farmer...

Cousin Charlie Came for a visit!!

We had a blast with a full house this week! Cara and Charlie flew in on Sunday morning and stayed with us until today. We just hung around the house, played outside, took walks to the park and enjoyed watching the kids interact. It was so nice to have Cara here to "do life" with for a few days. Its so much more fun when you can share the fun of the day to day routines with. Charlie was a doll and slept so well while they were here so hopefully that means more trips will be planned. We were sad to see them off at the airport this afternoon, but we will see them again in 2 short weeks at the beach....oh the adventures we'll have then!

SHARING was a new lesson for both of these little ones. They did pretty well with it I think! :)

Three little monkeys jumping in the bed to wake up Miss Emily from her nap

12 Weeks!

Sweet little Emily is 12 weeks old today. She has grown so much in the last few weeks and her personality is blossoming! We are still working together to figure out a good "schedule" for her but I can feel happening sometime soon hopefully!!
-She likes to be awake for about 45minutes -1 hour... after that the fussing starts. She wants her naps!
-She sleeps in spurts at night- usually about 4 hour shifts. Thankfully she doesn't "wake up" when she gets up, just wants to nurse for a few minutes, then back to sleep.
-She has found her hands and loves them! She smacks on them all day long.
-She has such a sweet little voice and loves to coo and ahhh. She is SO verbal. We'll have conversations back and forth and she has the most adorable eye and facial expression during our talks.
-She loves to watch her mommy...and big sister Caroline! She stares at Caroline sometimes and I can see such a look of admiration ALREADY. It's so neat.
-She likes to spend time in her bouncey seat, swing, on a blanket, or in our arms. She is using her bumbo at dinner time when she joins us around the table.
-Caroline is being such a great big sister- she loves to watch and help with diaper changes, burping, and dressing Emily. She now imitates all of that with her own little baby dolls.
-She has a very loud cry like her sisters and likes to vocalize it in her car seat or when we are out and about. Not many trips have been taken out of the house lately.
-She is wearing size 6 month...right along the same size that Caroline did. Her little legs are adorable...roll, after roll, after roll.
-No passy...We would pay her to take one, but its a no go.
-No bottles...again...MOMMY would PAY her to take one, but she isn't loving them. We will hopefully get that worked out soon.
-Still enjoying her swaddle for a few more weeks...then we'll start the "swaddle-weaning" process. :)
-Likes bath time finally
-Does a funny little breath when we blow on her...every time! It's priceless.
My list could go on and on as a mother who is so IN LOVE with her sweet little one could. But she's calling now....goodnight!

Dear Mr. Ice Cream Man

Dear Mr. Ice Cream Man,

I don't know how to tell you this, but you are breaking my heart and the heart of a precious little girl DAILY!! We have been trying to chase you down for weeks now. Why won't you come down our street?

You tease us with that silly song you play and the bell you ring. We hear you on the streets nearby but can't see you. Sweet Caroline has spotted you and has fallen in love with you. Since then she screams "tuck! tuck!" all evening long after we hear your little tune. I sprint inside, grab the dollar that sits and waits on our foyer table, and give it to Caroline to hold.

We wait and wait. You never come around. Where are you Mr. Ice Cream Man? Why don't you like the corner of Brentwood and Audobon? Have we offended you? We would welcome you with open arms. Oh if you could look into my little girls eyes and see the DESIRE she has to see you and your truck. She doesn't even know what you have inside your truck...she just likes your music. It would entertain her to no end! She holds her crinkled up dollar for many minutes- usually about an hour as we play in the yard and listen to your music from afar.

Several times my husband has actually gotten in the car with Caroline to chase you down. Do you hide? Are you leading us on? Why can we not find you! All we want to do is look at you and listen to your music...and possibly dance a little if you know my little girl. Each night we go inside, hearts turned upside down in defeat and talk about hope for the next day. We will catch you. We will. Caroline continues to hold her hand up to her ear as if to say "Do you hear it??" hours after coming inside. Talk about a broken heart...I have wanted to cry.

So I will conclude this letter by saying this- If you will come by our house and let my sweetie enjoy your services- I promise to buy an ice cream everyday of the week. Even if it is right before dinner and it will spoil her supper. I need you. I need your music, your bell, I need you desperately. Please come by soon.

We will be waiting,

Tessa

These are the days of our lives...

It seems like the Lord knows that after a bad day, we MUST have a good day in return for all the stress and mishaps from the day before. We had a great day yesterday. I loved spending time with my little angels. We got to meet Mary Ellen, Rachel and Paul for pizza last night at Larry's Pizza- it was great! Kind of like a Stevie B's, but they have lots more variety and a little better quality. A great place for the kids to be noisy and play. I think Caroline and Mary Ellen were a little small for the game room, but they sure did enjoy all the yummy pizza and dessert we continued give them. Their clothes and faces were COVERED by the time we left, but that is a sign of a good time!

Tonight when we said our blessing before we ate Caroline and Mary Ellen held hands! It was precious. CGH kept trying to hold her hand through out the rest of the meal, but I think her hands were so nasty ME decided to decline. :)

So...this is a little unique, but it's becoming a routine at our house. When Emily wakes up from her nap and Caroline is awake we both go in to play. Caroline loves to lay in the crib and be as close as she can to Em for a little while. Then when I take Emily out to nurse, Caroline stays in the crib and plays...instead of wallering all over us in the rocker or running around pulling everything out of drawers/closets. Emily's crib is FULL of toys, books- anything to entertain CGH while she has to stay in there. She even took her snack with her yesterday. It's fun to watch.

We got out sidewalk chalk for the first time yesterday and decorated daddy's parking spot. Caroline mimicked me while I was drawing but I am not sure she realized what we were doing. She is getting there though. She liked the feel of the chalk. Thankfully Brad made it home before it rained and got to see our message.

Caroline was sporting her Polo shirt that Aunt Nik gave her. She looked precious and she LOVED seeing the little horse on the front. She and Nik played over and over with one of the horses on Niki's shirt last time they were here and Caroline remembered. You can see her in the next picture checking out the horse. Thanks Aunt Nik for our cool clothes!!

Video #1- Caroline has mastered the art of drinking from a big girl cup!!! Crazy how this happened. She started wanting to eat cereal in the mornings when she saw me eating some. So she has had a tiny little bowl and cereal with a tiny bit of milk in it for the past few days. Well she was eating the cereal first, and then would automatically pick the bowl up and drink the milk out of it. I do not do this...she has not seen me do this, she just did it! So after a few days of watching her skip the cereal and go straight for the milk I thought I would give her a glass of milk and see how she did. She did so well!! Of course after the drinking she liked to "dip" everything into it, but for the most part she can do it. This video is at lunch time- she is very serious about her food here, but she uses her cup. I'm so proud...but not ready to lose the sippy cups quite yet!

This morning when I checked on Emily I saw that she had wiggled all the way down her sleep positioner, turned sideways and rolled to her belly to sleep...all while being wrapped up like a mummy in her swaddler. Pretty snazzy moves for an 11 week old. So when we were playing this morning she showed us a new trick...with a little assistance, but made us cheer!!

Here is Caroline celebrating her artwork...well, her encouragement during mommy's artwork. She is starting to try and say "I love you" ...it sounds nothing like it, but she's at least trying. Watch her mouth at the very end of the video.

The Sweetest Thing

Toe tickles and red curls...

and a sleepy Sunday morning snuggle...

Mary Ellen turned 2!

Our friend Mary Ellen turned 2 on Saturday and Caroline got to go and enjoy her first birthday party! Rachel did an amazing job creating this beautiful "garden themed" party. They played, ate, opened presents, then crashed after a full day of fun! I can tell that Caroline is already looking forward to her birthday- she enjoyed all the presents, food, and celebrations as if they were for her. I think the Happy Birthday song was her favorite.