A bit of everything

My sweet friend Paige met us and had lunch in Atlanta Friday afternoon. She has an adorable 4 month old- Braelinn. He was a doll!! We were so glad we got to visit with them and meet Braelinn for the first time.

Little Charlie snoozing away...he is such a good sleeper right now!!

Caroline is meeting her cousin Charlie for the first time. She LOVED him. She wanted to grab him and touch him the whole time we were there. She knew that he slept in his bassinet and continually ran up to it trying to pull herself up to look inside. We are definately working on the word "GENTLE" and hopefully will make leaps and bounds of progress before her little sister arrives.

She loved watching the baby- except for when he cried. She broke down in crocodile tears every time Charlie made a peep. She is very sympathetic. :) Again, we have a lot to work on before we bring our 2nd little one home.

Ok, so this is all out of order and randomly placed pictures. It's late, I'm tired, but I wanted to attempt a blog. :) You are all smart- you'll figure it out.

We have made some sweet friends that we enjoy weekly playdates at Chick Fil A with. Rachel and her sweet little Mary Ellen have just moved back to Little Rock. We met at a library playtime and have gotten together each week since. Unfortunately library time falls right in the middle of naptime, so we haven't made it in awhile. We'll see how little love does this week- we love the interaction! Caroline is contemplating how to get up these steps...one day soon I think she'll attempt after watching the big kids do it over and over.

Mary Ellen is about 17 months old- perfect little friend for Caroline to follow in her footsteps.

Enjoying girl time at lunch

Random picture of Caroline on the way to the park. She loves her Elmo sweatshirt!

Hayride and glowsticks! She eventually tossed one of them over the side...

Trying to chill in the car before the festivities

Strutting her stuff

Miss Peacock

We are finally back home in Little Rock after an amazing time in Atlanta. We are glad to be home with daddy and in our "normal" surroundings...but we miss our family already! Good thing we have a birthday party right around the corner!! :)

Here are some pictures from Caroline's first Halloween. She was very tired that evening since we had just gotten off an airplane and traveled all day. We almost didn't make it out, but we ended up going out to a fall festival at a friends barn/house/land. They had all kinds of fun things set up...mostly for kids a bit older than Caroline but we still enjoyed. We had hot dogs, took a hayride, chased other children around, and enjoyed a bonfire. I got to meet a lot of the couples that Brad had met the following week while I was gone. Our little peacock was precious...she walked around strutting her feathers like she was the center of the world! She was out WAY past her bedtime, but she did amazing. The only major catastrophe was a busted lip and scraped up face that she got when we got home and enjoyed a few minutes at our neighbors party. She was a champ though and didn't seem to mind once we got the boo boo bunny and apple juice for her. All in all it was a fun night!

Finally, on another random note- we joined The Summitt Church. We are very excited about being a part of their church family and getting plugged in with small groups, serving opportunities, and outreach. The church is on fire for the Lord and has such a heart for helping others and mission opportunities. Thank you Lord for leading us to a new church home!

The End :)

Charlie is here!!

Caroline and I are in Atlanta celebrating the arrival of baby Charles Wakefield Seaver- my sisters first baby. She went into labor on Friday and Caroline and I hustled to the airport in about 45 minutes to catch the next flight to Atlanta. Brad was a champion helping us get packed, calmed down, and excited about our journey to Georgia. Caroline traveled fabulously- she was excited to finally meet her first cousin! Cara's labor slowed down and baby Charlie didn't make it out until Saturday afternoon around 4:35 pm. He weighed 7lb 6oz and he is perfect!! I can't wait to get to know him and love him even more than I already do. Being an aunt is such a blessing- I'm so thankful for Cara and Chris and for their sweet bundle of joy. Every mommy out there knows how much their world is about to change as they come home, but it's such a GOOD change with so many "firsts". I look forward to experiencing these first few days, months, and years with my sister. Motherhood changes you- for the better. I have been very reminiscent of the days when Caroline first arrived, and get a little scared thinking that in just a few more months we will be doing this again with sweet Emily. But since I know how fabulous and amazing it is from experience, I am SURE that we want to do it again!

We have gotten to spend a lot of time with my family and the Hobbs have made several trips up to ATL to see their little tadpole. We LOVE being with family and miss them terribly when we are away. Caroline is changing everyday and I love being able to share that joy with loved ones. Thank you Grammie, Grandpa, Nana Deb, Papa Ron, and Aunt Nik for ALL your help this week- it has been such a blessing!!

Pumpkin Fun!

The pumpkin patch was a lot of fun! We went to Bobrook Farm about 20 miles outside of the city. They had pumpkins, a hay-maze, a hayride, and some other fun things. We went with our friends Barry and Charlotte and their almost 2 year old little girl Abby. It has been raining here like cats and dogs so the actual field with pumpkins was drenched and VERY muddy. We managed to grab one nice looking pumpkin and a baby one for Caroline. It was nice- not to cold, not to hot. I think Caroline enjoyed...and we enjoyed spending time with new friends. There are a couple of videos at the end of the blog...

She enjoyed the animals- we saw goats, piglets, a cow and some mules.

Abby and Caroline are placing their bets on how much this pumpkin weighs.

On the hayride

These pictures are from the other day. I started giving Caroline her milk/formula in a cup instead of a bottle- she did pretty well. A lot of it ended up on her, but I think she's getting the hang of it.

We had to put her in her Halloween attire for an afternoon...she was enthused as you can see by her face.

The NEW and IMPROVED bathroom

Sorry this video is sideways...these are at the pumpkin patch.

Simple Joys

For some reason I find such fun in dressing Caroline in mismatched clothes! I guess it's because they have no idea or care in the world about what they are wearing- I love it and wish adults were that carefree. :) Check out her outfit this morning- tea cup pj top, barnyard bottoms. We were at the breakfast table just hanging out watching her favorite sesame street video on the computer. Our sweet friends Camden and Kristina sent us the link one day and it has been a hit since.

Bathroom Bliss

I am not sure if you noticed in my last previous post that in Caroline's bath shot you can see duck tape behind her. This tape was put there a week ago because our shower tile started coming unattached from the wall. Well, it turned out that we needed to have some work done to the bathroom. Our landlord acted quickly and hired some men. So now Caroline enjoys her evening bath in our sink...until the shower is done. She actually likes it. Wish we could fit- we've been going over to friends to utilize their showers which isn't fun at all. :(

On Monday we had some workers show up to re-tile our shower. Of course it wasn't that easy and it turned out that we needed to have a whole new wall put into our bathroom (mold/mildew had eaten it all up! EEEEWWWWW!!!) So the work has begun. They are here every day from about 9:00 to 6:00. Caroline and I have really gotten to know these guys pretty well...we may miss the company when they are gone- JK!! We can't wait to have our house back to ourselves, a bathroom to bathe in, and a CLEAN floor to walk on. We will have a nice new shower when this is all over, so maybe it's worth it. We'll see. I hate home renovations. Remind me if I ever get the itch. :) They should be done Friday. Cross your fingers.

This weekend

I promised pictures, so here they are! :)Belly shot is of baby Emily 20 weeks. The others are from our Sunday afternoon trip to the park, bathtime, and other events this weekend. I'm about to go make some monkey bread to enjoy tonight while we watch Jack Bauer. More to come this week....

It's been awhile...

I know, I know, I have not gotten back into blogging like I said I would. But I promise to try and do better! My mom came to visit this week and spent 5 fabulous nights with us. She was on her fall break and had the week off. We got to have some fun girl time- lunches out, shopping, and just being lazy and playing with sweet Caroline. It was neat to see her amazement at Caroline's new skills- it had been a few weeks since they had seen her last. Caroline adores her Grammie, and missed her Grandpa Wakefield a lot!!

We are in the waiting period now for my sister to have her first sweet little baby- he is due Oct. 30th- but I'm hoping and guessing he'll be early!! I'm not sure why I think that- I just want him to be here I think. They live in Atlanta, so I have a suitcase out that needs packed with my things so we can take off to Georgia just as soon as we hear the news. We are so excited to meet Caroline's first cousin...and for me to finally meet my first nephew. I know Cara is ready...the end days of pregnancy are NOT fun.

Saying goodbye to mom is hard- it always is. BUT we know that we will be back in GA soon to see everyone again so that makes it a little easier to bear. It's always better when you have another point in time to look forward too. Thank you mom for coming, for sacrificing your week of vacation to get up early and play with us all day- we loved having you!! Pictures to come. :)

First Beach Day!!

Here are some pictures from our first adventure to the beach. She loved it- we knew she would. I will say it is tough to take a little tot to the beach on your own, but with a swarm of family around, it seems a lot easier! We learned a few beach lessons- lots of sunscreen, lots of bottled water to wash off passy's and mouths with, sand can get EVERYWHERE and it will all be ok, dogs on the beach steal the show every time! I must say I was a bit paranoid when she was near the water but that probably stems from my own fear of the ocean! Daddy is dreaming of the day when Caroline will be big enough to go and jump/ride the waves with him and uncle Ben. We would probably get the record for the "whitest" family on the beach that day- we haven't seen sun in forever! But, as long as everyone had their sunglasses on, they were safe from our radiating white glow. :)

Niki has a lot more pictures from our vacation that I will try to get sometime soon. Until then, enjoy these pictures of our sweet little beach babe! Building Sandcastles with Papa Ron
First taste of sand- yuck!! But she would try it again later on in the week...several times!

Hmmm...this sand feels so good on my skin! Natural exfoliate!

Caroline meets little 3 month old Colton James- we'll call him cousin- but he is Brad's cousin's little boy. Precious!! He experienced the beach in his sleep.

She loved the water but was a little bit skittish- she wanted to be by our side or in our arms.

Beach Baby!

Videos- pictures to come soon :)

We are back from our fabulous week of vacation in Hilton Head. It was a little bittersweet to leave but I know we will enjoy getting back into the "routine" and hopefully find a "normal" pretty soon.

Caroline did better than we could have imagined on this trip. No outbursts on the airplane rides, she allowed us to have dinner out at noisy restaurants each night (she ENJOYED her food as well), she played in the pool, at the beach, and relaxed inside when it got too hot. She was perfect!! I am so blessed to have such a sweet, loving little girl. She enjoyed getting to love on the Hobbs side of the family and she was giving kisses and sugar away right and left!! I enjoyed some time "off" while helping hands took care of her. It was wonderful.

As most of you know our little Caroline made some major milestones while we were away. She is walking!!! She is talking (da da da, ga ga ga, pa pa pa, and jibber jabber of the like)!!! She has waved bye bye a few times, and she can go and get you a few of the toys that we ask for- duck, book, baby, etc. It's amazing to see her growing and blossoming into a toddler right before our very eyes!

Pictures of Lovebug

We are leaving early tomorrow morning for the beach. Before I leave for the week I wanted to share a few precious pictures of our sweet girl. These were taken by our friend Niki while we were in Milledgeville a few weeks ago! I will resume blogging next week when we return!!

The Blog is back!

I admit I have been a delinquent blogger for the past few weeks. We have had a lot going on and the picture taking and fun has been minimal. I hope to have a fresh start now though- we are finally settled into our new house and looking forward to finding a "normal" routine. We love our house- it's old and has a few things we would love to fix, but it's a rental which has been so nice. No stress when it comes to broken dishwashers, etc. After moving all of our things into this house, we would love to stay here the duration of our residency, but right now we have only committed to a 2 year lease. We'll see. Moving isn't fun!!! Boxes are unpacked and things are livable, but decorating and perfecting each room is going to take time- and seems to take the back burner to sweet Caroline, spending time with Daddy, and sleeping! One day...hopefully sometime before the year is over we may finally have a real home! Pictures and video of the house to come...I still have to move a few more stacks of clutter before I will advertise the house to the world! :)
-Family Update-
Considering Caroline....
Sweet baby girl is almost 10 months old (on Saturday!!). She is going 90 to nothing and doesn't skip a beat! She is almost walking- taking a few steps here and there as long as she is holding something in her hands. She thinks she's walking though- she will take off if she is holding your hands and walking. No more holding, or stroller rides...this girl has gotta use her feet! She is loving the new adventure and I can only imagine the places those little sweet feet will take us! She is babbling a lot more- but still no mama or dada. She is still exploring different sounds and faces. She has recently started the most precious little "grin" that she uses ALL day long to win our hearts! She grins as big as she can and shows those dimples to almost anyone or anything that walks by...especially puppies. She likes to flirt with daddy, flashing that sweet smile at him while he's working or reading to see if she can catch his eye. She definitely does. She loves to read books, play with blocks, and throw clean clothes on the floor after they have been folded. She likes to eat bananas, chicken, and anything else for that matter. We are having fun exploring and tasting new foods now that her little chompers and belly are ready for it. She has been dealing a little bit with some serious mommy-separation anxiety. I am up for ANY ADVICE or info concerning this! She wants her mommy all the time- no matter what is going on or where I am, Caroline is right there- on top of me! Daddy is great and all, but no substitution for mommy, at least right now. I keep telling Brad that one day those tables will probably turn and my heart will break, but right now I'm dying for her to just spend some ALONE time with anyone else besides me! Don't get me wrong, I love having her with me every minute of the day- but I want to be able to cook a meal in the kitchen and not have her on my toes or in the living room pitching a fit bc she wants to be with me. She has also been waking up at night- just wanting to be held/comforted. This is all typical...and by the book. But it's tough! I don't want her to be sad and think mommy isn't around at night- but mommy is sleeping!! :) Hopefully this to will pass.
All in all she is amazing as usual- growing like crazy and quickly approaching her 1st birthday!! We can't believe it!! We have already started the plans for a birthday party at Aunt Cara's house on November 21st- so mark your calendars!

Blossoming Baby...
We are so excited to announce that we are having another precious little GIRL!!! We had an ultrasound on Monday and got to see our sweet little girl playing inside my belly. I am still consistently amazed and taken aback by the miracle of life and how my sweet little one is doing inside. We got to see her wave, and kick, and breath...it takes my breath away every time we get an ultrasound. I think I have felt her kick a few times...2nd time around I know what I'm looking for. I'm 16 weeks today. We go back on Oct. 8th for another big ultrasound to measure her, etc. I will be about 20 weeks then. Oh yeah...and we have a name for her already. :) Caroline Grace will have a little sister named Emily Anne. We can't wait and have already started talking to sweet Emily...Daddy even bought both his girls a stuffed animal at the hospital gift shop the other day! He chose them based on their personalities- one was "more Caroline" and one was "more Emily." We are both very excited!!

Busy Brad...
Brad is enjoying this month's rotation in anesthesiology. He has NO CALL and NO WEEKENDS...which is amazing!!! He is staying busy though through the week getting to intubate and watch a lot of surgeries- he has had the opportunity to join the actual ENT residents in the afternoons to get in on their surgeries. He loves it and enjoys each day. It's funny how a "good" rotation can make the world seem like such a brighter place!! He likes having a yard to take care of again, a grill that we can use, and a neighborhood to take Caroline for walks in. He is such an amazing husband and I must admit- tears start to leak out of me when I think about how awesome of a daddy he is going to be for our 2 little girls. His heart is already so smitten with them both! I thank God everyday for such a provider, a hard worker, a sweet friend, and a generous daddy that I have in Brad. I am so blessed.

We are still in the process of visiting churches! We went to one last week- The Church at Rock Creek and really enjoyed it. I guess we are going to take the plunge when we get back from vacation and try to get connected. I'm craving a women's bible study, I know Caroline would love interaction with some other kids, and Brad and I both would love the fellowship of getting involved in a "life group" with other couples in our same shoes.

V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N HERE WE COME!!!
We leave on Saturday to go to Hilton Head, SC for a week of relaxing at the pool and beach!! We are going with Brad's family and are all staying in a house together, like old times!! Ben and Sarah will be joining us for as much of the week as they can, and Niki, Nana, and Papa Ron will be there the whole time. We have gone to HH a few times and absolutely LOVE it! It will be especially nice in September with no crowds and cooler weather. We are pumped to get to spend a week with no stress, no work for Brad, no worries!! It's been AWHILE since we've had a fun trip- so we can't wait! We are flying out of LR at 7:30 Saturday morning. I am sure we will have some fun pictures from that trip.

Ok- my fingers are tired, and I can imagine your eyes are tired if you have read all of this! Catching up is always hard to do...but I promise to do better! If it weren't for our obsession with watching Season 5 of the TV show 24 every night I would be doing much better...but right now after the baby is in bed, it's Brad, me and Jack Bauer- saving the world. :0)