Pumpkin Patch

Caroline enjoyed hugging the pumpkins at the Pettit Creek Farms pumpkin patch. We went with Gran and Grandad, who had come to visit. Caroline also enjoyed the hayride and looking at the animals (we weren't about to pay $5 for a 3 minute pony ride, though!). I am also including a photo of our little anal child picking up pumpkins that were purposely spread out on the ground... she thought they needed to be cleaned up, apparently! We had nice weather that actually wasn't too hot for an October day in Georgia! After the pumpkin patch, we all went out to eat at a new restaurant, which was quite yummy!

Pensacola Beach

Well, I haven't posted anything in quite some time... We went to the beach recently (Sept. 10-15), and I thought that warranted an update!
We waited until September, hoping for fewer crowds and bravely facing hurricane season (which didn't happen - take that, people who say last year's hurricanes are a sign of horrible results from global warming!)... and Chris couldn't take off until August anyway, so we just waited the extra month. We had rain a few mornings, but it cleared up by mid-morning each day and was beautiful the rest of the time!
Caroline had never stood in sand or touched the waves before. She loved throwing things into the water as a wave came in, and then turning and running back up the shore as the water got her feet wet! She also liked playing in the sand with shovels and buckets, especially when I dug a big hole that she sat in as it filled with water. For a child so concerned with being dirty (she sees a speck of something on a toy and automatically kicks into obsessive-drive, saying "Duh duh duh!" (meaning "dirty") or "Beeeeee!" (meaning "bee," of course - she remembers her wasp sting incident quite clearly!), she sure didn't mind sitting in wet sand! She also liked chasing the seagulls, although it frustrated her when they wouldn't stay still, much like the neighborhood cats who run out of the yard when they see Caroline coming!
A big highlight was the pool - of the hotel next door. No, we didn't crash the other hotel; there was a sidewalk joining the two together. The next door hotel was a Hilton, which is owned by the same company that owns Hampton (which was our hotel), so guests can use both hotels' pools. The Hilton pool area had a kidie wading pool with fountains in it. Some were way too powerful for an 18 month old, but Caroline enjoyed the small fountains in the inch-deep water.
She didn't get sunburned - just a bit pink. Wish I could say the same for her daddy, who had the telltale line across his shoulders proving that I apply sunscreen more obsessively (and therefore more effectively) than him. His back was fine - the part I did - but his front was burned after the first day. Caroline did end up with a fever on our last full day there - so maybe a little too much time in the heat. But she was fine by the following afternoon.
And in case anyone cares *(I do because it involves food!), the continental breakfast at this Hampton was extremely generous. Hot items every morning! Caroline was pleased to have eggs several mornings.
Perhaps I should go back a post-date some entries so there will be something on here in between June and September!
So in the photo, do you think she has a crossbite? I had one that had to be corrected, and Caroline's smile very clearly isn't quite lined up in this photo!

Busy!

Some random pictures of Caroline "helping" around the house... sorting cookbooks at Gramma's house and vacuuming in the sunroom! Dates on these are September 3rd and 1st (sorry, they're not in chrono. order).

Labor Day Cookout

We had a backyard cookout for Labor Day weekend and invited several families with babies around Caroline's age. In this picture, she's splashing in the pool with her buddy Alex, who lives right down the street from us. He's just 2 weeks younger than her. She also had her friends Matthew and Alexandra over as well - they were all so active that we never got a shot of all four of them together! We had the sprinkler going as well, and Caroline's swing was another main attraction.
The adults just got to hang out and watch/help the babies play while eating burgers and hot dogs and yummy side dishes brought by everyone. Caroline's Aunt Sara and Uncle john came, whi she hadn't seen in awhile - but she warmed right up to them! She really is becoming so much more outgoing in the past couple months.
The fun lasted from 3:00 in the afternoon until after 7:00 when everybody decided that the babies were getting cranky! It's so much fun to watch them all together at this age!

Make Believe

Caroline is in the very early stages of make-believe play. She carries her stuffed animals around the house all the time. Each has a name: "Bah (bear - there are two of these)," "Bee-Bah (Pink Bear)," "Boo-Bah (Pooh Bear)," "Me (Piglet)," "Bah... Dee (Bear from Uncle Stephen)," and "Dah (Cat)" are among her favorites.
I thought it was just too cute when she started sharing her snack with "Bah" in this photo! She also lays her animals down and says they are "Eeee (sleeping)." What fun it will be when she can pretend even more and make them talk!

I made a plain frozen yogurt popsicle for Caroline on day. It was really hot, and I had to do some things in the kitchen. I was hoping that this would keep her occupied for a while... and she loved it! I made it in one of those Tupperware "Ice Tups" molds. She made quite a mess of herself and the floor, but most of it ended up in her mouth. I gated her in so she wouldn't leave the kitchen and drip anything on the carpet. I will be sure to do this more often on hot summer days. I only hope she will always think that plain frozen yogurt is what a popsicle is supposed to taste like! if not, I'll have to add some pureed fruit to it to make it sweeter! 

Laundry Baby

No, we did not dry the baby in the dryer along with the diapers! There is a photo of Caroline's Daddy in the dryer when he was a baby, so he suggested that we take a similar picture of Caroline. She thought it was a very interesting place to be... she was particularly interested in the light that comes on when the dryer door is open. I took several pictures of her pointing at the light with an inquisitive look on her face.

She is very helpful with the laundry, too! she likes to push the laundry baskets from the kitchen into the den, and she knows exactly where I dump the laundry... on the couch. She will often go and point out the spot on the couch when we have a basket of unfolded laundry, as if to say, "Get to work, Mommy!" She likes to hand me laundry to fold, and will pick up a piece and hold it up in the air, looking at me, so I will come and get it from her. I typically stand behind the couch and she hands stuff to me from in front of the couch... that way, I can keep the folded things on top of the couch back, out of Caroline's reach!

We went to the La Leche League conference in Atlanta this past weekend. it was great! The speakers and topics were wonderful - lots of good information about parenting in general. There were so many fun things to buy - cloth diapers, various carriers, toys... I managed to only spend $28! The conference was at a hotel downtown and lasted two days. On the second day, Caroline wore a shirt displaying the message: "Breastmilk - the real comfort proteins." We rode MARTA both days to get there to avoid the gas money and outrageous parking fees (that's what we're doing in the photo). Caroline LOVED the MARTA train! When we said, "We're going to ride the train!" she would respond with, "Eeeeeee!" That translates to "Wheeeeee!" Sorry the pic is out of focus... I guess that's just how fast those MARTA trains go! 

Finally - A Tooth!

Caroline got her first tooth at almost 13 months of age. Here is a photo of it about a week after it broke through the gum. It broke through on April 17, but we'd been able to see that it was just under the surface for a couple weeks.

I know the photo isn't very flattering, but it's the best way we could get a clear shot of the tooth! So now we expect that she'll have several more teeth in the next few months, and soon she'll be able to bite and chew a variety of foods. 

First Easter Worth Noting

This is really Caroline's second Easter, but the first wasn't good for photo ops since she was only six days old. We went to Gramma and Granpa's house in Atlanta and went to Mass. Then Caroline walked around the yard, carrying her basket of eggs, dropping them occasionally, putting them back in... not really hunting for eggs, but it's as close as we could get this year. next year, I'm sure she'll enjoy actually searching for them!

She is wearing the dress and bonnet I wore on my first Easter - my mom made it herself! The basket also belonged to first my mother, then me and was used throughout my childhood Easters. Caroline will carry on the tradition and maybe pass the basket and dress on to her own daughter one day!