A year ago today

All bundled up for a cold morning trip to the babysitter's house!

A year ago today I found out I was pregnant. Today I have a precious, healthy, sweet, almost 4 month old baby girl. God is good!

Splish, Splash Caroline is taking a bath!

Caroline loves her bath!

A Nice Walk

Since next week the clock will fall back we are trying to take advantage of the nice evenings we have left. We put Caroline in the stroller and leashed up Boomer and off we went. It was a little bright so she had to wear her shades.

Pumpkin Patch

After seeing all the cute pictures of pumpkin patches, we decided to dress Caroline in her orange and black and head out to a pumpkin patch ourselves. Of course, Caroline is a little young to understand, but we had fun taking her pictures in the pumpkins. It was pretty hot though, so we did not stay too long.

Other than that the weekend was uneventful. We did have a nice visit from Aunt Andrea. She even cooked us all dinner on Saturday night. It was really good! The Red Raiders played awesome and we are excited about the Tech vs. Texas game next week. Oh yeah...Caroline learned how to roll from her tummy to her back. HOORAY!

Visiting Grandma

Today we went and visited Justin's grandma. It was a great visit, and Grandma loved Caroline.

Earlier in the day we went to church and we put Caroline in the nursery for the first time. She did very well, and the people working were so nice. I felt very comfortable leaving Caroline for church.

After visiting Grandma, Caroline went to visit Justin's mom Grammy. They took so many cute pictures, but I do not have them on my camera so I can not upload them. It looked like they had a very fun time. While Caroline spent some time with Grammy, Justin and I took a nap. It was so nice!!

Game Day

Saturday was another Texas Tech game day, so of course I dressed Caroline in her red and black, and we headed over to the Walker's to watch the game. We had a fun time of talking and catching up. Blake and Caroline were both great! The win was nice, but Tech still did not look too impressive.

After the game Justin, Caroline, and I headed to the Mansfield music and wine fest. Justin had to work a booth so Caroline and I walked around downtown Mansfield. It was a beautiful afternoon and we enjoyed being outside. We were sitting on a bench, and someone from the Star Telegram came up and took our picture. Watch the Star Telegram because we might be in there soon.

Cowboys

Why, why,why are the Cowboys playing so terrible right now? I love the Cowboys and have always been a big fan, but I am tired of their half hearted play. It doesn't even look like anyone is even trying...they are just pouting around. Aren't these people paid millions to play a sport. Shouldn't they at least try to look like they care if they win or not. Blah Cowboys!

Rolling over issues

Our baby has been rolling over occasionally for a few weeks, but now she has started doing it all the time. She is very proud and excited about this new trick she can do. When I lay her down on her play mat, she immediately lifts her legs and rolls right over. The problem is that she does not like to be on her tummy. The minute she lands on her tummy she begins to fuss. (we are working on tummy time) She has not mastered rolling from her tummy to her back so she just gets frustrated and mad. Today during our play time she probably rolled over about 5 times in such a short time. Finally I gave up and put her in her bumbo and just talked to her.
Tonight when Justin put Caroline to bed she began rolling over as well. We have been swaddling her but that is going to have to stop. She is rolling over in her swaddle and that is not safe considering her arms are not out to push her head and chest up when she lands on her stomach. So tonight she is in her pajamas and in her bed. Justin finally got her tired enough and put her down on her back. She has now slept for about 1 hour without rolling over. Hopefully this continues because going back and forth to her room all night will be super tiring.

Poor baby!

This morning Caroline threw up. This was not the ordinary spit up problem, this was serious throw up. It was so sad. I was getting ready for work when I heard her gagging or something. I looked over and the poor baby was throwing up. I ran to her, but since I had my work clothes on I was careful not to get throw up all over me. It still got on my pants, but it was all over her and the bouncy chair. Her face and her eyes were really red and it was scary. I called Justin to rush home thinking one of us was going to have to take her to the doctor and stay home from work. I was worried she was sick, but I do not think she is. After she got sick when I was changing her clothes, she was smiling and happy. Since she seemed fine, I took her to her babysitter and told her the situation. She fed her like normal and she has been great ever since. I guess I just fed her too much or she got choked. Anyone else experience something similar? I am just wondering if this is normal on occasion.

...now happiness is Lubbock, Texas growing nearer

Caroline checking me out!

Family of Red Raiders
At the parade

Caroline enjoying the paradeRaider Red

The floats now are much more advanced than when we made our floatsAt this point I had a stomachache

Ulcers!

Victory at last!

Karley and me after the game.My brother refusing to look at the camera.

So tired after the weekend!

This weekend we packed up the entire family and headed to Lubbock for a fun filled weekend. Justin was already in Lubbock because he had to work in west Texas all week. On Friday I packed up Caroline, Boomer, and myself and we rode to Lubbock with my parents and sister. We were all packed in the car, but the ride actually wasn't too bad. My sister was sitting behind Caroline so they had fun smiling and laughing at each other. Boomer got a little restless, but overall he did well. Once we got to Lubbock we all stayed at my brother's house in Lubbock. He and my dad put new flooring in this summer and it looks great. The new flooring meant that Boomer, our indoor dog, had to stay outside. He had a friend though because Mark's roommate has a dog. Justin was waiting for us at Mark's house and he was so excited to see Caroline. He took the night shift both nights since I had been on full time baby duty all week. Caroline actually slept really well so there was no need to wake up for night time feeding.

On Saturday morning Justin, Caroline, and I got ready and headed to the Homecoming parade. It was raining, but we still had fun. All the people on the floats kept commenting about our Texas Tech baby. We then took Caroline back to the house and watched a bit of the OU/Texas game. About 12 we left Caroline with my mom, and the rest of us headed out to the stadium. We had fun walking around and Justin and I met up with Brett and Karley. Finally it was time to go to the game. What a scary game!!! Tech needs to step it up if they want to keep their top 10 rating. After the game Justin, Karley, Brett, and me went to Jazz for dinner. It was nice to have adult time.

Sunday morning we got up went to lunch and headed out. We stopped at a Dairy Queen in Sweetwater for a break, and all the workers told me what an adorable baby boy we had. I guess I will keep a bow on her at all times! We had a such a great time, and it was sad to leave. We had all been looking forward to this weekend for so long!! I wish we could go out for a few more games, but it is just so far. Hopefully we can make it back for a basketball game. Oh yeah....we listened to the Cowboy game on the way home which made the drive worse!!

3 Months Old

Halloween Baby witha funny bow. Thanks Grammy for the cute Halloween outfit. Caroline will be the most stylish baby this October.

Getting better at tummy time
Filling out!!

Getting Frustrated

Resting!

3 months, 13 weeks, 92 days...however I want to state her age I can't believe it. Time is flying. At the same time, I cannot even remember what life was like without Caroline. I am super busy with work, school, and motherhood but I would not change a thing. Life is wonderful.

I have noticed that being a mother has made me so much more emotional. I am easy to laugh at all the silly things that Caroline does. I get sappy and cry at the smallest thing. The other day I decided to move all of Caroline's newborn outfits out of her closet. It was an emotional experience with teary eyes. Last Thursday Kidd Kraddick had their annual Kidd's Kids day and I had to turn it off. In the past I would have felt sad, but now the stories tear me up inside. Children are the greatest gift, and I don't think there is any connection stronger than a mother's connection to her child.

Caroline is growing and changing right before my eyes. Last weekend I was watching someone else hold her and I could hardly believe how big she was. She is really filling out and getting so long. I look back at pictures and I notice how much she has changed.

Caroline is really getting a precious personality. She smiles so easy, and makes these hilarious squeals when she is happy. Her coos are not the traditional coo, they are more like screeches. Her arms and legs are constantly going with excitement.

Caroline is so strong. If I lay her down on her back she will pull her head and her shoulders off the ground (while grunting) like she is trying to sit up. She cannot stand not to be able to see everything that is going on. During tummy time she can do a mini push up, and she has been trying to pull her legs under her body. She loves to stand on my lap (of course with my support) and view the world around her.

Thanks for letting me share my joy with you all!

Busy Weekend

At the game

Game gear for game day!

Loving on Caroline!

What a busy weekend. Friday night was my mom's birthday and we had dinner and attended the Martin game with the family. Saturday morning we woke up early and drove to Wichita Falls for Justin's family reunion. We had a nice time and everyone enjoyed meeting Caroline. We watched the Tech game on 4 inch portable TV, and listened to it on a terrible radio station. Oh well...it worked and we got the gist of the game. Caroline did great in the car considering it was about a 5 hour round trip. Then Saturday night we went to Aunt Carol's house for my mom's birthday party. It was really fun. We had a great time talking, eating, and laughing. Today Caroline went over to Grammy's for a while, and I took a nap and cleaned the house. Tomorrow it is back to work for a long week. Justin will be in west Texas for business all week so I will be super busy with all the baby care. We are meeting him Friday night in Lubbock for the Nebraska game.

Happy Birthday Mom

Today is my mom's birthday. If you know my mother you know she is impossible to buy for. It is too hard to pick out clothes, she gives gift cards back to us when she realizes she hasn't used them in over a year (For example, she gave me a Kohls gift card my brother had given her last Christmas. She says she can't use it because she does not get an extra 15% off is she uses it instead of her credit card), and she does not really care for massages or pedicures. So today I went over a ate dinner with the family, and then headed to the Martin football game to watch my cousin cheer. I guess visiting with Caroline was her gift for today. Tomorrow night we are doing her official celebration and I have something for her that I picked out...hopefully she likes it.
On a more serious note...I am so grateful for my mom and all the love, help and support she gives Justin, Caroline, and me. She is a selfless person who will do anything for others. Happy Birthday Mom! We hope you had a great day. We love you.

Pictures will be coming....I am just too tired to post right now.