Caroline at 9 months.

Caroline is such a sweet and typically laid back little lady.

Stats:

Height: 25.5 in (1%)
Weight: 14.5 lbs (2%) Wahoo- we're on the charts!
Head: 17 in (31%)

Her neck was kind of scrunched when she was measured but I'm sure it's not too far off.

-She is pretty easy most of the time and will eat just about anything I give her although she has days when she's feeling a little more particular.  Still no teeth.  She can pick up cheerios and puffs but has a really hard time letting go of them when they are in her mouth so she usually just sucks on her fingers while her hand is in a fist.
-She has finally proven to us that she can, in fact, roll from her back to her tummy- she just really really seems to dislike being on her tummy.
-She is a pro sitter and it's getting pretty good at leaning while she's sitting.  It's really nice to have her able to sit but still not be terribly mobile.
I just got called to be the Primary Chorister.  Usually in this case you'd just send the kid with dad- but since he's also in primary she gets passed around.  The first week she was just so good sitting in the back while I led singing time. If only primary wasn't right during nap time I think she'd do really well every week.
- For some reason she's started waking up once at night.  Usually between 4-5.  It's not exactly my favorite time to wake up but it's not too bad.  We both go right back to sleep after I feed her.

All in all we consider ourselves pretty spoiled and blessed to have such a sweet little girl.

The photo shoots are getting a little tougher:

Here are some videos- youtube is being weird and won't let me put the actual video on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OA0XQhWLN0Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96P0wLLEIJA

From earlier in the month:

Trying out a graham cracker on her own for the first time- I'm pretty sure this was the first time I gave her something that was big enough for her to eat and hold at the same time.  I naively thought she wouldn't make too much of a mess.
I thought wrong.

We gave her a lime wedge hoping for a good sour face but she just sat there sucking on it. She did kind of shiver once  but that was it.  

Eating her avocado on St. Patrick's Day.  Clearly she was really excited about it.

Caroline at 8 months

 

It has been absolutely glorious lately, weather wise.  Caroline and I have been loving it.

What Caroline is up to:
- She still isn't too interested in rolling from her back to her tummy.  In fact, she's pretty opposed to being on her tummy at all these days.
- She can sit up pretty well if she's holding on to her toys.
- Likes to grab EVERYTHING.
- Has advanced to cheerios and little puffs.  She's doing really well with solid foods.
- She's really expanded her vocability.  Yes, I mean vocability.  She likes to just holler or yell- she's not mad, just being loud.
- She's recently discovered the joy's of peek-a-boo.
- Even though she's not rolling or crawling, she still manages to push her head against the bars in her crib.  I can put her in as close to the foot of the bed as possible, but if she's awake for anytime at all before I get her in the morning her head will be against the bars on the other end.  Tricky for someone who's not very mobile.  - Refuses to say "mamama" even though she will say "bababa" or "papapa"
- Still won't leave her socks on.
- Doesn't really have a mohawk like it may appear in the pictures.  That's just how her hair dried that day :)

Happy Valentine's Day

We had a very exciting valentine's day...

I got Jared new batteries for his drill.
He got me roses.
We set the table pretty with candles and ate stir-fry.

Jump-a-roo!!!

She LOVES it! And she can finally reach the ground.

Enjoying an apple while she bounces.

Random Pictures of Cuteness

What can I say... she's just sooo cute!

Trying out her new BYU t-shirt.

She thinks she's so big... she can't even roll over yet!

I realized I never got a picture of her in her Halloween costume... better late than never.

Rockin' a mohawk at New Years.

Ready for church.

Not quite ready for pigtails.  

Recent attempts at Craftiness

Both for entertainment and practicality purposes I've been making decorations and bedspreads:

Progress Report

Okay... this is long overdue and things aren't finished, but this is where they currently stand... shoes on the floor and everything.  Here are a few of the before and after pictures of most rooms in the house: (There's a spot on the lens of my camera- on the inside.  That's why there's a dark blurry spot on all the pictures)

Before: Living Room

After:

Before: Kitchen (I think it looks messier after!)

After:

Before: Bathroom (The picture was taken when there was no power on in the house- so it's really not so great.)

After:

Before: Guest Bedroom (Come stay with us!  Right now it's mostly being used as a holding station for my craft stuff until the family room gets new carpet.)

After:

Before: Jared's Office

After:

Before: Laundry Area/Side Entry (Before this had a door that wouldn't even close because someone had kicked the door in.)

Before: Connector room/wide spot in the hallway- I'm still not sure what to call this area.

After:

Before: Hallway

After:

Before: Caroline's Room

After:

Before: Master Bedroom

After:

Before: Master Bath

After:

Before: Master Closet (it now has the furnace that dad relocated- before there was no heating in two of the bedrooms)

After: 

Before: Family Room (This room still needs new carpet, but now has a functional back door and a lovely assortment of free furniture. It's still being used as a kind of work room, but it's nice to have such a nice space to work in :)

After: 

That's it!  There's still lots of things to be should/could be done.. trim around some doors,  roofing, windows, yard work, electrical, organizing, hanging pictures, et al, but it's come so far and it really is a very nice and comfortable home.  We're so happy to be here!