playtime!

Look at me! Yesterday Mommy & Daddy set up a pack-and-play for me in their room! (thanks to Auntie, who used it for my cousins Trev & Ty)


(sorry these pictures are still really blurry-- they're off our camera phone while we're getting our camera repaired...) I am figuring out how to hit the toy that hangs down & make it rattle!


This is my perfect place to play and practice rolling around!


Oh, and do you like my tennis shoes?

symphony of shrills...

I am growing and changing by the minute! Here's a quick synopsis:

- Every morning at 6:30am (5:30am for you Central time folks in Texas...) I begin my symphony of shrills! I find the highest pitch noise I can make & then my shrill drops down lower & comes back up again! It is so fun to listen to myself experiment with my voice in the mornings! Mommy & Daddy now have a singing alarm clock, and even though they'd rather sleep a bit longer, they wake up by laughing at some of the funny noises I make...

- ALL I want to do during my wake times is MOVE! (and sometimes this makes eating my "breakfast" difficult because I wake up FULL of energy!) I want to "stand," lay on my back and practice rolling over, kick my legs, turn my head, dance or walk around the house with Mommy or Daddy, go on a walk, etc. Right now I am no longer interested in sitting still and reading a book... I want to get up and GO!

- Not only did I get bigger bottles, but I got bigger diapers! (which sorta leads to that conclusion, doesn't it?) :) I'm in size 2 diapers!

-I weighed 15 lbs & 4 oz the other day!

- Now I like to touch soft things & touch a toy if it's laying near me. I won't completely reach out just yet, but I'm getting there...

- When I'm laying on my back & trying to roll over, I can go about 90% of the way, (haven't figured what to do with the arm under my body) but then I get all twisted up and frustrated at myself , so I cry for Mommy to come and un-tangle me! (and after she does, I immediately go and do the same thing again... secretly, I love it, but don't tell her...)

- I'm figuring out fun things to do with my little hands, like pulling Mommy's hair and pushing my bottle away from my mouth. It's also sweet to feel around on Mommy & Daddy's hands when they're feeding me, or touch their necks when they're holding me...

Okay, enough sitting around chatting... I gotta GO, GO, GO!!!

pics from zach...

A new friend of ours took some awesome pics of me on Sunday while we were all at the park! Mommy & Daddy thank you, Zach!

too cute...

(gasp!) Mommy, you caught me red-handed sucking my hand again!


I am still LOVING the taste of my fingers...


A split second without my hands in my mouth... (in order to say something, of course!)


Oh, and I'm still sleeping through the night! Last night, I didn't even wake up to cry at all, so Mommy & Daddy got their first UNINTERUPTED 8 hours of sleep! Mommy said she felt more rested today than she's been in the last 3 months. Yea for me! We'll see how long I decide to keep this up... :)

a blurry memorial day...

Happy Memorial Day! Sorry these pictures are a bit blurry... Mommy's camera had to be sent off to be repaired, (under warranty) so the only "camera" we've got to take pictures for the next week or so is Daddy's cell phone. :( But it was important that everyone get to see my "All American Baby" jumper outfit! (another hand-me-down from Lori!)


Mommy & Nanny were trying to take pictures of me when I was really ready for a nap... (this was the least blurry one from that bunch)


so I eventually got fed up with it & let them have it with my crying! (and they finally listened to what I was telling them...) But it was still a great day! We cooked hamburgers and hot dogs on Daddy's grill & had a yummy meal! (well, my meal was milk... but theirs still smelled good!)


And after Granny & Papa left, I had a lazy afternoon with Mommy... (but isn't my little shirt from Auntie SO cute? I'm sporting my patriotic red, white, & blue!)

a scary day...

Can you see those black marks on the highway? Yesterday, we hopped in our truck to go surprise Marc's family in South Carolina (& pick up some furniture-type stuff they got for our house). Well, about halfway through the trip, we were cruising at 65mph down the highway when we suddenly lost control of the truck and started spinning from the right lane. It was like everything happened in slow motion. In the middle of the spinning, we were completely turned backward so we could see all the other cars around us slamming on brakes and trying to avoid a head-on collision. We ended up doing a 360 (we were both screaming through this whole thing, of course...) until the truck finally stopped in the middle of the grassy median you see here.


Turns out our back tire blew out. We were terrified & rattled as our life flashed before our eyes, but of course, the only thing we were thinking of was our precious 3 month-old daughter in the backseat. But guess what...


She slept through the ENTIRE thing. No cries, totally peaceful and unaware of anything that was happening. When the truck stopped, Marc immediately cried and said, "Thank you, Jesus! Thank you, Jesus!" None of us were hurt at all. (praise the Lord!) As Marc got out of the car & started calling AAA, etc, I got in the backseat & gave Caroline her bottle. As soon as she finished it, she decided to go right back to sleep. :) Fortunately, the emergency services in North Carolina came right away and were SO helpful and supportive. They changed the tire out for us and we turned around and headed back toward Virginia.


On the way back, we stopped at the nearest Sam's Club & bought 4 brand new tires. (no messing around...) Caroline was just waking up from her nap here in this picture, but she was a perfect angel while her Mommy & Daddy went through a scary time. (I guess we could all learn a lesson from Caroline about resting peacefully in our Father's arms in the midst of crisis...) We all made it home safely last night and are so thankful that God spared our lives...

lookin' up...

So now one of my absolute FAVORITE things to do is to look up at the ceiling in whatever room I'm in! I love to look at lights, fans, or anything interesting on the ceiling, really...


The other day Mommy & Daddy took me to a local italian buffet & guess what?! Right above our table happened to be a grapevine with lots of clusters of grapes hanging down towards me! I LOVED it!


Even on my walks, I'm always lookin' up...


And the other day, Mommy spotted me flirting with & talking to the ceiling fan/light in her room...

eclectic...

Look at the fun t-shirt that my cousin Callie got for me! (she works at the University of Pittsburgh!)


I can't tell you how much I LOVE taking walks with Mommy & Daddy... sometimes I go in my stroller & sometimes I go in my carrier!


This evening it was a little chilly, so I wore a hat.


See you later, gators!

assortment...

Since Mommy doesn't have any new pics to post right now, she found a few from the past several days that she can share:


After Daddy got home from Summer Conference on Saturday, I took a nap with him...


Look what Mommy found me doing while she was cooking dinner that evening! I was working on rolling over (as you can see from my right leg being turned...) AND reaching out to feel the soft, stuffed elephant just out of my reach! (for those of you without kids yet, that may sound a little ridiculous to mention, but it's actually a milestone in my development!) I am starting to enjoy touching different textures of things that Mommy places in my hands.


Another pic of me & Mommy from Sunday...


Hanging out on my boppy pillow for some "tummy time." Even though it's SO important to have tummy time to work the muscles in my neck & back, like most babies out there my age, I do NOT like it! (so Mommy had to snap a picture right away before I started getting upset!) Okay, we promise more fresh pictures soon! (oh, and last night I slept for 9 hours straight! Aren't you so proud of me?)

bigger bottles...

Well, lately after Mommy's been feeding me, I haven't been satisfied with my usual 4 oz. So, it was time to graduate to the BIG 8 oz. bottles! They are HUGE (twice as large) & bigger than my whole head!! Daddy calls them the super Big Gulp bottles! Here's a pic of my first feeding with one! (loved it, by the way...)


So then yesterday I stepped up to eating at least 5 oz. at each feeding (& 6 oz. before bed)... and guess what?!?


Last night I slept from 9:15pm- 7:15am straight!!! That's 10 HOURS- can you believe it?! I woke up so happy this morning & pretty proud of myself, I must say...


So now I'm getting a few extra ounces during the daytime so that I can make it longer at night-time like a big baby! Yea for my bigger botttles!!

the fashion show has arrived...

Look at me! I'm standing! And I'm just starting to fit into my 6 month clothes, so get ready for an upcoming fashion show over the next few months... (especially when it warms up a little bit) Everybody seemed to get me 6 month clothes, so I've got a closet-full that I'll have to start showing off! This little diddy is from my Auntie! (aka Jill)


Me & Mommy on our front porch...


Dancing to music to Daddy in our living room while we waited on our company to arrive...


Last night we had 3 couples over to our place. We had fun sitting out on our back porch & hanging out & eating! (sorry this is just a pic of the porch & not the people... unless they were our imaginary friends... ha!) Anyways, all of the couples go to our church, are grads of Liberty & are a few years younger than us. It was great to host folks and get to meet some new friends!