Ohio Trip Feb 2013

Tillman stretching his legs at the gas station

We began our adventure to Ohio at 8:30pm on Friday 2.15.13. We decided to drive through the night to make it easier on the kids. It is an 11-12 hour ride, so that is a lot to expect from a 2 year old and a 6 month old!  We were making the trip for several reasons-Nick had a board meeting with Aileron , Mimi bought a new house, and Caroline hadn't met her great-grandmother! Whole lot of good reason.

Caroline finally out of her car seat after 12 hours!

Caroline slept the entire way up...from driveway to driveway.  Tillman slept off and on. Every time we stopped he was up. It didn't seem to effect him too much.  Nick listened to books on tape to keep him occupied in the driver's seat.  I traded places between the front and back seat entertain kids and driver.  I also got some sleep along the way!

Playing with his cousins at the Air Force Museum

On Saturday, Nick's sister, Robyn, and her boys, Mason and Parker, came up to Ohio as well. Nick and I took the boys to the Air Force Museum to see all the planes.  The place is massive.  We didn't get through the entire museum.  We'll have to go back another time.  Tillman did very well walking around the place.

Houston we have a problem...
a two year old is in space!

Caroline stayed with Mimi and Robyn at the house. They were unpacking boxes trying to get Mimi settled into her home. Caroline was watching them do all of this in her car seat.  The little wiggle worm made it out of her car seat. She had fun with the girls.

Tillman with the Air Force Security Police Monument 

Nick could have stayed at the museum all day long. He has fond memories of when he and his grandfather went there, so I'm sure it was fun for him to show the boys the place.

Sacked out after the museum 

Tillman really enjoys playing with his cousins. As you can see, they look like the three amigos in the back!

We saw Nick's grandmother before Robyn's family headed back home. The picture above is of 4 of 12 great grandchildren. I think our children are really blessed to be able to have met their Great Grandmother. There are not many who get that opportunity. Caroline slept most of the visit, but as you can see above, it was Tillman's nap time, so he was having a "moment."

We also saw a few family members from Nick's dad's side of the family!  They own a shoe repair business and we stopped by the shop.

Tillman got his height marked on the wall
with some of the other cousins

They got to meet Caroline for the first time, and Tillman got a tour of the shop by Nick.  Nick's dad used to be in the shoe repair business, as well as Nick's grand father.  This has been in the family for years. 

On Tuesday, we went shopping with Mimi while Nick was at his meeting all day.  Tillman got his hair cut too! He really enjoys to get his hair cut. He is very good sitting there.

Nick's hometown favorite 

Before hitting the road at 9PM, we stopped by Jim's Donuts and got a few for the road. Tillman got his very own. Later that night, we stopped at a gas station, and Tillman was crying for donuts. Nick went back in to get him some. 5 minutes after eating one of them, he told me his tummy hurt.  Well, he barfed! No. More. 3AM. Donuts! We pulled off the interest in Nowhere, TN to clean him up, change clothes, and clean the seats. Wow!

We got back in town right when the day care was opening, so the kiddos went to school and Nick and I went home to unpack and SLEEP! It was a rough drive back, but we're glad we made the trip.

6 Month Well Check Up

We went for Caroline's 6 month visit to the doctor on 2.22.13. Of course, I had my list of questions.  She had been shaking her head.  I wasn't sure if it was an ear infection or if she just had figured out how to do it.  We'll her left ear was infected.  I won't say that I was happy to hear this, but I am glad after going to the doctor since November for cold, fever, etc she finally got an antibiotic! A few days after the antibiotic, we haven't seen her shake her head since!
I was also curious about the flu shot and if it was worth giving since we're at the end of the season. They recommended since it was still going around.  She'll have to go back in a month to get the second shot.
At this visit I asked ton a food questions. They released her to eat any type of baby food, but told me to wait on any type of food that she has to pick up.  The doctor thought she didn't have the hand grasp skills to pick those up, so we'll wait on that.
The doctor was impressed with her sitting up. She asked if she was doing certain things like cooing, so all of that seems to be on track.

We talked about Miss Caroline for half the visit, but the other half was discussing church. It is funny where you are and who you come in to contact with at various points. She joined St Matthews when we did. After many changes at the church after a year of being a members, both of our families haven't been back. I've often thought about going back. I want my kiddos to grow up in a church like I did. I enjoy taking them to my home church, but just wish we could find one in Charleston that suited.
She mentioned that she was attending a Lutheran Church in West Ashley. We had visited this one before Tillman was born. We liked the church just not the preacher.  Well, just so has it that they got a new preacher. She has been going for 6 weeks. I think we are going to have to pack the family up to see if this would be an option for us. The Lord does work in mysterious ways!

Caroline's 6 month Stats
Weight- 15 lbs and 14 oz (40th percentile)
Height- 24 1/4 inches (65th percentile)
Head Circumference-17 inches (76th percentile)
Clothing-6 months
Diapers- size 2
Shoes/Socks-3-6 mo

2.20.13 6 months

Bath time fun!

Stop growing Baby Caroline!  I can't believe she is 6 months.  Caroline is honestly one of the most content children I've ever been around.  She is a "go with the flow" type gal.  She will sit through dinner out-to-eat in her car seat and simply looks around.  She doesn't have to be entertained. My family was in town, and we went to Summerville to watch my nephew's basket ball game.  We headed out to eat at Perfectly Franks.  She literally sat in her seat for an hour. She just watched us eat, played with her car seat toys, and coo'd. She is a very different child from Tillman. He knew the minute the car seat hit the chair.  

Often Caroline prefers to be put on the floor and just watch us in action-cooking dinner, watching Tillman play or catching the TV.  Graham seems to "like" her a little more too.  He will come over to her to smell her a lot.  He's probably buttering up to her because he knows she'll be dropping scraps soon.

I love those cheeks! 

It may seem like I'm a broken record, but it doesn't matter where we go, we are constantly getting double takes, people stopping us, etc over Caroline's curly hair.  We got stopped 3 times in the grocery store yesterday. One man touched her hair to make sure it was real (really?). He told us to keep having babies because she was too cute! Another man was pointing at her and trying to get his wife to look because he couldn't believe that baby had curly hair.  A lady just went on and on about that hair.  For a minute, I'm thinking, why are these people looking at us...and then I think to myself "it's the hair!"

Her first taste of food!

Caroline has slowed on the drinking lately since she started food!  We did rice cereal first, and then went straight to food.  Breast-milk breaks down the rice cereal too much, so we've been adding it to her bottle.  I know, it is a big "no no" to do that, but if you could just see it just breaks down to liquid after 5 minutes (not like adding it to formulas...the daycare ladies back me up on this). Food-wise she has had bananas, apples, carrots and green beans so far. She really seems to like the carrots. Right now she is eating 1/2 to a full jar once a day. Her system is getting adjusted to the food.  Poor thing has a serious raw behind right now!

Holding her own bottle-pinkie up of course!

Caroline is not only content but very independent. I guess that comes with the second child. She is already knows how to hold her bottle.  She gets a lot of time to be independent with us juggling two kiddos. It seems like she has the attitude of "give it to me, I'll do it myself!" She also tries to help feed herself-constantly grabbing at the spoon. Miss Independent also rolls around the floor to get toys she wants.  Nothing much stops her.  She does push herself too far, which results in a head crash on the floor. She normally doesn't cry for too long. She just wants to be held, assured she is alright, and then she is back at it!

My Valentine watching
Cousin Colin play basketball!

Caroline has picked up a few tricks this month.  She can role over both ways, sit up independently, and is even rocking on her knees to crawl!  I saw her get in the crawl position yesterday, and I was yelling at Nick to come and see her.  Nick said "yeah, I know, I taught her that yesterday??"  :-) She enjoyed tummy time at a young age, and I really think that contributes to her progressing very fast.  She is also an August baby meaning she will be the youngest...always. It makes me feel good that she is doing things fast because she has to keep up with the older kids!

Valentine's Day Fun!

Caroline and the pacy don't have too much of a relationship. I was so worried about giving it to her, but really she isn't interested at all in the thing now (thank goodness). She uses it more as a toy. As soon as she sucks it long enough to know she isn't getting anything from it, it becomes a toy! She's probably thinking "you can't fool me, lady!"

Grocery Shopping

Caroline has made a little friend in her granddaddy, JRS.  JRS loves his grandchildren, but isn't much for tiny ones or unpredictable ones.  I have to say, I tend to agree with him.  Caroline seems to have stole his heart a little. He held her for me when we were at the basketball game and he strolled her around Charleston as CiCi shopped for shoes. Caroline was really good for him. If she got fussy, JRS gave her the bottle, and she was just fine with that!

Sitting up

I think Caroline has transitioned to her crib and is sleeping through the night (hope I didn't just jinx it)! It was rough there for a few weeks. I was climbing the steps to feed her and sleeping in her room.  I decided, we couldn't do that anymore after missing a day of work to catch up on sleep. So, we let her cry it out!  One night she cried from 3A-5A. The daycare loved that, as she slept all morning for them. The next night, she slept through the night. She did wake a week later, and Nick went and got her after an hour. She had kicked off her socks, and I think that is what caused the fit. I've been dressing her in footy type outfits, as those keep the peace! She kicks off every pair of socks just like Tillman. There was one pair of socks that we had for Tillman. I went hunting for those to see if they would work for her. They did, so she wears those boy socks most of the time to keep her tootsies warm!

Two Teeth-yes, they are sharp!

Caroline's two bottom teeth are fully in. She has clamped down on me a few times while feeding, and I can tell you those things are sharp! She has a bit of confusion about biting vs sucking when she gets upset. There are few things more painful that an infant clamping down while feeding!

I do feel so blessed to have a baby girl. She has really brightened our family and made it complete (not saying we don't want more...actually she makes us want more since she is so good). There is nothing much sweeter than her smile!

29 months 2.12.13

Always behind these days, 1/2 a month late on this post! This blog/baby book is getting tough to keep up to date!

29 months was the month of play dates and fun on the weekends!  We were in town most weekends, so we enjoyed home.  Tillman took his first visit to Bee City near Cottageville, SC.  He wasn't too much into the animals but loved the train they had onsite.  This was the first time that I ventured out with both kiddos alone for an activity of such. Tillman was good, and he even sat down for lunch.  Most of the time, out to eat is out of the question, but I think he was so exhausted he was to tired to be bad! :-)

Tillman on the Bee City Express Train!

Coming home from Bee City, I had to talk to Tillman the whole way to make sure he didn't fall asleep!  We sang songs, counted, and did "knock knock" jokes to stay awake.  He slept until 4PM when we got home.  Little Caroline slept that long too.  Bee City is the place to go to wear the kiddos out for sure!

Tillman in his boogie legs! It's boogie time!

Speaking of singing, Tillman has been learning lots of songs at school. He knows Jesus Loves Me (he loves and emphasizes the YES), Deep and Wide, Wheels on the Bus, and many others that I just can't tell what he is saying yet!  He is finally learning his colors.  The world is finally colors beyond YELLOW!  He seems to get green and red confused, but is doing much better. He also knows his shapes.  Counting is coming along. I think he knows 1-10 pretty well. He still really enjoys *9 10* part of the sequence. Word-wise his pronunciation is good.  He knows his full name, knows where Mimi lives (Ohio) and can sometimes tell us where he lives. He also says leprechaun really well! We pass one going to school everyday (Nancy's Exotic Plants corner of 162 and 17). He waits for it, and then yells out LEPRECHAUN!   

King of the Mountain on his new bean bag!

As you'll see in the above picture, the potty has moved to the kitchen.  Tillman will not go to the potty because he is scared he is going to miss something.  We moved it in the kitchen where he could still be a part of the action and not wet his pants (or worse!).  He also likes it by the vent, as the seat gets warmed up (high maintenance kiddo). Tillman is fully potty trained at school besides nap time.  At home, he seems to be on break or strike.  He pretty much wears a diaper at home--stopped with the pull ups at home since they are so darn expensive.  He is starting to enjoy going to public bathrooms.  He has successfully stood on the seat twice.  He'd rather go there than at home (pretty backwards thinking, but we'll take it). 

Strip down, its spaghetti night!
 Graham just waiting for something to drop!

Health-wise Tillman is off all meds.  We decided to take him off of Zyrtec and see how he did.  He seems to be doing about the same as before.  He's been pretty well--no doctor visits this month!  

Children's Museum during a Saturday monsoon!
Love having a membership to this place
 with the billion other people in Charleston too!
That place is always hopping!

Tillman still has fits. He is extremely strong-willed, but if you catch him on his good side, he loves to give hugs and kisses.  He also loves to take care of Caroline-wiping her nose, picking her up (scary), and being the official diaper fetcher. He truly is sweet and genuine when he says "I love you!" I'm not much of a touchy feely person but having children has really brought it out in me.  It is just to sweet to pass up!

Tillman's big treat for poo pooing on the potty..
.never thought we'd be so excited or mention this event....
a huge deal!

This kid has a heck of a memory too!  He is also brand loyal.  Every time we pass a Chick-fil-A, he wants chicken. Remember me saying he is strong willed, well most of the time he gets chicken!  I can't believe he know the logo when driving by.  We need to divert his attention when driving by the place or else we'll be pulling in the drive through!

29 month stats-
-24 month clothing
-weight-holding steady at upper 20's lbs
-size 4 diaper/pull up
-size 7 shoe
-molars are in...didn't even know they were there. Thank goodness we didn't have a fit over those coming in.

Happy Valentine's Day

5 months 1.20.13

I've been slow to write this post because Miss Caroline is growing up too fast. I can't believe she is 5 months. I wish the delay in writing this would keep her little longer, but she continues to grow, develop and experience new things.
On her 5 month birthday, she was baptized at St Peter's in Lexington (my home church). This was a wonderful way to mark her turning 5 months.  Pastor Rawl did her baptism.  He has been a part of all of our family's life-events: my confirmation, our wedding, Tillman's baptism, and now Caroline's baptism.  I'm relying on the grandma's to send us photos from the event, since we didn't take any photos.  Hope to do a full post on the baptism soon.

Happy Girl!

Caroline's hair continues to be a "show stopper." Everywhere we go people are in awe over her curly locks! I think it has even gotten curlier over the past month.  Another "physical" change is that Caroline has her first tooth coming in!  It is on the bottom, and we should see that pearly white really soon!

Caroline has also learned a few new tricks this month.  She is starting to sit up by herself for short periods of time.  Also, tummy time is a favorite for her.  She loves to be put on her tummy to reach for things.  She also can roll from her tummy to back and back to tummy!  She gets startled when she rolls to her back, as her head generally thumps the floor pretty hard!  When she isn't rolling around, she is scooting around...or wiggling should I say.  She can shimmy her way all around the floor to get to things.  Tillman and her are starting to "play" together a little.  We try to encourage Tillman to give her toys and sit on the floor with her.

Is my hair ok?

We are also working through putting her in her crib!  The first night went pretty good, but the past two nights have been *heck*!!  I went ahead and transitioned "cold turkey."  She went from being in the Moses basket, downstairs and swaddled to now in the crib unswaddled.  I didn't want to baby her; I just wanted to see how she did with it all.  She goes down wonderfully!  She watches her mobile, kicks around and then falls asleep.  However, around midnight she is back up.  Although she will feed and go right back down, I tried to let her cry it out.  She cried, and she cried....I couldn't take it.  I picked her up and fed her. 5 minutes later she was out.  After that, I felt like I was starving her, so that kept me up longer, as I was pondering all of this in my mind.  I should have been sleeping because she was back up again at 4, and again she drank and went to sleep.  Unsure what to do, so this saga will continue!   

Ahhh living the life!

Caroline has been keeping the doctor busy this month too!  Everything is viral, so we can't do a thing for her.  Her poor nose has been stopped up since she began daycare, and it just won't end. She spent the first day of 2013 at the doctor's office and went again last week.  She also spent 2 days at home with a fever.  She wanted to be held the whole time, and she could feel when you were putting her down and would instantly wake!  Now as I write this, I wonder if it wasn't her tooth giving her the runny nose and fever.  

Caroline's 5 month stats:

Weight-15 lbs 2.7 oz (48th percentile)

Diaper size-finishing up size 1's in the house and moving to 2 as soon as possible!

Clothing-wide range-0-3 in two pieces and 3-6 in sleepers

Diet-mostly "mommy milk," occasional formula, and rice cereal began this weekend.

Sleep-waking at midnight and 3AM.  She's only taking 30 min naps at daycare. She's turning out to be her father-a person who needs little sleep!

Favorite things-smiling, giggles, "raspberry" sounds, blowing bubbles with mouth and nose (poor thing is so congested), playing with her car seat toys, and enjoying the Jumperoo and Bumbo seat.

28 Months 1.12.13

The Pottying Parrot is what Tillman's name is this month!  He repeat everything and is officially wearing big boy underwear!  This has been a huge month.

"Aw Man!" is his favorite new saying.  He does use it appropriately.  He gets that Nick.  Nick generally says it when he drops stuff, makes a mess, or falls down.  Tillman picked it up and uses it all the time. Every time he says it, he gets a huge grin on his face!

Pink Eye Day Home From School

Pottying has really taken off as of last week.  On Friday (1.4.13) he had a dry pull-up all day at daycare.  They said we could bring big boy underwear the following week.  Tillman stayed dry the entire week at school.  However, we generally couldn't make it to the house before he was wet, so we wore diapers at home and underwear at school.  Over the weekend, we really worked with him to go to the potty. We stepped up our treats to a sucker (instead of M&Ms).  He would go on the potty, and would say "yeah, pee pee on the potty....SUCKER!"  He did have an accident in his pants of the #2 kind.  It was very nice weather, so we were outside.  He was escorted over to the water hose to clean up his mess.  I think he enjoyed it, but I also think (I hope...we'll see) got the point across that he can't do that in his new big boy underwear.  He has also been going potty before bed and has been waking up DRY!
Nick and I have been so impressed with his progress. It really has happened fast.  We've tried to be really flexible with him about were he goes potty, as we have a potty chair and a potty seat, we let him go on the potty with no little seat, we let him choose which potty in the house, he picks out his big boy underwear from boxers to boxer briefs to briefs ..the choices are endless!  All of these antics have helped him stay excited about going potty and makes him think less of the cool ELMO diaper!

Masterpiece in progress!

We've been on this potty train since the summer, and I'm glad that he is finally willing to do it verse it being a fight.  It will be nice to cut back on the diaper buying.  I won't say we are complete done with diapers and pull ups, but we certainly see light at the end of the tunnel!

Back to Tillman parroting everything-he is starting to really do what the cartoons ask kids to do.  When Barney starts hugging at the end of the show, he goes around to everyone and starts hugging and saying "I love you."  I never thought I'd appreciate Barney, but I do now!  Also, he is very into ELMO's world.  He loves to sing the song.  In the car, he has his kiddy music.  He is starting to sing along.  One of his CDs sings the ABC's.  He tries to keep pace with the ABC, but he is more interested in keeping up with the tune than the letter.  Any of the letter that have a pause-G, P, S, V, Z he really hangs on to those during the tune.  He'll get it!
T is also a counting machine.  With help, he can count to 10.  He generally likes to do every other number, so we have been working on counting.
Colors...oh colors!  No progress in that department.  Everything is pretty much still YELLOW.  That child won't learn his colors to save his life!

Cheese is a big smile and closed eyes!

Motor skills are coming along.  He is starting to "ride" his Strider bike.  He enjoys wearing his "hat" (helmet). He takes his bike for a spin mostly when Nick take Graham on his walks.  Tillman "Flintstones" his bike around the yard.  He can do about two laps around the yard before he is on to something else.

Health wise, it was a rough month.  It included Pink Eye, Albuterol Treatments, Cough, and Runny Nose.  He is on the mend now, as the whole house is!  We're hoping for a happy and healthy 2013!

Rolling!

28 month stats
-Diaper size 4
-Clothing-24 mo shirts and 18 mo pants
-Weight-26 lbs
-Shoes size- 7