Picnic

Caroline gets a little prize every week if she does some daily jobs to help Mommy and Daddy out. This week her reward was a picnic.

It was Helen's first picnic, so Caroline showed her how we do it.

PB&J is always a crowd-pleaser.

Helen really enjoyed the fresh air!

Swings

Helen has a swing...

...and Caroline has one, too!

Adorable

Holding Helen

She does a great job...

And Helen loves it!

Helen loves to be all curled up. It is absolutely impossible to resist snuggling with this...

Prayers

One of the greatest joys as a parent (in my opinion) is watching Caroline discover God. For a long time we've been singing this prayer she learned at school:

God, our Father,
God, our Father,
Once again
Once again
We would like to thank you.
We would like to thank you.
Amen.
Amen.
(sung to tune of Frere Jacques)

And just lately she started saying her own prayers. They are the sweetest, most sincere prayers. They remind me to be thankful for the tiniest, littlest things. Most of the time they go something like this:

God, thank you for our baby named Helen. God, thank you for a smelly old dog named Tigger. God, thank you for everything. Lord, thank you for God. God, thank you for our parents and Maddie and Katie. Thank you for our food. God, thank you for everything. Amen.

I only hope my prayers sound just as sweet to God's ears.

He who fears the LORD has a secure fortress,
and for his children it will be a refuge.
-Proverbs 14:26

Easter 2009

It was a great weekend here at the Garrett house. We had special visitors - my family and Kevin's sister all spent some time with us. Caroline had the best time with her cousins, her aunts, and her Mimi. We all had fun together!

We made it to church. I really missed singing in the choir. But on the other hand, it was really nice to enjoy listening to the beautiful music. Helen slept blissfully through the whole service. Big sister actually sat through the whole service, too. We were impressed.

Helen wore the daygown I made. I say prayers over every dress or appliqued tee-shirt or daygown I make. So it was really special for me to see Helen in her gown. God has been so faithful to the four of us.

I hope each of you had a blessed Easter weekend!

Garden girl

Don't you love her hat and gloves? She was a huge help to Daddy!

Easter project

Caroline's class at school is having an Easter party and egg hunt. She has to bring 15 eggs with candy inside. So I counted out 15 eggs and let her handle the rest. The power to delegate is something I take very seriously. She did a great job!


And my favorite picture of the little peanut so far... She's such a darling!

Ring sling

I made this for Helen before she was born. Having 2 free hands is key when caring for a preschooler and a baby. It was very easy to sew. I read several tutorials and then kind of did my own thing. I used 2-yards each of coordinating fabrics and 2 rings (Sling Rings). I wish I had used about 3 yards because my "tails" are a little short. But I figure in a couple months Helen will be busy looking around and I will be using the front carrier and the hip hammock.

Today we used the sling to go for a quick walk around the block. Caroline pushed her babies (yes, 2 of them - plus a panda and a duck) in her stroller and Helen was content to peek out of her snug little ride. I can actually see myself going to the grocery store with both kids using the sling. OK - maybe I'm a step ahead of myself...

This girl's got skills

Kevin and Caroline were playing with the Aquadoodle tonight. Kevin spelled "Helen" for her and she wrote every letter herself - without help! Wow... We are so proud! (Don't you love her dirty face from dinner?)

Little Peanut

Our Helen is such a petite little girl. We really can't believe how tiny she is. Caroline was showing Helen her new dolly and I swear the doll's head was almost as big as Helen's. We finally found socks that are small enough, but they won't stay on!

Things are going really well for the four of us. Caroline is a great big sister - loves to pat Helen's back or give her a sweet kiss. We are just enjoying these early days with lots of snuggles and a few quiet moments. It's so fun getting acquainted with this new little addition to our family.

She loves sleeping with her knees scrunched up.

I love a swaddled babe.

Helen had a little bath.

This was in the hospital right before we got to pack up and go home. I made her little "coming home" gown. I'm really glad I made the preemie size - the small size would have swallowed her whole!

Helen Renee

She's here! Helen Renee was born Wednesday, March 25 at 1:57pm. She weighs 6lbs-14oz and is 20 inches long. Kevin and I both think that today (Thursday) she looks incredibly like her big sister when she was born. We think she's a beautiful addition to our family. God has blessed us richly!

Happy 3rd birthday, Caroline!

We had a big weekend. Caroline turned 3 on Sunday! We are so very proud of our little girl. Oops - I mean our BIG girl! I could go on and on about how wonderful she is and how much joy and laughter she brings to her Daddy and me... We thank God daily for the wonderful gift that Caroline is to us!

Sunday we celebrated here at home. We took her to the zoo that afternoon. The weather has been so lovely. (It snowed on her birthday last year!) We played outside for a bit. We opened presents from family.

Today I had a party here at the house for some of her friends. We invited our music teacher, Mr. Joe, to come and do her party. It was great. The kids loved it and I think the moms did, too. And the house is still standing after all the jumping and dancing and running! I've got some videos that I'll get around to later.

It was a very, very good birthday!

Snow videos

Here are a couple of videos I took in the snow. It might be hard to understand her, but Caroline tells me she thinks the snow tastes like lemons in the first video.


And the second one shouldn't be this long, but I couldn't remember how to stop the camera from taking video. Ah, one of the many perks of pregnancy...

Snow day

We had an awesome snow here in Memphis! I think we got about 6 inches here in the city. Daddy couldn't be here to play in it (he's the big play-buddy these days), but I think I did a pretty good job helping Caroline enjoy it. She kept begging me later in the day to go out in it. I wanted to build a snowman, but once Caroline figured out Tigger liked to chase snowballs, she had to keep throwing the ones I made to him. So we went to the front yard and I showed Caroline how to make a snow angel - without actually lowering myself down into the snow! I was relieved that I didn't have to roll around. It melted quickly in the sun and warmer temperatures, but we did enjoy it while it lasted.

Packing

I promise we didn't tape her up. Big boxes make nice hiding places, though!

Daddy-daughter day

I was invited to a baby shower on Saturday, so Kevin took Caroline to the boat show. It looks like they had a pretty good time picking out Kevin's future toy!

New poll

I have to admit that I'm surprised at the results from the gender poll! 70% of you think this is a girl and 30% think it's a boy. I guess I'm leaning toward thinking this is a boy, which is why I'm surprised. We'll find out soon enough!

On to the next question... How much is this babe going to weigh? Caroline weighed in at a hefty 8 pounds, 9 ounces. No complaints here - that big girl slept mighty well when we brought her home! On the other hand, this week at my appointment my doctor said my tummy was measuring a little small. (Everything is fine. I'll get an ultrasound in 2 weeks just as a check.)

Knit nightie

I wanted to answer a question from Katie and Michelle: "Where did I get the blank nighties?" Well, I made them. The pattern is The Children's Corner Bunny's Knit Nightie. The pattern also has a hat, booties, a bib, and a receiving blanket pattern. I used white knit fabric, but there are tons of cute baby knit prints out there (not so many cute gender-neutral ones, however). It's a really easy pattern to follow. It gives good general instructions on applique technique, too. Sewing with knit can be tricky, but once you get the hang of it, garment construction goes quickly.

I've never seen a blank elastic-bottom nightie. Maybe I'll do a google search and let you know what I come up with. I do a lot of applique on blank onsies, burp cloths, and tee-shirts. That's always a fun little gift for a new baby!

Layette

I've been doing some sewing for G2's imminent arrival. I can't wait to see him/her in these sweet little outfits. There are more little sewn things to come...

This is an embroidered daygown for Easter. It was my first time trying shadow embroidery and I did really well. This was just going to be a simple little project with plastic snaps up the back. But once I got the tatting on the neck and the sleeves, it was too pretty for snaps. So I had to put buttons and buttonholes in. I really impressed myself with this one.



And these appliqued knit nighties have been so much fun to make. I've got one more cut out and I'm trying to decide if I want to go ahead and whip it up or wait and make it with pink or blue...

February fun

The weather has been so lovely this past week! We took a trip to the zoo with Elizabeth. Here are the girls at the sea lion show.


Caroline and I made conversation heart cookies to give to her friends. I ordered special food markers. I think I had more fun than Caroline did.


Caroline had a great time with the markers. (No pictures of her actually decorating...bummer. I guess I was trying to keep red food marker from getting all over her clothes. I'm not sure the markers are washable!)


And here's the packaging...

And today we went to a birthday party for a little girl in Caroline and Elizabeth's class at school. It was at this place with all these blowup activity stations for kids. I didn't feel like I should be bouncing and sliding around at almost 8-months pregnant. So I owe Bryn in a huge way...


Happy Valentine's Day to all! XOXOXOXOXO

Just like Mommy

Apparently Caroline started this little game at Bible study last week. I'm so thankful the nursery director caught it on camera! Silly girls...

Pajama time

I love these sweet cousins in their pjs! It was a pajama party!

Polling

Go ahead and vote in some polls about G2 (located on the righthand menu at the top). We can't wait to meet this little child. I thought it would fun to predict some stats in the meantime! I started with an easy one...

Dog

Caroline and I were driving home from Mayfield last Sunday and she was happily entertaining herself in the backseat with her magna-doodle. She said, "Look, Mommy! I drew a dog!" I glanced back and had to pull the car over to take a picture. Wow...

Grizzlies

Caroline and I gave Kevin tickets to a Grizzlies game for Christmas. She loved going downtown and picking out 3 tee-shirts for us to wear. I can't even describe her excitement when we all put them on last Friday night. We had so much fun. It was a great gift idea. The best part is getting to experience things like big ballgames through Caroline. She had a blast. I think her favorite part was getting to use her "outside voice" inside!

Big Christmas

We had a great Christmas break. Santa stopped by our house in Memphis early. He knew we were going on a trip and brought Caroline a suitcase of her own. Smart Santa... We started in Mayfield and then headed down to Paris on Christmas Day. Caroline really got into the whole Christmas season this year. Santa brought some baby doll things, which are proving to be a big hit. Other favorite things were a doll house, Dora dress-up clothes, books, games, and a dance cam. It was so much fun watching her get so excited over every gift.

I made the girls' Christmas dresses. The pattern was really easy and I'm hoping I'll have time to make Caroline another for the spring. I kept the dresses away from the red and green theme so they can wear them through the spring and into summer. They really remind me of something Shirley Temple would wear -- especially Caroline's. I got the hem a little bit short. Very cute.

And, as usual, I wish I had taken more photos. My New Year's Resolution, perhaps?