Have a very merry Christmas!

I spent most of my free time this week watching cheesy Christmas movies. (I'm so glad school is on break!) Most of them are just reinventions of the greatest Christmas movie of all time, It's a Wonderful Life.

One of them was a movie made from a book I read a few years ago, The Christmas Box. The matriarch of the story asks the young, career-driven man what the first gift of Christmas was. He laughs and says, "A tie!" But after considering it for a time, he tells her it was love. She replies that he is getting closer to the true answer. And after more searching, he comes to understand that the first gift of Christmas was a child - God's child.

Our prayer for you this season is that the first gift of Christmas - the miracle of God's son - will be present in your lives not just for a day, but for every day.

"But when the time had fully come, God sent his son..."
-Galatians 4:4

Dad, daughter, and dog

We have to humiliate the dog at least once a year!

Our big girl

19 pounds, 9 ounces;

2 feet, 4 inches tall;

And a big head. No, really - it's 18.75 inches around. Apparently, this is off the charts. It must mean she's very smart!

Learning to eat

I know, I know... There have been no new postings in a while! It's certainly not for lack of a willing subject! We've just been busy... So here's a big post - a new photo, a video, and an old photo.

At my baby shower, Mom and Erin gave "baby" these cool self-feeding tools. They have big textured handles, which are easy for little grasping hands to use. The feeding part is ribbed. Kevin loaded it and helped her get it into her mouth about twice before she got the hang of it by herself.

So cute...




All of that amazing activity made me think about how much she's grown. I remember the first time we put her in her high chair. It swallowed her up! Look at how little she was:

Hard to believe that was just 5 months ago...

Reading with Dad

I thought this was a particularly sweet moment between Kevin and Caroline. She was wildly playing and just happened to stop long enough in the perfect relaxed position for reading a book.



Not even a book can keep this girl from smiling at the camera!

Look out, Clark Grizwald!

Dinosaur

We've been putting the balls into Caroline's dinosaur for months. And now, she's figured out how to do it herself! It's so fun to watch her learning!

Christmas dress

Mom gave me the use of her pleater so I could try smocking some things for Caroline. So about 4 months ago, I went to the fabric store and asked for an easy bishop pattern. I'm glad I started early. I really didn't think I would ever get finished and at one point I was convinced the project was cursed. The first dress went through the pleater three times (incurring some tiny holes at some point) and got smocked twice. Due to unclear construction instructions (this is an easy pattern???), I neglected to insert sleeves into the dress before pleating. Mom kept saying that she always sewed the sleeves in first, but the pattern seemed to suggest otherwise. I now know that, yes, you do sew the sleeves in prior to pleating. (Mom always knows best!) Instead of taking out the smocking (again) and ripping out the seams, I decided at that point to spend $5 on another yard of fabric. It was amazing how quickly the process went once I knew what I was doing!

I am so pleased with the results--probably even more so because of the struggle it took to get here. When I put the dress on her, I have to admit that I got a little teary. She just looked so darn sweet and angelic! She could probably make a burlap sack look cute. You will be seeing a lot of this dress between now and Christmas! Time to start on her Easter dress...

A very blessed Thanksgiving

We traveled with my Mom and Dad, Erin, and Autumn over to a resort outside of Hot Springs, AR. We met up with my dad's family there - his mom and dad, all of his brothers and sisters, and most of their children were able to make it. The last time we were all together was about 15 or 16 years ago in Colorado. Needless to say, our Thanksgiving was very special!

Thanksgiving photos

Thanksgiving videos

All our best to you and your families!

With love,

Kevin, Emilee, and Caroline

A day without a Caroline smile is like a morning without coffee!

The Balancing Act

Sunday we were amazed when Caroline balanced for several seconds at a time. She cruises around on all the furniture really well now.

Sweet little voice

"Busy"-ness as usual

All smiles here!


She has all these cool toys, but her favorite is a plastic cup. I think she likes the noise when she talks into it.






Our happy girl!


She covered herself with the blankey for a nap.

Just some smiles...

A wave (kind of - it's pretty close!)


Scrunch face!

A Princess Party

Caroline was invited to her very first party: her friend Elizabeth turned one! The theme? Princess pink, of course!

Happy Birthday, Elizabeth!!!!


Caroline got to wear a special princess hat, made by Mommy.


Caroline let Mommy wear the princess hat, too.


Daddy's Prince hat was very dashing.


Caroline gets a princess kiss from one of our blog's most loyal viewers, Brittany!

Grammy and Grandy read to Caroline

Our little duckling

Everyone loved our little pumpkin's costume!

Our jack o' lanterns

Bath time video

I uploaded some more bath videos to my Clip Shack site, but this was the best one!

Splish splash!

Caroline loves taking a bath. She always has. I guess she gets that from me. I was so glad we had the camera tonight: it was the first time she really splashed in the water. And besides, who doesn't love a naked baby picture???


Tigger (the smelly mutt) got a bath and a bone!


Bath toys are yummy


Lots of friends join in the fun


Oh boy!


Splash, splash, splash!

Important Caroline Developments

Sometimes people ask me what new things Caroline is doing. I don't know if these are a big deal or not, but we certainly think they are!

• I saw her switch a toy from one hand to the other yesterday in the church nursery.
• She was "clapping" this morning when she got excited about a toy - no noise, just brought her hands together repeatedly.
• She occasionally balances for a split second when standing.
• She's starting to "cruise" when she's standing.
• She gets mildly upset when we stop her from doing something she wants to do. A stubborn streak perhaps?
• She let Daddy chase her last night - she would crawl a few steps and then look back to see if he was still coming after her. So cute!
• I saw her pick up a Cheerio with the pincher grasp this morning. It didn't make it to her mouth, but there was a definite thumb-pointer finger action!
• I stuck my tongue out (like a dog) this morning and she stuck her tongue out! She was mimicking me! We've been doing the dog baby sign (tongue panting) for months. She knows what the dog is and looks for him when we say his name or ask her where the dog is. I think we might be getting close! The dog wasn't around during the mimicking session this morning, or I would certainly count it.

Of course, none of this is surprising considering we have the smartest baby in the world! He he he! ;-)

Happy Halloween!

Thanks!

I was feeling kind of lonely the other night and told Kevin, "No one leaves comments on my blog!" But when I logged in today I noticed that I had comments to moderate. Lo and behold, I had lots of sweet comments! I'm a goober... I've posted them now and am feeling much more loved! ;-) So, keep 'em comin' and thank you!

Chasing Caroline

Call to the post


And, she's off!

Wrinkly nose

I'm going to try to get a better picture, but this is her new smile. She wrinkles her nose, squints her eyes, and sniffs as she's laughing. We do it right back at her and she gets even more tickled!

Peek!

Cool clothes

These "yoga pants" sure are good for all those fast moves! Wish I had a matching pair! Although I doubt they would make me as flexible... (Yes, they really make something called "yoga pants" for babies.)

Here she comes!

I get the biggest kick out of this. (Which brings up the question, "What about Caroline isn't amusing to me?" Very little...) And her little knees sliding on the hardwood is just too funny!

Red balloon

Too bad the balloon deflated in less than 24 hours. What a bummer... I guess they just don't make 'em like they used to.

I should remember to take this much delight in life's littlest things...