Happy 5th Birthday Olivia!!!!!

Wow...I am the mommy to a 5 year old.  Time really does fly and it is going super speed these days.

Olivia, you are such a spit fire!!!  You definitely keeps us on our toes.  You can be the sweetest, kindest, most loving child one minute, and then in an all out fit the next minute over something very simple.  You are definitely our drama queen...with an emphasis on the drama part!!!!  You are also our super helpful big girl!!! And oh so independent!!!  You are growing into such a beautiful, smart, funny, and caring young lady that we couldn't be more proud of!!!

You love school!!!  You have Ms. Glisson and Ms. Fehr this year and a room full of fun kiddos.  You love getting a "job" each day and your favorite job is being the door holder.  You love to explore all the new activities in the classroom and especially love doing art projects, playing on the playground, and going to music class!!!  You have learned so many new songs this year bc of the great music teachers!!!

You can pretty much do everything on your own these days...getting dressed with shoes and socks (sometimes the tighter socks are hard), brushing teeth, going potty, buckling the top part of your carseat, carrying your school bag, getting your coat and hat on, getting your own snacks, and so much more!!!  Like I said, you are very independent!!! Thankfully, you help your sister too!!!  You have even wiped her booty several times when she was learning to potty train!!!!  You get snacks for her, toys, help her with her shoes, and play with her all the time!

You are still the best big sister.  You and Caroline fight 50% of the time, but the 50% you are playing nicely is really sweet!!!  You help her get her drink if she can't reach and deliver drinks and plates to the dinner table to help mommy out.  You and Caroline love playing baby and/or puppy.  You both also love to sing into your microphones...not sure who is the loudest!!!  Caroline wants to be just like you, and we are working on being the best example we can so Caroline learns the right things to do!!!

You love art projects!!!  You are now "sketching" as you call it.  You do journals at school where you draw and tell what you are drawing about.  Anytime you get to paint, you get excited!!!  Coloring is still a big hit with you...and you love to make lists!!!  You love glitter of all kinds and glue too!!!  You have gotten really good at dot to dots lately!!!  Oh, and you love floor size puzzles!!!

Academically, you are super smart!!!  You know all the uppercase letters and almost all the lowercase letters.  We are working on being consistent!!!  You know almost all your sounds, except the vowels and 1-2 others.  You can write your first name and are working on your last name.  You can count to 39 without any problems!!!  You can read and write numbers to 20 now...which is awesome!!!  You still love to cut anything!!!  You know your shapes too!!  We are working on writing your letters the correct way!!!  You can write them all, but we are working on making them a bit neater and easier to read.  You are starting to sound out words too!!!  If I tell you a word, you can tell me what it starts with!!!  You are great at rhyming!!!  You have come a long way since last year!!!  We are going to start working on simple sight words next!!!

You are still a TV girl...but you get it naturally.  You love Peppa Pig right now the best.  You also love Olivia, Sophia, Ella the Elephant, and Dora.

Your favorite foods are still pizza and mac-n-cheese, but you are also a fruit girl.  You love apples, kiwi, blueberries, watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe too!!

You are a busy girl!!!
* You are in your 3rd year of preschool, the 4-5 class!!!
* You are in your 3rd year of dance!!
* You just started your first year of gymnastics right before you turned 5!!
* We celebrated your 5th Christmas!!!
* You love going to the 4 yr old Sunday School class and are really getting some good Bible stories!!
* You went to a big 4th of July parade in Webster Groves!!!  It was a lot of fun!!
* You picked out your first toy for Toys for Tots!!
* You went to the beach for the first time and LOVED it!!!!  It was an awesome family vacation!!!
* You went to your first princess camp!!  You actually went to your first summer camp ever!!!
* You got several bee stings this past year...those were no fun.
* You dressed up for your 1st Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-fil-a!!!
* You were on your first sports team this year...soccer!!!  You liked it some but not so sure we will continue it next year :)
* You went to the big Balloon Glow festival for the first time here in STL!!
* You had you first field trip with your class...to the fire station!!!
* You became obsessed with Frozen like every other child in America!!!  You can sing all the words to the Let It Go song!!
* You are an awesome bike rider now!!!  You can ride your bike all the way to the park by yourself..well, with mommy following!!!  This spring, we are going to take off the stabilizers as you call them (training wheels)!!!
* You and your sister play this game called "puppy" or "baby" all the time where one of you pretend to be either a puppy or a baby.  You got all your friends at school to play it too!!
* You love talking about weddings now.  You show me the dress in the wedding shop each time I take you to school and tell me how pretty it is.  You pick a new guy to marry everyday!!!  Will it be Noah, Evyan, or Carson today?? :)
* You started to be able to recognize the teen numbers now too!!!
* You are able to make yourself go on the swing now by yourself!!!
* You have started hearing beginning sounds in words and telling me what sound a word starts with!!!
* You had your winter recital with Tippi Toes and did great!!
* You can count to 100 with help on the tens!!
* You are very comfortable with Santa now!!!  You saw him several times this Christmas season and told him your list each time!!
* You rode a go-cart (with daddy) for the 1st time!!!

You had a big party at the Rainbow Recreation Showroom with all of your school and WUMCHA friends!!!  It was Frozen themed of course!!  It was a lot of fun!!!

We are so glad to be your parents and can't wait to see what amazing things you do as a 5 year old!!!

Happy 2nd Birthday Caroline!!!!

9/10/14

Happy Birthday Caroline!!!  Can't believe you are already 2!!!  You are an amazing child!!!  You bring us so much joy and love each day.  You are so freakin cute that we just want to kiss you constantly!!  Your smile and laugh are infectious!!!  You have such a fun spirited personality and make life so much more fun!!!  We are so glad to call your our daughter!!!

I came into your room singing Happy Birthday this morning!!  You immediately started saying "Hap Birday donut!"  You remembered we had bought donuts last night to celebrate your birthday!!!  We had a pretty regular day bc you had a little bit of a cold.  We took Olivia to school and you and I ran a few errands.  We played at home a while too while Olivia was at school.  When daddy got home, we did presents.  You got a Sofia the Princess easel/mirror, a broom kit, and a Princess 4 Wheeler, which you absolutely love!!!  You drove it until the batteries died!!!  We had spaghetti for dinner, and then you got a birthday ice cream cone and blew the candle out on that!!!  Anytime someone told you Happy Birthday today, you started singing the Happy Birthday song!!  It was adorable!!  It wasn't too crazy of a day today!!  Your party in in a week or so, and I am sure you will have a blast!!

Here is what is going on with our spunky little 2 year old!!!

You wake up happy most of the time, and hungry!!!  You usually talk to your baby or fox in your bed before you start calling out for me.  Yes, you have to sleep with your banket (blanket), fox stuffed animal, and a baby doll every night!!  We have to read books before bed, sing songs, and rock (or roct as you say!!)!!!
You are pretty much a go with the flow kinda girl, unless it messes up your nap or food times!!!
You do have temper tantrums sometimes, but they are usually when you are tired or hungry.  Most of the time we can sit with you or redirect you and you get over it pretty quickly.  You love to throw yourself onto the ground, still.  You can be super clingy to me sometimes and just need to be held.  I don't mind that most of the time, unless I am cooking!!!  That seems to be when you want to be held the most.  And most of the time, only mommy can do it. We are working on that!!

You started going to Gymboree on 8/25.  You were shy your first day but really seemed to enjoy all the climbing, sliding, and playing with kids your own age, without an older sister telling you what to do :)  Your favorite part is when they do bumpy road and your run around these uneven mats to the freeze song!!!
You are very bossy, I mean independent these days!!!  We hear a lot of "sop" (stop), "go way mommy", "No", "I don't like it", "mere" (come here), "I need ____", "no touch boo boo".  She is talking all the time!!!
You love to play with babies, real or fake.  You also love to pretend you are talking on the phone.  Jewelry is one of your favorite things too, along with your purses...oh, and high heels and strollers!!
You absolutely love your big sister and want to do everything just like her!!!
When we go to the park, all you ever want to do (still) is swing!!! If you can't swing, you just want to push the swing!!!
Your favorite foods these days are cheese dip its, chicken nuggets, goldfish, pizza, roni (mac-n-cheese), fries.  She does like fruit and some veggies too...but goes for the bad stuff if given the option :)
Anytime you need her to do anything, (get dressed, diaper changed, shoes on) she runs and tries to hide from you.
If you get hurt, you always say, "I need roct" and want to cuddle and rock with us.
You have really enjoyed playing in the pretend kitchen this past month!!!  You are always asking me if I was juice, especially "onge juice" (orange juice).  And you give me cookies and cupcakes too!!!  So fun!!
You are starting to have a little interest in puzzles now and trying to get them in the correct spaces.
You LOVE to brush your teeth!!
You also LOVE to dance!!
You are not a fan of actual meals but love snacking all.day.long!!
Recently you took up hitting and pushing and have been in "uh oh" time quite a bit, but we are working on this.
If someone gets hurt, she always asks "you k?" in the sweetest little voice with her head tilted to the side.  So precious!!!
You moved up to the 2 year old Sunday School class!!!  Well, technically you weren't supposed to bc your birthday is after the cutoff but since I am one of the teachers, I moved you up :)
She loves to be tickled and if you stop, she says "more peez"!!!
She is getting more interested in counting but hasn't gotten them in order yet!!  She is not interested in colors at all even though we have been trying to talk about them.
She loves singing songs...Rock a Bye Baby, Itsy Bitsy Spider, My Girl, and Twinkle Twinkle.
She loves to tell everyone they are trouble!!!
She loves sunglasses!!!
You started skip hopping now too!!!
Oh, and you can now open doors...yay :P
Your favorite books are Brown Bear Brown Bear, What Do You See?, I Ruff You, and Where is Baby's Birthday Cake...oh, and Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear and Tumble Bumble.
You started being able to put on your Crocs by yourself this month and dress up shoes too!!!
You started peeing in the potty this month...before you turned 2!!!  You aren't totally ready to potty train but are trying to use the potty some!!!
You went to the beach for the first time this year!!!  You didn't really like to go in the ocean unless daddy took you and only for a short time.  You didn't like the sand much either!!  You did, however, love chasing the birds!!!
You went to your first Cow Appreciation Day at Chickfila!!!
You also went to your first big parade, in Webster Groves, for 4th of July!!
You said your name for the first time (7/25)!!
You liked to do "knuckles" with papaw when he was here visiting!!
We turned your carseat forward facing like a big girl (8/18)!!
You got to go to a mini circus show...Circus Flora.  It wasn't that great bc it didn't have animals.

You are such a sweet, smart, loving little girl!!!  I am excited to see what amazing things you do as a 2 year old!!!  We love you!!!

Happy 22nd and 23rd Month Birthdays Caroline!!

8/10/14

  

So...2 more months have gone by.  My baby is growing so sweet, smart, and stunning with each day!!!  I can't believe she will be 2 in one ore month.  Wow!!!  Here are just a few of the things that have happened in the past 2 months...

You love to read books at night.  You also wants to rock and sing songs.  You are trying to sing songs to me now too.  You are getting pretty good at singing Itsy Bitsy Spider and part of My Girl now!!

You are def very needy!!!  You like to tell me "I need snack" or "I need push" on the swing.  You are talking all the time!!  You are saying 3 and 4 word sentences now!!!  I can tell you are very, very smart!!!

You love clothes!!  If you find clothes anywhere around the house, or shoes, you immediately try to put them on!!  You love to put on sissy's clothes most of all!!  You also love purses and have for a bit.  You are funny bc you love to carry 3 or 4 of them at a time!!

You got to go to a real 4th of July parade this year...that was way better than last years!!!  You really enjoyed waving at all the people and cars!!!

We did lots of swimming this summer!!  You are a little fish and did great at kicking with your puddle jumper on!!  You also liked jumping into the water as long as we kept your head above the water :)

You have been so fun at this age.  You love the little things...rocks, pom poms, sticks, straws, anything small you can carry around in your purse or a cup!!!  You also love stairs and jumping off of stuff.  You are just so excited about life and I love it!!!

You love markers and coloring but prefer to color on yourself rather than paper!!  You still love stickers too!!

You still aren't big on tv but know who Mickey Mouse is now and love to do the hotdog dance!!!

Your favorite foods these days are pizza, roni (macaroni), and chicken nuggets!!!  You like the finer foods in life )  Oh, and any kind of dessert, especially ice cream!!!

Probably the biggest thing that happened during your 22nd month was your first trip to the beach!!!  We went to Atlantic Beach for vacation the end of July/beg of August 2014.  It was awesome!!!  You didn't really like getting dirty with the sand but after a few days, you loved having daddy take you out in the water!!  Your favorite thing was probably chasing the birds!!!

We also celebrated your 2nd birthday a bit early (July 28th, 2014) in NC bc we wouldn't be there on your actual birthday!!  It was a great time to get to see all of your NC family and friends!!

We love you to the moon and back little munchkin and can't wait to see what you accomplish next month!!!

Happy 21 Month Birthday Caroline

6/10/14

You love to hand me things, especially trash!!  I hear "here mommy" about a million times a day now!!

You are definitely not a fan of your diaper.  You love wiping your nose or your booty but don't want to keep your diaper on.

You still love animals and got to feed milk to the goats at Grant's Farm for the first time this month!!  They are a little forceful so we had to be careful!!  You also had your first snow cone at Grant's Farm too!!

You are a very spunky little girl who knows what she wants.  You are bad about throwing your food, especially onto my curtains :(  And, when we are out in public, you try to run form mommy...not a good thing.  You expect to have your blanket (banket) put on you at nap or bedtime.  You love to snack and never want to eat meals.  You are such a mommy's girl and want to be held by mommy as much as possible.  And, you still like to throw temper tantrums when you don't get your way!!!  You just throw yourself on the floor!!  You still put everything in your mouth, but now you do it while looking at me, I think just to irritate me!!!  You are super bossy, telling Olivia what to do all the time.  I guess you get that naturally bc she is usually trying to tell you what to do!!!  You love to tell her to "eat" at the table...it makes he so mad!!

You have a very specific bedtime routine...get jammies on, tell daddy night night, tell sissy night night, pick out 2-3 books and read them in the chair with mommy, sing songs (mostly "My Girl" these days)...you also like Itsy Bitsy Spider and try to do the hand motions to it or Twinkle Twinkle...rock a bit, then need your baby and blanket in bed with you!!!

You still talk all the time and are saying more 2 word phrases now!!

You are now saying: here mommy, excuse me, help mommy, need help, help please, I ok, banket for blanket


5/10 - saying "here mommy" and hanging things
5/11 - celebrated my 2nd Mother's Day as your mommy!!
5/14 - saying "excuse me" when you burp
5/20 - feed goats for the first time; ate first snow cone
5/28 - said "I ok"
5/31 - touched turtle for first time

Happy 20 Month Birthday Caroline

5/10/14

Seriously, time is going by way too fast.  You are an independent cutie patootie!!!  We adore your sweet smile and contagious laugh!!  You always know how to brighten our day!!  You are a very special little girl and we are so blessed to call you ours!!!

Here are some new things that happened this month:

You love animals, especially the ones at the zoo.  You love waving at them and trying to talk to them!!  So cute!!

We participated in the biggest egg hunt around with the Lymphoma and Leukemia society.  It was a lot of fun.  You and Olivia both got to pet piglets, lambs, goats, chicks, and bunnies.  You also both rode a pony!!  You actually participated in the egg hunt this time and put eggs in your basket!!  Then, when we got up to see the Easter Bunny, you started screaming and wouldn't go!!!

We celebrated your 2nd Easter.  You got to sit in big church and dye Easter eggs!!  Fun fun!!

You love the book "From Head to Toe" by Eric Carle.  You point out the animals and are saying a lot of them, especially gorilla.  You even try to beat on your chest like the gorilla!!  You are really into bedtime stories now!!

You started trying to blow your nose this month...too fun!!  And you say bless you when someone sneezes, so polite!!

One of the funniest things you started doing this month was showing everyone your naked booty!!!  You just show it and yell "boo-e" for booty!!!  It is sooooo funny and I laugh hysterically each time.  Daddy doesn't like you showing your booty though!!

You are saying lots of new words: ow for owl, monkey, hippo, apple, potty, blueberries, open, help, please, trying to say pineapple too, toast, duck, giraffe, gorilla, puzzle, basket, cookie, gotcha, booty, juice, I-oh-la for Olivia, I love you, push, tickle, mess,

410 - saying ow for owl
411 - saying monkey and hippo
4/12 - rode a pony at the egg hunt
4/14 - said apple
4/15 - said potty; You also sat on the potty for the first time!!
4/18 - said blueberries
4/20 - celebrated your 2nd Easter; first time dying Easter eggs!!
4/22 - saying duck, giraffe, gorilla
4/23 - said puzzle and basket
4/25 - said toast
4/26 - said cookie
4/29 - loves showing her booty
4/30 - said gotcha; Told daddy "I love you"
5/3 - told mommy "I love you" at bedtime!!
5/6 - said mess
5/7 - peed in potty!!

Happy 19 Month Birthday Caroline!!!

4/10/14

Another month has flown by.  If only time could stand still...but it doesn't!!!  My baby get bigger, stronger, and smarter each and every day!!

You love to eat!!  Anytime you see food in someone else's hands that you want, you walk up to them with your mouth open making a weird breathing heavy sound...so funny!!!  You will say you are all done with dinner, but that really means you are all done with yours...and you usually try and come get mine!!

You love stairs and started walking up and down them standing up this month.  I don't really like this too much!!!  I am always scared you might fall.  You also love zippers now and closing doors!!!  And, you are a big "helper" with putting away groceries.

You moved from the baby nursery to the bigger nursery at church this month...but you don't really like the new room.  Hopefully you will transition easier soon!!!  As a big girl, you also got your fingernails painted for the first time this month!!

You love to dance and move, move, move!!!  You jumped with your feet off the floor this month...and you started saying the word jump too!!  You also started trying to go up the ladder on the playset outside by yourself...and going down the slide (but with help)!! But you would much rather swing (forever) than do anything else!!  You are active inside too...you started climbing on mommy and daddy's bed this month :)

You are still very territorial.  If you are playing with something, or on something, you don't want anyone else using it!!!  You love the bus at the Museum of Transportation and will push anyone off that tries to get on it...we gotta work on that!!

We went to our first Easter egg hunt this year.  The first one you went to you cried and wouldn't look for any eggs.  It was super busy and a bit scary so I understand.

Favorite food these days...yogurt

She is saying shirt, pants, jump, ush for hush, I sit (one of her first phrases!!), hot, help, snot, you, mine, down, coat, door, stuck, tissue, yeah, bless you, turkey, sissy, bite.  You talk all the time and it is so much fun!!

3/12 - walking up and down stairs standing up
3/16 - Moved from the baby nursery at church to the 18 month -24 month room!!
3/19 - trying to jump with both feet off floor
3/20 - going up the ladder by yourself outside on the playset; said help
3/21 - said hot
3/24 - said snot
3/25 - climbing on bed by self; actually jumped with both feet off floor!!
3/26 - said you
3/29 - First time you really tried to do an Easter egg hunt
3/31 - Trying to do puzzles for the first time.
4/2 - Trying to open doors
4/7 - said bless you
4/9 - fingernails painted for first time

Olivia's funny sayings

Olivia is a nut...I mean a crazy mess!!!  Sometimes she says words but says them incorrectly...which is pretty funny!  Here are just a few I can remember...

ridic-ri-ous - for ridiculous

walkie wa-talkies - for walkie talkies...reminds me of Monsters Inc!!

compuner - for computer...she just can't get the T sound!!

restauNAUNT - for restaurant

Happy 18 Month Birthday Caroline!!!

3/10/14

18 months is a big birthday!!!  You are getting closer to 2...but not too fast!!!  This month has been filled with a lot of craziness and a lot of fun!!  You seriously have so much spirit and sass!!!  You are such a handful, but I am so glad you are my handful!!

We did a lot of things this month...gymnastics, science center, chick-fil-a, museum of transportation, valentine's day party, and so much more!!  You have so many wonderful experiences in your short little life!!  You are one lucky girl!!
You and I mostly get to chauffeur Olivia around these days...school, dance, playdates, etc!!  But, you get to play a lot too!!  You and your sister are playing better and better with each other...and I love watching you play and listening to you two laugh together!!  The weather has been very yucky, but when it is nice, you love to go outside!!
You are just amazing...you are eating so much better with a spoon and a fork and get so excited when you use them correctly; you still love to dance and start dancing anytime you hear music; you love pointing to my ears, eyes, nose, tongue, teeth, feet, hair, and belly over and over; you can now make the kiss sound with your mouth!!  You also love to wipe your nose, and you are starting to blow some too!!!
You are becoming more independent and want your way!!  If you think someone is going to take something from you, you throw it before they get it!!  If you are not happy about something, either you yell no or you throw yourself on the ground.  You can be very demanding!!!  We are working on all of this still!!

More words - Mac, mine, boo, all done, yum, bite, high five, nose, eyes, ears, hug, nose, eyes, feet

2/14 - 2nd Valentine's Day!!!  You got a balloon, 2 board books, a light up ball, and a hairbrush!!
2/21 - saying "all done"
2/24 - You climbed out of your crib!!!  I think you just used the bumpers to get out, but you were not supposed to do this!!
2/25 - saying "yum"
2/26 - saying "bite"
3/5 - saying "high five" and hitting hands
3/6 - 1st storytime at library; makes a kiss smack now; points and names body parts
3/7 - Caroline rode in the little jeep for the first time
3/8 - saying "hug"

You had another successful month!!!  What an incredible little person you have become!!!  We love you to the moon and back...and then even more!!!

Olivia Update

3/9/14

Olivia is counting to 29 now and knows all her letters on most days!!  She gets confused sometimes but has really grown in the past few months academically!!  She is really into writing words, letters, and numbers.  She has even started pointing to words and acting like she is reading!!  She is so smart...like her momma!!  hahahaha  We play school at home all the time, probably bc she likes to be in charge :)  She is learning a lot at dance too.  She practices pleas, arabesques, pase, and twirls all the time!!

Holy Criboly!!

2/24

So...I was taking a shower this morning.  I heard Caroline talking on the monitor so I told Olivia she could go into her room and talk to her.  In a minute, Olivia comes running back telling me we have the biggest problem ever...and here comes Caroline walking right behind her!!!  Olivia said she opened the door and Caroline just walked out the door.  Evidently she used the bumpers in the crib to get up high enough to climb out...so guess who doesn't have bumpers in their room anymore :)