Learning something new every day

Caroline has recently discovered that when she goes into a room, she can close the door behind her.  Luckily she doesn't close the door hard enough to latch it, because she's not near tall enough to reach the door knob!   Last night she started playing a game where she would run in her room, close the door, then open it again and run full speed ahead down the hallway into my arms.  What fun!

Officially a Toddler

Well, I think it's official. My baby is not a baby anymore. That is probably pretty obvious to everyone else, but to me it seems like this happened overnight! And apparently with this new title of toddler, comes an opinion. A strong one. About everything. My toddler is not at all timid about sharing her opinion- and she does so often. Some things she is most opinionated about-
* Disagreeing with the idea that we can not play outside when it's raining.
She doesn't mind getting wet and does not understand why we do.
* Stopping to take a bath, eat, or have her diaper changed. To her these are all very unnecessary things that are quite frankly a waste of her time.
* What she eats. Caroline must be the pickiest 15 month old I know. We have a short list of things that she will accept, and she absolutely refuses to try anything new. She essentially eats the same things everyday, with the exception of fruits and veggies (she will only accept stage 2 baby food varieties!), which we vary.
* Taking a nap. Sometimes this is under protest, sometimes not. It all seems to depend on whether or not she thinks it's a good idea at the time.
* Being told "No, we're not going to watch Elmo right now" does not go over too well either.

So, with this new stage comes a new skill set we must master to respond to this new opinion about things. She is very strong-willed about making sure we know what she thinks, but luckily her protests are pretty short-lived. Frustrated and upset one second and sweet, loving, and charming the next. Ah, the life of a toddler.

Not My Child Monday

Welcome to Not My Child! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Remember "Not Me Monday"? Well this is "Not My Child Monday"-same concept except this time I get to blame it all on Caroline. Because I of course did NOT do anything embarrassing or funny at all this week.

It is most definitely NOT my child who adamantly refuses to eat anything new presented on her high chair tray but will eat anything off the floor.

It is also NOT my child who has learned how to operate the buttons on the DVD player and can restart her Elmo DVD in a split second even after she's been told "we're only watching it one time!"

It is definitely NOT my child who after coming in from playing outside hears "lets wash your hands" and immediately places her hands in her mouth because she knows that's exactly what you don't want her to do.

It's also NOT my child who I have to literally chase down every night to take a bath because she simply does not want to stop moving long enough to do it!

It's NOT my child who is so charming and precious that when sitting in the cart at Wal-Mart waves to everyone we pass by like she's Miss America on parade!

And, it's NOT my child who gives the sweetest hugs and kisses, and is the most loving 15 month old I know!

Caroline's First Word

Elmo. Yes, this is Caroline's first word. Not Mommy, or Daddy or GiGi or Nana (as the before mentioned people were hoping it would be), but Elmo. She has been practicing it a lot lately, especially in the bathtub. She has two Elmo waterproof books that we read in the bathtub every night. This was our conversation tonight......

Caroline, while pointing to her book: "Elllll-Mo!"
Me: "Caroline, can you say Mom-my?" "Mom-my?"
Caroline: "Ellll-Mo!"
Me: "Mom-my!"
Caroline: "Elll-Mo!"
Me: "Caroline, Mommy's not Elmo!" "Mom-my!"
Caroline, still looking down at her book: "Ma ma ma ma ma."

Oh well, guess I'll have to settle as a close second behind the red furry monster!

Caroline Turns One!

So, I know, I know, I've already fallen down on my promise to update when I said I would. Sigh. But, three days is much better than three months, right? There is no way I can just skip over the last few months and not share pictures of Caroline's birthday. We had a great time with family, neighbors, and close friends. We rented a picnic shelter at our nearby park and decorated Elmo style! It was a very fun and special day.

Isn't her cake awesome? A friend from church made it. She's really talented!!

Caroline with her great-grandmother

Caroline and her PapaSinging Happy Birthday. She didn't know what to think!

Zack's grandmother couldn't make the trip for the party, but she surprised us by sending a "mess cake" for Caroline with her name on it. She's made all her great-grandchildren's first birthday cakes. Caroline is number 11! I'm One!! Time for presents! With Aunt Tracy Caroline and her best buddy Caleb Big Hug!

Has it really been nearly 4 months since I posted? Yikes!

I certainly never intended to abandon this blog or neglect to post for nearly four months! To be honest, daily life just got in the way, and keeping up with posting got moved to the back burner quickly. I have recommitted myself to being more diligent about updating, as I am hoping that this journal will serve as a sort of "online baby book" for Caroline that I can eventually have for her as a hard copy of all her mommy's memories of her as she grows. So how do I catch up on the past four months in one post? I don't think it's possible. Not without a long rambling post that loses it's interest about halfway through anyway. So for now, I'm going to give you the highlights. Expect more posts with the details soon. No really, I promise this time! :-)

• Caroline turned one July 16th. We had a fun little party (Elmo themed of course) at our local park with family and close friends.
• Caroline is walking. No, actually she's RUNNING everywhere. She began really taking her first steps shortly after her first birthday, and literally within a week she was running. She never stops moving!
• Caroline is back on propranolol to treat her hemangioma. This is her first day back on it (since weaning her off in June). We have made some recent changes regarding Caroline's medical providers and have transferred her care to a different medical center. This new pediatric dermatology team has a philosophy of treating vascular birthmarks that is more in line with our concerns regarding Caroline's emotional and psychosocial development.
• Caroline FINALLY has some teeth! Shortly after her first birthday, she cut the first bottom two. Now the top two are pushing through as well.
• She's still a teeny one. 17 lbs 10 oz at her one year checkup. She's in the 3rd percentile for weight and the 5th for height. Still wearing a lot of her 9 month size clothes but is beginning to fit into some 12 month things.
• Caroline's aunt Tracy (my sister) got married in September in Charleston, SC. This was a big week for Caroline! She met cousins and extended family, visited the beach and put her feet in the ocean for the first time. She's also very happy that her aunt Tracy got married. She LOVES her uncle Jonathan! :-)

So there you have it! The quick version! I'll work on a more proper update complete with pictures tomorrow. No really, I will!