Dancing Queen

...All in a day's work as a 3 year old.

The little things...

The main reason I started this blog (besides having a place to share pics with the grandparents!)was so that we and the girls could look back on it and get a glimpse of the every day stuff around here. I know that for the big things like vacations, parties, etc, we will have plenty of pictures and memories to hold, but what I wish I had now is better memories of the day-in, day-out things from when Kate was just a wee babe. The little things. Sometimes it is hard to realize in the moment how the tiring, repetitive things that go along with having little ones are the things that are so sweet and precious, and they pass by so quickly!

So in that spirit...

Julie H. told me once that on road trips they just try to keep their eldest happy, because then she keeps the baby happy. So true... of road trips and life! Carter loves Kate and perks up right away when she hears her voice. If Kate walks in the room Carter is too busy studying her every move to eat or anything else... she wants to be right in the middle of whatever Kate is doing. Kate gets the easiest giggle from CC for sure! Kate is precious with her (when she slows down long enough to notice her) and definitely likes to be the big sister... it reminds me slightly of Lenny from Of Mice And Men at times, but she is learning! ...And Carter is getting more sturdy in the process!

Kate is really into dressing herself these days. You never know what you are going to get. Is it bathing suit day? 3 shirt Friday? Who knows! I am usually in absolute favor of a little self-expression through wardrobe because it is one less person to dress, and hey, we are picking our battles. As long as she is warm enough (we have been around and around about wearing a bikini out in February) then whatever... so she has definitely worn PJs to school before. Yesterday morning I was in Carter's room getting her dressed and diapered when Kate walked in, fully dressed, ready for school. But today it wasn't a ballerina outfit or one of the put-together ones that hang in her closet. She picked it out on her own and looked about 16 years old. It made me smile, and gave me that parental heartache that makes you want to stop time. Maybe it was because she had on jeans and she rarely ever wants to wear jeans, I don't know, but she just looked so old! How do I have a preschooler already?! Anyway, I grabbed the camera to capture the moment but Kate wouldn't stop posing and stand still. (Ah, the threes.) I never did get a "normal" shot... but these are more normal for us than anything else, I think!

Everyday one of my favorite things is going in to get Carter Caroline when she wakes up from her naps. It is so funny to open the door and see that little head pop up from over the side of the crib. She gets so excited when someone comes in she usually lets out a big laugh and does a full-body shake. (Think, someone doing "the worm.") So today, I brought my camera with me when I heard that she was awake and cooing.

Pee-Pie!

CC Crawling

Carter Caroline has recently started crawling and sitting up and she is soooooo curious and into everything. Shoes are her favorite. She zeroes in on one from across the room and will do just about whatever it takes to get to it and get it in her mouth... whether it is on a foot or not. Ick. She has also reached that inevitable point in a baby's life where all electronics (cell phones, remote controls, cameras, etc) are endlessly entertaining and she's not buying it if they are not the real deal, grown-up variety. Life is busy just keeping Kate's toys away from CC, and Kate is *very* helpful when it comes to taking things away from CC that she shouldn't have!

...Showing off her new skills

We are having lots of moments like this one.

Happy Love Day

I am seriously behind, but, Happy Valentine's Day! We have all been under the weather around here and we're on the upswing now... I'm just getting caught up. (Brittany and Austin, we were so sad to have to cancel our visit!) Having sniffly little ones is so frustrating at first, when I see my to-do list (both the productive one and the just-for-my-own-mental-health one) going down the drain to meet their needs. But every time, once I actually just surrender to it and nestle in with them it is so sweet and such a great excuse to cuddle up with them, rock with them, and slow down enough to really see them... that's the best entertainment. I have to think that the extra love, patience and compassion we have for our sick children is a (very very distant) comparison to how God must feel about us when we are needy.

Scout was on-call for V-Day this year (working a 30+ hour shift ) so we were not able to keep our tradition of avoiding nice restaurants like the plague and seeing a movie together in our sweats and eating popcorn for dinner. Don't get me wrong... I am not a V-Day hater. Not at all. But we spent a couple years in a row going out for a "romantic" dinner and ended up frustrated that there were only 5 items on the special menu, they were all triple the usual price, and were all steak! (So basically we ended up paying beau coups so I could eat a side salad and potatoes.) Anyway... the movie-in-sweats tradition was born... and we enjoy a nice dinner out some other time. I hope we can get back to it next year... This year since Scout was gone the girls and I headed to Ashland for a quick 24 visit to see Momsie and Bandaddy. Great fun as always and it is such a special thing to see my parents be grandparents. Kate was showered with Dora goods, and Carter got some good holding and cuddle time and some new clothes (some of which we are keeping... I know, Mom, I'm impossibly picky.) It was a fun Valentine's Day this year because Kate was so aware and so into it. She loved giving Dora valentines to "aaaaaalll her friends."

Speaking of call, Scout mentioned the other night that he only has 16 calls left in his residency... it's hard to believe! He figures that he has done 130+ so far, not counting all the nights of ER shifts or nightfloat or what-have-you. Basically, he is tired. And ready. We are making an effort to really enjoy the here and now, but are both looking forward to life actually having some sort of rythm with weekends and Mondays and holidays and the whole shebang... the build-up, the Friday let-down, the dread of Monday, things actually having a stopping and starting point, etc. We have come to realize how good that is for the soul, the family, life... Scout's work schedule and me being a stay at home mom makes life very much like Groundhog Day around here (the movie, not the holiday). So very fun, but the every-day-is-Tuesday feeling can wear you down.

Score! A new Dora movie for the ride home!


Kate and Momsie making V-Day sugar cookies to bring home to Daddy.

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Lucy's birthday party... Once Kate warmed up to the idea, she had a ball jumping & sliding. Carter Caroline loved every minute of the bouncing, screaming, etc, that was involved right from the start. If she is going to be a thrill-seeker Scout will have to take her on roller-coasters and black diamond slopes. I am more of a bunny slope girl myself. And yes, that is my husband taking our 7-month old down the huge slide. I didn't worry, because I know where to find a really great pediatrician when we need one!

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Totally unrelated note, but welcome Garrett Brooks! Our newest little nephew was born on the 19th and we are so glad that he is here, happy and healthy. He came about 5 weeks early and spent a couple days in the NICU but is home now and doing well. Julie, I'm just glad that he didn't try to make an appearance while we were chasing kids all around Frontgate and Ballard the week before! I've never been in and out of there so fast... (Oh, Frontgate, how I will miss you!)

The name debate

We are still not sure exactly what we will call Carter Caroline. Before she was born, Scout and I planned on calling her "Carter." We both (obviously) *love* that name for a little girl and almost went with it for Kate. Throughout my pregnancy with Carter Caroline, we discussed every name under the sun, family and otherwise. We went to the hospital with several options and literally decided for sure in the operating room during her birth. We ultimately went with Carter because we both said it would be the name on our list that we would regret not using... we just could not let it go. It seemed to fit-in the best with our family, for some reason that I cannot exactly articulate. Since her arrival, however, everyone seems to have a different name for her. Obviously, most people call her "Carter." However, many of our friends call her "Carter Caroline." It is a mouth-full, but Scout is now calling her "Carter Caroline" as well, and it is growing on me... it works for her. Granny and her Princeton cronies call her strictly "Caroline," and Kate calls her "C.C." I go back and forth between "Carts," "C.C.," "Carter," and "Carter Caroline." Only time will tell as her personality develops more and she decides what works for her. In the meantime, we like all those names and any of those go. Carter Caroline, we sure do wish that you would stop growing-up and stick with this almost-crawling, smiley, baby-fat-rolls-on-the-legs, chubby-cheeked, cuddly stage of your little life. (Although I bet we'll end up loving the next stage even more... it seems to always work that way with you girls.)

Winter stroll

It is pouring the snow here... again. I feel like there has been a constant blanket of white on the grass since Christmas. Even though it is really inconvenient and creates work with shoveling, scraping, bundling, etc, I still kind-of LOVE it. It is hard not to, when it is coming down so hard and it's those fluffy, fat flakes like we are getting today... so pretty. Although, there is so much snow and ice already on the ground I do not think we will see the grass until June! And... I definitely have moments of complete desperation -which I'm sure all full-time mommies have - where we are all climbing the walls and I just want to open the front door and go! Oh well... since we will be in Memphis next year and will not see this kind of weather I am trying to enjoy the excuse to nest and settle in with the girls. ...Pretty easy to do with a cuddly little baby. (Although it's starting to get dicey.) ...Not so easy with a lively, full-throttle toddler who is used to go-go-going. We have been getting creative and playing games, having play dates, rearranging and reintroducing toys to make them more interesting (yay for 3 floors and some options!), playing lots of make-believe games, and making things up in the kitchen, like "fish in the ocean," which is just blue jell-o with goldfish dropped in. Eeeew. C'mon, Redeemer Preschool, let's brave the weather and have school this week!

I have tried many times but Kate will not eat the snow. I keep telling her that fresh snow (only the white kind!) is so yummy, but she's not buying it. Oh well... it's probably just frozen acid rain anyway... whatever that is.

Scout had an early day today (we like NICU months!) and when he got home we decided to head down to the square in the neighborhood for some hot chocolate. It was fun to be out with the snow pouring down on us, but Carter Caroline was not such a fan of the walk, since Scout had her bundled up (think the little bro in "Christmas Story") and zipped her into his jacket. She did not care for being his little cling-on - there is too much to see!

Daddy climbing into the empty fountain... he's the coolest.

Yay! We love Awakenings...

Mmm... hot chocolate. And yes, we just *had* to wear a cat outfit today.

Hence the tail...