Caitlin Turns 3 MONTHS!

It's a momentous occasion in the life of a baby... the three month mark (4th trimester some say).  And I can't agree with whomever that is more.  This is my favorite time for having a little one (at least in my limited experience so far).  Why you might ask?  Because they aren't as needy as a newborn but still just so small, adorable, cuddly, and peaceful.  And Caitlin is all of those things.

Here's the update... note that these stats are all based on my rudimentary measuring skills (i.e. tape measurer and somewhat broken scale).  She's 12.5 lbs and 22.5 inches.  Still has all her hair and beautiful brown eyes.  She's very alert, smiley, and talkative - like she's trying to talk but just making cute cooing noises.  She has great head control (can use the bumbo now). She still is not doing a great job with the bottle. I really need to work on that some more but I hate hearing her cry.  She has discovered her hands and loves to put them in her mouth - especially that thumb.  Oh, she laughs!!  Her favorite place to relax is the swing (she takes most of her naps there).  And best of all, she's sleeping through the night in her own crib!  That's right folks.  The night we moved her from our room to her own room, she slept right on through... 9:30pm - 8am.  And it's now been 4 nights in a row of this.  Incredible I tell you!  With Evan, he never slept through until we sort of made him around 5 months.  I feel like a new mother with all the sleep I am getting.  Now, I am usually up before both kids!

I've posted her 3 month pictures on our picasa website (also see the slide show on the right hand side of the blog).  It's different with the 2nd child... with Evan, I was always so excited for him to get older and reach a new milestone like crawling, eating solids, etc.  With Caitlin, it's totally the opposite.  I want her to stay this sweet little baby for as long as possible and who cares when she crawls or does whatever.  She's so precious right now.  We just had her 3 month photo shoot with our photographer.  If you want the link/password for the pictures, just email me or comment and I'll send it to you.  It's going by too fast!!

Florida Part 3

So here's the last part of our post from Florida... although really it's more about New Orleans and the drive home. 

We enjoyed the beach one more time before we left.  The 2nd time was great because it was much calmer so he could stand in the waves all by himself.  Unfortunately, he has not learned the lesson of don't touch your eyes/mouth with your sandy hands.

On Friday, we drove to New Orleans with my mom and Annie to spend the day/night and cut out some of the drive for me.  It was a torrential downpour when we got there.  We had planned to walk around the French Quarter all afternoon so we had to improvise.  We took a cab to the Quarter and Jackson Square.  We went into St. Louis cathedral to light some candles for my dad and grandma (and got drenched in the process of getting there).  Don't worry, Caitlin was dry in the Ergo and under the umbrella.  Evan, now he got a little wet but he actually enjoyed it. He kept wanting to touch the little waterfalls coming off the roofs!  After the church, we went to Cafe Pantawbla (spelling?) for a crab cake and drink.  By then, it really had stopped raining so we walked around the Quarter as we meandered back to the hotel. 

Once we'd dried off, we headed to Jacques-Imo's for dinner. This is a great restaurant that my Cousin Jessie took my mom/Annie to when they'd visited her in New Orleans (she used to live there).  It was packed but we got in and had fantastic food.  After dinner, we drove through the Garden District (b/c I've never seen it).  Gorgeous houses.  We drove by Archie Manning's house of course (we googled it).  After that, it was back to the hotel and off to bed! 

Saturday, we got up, dressed, packed, and went to Cafe Du Monde for breakfast.  Yummy!  Those beignets are so good.  Finally, we parted ways and the kids and I headed for Austin.  Both kids slept from New Orleans until almost Beaumont, TX (about 4 hours).  It was great.  We stopped there for some McDonald's because they had a huge indoor playscape. We ate, I fed Caitlin, changed 2 diapers, and Evan got to run around for about an hour.  After that, we loaded up and drove on.  Caitlin slept some more... Evan was not into sleeping. But, I put a video on our portable dvd and that occupied him some.  He doesn't really watch tv so he wasn't totally into it, but it kept him somewhat occupied when he would get really bored.  We made it all the way to Giddings when Caitlin needed to eat. So, we stopped real quick so I could feed her and get Evan a bite.  We didn't get out of the car though (stopped at Sonic).  Then, we finished the last bit to Austin!  Evan was so happy to be home, see Dada, and get out of that car. I think we'd reached the limit of the two kids.  But overall, they did great which was a blessing since I was by myself.

Here's the last batch of pics.  I still need to blog about Caitlin's 3 months, but figured I needed to finish Florida first.  Enjoy!

Great Grandpa and Caitlin

Evan loving the bicycle

Evan playing in the sand

More beach fun

Yeah, the ocean!

Caitlin just chilling

A break from the rain in the French Quarter

Do we look wet?  We are!

Evan down by the river - he loved watching it

Evan and Oma

Evan, Caitlin, and I at the river

Florida Part 2

Here's some more info and pics from our Florida trip!

If you didn't know, my mom has family who live in Florida so it's always great to visit with them when we go (besides enjoying the beach and relaxing).  My cousin Ashley is about my age and has a little boy Davin who is just 2 months younger than Evan (plus she's expecting a little girl in September!).  It was great to see her and Davin who is just adorable, and Evan enjoyed playing with his cousin.  They popped by Aunt Marty's one day so here's a little video of Evan and Davin playing.  Davin was riding in this little wagon, and Evan was pulling/pushing him in it.  Whenever they would bump into the fence or something, they would both just start laughing.  It was hysterical and cute.  Here's the video:



Also, one night we met them at Chuck E. Cheese.  This was Evan's first ever trip to the place, and he loved it.  They have lots of little rides for the kids. He especially loved the car... he's very into cars these days.  He loves to sit at the wheel and drive (vroom vroom he says).  He was very upset when we had to leave. 

Evan and Davin in the car

Evan in the bulldozer

Evan driving a car game

Florida Part 1

I have some time this afternoon while the kids are sleeping so I thought I'd start blogging about our trip to Florida since I know it will take more than one post anyway so consider this Part 1.

The first thing to discuss is the drive. We left about 6am last Saturday.  Kids slept most of the way to Houston where we stopped to have breakfast/visit with my friend Andy.  That was great because Evan got to run around, I could feed Caitlin, get everyone changed, and visit with my friend.  We got back on the road and drove to Lake Charles where we stopped for lunch and played. Kids were pretty good along that stretch as well. We continued on our trip and made a rest stop in Mississippi where they had a bunch of NASA stuff for Evan to see.  He ran around with Aunt Becca while I fed Caitlin.  After that, we didn't stop until just past Mobile for dinner.  From then on though, both kids were pretty much done with the trip.   Overall, they did great in the car except for about the last hour when they'd had it.  I don't blame them either.  Evan was actually very well behaved the whole trip. It was definitely more difficult with Caitlin than Evan but even then I was surprised how well she did.

So, we got to Florida and have been having a great time.  Evan is loving being with Oma (Grandma Linda) and Cousin Annie.  They keep him entertained.  We've been to the beach twice and the pool once.  We also went on a hike at the Naval Live Oaks.  We take walks in the morning... I just got a new double BOB and I love it!  We have seen our family that lives here and my Grandpa Richard who came down as well.  The weather has been fantastic.  I got to spend an afternoon at the spa and also got my haircut. 

The big news is Caitlin.  She turned 3 months old this week!  She is getting so big.  I figured I really needed to work on the bottle with her as she has not been taking one.  We've tried numerous types of bottles and every time, she just mouths it and eventually starts crying.  So, we've really been working on it this week.  A couple times she has actually taken it but she still isn't great with it.  I hope she gets better because Mommy needs some time to herself!

Overall, it's been a great trip.  We are heading to New Orleans tomorrow and then home on Saturday.  I'll blog more about the rest of the trip later.  Here are some pics!

Caitlin at the beach

Evan trying out the water

Evan playing in the sand

Aunt Marty, Oma, Evan, Uncle Jim, and Great Grandpa Richard

Four generations!

Evan and Aunt Baba on a walk

Me, Caitlin, Oma, and Evan

Aunt Marty and Caitlin

Boots

Just a quick post before I leave on my trip.  Tomorrow I leave on an adventure!  I am traveling by car, with both kids, to Pensacola.  I know, scary!  I am not sure what to expect.  My sister is driving out with me so at least I will have help on the way there.  However, it will be just me and the kids on the way back.  Hopefully, they both cooperate and it doesn't take us much longer than what it should.  I am really hoping we aren't stopping all the time and there isn't tons of crying.  Wish us luck!

I just wanted to leave you with a quick post to tide you over in case I don't get to post while I'm there.  Here is a picture of Evan in his boots... we bought him these boots on sale at the outlets and he loves them!  Wants to wear them all the time.  He calls them his "boot boots".  Anyway, enjoy the pic! I'll be sure to blog about our driving experiences and our trip.

Evan in his boot boots!

Here's one of Caitlin, just because.

Smile!

Caitlin has been smiling for awhile, but I finally got a video of it and had time to post it.  She has also started these little cooing/talking noises that are adorable.  So, check out the video!  Also, just some other info:  last night she slept through the night.  I mean, went to bed at like 9:30pm and didn't wake up until almost 7am.  It was amazing! She's still in our room in the pack n play, but this may be grounds for moving her out!  Evan was in our room until he was about 3.5 months old and even then he wasn't sleeping through the night until almost 5 months old (and that required some crying).  I know, I shouldn't jinx it so let's just hope it happens some more.  Way to go Caitlin!

Video:

Bluebonnets!

If you live in Texas, then you understand this post and if you don't, here's a little explanation.  What many people probably don't know about Texas is that they have gorgeous wildflowers (at least here in Central Texas).  Every year in late March/early April, the roadsides and fields are filled with beautiful wildflowers, especially bluebonnets.  Not being a native Texan, I have to say it really is awesome to see.  And it is a Texas tradition to take pictures of your kids in the bluebonnets.  People actually stop on the side of interstates in a patch of bluebonnets just to take these pictures.  That seems a little too extreme to me.  Last year, I took some with Evan in a poor patch of them at a park.  This year, I was on the hunt for a better place and one that was not on the side of a major roadway. 

So, here they are!  I found this small meadow of bluebonnets although I think technically, it might have been private property even if there was no sign.  So, I took my pics quickly and left which is too bad because I really wanted to experiment with my new camera and try some interesting shots.  Instead, I settled for trying to at least get one that looked good of the kids before I got busted for trespassing.  Maybe next year when Caitlin is older and can sit up I'll actually pay for some good pictures.  Or at least find a better spot where I'm not worried about being arrested!  I hope you enjoy the pics. I actually think they turned out okay for my quick work.  It was hard to get a good one of Caitlin since she couldn't sit up, but overall, I am happy with them.  If there's time, maybe we'll try to get a family photo before they all disappear.  Happy Spring!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter to everyone!  I hope it was a wonderful day for you.  Our weekend was pretty good.  On Saturday, we started the day with banana pancakes which is usually a good sign.  I ran some errands and did my seasonal planting in the front yard.  I'm not much of a green thumb but I always try.  Then, Bryce got to go hit some golf balls while the kids napped.  After, we took them both to our neighborhood Easter egg hunt.  I don't think Evan enjoyed it too much.  When they shouted go for the hunt, he just clung to Bryce's leg.  He picked up the eggs after some encouraging.

But later, we took him to meet the Easter Bunny and he hated him!  He just screamed like I've never heard when Bryce went to hand him to the bunny.  He didn't want to be anywhere near him.  This was the best I could do for a picture:

Caitlin, however, had no problem with the Easter bunny (considering she was asleep):

After that, we watched Butler beat Michigan State to go to the NCAA championship. This is a big deal in my family because my dad graduated from Butler.  We wish he could be here to see them play. My mom gets to go to the final game tonight so Go Butler!

Easter Sunday, we woke up to find that the Easter bunny had visited our house.  See what he brought the kids!

Evan absolutely LOVED his basketball and hoop.  He carried his basketball everywhere yesterday and got very upset whenever we had to leave the upstairs (where the hoop is).  I took the kids to church and then we went to Becca's for Easter dinner with her and Casey, Michelle, Brett, and other friends. It was a great time.  Here are some more pics from the day.  Don't the kids look cute!

I think Caitlin can almost fit in her Easter basket.

Big Brother Evan and Caitlin

He's so sweet to his sister!

Aunt Baba and Evan

Aunt Shell and Caitlin

Caitlin with mom and dad, the easter bunny

The family