Photos from the OR-
Photos from my friend, Sara Straka, who came to the hospital when we were wheeled back to the postpartum room-
We are so thankful to Sara for these beautiful images capturing our first moments as a family of five!
A few fave photos from the rest of the hospital stay (10/28-31)-
We had a very laid back, family birthday to celebrate our spunky Caroline turning three! She wanted a butterfly-themed party, so we went to the Heard Museum and checked out the butterfly exhibit. Next we hit Mellow Mushroom for pizza and headed back home for cupcakes and presents. All in all a wonderful day for the birthday girl, with the exception of a tumble out of the chair right before we were going to sing Happy Birthday. Fortunately all her teeth were still in tact, and the promise of cupcakes and presents helped her forget the pain pretty quickly.
And a poorly done video with my DSLR:
(from January 13th)
And this one just cracks me up...
Caroline turned TWO on Friday! I'm normally so good to post these milestone posts exactly on time, but we've been really, really busy this month! I hope to take some two-year portraits of Caroline this week and get her post done soon.
Until then, here are a couple from her family party on Saturday...
Dear Kate,
Last Sunday we celebrated your third birthday! You are getting to be such a big girl, and it's hard to know where to start describing your abilities and your personality, especially since the last time I wrote an update was a year ago. You've changed a lot since then! I'll just start typing and hope I cover all the bases.
You...
* love to dance and sing and play dress up. It's so fun to watch you play pretend and hear the little conversations you have with your stuffed animals and the replies you make for them. You still love music, and you're very interested in all the different instruments. You are SO into all the Disney Princesses, and you love to play with Duplo blocks and pretend food. You're starting to like puzzles now (yay!), but honestly, nothing really keeps your attention for very long.
* love going to school. School has been so much fun for you this school year! You still go just one day a week. Drop off is always very easy (for you, anyways... Caroline cries when you walk into your room!). I'm so thankful you like going!
* are my little Velcro-child. You want to be by my side all of the time and want me right with you. You get it honestly... Mommy was the exact same way.
* are a perfectionist. We started noticing this before you were even 2 years old, but we're really seeing it more now. You don't like to be asked to "perform" for others (to do the cute things you do at home), and taking risks and doing new things can be hard for you at times.
* definitely have a mind of your own. That's all I'll say. :)
* have a flair for the dramatic. When you're miffed about something, you cross your arms and "hmmmph!"loudly and repeatedly. You're also a master at making yourself cry.
* are very sensitive, and you get your feelings hurt easily. I have to be careful not to make you feel I'm laughing at you. You sometimes say the funniest things, though, and I have to laugh! I promise - I'm just enjoying you!
* are cautious. You take a while to warm up around big groups and doing new things. You're also cautious about things like going down slides.
* are a busy bee. You started giving up your nap at 2 1/2, and just this week I've finally given in that you're just going to have "room time" instead of "nap time." I was really trying to hang on to that!
* potty trained and transitioned to a big girl bed back in October. While the first morning of potty training was incredibly hard (you were being stubborn), you caught on that afternoon, and you "got it" that first day. You are dry all the time... day and night!
* talk very well and say everything. I have recently been writing down some of the funny things you say. Here are a few:
- You scowl and say, "Are you kidding me?"
- Often you say you liked something back when you were a little girl. (Like, "I loved carrots when I was a little girl.")
- "Mommy, don't say 'no' to me. That hurts my feelings."
- "My lips are shaking. I need the iPad to make me feel better."
- "Watch me clap my teeth!" (chomping)
- ME: "Kate, can you help me feed Kirby?" KATE: "Oh, okay. I'll be with you in one minute."
- At the museum on your bday: "That's from the Ice Age, when Mommy was a little girl."
You bring us great joy, sweet Kate. Can't wait to see what adventures THREE holds for you!
Love,
Mama and Daddy
Official Stats
Weight: 33.8 pounds (79th%; gained about 4.5 pounds this year)
Height: 38.5 inches (82nd %; grew about 4 inches this year)
Clothes: 3T and 4T
Sleep: 7/7:30pm-7am
Nap: stopped napping around 2 1/2
Teeth: 20, I think?
I just need to document that this was a very difficult photo shoot. You do NOT like when I pull out the camera. I need to give you a good long break from it after this disaster. I'm so glad we had something out of the set!
(from sept. 1-3)
My big birthday (#30!) fell on Labor Day weekend this year, so Nick's mom and dad kindly offered to watch the girls for the weekend if we wanted to go on a little getaway. And since Nick had plenty of airline and hotel points, we jumped at the chance!
Nick got a free car rental upgrade... a red Jeep! It ended up being one of the most fun parts of the trip. We did a lot of driving up and down the main highway, and it was fun to pull the top down and enjoy the cooler temps.
It was a wonderful, relaxing weekend!
- - - -
Stopping in at Oakville Grocery for picnic lunch supplies
At the Castello di Amorosa Winery
Walking around Calistoga (I think)
At the Franciscan Winery (our fave)
At the Nickel & Nickel Winery
A scenic spot as we drove off the main highway
That evening we went to the park to eat our dinner and play. It was a happy first birthday!
But day of the party was WINDY. I mean SUPER windy. I had bought balloons, but the second I got them out of the car, all the strings wound up around each other and they were all in one huge clump. The wind was so strong that the balloons kept popping at random even though there was nothing near them! I had banners to hang that I couldn't hang, and all of these cute decorations that I just couldn't use in that weather. I couldn't even put my cupcakes on the cute stand I had for fear the wind would blow it over. Everything pretty much just got thrown on the table. I was so sad! A lot of time and expense went into all of that, and I was so frustrated that it all went to waste. Not to mention I was disappointed for the lack of cute decoration photos! I had to keep reminding myself that everyone was having fun, and that was really all that mattered.
(from May 14, 2012)
Caroline and a couple of her Lens Baby pals modeled for our group to have a "cake smash" shoot. It was really challenging for me to keep her contained and shoot. I had icing all over my camera!
These first ones of her with the strawberries were inspired by the top image here on this blog. With her first birthday party being a strawberry theme, I was dying to try this!
And some balloon shots...
And finally a few cake ones. I was really disappointed in these, but I can't begin to tell you how difficult it was to wrangle her and shoot. Also consider there were several other moms around me taking pictures, so I couldn't exactly move into any position I wanted! But this girl got INTO this cake. I mean, she pretty much dove in, and she even had it all in her hair by the end.
