What an exciting month it's been!

Caroline has had lots of firsts this month.

First swing.  She liked it.

First game of Peek a Boo.  So much fun.

Sitting by herself.  It's a whole new world.

First food.

Rice cereal went over like a ton of bricks.

So, after a few tries, we switched to oatmeal.  Much better.

She has been having more fun with her toys,

but nothing compares to her own hands and feet.

This girl is full of smiles.

Precious.

Loves her Daddy.

Caroline has been doing so well.  We are thankful that she has been perfectly healthy for her first 6 months, and hope it continues.  She weighs 14 lbs. (10th percentile) and is 25 1/2 in. long (50 percentile).  No sign of hair or teeth coming in yet.  She has continued to sleep well at night except for a week during a growth spurt.  She is still a poor napper most days, but we've gotten used to it.  She is consistently going to sleep on her own...yay!  She usually rolls to her right, scoots to the corner of her crib, and remains there until she wakes.  It's kind of funny to go in and always find her in the same spot, because we are accustomed to Brady's sleeping habits.  That boy does laps in his bed while sleeping.  Caroline is doing much better in her car seat, and going longer between feedings.  It's a lot easier to be out and about these days.  She continues to be a sweet, happy girl who loves to be cuddled and talked to.  We love her so.

He had no interest in taking a picture with the big pumpkins.

However, he was happy to hold an itty bitty pumpkin.

The next item on the agenda was the giant inflatable slide.

He was a little unsure initially, but didn't cry or protest.

The first trip down was nice.

The second trip was fun, but he still held on tightly.

The third trip, he got brave and went solo.

By the time we were ready to leave,

he was flying down head first trying to keep up with Daddy.

He was also able to climb to the top by himself.

When conquering the obstacle course,

 it helps to hold your tongue just right.

A good time was had by all.

Another month has flown by.

Just because I love tiny, perfect baby feet.

Our girl gummed her way through her fourth month.

Everything goes into the mouth.

If she can't get it into her mouth she licks it.

I've caught her licking the floor more than once.

We brought out Brady's Exersaucer.

She seems to enjoy spinning around in it.

She can't bounce in it as her little legs aren't long enough yet.

She does a great job of standing on Daddy's hand.

I think Daddy enjoys it more than she does,

but I'm sure that will change as she gets older.

Caroline weighs approximately 13lbs.  She is still in size 2 diapers and has plenty of room in her 3-6 months bottoms, but the 3-6 month tops aren't going to fit much longer.  She is sleeping really well at night.  She usually sleeps from about 8- 6:30 or 7.  She is not a good napper though.  She usually only naps for 45 minutes at a time.  She has changed her preferred sleep position.  She almost always rolls to her tummy as soon as I put her in her crib.  She scoots to her favorite corner and remains there until she wakes.  She is quite the little roller now, but still only rolls to her right.  She is doing a pretty good job of sitting up and will likely be doing it on her own within a week or two.

Caroline seems to be very calm and content unless she is hungry or tired.  She smiles often and laughs easily.  She is fairly ticklish and very cuddly.  She occasionally gets scared and cries if someone other than Mommy or Daddy is holding her.  

We are having so much fun watching our sweet baby girl learn and grow.

Happy Dad.

Brady after a play date and missed nap.

Caroline her usual smiley self.

Brady gathers all of his treasures before exiting his room in the morning.

Teddy, Puppy, blanket, a couple  of binkies and

nigh-nighs (burp cloths turned security blankets).

Brady washing the fireplace and his train.

Can't imagine where he gets his desire to clean everything;)

I have a feeling this will be a common theme in pictures with these two...

Brady: I'll smile super big so everyone notices me.

Caroline: I'll just smile pretty, thank you.

Brady: I'm hilarious.

Caroline: Seriously???  Can't you act normal for just one picture?

Caroline: That's it.  I'm outta here.

Brady: All right, I'm sorry.

All made up and having a nice sibling chat.

I'm enjoying dressing her.

Who doesn't love bows and a ruffly bum?

Caroline is getting so strong.

This is Caroline's favorite sleeping position.

One arm draped across her chest.

Caroline has become proficient at rolling from back to tummy, but hasn't rolled from tummy to back in over a month.  She occasionally rolls over in her sleep.  Sometimes this wakes her up, and other times it allows her to sleep better than usual.  Since she rolls onto her tummy so easily now, she has been tolerating tummy time longer.  She can really get her legs going and even gets her bum up in the air a bit.

Caroline now weighs 12 lbs, 2 oz (25th percentile) and is 24 1/4 inches long (50th percentile).  She has lost almost all of the hair she was born with.  Her eyes are changing color.  They are currently blue/gray.  The best new development is that the hemangioma on her head appears to be getting smaller...YAY!!!

Life with Brady is always interesting.

He loves trying out his old baby gear that Caroline is now using.

His two favorites are the car seat and crib.

Ironic that he loves climbing into the crib.

Just a few months ago he couldn't get out of it fast enough.

The car seat is fun because he can rock it.

Speaking of climbing out of his crib...

Brady doesn't stay in his big boy bed either.

It has taken as long as 2 hours to get him to sleep.

We removed all toys and books from his room

hoping he would get bored and go to sleep faster.

For his safety, we also removed the shelves from the bookcase.

First he used them to climb to the top of the bookcase,

then he discovered that they moved and tried pulling them out.

Now it's a fun place to hang out with his blanket and Teddy.

I'm so glad that I kept my nephew's old toys.

Brady is having lots of fun with them.

This week we went old school and took out the Lincoln Logs.

Hanging from the cabinet door.

Brady was constantly getting into the cabinet and drawers

and emptying their contents all over the living room.

We got tired of telling him no, so we took the handles off.

Turns out the hole where the handles go is

the perfect place to hang a cell phone.

Brady isn't always about adventure and excitement.

He is also very sweet and nurturing.

He is eager to help with Caroline.

Today he noticed she was drooling.

On his own, he brought over her burp cloth and wiped her chin.

As he did it he said "I wipe her spits."

Caroline isn't the only recipient of Brady's attention.

He takes very good care of Teddy and Puppy too.

There are times when I want to pull my hair out.

But most of the time, I can't get enough of my little boy.