Santa

We attended our Battalion Christmas party yesterday afternoon and had a great time. The highlight of the party was an appearance by Jolly Old Saint Nick himself (really Ryan in a red suit). Caroline was very patient, but with over 100 children waiting to see Santa and get his gift to them, the wait was just too much to handle. She fell asleep in my arms and was too far gone to wake up for pictures. =) After Santa's job was done we were able to get a few more photos. . .this time with a wide-awake baby!

Its so exciting seeing Christmas through the eyes of a child. . .

Patiently waiting to meet Santa.


Santa's chair was inside the Chinook!


Steve was keeping Gavyn occupied while we waited.


Mmmm. . .my hand is delicious!


Too tired for pictures. . .

Dirty Thirty

Today I turned 30. As I mourn the passing of my twenties, I can't help but reflect on the past decade. Here are some highlights:

- I met the man of my dreams.
- I graduated from college after a few years of surviving on ramen noodles and creamed corn.
- I got engaged to said man of my dreams.
- I got my first "real" job.
- I vowed to spend the rest of my life with the most wonderful man I've ever known.
- I moved to a foreign country with that man and visited several others. . .I've stood on the Great Wall of China. . .TWICE!
- We bought our first home.
- And the biggest highlight of the past decade: welcoming the most beautiful baby girl into my life.

To Ryan: Thank you for being such a wonderful husband and father. You and Caroline have truly made my life complete. To all other family and friends who have helped to make my twenties so wonderful and memorable: THANK YOU! I can't wait to see what excitement and new adventures my thirties will hold! Bring it on, Father Time!

30 black balloons . . .they did float last night, but I guess they got tired of floating.


Ryan's gift to me. . .the fabulous diaper bag I've been pining for.


The best gift ever. . .I just got it 2 months, 3 weeks, and 4 days early. =)

2 Month Well Baby Exam

Caroline had her two month well baby exam today (a few weeks late. . .her pediatrician got sick) and here are the stats:

Height: 24 inches - 95% (she grew 3 inches!)

Weight: 13 lbs 1 oz - 97% (6 1/2 lb gain. . .whoa)

Head Circumference: 39 cm. . .had to be cm, right? - 50%


The doc said she is growing beautifully and is perfectly healthy. She got 3 shots (poor baby) and only cried for a minute. She and I went to Target for a little while and she slept soundly in the baby wrap. She was VERY cranky once we got home and I wound up putting her to bed a little early. Now my little princess is sighing peacefully in her sleep. . . now let's just hope this doesn't disrupt her sleep-all-night routine!

Waiting for the doctor to come in. . .

Caroline's first boo-boos.

Passed out on the couch next to me. Those shots sure made her sleepy!

We love the Wells Family!

We spend tons of time with Tammie, Steve, Jacob and Gavyn (we go all the way back to Korea). We're even working on an arranged marriage for Gavyn and Caroline. =) We all spent Thanksgiving together and Tammie drug me out at midnight to head to Austin to begin our Black Friday shopping adventure. We shopped all. night. long. Needless to say, we were exhausted. . .but we got great deals! =)

On the way to Austin (not for Black Friday). . .Caroline LOVES her new car seat!


Gavyn is all smiles!


Did I mention how much Caroline loves her car seat? =)


Jacob was asleep in the guest room and when he came out he decided he wanted to sleep on the couch. The only problem was that Ryan was already asleep on the couch!


Funny, huh?


Before the Black Friday craziness. . .


Tammie caught her second wind when he hit Target at 6:00. She tried to go to sleep on the cart while we were inside, though. I had to keep nudging her to keep her awake!

Back in Business!

Thanks to Uncle Eric, I now have free space on my hard drive! Woo hoo! Here are some pictures from his visit. We had a great time with you and we hope you enjoyed yourself! See you in 3 weeks!

Since it has been so long since I've posted pictures, here's a slideshow to catch y'all up!

Thanksgiving

My hard drive is full! BOO! Ryan and Eric are going to put all of my stuff on an external hard drive, so as soon as they free up some space I'll be posting more pictures. I hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving!

Caroline's New Discovery

I heard some strange sounds coming from the baby monitor this afternoon, so I went in to get Caroline up from her nap. This is what I found. . .

She was sucking VERY loudly on her thumb!




She's such a happy girl when she wakes up!

Caroline's first Halloween

Caroline had a wonderful first Halloween! She dressed up as a tiger AND a kitty and we went trick-or-treating with Steve, Tammie, Jacob and Gavyn Wells. We spent a few hours walking the neighborhood (Ryan wanted a picture of Caroline at EVERY HOUSE we stopped at. . .it was really kind of cute. . .haha) and getting candy and then returned home for a cookout. We had burgers and hot dogs and just enjoyed the cool evening with Grammy and Grampy, the Wells family, Ken, and Juan, Saida and Joanne Nieves. Thanks everyone for helping to make this Halloween so memorable!

Daphne and Rusty

I've been terrible at posting lately, but we had some guests that deserve a post all their own! My great friend Daphne and her husband Rusty (I went to high school with both of them) took a vacation to Texas and drove quite a bit out of their way just to see us. Okay, they didn't really come to see "us", but they did come to see Miss Caroline. =) They only got to stay the night, but we had a great time. While us girls stayed home and caught up, the boys went to play poker. Rusty hung in there right til the end, but didn't bring home the pot. =( Thanks for coming to visit. . .it was soooo good to see you and my only complaint is that you couldn't stay longer! See you at Christmas!

Uncle Nicky

We got a wonderful surprise this afternoon! Nick Holten and Tanner Spry flew in to Fort Hood for the day and we got to meet up with Nick for dinner. I think he was very smitten with Miss Caroline (and I think she was very fond of him, too!). =) We didn't get to see Tanner this time and we're sure sorry we missed him! Here are some pics from tonight. Enjoy!

Snuggling with Nicky. . .and cooing up a storm!

Getting ready to go home

Getting some lovin' from Grammy before bedtime

I love my Grammy!

Hodge-Podge

Here are some pictures from the past few days. . .

My princess in her pretty dress. . .right before she peed all over it. =)



Sleeping beauty (thanks, Jayme for the adorable onesie!)


Tummy time



Milk coma!

Sleep!

Caroline slept 6 (SIX!) hours last night between feedings! WOO HOO! Yay for getting baby on a schedule and double Yay for some uninterrupted sleep for me! Let's hope this becomes routine! Here are a few pictures from our time playing with the gym. =)

Bathtime Snuggles

Caroline just loves to snuggle after her bath!


Squeaky clean!


I love my Grammy!


Daddy really missed me!

Pictures from the first 3 weeks