Caroline is 3 months old

Dear Caroline,

You are three months old today, sweet girl! Here's what's been going on with you...

* The big news of the day is that you started sucking your thumb. That's right! I went to wake you from your nap, and there it was, popped right in there. You repeated this a few times today already. I hope to catch a picture of it soon.

* We changed your schedule at the beginning of the month, and you now go to bed at 7pm just like Kate. You sleep soundly until we come wake you for your 7am feeding. You were sleeping 12 hours a night by 8 or 9 weeks. Amazing!

* We hit a small bump in the road when you started breaking free of your swaddling every night. You are a big, strong girl! Even though we didn't wean Kate of her swaddle-love until she was almost 8 months old, we knew you were ready much earlier. We thought it would be a rough transition, but you didn't mind one bit! You slept right on as if it were any other night.  You are not to be underestimated!

* Your nap quality is inconsistent now that you don't get swaddled. You have good nap days and bad ones, which is perfectly normal.  If you would just be sure to sleep well from 12 to 1, though, I'd get my "mommy sanity hour." And I really need it. Thank you.

* You take 5 bottles a day of 5 to 6.5 ounces usually. To look at you, one would think that you just down every bottle in no time flat, but that's not the case. There are times it's really a struggle to feed you. At the beginning of the month you were gagging a lot during your feedings. Then you stopped doing that and started flailing around instead. I'm pretty sure you're having some reflux issues, and Dr. Weiser called you in a prescription that we'll start tomorrow. Hopefully we'll see an improvement in a week or so. The nurse said it won't help with the spitting up (bummer), but that the pain will be gone.

* Your favorite things to do: smile back at us, coo, chew your hands, look at your feet, blow spit bubbles, put weight on your legs, and sit up in your chair (the Prince Lionheart Bebe Pod/Bumbo wannabe chair). You still like to swing, but you'd rather not be left where you can't see what's going on. You fuss sometimes to let us know you'd like to be included (or held).

* Baths are not easy now. We're not really sure what happened. We think maybe you've learned that right after bath you eat, and you really want that last bottle of the day. It's the most we ever hear from you. Kate gets a really worried look on her face when you start screaming in the tub. She's very concerned about you when you cry! We've found that if we start your bath just a few minutes earlier that you stay calmer.

* You have the dreaded baby bald spot now where the hair has all rubbed off from being on your back so much. Kate never had one because she never had hair. Ha!

* There have been several times over the last couple of weeks that I thought maybe you laughed a tiny laugh, but I haven't heard a good giggle from you yet. It can't be far off!

* Although you are all grins when we smile at you, your default expression looks kind of scowl-ish. Maybe it's the weight of your cheeks pulling everything down! (Your cheeks are amazingly huge.) No worries... Kate will have you laughing and smiling constantly in no time!

You are such a great baby, and we are so thankful for you!

Love,
Mama and Daddy

(Unofficial) Stats:

weight: 15.2 pounds (WHOA.)

length: will add tomorrow

clothes: Mostly 3-6 month things

diaper size: size 2

sleep: 7pm-7am

naps: 8:30am-10, 11:30am-1pm, 2:30-4, 5-6 catnap

feedings: 7am, 10, 1pm, 4, 6:30ish

Previous monthly posts: Caroline is 1 month old | Caroline is 2 months old

Project 365: August Mosaic

243/365

{so excited}
It's hard to explain... I want time to stand still, but I'm also so excited to see the relationship these girls will have in the future. I'm excited to see how they will play together, share laughter and secrets, and encourage and be there for each other. I pray for their relationship daily. What a sweet gift they have in each other!

li'l love

I took these a few days ago of sweet Caroline and forgot to post. This little outfit was a Zulily find, and I wanted to be sure to take her picture in it before she outgrew it. (Which, at the rate she's going, won't be long.)

242/365

{baby doll}
I love the look she's giving me: "Really, Mom?"

241/365

{rise & shine, caroline}
What's missing from this picture? That's right - no more Miracle Blanket for this baby girl. The swaddle is dundies! (That one's for you, Liz!) I could get the baby burrito wrapped SUPER tight, and she was always busted out by morning. We decided it was time. (Nevermind that her big sister loved being wrapped so much that we didn't stop swaddling until she was almost 8 months old.)

Moms on Call warned me it would be a rough night... that it would take a full 3 nights to adjust to the new routine. But this is Caroline we're talking about, though. One of the most laid-back babies ever.

She didn't make a peep until morning.

240/365 (& a video)

{"seeze... ah-choo!"}
Kate loves to fake sneeze, and I finally caught her on video today in the car.

239/365

{peeking in}
Caroline's evening catnap

238/365

{national dog day}
When I heard this morning that it was National Dog Day, I knew I had to get some Kirby shots for Project 365 today. Goldens are known to be good with kids, and Kirby is no exception. She is trustworthy and patient. Even when Kate sits on her, she doesn't move a muscle!

Behind the couch: Kirby's favorite place to nap...

the bathroom at patina green

Patina Green Home & Market is a great shop in downtown McKinney that's been there for about a year now. They stock local foods, have an awesome lunch counter, sell vintage/shabby chic home decor, and their bathroom is gorgeous. You forget you're in a bathroom until you look in the corner and see the toilet. :)

So, yes, I took my camera in the bathroom. I'm not the only one, though. I've seen on their Facebook page where photographers do portrait sessions in there!

I hope to give you a full photo tour of the store sometime. It's one of our favorite downtown spots!

237/365

{under the weather}
Kate wasn't feeling well today. She went to bed at 6:30 last night, slept until 8:10 this morning (when I finally woke her), and took a marathon 3.5 hour nap this afternoon. She wasn't her usual chipper self, but I still managed to catch a smile!

lens baby: indoor beach party

Kate, Caroline, and I joined our Lens Baby play group for an indoor beach party! Kate was beyond excited about the bubbles. I wish I had thought to take some video of her. 

And Jennifer got the money shots...

And this one cracks me up. Bubble-crazed Kate walking right in front of Jennifer's shot...

236/365

{lens baby: indoor beach party}

235/365 (plus extras)

{can't top this}
Some days I have a hard time coming up with a picture. Today I had the opposite problem... too many to pick from! Caroline sleeping in her daddy's arms is my fave for the day, though. I love her squishy little arm hanging over her daddy's.

Kate started out the day with bed head. BED HEAD! The girl has enough hair for bed head!!

I bought her a Tonka fire truck on our Costco trip today. It kept her very busy in the cart. She announced, "Truck!" and "Baby!" to everyone in the store.

Love Caroline's nervous expression here... like Kate might roll on her.

Baby girl is 12 weeks old today.

Worn out from a long day!

234/365

{flash cards}
Kate loves to scatter these everywhere. Then she uses them as a slip'n'slide on the carpet.
We're tired of being inside all the time.

233/365

{"hi!"}
I think Kate's getting more attached to Caroline.
It's so cute when she just walks up to her and says "Hi!" with a big smile.

232/365

{meeting caroline}
Nick's family came in town for the weekend, so Caroline got to meet her uncles!

231/365

{craft}
This was another one of those "the-girls-are-already-asleep-and-I-still-need-to-take-a-picture-and-I'm-all-tapped-out-of-ideas-at-the-moment" days. At least it's done.

So.... I'm sharing a fun craft. I got the idea for this menu from my friend, Beth. I used burlap-looking scrapbook paper inside an 8x10 frame and letter stickers. I use a dry erase marker to write down the week's meals. I'm not so crafty as I used to be, but I enjoy it when I take the time!

230/365

{"hat!"}
Kate put this lid over her head and announced, "hat, hat!" In fact, anything she puts over her head is a "hat." The teething ring was a bracelet, too. We're gonna need to start a real dress up box for this girl!

Home Organization Binder

No more excuses. Pregnancy pains and exhaustion are past. Newborn sleepless nights have been over for quite some time. I need to start cooking meals and cleaning my house again! Feeling the need to get back on my game, I created a Home Organization Binder to help me get my head on straight.

I'd been seeing a lot about these binders on Pinterest and some completed ones on blogs I follow. Of course, every binder needs to be tailored to the user, so I created a Pinterest board to collect the different links I found. There are innumerable printable pages and suggested sections on many blogs and sites, but I thought I'd share how I chose to put my binder together.

Some people choose to have calendar pages in their notebooks, but I still use my Google calendar. I'm a monthly-view kind of girl when it comes to calendars. Always have been.

I bought my binder from Target. It's one of the cute Green Room brand ones. It was so hard to choose! I already had a few of these plastic pocket inserts. I put one in the front for miscellaneous items to keep safe. You'll see I also just did a sticky note checklist for today. I like sticky notes.

Right behind the plastic pocket, I keep the current "week at a glance" page.

I also printed this "daily do-it checklist" with morning and evening columns.

Here's how I labeled my 10 dividers:

• agenda
• chores
• meals
• blog
• kids
• photography
• home
• events
• misc.
• notes

AGENDA
Behind this first tab is a "master to-do" list is where I'm keeping every little to-do or idea that pops into my head. I need to go through and assign priorities to them. These to-dos get transferred to my weekly agenda to set goals for completion. Behind this tab I also keep extra copies of the week-at-a-glance page. Anything calendar-related will go here.

CHORES
The charts I found on many sites (like this one) had the days of the week on them for you to put the chores you want to get done each day. This was too overwhelming for me. I'd rather have a checklist of things to get done during the week, and just get them done when I can. Email me if you want it. It is very simple with four columns: daily, weekly, monthly, other. I'm adding the chores as I think of them... this list is probably not complete!

The next tab is "meals." I really like this meal planner printable. I use the pages following it (scroll down to see "favorite recipes" and "recipes to try") to start with and choose the meals for the week. It even has a grocery list starter for you. I was using ZipList on my iPhone, so I didn't write out my ingredients this time.

BLOG
I printed out this basic weekly planner to plan what I want to blog for the week. So far I just have my Project 365 numbers on there, but I would like to get better about posting other content. Like this post! A sticky note is there for me to keep notes about where I am and what I've skipped with my blog restoration (after all those pictures were lost). There's notebook paper behind this planner to keep a list of post ideas to get to as I can. I also have my lists of what the girls have been up to for the month so that I can easily type up their monthly blog posts when it's time. It's nice to have a home for this. These lists were just floating around the house before!

Behind the rest of the tabs there is just plain paper with notes, so I didn't feel pictures were necessary. I'll just explain what I intend to do keep behind these tabs.

KIDS
Right now I have a plain page for "activities to do" as I hear about neat things for toddlers on blogs or Pinterest. Behind that I have the girls' schedules written out and a page with the names of a few babysitters I've gotten recommendations for, should we ever need one. This is a great place to keep information about the kids for a babysitter.

PHOTOGRAPHY
I have plain paper here with these headings: goals (& things to figure out), wish list, locations, and ideas.

HOME
On plain paper I listed the rooms in our house. Next to some rooms are ideas I have for changes or things we "need" for that room.

EVENTS
Currently blank. Here I will keep plans for parties, holidays, and vacations.

MISC.
Right now I just have my neighbors' (and their kids') names written down so we don't forget! This is a catch-all tab.

NOTES
As I research things, this will be where I keep my notes. I'm thinking about hiring a cleaning service to come do a one time deep clean of my house... blinds, fans, baseboards... the whole nine yards! I'm keeping notes as I do my pricing research of the recommended individuals behind this tab.

I've just started using my binder this week, and so far so good! I'm not completely where I want to be yet, but the binder is getting me on the right path. I'll have to update again after I've used it a while longer to let you know how it's all working, if I'm actually achieving these goals!

Do you have a binder (or some kind of system)? Share, please!