4.30.2012

I have no idea how I got this shot. You just kept trying to dive over the front of the chair the whole time.
Just another note... Kate's 11 month sticker for your shirt wasn't salvageable. Oh well!


Dear Caroline,
How is it possible that you're just one month away from your first birthday? You're growing and changing so fast and showing us daily that you understand so much of what's going on around you. Here's what you've been up to in April...

- You watch what Kate's doing and do the same. The other day Kate was making a game of running to me, and I'd toss her in the air. You figured it out and started crawling to me at hyper-speed for your turn, laughing all the while. You also have learned how to put necklaces on, just like big sister does. You're already playing dress-up!

- You have started throwing fits from time to time when things don't go your way or we have to take something from you.

- I'm surprised you're not walking yet. You cruise on everything and spend a lot of time on your feet, but you haven't tried any steps yet. Your crawling speed can be pretty incredible, though; we take our eyes off you for a second, and you're gone! We definitely think you have the ability to walk if you wanted to, but you're just so intent on getting places fast that you don't care to try yet.

- You say "Mama!" And you're doing a lot more babbling in general than you were. I think you attempt "hi" and "bye bye" and "yay" as well. There have been a couple of times when you've copied the intonation of words I say.

- You like to play with whatever Kate has at that moment. It drives her insane.

- Meal times are a breeze with you, for the most part. You're great at using a sippy cup, and you're even better at throwing it. You LOVE to feed yourself pretty much anything. You eat a lot of deli turkey, cheese, avocado (your favorite!), crackers, fruit, or whatever we're having. I made a Mexican dish the other night that had some spice to it, and you gobbled it down without hesitation. You DO NOT like being spoon fed at all anymore. If we want to try and spoon something to you, we have to give you something really interesting to play with while we sneak it in. Typically, if you see us pull out a puree from the pantry, you start throwing a hissy in your highchair. You want to do it yourself!! I did discover that you'll take the squeezy puree packets most of the time, so those are nice to have on hand.

- Kate's favorite show is Little Einsteins and you participate with the show, too. To get the rocket flying, they pat their legs, so you do too! And when it says, "Raise your arms and say 'blast off!'" your little arms go up too! Another Little Einsteins junkie in the making!

- There's no snuggling with you. You're just a little monkey intent on getting out of whatever grip or hold we may have on you. We really need to try and video this. It makes me sad, though, as I just want to rock you and hold you, but you won't have any of that!

- The rest of those 6 teeth that were all popping through at the same time finally came all the way in at the beginning of the month, so you've been happier than you were there for a while. Those top teeth really changed your smile, and you look so different!

- You have an obsession with the TV remote control. It's so funny to see the lengths you'll go to to try and get your hands on it. We've given you an old one that's not functional anymore, but you know the difference, and that one doesn't cut it.

- Your favorite toys are the play kitchen and food, the dollhouse, and the doll stroller, which you use as a walker.

- You learned to give high fives, and you think it's the most hilarious thing ever. You're so proud of yourself!

We're proud of you too, sweet Caroline!
Love,
Mama and Daddy



UNofficial Stats:
weight: 23 or 24 pounds
length: 28 inches (This is also what I measured you as last month, but you look like you've gotten taller!)
clothes: 12-18 months, 18-24 months
diaper size: size 4
sleep: 7pm-7am
naps: 8:30am-10, 12pm-2
teeth: 8
feedings: 7am, 2pm (just starting to drop this), 6:30pm bottles; 3 solid food feedings plus snacks








Take a look at all those teeth!

We headed over to McKinney's Inspiration Park on Saturday to let Kate play at the playground and splash pad. Kate was having a blast, and even though I didn't bring a bathing suit for Caroline, we plopped her down in front of a spout to play too.

She LOVED it. Next time I'll know to bring a swim suit for her as well!
caroline-splash-pad-storyboard


And Kate had a blast!
kate-splash-pad-storyboard


We dried off, ran around on the playground some more, and headed home. It was a fun family afternoon!
splash-pad-final-storyboard

4.28.2012

finger painting



I pulled these finger paints out for the first time last Friday. The "fun" lasted all of 5 minutes. She kept asking for paint brushes and didn't like having her hands dirty!


finger painting

4.27.2012

phone dump mosaic 4.27.12

sick | snuggles
feet | big girl 1 | big girl 2
you know she's sick when she does this | honeysuckle vine | moth
moth wing | caroline driving | an interesting way to honk the horn
shadows | source | impromptu picnic
water table | toy story | zonked 1
zonked 2 | chow time | had to wake her up to get kate from school = grouchy!
bottle | line-em-up | sacked out
swing | water table | happy outside
bubbles 1, 2, 3
dinner by myself | laughing | caroline & mommy
playing in the sink | waiting for scraps | matching hats

iPhone 4 | Instagram (sarcar04) | some w/ new VSCO cam app

4.23.2012

just one...



Feeding her baby doll a bottle... Kate's got good form, huh?

4.20.2012

phone dump 4.20.12

swinging w/ daddy
sweet sunday dress from aunt dawn - so cute!! | new trike
into everything | playing outside - caroline
sunshine kate | rainbrella
kisses | sweet kirby girl
fun sun flare | lunch out
rain clouds this morning | sick girl... now on antibiotics

iPhone 4 | Instagram (sarcar04)

Our meetup theme was "bubbles" on Wednesday afternoon, but I didn't really get many shots of the girls with the bubbles! We had a fun time with friends on a beautiful afternoon at the park.

I LOVE this one of Caroline. I need to get this one printed large!



Here's Kate trying to pop the bubbles with a dandelion stem. :)



Some of our group... and my girls climbing all over someone else's stroller. 




And I know they're not both looking, but it's a feat to even get these two in the same shot! I'll take it! :)



4.19.2012

The girls and I had a fun morning yesterday. First we hit Old Navy's 40% off sale, and by using some rewards money too, I paid under $3.50 for each item. Quite exciting! ;) And because the girls were still in a good mood, we walked over to the fountains. Kate donned her new "itsy bitsy, teeny weeny, yellow polka dot bikini"(a $2.79 purchase from Old Navy!) and ran around there for a bit. Then, the promise of French fries for Kate took us into The Purple Cow restaurant right there at the fountains. I was so proud of myself for being a little flexible with our normal nap time to have a fun morning out... just us girls!


village fairview storyboard

4.18.2012

Maybe I'll get through all of these vacation pictures by the end of the year! They have definitely been put on the back burner.

Florence was our favorite. We just loved how the city was smaller and more pedestrian friendly. And although it was lightly snowing on this day, it had not accumulated on the streets.

We stayed at the Hotel Brunelleschi, and we had a great view of the duomo.

Florence Day 1 Strybd 1




First stop... climbing to the top of the duomo's dome. 463 steps.
We were SO glad to be there in the off-season when there are fewer people there. I think I would have felt extremely claustrophobic if that tiny stairway had been filled with people going both directions. As it was, we pretty much had the staircase to ourselves. Nick was sweet and took over camera backpack duty while I huffed and puffed my way up. :) The picture on the bottom right of this board shows the last stretch up... and it looked almost like a straight slope. You couldn't even see the steps for how steep they were.

Florence day 1 strybd 2




We made it!! It was FREEZING cold up there. I already mentioned that it was lightly snowing, and the wind that high up was pretty fierce. The views made up for it though! I was disappointed that the skies were so cloudy, but just before we left, the sun started shining through.

Bottom-left you see Nick going back down the steps, and on the right is the view of the dome ceiling (with the plexi-glass in the way of the shot).

Florence day 1 strybd 3





After our hike, we walked around the marketplace, then went to the Accademia to see the statue of David. We marveled at yet another of Michelangelo's masterpieces and wondered if he ever slept! No photography was allowed there.

Dinner at Trattoria Sostanza was our favorite of the trip, I think. This was another recommendation from my friend, Melissa, who sent us there with notes on what to order! Butter chicken for me, Florentine steak (of course!) for Nick.

I asked if they minded if I take pictures. They said no, they didn't mind, then invited me INTO the kitchen to shoot in there. Please stop and look at those steaks. They pulled that rack of meat out and hacked the steak off right when ordered.

If you're ever in Florence, please go here.

Florence Day 1 strybd 4




Then we walked back. And no freezing Italian night is complete without gelato!

Florence day 1 strybd 5


It may be another month before you get to see day 2 of Florence/Tuscany, but it'll be worth it! (I think... I haven't really looked through all those pictures yet!!)

Bringing you up to speed: Europe by Instagram, Europe by HolgaParis Day 1Paris Day 2Rome Day 1, Rome Day 2

4.17.2012

Last Friday we spent the morning at the Arbor Hills Nature Preserve. We had a great time with our Lens Baby friends!

Kate loved this rock and kept climbing all over it. It was the perfect spot because it kept her somewhat contained and occupied long enough for me to grab some shots! (And the tree bokeh was just gorgeous here!)

arbor hills storyboard1


And we can't leave Caroline out! She missed her morning nap for our outing and was a little crabby, so I  didn't get many of her.
arbor hills storyboard2


Kate hadn't seen her friend, Hayley, in a while; it was cute to see them holding hands and walking together.
arbor hills storyboard3

4.16.2012

We've had a ton of Lens Baby meetups lately! We're taking advantage of the nice weather and getting out as much as possible before the unbearable heat sets in.

We drove down to a favorite location, Harry Moss Park, for a tea party-themed shoot. Of course, my girls ended up being the only girls there! We really just enjoyed the pretty location more than really going with the theme so much. Kate liked the pinwheel that her friend brought, so that was her prop of choice. :)


LB tea party storyboard


4/2/12

4.13.2012



highchair feet | playing in the sink | squishy baby | ball
standing on her own | #draping | hives | pei wei | excited to help daddy wash the car
washing the car | tornado weather | diaper girls | daddy's girls | lifegroup easter egg hunt
caroline's egg | kate's basket | on daddy's shoulders | easter dresses | happy birthday to kirby
rainbrella | caroline wants out too | reading (upside down) | counting coins in the jar | animal faces with gram

iphone 4 | instagram (sarcar04)

4.12.2012

A few weeks ago I was contacted by Melissa Stone of Confection Perfection by Melissa to photograph her cupcakes and cookies for her business materials. What a neat opportunity for me! She has 10 varieties of cupcakes, and she brought me 5 of each kind. That's 50 cupcakes, people! After I shot them, I packaged them up and took them around to our neighbors. I couldn't, of course, give away the ones I'd unwrapped, so those had to get taste tested! And let me tell you, they taste even better than they look.


German Chocolate Getaway 



Cookies 'n Dream



Strawberry Sensation



Triple Chocolate Temptation



Peanut Butter Plunge



Almond Butter Applause



Crazy About Coconut



Remarkably Red Velvet



Wonderfully White




Irresistible Italian Cream


Are you hungry now? :)

Find her on Facebook and like her page!


We met up with a couple of our Lens Baby friends to enjoy a "cookies & milk" themed shoot. While Kate is an Oreo pro, this was her first time dunking them into milk. Her glass had about 8 Oreos drowning in it by the time we left!


taken 3/30/12

4.11.2012

sleeping kate



I have tried many times to sneak in right before Kate's supposed to wake up to get some pictures of her asleep, but I always seem to wake her up the second I walk in the door.

This time was different. She was SOUND asleep. I was even able to raise the blinds to get some light in her room without her stirring!

There's something so sweet about watching your babies sleep...

kate asleep storyboard

taken 3/27/12

4.10.2012

Lens Baby went to the beach playground at Village of Fairview. I was afraid Caroline might just try and eat the sand the whole time, but she did surprisingly well!

LB beach storyboard


3/28/12
Miscellaneous pics from a lazy morning at our house...

playing at the kitchen table

swinging outside



Doesn't she look so big here??

playing in the kitchen sink

taken 3/26/12

4.09.2012

april showers



I'm trying to get all caught up on all my editing, so I've got lots of blog posts coming up over the next few days.

I took these yesterday afternoon. Kate was running around the house in her t-shirt and diaper cover. When she pulled on her rain boots, her little "outfit" made me giggle! I pulled out the umbrella I'd bought for her, and out she went to play in the rain, sans pants. :)

Kate was SO excited about her new "rainbrella!" She wasn't too concerned about keeping it over her head, though!

Hope these make you smile!

april showers storyboard1

april showers storyboard2
Nap time was over.
I went to get Kate. 

Then she helped me get Caroline.

But I threw her there, too. They both thought it was hilarious!


There's nothing particularly funny or cute about this video... just life as it is! It was one of those times where I started videoing right after the height of the giggles. Oh, well!

March 23, 2012