Guess What?!

Guess who slept until 7:00 a.m. this morning? Whoo-hoo! Carolina Grace is getting to be such a big girl! (Doesn't this picture make you laugh out loud? She looks huge here - but isn't quite this big in person! :) Guess who loves to blow bubbles and play with her tongue (and can now hold a clip bow in her hair!)?

Guess who refused to take a bottle for her daddy while mommy was consignment shopping? (Arghh . . . this stresses me out! - And seriously stressed out Chad!) Yes, Carolina, I am talking about you!
Guess who is still the sweetest baby in the world?
Carolina Grace!

Fun Camping Weekend

Carolina enjoys her first camping bath . . . in a dishpan! Last weekend we went camping with my parents at Defeated Creek. They have an Airstream (those silver bullet looking RVs) and earlier this summer we bought a used pop-up camper. I grew up camping all the time and those are some of my favorite childhood memories! We decided that we wanted to start making family camping memories ourselves. Do you think Carolina will remember her first camping experience at ten weeks old? HA! Enjoy the pics - we had fun and survived the mid 90's weather!

Chad reads Lawton his night-time stories while Carolina is snug as a bug in a rug. Is it weird that I still swaddle her? She still seems to like it!

Getting a little swing time in the hammock swing! Relaxing with Noni in front of the fan!
She is really sacked out!

Carolina was not a fan of the cold pool water. . . notice her screaming and lifting up her feet!

On the other hand . . . Lawton loved staying cool in the pool!
My boys having a little down time in the heat.
Sitting around the campfire only so we could roast marshmallows. No telling how many Lawton managed to sneak and stuff in such a short amount of time!
Here's just one of the marshmallows he inhaled!


Dandy and Carolina get in a little early morning swing!

Lawton enjoys playing Candyland with Noni in the shade . . . Lawton worked very hard at throwing all the driftwood that had washed up back into the lake. What a job!

Carolina absolutely loves her seat. These animals are who receive the majority of her smiles. She squeals in delight at them!

Some cutie patootie pics of Carolina

In most of these pictures Carolina has her "serious look on" as my nephew Houston said today. She can really furl her brow and study the world around her! Enjoy these precious pictures (at least I think they are precious - but I am her mother! :)

Our little ballerina - she loves to stand, just like her brother did when he was little! Are we in trouble or what? ;) 10 weeks
These sleeves (or whatever you call them) make her look like she is going to fly away!

9 weeks old

Look at those baby blues!
Our little flower . . . 9 1/2 weeks old
Gotta love the Bumbo!
Mmmm! My fist sure is yummy! This was one of my dresses as well.
6 1/2 weeks old

A Florida Mohawk! :)

8 weeks

Pretty in Purple - Love the profile shot!
8 1/2 weeks old

My best smile I've been able to capture yet - She can really gum it up!
Our little sister

9 weeks old
My baby is growing so fast - she seems so long and I think her cheeks get bigger by the day. I could just eat them up! I love my baby girl!

Swimming Lessons . . . or playing with trains

Lawton, Brody and Annie took swimming lessons back in June. Because of a few things going on in our lives, (maybe having a newborn), we had not been to the pool but once before lessons. (And I wasn't even able to get in when we went because of Carolina). To say Lawton was not thrilled about being forced into the water was an understatement! He did NOT want to get in without his vest and listen to the teacher. (He is very strong willed and doesn't want to do most things if it isn't HIS idea. The trick is to get him to think that the things we want him to do are really his ideas in the first place. It can be tricky sometimes. . . )

So, day two, different plan. Hunter, my nephew, had lessons right before Lawton, so my wonderful sister-in-law, Emily, picked up Lawton to take him for me. I snuck in right as his lessons were starting and watched from afar. Of course, he listens to Emily and obeys diligently and hops right in. Fast forward to the end of the week - he is jumping in, no vest, and I have to make sure I am watching before he dives in alone. (He didn't learn how to swim, just to be comfortable in the water.)

He loved playing with Thomas (which he was supposed to dive for but of course did not) while waiting his turn with Miss Karen.
More Thomas fun . . . he wasn't very encouraging to Annie and Brody!
What a threesome in their cute goggles!

Lawton Bear (as we affectionately call him)

We were just running errands . . . this is a necessary outfit that had to be snapped. :) Firefighter hat, check. Safety goggles, check. Bob the Builder tape measurer, check. LOVE IT! Another trip to the Donut Den . . . Lawton chose the classic kid favorite - SPRINKLES!!!
I always check on Lawton right before I go to bed at night. I peeked in his bedroom and immediately knew that I had to snap this to show Chad the next morning (and to my fave bloggers!) I took several pictures in the pitch dark and he never flinched! I love my little pirate with his Mater underwear and puppy by his side! :)


It's funny how I couldn't get the boy to pose for a picture before Carolina was born. . . All of a sudden he is so willing to jump in front of the camera. Hmmmm. Here are a few cute stories I want to share before I forget.

- We were watching the movie Babe the other day (He had never seen it before). When the narrator came on, he stopped, looked at me with wide eyes and said, "Mommy, that's God." I guess to a three year old, any deep voice when you can't see who is talking is God. :)

-I was at my parent's house spending a couple of nights when Chad was out of town. My mom has a lot of our old toys out for him to play with, so of course there are some dolls there (of which there are none at our house . . . yet). I was feeding Carolina and look over and he has his shirt lifted and the baby doll up against his belly. "Look, Mommy! I'm giving the baby milk from my belly just like you!" I just grinned and replied "You sure are!" I'll let that one go for now. . .

Another Sunday

Carolina is wearing one of my outfits again. My mom saved a lot of the baby dresses that were given to me and my sister and all the ones that she sewed/smocked for us. They are so sweet and in excellent condition! Sweet Carolina is 4 1/2 weeks old here on June 8.

Lawton constantly gives her kisses, although this one was posed! ;)

Carolina's first time to church

I'm trying to make up for lost time . . . these pictures were taken on June 1, at 3 1/2 weeks old.

Carolina is wearing the dress that my dad got for me the day I was born, some of my booties when I was a baby, and her handkerchief bonnet. For those of you who don't know what a handkerchief bonnet is, it is, of course, made out of a handkerchief. On her wedding day, (sniff, sniff), she will snip a few strands and carry it down the aisle. (I don't even want to imagine that day!) Lawton also had one (not that frilly) and he will give it to his bride to carry on their wedding day.

Lawton is such a proud big brother!!!
Carolina is not to sure about all these pictures!

Traditions

Here are a few pictures from a recent trip to Donut Den. I decided that I wanted to start a tradition of going to the Donut Den after every pediatrician's visit - (I thought of this while I was pregnant . . . hmmmmm) There are a few food traditions that I remember as a kid . . .

-Mom always got Tootsie Pops to eat on road trips. No other times did we eat them.
- When we went camping growing up, she always got Pecan Sandies and Grasshopper cookies. No other time did we eat these kinds of cookies.
- On vacations, when it was a travel day, we would stop at a Dairy Queen and eat only a blizzard for dinner. YUM!

Reflecting on these traditions, I realize that they all have to do with sweets - just like the tradition I have started. Like mother, like daughter! :)