Monday, February 28, 2011

Mommy and Me

Last Monday we took a trip to the beach for some photos. While most of the trip consisted of the Irishman chasing Caitlin along the beach, we did switch places for a while. (That is me chasing the toddler and him with the camera!)



It seems the only thing Caitlin found more interesting that the beach was Mommy's glasses!



The weather has started its rapid warm up into summer. We have just about another month before it becomes unbearable, so we will make the most of it!



Not that it is too hard when making the most of it looks like this!

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Strawberry-less Strawberry Picking

Last weekend we headed to our local strawberry patch. The Irishman and Caitlin are not really into the berries, so we enjoyed all the OTHER fun there was to be had! There were animals...

and oranges. Ironically she doesn't like oranges any more than she does strawberries!



There was a LOT of running!



Until she spotted her favorite thing there -



the fountain!



Splish Splash!

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Happy Saturday!




 



May your Saturday involve lounging outside with a snack!

Friday, February 25, 2011

PSF: Be Still My Heart...






The only thing missing from these photos are Caitlin's giggles and shrieks of joy as Daddy chased our Beach Baby along the shore!
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Thursday, February 24, 2011

PJs

I've reached the point in my...pregnancy? school year? life?...where I would be perfectly content to stay in my PJs all day. I am really in need of a PJ day, but there is not one in sight. Sigh.

If I have to get dressed and go to work at least I can enjoy photos of Caitlin in her new Elmo PJs. They were on sale at Kohls but they only had size 2T...and they are only a little big. She is growing up WAY too fast!





The contractors are FINALLY fixing the hole in the wall today from the break-in. We met with the team last night who said, "Great! We'll start in the morning." We are thrilled they can get it done so quick, but as for notice to our places of employment that we need time off to babysit the team while they fix the hole in the wall...ouch. Thank you to Grandma Betty for coming to our rescue for part of the day. Not sure what we would do without that help!

Happy Thursday!
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Wednesday, February 23, 2011

WW: Beach Baby

February is my favorite month to live in Florida. The weather is perfect. There is often a perfect breeze and it isn't yet too hot. The Irishman and I have spent many a February weekend on the beach napping (him) and reading (me). It is just lovely!

We'd talked about taking Caitlin to the beach until we saw the news last week. February beach trips have never been about swimming for us, so we typically don't take much notice. There are currently sharks migrating off the coast. They *claim* they are safe, but really? Do you want to be the one to take shark bait a toddler for a swim with the sharks?

Then there were the rip currents and the reports of jellyfish, man-o-war, and sea lice. Yikes!

On Monday we picked Caitlin up early and headed to the beach. I'd heard the wind and switched directions so the sea pests were not as bad. The plan was to stay way up on the sand, far away from the sharks, jellyfish, man-o-war, sea lice, and rip currents. I had St. Patrick's Day props, a little blanket, cute little outfits - the works. I was in the middle of changing her out of her school clothes when...



Why yes, that is my half-naked child running without a care in the world toward the ocean.

(If you look closely her name is written on the back of her diaper. They do that at school for some reason yet unknown to us. Honestly though it made the whole situation seem even more comical to me.)

The beautiful photo of her sitting in the safe sand at the top of the beach? Yeah. That never happened.

An hour of running along the beach as Daddy chased her out of the water's edge? Shrieks of joy and endless giggles as she fearlessly ran towards the waves and got scooped up by Daddy? You bet.

It was the perfect end to an absolutely lovely day.

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Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Caitlin in Clovers

A family friend sent us this dress last year and we fell in love with it. We knew right away it would be perfect for this year's St. Patrick's Day. Caitlin wore the dress to Mass on Sunday and then we tried a little photo shoot right afterwards. We had props and all...but all the wanted to do was RUN!









I got some cute shots, but not the one I wanted for the family St. Patrick's Day card. As it turned out, that led to an afternoon of family fun at the beach...and my next 4 or so blog posts!

Monday, February 21, 2011

Mommy and Me: All About Caitlin



I love the look on her face in this one. We were *trying* to take pictures for our St. Patrick's Day cards, but Caitlin had other ideas. She is such a character these days. I haven't done a post about the things Caitlin is up to these days, so last night the Irishman and I made a list of our favorite "Caitlin-isms"

* It is no secret that Caitlin loves her food. She lets you know by saying, "Mmmmm!" as she digs into her favorite snacks. She also adds an "Mmmm!" after she drinks her pretend tea during a tea party.

* Speaking of food, her current favorites are bananas and applesauce. She knows how to say "Nana" and she will point to them and repeat the word until she gets one. As for the applesauce, anytime the fridge is open she pulls out the entire package and begins to beg. You would think we never feed the child!

* She also loves her carbs. Her new favorite treat is a croissant from Costco. (Though any bread will do...) The Irishman wouldn't get into the back seat with her the other day until he'd finished his croissant because he was afraid she would try to steal that one, too.

* Caitlin LOVES to dance. They have music time at school every day and her teachers tell us that she can really boogie. We're not sure where she gets that from!

* My mom sent her a dog that sings, "Who Let the Dogs Out." The accompanying boogie is adorable. She has also learned to turn it on and off by herself.

*While she loves the dog, her favorite song is "Elmo's Song." We still watch no TV with her, but she does watch and dance along with the "Elmo's Song" You Tube clip multiple times a day. She knows the opening notes and her face lights up right away. We are trying to expand her musical horizons a little with a Pandora station called (you might have guessed) "Elmo's Song"

*Other recently acquired skills: She is learning to make us nervous climb up and down the stairs. Last week she discovered how to twirl in circles. It is her new favorite dance move, but it often ends with a dizzy toddler on the floor!

* I mentioned on Facebook that Caitlin has a new habit of hugging random women. It has happened a couple of times now when we are out in public. She usually picks young moms. I'm right there with her, so no...she does not think it is me. She just walks up to them and gives them a hug. Thankfully everyone she's picked so far has reacted well...

* She knows when she is on show. We were at the bank yesterday and she twirled through the lobby waving at everyone. She waves at the people coming and going out the back door during Mass. She is a little social butterfly!

* She has not started with the dreaded, "No!" yet, but it is coming. She will shake her head and push away something if she doesn't feel like it. Unfortunately right now that is her toothbrush she is pushing away! Silly girl!

* She LOVES bubbles, though she has more interest in the process than the bubbles themselves. She knows that you dip the wand and then blow. She spends most of her time trying to dip the wand, spilling, and then splashing her hands in the bubble solution. Last week she picked up the bottle of bubbles and said, "Mama, (Insert blowing sounds here)" I am considering that her first almost sentence. There is a noun and an almost verb, right?

Okay, so this very long post about Caitlin I've written is really mostly for our own memories and for the family who only get bits and pieces of it through phone conversations. She is growing up so fast! Everytime we blink she is up to something new!

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Mommy and Me Monday at Really, Are You Serious?
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Saturday, February 19, 2011

Pudding Painting

After reading about other wonderful finger painting experiences, I decided to try pudding painting with Caitlin.



She loved the brush,



but the rest?



She was NOT impressed.



My mom was on speaker phone and got to listen to Caitlin's protests.



I spent longer making the pudding and covering the table than she did "painting."

Oh, well!

Friday, February 18, 2011

PSF: Dinner for Daddy

I had nothing planned for Valentine's Day this year. I'm ashamed to admit it, but my mind was blank. I'd looked for DVDs and other common things the Irishman enjoys. I came up with NOTHING.

After my doctor's appointment on Monday I had a little bit of time before picking up Caitlin so I stopped at PF Changs for a gift card for my secret pal at work. After making my purchase I lingered a bit thinking. We'd already taken something out for dinner, but I decided on take away as a Valentine's Day treat.

Caitlin and I stopped to see her great-grandparents for Valentine's Day kisses before heading home with our dinner surprise. Once home, Caitlin had the great idea of leaving a message for Daddy. Seriously, she picked up the chalk and started to draw so I went with it...


The Irishman surprised me with these flowers at school. I love tulips.


I surprised him with dinner on the table and a toddler dressed for the occasion. Nana and Auntie Chris bought the dress for her when they were in China last year. Morgan was thrilled to see Caitlin wearing the dress and slippers!

 

Caitlin was thrilled to have rice and noodles!

 

(That girl LOVES to eat!)

It came together at the last minute, but it was a lovely evening.


Even Caitlin thought so!

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Thursday, February 17, 2011

The Desk

I remember when my parents bought this old desk. It was painted yellow and some other equally awful color. My dad refinished it and it was in my sister's room growing up. We loved the desk.



When I moved to Florida, Mom and Jason decided an old desk would be great in a teacher's apartment. It has been hidden in a corner of our living room for a while now. I had been thinking about getting Caitlin a little table and chair set...then I remembered the desk.


It has found its second life. Caitlin eats her after school snack in the chair every day. Last Saturday was rainy and gross so we pulled out the crayons and showed Caitlin was the desk was really intended for.



It is almost frightening how grown up she looks coloring at the old desk!



I am sure in a few years she will be playing school with her little brother or sister just like we used to do!