Out of the Gate

With Caitlin's new found mobility, the gate has been left open. Literally. Now that she can explore outside of her playpen she is making all sorts of discoveries.



Care for a snack?



How about some music?

The mail? Looks like junk to me...

Let the fun begin!

One Small Step

I should have recognized the look of determination on her face...



Last night Caitlin took her first steps.

It was after dinner playtime and we were all up in her nursery. She stood up and took one small step. The Irishman and I looked at each other and questioned if that really had been it, so she stood up and did it a second time.

The rest of the evening was spent unsuccessfully trying to catch her new trick on video. She did it over and over again...one small step and then a fall to the floor. She does not seem phased by these run-ins with gravity, and I have a feeling that she will be walking in no time.

Not sure if I'm ready for that though!

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Hosted by Cecily and Mary

Jack's Party

I just realized that I posted about the sandbox, but nothing else from Jack's birthday party a couple of weeks ago. I guess it is better late than never, huh? Jodi and David put on a fantastic party for their little guy!

Here is a picture of the birthday boy with his parents. It is hard to believe he is two already!

Of course I took lots of pictures of Caitlin...

I love this shot of Jake with Laura and little Johnny.
(This time Johnny let me take his picture!)



And while it isn't a sand table,

Caitlin decided the train table isn't too bad either.

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The Irishman and I are trying to sort out two issues right now...

Halloween and Birthday

My school Halloween carnival is the 29th, so we have a place to take Caitlin, but we have NO costume. After looking this year I have decided there is a market for Halloween costumes for people who live in warm climates. I love all the fuzzy baby costumes, don't get me wrong. I just prefer not to have my adorable little pumpkin get heat stroke. The Irishman would love to do a family costume, but that only adds to the difficulty. Suggestions for a warm weather costume on a budget?

Then there is Caitlin's upcoming birthday. To party or not to party...
The Irishman and I really don't want a big party. The usual response would be to just to do something small with the family. The problem is so many of our family members are so far away. My dad and sister will be in town two weeks before her birthday, and my mom will be in town two week after her birthday. Do we celebrate early? Late? Do we do something that weekend with just my grandparents and cousins? Do we do something with our friends? Where? At home? A park? All of the above? None of the above?

Decisions, decisions...

Mornings with Daddy

I leave for work each morning just a few minutes after Caitlin wakes up. The Irishman is the one to get her dressed and give her the morning bottle. His work day starts an hour and a half after mine, so he is fortunate to have a little time with our girl each morning.

I look forward to checking my messages during my morning break because there is frequently a picture message waiting for me on my phone.

Yesterday I got two. The first he titled, "Breakfast"

This one didn't have a subject, but it made me smile. She looks SO tall in it!

Some days I get a car seat photo...



One day last week he forgot, so he sent me a picture of him at work.

 (I should have put that here, but I didn't think of it until now and I have to be at work in less than an hour...you can just pretend there is a smiling Irish face picture here. While we are at it...the car seat photo is from the car seat in the car I drive to work, so it must not have been a morning photo message. That's what happens when you try to pull photos off your husband's phone at 5:30am...just keeping it honest!)

These morning photo messages warm my heart. I love that he enjoys taking pictures of her. I love that he thinks to send them onto me at work. I love them both. Such a blessing!

Just Another Monday Night

I didn't take many pictures last weekend, so when Caitlin's new shoes arrived in the mail I pulled out the camera.

I found a pair of "branded runners" as the Irishman would call them for under $10 shipped from Kohls.  Not a bad find at all!

 

Wearing sneakers and jeans is such a grown up look! Not sure I am ready for that yet!

(Still no steps, but she did say, "DaDa" for the first time this weekend.)

It was just another Monday night with Caitlin and her DaDa.

(We've treasuring each moment, even an ordinary Monday night!)

Children of the 80s

The Irishman was invited to a birthday party for one of his co-workers. Ruth is amazingly sweet and has always been good to us. This party has been in the works for months. We tried unsuccessfully to get a sitter, and it was already Caitlin's bedtime so we decided to stop by quickly to drop off a gift. (She said the invite was for the family and not just us...but we were the only ones with a baby there)

The theme was the 80s. We knew people were going to go all out for it. I was at a loss. Then I remembered something I got from my Grandma Jo. One thing led to another, and we had our costumes.

Sort of...

It was Caitlin's bedtime so we wore our 80's PJs. We were young actually WORE Sesame Street and Superman PJs in the 80s. Our theme was lost on some people. That's okay though...WE I thought it was clever.

Caitlin danced to the music,

and tried to put the bow back into her hair.

A sleepy Caitlin sat with Daddy...aka Superman!



And them it was time to head home for bed!

I am disappointed that we didn't get a picture with Ruth or any other party guests. There were some pretty impressive 80's costumes. (And none better than the Queen's of course!)  Happy birthday Ruth!

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Hosted by Krystyn at Really, Are You Serious?

Sassy and Sudsy

Time

Time is a funny thing.

 

It is hard to believe that this little girl is 10 and 1/2 months old already.

At the same time, it is hard to imagine that we ever DIDN'T have her in our lives!

 

I am trying hard to treasure each moment,

 

and not worry about the "other" things on my to do list that I can't find time to fit in.

(Like the long over do thank you cards* with the "Better Late Than Never" photo** on them that I finally ordered this week. )

After a very busy and stressful week,

I'm looking forward to a weekend full of moments to treasure!

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* Here's to hoping none of the people getting neglected thank you cards read my blog! Worse yet, I guess I have to hope that we don't forget to send a card to someone who is now reading this and thinking, "It is about time."  Oops. I'm running late and don't have any other pictures to use today so it will have to do now! This could be bad though...so much for 'treasuring each moment', huh?

** Doesn't everyone have a demonstration clock around the house to use to distract others from the fact that their thank you cards are months overdue?

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Hosted by Cecily and Lolli