Little Bow-Peep

As we were getting ready for bath time one night last week I was noticing how much Caitlin's hair had grown. Much to my delight, she finally has enough hair for a bow! Unfortunately my discovery was made close to bedtime so I am not sure she shared my enthusiasm just yet!

WW: My Little Doll

Caitlin has been given some beautiful dresses. I'd love to say that I picked them out myself, but we've been blessed with generous family and friends with very good taste!

Sunday is our excuse to get all dressed up. Caitlin wears her nicest clothes when we go to see "Holy God" at Mass. Of course what good is getting dressed up if Mommy doesn't take a few pictures?

Beleive it or not these pictures were taken right before we discovered her first tooth. She looks terribly upset by it, huh? It is no wonder she had to bite my finger to let us know it was there!

And for our families...here is the best picture I could get of the tooth in question:

If you enlarge the picture you can just make out the tooth sticking out of her gum.

It is the little things...

For more WW visit:

Big Girl Bottle

I have a blue water bottle I carry around with me almost every where I go. My kids at school know my bottle by sight...and now so does Caitlin.



She stares at the bottle and watches the water move inside. After reaching for it for a while I finally let her have it at the park this weekend. She didn't actually get any water from it, but she enjoyed gumming it anyway!

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Our first day at day care went as well as can be expected. I cried when we dropped her off. I really didn't expect to, but I did. She was fine right away though...she was attracted to the teacher's glasses as soon as she held her. Honestly I am glad that I get to do the pick up and not the drop off...I lucked out with the better end of that deal. I do not envy the Irishman having to leave her each day...and I know he doesn't either. The ladies that work there are fantastic though and have been there for years and years.

I labled by bottles wrong and I am going to have to use tape on them. I hate the idea of tape on the bottles. I know it is stupid, but that really bugs me. However the bottles have to have her name, contents, date and time prepared AND date and time recieved all written on them. I was just going to use sharpie and clean it off each night but they put tape on the bottle as soon as we got there to "fix" it. Oh well...I'll get over it.

When I picked her up they said she cried at nap times. They hadn't seen the lovie we brought for her in my bag of goodies. Hopefully that will help today. She was asleep when I picked her up...a process that took forever. By the time we woke her, took a picture for the family wall, changed the diaper, talked about the other things they didn't realize I'd sent in her bag, and they reassured me that she was fine it took almost 45 minutes. Add to that a drive home and I was exhasted.

And now we have to do it all again...

Mommy & Me: Hats and Sunshine

This picture is left over from spring break, but it is a dreary and rainy morning, so I needed a little sunshine!

I have SO many great pictures from the weekend...and no time to get them together. That pile of papers I took home this weekend to grade? Still in my bag untouched. My lesson plans for the week ahead? My computer has declared war on Word so I got today's sub plans completed using Google Docs and e-mailed in at, oh, midnight last night?

Sub plans...yeah. I have release time today to work on a few projects I have taken on at school. I have the best assistant principal ever and when I told her I would be late this morning because it was the baby's first day of day care she arranged coverage with no problem. Then, when I came to her with my partner-in-crime on all these projects with concerns that we couldn't find enough time to meet to get things done on top of our normal teaching schedule she managed to get subs for the day so that we can get all our grant paperwork in order. Did I mention the dress Caitlin wore for Easter was a never worn hand-me-down from this same assistant principal's daughter? And no, she doesn't read my blog...

I have almost finished labeling and packing Caitlin's bags for day care. I did end up making homemade chocolate chip cookies for her teachers. We want to make a good impression...and are not afraid to use baked goods to sweeten them up!

We ran all sorts of errands yesterday and I *think* we are organized and ready for everything. I really miss my live-in-Irish nanny my mother-in-law watching the baby. I know they are happy to have her back home though....we can't hog her forever. (Seriously...she stayed in the country as long as is was legally allowed to...) Mr. Mom The Irishman would gladly volunteer to stay home for another week, but sadly that won't work either.

I am sure that Caitlin will do better than we will with the whole day care thing. She is a pretty easy-going baby. Yesterday I went to trim her nails when she grabbed my finger and put it in her mouth. She bit down to announce to us that she got her first tooth. (Timing, huh?) She was really good though...not any more fussy or drool-y or anything. She literally had to show me there was something going on there...let's hope this keeps up!

I have rambled on long enough. Here are the highlights: It is raining. I am up to my eyeballs in alligators. I love my assistant principal. Caitlin starts day care today. Mommy and Daddy are stressing out about it.  Oh yeah, and Caitlin got her first tooth yesterday.

I promise to be a little less melancholy tomorrow!


Hosted by Krystyn

Berry Sweet

It has been a "Berry Sweet" but very busy weekend! (In case you didn't notice the onesie says Berry Sweet...)

We woke up yesterday to beautiful sunny skies, so we called some friends and decided to take the babies swimming at the pool. By the time we got there it was overcast and chilly. Caitlin and I had fun sitting by the pool watching everyone else play in the water though!

We discovered she has almost outgrown two of her three swimsuits. Living in South Florida, that is not a good thing. We rarely get an excuse to buy her clothes, so part of me is excited about that!

We took advantage of the overcast skies and headed to a local craft fair. I look forward to this every year and it did not disappoint! We found a gift for a friend we had been trying to sort out for a while now. The Irishman had roasted corn on the cob. I had a bag of kettle corn.

Then there was the baby stuff...

We have been on a tight budget, but I put aside a few dollars to let myself buy something here. As luck would have it I found $6 in an old pair of shorts yesterday morning...and then used it to buy a $6 monogrammed bib. I have the picture planned in my head...now to find the time to dress her up and take it!

I also got to visit the the booth belonging to Where the Fairy Tale Begins. I met the owner years ago when her daughter was in my class. She does beautiful work! I seriously cannot say enough about it! She made the ring pillow for my wedding, countless baby gifts for friends of ours, and bags for our mothers.  I bought a beautiful hat yesterday for our big-headed baby girl. It is still a bit large, but the one she has been wearing is almost too small so I am sure she will grow into it soon!

I do not have pictures yet of our goodies because we had to take Caitlin's FIVE month pictures last night after bathtime! Nana says babies thrive after their baptism, and Caitlin most certainly sprouted after hers! I am still editing the pictures and putting together the collages...but there is a big difference again this month!

The transition into her own room went like clockwork. Caitlin has taken to her crib and is sleeping like a champ! It still seems a little odd not to have her next to use, but I am loving each of us having our own space!

So now it is off to the to do list. Tomorrow is Caitlin's first day in day care...and I am sure it will be worse for us than it will be for her! We are missing already missing having a stay-at-home person watching her to get a few chores done during the day. There is so much we need to get done before the week starts and we both head back to work. (Not to mention some cookies to make to butter up her new day care teachers...yes, I plan to be THAT mom!) Please say an extra prayer for us if you don't mind as we make this next transition!

Mr. Mom Photography

This morning I went to download some pictures from the camera and I found these photographs. The Irishman took them this week while playing Mr. Mom. It looks like they both enjoyed the Daddy time!



(Pictures of clothes on the line...intended as proof I wonder?)



They had beautiful weather and took lots of walks!

Extra points for Tummy Time!

Whatcha Say?

During spring break I dressed Caitlin up for photos every chance I got once or twice and tried to get a smile out of her. She is a typical kid...giggling and laughing AFTER I put down the camera is her favorite game! At times though you can almost hear her talking to you...

"I'm BEAR-Y Tired"

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"Where's my prop? You never take a picture without a prop!"

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"Here kitty, kitty, kitty..."

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"This is my pensive stare."

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"The five little monkeys did WHAT?"

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I love that girl!

Happy Friday!

Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes!

We are two night into "Operation Transition Caitlin into her Own Room." I probably would have gone cold turkey...but someone wasn't ready for that. (I love him for that, too!) Night one we moved the Pack-n-Play into the nursery and we slept on the beds in the same room. Last night we put Caitlin in the crib and we slept in the same room. I am confident she didn't even know we were there, though. Hopefully tonight we can complete things and actually sleep in our own bedroom...wish us luck!

Everyone has made a big deal about this. On Facebook I got comments like, "It is harder on you than it is on her." Confession? I have been looking forward to this. I love the little girl to bits...don't get me wrong, but I want my room back. I also want her to enjoy the nursery we decorated for her. I LOVE the fact that I can now shower in the morning and get dressed for work without Mission Impossible-style maneuvers in order not to wake a sleeping baby.

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Caitlin has continued her fascination with her feet. Those are indeed her toes in her mouth!

I am pretty sure she rolled from her tummy to her back yesterday...when I wasn't looking. (Gee, I'm going for Mom of the Year with this post, huh?) She has been rolling from back to tummy a lot, but not the other way yet. She was on her tummy though and I looked away only to find her on her back again.

She is getting SO much stronger and wants to sit up on her own...but not yet. It isn't stopping her from trying though!

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Welcome to the Mr. Mom photo shoot:

I thought it was so cute...he LOVES the Liverpool kit that Aunt Chris sent Caitlin and has wanted to dress her in it from the day she was born. Even if the shorts are so big they look like pants and fall off when you pick her up He was so proud of himself for taking these pictures! We have since had a lesson on how to put on a headband though...

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And this is just a random girlie picture from last week...



because I feel like it!