December 31

Happy New Year's Eve!  We wrapped up 2011 by spending it with Connor.  Caitlin was too busy playing with Connor's scissors to look at the camera.  They had lots of fun chasing each other around the house after dinner!  She was definitely worn out by the time we got home. 

December 30

Caitlin and I "drove" down (in her Cozy Coupe) to the new park in our neighborhood today, and she loved it.  There were 2 little girls playing when we got there, and one of them played with her for a while.  She took Caitlin down the slide on her lap multiple times, and Caitlin had a blast.  She didn't want to leave, but the only thing that saved us was that her car was waiting for us to go home.  When we got home and I got the car into the garage, she basically refused to get out.  I can't wait for spring so we can actually play outside for more than 45 minutes at a time! 

December 29

Someone did not want to wear her pants after her diaper change tonight.  She also loved playing in the pantry (even though she knows that she's not supposed to). 

December 28

I have no idea what she's pointing at in this picture.  Maybe the lights?  Either way, this picture still makes me smile. 

December 27

Not sure what it is, but she looks so grown-up to me in this picture. 

December 26

We spent a nice, relaxing day-after-Christmas with the LeNoirs and Mooneys.  Get ready for some picture overload because let's face it, Leah and Caitlin are the cutest kids ever (I'm not biased or anything), and I couldn't pick just one picture to post.   Oh, and happy 19-months to Caitlin!!


Caitlin rough-housed with Ryan.


Leah thought they were crazy. 


Still rough-housing, but I think she was trying to get him to kiss her Bunny (or Bubby as she calls him). 


Time for some eskimo kisses.  Seriously, the cuteness is killing me.


Leah practiced standing (with Grandmom's help) and looked so proud of herself.


It was time for Leah's nap so we asked Caitlin to take Leah her sleep sack, and Caitlin tried to smother her help her put it on.


Caitlin got to go driving in her car while Leah napped. 


And then, we took the obligatory cousins pictures in their matching outfits.  Their shirts say "Best Gift Ever".  This could not be more true.  Leah is pretty obsessed with Caitlin, and she especially loved her hat (see the next 2 pictures). 








We asked Caitlin to tickle Leah.


I love these girls so much.


Caitlin even let Leah sit in her lap AND she held Leah's hand - this makes me so happy.  I'm so excited that they're so close in age and that they'll get to grow up together.

December 25

Merry Christmas!!  We had a great time celebrating in PA with Ryan's family, and there are so many good pictures to choose from, but I think this is one of my favorites.  I can't get over what a big girl she is.  Although I don't think she quite understood why she was getting gifts, I think she had a great time celebrating Christmas this year! 

December 24

We celebrated Christmas with Nanny & Pop-Pop today, and Caitlin had an awesome day!  One of Caitlin's favorite gifts were her "Monkeys" (the slippers that she's wearing).  We had to take off her jammies just so she could try them on, and here she is cooking in her new kitchen while wearing her Monkeys.  She has worn them every day since.  Thanks, Nanny & Pop-Pop for coming and spending the day with us!! 

December 23

I took off work today, so Caitlin and I spent the day together.  Although she looks super cute in this picture, it was a super trying day for us.  I just could not do anything to make her happy.  Maybe she's teething and was just cranky.  Who knows for sure, but I hope she's in a much better mood tomorrow because Santa is coming tonight, and we're also celebrating Christmas with Nana and Pop-Pop!!

December 22

Beautiful weather in December means that we get to go and play at the park!  Looking at this picture makes me realize that my baby is long gone - she is such a big girl now (and she can even say "big girl").

December 21

Splish Splash, she was taking a bath!

December 20

Someone did not want to eat her dinner tonight...

December 19

Finding the perfect spot for the cow on her Nativity Advent calendar.  She loves this calendar this year, and most of the time, she has to remind us to do it, and she always asks for "more" after she does the one for the day.

December 18

"Daddy.... Are you really going to let Mommy put this picture on the blog?"

December 17

This kid is too much.  She was wearing my bra (from the clean laundry basket) and walking around snuggling bunny.  Shortly after this, she also put on one of her beach hats, but I didn't get a good picture of that.  Things are definitely never boring around here.  I sometimes wonder what we did for fun before she was born.  Oh, and Aunt Val came over for a visit today AND Santa and Mrs. Claus came to visit on the fire truck!  Caitlin still wasn't sure about him, but I think he kind of won her over when he gave her a nice big candy cane (while Ryan was holding her).

December 16

It is very rare that I get to be in the picture with Caitlin, so I think it goes without saying that I absolutely love this one!  Thanks, Ryan for capturing this - I just love her so much (and hopefully you can see it in this picture).

December 15

She played with my cup for a good 5 minutes tonight.  In Caitlin-time, that's an eternity.  Forgot to mention (and this is really just for the memory book), but she has mastered going up steps and is doing pretty well going down them backwards.  She used to be afraid of going down the steps, but now she gets really excited about it.  She also walks down the 3 steps in front of her school while she holds onto the railing (and refuses to hold my hand until she gets to the bottom).

December 14

It was Daddy-Daughter date night at Chick-fil-a tonight.  Lucky girl!  She also showed Ryan how she dips her nuggets in BBQ sauce (see the 2nd picture).  Apparently, she doesn't really like Chick-fil-a's nuggets though because she just ate the BBQ sauce off the nuggets and then ate a ton of fries.  Crazy girl - how do you not like Chick-fil-a nuggets??

December 13

She was "cleaning" up the mess under her high chair after dinner tonight.

December 12

Cheese!  She kept pointing at my camera and grunting, so I said, "Do you want me to take your picture?" and she said "Yes (yesh)".  She's so funny!  She picked out the dress/shirt that she has on because it has a turtle on it (which she can recognize and say the name of).  She was so excited to show her teacher her turtle when Ryan dropped her off at school today.

December 11

We went to Breakfast with Santa this morning at our church, and we had Caitlin's picture taken with Santa tortured Caitlin by making her sit on Santa's lap.  These pictures were just too good to post only one.  I think the 2nd and 4th are my favorites - the 2nd because her dress is hiked up because she was struggling so much and the 4th because Santa is looking at us like, "umm, are you going to come and get your crazy kid or what?"  Totally worth the $10 we had to pay for the print which ended up being a nice family shot with Santa.  On a different note, we taught Caitlin Ring Around the Rosey tonight, and she LOVED it.  So much so, that when we told we were done, she threw us a nice little fit.

December 10

Daddy's little helper.

December 9

She was showing me her "blocks" (nesting cups).  Lately, she's really been into pointing things out and telling us what it is (milk, truck, bus, monkey, bunny, socks, shoes, lights, bananas, apples, etc).  She always likes to associate things with us (if I'm drinking coffee in the morning, she'll say "Mommy" (as in Mommy's cup) and "hot" (because we tell her it's hot so she won't touch it).  She also points to Ryan's clothes (in our closet or a sweatshirt of his) and says "Daddy".  Every day, she amazes us with something new she has learned!

December 8

She was frustrated that she couldn't get her hat on her head by herself.  We see this look a lot lately because she wants to be so independent, but a lot of times, it takes so much effort on her part to figure something out, and she gets frustrated.

December 7

Pigtails again, thanks to her teachers!  She looks so darn cute with them in, but it sucks taking them out.  She screams like we are killing her!  Maybe we need to work our technique.

December 6

I went in to Caitlin's room to wake her up for school this morning, and this was how I found her.  I couldn't resist running to grab my camera and taking a picture before I woke her up because she looked so darn cute with her little butt up in the air.

December 5

This one cracks me up.  She wanted us to hold her non-stop, so Ryan picked her up and threw her over his shoulder while he finished cleaning up the kitchen.  He also took a break for a few tickle sessions.  I will never get tired of hearing her laugh.  Caitlin would also like to wish her cousin Stacey a very happy birthday!!  We hope you had a wonderful day and love you very much!!

December 4

Another great day today.  Do we really have to go back to work/school tomorrow!?  Forgot to mention, but Ryan and I had our first true date night in over 18 months on Friday night.  One of Caitlin's teachers from school came over to watch her so we knew she'd be in good hands.  She also brought her daughter to play with Caitlin, and Caitlin was in heaven!  Caitlin had what I consider to be a pretty amazing day when it comes to eating - she FINALLY tried blueberries again and remembered that she liked them.  She had some Chinese food at lunch (in the picture above, she's eating a spring roll and just holding the unopened soy sauce packet), and for dinner, she ate a cheese quesadilla in addition to some carrots and a whole container of yogurt.  Doesn't sound like much, but this is huge for her.  I hope this trend continues!

December 3

Today was a busy day - swim lessons in the morning and celebrating Morgan's 3rd birthday at Bounce Party N Play.   We were a little late because Caitlin's nap went a little long, so we missed the first room of jumping.  Initially, she was a little scared about bouncing with me, but she quickly warmed up and figured out how much fun it was!  In fact, she threw a little bit of a fit when it was time to leave to go have pizza and cake.  She also tried to sneak back into the bouncy room while all the other kids at the party were busy eating their pizza and cake (of course, my kid wouldn't touch either of these... she only ate the pretzels and goldfish).

December 2

We went to do the walk-through of Symphony of Lights in Columbia on Friday night with the Allisons. Caitlin didn't care so much about the lights, but she had a great time walking and running through them.

December 1

She was so determined to get that sippy cup closed at dinner tonight.  Once she gets it closed, she can't wait for me to open it so she can do it again!

November 30

We'll do anything to get this kid to eat (as long as she's sitting at the table).  Last night, I gave her raspberries with her dinner, and of course, she wasn't touching them.  I made the huge mistake of putting a raspberry on her finger because I thought she'd find it kind of funny.  Yeah, not so much - she completely lost it and started crying and wouldn't eat anymore.  Big fat FAIL.  I wish she could get past this fear of new foods stage - it is driving me nuts!

November 29

Thank goodness for Caitlin's teachers.  If it weren't for them, she'd never get to wear pigtails and look so darn cute.  We have Miss Jessica to thank for this hairstyle today.  I actually think she did it because Caitlin had crazy bed head hair going on this morning, and I made a half-hearted attempt to get Caitlin to wear a headband, but she wasn't having it, so I gave up.  Either way, it was such a fun surprise to get to school and see her new 'do.