Happy 1st Birthday, Caroline!!!!!

Caroline is exactly ONE, as of right NOW....11:33 pm on August 28th...WOW!!!

From this little punkin...


and this sweet family of three...
to this little punkin...
and this sweet family of three...
What a difference a year makes!!!
More to come on her birthday and festivities :)

Dora and Doggies

So, Caroline got another early birthday gift...This time from her Aunt Brittany, Uncle Clark, and sweet Cousin Emma!
She was very interested in the package. So I ripped the corner and let her have at it!


DORA!!!! This is Cousin Emma's FAVORITE, so it's just perfect coming from her. Caroline totally thinks of Emma every time she rides it :)


She loves this thing...scratch that...she is OBSESSED! She loves to get off and on and off and on...


She reads books while sitting on it, plays with other toys while sitting on it, and basically drags it around with her every where she goes.




Thank You, Aunt Brit, Uncle Clark, and Emma!!!!

As you know, Caroline loves our dog, Luci. C "woofs" at Luci constantly, but just recently she has starting saying "Doggie". Poor, poor sweet Luci. Not only does Caroline follow her everywhere, grab her constantly, "pet" her, and try to pull her tail. Now she does this...

I am not even sure what to call it. Dog diving maybe? Of course, Luci takes it like a champ. She just lays there until Caroline makes it safely to the other side. Then she jumps up and goes to the other room...Can you blame her???

Allergies and Artwork

First things first, The Allergy Update.

We went to the allergist on Thursday, and the news was good (ish). The plan is to eliminate wheat, egg, and peanuts for 3 weeks, and we'll see what happens. He said not to worry about milk/dairy (yea!) for now. I am thankful, because while eliminating wheat and egg is difficult, it's only for 3 weeks, and at least I feel like we are making progress by having a plan. BUT, despite our eliminations...she broke out on Saturday after eating watermelon. Hmmmm...strange. She broke out today after eating banana yogurt. Hmmmmm...yesterday's vanilla yogurt didn't seem to bother her. Anyway, I have a call in to the allergist's office, so we shall see....

On to more exciting things...

We had our first arts and crafts adventure yesterday! I decided we (Caroline) should make some art to hang in the playroom. I got some Crayola "Color Wonder" finger paints, and off we went!



First, she checked it out, and made a few marks on the paper.

Then she threw her paper on the floor. The orange hand was much more interesting.

Her first masterpiece. It's a keeper ;)
I got the "color wonder" stuff, because I figured there would be less mess. The paint itself is clear gel. The color doesn't show up until it touches the special "color wonder" paper, which is cool, but I have 2 "color wonder" complaints....
1) the colors aren't very bright, and 2) Caroline didn't quite grasp that she was making marks on the paper. This could be because she is too little, but I think it had more to do with the fact that she couldn't see the paint on her fingers and then on the paper. While an older kiddo might like the way it magically appears, we don't really have the attention span for such magic :)

BUT, I was very glad there was no mess, so there you go. I think we may venture out to get some REAL finger paints today...yikes!

Caroline's B-Day Photo Shoot

Last week we had C's 1st birthday photo shoot with Carly (Cherry Blossom Photography). It was so much fun, and we got the proofs last night! Thank you to Carly for taking such amazing photos of Caroline, and for getting them to us so quickly. You ROCK!!!!

They turned out beautifully!!!!

I will post them here when I get them, but for now you can check out the proofs on Carly's website:

www.cherrybphotography.com

click on 'clients'
password: erickson82009

Par-tay!

Caroline had so much fun at her BFF's birthday party! Ginny went all out and threw quite a soiree :)

Ginny and her mom made the banner...so awesome!!!

Close up of the cakes...super cute.

Favors for the kiddos

Mattie's baby book

The girls had so much fun together!

Waiting for more guests to arrive...

Catching up over lunch at Mattie's new picnic table...

Mattie even shared her new toys with Caroline...such a good BFF.

And of course, I couldn't leave out the birthday girl with her cake!
Thanks for including us in your birthday celebration!

Coming soon...allergy update, birthday photo shoot, and more!

Happy Birthday, Matelyn!!!

As you know, my dear friend Ginny has a little girl, Matelyn who was born the week before Caroline. It was 1 year ago today that sweet Matelyn Kate was born!!!

Going through our pregnancies and the first year of motherhood together with Ginny is something that I will always treasure. I don't think I can even put into words how special it has been. It has definitely made us closer and it has made everything more fun!

So in honor of Miss Mattie's bday, here's a little walk down memory lane...

See? They were destined to be BFF's before they were born...
Kristin in a preggo sandwich :)

Jun. '08

Together for the first time!
Sept. '08

It was BFF at first sight.
Sept. '08

Taking a snooze (in coordinating Gap outfits, of course)
Oct. '08

Halloween together!
Oct. '08

Tailgate diaper change at BU homecoming (again with the matching outfits!)
Nov. '08

Lounging in our P.J.'s after a rockin' New Year's Eve!
Jan. '09

Playing at Mattie's house
Feb. '09

First lunch date...So much to catch up on!

March '09

Playing at our house
May '09

Kickin' it
July '09

Cruisin' at Chuck E Cheese

July '09

It's hard to believe it's been a whole year!!!
And now KRISTIN is the one with a baby girl on the way!!!!!

July '09

Happy, Happy Birthday to Mattie!!!!!!!
Can't wait to celebrate with you this weekend!!!!!!!

The birthday fun has begun!

Caroline has had quite a bit of excitement over the past week or so...

She got an early birthday present from Mommy and Daddy
She loves it! She crawls in and out, opens and closes the door and window, and dances to the cute little songs.
It's just the right size for her :)

We set up Caroline's birthday present from my mom and Alan
(which took forever...we stayed up LATE getting it done...it was a team effort)

When she woke up Saturday morning she was excited and ready to go!
She ran right over and tried to climb in...
This set came with 100 balls, which sounds like a lot, but as you can see below,it's not. 100 balls didn't even cover the bottom, so we made an emergency run to Toys R Us....never fear, Caroline now has 450 balls in her ball pit :) MUCH more fun!

We went to the zoo with my dad and Sherri!
Caroline really enjoyed seeing all of the animals, even though it was quite hot :)
The train ride was a definite highlight.
She loved sitting with her Minnie!
We'll definitely go back to see all our animal friends again when the weather is a little cooler!

This was our first zoo experience, and the Austin Zoo, while small, was really fun!

Afterwards, we headed to The Salt Lick for lunch. YUUUUUUM.Caroline ate off a plate...such a big girl! And she didn't even attempt to throw it :)


Tomorrow is our birthday photo shoot with Carly...YEA!
and our appointment with the allergist...BOO.

But even more importantly...Tomorrow is someone very special's 1st birthday....

MATELYN!

Caroline's BFF is turning 1 tomorrow!!! We are so excited!
More to come in honor of our special friend...

Caroline's Baby Dedication

Today was Caroline's Baby Dedication at church. It was such a special day for us! We have been so blessed by our church, Austin Ridge Bible Church. The pastor, the church body, EVERYTHING is amazing. We absolutely love, love, LOVE it. We visited A LOT of churches, but I truly feel like God led us here for a reason, and we are so thankful!

Caroline was such a good girl during the service. A little fussy while we were waiting, but once we were called up to the front, she was happy. Could it be that she loved being the center of attention? Hmmmm....I wonder.

My dad and Sherri (aka Papa and Minnie) with Caroline

My mom and Alan (aka Mimi and Papa Al) with Caroline

After church, We headed downtown to Threadgill's for Gospel Brunch.

Adults...$10.95. Kids...$4.95.
The opportunity to enjoy our all-you-can-eat buffet, while listening to a fantastic gospel band? Priceless.

I guess it's one of the perks of living in the live music capital of the world. It was so much fun!!!

Of course, Caroline enjoyed jammin' to the groovy tunes!

(this was post-lunch...she has watermelon juice ALL over the front of her dress :))

Thanks to grandparents for making today so special!