Six months

So I actually wrote this when Caroline was six months old. It's just been sitting in my lineup waiting for me to post. 

I waited just a little bit to write this post as Caroline's wellness visit was just last Wednesday and I wanted to get her stats down.

Weight: 13 lbs. 6 oz (6%)
Height: 25 inches

She is measuring true to a Walles child. Small just like her brother. Caroline can still wear her 3-6 month clothes but is mostly wearing her six month outfits. She continues to eat every 3-4 hours during the day and anywhere from 4-6 hours at night. We have introduced solid foods with sweet potatoes being her very first food. She now has also had acorn squash, peas and bananas. She is NOT  a fan of peas but has enjoyed everything else so far.

Caroline is still going to bed between 7 and 7:30 and waking up (for good) between 6:30 and 7:30 am.

Likes: Caroline likes books, toys and anyone who wants to talk to her as she now will "talk" back. She still loves bath time and giggles when you play peek a boo, toss her in the air and try to tickle her.

Dislikes: Peas, shots and being ignored.

Skills: Caroline has officially started rolling from her back to her tummy. She will put weight on her legs while standing and is getting really good at sitting up with little assistance. She still does great at putting herself to sleep as long as her two middle fingers are available and is still taking two naps, sometimes three, during the day. Caroline will now say "ba-ba" although she is just babbling at this point.

Caroline also had her six month check up with the orthopedic surgeon in regards to her hip dysplasia this past Monday. He still does not feel a click in her hips while doing an exam but is concerned about her xrays that were taken. He wants a second opinion from a pediatric orthopedic surgeon in Peoria. We will hopefully have an appointment set up with them soon.

We can't believe that Caroline is already six months old and are so thankful for our happy, sweet loving girl!

Hazards and Benefits

Hazards of Christmas:


1) Your almost 4 year old wants to help you decorate everything. And I mean help take it out of the box, decide where it should go, figure out how it works and see if he can play with it

2) Once he has placed your lovely, cherished decoration where he thinks it should go, he will return 5 minutes later to look at it, figure out how it works and see if he can play with it some more.

3) Placing your lovely, cherished decoration out of his reach like on the mantel or on a table doesn't really work anymore. He is either tall enough he can reach it or he will climb onto a chair and precariously lean his body over standing on one foot on the armrest of the chair until he has captured your lovely, cherished decorations.

4) You will figure out which Christmas ornaments are made out of glass and which ones are cheap plastic. Very quickly.

5) You will discover in the attic while getting your ornament boxes out that there is a clothes bin that has been "hiding" behind some other boxes. Since you don't recognize the clothes on the top you will proceed to take the box downstairs where you will find many clothes that you bought for your now 4 year old that he was supposed to wear this past summer. You will curse yourself for forgetting that these clothes were in the attic and daydream about how excited he would have been to wear shark swim trunks and pirate alligator swim trunks at the beach.


Benefits of Christmas:

1) Your almost 4 year old wants to help you decorate everything. He is so excited about Christmas this year!

2) Shouting out together in the car "Christmas Lights!" every single time you drive by a house that is decorated beautifully.

3) Your almost 4 year old will actually do a craft with you for longer than 5 minutes. We did this together and it took at least 30 minutes and he was so focused on making it look just right.

It's our countdown to Christmas Day
with little baby Jesus under the tree.

4) He will be so excited to pick out gifts for other people. The idea of giving because you love someone is making so much sense.

5) The look on his face when he sees our Christmas tree all lit up and decorated. Every single time.

Jammies and Jingles

At the Children's Museum here in town they do a lot of special events. Last night we went to Jammies and Jingles, a Christmas themed event. It was so much fun! 

Caroline and Liam with Santa

Playing one of the games

Quick selfie of the girls

The boys making a gingerbread house

Yes, this picture happened and is hilarious.
And yes, there were better pictures to share with you but I couldn't help myself. 

Since we went before eating dinner we didn't think anything was of concern when Liam told us his tummy hurt right before we left. We were very upset with him when he refused to eat his dinner and just kept crying and screaming that his tummy hurt. He got sent straight to his room and Evan was convinced that he was just trying to get out of eating what we had prepared. Unfortunately, an hour later after I had fed Caroline and put her to bed, I walked into his room to check on him where he immediately started throwing up all over his bed. I hurriedly picked him up and we made it to the threshold of the bathroom before he started vomiting again. 

Poor guy was ill every half hour for 5 hours! Evan and I took turns sleeping downstairs with him and helping him "make it to the bucket."  We tried to explain that there was a germ bug in his belly and he had to get him out. Although when he woke up a half an hour later upset that he was going to be sick again he told us, "I already threw up that bug! He's gone!" 

Liam is currently all better. He has thoroughly enjoyed his day of staying in his PJ's, watching cartoons and movies and drinking "juice" (pedialyte). 

Caroline also was ill last night. After I fed her at 12:30 am and went downstairs to be with Liam the rest of the night, she apparently had thrown up sometime between 1 am and 7 am. Evan swears he didn't hear her fuss or cry. She immediately got a bath this morning. 

Now we are just waiting for "our turn". We are both hopeful that maybe we won't get it but both of us are extremely realistic that it's only a matter of time. 

Don't worry, we won't fill you in on the details when it's our turn. Just pray that our immune systems are strong enough to battle this. It's a doozy!

+ A giant thank you to my husband who cleaned up every time Liam didn't "make it" There was some serious team work last night dealing with a sick 4 year old who does not understand what is happening to his poor little body. So happy to have you on my team babe!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Before I jump into December and Christmas let me just go back for a second and talk about Thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for including family, friends, our health and love. We are surrounded by love every day. 

A special trip to Iowa for Thanksgiving weekend was wonderful as always. So good to be around 60 of our nearest and dearest family. If you can't remember someone's name then you just fake it until you make it! Everyone got to meet Caroline for the first time and we got to see my Uncle Mark who is currently undergoing chemotherapy and radiation for a brain tumor. We have high hopes for his outcome as he is in great shape and was his usual extremely sarcastic self. 

Giggles with Aunt Adriane

Big smiles with Aunt Emily

Grandma Lillian with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren who are named after her.
Top: Lily, Hannah, Callie Jo
Bottom: Margaret Lillian, Caroline Lillian, Lillian Johanna, Emily Johanna

My favorite!

First time swimming in a pool

More fun with Aunt Adriane

Time flies

How is she 6 months old already?

 Crazy hair, don't care!

And then there were

TWO! Caroline's second tooth has come in today with a little less drama then the first one. Still lots of drool but at least she hasn't been biting me while eating. Thank goodness!

Two teeth and she hasn't even hit her six month birthday!

Hello

first baby tooth! At 5 1/2 months Caroline has cut her first incisor. ("P" to be exact) After several fussy days, drool and more drool it finally showed up.  I couldn't be more excited!