Florida Part 3- The Beach!

“The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea.”

--Isak Dinesen

I don't go to Florida without seeing sand and water at some point.  Unfortunately, this trip to the beach was very short because it rained every day and was VERY windy.  Still... it was warm and Caylee had her first trip to the beach and dipped her toes in the Atlantic Ocean for the first time!!  She's my daughter, so I'm sure she'll grow up to be a beach/sun lover... there is nothing better! 

Here is her first trip!

 Love this picture!!!

 My mom

 My aunt

 It was super windy! Yet, somehow my hair ended up going everywhere while everyone else's looks cute! Oh well.. still a great pic of all of us :)

Maybe next time we go back it will be warm and Caylee can build her first sand castle!  Hopefully, Matt can go with us then too!

Florida Part 2- Family!

Of course I took pics of family while in Florida!  Like I said previously, we went to stay with my mom and my grandparents live just down the road.  My aunt flew in from Seattle too.  It was great for them to see Caylee (for the first time!). 
Here are some pics....(I'll say who everyone is from Caylee's perspective)


4 Generations!  Great Aunt Debbie, Grandma, Great Grandfather, Caylee, Mom

Grandma playing with Caylee, she's so happy!

Great Grandpa playing with Caylee... due to the rainy weather we spent a lot of time indoors.  Caylee watched tons of tv with her Great Grandpa!  I know, it's terrible that she likes tv so much!  On the other hand, I used to watch tv with grandpa and we'd always watch the Food Network, so it was fun seeing he and Caylee watching together. 

4 Generations... That is Caylee's Great Grandma.  We gave Caylee her middle name, Ann, after her.  Unfortunately, she has Parkinson's Disease and probably isn't quite sure who we are- or at least who Caylee is.  But she did get to see her and she did say how cute Caylee was!!  Caylee smiled at her a bunch and then laid next to her- not still though, and my grandma did feel her moving around next to her :)

Great Aunt Debbie and Grandma (sisters) with Caylee... again, Caylee won't stay still for anyone, so pictures are getting harder to capture!

Great Grandpa and Caylee (she loves her great grandfather!)... Mom and Great Aunt Debbie in the background.  

Florida-Part 1- Airplanes & Sleeping!

This past week Caylee and I headed down south to Florida!  We were spending the week with my mom and grandparents (Caylee's Grandma and Great Grandfather and Great Grandma), my aunt (Caylee's Great Aunt) joined us from Seattle too!  I was pretty nervous about getting down there because this would be Caylee's first plane ride.  I just didn't want her little ears to hurt with the pressure changes because mine always do.  She had no problem at all!! On the way from Lexington to Orlando she slept the entire way.  On the way from Orlando back to Lexington she slept going up and coming down and woke up a little in the middle, but she didn't fuss or anything. 
I tried to get a few pics from the traveling part....Since she slept the entire first flight, I only have a few pics from the return flight... 

Sitting in her own seat... no, this wasn't really her own seat, but we had the whole row to ourselves, so I let her play a little and showed her the clouds through the window.

She was more interested in the man's head in front of us

Waiting for flights... it's so easy to take a stroller through security and nice because I don't have to carry her for hours and hours since she already has to sit on my lap for the entire flight.

I was also worried about Caylee sleeping well once we got to Florida.  My mom had a pack n play set up in the bedroom.  For one thing, she has never slept in a pack n play.  For another, she has never slept multiple nights in the same room as me.  (We started her early in her room because I didn't want her waking up everytime Matt had to get up early or come in late or take a phone call).  Anyways... this trip we were in the same room and she slept GREAT!  (Even with all of my coughing and sneezing... I'm not sick, just allergies I think).  I was so happy with how well she did sleeping!  She was always very happy in the morning too.....

So... those were my 2 biggest fears going into this trip and God took care of them both!  Caylee did amazing traveling, which is exciting because we have many more trips planned!!

Swimming lessons from God

Ok- It's been a while since I have just written something that I liked, instead of updating on Caylee's status.  But yesterday, Matt ran to the grocery store for me after work and he came home with a 2012 calendar.  I LOVE calendars!  I know, they seem a little outdated with all that phones can do these days now, but I still love getting up in the morning and seeing an entire month laid out before me on the fridge.  I also love the scenes that come with it.  This time, Matt bought me a Seascape Themed calendar... perfect for this beach loving girl! 

I opened the calendar to find this very first quote:
**No man drowns who prays to God, and can swim.- Russian Proverb

Don't you LOVE that?  It's a great reminder to have faith, but not to be stupid.  Have you ever had a situation like that?  We used to lead a bible study and every week this person would come and ask the group to pray for financial needs.  This person would say they had no money for food that week or to pay bills, so would we pray?  Of course we'd pray!  But... then we found out this person DID have money, they were just spending it on the newest gadget out there.  They were buying the newest phone, newest Xbox etc.  That just drove me insane!  There are definitely times we all make mistakes with money (or in another area of life).  I won't even tell you about my freshman year in college and the money mistakes I made!!!  BUT, I really think if you pray, it should be to ask God for help in controlling that problem (like taking swimming lessons from God!).  I don't think we deserve to start making MORE money, just so we can pay bills AND indulge in the latest gift (although that'd be nice).  God wants us to learn from mistakes, He wants our hearts to change to be more like His.  You can ALWAYS pray to God, but I also believe that you can't be stupid in your requests.  You have to make sure you are taking the necessary steps as well-- you have to pray WITHIN God's will...
So... don't go dive in a pool if you can't swim and expect God to save you...of course He CAN save you, but it's just not smart! 

3 Months!

Caylee is 3 months old now!  Every month just keeps getting better.  Which is good, because I kinda panicked the first few weeks thinking I'd never get out of the house again!  I also panicked because I didn't know what her cries meant... now I know what they mean and she's a much happier baby since I usually know what she needs to fix the crying! :)  She is smiling a lot more, can hold her head up pretty well and is starting to interact with us more.  She still gets up once in the middle of the night, but I think it's only because we can't give her enough bottles during the day.  If she could just drink 5 oz at a time then I know she'd sleep the whole night, but 5 is just too much and we're short a few oz each day, so nighttime it is.  It doesn't bother me though because Matt still does the nighttime bottle. (He is a really great dad!)  I keep thinking that might end soon as his schedule is getting busier and more demanding, but we'll see.  She still takes great afternoon naps!  At least 2 hours, usually 3.  However, no morning nap for her.  She might doze on and off for 15-30 minutes,but that's not quality sleep.  She's wearing all 3 month clothes and will soon start fitting into some 3-6 month clothes... especially lengthwise, I think she'll get some of Matt's height for sure.  She has "friends" that are twins and 2 months older than her, but they are all about the same length and weight.  Granted, the twins were born VERY small, but still she's tall for her age. (according to the doctors anyways)

Here are some pics from the month!

These were taken at 10 weeks during that photoshoot at Matt's parent's house. 

These were iphone pics at about 12 and 13 weeks old

These  next few were taken with a friend's camera...

     *This pic is not staged, Diego only likes Caylee on his own terms, not forced- tonight he must have been extra tired and didn't mind sharing a pillow. 

3 Months! January 25, 2012

2 Month Shots!

Since Caylee turned 2 months on Christmas Day we had to wait until after the New Year to get her 2 month shots. (Offices were closed and booked up)  This past Tuesday, Jan 3rd we went in to get her shots.  I was nervous, just because she doesn't understand and also because the doctor I was seeing was not our usual doctor.  (I am definitely going back to our usual doctor next time!!)  Anyways, they checked her out and she is doing great!  She weighs 12 lbs 6 oz and is in the 71% for height and weight.  She obviously gets her height from Matt and the doctor was pleased with her weight gain for as tall as she is.  Then the nurse came in with the shots... there were 3 shots and one oral medicine.  Caylee took the first shot with no problem and for a brief few seconds I thought "wow, my daughter is amazingly strong and isn't even going to cry!"  But, by the time the cap came off the second needle she took one brief look at me and the wailing began.  Poor little thing.  Before I knew it, the nurse already had the 3rd shot in and I was picking her up to comfort her.  Her wails stopped, but the crying didn't and it became a very sad, pathetic babble.  She calmed down before we reached the check-out desk and was asleep in the car as soon as we got in to go home.  That afternoon we just took it easy and by the time Matt came home she was happy again!  The next morning she woke up with 101.3 fever.  I called the doctor, and as expected, they said she was fine, just to start the tylenol and make sure it doesn't keep going up and doesn't last for more than 48 hours.  We hung out on the couch for most of the day with her fussing on and off.  The fever lasted the entire day, but by bedtime had gone down to normal.  She had a rough time with her nap that day and sleeping that night, but she seems back to normal now.  We have many more shot days left, but now that I know what to expect I feel much better and I know in the long run she will be better off too!

This was taken before going to the doctor... shots may not be fun, but she sure looked cute beforehand!

Happy New Year!

We began this New Year by visiting lots of people!  Thankfully, Matt had a full weekend off, so we were able to travel a little to see his family and some friends.  He has no more off weekends though because farms around here are preparing for the birth of hundreds of foals and then the breeding season begins early February.  This will make for an intense few months for Matt, but hopefully they will go by quickly.

Here are some pics from the New Year's weekend....

New Year's Day 2012

First snow on our way to Ohio~ we made a stop in Bellbrook at McDonald's that morning... Matt and I met in Bellbrook when I moved there the middle of my 7th grade year.  

Courtney and Caylee

Michele and Caylee

Great Aunt LeeAnn and Caylee

Great Grandma Max and Caylee

Great Grandma Bergstedt and Caylee