Nailed it.

Hello Valentines. I meant to post this last night, but decided to snuggle on the couch with my own Valentine instead.

If you are on Pinterest, you may have seen this:

I thought it would be a fun little craft, so Caroline and I did it, too. We pretty much nailed it. (kidding!)

Thought you'd enjoy :)
(*Zach loved it, of course!)

{Happy Halloween}

Caroline was Peppa Pig for Halloween this year. That is a character on Nick Jr. that she loves to watch. It is an adorable british cartoon that even makes me laugh! She was adorable :)

{update on Caroline's condition}

I felt I owed an update on Caroline. I want to first thank you for the kind thoughts and prayers I have received throughout all of this. I am a "problem-solver" by nature, and nothing is harder for me to go through than something that I try to fix, and can't. That helpless feeling is the worst for me! A good lesson to keep trusting in God, though. He always answers.

Last week, we had our follow up appointment with the GI specialist here in Beaumont. Biopsy results came back that enzyme levels were normal and no evidence of Celiac Disease (Gluten-intolerance). (Can I get an Amen? :) My Dad was able to witness what I have been feeling all along, which is that Caroline is a number, not a patient. I have to regurgitate her entire health history at every monthly appointment we have had, and he continued to ask me to try the same things month after month, when we had already tried them unsuccessfully. I have no doubt he is a good doctor, but I felt a lack of creative care in searching for a cause of Caroline's problems, rather than just treating some of the symptoms.

Good friends of ours led us to a doctor at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston, one of the top Children's Hospitals in the world. Anyone I have ever spoken to who had had business there in one way or another has done nothing but rave.

We were able to get in to see the Chief Pediatric Gastroenterologist at Texas Children's Hospital today. He read through Caroline's medical records, my own spreadsheet of notes (those who know me well are probably getting a kick out of that one), and Endoscopy notes and results. He was a great listener, and asked meaningful questions. I never felt rushed. It was wonderful.

He says that there is no hard evidence from her Endoscopy showing that Caroline has a milk protein allergy (something I have been told for the past year). One thing that was found in the Endoscopy procedure was that she has an anatomical abnormality in her esophogus/stomach called a Hiatal Hernia. There is more of an opening from her stomach into the esophagus than should be, which causes the reflux. So, instead of the milk protein allergy causing her reflux as we believed before, it is the Hiatal Hernia. We have been treating this all along-- Prevacid neutralizes the pH in her stomach, so that there is no long term damage should anything come up.

He wants me to try food again, and once we have established solids, then we can explore the formula option. He also prescribed another topical medication for the diaper rash.

I feel good about this. I know that there wasn't much we heard today that we haven't heard before. I feel as though there is some hope, and I will get an answer soon. I didn't feel like a number. And I did feel like he cared about helping us get Caroline back on track.

{where did May go?}

Hi there! Long time no see. Sorry about that. I will give you a one word clue: MOLARS.

My response to that word: boo! Molars are horrible! Caroline has now finally cut the second one, and I can feel the third one coming in. That would make 10 teeth, going on 11. Wow! It's funny that one of the most common comments made by strangers is "look at that mouth full of teeth!" Yep!

As much as it pains me to watch Caroline cut her molars, I know it is even more painful for her. Poor baby! She is starting to come around to the Orajel. I think she is starting to recognize that little tube makes her mouth feel better.

She is one busy little girl! I love it! I am so exhausted by the end of {her} day. It makes it tough to sit down at the computer and edit pictures (or blog) :)

Here is a peek into my world...

She looooves to be outside. She would rather walk around the grass and pick up leaves, mulch, rocks, and grass than chase bubbles or play on the playground. She's getting better about not eating them. yuck!

She is a TOTAL ham. I need to take some more video and post it here so everyone who keeps up with us can see. It is what makes this age so much fun. She continues to do new little tricks. She can say a lot of the animal sounds, tell what an Aggie says, and basically tries to mimic every word that I say. She sure is a talker!

She saw my belly button the other day when I was getting dressed and pointed to it. So, I said, this is Mama's belly button. And she said (very clearly for a 13 month old!), "belly button." Holy smokes. She giggles to no end when I tickle her belly button. I just love it.

Instead of just tricks like "what do the Aggies say?", she is also getting really good at learning the commands I use with her. For example, there is a side table next to the glider in her room. It has a lamp, a sort-of-heavy metal bird (purely decoration), and the camera for her monitor which points to her crib. She constantly wants to go over and pick up the bird or the monitor. I have been consistent every time and I say, "not for Caroline." I guess I must shake my head when I do that, because she started going over to the table, not touching the things on it, and then shaking her head. What a good girl! I am so proud! She is doing this with all sorts of other things... I have taught her what "close it" means, so when I ask her to close something, she knows what I mean. She gets a big cheer when she closes a kitchen cabinet, or closes the lid on the toilet, so she is pretty good about it.

I am having a hard time trying to find new things for her to do. One problem is that she doesn't take her nap at a consistent time. Sometimes it's 9am. Sometimes it's noon. It's so weird. She is pretty much down to one nap. She is pretty exhausted by the end of the day whether she takes her nap in the morning or in the middle of the day. I am having to watch running errands at 5pm now, because a lot of times she falls asleep in the car, which messes up bedtime.

And she sure does love her "Sadie-dog" with all of her little heart! (check out who's inside the window)

My goodness, look at that hair! It's mostly blonde, but definitely has a strawberry cast to it, especially when we are outside. The ends are darker, and the only thing I can guess is that is her original brown hair?? I don't have a clue! I thought for sure she would be white-headed like Zach was. Her blonde seems to be more of a dirty blonde like me, so it will be interesting to see whose hair she really got! And the red! My great great aunts apparently had red hair, so if the red stays, I guess that's where she got it!

I will post more about her current situation with Reflux maybe later on this week. She has a follow up appointment with her doctor next week, so I may wait until we know more.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. So grateful for those men and women who are making and have made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. God Bless America!

{she's a-changin!}

I am starting to see a hint of myself in Caroline. And I'm loving it. Do you see it? (By the way, I am the little blonde baby)

{Dear Caroline}

Dear Caroline,

I can't believe you are well on your way to being one year old. It literally seems like yesterday that we were heading to the hospital knowing we would soon hold you in our arms. Your eyes were so open and alert when the new grandparents came into the room to lay eyes upon you for the first time. I stared in awe, never taking my eyes off of you for a moment.

The first month was extremely difficult. Your Mimi and Granddad came to stay with us the first 10 days, and I'm pretty sure I couldn't have done it without their help. Daddy couldn't take many days off of work, and there were lots of tears when they left. That's when it got really hard. We found out you have reflux and a milk protein allergy, so we had many nights of screaming, breathing treatments, rocking, walking the house, tears, and lots of praying. But, you know your Mama. I pushed through it all and didn't give up until I knew what was hurting you.

We finally got you some medicine, and I had to go on a very strict diet. But, it worked. And you were a different baby. A sweet, precious, beautiful girl that we had been hoping and praying for.

We still had our struggles, but things got much better. Even with the reflux, you got right onto a schedule, and slept through the night by 3 weeks old. By 12 weeks, you were more than happy to sleep 12 hours through the night. You still do. You really have been such a great sleeper. I think that was God's way of helping us through it.

You were cooing sweet little ohh's by 4 weeks, and giggling by around 8 weeks. Your smile. Ohhh, your smile. Gosh, that made everything worthwhile. I used to love letting you sleep on my chest, but I knew it would be better for you in the long run if I helped you learn to sleep in the crib without me. You have adjusted to things so well.

You cut your first tooth at 4.5 months, and was that a big surprise or what! Then they just kept coming. Now, you have seven teeth. You cut another one last week. It felt like it was the most painful one yet. I guess it doesn't ever get easier seeing you hurt, even after 10 months.

With all that tummy pain, you refused to do any productive sort of tummy time. So, I let you learn on your own time. I knew you would get there. Once you would roll to your tummy, that meant I couldn't swaddle you anymore. That was so hard- you could fall fast asleep as soon as I laid you in your crib with that swaddle blanket. And once you did that, you started rolling all over the place. It was like somebody hit the turbo button. You rolled, and then started crawling, and quickly cruising the furniture, and now you are starting to stand on your own. This is all just in the past 2 months! Your Daddy and I both started walking at 11 months, and I am not sure whether you will or not. You'll do it on your own time, because that's how you like to do things. I have no idea where you got that from {wink}.

You have such the personality. My goodness, you are joy to be around. You smile at anyone and everyone and love to wave at people. The grocery store is a lot of fun when you flirt with everyone. I beem with pride when they tell me how happy you are.

I love how you talk. You say Mama, Daddy (Dad-ee, DaDa), Sadie (say-dee, say-dog), dog (your favorite), hi, bye bye, banana (nuh-nan-nuh), and you like to try new words all the time. When I ask you if you would like a bottle, you say, "bah" every time. When I ask you if you want your paci, you say "puh" every time. You understand so much of what we say to you, and I find that so amazing. Oh man, and when I ask for a "smooch," I love how you just go for it! Baby fish kisses are the best.


We just delight in your tricks. You learn new things so fast! When I ask you what a fish says, you make the sound that a lady would make after she has put on lipstick. When I ask you what a monkey says, you breathe deeply, trying to mimic our "ooh ooh ahh ahh." When I ask you what a dog says, you say dog. It makes me laugh, because no matter what is going on around you, if I say "Sadie" or "Dog", you immediately respond with "dog." It's also usually the first thing you say when you wake up besides Mama and Dada. It's just adorable. Whenever any music is on, you like to bob up and down, and nod your head to the beat. That just makes my heart swell, because I always hope for you to love music as much as your Daddy and I do. One of the more recent tricks you have learned is "so big." When we ask you how big you are, you throw your arms up like you made a touchdown. And then you expect an applause afterwards. And you definitely get it! Every. single. time.

Even though it has been a really big challenge for me, I wouldn't give up being your Mama for anything. I adore you and love you so very much. It will be fun to see how you grow in the next month and a half before your big day. Until then, I will cherish my time with you, because it just goes by so fast.

xo,
Mama

{And we're off!}

I kept telling myself to go update the blog, and I kept putting it on the back burner... And now, I have a ridiculous amount of stuff to report... so much, that I am pretty sure I will forget a few things.
Fail, Kate.

Ok, well here we go!

♥Caroline♥
*I am in love with this sweet little girl. She makes me smile, and makes me realize that the stuff I used to think was important, really isn't. She will melt your heart in the blink of an eye, or rather, with a flutter of her eyelashes or raising of her little expressive eybrows.

*She is starting to do tricks!! She can dance, give high five, tell what a fish says, respond to us singing "sweet caroline" with "bah! bah! bah!" (I am being serious!), Do pat-a-cake, clap, wave and say buh-bye, rub noggins (touch her forehead to yours), give smooches, and sign "all done"

*She is now crawling! I never thought we'd get there. But, this little girl likes to go big or go home... not only does she want to crawl, but she wants to pull up and cruise on everything, and walk around the house (with help) all at the same time. All you people who say they are exhausting when they become mobile are right. sigh... (I'm tired just thinking about chasing her around)

*She is eating solid foods, but we are having to be careful about the stage 3 food, because a lot of them have ingredients that she is not allowed to have with her food allergies.

*Speaking of milk allergies, at the last GI Specialist appointment, he told me to try weaning her off of the special (pre-digested) formula and going to the next stage down where it is only partially broken down for her. I had tried this at 4 months and it was horrible! So, with fear in my heart, I added a scoop of the new formula to her current formula last Monday, and no reaction! I have slowly been adding more of the partially-hydrolyzed formula and will continue to slowly add it in until a) we are out of special (aka expensive) formula, and b) she can tolerate a whole bottle of it. I am beyond excited-- this is really huge for her! We may be able to get her to regular milk-based formula by her 1st birthday if she continues to do well. Praise God for growing out of the allergy. What a huge blessing!

*Speaking of special formula, did you know that there is a Texas Law requiring all insurance companies to cover Amino-Acid formula (for babies with milk protein allergies and other severe GI problems) as a prescription? Keyword: As. A. Prescription. Insurance companies are trying to unlawfully charge amino-acid formula under a medical supply, placing it under regular medical. I have been fighting this since October, mainly because I am not going to pay $60 per can of formula (4 day supply) when I don't have to. Raise your hand if you want to pay $60 per can for 8 cans of formula in a month's supply... Blue Cross Blue Shield, you pretty much messed with the wrong girl. If you know anyone who has a baby on this formula, please direct them to me if they have any questions about how to get it covered. (Sorry for the soapbox)

If you are still reading, I congratulate you :) No, I kid. I appreciate you. Thank you again for caring enough about us to check in on us from time to time. It really means a whole bunch.

I am going to let that soak in. I will post more later this week. ;)

♥

{Cue Hallelujah Chorus}

As of December 24th, Caroline now has [five] teeth. Count 'em for yourself!

Please don't be jealous. When her [five] teeth are hurting, and if you aren't paying attention, your finger could disappear. Ouch.

Big week for Caroline!

This week was a week of constant change!

Caroline started saying her consonants really well and repeating them (more mimic and less babble). Zach about keeled over when she said Dada Dada Dada.

She also rolled over in her sleep again, which means I have to put the miracle blanket away. I am devastated... That thing makes her feel so cozy and she falls right to sleep in it. Now, with her arms free, she takes forever to fall asleep. Mama is not a fan! But, I guess that means she is progressing developmentally, which is a good thing so I really can't complain.

And today, that top tooth started cutting through. Poor baby!

I can't believe how fast she is growing! She is tons of fun!

October...

October was a crazy month!

We went to Dallas, San Antonio, and threw a surprise party for Daddy in Houston. It was Caroline's first time to be babysat while Mama and Daddy got to go play. It felt great!

I felt like hitting the 6 month milestone was going to be fun, and it was! It's a really fun interacting age.

In October...

Caroline got to swing on the swings at the park for the first time...

Caroline ate more food... beyond oatmeal + apples, we ventured out to peas, sweet potatoes, green beans, bananas, peaches, and pears. We keep trying, and she keeps liking! (She must get that from her Daddy! Unfortunately, I was a picky eater until I became an adult)

She was already sitting, but went from just sitting, to bouncing, leaning forward to reach for things, and now to standing from sitting (with help!)

She also decided it was time to move from the Nap Nanny to her crib

She is still teething... I feel like it's been forever since she cut her first teeth, so there were no teeth cut in October. I see a bit of swelling on her top gums, so I don't think those are too far away.

Her 6 month shots just about killed me. Not the pain they caused her, but the reset button they hit! Holy moly! I went from having a good sleeper/napper to a baby who wouldn't take any naps, and would wake up every 1-2 hours in the night. What?!! (We have since fixed this problem, although she wakes up from time to time to put a paci back in her mouth)

She started making this face where she scrunches up her nose at you like she's smiling so big, that she has to do that to smile even bigger. It is too funny! Sometimes she even breathes through her nose when she's doing it and it sounds like she's sniffing the air like a puppy!

She finally rolled over from her back to her tummy (on accident). However, this girl does not like to be on her tummy. I know most people will say, "oh- yeah. Timmy hated being on his tummy... He would just scream and scream...."
No, really... I mean, this girl {hates} being on her tummy. As soon as she figured out how to roll from her tummy to her back (in late August), she will do anything to get to her back if she finds herself even remotely close to putting weight on her tummy. If I'm holding her (upright) and leaning back on the couch, she will push off with her foot and throw her arm over so she won't be on her tummy. I kid you not! So... with tummy time... I still work with her on it, but she won't roll back to tummy on purpose. So, it will be really interesting to see if she crawls or not. I wouldn't be shocked if she didn't (and probably wouldn't be shocked if she walked early either. This girl is re-lent-less. I have no idea where that came from ;) yikes.

So, there is our update for October 2010. What a wild ride it was! November, bring it!

Happy Halloween!

Here are a couple of pictures of Caroline in her Halloween costume...

I got Sadie a "squirrel" costume, but sadly it didn't fit!

Take that, Giants!

(*This is actually a happy face even though it doesn't look like it here. She has been doing this for about 2 weeks and it cracks us up!)

Wordless Wednesday: Yummy

6 months!

Sorry I have been behind on the blogging... Here is a quick picture I took of Caroline on Tuesday when she turned 6 months old! I can't believe it! Ok, maybe two. I love her!! She is so much fun!

What I loved about September

September 2010 and I have a love-hate relationship.
(Ohhhh the teething! And the trial change of medicine....)

I feel like I need to call it the "learning curve month." (not only for Caroline, but for me too!)

It has been amazing to watch Caroline this past month.

The progression was mind-blowing, and SO neat to watch:

1.) Started to use her neck muscles to hold her head up when I pulled her up to sitting by her arms.
2.) Started to be able to sit on my lap or on the ground with assistance.
3.) Was able to sit by herself supported by pillows or the corner of the crib or couch.
4.) Then was able to sit unassisted... a little wobbly, but fine.
5.) She then started being able to keep her balance while moving/kicking her legs
6.) Then started to put her arms out to the sides to catch her when she started to lose balance
7.) Started leaning forward and reaching out to grab things
8.) Leaned forward and grabbed a book that was a good distance away from her and pulled it up to her mouth.


I know this all sounds trivial, but it is so crazy to watch! Most of this sitting up stuff really happened in the past 2 weeks. She is literally changing before my eyes!

I also can't believe I am still swaddling her... I have tried on several different occasions to see if she would sleep without it, but all she wants to do is play with her pacifier and won't go to sleep. Miracle Blanket, I love with you with all of my heart.

Other new things... besides rice cereal and oatmeal + apples, she was able to ride in a shopping cart for the first time and sat in a restaurant high chair for the first time. She loves playing in her exersaucer and I can see her legs getting stronger by the day when she puts weight on them.

I didn't really notice this on a day-to-day basis, but looking back at pictures, she has lost a lot of the hair she was born with. Check it out! The new hair is growing in blonde.





So, September is officially over. I can't believe it. October is going to be even crazier, I just know it. (Side note: October is one of my favorite months of the year! The weather is fantastic. I can't wait to play outside with Caroline all the time! So excited!)

Stay tuned!

Thumbs up for Oatmeal

This week I decided to skip out on rice cereal and try oatmeal instead. I also added a few spoonfuls of apples to it. I think we got a thumbs up. Making progress!!

5 months

This pretty much sums up Caroline for September 2010...

We have a really busy fall ahead of us... I sigh (out of exhaustion) just thinking about how fast it is going to fly by!

the infamous teeth

Here are the infamous teeth that sprouted September 1st and 14th... It has been a fun ride.

Firsts!

Happy 5 months, sweet girl. I can't believe you were born 5 months ago today!

The past month was full of so many firsts, and I want to document them before I forget!

First time...
eating rice cereal
rolling from stomach to back (now she won't stay on her tummy at all!!)
sitting up by herself (right now, it's for a few seconds, but she seems to get better each time!)
in the pool (loved it!)
first tooth! (and maybe another one soon following)
really noticing Sadie... She pets her!! It's the cutest thing ever!

She is the light of my life. I think we'll keep her!

touche, sweet girl. touche.

After posting yesterday about how great she is starting to do on cereal, today happened.
Not. Havin'.It.

Caroline: 1
Mama: 0

Touche, sweet girl. Touche.

Luckily, I had my camera. It was pretty funny. Enjoy watching it unfold.

Teething much?

starting to melt down...I can see my bottle, Mama.