Caroline's First Birthday Party

It's hard to believe that Caroline had her first birthday on December 9th. I was very emotional in the days that lead up to her birthday...so hard to believe that a year had flown right by me. Everyone tells you to enjoy your time with your babies because the time just speeds by and that is just one big understatement! Caroline has been the most beautiful blessing to our lives and we are so lucky to have been given such a wonderful little angel. I have enjoyed this first year of her life more than I can ever put into words...becoming a mother, watching her learn and discover new things, watching her change daily, etc...it is all such a blessing! Happy birthday my lovebug...I love you more than you can ever know.

Caroline's cake...momma was so happy with it!

She wasn't tryin' to wear her hat...oh well...
Caroline was a bit of a diva with the cake...really didn't get it everywhere

Caroline and Kenzie enjoying the bouncy

Christie and Aunt Christie playing in the bouncy

Christmas Tree Hunt

We all went out as a family to pick out the Christmas tree on Friday, 12/4 and it was a great afternoon. There was a chill in the air but it wasn't too cold...cool enough to be thinking about Christmas (thank goodness). This Christmas is going to be extra special for us as it's Caroline's first REAL Christmas. I know it's technically her second, but it's the first one where she's going to be aware of presents and toys and things like that. We took some shots of us getting our tree...I don't think it's possible that we picked a bigger one for our living room!

Caroline helping us find the perfect tree!

Caroline and daddy standing by "the one"

Caroline and mommy...lovin' our tree experience!

Annual Thanksgiving Turkey Fry

Every year we have our friends gather around and fry up some delicious turkey...it was no exception this year. We had a wonderful evening with the Logans, Vogels, Reegs, Yens, Call/Young, Cowhams, DeMarinos...it was a great evening! The kids were the main attraction...I never thought my house could be so crazy and rambunctious...but we made some wonderful memories and had a great time with everyone. It was the perfect opportunity to kick off the holiday season!

Addison and Caroline playing in the jumpy

Sienna and Brayden sittin' so pretty!

The kiddos playing...the place was a lovely disaster!

Thanksgiving 2009

I always have the best intentions of updating this on time but it seems to never happen...sorry. This year we celebrated Caroline's first Thanksgiving...we were having some teething issues so she wasn't the happy camper she usually is but she was still fun to have around. Kevin had to work (boo-hoo) but we joined my mom's family at their house and enjoyed the cool crisp weather we were blessed with that day. Not only was it Caroline's first Thanksgiving, but it was also Kelsey's (our cousin). The girls had fun playing with each other and we even got to take a walk to the park...the kids played on the swing and the adults got to walk off some of the delicious food we ate!

Caroline and Granny Lena (great grandmother)

Caroline and mommy playing at the park

Caroline and Kelsey playing with the pint sized rocking chair

Pumpkin Carving

We finally carved our pumpkin this afternoon. Caroline tried to pick up the seeds, they were very slippery, and of course she tried to eat them too! She got both of her hands in the pile of pumpkin guts that came out before carving...not like Aunt Celeste who doesn't like that stuff to touch her. It was a fun task...maybe next year we'll do it a little earlier so we can enjoy it a bit longer. Happy Halloween!

Ooooooo...pumpkin guts!

Getting my hands dirty!

Mommy, Caroline and the finished product

Bee-utiful Halloween Pictures

Monday we went to have pictures taken in Caroline's Halloween costume. She was very cooperative and enjoyed trying to eat the pumpkins and fake flowers there at the studio. Caroline definitely knows what to do when she sees the camera...she turns on the "ham" to the largest degree! We do plan on trick-or-treating but maybe to just a few houses! Happy Halloween everyone!

Pumpkin Patch Fun

We went out to the pumpkin patch by our house on Sunday, October 25th, to see if we could find some picture taking opportunities to remember Caroline's first trip there. The weather was beautiful and there is really a lot of things to do (it will be really fun in a year or two)...there were tons of mounds of pumpkins to take pictures with and there were games and a hay and train ride (we passed on that this time around). We took some pictures and given that Caroline was way past her nap time...they turned out pretty good!

Caroline was really checking out the pumpkin!

This one is just my size!Family Picture...say Cheeeeeeeeese!

Caroline and Daddy on the hay spider

Our Trip to Michigan

Okay, so it's been several weeks since I've posted anything on this blog page. Sorry for the delay but we've been so busy! I have a lot to catch up on. Mid-September we had a good two weeks worth of traveling...Kevin and I were in Oklahoma for a weekend to attend a wedding and then we flew home to pick up Caroline and then headed back to the airport to head up to Michigan. Kevin had some work to do and Caroline and I tagged along because we wanted Caroline to meet her family up in Michigan. We had a great time...we stayed with Aunt Shelly, Butch, Megan and Madison...Caroline's first time staying in a basement (us Texas folks really don't need them) and we had a great time. We also got to meet up with Great Grandpa Wiseman and Aunt Gail, Uncle Chape, Brad, Kristin and Caden. We had such a nice night visiting with them and catching up. We enjoyed the cooler weather, it was so nice to get out of the Texas heat!

Caroline on the plane...we had an extra seat between us so she got to sit all alone!

The grass up in Michigan is so much softer and is very different...Caroline liked it

Caroline and her cousin Madison

Mommy and Caroline getting some fresh air

Caroline and Great Granpa Wiseman

Fun Day at the Beach

Last week we ventured up to Galveston to spend the day with a group of friends. We had been to the beach once before but Aunt Celeste never shares her pictures with me so I don't have anything on record. Aunt Amanda was nice enough to bring her camera to the beach so we took pictures of Caroline enjoying the muddy sand...she kept trying to eat it and it drove me absolutely nuts. She loved it when the waves would come up and surround her and then also really enjoyed digging in the sand when the water would go back out to the gulf. I decided enough was enough when she kept trying to eat the sand and then she started rubbing her eyes...didn't want to turn a nice afternoon into a nightmare...so under the tent we went. We'll have to try this beach thing again...when she's out of the stage of putting EVERYTHING in her mouth! We had a great time

Aunt Amanda and Caroline

Caroline enjoying the chocolate water

Caroline soakin' up the sun

Congratulations Celeste and Matt

I would like to congratulate my baby sister, Celeste and her new fiance, Matt on their recent engagement. Matt popped the question a few weeks ago during a trip to the Guadalupe River. Matt came up with a story to fool Celeste so she had no clue what he was up to. Celeste went to the designated spot with the idea that they were participating in a couples photo shoot for an up and coming photographer in the San Antonio area...she was way wrong! They are currently enjoying their engagement and are slowly starting to think about a date for the special occasion. Matt is going to fit into our crazy family just fine...we are so lucky that they found each other!

Blogging: A New Adventure

So this is my first blog...I've had friends and family members doing this for months and I am just now catching on. It is probably going to take me a while until I am familiar enough with this to get it up and running on a regular basis...plus I will require the cooperation of our 8 month old, Caroline. Keep your fingers crossed that I can pick this up quickly...I may resort to asking for help (you know who I'm talking to...). Until next time...