Beards are SCARY.

This weekend was pretty low-key, so I will just mention three holiday-ish things we did! They're more fun than mentioning the chores we completed, the unexciting food we ate, yadda yadda yadda.

Christmas event #1

We took Caroline Quinn to see Santa Claus! Last year at this time, she was a tiny, fragile little girl who couldn't get a flu shot (in the middle of intense flu season), so she didn't see Santa last year. We put her in a dress (short sleeves, no tights... oh, Florida) and took her to see Santa! We got to the mall early and walked around and returned to see a line to see Santa. Well, it's good there was a line because when we were halfway to the front Caroline popped a squat, had a look of intense concentration, and definitely pooped. Josh ran her to the bathroom while I held our place in line. Oh, parenthood, you're hilarious.

When we got to Santa we let Caroline check him out while we waited for the photographer. She just stared at Santa... mostly at Santa's beard. It's important to note here the title of my entry. Caroline is terrified of beards. She loves her Uncle Mike but he had a full beard when we got to New Hampshire recently. She was so scared of his beard that he ended up shaving it off early in the week and she suddenly loved him again. Caroline has a history of being anti-beard, so it's not surprising she was scared of Santa (lucky for her, her daddy is incapable of growing a beard)!

When we put her in Santa's lap she SCREAMED. Bright red face, trembling bottom lip, tears on the face, SCREAM. I was prepared for this moment because she's going through an extremely clingy phase with me where she cannot stand being two feet away from me, let alone being held by someone else (she's fine with Josh, but anyone else... forget it). I ended up jumping in the picture with her. She isn't smiling, we didn't fix her dress in the chaos, BUT she's not screaming!

Santa's beard is so big because it's filled with secrets.

Christmas Event #2

We took Caroline to see Christmas lights! They set up a light display in a park near our home and do a wonderful job. Caroline was thrilled and loved all of the lights (she especially liked the polar bears). Unfortunately, it was a short trip so not many photos were taken... stupid rain gets in the way of everything! We may take her back this weekend if it's nice outside so she can spend more time admiring the lights. 

No one-year-old should be that tall next to a 6'4" guy... love my giant!

 Christmas Event #3

We put up our Christmas tree! We opted to not get a large, live tree this year because 1) they're expensive, 2) we won't be home Christmas week to enjoy it, 3) we won't be home Christmas week to take care of it and keep Parker from destroying it. We decided to just put a small tree up in Caroline's room. Last year, when packing up ornaments, I made a box of "Caroline ornaments" which consists of angels, dogs, ballerinas, and her first Christmas ornaments from both sets of grandparents. Caroline is absolutely mesmerized by her Christmas tree (as is Parker). I think she wants us to leave it up year round ;)

Hello, Mr. Tree, you're quite handsome <3

I hope everyone is keeping safe and warm up north! You can always come down to Tallahassee where it's 70 degrees and sunny ;) As much as we are enjoying this warm weather, we cannot wait to travel to Virginia and experience Christmas in a place where winter actually exists! Caroline is very excited to see everyone very soon <3

Thanksgiving Round-up!

Work is slow and I was about to pick up a crossword puzzle but, NO, I need to blog about our trip! Silly Kaitlin.

I will start with Sunday, although our trip didn't officially start until Monday. I am starting with Sunday because that is when Caroline enjoyed her smash cake. We had a birthday celebration a day early because we were traveling on her official birthday. We let her open her gifts from us, which was just a few pairs of pants and a pair of slippers. They say one-year-olds enjoy the wrapping paper more than the gifts, so we weren't extravagant with her presents. It's so true, too. She threw her gifts to the ground and walked around the house waving her wrapping paper around. After that, we put her in her high chair, lit the candle on her cake, and sang happy birthday. She, of course, looked at us like we were lunatics and really thought we had lost our minds when we put an entire cake on her tray. She was hesitant at first but eventually smashed the cake. She doesn't like sweets so she got upset when she ate the icing, but she did have fun destroying the cake. Her favorite part was definitely the bath to get the icing off of her :)

Monday was Caroline's first birthday and our traveling day! We got to the airport extra early to make sure we had time to check our luggage/baby items, get through security, and let Caroline run around before the hours of sitting ahead of her. The first flight went great! She was a wonderful girl, was nice to the lady next to us, and didn't fuss at all... UNTIL she pooped... a lot... while we were landing... when we couldn't get up to change her. So there she was, in my lap, with a diaper filled with poop. Suddenly, I feel a warm stream running down my leg when I realize I am being peed on. So there we are, stuck in our seats because we're landing. Caroline has a poopy diaper, I have pee all over me, and we're stuck. As soon as we reached our gate, Josh ran into the bathroom to change her. We looked like quite the hot mess walking off the plane: Caroline was in a shirt and a diaper and I looked like I had wet myself! Luckily, the second flight was AMAZING. We lucked out and had no one sit by us, so we had an extra seat for Caroline. She spent the flight napping, looking out of the window, reading the safety brochures, and watching The Little Mermaid. When we arrived in New Hampshire, we were picked up by a very excited Papa and Nan, and went to their home to enjoy a great dinner (food friend: it was chicken, veggies, and potatoes).

Tuesday, we had a delicious Thai lunch with Josh's mom, Barb. I had Pad Se Ew for the first time in soooo long, and it was great. We then went to the mall to get Caroline a winter coat and a warm pair of pajamas. She had fun walking around, talking to mannequins, and flashing everyone in sight! We spent a lot of time relaxing by the fire and ate some delicious tacos for dinner!

Wednesday... well, I'm drawing a complete blank as to what we did on Wednesday. I know the day consisted of sitting by the fire, Caroline riding around in her box, and some delicious lasagna made by Barb. I know we went somewhere and did something, and I think we watched Pacific Rim, but I'm such an old lady I forgot the details! Sorry, Wednesday; I'm sure you were swell.

Thursday, we celebrated Caroline's first Thanksgiving! We had a delicious breakfast complete with mimosas, breakfast casserole, bacon, and coffee cake! We watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, of course, which Caroline enjoyed (until she fell asleep). We then spent the day hanging out. I helped fry the turkeys and make the gravy, and I had the all-important tasks of lighting the candles and pouring the wine (which was made by Josh's brother Dan and was delicious). The food was all amazing (fried turkey, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, carrots, pumpkin custard). It was a wonderful first Thanksgiving for Caroline and I know she loved every bit of it!

Friday, we went with Steve and Barb to pick out a Christmas tree! It was SO FREAKING COLD outside, you guys. Caroline had fun picking out the tree, but was NOT a fan of the cold. She's such a little Florida girl! Josh, Caroline, and I then braved the Black Friday madness at the mall to get a birthday gift for his mom. I am NOT cut out for Black Friday - too many people, long lines, crowded parking lots. Nooo thank you! 

That evening, we all went a delicious restaurant for a sushi FEAST. Feast is capitalized because it was soooooo much food and sooooooo amazing. I had thought pregnancy had made me not like sushi anymore but I was wrong, I just don't like bad sushi. This good sushi was amazing. I mean, look:

When we got back, we had a joint celebration for Caroline and Barb (and me). Caroline sat on the table to open her gifts because she's wild and it was her party and she can DO WHAT SHE WANTS! Anywho, she got some great gifts. She got an adorable singing dog from Steve and Barb ("Violet") and a gorgeous quilt made by Barb, a cute outfit and a Leap Frog book from her Uncle Mike, and her Uncle Dan bought the domain name "www.carolinebrian.com" so that no one can ever steal it from her; perfect! Caroline then ate played with a chocolate cupcake for dessert. We all enjoyed a delicious tiramisu cake. The tree was then decorated, and it was adorable to see all of the ornaments Josh and his brother made when they were kids. 

Sunday, we went to the New England Aquarium in Boston! Gosh, I love that city. It's a gorgeous place. Caroline had SO MUCH FUN at the aquarium. She loved looking at the fish, the penguins, the seals, EVERYTHING. She was incredibly the good the entire time, although I don't know why we bothered bringing her stroller in; she insisted on walking everywhere... such a big girl! She loved standing against the glass (often licking it, gross), hands in the air, talking to the fish. It was such a neat aquarium with so many neat things to see. When we got back, Barb and Steve made a fantastic last dinner - surf and turf! It was quite delicious, and the wine we drank complimented it perfectly AND was for a good cause (part of the proceeds donated to a local animal shelter) - drinking for a cause is the best!

Sunday, we woke up bright and early (3:30am for me, ugh) and headed to the airport to catch our 6am flight. Caroline's travel formula made our checked luggage too heavy, so we had to move it all (8 bottles) into the diaper bag. Guys, TSA does not approve of this nonsense and gave Josh the full search. I mean, he felt violated if you know what I mean. They also scanned all of the bottles, Caroline's food, all of our bags, etc. It took FOREVER and we had to rush to catch our flight (the one we had arrived super early to, lame). Once we got on, they had to de-ice the plane, which delayed our flight. This led to our already-short layover getting shorter. Sooo, we get to the Reagan airport, get to our gate annnnd there's no gate agent to let us off of the plane. LOVELY. We sat there for nearly 30 minutes waiting for someone to open the freaking door and let us off. Thankfully, Caroline was being absolutely amazing and playing peekaboo with the girls behind us. When we finally got off the plane, we had to take a shuttle to the other terminal and then another shuttle to our plane. Luckily, WE MADE IT! We got back to Tallahassee right on time! (Interesting note: apparently the main travelers the weekend after Thanksgiving are college kids; our planes were FILLED with college kids. We were honestly two of the oldest people on both planes. Wild.

We got home early enough to grab a great lunch, spend some time relaxing at home, and Josh was even able to get the dogs from the kennel! I should have taken a video of Caroline seeing her dogs. The squeals and smiles were absolutely PRICELESS. I love all of my babies :)

It was a wonderful trip and a much needed break from "real life." It was great to spend time with people we don't get to see often enough and Caroline had an amazing time. Only a couple weeks and we're off again, this time to spend Christmas with my family. WE CANNOT WAIT!!!

My Baby is nearly a Toddler.

I am feeling nostalgic and emotional and excited and happy and in a blog-writing mood. Be prepared for a LONG blog filled with TOO MANY pictures, because that's how I roll!

As I mentioned before, Caroline is turning ONE on Monday. We have known her for almost a YEAR. Of course, we have "known" her for longer than that... she was the little glow worm on my first ultrasound, the tiny thing on my second ultrasound that waved her hands in the air like she just didn't care, the baby in my tummy that had constant hiccups, and the owner of the tiny foot that found a permanent position visibly poking the right side of my tummy throughout the last month of pregnancy. She has been a perfect baby since before she was born. She not only waited until after our Thanksgiving feast to make an appearance, she listened to her daddy and waited until after the FSU game the following Saturday to make her appearance. Within two hours of the game she was like, "welp, I guess I'm good to go now." 

She even waited until after I had a chance to run into the bathtub before making my water break (which I'm sure wasn't her choice at all, but truly appreciated). I'll never forget standing in that tub, blind as a bat because I left my glasses on the nightstand, asking Josh if the splashing I heard was my water breaking. He said "yes, we're having a baby" and I have never felt so excited, panicked, happy, and nervous in my entire life. I'll never forget shaking as we got ready, wondering when the contractions would start (and they soon started, and I wondered why I was ever in a hurry for them, ouch). I sat on a towel on the way to the hospital because HOLY COW they never tell you how much water comes out, but I was like the freaking Niagra Falls... I think I lost twenty pounds on the way to the hospital. I even had to walk into triage with my towel around my waist because, yep, still leaking EVERYWHERE.

Being in labor was another stream of multiple emotions - pain, excitement, nervousness, impatience, etc. This roller coaster of emotions included back labor, an epidural that worked on only half of my body (stupid scoliosis), and Caroline being pulled out via suction cup. It may not have been the most graceful way to enter the world, but we were SO EXCITED she was here and HEALTHY! Holding her was the best feeling in the world, seeing Josh's face was the best thing in the world, being an official family of three (well, seven if you count the furry members) was THE BEST.

Admittedly, the first few weeks were tough, yet amazing. The tough part was undoubtedly the breastfeeding. Moms-to-be, future-moms-to-be, anyone with boobs: prepare your nipples because they're in for a rough ride! I think every tear I shed in those first couple weeks had to do with the pain I was in. I don't know what I would have done without the support of my mom, Josh, and the almighty breast-pump that first week. The amazing part: EVERYTHING ELSE. I'm not sure that love at first sight truly exists between men and women, but it certainly exists between a parent and a baby. I had never held a baby until they threw her on my chest, and the maternal instinct kicked in that second. I love my little Caroline sooo much I miss her when she's sleeping two feet away. It's an amazing love.

Holy moly, I guess I was a lot more nostalgic and emotional than I thought; I didn't intend to recount that much of the past, but I'm leaving it there. It just goes to show how unforgettable it all is; I remember every small detail like it was yesterday, when in reality it was all around a year ago. Moving on to the present...

This first year with Caroline has been absolutely wonderful. I cannot believe she has already been around for an entire year, but at the same time I feel like we have known her forever and I cannot imagine what life was ever like without her. I remember when we used to be excited when she would acknowledge our presence, and now she won't leave us alone. I remember when we used to be excited that she could hold her head up for more than 5 seconds, and now she's running around the house like the wild child she is. I remember when we were excited when she started cooing, and now she can say mama and dada, has almost perfected the word "dog," and just this morning pointed at Parker and said, "tat." It is amazing how much a baby changes, learns, and accomplishes in their first year.

Caroline is strong, healthy, slightly enormous, extremely smart, and PERFECT. She loves to clap, dances with her daycare friends, gives the best hugs, climbs into our laps to read a book, has actually learned to properly pet the dogs and cats, walks to Josh saying "dada" and walks to me saying "mama," laughs at odd things just like her mommy, closes doors for us (I have almost gotten closed in the pantry many times), throws pancakes at the dogs, makes sure we have bath toys during our showers by throwing them in the tub for us, "sings" for me in the back of the car, carries her "purse" (easter basket) around the house and puts toys in it, waves at other children but rarely adults, plays peekaboo, holds our hands and walks us around the house, hides in corners waiting for us to come attack her with tickles, and is all around just the sweetest little girl in the world. Writing all of that and realizing how much she can actually do now makes me realize that she actually is a toddler now, and not a baby. HOLY EMOTIONS, BATMAN.

My babbling is complete, and I will now flood this post with some of my favorite pictures of my sweet little Caroline Quinn. Enjoy the trip down memory lane.

Our perfect first moments as a family.

Ready to go home.

The first few weeks of life at home.

First Christmas!

Meeting her favorite auntie.

Enjoying a visit from her memaw and pepaw.

Rocking out all holidays!

Growing up SO FAST.

Constantly making us smile.

Being a natural beach babe.

Being the goofball she was destined to be.

Traveling to far off lands like Virginia.

And generally just being the sweetest thing ever.