Caroline at 10 months

It's hard to believe that our little girl is already 10 months old! She is such a joy, and we enjoy watching her grow every day. Here is what our munchkin is doing at 10 months:

This month Caroline decided that she was done eating any type of pureed food. Just flat out stopped eating it. So, we just started giving her table food. She LOVES it! She eats anything and everything, and gets visibly excited when you sit her in her highchair.

Caroline is always on the move. While she has crawled on all fours several times, she prefers her own unique method of getting around - army crawling on her belly. She's actually quite fast! She also enjoys pulling up on EVERYTHING! She loves to stand to play, and has gotten really good at going from standing to sitting without falling down.

Another one of her favorite activities is emptying shelves, baskets, bins, buckets, pretty much anything that can be emptied. It looks like a tornado has gone through the playroom 90% of the time, and I've given up picking up after her because it lasts approximately 10 seconds.

She has also become very vocal lately. She squeals and yells when she thinks things are funny, and has started saying Mama and Dada. It's been really fun to watch her personality and sense of humor develop. She has a great belly laugh :o)

Unfortunately, the separation anxiety phase has started as well. Dropping her in the YMCA childcare or the church nursery has become an interesting experience. She also is quite a Daddy's girl and prefers her Daddy above anyone else! I can be right next to her, but if Brian walks away she starts crying and crawls after him.

Another challenge that has arisen this month is nap time. Caroline still sleeps great at night - most nights 11 to 12 hours. Napping, however, is not her favorite. She has been fighting her morning nap especially, crying for up to an hour and sleeping maybe 30 minutes. The past few days her nap has been closer to an hour, so maybe there's hope! Her afternoon nap is a little better, but she usually sleeps around an hour and a half. The girl likes to be involved in what's going on around her!

She now has 5 teeth, three on the bottom and two on top. She's about 29 inches long, and a little over 20 pounds. Most of the clothes she wears are 9-12 months.

Disney Vacation

We took our kids to Disney for the first time last weekend, and I don't know who had more fun - them or us! We headed up to Orlando Friday afternoon and checked into our hotel, the Coronado Springs. After settling in we went to Downtown Disney for dinner. The dinosaur restaurant was really busy, so we opted for a quick Mexican stop instead. Caroline went to town with some black beans and rice! We also bought a character autograph book, and Matthew got a stuffed Pluto from the Disney store there.

Saturday morning we ate a quick breakfast in the room and then rode the bus to the Magic Kingdom! The very first thing we saw when we walked into the park was Pluto. In the past Matthew has been afraid of characters, but I thought we should try it out and see how did. Then we'd know for the rest of our time there. Besides, Pluto is his favorite. While we were waiting in line Matthew seemed pretty excited about getting to meet Pluto. When it was finally his turn, he ran to Pluto and gave him a huge hug. Brian and I were shocked! He hugged him for a minute, then Pluto signed both his book and his stuffed Pluto. Then it was time for his picture, but instead of looking at the camera and posing Matthew just kept hugging him again! It was so precious to see him completely believing Pluto was real and loving him so much. The only downfall was my camera was acting up and wouldn't take pictures most of the time he spent with Pluto. Thankfully the Disney people got some good shots.

After our visit with Pluto we went on in the park and visiting Tomorrowland. Matthew and Brian rode the race cars together while Caroline took a nap in the stroller. Then Matthew and I went on the Buzz Lightyear ride where I learned that he is afraid of the dark and the Evil Zurg. The poor thing started crying halfway through. We decided that our next ride should be more tame, so we went on the Carousel of Progress. Then it was off to Fantasyland and a ride on the carousel. Matthew wasn't really grooving on the carousel, so I took Caroline on it. She loved it! I literally had to pull her hands off the horse when it was over. The Johnsons were also at the Magic Kingdom that day, so we met up in Fantasyland. Then we went and rode the People Mover together. By this time we were hungry and took a lunch break, with plans to meet up again later. It was getting close to naptime when we finished eating so we headed back to the hotel for a break. On our way out Matthew wanted to see Daisy so we waited in line for her. Then when it was finally our turn he changed his mind and got shy. Caroline got to meet her instead :o)

When we headed back to Disney for Round 2 we decided to stop and meet Mickey and Minnie first. The wait said it was only 20 minutes.... an hour later we finally got to meet them! Matthew gave Mickey a big hug, but was unsure of Minnie. Apparently he doesn't like the girl characters? When we came out of the theater the parade was going on, so we fought the crowds to get back to Tomorrowland. We met up with the Johnsons again, who thankfully had extra jackets for us to borrow because it was freezing! We hit up lots of rides - we rode the race cars again, went on Small World twice, did Winnie the Pooh's Adventure, and rode Snow White. Caroline fell asleep in my arms, and I ended up holding her for an hour! I thought my arms might fall off. Matthew had a great time with Leighton like always, and we ended up staying in the park until 10:30!

Sunday was freezing, so we bundled up with our borrowed jackets and headed to Animal Kingdom. None of us had been there before, since it opened after Brian and I moved away. We started out in Dinosaur World. I think Matthew was expecting there to be real dinosaurs and was a little disappointed when they weren't there. We did ride the flying dinosaurs, but we were all freezing and decided to head to the Lion King show where it was warm. Matthew kept requesting to see the animals, so when the show was over we headed to the safari ride. It was really cool driving through and seeing all the animals. Matthew was absolutely beside himself the entire time!

We had booked a character lunch at the Tusker House, and when we finished the safari it was time to head over there. Caroline LOVED the food! She ate couscous, mashed potatoes, rice, plantains, and most of it got in her mouth! We also got to meet Donald, Mickey, Daisy, and Goofy. Matthew didn't warm up to any of them except for Goofy, so apparently he just likes the dogs :o) After lunch we walked around and saw a few more animals. It was starting to get late and the munchkins were getting overtired, so we finished off the day letting Brian ride the Everest roller coaster. We had an amazing time and are excited to go back and use the last day on our ticket!

Busch Gardens

A few weeks ago we went to Busch Gardens for the day. Since we're Florida residents now, we can pay for one day and get passes for the entire year! So it was really nice to go up for a few hours with the knowledge that we could go back any time. Matthew loved, loved, loved the animals. We got to watch the lions getting fed which was really cool. They were right on the other side of the glass the entire time. Matthew thought it was funny to roar at them :o)

After looking at lots of animals, we went to the Sesame Street section of the park. Matthew wasn't quite sure about the characters, but we did manage to get a picture next to Big Bird. He also went on a car ride all by himself, and another ride with Brian. I think Brian may have enjoyed himself more than Matthew!

Playroom Makeover

After the chandelier redo, I kept the motivation going and gave the playroom a facelift to match it! I'm really happy with how it turned out. As I looked around the room when it was finished I realized that almost everything in there is handmade, which was even more awesome! Here's the chandelier again:

It all started with the canvases that Matthew and Caroline helped me fingerpaint. I wanted to put some verses on the walls that I want my kids to know, and I thought that having them help me with them was even more special. I chose the verses and then cut them out of vinyl with my Silhouette machine. I stuck the vinyl on the canvas and then we fingerpainted over top of it. When it was dry we peeled the vinyl off, and voila! The only problem was when we hung them on our boring white wall, they didn't stand out at all. So we decided to paint! My dad very generously painted the wall this bright lime green, which I love.

The next project was creating a magnet board for the wall. I had seen the idea to use an oil drip pan on Pinterest, but I wanted to make it look a little prettier. I had this green fabric leftover from making a headboard in our guest room that complemented the wall color perfectly. I laid the fabric over the metal pan and ran my fabric wheel cutter around the edge to cut it to the perfect shape and size. Then I used one of my favorite crafting supplies - Mod Podge - and glued the fabric down. To attach it to the wall we just held it in place and nailed right through it. The whole project took about 30 minutes, and cost around $12.

To the same wall I added a bulletin board, which I have plans to put a map of the United States on and mark where my kids have traveled. I also added one of my favorite projects in the room. I had seen this quote (also on Pinterest, shocker!) and loved it. To make it I bought a cheap white frame on clearance at Michaels. I used the same spray paint from the chandelier and painted the frame green. Then I created and cut the quote out of vinyl (again on my amazing Silhouette machine) and adhered it to the glass. To finish it off I did my kids' handprints on white paper to use as the background. I seriously love it! The only thing missing on this wall now is a picture of each of my munchkins on each side of the frame. I'm waiting until the spring when we take pictures again, so until then the frame will look a little lonely.

*If you are interested in making your own frame or a similar project, I sell the vinyl phrase on my website www.cupcakesandjellybeans.com

Above the toy organizer I hung Matthew's Artwork sign that I used to have in his bedroom. I still need to make one for Caroline, but she's not really making any art yet so I guess it's no rush. The quilt hanging on the wall was made for Matthew by one of the teacher assistants at my school in North Carolina. The colors match the room perfectly and it really adds a lot of color to that wall. Notice the cute little munchkin climbing up trying the get the toys out :o)

The final piece of artwork is actually the very first thing I made that got me hooked on crafting. I made it with my friend Amanda when I went to visit her in Kentucky, and it was our first experience with the magic of Mod Podge. We created a Family Rules sign the old-fashioned way (pre-Silhouette) by drawing/writing our family rules on pieces of scrapbook paper and then Mod Podging them to a painted canvas.

The last thing I did was rearrange the toys and furniture to give Matthew and Caroline their own play areas and free up some more play space. Tada! The playroom is now officially made over! The only remaining project I have to do is make a curtain valance out of the fabric I used on the magnet board. At least, that's all I have on the agenda for now ;o)

Chandelier Redo

When we moved into our house in July, we didn't have fans or light fixtures in any of the bedrooms. We bought basic fans and lights for the rooms we sleep in, but I wanted something different for the playroom. Thus began the hunt for the perfect cheap, old, beat-up chandelier on Craig's List. After a few months of searching, I finally found this gem, for only $10! Here's a look at it's transformation.

Materials Needed:

• cheap chandelier
• 1 can of bonded primer (sticks to metal)
• 1 can of spray paint
• painters tape

I really didn't know what I was doing on this project, so I did a little internet research and winged it on the rest! The first thing I did was take the chandelier apart. I removed the glass bottom and all of the glass discs on the candles. I didn't really care for the discs so I just got rid of those. I also took out the lightbulbs.
Then I primed the entire thing (even the chain!) with bonded primer. I found it easier to paint the top first, and then turn it upside-down and balance it on the candles. This prevented the newly painted side from sticking to the plastic or paper underneath. I had to do some serious contortioning (is that a word?) to make sure that I covered all the angles. It seemed like every time I thought I was done I'd find another area I missed.

After letting it dry overnight, I taped up the "candles" with painters tape. I decided that I wanted to leave them white to add a little contrast. Then I started in with the green spray paint. I again painted the top first, hitting all angles, and then after it dried I flipped it over and painted the underneath.

 When it finally dried I put all the parts back together. Then for the fun part - hanging it! Again, we really had no idea what we were doing, but Brian had just hung 3 fans with lights so we thought we'd give it a whirl. Let me tell you, this part was not easy! But it wasn't really because of the wiring, it was more because this particular chandelier hangs in a strange way with three poles attaching to the disc and chain. We had to hold it just right, or one of them would unhook and clang into one of the arms of the chandelier. After this happening about 5, 10, 15 times we finally got it hung, and by some miracle it actually works!

Because those lovely metal poles kept coming unhooked while we were hanging it, I did end up with some dings in my beautiful paint job :( To patch them up, I just sprayed some of the spray paint into a disposable plate and used a paint brush for touch ups. It looks great now! And Matthew loves his new light. In fact, we can't be in the playroom and have it off, even if its the middle of the day!

Mote Aquarium

One of the days that Brian was off after New Year's we went to Mote Aquarium. Matthew absolutely LOVED it and was literally jumping up and down saying "I see fishes!" We also saw some penguins, sharks, a dolphin, and a manatee. If you ask Matthew about that trip now, he'll tell you two things. One, that he touched a starfish and it fell down in the water. (There was a touch tank and he was a little too rough touching the starfish - hope it's ok!) Two, that the dolphin goes click click click. The dolphin that we saw kept opening and closing it's mouth and making a slapping sound. To remember the rest of the trip, we took some pictures :o)

The Top 5 Moments of 2011

2011 was a great year for our family! We had so many amazing adventures with family and friends, but here are 5 that greatly impacted our lives.

The Top 5 Moments of 2011...

5. Our little boy turned 2 on May 26th! It seems like just yesterday that he was born. It's amazing to watch him grow and learn new things every day, but I do wish time would slow down a little bit.

4. We reached the light at the end of the tunnel when Brian accepted a job at the Eye Associates! Here he is signing his contract.

3. Scott and Catie got married! We were ecstatic to welcome Catie to the family, and Matthew, Brian and I were all a part of their wedding ceremony which made the day very special.

2. Our house was finished and we moved to Florida on July 1st. We are so happy to be back! It has been great reconnecting with old friends and being able to see family on a regular basis.

1. Caroline Jane was born on April 27th at 1:11pm. She brightens our lives every day, and we can't imagine life without her!