BUBBLES...

The other day, I was washing dishes and Caitlyn was in one of those moods where she needed to be held. So I quit what I was doing and blew dish soap bubbles with her. I had so much fun and so did she. She concentrated so hard on the bubbles and then giggled when they popped. What a cheap way to have a little fun!

1 of my new 'Things'...

Gardening!!!

Lately, my days off have been spent in the dirt. Finally, the flowers that I bought in March are blooming. Not all of them... but most. I can't wait for the fuscias and the geraniums to start flowering (you can expect more pics when they do). I walk around the perimeter of my house ATLEAST twice a day... usually with Caitlyn to take a look at all of our new growth. Caitlyn's first sentence just might be, 'ooh... look at the pretty bleeding hearts' or 'the heliotropes have such dark green leaves'. I describe each flower and plant to her so I'm sure she's enjoying and absorbing all of the knowledge. Oh... and I used to think that ferns were the ugliest plant on the entire earth. NOW, I can't get enough of them. I love how they look like little sea horses unraveling into this huge BEAUTIFUL leafy plant!!! I think Spring is my new favorite season (It used to be winter because of the holidays)!!! I love my yard so much right now... in fact, I am going to be finished posting now, so I can go back out there and enjoy it all before the sun goes down.
Good Night!

Terisha's Birthday

Happy late birthday, Terisha... Every year I forget if Terisha's Special day is the 20th or 21st... this year I actually knew it was on the 20th and still forgot to post. This forgetfullness has no relationship with how much I consider and cherish our friendship. We shared a wonderful friday afternoon with Tiffany, Avery, and Terisha. Thanks for the really cute ourfit! I can't wait for her to grow into it so I can takes pics and put it on my blog. Love ya!

Hope everyone has a fun, relaxing, and safe Memorial Day weekend!

Best Friends Forever

These are my favorite pics of the girls from our recent photo shoot.

Thanks to Vicki, they had matching dresses.

I couldn't believe how great Avery did.

In the above picture she was sitting up all on her own!!!

I think this pic was taken right before Caitlyn hit Avery in the head.

Avery was so patient with little Caitlyn, who I'm sure was just trying to love on her.

I can't wait to do more photo shoots together!

9 Months Check-Up

Today, We weighed in at 14 pounds and 14 ounces and measured 28 1/2 inches long!!! Caitlyn definitely is a little string bean! The MD said that she has a petite but perfect physique. I was a little nervous for the weigh in today so I tried to force feed her a 4 oz. bottle of formula after she ate breakfast and nursed... she was obviously full cause she wasn't interested in it at all. The appointment went well. This was probably her best appointment (there were no immunizations or blood draws)! Also the doctor checked for some reflex and then said that she'd definitely be walking within three months! That made me so excited. He asked if she likes to pull herself up on things... and MAN does she ever!!! She still does not crawl the traditional way... she tucks her left leg and scoots but then will pull herself up on any and everything and walk all around. The doctor says that's called cruising.... so she is a cruising pro!

These pics were shot at some gas station on the way home from Spokane... I thought they were fitting for the blog.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to my Mom and Vicki. You both are amazing mothers and I hope that Ash and I will touch Caitlyn's life as much as you both have touched ours!!!

Being a mother is AMAZING!!!

I never dreamed of loving someone this strongly.

It is a feeling I cannot put into words...

only another mother can understand.

I had such a special day celebrating with Caitlyn and Ash. I woke up to breakfast in bed and Ash gave me a choice of a few things to do for the day.

Believe it or not... I chose to do yard work.

I planted about two thirds of the plants I bought a while back. They are looking a little limp now, but I'm sure with just a little love and tender care... they will be beautiful in no time!

What a wonderful and relaxing 1st Mother's Day!!!

Slowly,
starting now,
a thousand stars in the sky will become clearer,
a thousand notes in your heart will blend into song,
and all the love you have ever given,
will be returned to you a thousand times better
by your baby girl.

(I got this from one of my baby shower cards)
Thank you Caitlyn (and Ash) for giving me the best gift in the entire world...
Becoming a MOM!!!

9 Months

Happy 9 Months of life to our little Caitlyn Leigh! Yesterday we went to the mall with Tiffany, Kory, and their daughter Avery to have pictures taken of the two little ones. We had a wonderful time... and I can't wait to post some of the pics we got. Caitlyn has her 9 month check-up on monday... so I will post more then!

Finished Project

I have been meaning to post this picture for a couple weeks now... it is of Cait and I resting right before bedtime with the blanket that I crocheted for her. My mom and I started the blanket while we were in PA and she taught me how to continue on... then I would do a row, then my mom would, then I would... and so on. I took a break from it when I got home and started it again just a couple weeks ago and finished it. I love cuddling with her in it.

She uses it as her night time and nap time blanket.

Congratulations, Scarlet!

Friday, Ashley, Caitlyn, and I drove to eastern Washington to celebrate Scarlet's graduation from nursing school. Scarlet wore my nursing honor cords since I never wore them or went to my graduate school commencement. We are very proud of all her hard work and know that she'll pass the NCLEX with flying colors!
Even though the graduation was right in the middle of Caitlyn's nap time... she did really well the whole trip. Well... she did well with the driving and the behaving during the ceremony and then it came time to sleep at the hotel... which she didn't do at all, but then she made up for it on the ride home the next day and the following night.

Sleepless Sunday

Sunday night started like a normal night. Caitlyn went to sleep in her room around 8:30pm. I decided to stay up and watch some tv... Well, after the 11 o'clock news... Caitlyn started crying. It didn't sound like her usual "maybe I'll fuss a little & go back to sleep-cry". It was an, "I'm awake & someboddy better come and check on me NOW-Cry!" So that's what I did. I found Caitlyn standing in her crib staring at the door waiting for me to come in and play! I tried giving her the pacifier, rocking her, nursing her, singing, and reading to her. Nothing worked... so I sat her on the floor and we PLAYED at MIDNIGHT!

If Caitlyn could talk... I know that this is what she'd have said!

Come and play with me, mom!
If you are too tired... I can play with my teddy bear.
My teddy bear must be tired too.

Come on, Mom... play with me!

I guess I'll try to find Roger... he loves to play with me!
I found him... Quick...take our picture! I'm getting tired... will you please tuck me in again?
Good night, Mom... I sure love you and thanks for playing with me til 2am!

Sweet dreams!

Beautiful Weekend

What a BEAUTIFUL Saturday!!!

My friend Nadia & I started the day by running our 6th annual YMCA run for kids. We were joined this year by Ashley, Caitlyn, my Mom, Ash's Mom, Dad, sister, and Nadia's main squeeze, Mark. I entered the stroller division for the first time this year. Nadia, Caitlyn, and I finished the 5k in 38 minutes!!! After the race Ashley , Caitlyn And I spent the whole day out in the yard. Ash reseeded our grass and I weeded all of our beds, while Caitlyn crawled on a huge blanket and played in the sun... it was 78 degrees!!! I loaded Caitlyn up with sunscreen and had her in her pretty sun hat. She didn't get sunburnt but her dad and I did.

Sunday, Ashley and I cleaned and scrubbed the entire house. We finished all the loads of laundry and even put all of it away. It was a very productive day!!! We then went to church for our "Back to the Basics" class then out to the Olive Garden for some yummy food.

I absolutely love my weekends off with my family!

Caitlyn loved playing in the sunshine!
Oh yeah... and she crawls all over the place now!

(check out the hot behind in the background!)

She loves playing with bottles. Here she is with our empty OJ bottle and a gatorade bottle. She loves to bang them on the ground and make noise.
AND she pulls herself up on everthing... even my pant leg. She loves to stand! She walks around our coffee table then reaches so hard for our couch then walks all around our couch.

She's really on the move now!!!

8 Months!

Caitlyn turned 8 months today!So, last night, I set Caitlyn in her crib for the night and next thing we know Caitlyn was being a little fussy... so Ash and I entered the room and to our surprise... Caitlyn was sitting upright waiting for us to come and...play?!?! It was the first time she sat up in her crib by herself... So naturally, on her "8 months of life" day, we videotaped all her fun new talents AND lowered her crib to its lowest position.

1st Ever Family Photo

Here are just 2 of the pictures that we got on our first ever family photo shoot. We had a blast getting these done.

Caitlyn was in such a happy mood.

I smile everytime I look at this next one. I love her face in it...

She is so darn precious!

She is tucking her bottom lip which she does in order to make the "mmm" sound.

She's said "mumma" a few times now. She has also crawled a few times. She just does about 3 crawls then she rolls over.

She is learning and growing so fast!

My Snuggle Bunny

Just wanted to post a cute picture of my sweetpea!

I love how her eyes twinkle!

Fuscias and So Much More...

I love Fuscia Saturdays! Freddy's was having a big fuscia sale where you buy the plants of your choice and they pot them in their special soil for free... So, naturally... I bought a ton of fuscias, geraniums, and petunias!!! My mom and Vicki met at my house at 8:30am this morning and we were off to the Fred Meyer Fuscia Frenzie! We arrived and the fun began. We split up and started filling our cart with a ton of flowers and then realized that the line for planting was clear out the door (and that was after it wrapped around the inside a few times). I decided to hold our place in line while my mom and mother in law fought for the flowers. 45 minutes later we had ourselves some beautifully planted fuscia planters. Then we realized that were was a lot more than fuuscias for sale... So we went in for round 2 and bought a ton of geraniums, petunias, and an assortment of basket fillers. I can't wait for the freezing to be over so that I can take these pretty planters and put them on display in our yard. We talked and we will definitely be attending Fuscia Saturday next year... we've even plotted some new plans!
Thanks for a fun morning!

Here we are almost to the front of the line.

My Mom and Vicki standing in Ash's truck filled with flowers
Vicki with more flowers in the bed of the truck!
Vicki's car!
My Mom's car
My driveway filled with assorted flowers!
Stay tuned for pictures of Caitlyn helping plant these pretty plants!