Pailet Ann's Baptism

Thanksgiving weekend got better as the days unfolded. We headed to Camp McDowell after our Thanksgiving feast 2011 at the Cains and settled in for the night. It's always great to be back "home" and peaceful to get away from the hustle and bustle of every day life. We awoke to a glorious morning and the day of Pailet Ann Liles's Holy Baptism.

Caroline and I headed 'up the hill' to Miller Commons to spend some time with the princess of the day and her family and friends. It was so wonderful to catch up and meet the extended families of my dear friend, Allison Sandlin Liles. What an honor to be asked to serve as Pailet's godmother. I'm looking forward to a lifetime of memories with her and watching her grow and love Christ as a member of the Christian community. We're so glad she's an official member now!

It was a beautiful service with a joyful baby - I'm not sure I've seen one more joyful at a baptism than sweet Pailet was! She let her godparents hold her, love her and bask in the joy and glory of her special day.

Allison, Pailet and proud Godmama Megann

The godparents, Allison and Pailet

Pailet's crew for Holy Baptism

"God of power and great glory, thank you for Pailet Ann. In so many ways, she is Your beloved child, in whom You are well pleased. Please bless Pailet Ann and me as we journey together in Your love. Amen."

Blessings abound ...

Hope everyone had great family time with their families! We sure did! It was such a wonderful weekend - we got to meet Baby Carrigon - the girls cousin and our niece - for the first time and spend time with the rest of the Ellis and Cain families. It was a wonderful day filled with good food, good fun and good naps (Amen!!).

Here are some pictures from our fun in Jasper:

One of the imperfects that I love as much as the 'perfect' shot!
(Thanks Kitty!)

Bundled up wizardly baby

Y'all - her hair is starting to curl!!

No trip to Jtown is complete without fishing for Pop's minnow

Her two accomplices here are her cousins, Jackson and Jake

Laughing at Pop Pop

Mommy and her sweet C

A little cousin lovin'

No trip is complete without a bounce on the trampoline

Bouncing with Daddy

CE and her sidekick

Cain loves Jtown visits too

Bouncing high ....

And higher ....

Cutest little cousins ever!

A little toss "up there Daddy" - a glorious day!

Happy Thanksgiving!

November 24, 2011 - 31 months & 6 months

Happy Thanksgiving - what a wonderful day! We have so much to be thankful for, but most of all for our Saviour, Jesus Christ. We're especially thankful for our families, friends, loved ones and if you're reading this you're one of those folks! I often say it takes a village and we are SO thankful for our little village. May today be a day that you all celebrate the wonderful blessings in your lives with those you love. We certainly are counting our blessings today!

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.

Colossians 3:15

Rub a Dub Dub in the Tub

Bath time has long been a favorite around our house and Caroline is quickly joining in on the fun these days! Soon we'll ditch the sling and she'll be sitting up all by her self like a big girl in the tub. Until then it's a family affair when we bathe her these days - big sister just can't live without making sure she helps 'wash' Caroline. And little sister seems not to mind big sister's supervising and assistance. Here are some pics from bath time a few nights ago:

Talking over our routine with my resident bathing assistant

Just hanging out with Mom and Big Sis - enjoying the suds

What's going on here lady? I wish I knew what was
going through her mind sometimes!

All hands on deck and what a good sport!

Save me Daddy!

Pan Can Fun Run

Two Saturday's ago we got up and rolling bright and early for one of our best friends Holly and her sweet family. Holly, David and I go way back - she was a CIT at Camp McDowell the year I was Head Counselor in 2001 and then she met David and they got to be great buds while attending the University of Alabama. She is Catherine Ellis's godmother and now my co-worker! So, needless to say Holly and her family are important to the Cains.

We signed up for the Family Fun Run at Homewood Park for Pancreatic Cancer. Holly's father, Mike, has Pancreatic Cancer and has been successfully fighting it for over 2 years now. We are so proud of his strength and positive attitude and of Holly and her family for weathering such a difficult time and finding the positive in all of this. So, a family fun run was the least we could do to support Holly and her father.

And fun it was! We got there a little early and played with several friends at the park - had a blast and then walked/ran the Family Fun Run! The girls had a blast, the weather was glorious, we got to see lots of old friends and raise some money for pancreatic cancer research. Catherine Ellis even got so excited about the run that she got out of the stroller after the first 1/2 mile and ran the last 1/2 mile with her Mommy! I think we have a future runner y'all!

William and Catherine Ellis starting the day off with a swing

"Way up there Daddy, way up there!"

Sweet C taking her morning snooze

Higher and Higher

All decked out in our purple

William and Stefie

Up she goes ...

Down she comes ...

Riding the purple dino with William

The Cains at the finish line

Ce, Stefie, William, Caroline and me

Emily and Caroline (she's taking it all in ...)

My little runner, eating her snack after her first 1/2 mile!

Catherine Ellis and Stefie

My girl wore her purple too! She was the hit
of the event with her flower hat!

Caraway's Crew 2011

6 months

6 months, one half of an entire year - WOW! If you had told me in May that 6 months would have flown by this quickly, I would have told you I'd fly off my roof before believing it! The first three months didn't fly by, but the next 3 sure did!

Happy, happy 6 months to our sweet Caroline! What a blessing and joy you have been to us (even those first three months!) and what a delight it is to watch you grow up before our very eyes. God has blessed our family richly!

November 15, 2011 - 6 months old

Here are some divine things you're up to 6 months:

• you have rolled over from your back to your tummy!! And we are so proud! You've been close for several weeks, but finally did it all by your self on Saturday!
• you're teething big time - you're the resident drool monster in our house these days - still no signs of a tooth popping up, but we expect it any day now!
• you can sit up well - you still need the Boppy for support, but in a few more weeks you'll be able to sit without your pillow - you really like sitting up - much easier to see the world sitting than lying.
• you're starting solids this month - finally! You've shown us you're ready and Mommy is going to make some of your first foods this coming weekend - get ready!
• you are a smiley little girl - and squealing is a favorite sound of yours!
• you can scoot with the best of them - we'll find you off your play mat and almost off the rug in the mornings if we leave you for longer than 3-4 minutes - you're a fast rug rat!
• you think your sister is funny - you especially like to pull her hair when she gets close to you - which is probably too close and why you pull her hair:)
• you've mastered putting your feet in your mouth and sucking on them - you like doing this anytime you're on the changing table.
• you had your first bout of sickness this past month and came down with an ear infection - we hope it's your first and last one.
• you are pretty laid back and roll well with our schedules most days - we are mighty thankful for this.
• you can grab objects that you want within reach and switch them from hand to hand easily.
• you're starting to get really interested in your books and story time with your sister - this delights her more than you!
• Eating 6 times a day, still every 3 hours or so - we're sure this will change as we work solids in.
• you're sleeping pattern has been a bit out of whack the past few weeks - we're going to blame it on your ear infection and 6 month growth spurt. You can go as long as 10 hours between feedings, but some nights you decide you only want to go 6 - so we're working on those!
• you're still sleeping swaddled - but now that we're getting this rolling over mastered, you can sleep on your tummy soon!
• you recognize your name with it's called - and on many levels we're excited about this, especially since your hearing screening as a newborn was a big fail and then you passed and we have your 6 month followup in a few weeks - we're pretty sure you're going to pass with flying colors, but it still makes the fact that you can hear something to be mighty grateful for.

A little sister love ....

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Jeremiah 29:11

Rooollllinnngggg

That's right ... our adorable almost 6 month old rolled over to her tummy for the first time, unassisted, this weekend - we just happened to have the video camera ready - and please excuse this shameless, cheer leading Mama - I was SO very proud! Enjoy!

31 months

Happy 31 months Catherine Ellis - in just a few months you will be 3!! How is that possible - seems like just yesterday we brought you home from the hospital. Y'all look how big my little girl looks!!!

November 9, 2011 - 31 months

Last month we celebrated being potty trained and big girl panties - WOO HOO!! You are continuing to do really well with potty training and we don't miss the diapers/pull-ups at ALL! Here are a few wonderful things you are up to these days:

• Your vocabulary continues to grow - as well as your comprehension - you can state now how you are feeling, what you think someone else is feeling, understand directions well (even if you choose not to follow them!), you also direct people well ( imagine that!) and can communicate most every thing you need to!
• You are still pretty clumsy - you broke your collarbone this past month and at the ripe age of 2.5 years you've had your first broken bone, we hope it's your last. Your clumsiness is more your lack of attention to where you are headed or interest in things other than walking - like waving to people as you go to and from school.
• You love the iPhone and iPad - you can work both of them without direction and get to your books, videos, etc. without assistance (we're not sure if this is a good thing or not yet!)
• You can put your sweater/jacket on and off by yourself
• You can blow your nose - THANK YOU LORD! I thought this day would never come and it's SO much easier than making you mad as a hornet by suctioning your nose.
• You have discovered how to get out of your big girl bed - we knew this day would come, but after a few 'big girl' talks with Mommy and Daddy, you now know that you must stay in your bed until one of us comes in to get you (we'll see how long this lasts!).
• You brush your teeth well; and like to brush them!
  
• Your love of books is still enormous - books make you so happy!
• You take great care of your baby dolls - feed them, change them, wrap them in blankets, stroll them in their stroller - what a good little Mommy you are.
• You continue to love the outdoors -your sandbox is so much fun and now the fire pit interests you - it seems like so much fun to play in.
• You say the blessing before dinner at night -your favorite right now is Johnny Appleseed.
• You say your prayers every night after story time and before turning out the light - it's so sweet to hear you thanking God for your family, baby sister, friends at school, teachers, etc.

" ... my cup runneth over ..." Psalm 23:5

Halloween Cain Style

The Cains love a party - so naturally we tried to attend as many parties as we could to celebrate one of David's favorite holidays - Halloween! Catherine Ellis was finally old enough this year to sort of grasp the concept - she knew she got candy and that if she went from house to house to house she'd get A LOT of candy and all different kinds. More on that later! We kicked Halloween week off with the All Saints Part at St. Marys - we had dinner, a costume party and then Daddies carved pumpkins while kiddos played - Catherine Ellis LOVED it.

Daddy, what's that? Not so sure about the pumpkin 'guts'

First reach of the season - with Daddy close by

Pulling out seeds all by herself

Sweet C chillin' while Daddy and Catherine Ellis are hard at work ...

Master pumpkin carver and his handy assistant

After the allure of pumpkin carving wore off (and it didn't take long) Catherine Ellis was ready to dive into the other fun activities for all the little kiddos - she loved the apple bob, but didn't quite understand what bobbing was and opted instead to organize the apples - little girl after her mothers own heart! Then she went digging for Halloween worms - she thought that was the neatest thing - maybe because it involves getting filthy?

Organizing the apple bobbing station

Proud apple organizer extraordinaire!

Caroline's first pumpkin ... she was super excited about it, can't you tell?

After digging for worms ...

The Sunday before Halloween we had two special visitors, Aunt B and Uncle C - what a treat! Caroline hung out with Uncle C for a while and they just chilled - so cute! Aunt B and Catherine Ellis had a little hair trimming session and played the afternoon away. Both girls were so excited to see their Greats! Thanks for stopping by and loving on us!

Guess whose belly I'm perched on?

My cool and calm Uncle C's belly .... it's a great place to hang out, I tell ya!

Catherine Ellis got her bangs trimmed - much needed! Thank you Aunt B!

Halloween night we were invited to experience Halloween in Crestline Park and man is it a good time. It's like Mardi Gras for children - there are parties everywhere, TONS of children, golf carts with trailers of children, candy for miles and wouldn't you know it a cozy coup. Catherine Ellis loved the party and seeing all the kids dressed up, she kept saying "Mommy what party we going to else?" - meaning where else are we headed? Here are a few pics of her trick-or-treating on Halloween:

It took Captain America's daughter less than 2 seconds
to find the nearest Cozy Coup

Trick-or-treating with Daddy

Last party stop before calling it a night - Baby Archer's house

Baby Archer (belonging to Miss Amanda, one of Mommy's dear friends!) also had a busy Halloween weekend and was baptized the Sunday before Halloween - unfortunately I have no pictures, but he was gorgeous and we Cains were thrilled to be a party of his special day! Caroline and Mr. Archer are 5 weeks apart and in the same class, so Catherine Ellis pretends like he's the little brother she never had:) All in all a very fun and eventful Halloween! We are already looking forward to next year when we'll have two walking, talking trick-or-treaters - SO FUN!