Watch out world

Caroline is about to be on the move - for real! She's super duper close to crawling and is constantly trying to figure out how to get something - anything that is within her eye's view! It's such a fun time for her and Catherine Ellis is delighted that baby sister can now play with her. The first thing Catherine Ellis says when she wakes up most mornings is "I wanna play with my baby Caroline." Precious!

Here is a glimpse of how on the move she is - this was during her 8 month photos I took last week:

Sweet C's mischievous grin .... this is how we know she's about to take off!

Let's see - where should I start first?

Going ....

Going ...

Going ....

Almost gone ....

Mommy to the rescue - boy, that was fun!

And last but not least, this is her latest trick - army crawling 101:

Holy Baptism - Caroline Elizabeth Cain

Caroline was welcomed to the Christian community on January 8th - the first Sunday of Epiphany this year and the Baptism of our Lord. What a fabulous day! It was also the same day her big sister was baptized two short years ago.

Caroline was also baptised at Camp McDowell at our parish retreat. What a treat! The weather was yucky (rain and fog), but the service was amazing. The three wise men visited, the parish choir was there in all their glory and tons of family and friends were on hand to welcome sweet C to our community of faith. We are blessed beyond measure.

David and I want to thank everyone that traveled far and near to be a part of Caroline's big day - words can not express how much each and every one of you mean to us! And for those that couldn't be there, we know you were there in spirit - thank you for loving Caroline and supporting her!

Fair warning - there are LOTS of pictures in this post!

Hanging out with Godfather Joey - very sleepy baby!

Baptismal font flowers

Meme and Caroline

Godmother Caroline and Caroline -
she started sleeping as soon as the service started.

Getting ready for baptism, sweet C is still snoozing!

Daddy got to sprinkle the water and this woke Caroline up

Waking up to Huey - it only took a few seconds for her to start crying ....

Caroline's baptism candle that we'll light each year on her anniversary

Sweet C, Godmother Amanda and Sophie the giraffe

Granddaddy and Caroline

Caroline with all her Godparents

Caroline and the Bates side of the family

Meme and her girls (and fav son-in-law)

Caroline and the Greats

Caroline and the Globettis

Caroline and the Florys

Caroline and the Carmichaels

Caroline and the Nations

Caroline and the Cains

Our family

Caroline with her beautiful flowers

Happy Baptism Day Caroline!

Aunt B, Sweet C & Meme

Granddaddy and the girls

The Bendingers and the Cains

Godfather Joey and Caroline

Lauren & Caroline

Godmother Amanda and Caroline

Amanda and the girls

Sweet classmates - Caroline and Archer (6 months)

Two peas in a pod!

Godmother Caroline & Caroline

We love sweet Frances Grace (3 months)!

Mama and her precious girls

What a memorable day - my mother had a dear friend that used to say that wonderful days that you will remember always are "Red Letter Days" - this day was certainly one of those for our family. Thanks be to God!

I want to walk as a child of the light;
I want to follow Jesus.
God set the stars to give light to the world;
the star of my life is Jesus.

Refrain
In him there is no darkness at all;
the night and the day are both alike.
The Lamb is the light of the city of God:
Shine in my heart, Lord Jesus.

I want to see the brightness of God;
I want to look at Jesus.
Clear Sun of righteousness, shine on my path,
and show me the way to the Father.

I’m looking for the coming of Christ;
I want to be with Jesus.
When we have run with patience the race,
we shall know the joy of Jesus.

8 months

Happy 8 months Sweet C! You are a ton of fun these days - so interactive and about to be all over the place. You have brought such joy to this family!!

January 15, 2012 - 8 months old

Some things you're up to at 8 months:

• you're flipping all over the place. You can roll from one end of the house to the other - and quick! You're pulling up on your knees, but no official crawl quite yet.
  
• you're eating solids three times a day now and nursing 5-6 times - you love to eat - a little woman after your mama's heart!

• you started the New Year off with a bang - sleeping 12 hours and have kept it up for the most part - you have your off nights just like we all do, but we are THRILLED to have the full night of sleep and you seem to like it too!
• you bob your head up and down and it looks like you're either dancing or saying yes - it's pretty cute!

• you LOVE your sister - she is constant entertainment for you.
  
• your favorite toy right now is the jumper - you jump and jump and jump and it is delightful to watch how delighted you are about it.
• you are showing Daddy more love these days - still very partial to Mommy though (which is just fine!)

• you love to go on walks and get outside - we're so happy that you do - the spring will be so much fun!
• you are still pretty laid back - there is not much that ruffles your feathers (as long as Mommy is around).

• flexible also describes you well - throughout our traveling holidays you were easy peasy - slept well in different places, napped well and ate well. You like to be on the go.

Sweet child you are loved - thank you for bringing even more joy than we thought possible to our little family. A blessing indeed.

"Great is Thy faithfulness!" "Great is Thy faithfulness!" Morning by morning new mercies I see; All I have needed Thy hand hath provided— "Great is Thy faithfulness," Lord, unto me!

33 Months

We are closing in on 3 years old...and too fast! Catherine Ellis is 33 months old today - and a HOT mess! She is so much fun! We've certainly got our hands full with this child, but we wouldn't have it any other way! She is absorbing and learning so much - she constantly amazes us with the pure love and compassion she shows to her little sister daily and the spark she brings to our family. There is truly never a dull moment with Catherine Ellis!

January 9, 2012 - 33 months

Here are some of the great things you're up to at 33 months:

• you're a drama queen - in many good ways! You love to dance, charm, socialize - all the good things that come with being a little dramatic. And then there is the flip side - your emotions sometimes get the best of your little self. All this to say, there is never a dull moment with you precious child!
• you count with ease to 15
• know your ABC's - the only part that you get a tad bit confused on is the ending - you will say QRS - QRS and forget TUV.
• you sleep well - bedtime is 8:00 p.m. and you are typically up between 7:00-7:30 a.m.
• you are a creature of habit and you don't like straying from what you know.
• you LOVE your sister - we're SO proud of how you've embraced her. What an ally she has in you big girl!
• you like to color, write, draw - anything artsy and crafty. You have your fabulous teachers to thank for this.
• your napping at school the past month has been hit or miss. At home you will still average about 2 hours - some days we are lucky to get an hour though. We sure are going to miss nap time in a few years!
• you like to eat most foods - not too picky. Typical foods that you like: avocado, cheese, carrots, pizza, salad, corn, chicken nuggets, french fries, pancakes, Cheerios, fruit, mashed potatoes.
• you really dislike time out - but it seems to be effective for discipline for now.
• you LOVE LOVE LOVE to play with the iPad or iPhone - it's scary how well you know how to work them.
• you sing every day - you love to sing and often if you're up before your sister you'll run in and sing Rise and Shine and Give God Your Glory Glory to her - she thinks this is funny.
• you say your prayers at night before bed - you're still saying the blessing "God is great, God is good, let us thank him for our food", but hey, you've got to start somewhere.
• you are polite - we're still working on when to say ma'am and sir, but you're getting there.
• you are a sponge, it only takes once for you to hear or see something and you've committed it to memory.
• you love most everyone - you hug every classmate every morning and afternoon before you leave, your teachers, Mommy's co-workers - what a sweet, sweet child.
• your love of books still exists - we hope it always does!
• you like to cook and help Mommy in the kitchen. Over the holidays you made homemade mac and cheese with Aunt B and it was yummy!
• you do not like Santa and as far as you're concerned you don't ever want him to come to your house - you say the reason you don't like him is 'his long white beard'.
• you're memorized the praise CD Coco made us - all 18 songs. We listen to it every time we get in the car. Daddy says we praise him out of the car:)
  

ROOOOLLLL TIDE!
(the National Championship Game was also the 9th -
just supporting Daddy's team!)

Sweet C was supportive too!

In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God ...
1 Thessalonians 5:18