Caroline at 18 months!

Today is officially our last day with an 18 month old, so I had better get on it! So far, this is definitely my favorite age! I have, however, been known to say this about every age as we have gone along, so I may be a bit biased by the big hugs and kisses I am getting at the moment! She does/says so many funny things and she always keeps us on our toes. Never a dull moment in this house!

Chris and I are both major cut-ups and I think it is great that Caroline is now joining in the fun and teasing us. She has always been a very expressive child(Read: LOUD), but her facial expressions lately have been cracking us up on a regular basis. We really feel like we have a little comedian living in our house. Children are FABULOUS entertainment!

I'll ask her a question... ex. "Caroline, would you like goldfish or gushers with your fruit for snack?"

Response: ....taking in the enormity of the situation(ha!), she reaches for the goldfish... wait! pulls her hands back in. cuts her eyes at me and gives me a look like, is this a joke?... stares longingly at the gushers, reaches for gushers... WAIT! pulls her hands back in. BIG SMILE, laughs, reaches for BOTH the goldfish and the gushers and tries to make a break for it to the family room. Hands up in the air, holding her loot, squealing and laughing all the way!

I'm left laughing, chasing my wild child around the house... but after that cuteness- how could I fuss???

She has started making a serious face that has us all in stitches! If I ask her to do something that she doesn't want to do, but she doesn't want to be outright defiant, she will stand still and give me the serious(almost mean) face. Stare and Nose scrunch included. She's smart enough to know that there will be consequences if she does it anyways, but she doesn't like being told she cannot do what she wants to do... who does?!? At this point, I would say on the attitude scale this look is about one step away from "hands on the hips-sass" that I am trying to avoid at all costs. Of course, if it is true that you pay for your raising... I am doomed. I was the Queen of Sass.;-)

She is sweet and affectionate. She gives BIG hugs and says "mmm, mmm, mmm" like she just cannot get enough when she gives hugs. Wonder where she got that from??;-) She also gives random sloppy kisses that are enough to bring you to your knees!

In fact, my favorite moment of the past month involves one of these sweet, sloppy kisses. I went to meet Mother in Cullman, our middle point, to get Caroline back from their weekend playdate. When she first saw me she reached out, clinching her fingers in and out for a hug. Then she leaned back to get a good look at me while she was sitting on my hip and proceeded to lean in and give me a big smack- complete with smack sound- and another hug and went "mmm, mmm, mmm..." It was so sweet I thought I was going to die from a sugar rush!!!

We just recently experienced her "word explosion" and she has begun to repeat everything we say. She asks for, "Tea", "Juice, Juice", "Bawl"(Ball), "Bubbles, Bubbles", "Bays"(Babies), "Cccarh"(Car, very hard K sound), "Bro"(Brody, Mom's Dog), "Pull"(apple), "Baahh"(bath), "More", etc...with enough provocation she can be enticed to repeat any word. M&M's work great;-)

Physically, she is a busy, busy bee. Mommy is a tired, tired lady;-) It is great, though! She runs all day. One of her favorite things to do is play outside and we are taking full advantage of the 3 parks that our neighborhood has. 2 have jungle gyms and one is just a large flat grassy patch that has a circular sidewalk enclosing it. We go to the park almost every day and it has been nice to have a safe place close by to play. She is very sturdy on her feet and never loses her balance... such a big girl! Like most kids her age she has many tiny bruises and for the life of me I couldn't tell you where she got most of them. That's not to say that I'm not watching her constantly, I am. She is just such a tough little thing! She falls and she laughs. My Father actually said he was worried that she had nerve issues since she doesn't seem to feel pain like normal children. I assure you she is perfectly normal, just tough! While she may be dramatic when she doesn't get what she wants, she isn't when she gets a boo-boo!

Caroline, It has been a wonderful 18 months, Sweetheart! I couldn't be more proud to be your Mommy and I know your Daddy feels the same way. Thank you for all of the joy and laughter that you have brought to our lives. If it was even possible, I think you have made your extended family a closer unit simply because none of us can seem to get enough of you! We treasure every sweet moment and look forward to guiding your way in life. We prayed for you, dreamed of you, and the reality of you is so much better than we ever could have imagined. Ok, I'm going to cry now, so I am going to end this by saying... Thanks for being Our Girl! Love, Mommy=)