10.31.2010

happy halloween

 hope your weekend was fun of not too many tricks and lots of treats!

10.29.2010

Foto Friday

i'm an aunt

Really the most exciting thing that happened during my trip to Texas didn't even happen in Texas: Jeff and Melissa had their baby! I became an aunt for the first time! (and of course Paul is an uncle and Caitlin is a cousin which are both very exciting as well!)

Madison Sue Dickson was born October 27th, 6 lbs. 4 oz. and 19 inches long.
She is such a little peanut and looks so adorable I can't wait to meet her!!! I'm so excited for Jeff and Melissa, they have waited so long for this little bundle and they are going to be such amazing parents this little girl is so lucky.

10.27.10: 2 months old

Caitlin is 2 months old. She's beginning to look less like an infant and more like a baby but still of course just as cute as ever. Here's some things about her at this stage:
-She is fattening up a little bit, in her cheeks, thighs and arms. She also has the cutest little pot belly. She is still wearing her new born size clothes but it's getting close so i think that will change in the next little while.
-She is smiling and making noises and laughing more and more each day, which I LOVE. She is usually happiest in the morning when I go in to get her and it makes me so happy to start my day. She will just talk and laugh with me.
-She sleeps through the night about 3 nights a week, the others she wakes up once. She eats every 4 hours and naps in the morning and afternoon. She is still a great sleeper, although she definitely likes to be awake more often. She's alert and loves to just stare at things. We have a little play mat gym that she will play on and smile and laugh and look at the lights.
-She loves being outside! She will be fussing in her car seat inside then a soon as we go out she'll calm down. (then as soon as we get in the car she'll fall asleep) I've been taking her for walks in the morning and she loves it. She's so calm and peaceful outside. She definitely gets this from her dad!
-Paul is convinced she can roll over. If she's on her side, she can roll to her back, sometimes. She likes to be on her tummy but not for too long.
-She loves her binky, we mostly just give it to her when it's time to sleep. She also loves her hands and if she can find her thumb she's happy, but usually she will want the binky after a little bit.


went to the pediatrician. here's her stats:
height: 22.45 inches (52% percentile)
weight: 10.23 lbs. (32% percentile)
head circumference: 15 (31% percentile)

texas

here's what we did on our trip:
sunday: went to church, hung out at home
monday: Christine and Lorraine drove up from Austin to come visit for the day so Caitlin finally got to meet aunt Christine!! It was so fun to see them. We went to lunch at Cheesecake factory and chatted and talked and of course admired Caitlin. Caitlin loved her aunt Christine of course. Christine is so cute pregnant, and so close to having her little boy! I'm so excited for Christine to have her little boy and be a mom too, and I'm so glad that they were willing to make the drive to come see us!  

tuesday: My mom and I went to the "Kaleidoscope of Homes" in Southlake (basically a parade of homes neighborhood with about 6 houses) We walked from house to house and they were all so gorgeous. It made me want a house so bad! I got lots of good ideas and I loved just admiring them. We also went shopping at the antique mall and found some treasures


wednesday: Ran some errands and hung out at home in the morning then that night we met up with Brittany  at the Galleria! We met up and had dinner then just walked around a little and looked in some stores. That mall is amazing i love it. Brittany has had a lot going on in her life recently, and one really exciting thing coming up.. her wedding this summer! It was so nice to be able to talk with her in person about everything going on. 


thursday: hung out with my grandparents a little , had lunch with my dad and then headed  back to provo. This flight was much better.. no delays or weird things I had the whole row of seats to myself and Caitlin slept the whole way, i woke her up at the end to give her a bottle and there was no crying or fussiness. It went really well.
 We were both glad to be home and see Paul but we had so much fun in Texas! It was so awesome to just be able to go at the drop of a hat and my parents were so fun and took such good care of us. We felt so spoiled, it was really fun to just be able to spend time with them.

10.28.2010

texas bound... slowly.

Paul went hunting this past week and i was looking for something more fun to do than sit at home without the hubs so... my mom surprised me with a trip home! it was decided so last minute, it felt almost wrong.. like i needed to ask for work off and plan way in advance, but no. i really could just take off. (i love my life right now.)

So really caitlin just had to decide... hunting with dad or texas with mom. (easy choice: the girls stick together, but she did look pretty cute with ALL that hunting gear!

so off we went on saturday. unfortunately, things didn't go as effortlessly as we had hoped for caitlin's first flight. the flight was at 12:45, we got there plenty early and got through security without a hitch. got to our gate, waited a little while, gate-checked her stuff, got on the plane, got settled. as we were about to pull away from the jetway, the captain made an announcement that they just received word there were delays in dallas and we wee now in a "ground stop". about 20 minutes later we all unboarded the plane and were sent back to our gate to wait. and wait. and wait. turns out there were thunderstorms and tornado warnings in dallas and they had completely closed the airport. we eventually were able to re-board around 4:30 and finally got into dfw that night. It turned into a long day but i am SO lucky i have an angel baby -- she never cried and slept the whole flight except for the last 20 minutes when she had a hard time (tired, hungry, fussy, ears hurting) but at that point i couldn't even blame her.

First flight down, hopefully the return flight won't be as traumatic.

meeting aunt lee lee

On Friday: Caitlin and I got to spend all day hanging out with Leigh! She was in town for her cousin's wedding, and visits. I had such a good time with her just talking about everything under the sun and remembering funny times and getting caught up. I love Leigh. She's so easy to talk to and hang out with and she's always full of good stories and gossip. I'm so glad she got to come visit and meet Caitlin, who loved her of course (since Leigh is the self-declared "best aunt ever" I expected nothing less). We also went to dessert with Morgan and Whitney which was fun. Now if we could just get Heather up here sometime for a proper reunion with all of us! But anyways, Leigh thanks for making me a major stop on your Provo visit. Love you, miss you.

10.22.2010

Foto Friday

 pretty sure she could put her whole fist in her mouth if she put her mind to it. as soon as she loses her binky, she starts munching those little hands!

10.20.2010

Dear Orem, 
Thank you for providing me with yet another place to spend my husband's hard-earned money. 

Oh how I've missed this place since moving from Texas. I told Paul it's like the Cabela's of creating. And pretty similar in size too actually.

10.16.10

Saturday was a fun day.
 
We cheered on Mike in his first triathlon! He did awesome!
Then we went and hiked the Y. Paul carried Caitlin in the front pack and I huffed and puffed along side them. The weather was perfect: sunny but not too hot. That's the type of activity that I'm not always that excited to do, but glad that I did it afterward. Caitlin definitely takes after her dad-- she LOVES being outdoors, and quite enjoyed her little ride up the mountain.
That evening we went to the Turnbull Twin's Birthday Party. They turned 2 and had the cutest Pow-Wow party. They looked adorable in their little Indian outfits and they were so fun to watch. Of course Missy did such a cute job throwing the party.. complete with a tee-pee and rock painting and headband making. Taylor's sister made their cake and it was so amazing! They were so cute to watch opening all their gifts. They are such fun little boys.

10.19.2010

when daddy's away...

the girls will play. 
You're never too young for a pedicure. And speaking of: about a week ago when we were lotioning Caitlin after her bath i started rubbing her feet and she LOVED it. She was smiling and so content. So now, every night as part of her bedtime routine I give her a little foot rub. She lives a charmed life.  

10.15.2010

Foto Friday

WARNING: almost full frontal nudity
There are really just no words for how cute i think this picture is. We call it her "nudie bootie picture" 

10.13.2010

10.10.10 family pics

On Sunday we decided to take advantage of the beautiful fall weather and scenery so we headed up the canyon with the Tingeys and Barnes and Shannel took family pics for everyone! They just got this awesome camera a few weeks ago and I am #1 very jealous and #2 already benefiting greatly from Shannel's incredible talent. Here are some of my faves:



10.12.2010

10.10: Caitlin's first Sunday at church


We took Caitlin to church today for the first time. It was so nice for me to be back! I enjoyed being able to go to church meetings again. Caitlin looked SO cute in her little dress... even though she stayed bundled up in her car seat the whole time! I had to take some pictures when we got home. She was a little bit awake still when we got there but after a while (you guessed it!) she slept through the whole thing. Love my little sleeping beauty!

nitro circus

Saturday night we went to the Nitro Circus show hosted by APX. It was a really fun event. All the guys from Nitro Circus were there and they did all kinds of things: parachuted into the arena, freestyle bike jumps, BMX bike jumps, mini moto races, buggy jumping... my favorite was when they parachuted in and also when the BMX riders got towed onto the jump then ditched their bikes to try to jump into this huge orb and roll down the rest of the jump. (It's kind of confusing to describe but only one person did it and it looked SO fun to roll down the hill in this huge beach ball thing) Paul was in heaven watching all the riding and jumping-- and not to mention the free J Dawgs and free drinks and candy! The weather was great and we just packed up Caitlin and put her in the front pack and she slept through the whole thing! 

10.09.2010

(10.6) My mom got to stay for the week and it was so nice to not only have her here but to have an extra set of hands during the day. And of course Caitlin and Grandma didn't mind one bit spending some extra time together.
(10.7) A little tummy time for this curious little girl...














(10.7) Friday night my mom, Chelsea and I went to the BYU Homecoming Spectacular. Cassie performed in it as part of the Women's Chorus and several other dancing and musical groups performed as well. It was... spectacular! I especially loved hearing the orchestra-- I had never heard them before and they were so good! Some people are just so talented its so amazing.
Photobucket
Before my grandparents left town, we went to dinner with them and then Cassie treated us to ice cream at the Helamen Halls Creamery (courtesy of dining plus). We called it our "4 Generation Family Home Evening"

10.08.2010

Foto Friday

I used to think it was kind of like a cool magic trick when a mom would take a fussy baby out of the room and come back and they were sound asleep. how do they do that?! Moms are special. Caitlin is becoming more and more alert everyday, and being awake more and engaging more which is so fun! I love it when I can tell she is really focusing on things and when she smiles at things I do. But, with all that said... at the end of a long day
there's nothing like a sleeping baby
   (taken 9.28)
This is how I found her the other morning when I went to check on her.. all burrowed against her crib bumper. She loves to snuggle up to things. 
(taken 10.5)

10.07.2010

10.2: Caitlin's Blessing Day

On Saturday night, we had the special experience of Paul giving Caitlin her baby blessing, which is a special prayer given to newborn babies, in our church, where they receive a wonderful blessing and a name whereby they will be known throughout their lives. A baby blessing can also mention blessings or things that may come in the baby's life as they grow up. Paul gave a beautiful blessing and Caitlin was such a little angel all night.

We gathered family and friends at the Clubhouse at the condos where my sister lives. It is a nice building with lots of space, there were about 50 people there. We are very grateful to everyone who was able to come, some traveled a long way to be there. The girls arrived early to get things ready and then everyone started coming around 8:30. Caitlin looked so beautiful. We bought a blessing dress in Spain when we went this past summer and it is so gorgeous. We held a short program: Derk opened with a prayer, Clay Barnes conducted everything, Paul gave the blessing then I said a few words and then Stewart closed with a prayer. Afterward everyone mingled, took pictures and ate desserts. It was a very special night for our little family and our little girl. It is amazing to think that one day she will grow up and become a beautiful woman and hopefully receive all these blessings we want for her. She was so quiet and mostly sleeping the whole night, she really brings such a sweet spirit into wherever she is. Babies are so precious and so close to our Heavenly Father.


 



10.05.2010

meeting the greats

Another important group of people that Caitlin met for the first time this weekend was all of her great grandparents.

Friday morning she met her Great Grandma and Grandpa Goulding. They drove up with my parents from Texas and made the long trip to come spend time with family and be here for Caitlin's blessing and I'm so grateful they did. I know making that drive is definitely not easy and I'm so thankful for them and for what a big part of my life they are. Caitlin was giving my grandpa the biggest smiles while my grandma was holding her. It was really cute. He is a pretty funny guy I guess... if she's anything like me she will certainly get her fair share of teasing from Grandpa!
Friday night we went to Salt Lake to visit with Stewart's parents, the Dicksons. Great Grandpa Dickson is doing well and in good health but unfortunately Paul's grandma has a bad case of Alzheimer's and seems to be slipping away from us (mentally and physically) more and more every time we see her. She was pretty much non-responsive to anyone the whole time we were there. But then when Grandpa held Caitlin and brought her over to Grandma, her whole face lit up and she said, "What a cute little girl!" This happened about three times that she would come out of her haze and look at Caitlin and make comments. The rest of us were all so shocked and pleased to see that she would respond. I think it is really a testament of how close babies are to heaven that such a sweet little spirit like Caitlin could get a response and emotion from Grandma that we all so desperately wanted to see. Even the next morning Grandma told her caretaker about the cute baby girl she had seen the night before... small miracles.

Saturday night she met her Great Grandma and Grandpa Gottfredson. We also spent time with them on Sunday night. Caitlin is the first great grandchild on this side of the family, which is exciting. They thought she is definitely a keeper. We talked for awhile about our family and how lucky we are to have eternal families and to be in one where everyone is progressing and keeping the covenants. So very thankful to be a part of this family.
Monday morning we went to my Grandma Joanne's nursing home apartment so she could meet her Great Grandma Pelton. My grandma also has Alzheimer's, and has for awhile now. She remembers my dad but it is increasingly apparent that she just can't quite figure out how the rest of us fit in. Caitlin definitely threw her for a loop. But, she thought she was cute nonetheless and I think she recognized that she was at least my daughter... whoever I was. I do like to think that my Grandpa Pelton and Caitlin had some good bonding time up in heaven before she came down.