Over the hill and through the coffee table....

Caitlin decided today was the day to crawl through the coffee table. The big puffy blankets under the coffee table was her motivation. The whole process was hilarious and even though she bumped her head a few times, she never made even the smallest pouty face. She was so excited when she got through that she turned around and was about to repeat herself when crazy mommy distracted her with the video camera and she decided to attack that instead. I'll capture it on video one of these days...but for the time being, here are a "few" photos of the trip.

Ahhh

It's so great to do absolutely nothing (even though I did shampoo the bedrooms and hallway)! I forget how awesome summer vacation is until it gets here. I've been in my sweats all day and it feels so good! I did take a shower though....I don't think I could get away with not taking one. And what did I do while Caitlin napped for 2 1/2 hours you ask? Nothing...absolutely nothing but watch my DVR shows and continue reading the last book in the Twilight series......all, very relaxing.

Educational

Well, Dennis only lasted an hour camping out with us. Mainly it was because he was afraid he was going to squish Caitlin. Our blow up mattress is only a Full and we are use to a Queen. However, Caitlin and I got through the whole night and it wasn't that bad. The hardest part was nursing because I didn't have anything to lean against. We're looking into a separate mattress for Dennis so he'll be more comfortable.

When I woke up this morning I was SUPER tired but thought I should get up anyway since it was 7:30. Well, Caitlin and I went into wake up Dennis and he asked me why I didn't try and put her back to sleep. Confused by his question, I just responded with "Well, she's awake now." So we all got up, made some coffee, and had some cereal. Then as I was getting everything together to take a shower, I looked at my watch and it said 7:35. I had to look at it several times and then look at a different clock to make sure mine was working okay....and it was. Then it dawned on me why I was so tired and why Dennis had asked me that.....I woke up at 6:30!!!!!!!!! The really sad this is, that happens to me more often than not when I check the time sans glasses. Thankfully, I was able to take a nap while Caitlin napped!

Well, it's time to go. Dennis is getting ready to shampoo the carpets.

Camp Out

.....or IN rather. Tonight we are camping in our living room before we actually have to camp outside.....it's like a dry run. So far Caitlin LOVES it. She was laughing and crawling all around the tent while we were setting it up and then while we were blowing up the mattress. I hope it goes well. At the very least, it will be quite a fun experience for all of us! :)

Explorer

The day before yesterday, Caitlin realized there is more to the house than just the living room. She finally discovered the kitchen! So now when Dennis and I are working on dinner stuff or cleaning up, she can now follow our voices to the kitchen. I wonder what she'll explore next? She's been down the hallway before, but she was chasing (or rather army crawling) after me. It'll be so funny when she does it on her own.....I can't wait!

Summer is finally here!

Woo hoo! I made it through another school year!!!! And, even better, I will have a job next year! Last night the board finally approved me coming back next year. My job will be a little different because they are reducing my Title 1 from 60% to 50% and I'll be teaching 1st grade 20% which equals out to 1 day a week (Friday's). I don't know about GATE yet and I won't find out until the end of this month. But hey, even if I don't get an additional 10% to bring me back to what I normally teach at, I'm fine with that.....I have a job and that's what counts. I plan on going in next week to work on summer school stuff. I'm hoping I can get everything accomplished in two days so I can relax with Caitlin as much as possible. Tomorrow I think I might celebrate the first day of summer by staying in my PJ's all day!!!! That would be crazy!!!!

Crazy Hair

Crazy hair baby! She gets so crazy now when her daddy gives her a bath. She splashes half of the water out before he can even soap her up!

It's Almost Over

School, that is!!!! Our last day is Thursday and then we get to Par-tay!!!! Actually, I get to prep for summer school and since I'm still breast feeding, no wild parties for me (tear).....sorry Kris. However, the absolutely wonderful news is that road construction season has begun, yuck, but there will be NO construction on my way to work this summer!!!!! WOO HOO!!!! You all know how I feel about road construction, so this is HUGE!!!!! I just hope that by writing this I don't jinx myself....that would be very, very bad. It's been years since I've driven to summer school without the curse words flying in my car during my commute. Although, this year I will definately have to curb the swearing (with or without construction) because I will be towing two wee ones with me to summer school everyday.

Books Galore!

Today I went to the mall with my friend to look for some gold shoes for her wedding....and of course, living where we live, we had absolutely no luck! However, since we were at the mall already, and I had a gift card to Boarders, we popped in to get some books for Caitlin. I ended up getting her 4 books (2 board books and 2 cloth ones) and then one for her and Daddy when Daddy gives her a bath. It's called "Barnyard Bath" by Sandra Boynton and it's pretty funny. Caitlin got a book for her Papa for his birthday too. The awesome thing was that I only had to pay $0.17 for the whole bunch! Caitlin started "reading" a.k.a. eating her books as soon as I got them home! Silly girl!

Literacy Night

Tonight I helped out Nancy and Amy put on a Literacy Night at our school. Kids from 0 to 5 years old were invited to check out the school. It was a beach party theme and so much fun! Both kindergarten classrooms were open and had numerous activities for the students. Nancy came up with some awesome stuff. I was in charge of the octopus hand prints (with googly eyes....because everything's better with googly eyes). Amy handled the clay with shell prints because, as you know, I don't touch play dough....or anything similar. We also had a bean bag toss, watercolor, and food in our room. Nancy's room had a blow up pool filled with balls, a collage station, a sandbox, prizes, and something else I can't remember. The kids all got to take home a beach themed book (Caitlin got the Rainbow Fish). The whole night was a great way to expose kids to school and give them something to look forward to. Many of the kids will start school in the fall so it was a great way to preview their personalities. It would have been neat for Caitlin to come down too, but she was spending quality time with Daddy watching the playoffs and eating dinner in front of the TV.....and when I called to check in, she was having quite the conversation with her Daddy.

Here is Caitlin's 7 month picture!

Antibiotics to the Rescue!

Yup, it's pink eye! And, no, it's not strep throat. However, because I should have been feeling better by now, they gave me antibiotics. So hopefully in a day or two I should be feeling much, much better. I'm so excited!!!! I stayed home today which was a very good idea and I ended up taking an unexpected 2 hour nap while Caitlin napped herself. I was planning on just laying on the couch but the next thing I remember was the phone ringing and it was already 4pm!

Oooo, so Caitlin tried the combo of banana and avocado for lunch and she really liked it! She also tried golden kiwi which she devoured!

Dr. Apt

When it rains, it pours! This morning I woke up with pink eye (at least that's what I think it is). Plus, I'm still feeling crappy and ended up going home a bit early today. Tomorrow I am using my last "no tell" day as a sick day and going to the doctor. The secretary recommended a doctor's office that is pretty easy to get into so I called at lunch today and I'll be seeing them tomorrow at 9am. With a "real" doctor, I won't have to even think about going to Urgent Care anymore....woo hoo! The other possibility with my eye is that my cold/flu virus has spread to my eye....super gross! Hopefully, they'll fix me up tomorrow!

Oh, and since my husband is soooooo wonderful, he brought home a big jug of orange juice tonight....the funny thing is, that was the one thing I forgot to ask him to bring home earlier.....but he just sensed that I needed it (even though I'm not normally a juice drinker)! How awesome and wonderful is that!!!!

Ibprohpen to the rescue!

I don't know what I would do if Ibprophen didn't make my sore throat tolerable. I was sure I was going to feel much better today, but I really don't! And instead of resting (like my sister said I should have done) I made 20 jars of baby food!.....and stuffed manicotti with TWO different sauces! Oh, and thanks to the tip from my cousin Bryn, I gave Caitlin cheese for the first time today......and she really liked it!!!! It's a little scary watching her eat it because I'm so afraid she's going to choke or something. I'm pretty sure that feeling won't go away for quite some time. Anyway, I made quite the variety of baby food today. Here's a list (because I LOVE making lists):

Yams
Carrots and Yams
Carrots and Apples
Carrots, Apples, and Yams
Zucchini and Acorn Squash
Acorn Squash and Apples

I really need to make some green food to counteract all the orange! But most green food needs to be strained (green beans, peas) and I really don't get a long with my strainer these days.

Alright, I must get ready for bed. I HAVE to start feeling better tomorrow, right?

Bummer!

Mommy brain and sick brain collided today. Remember the baby shower I was going to on Sunday? Well, turns out, it was today! Thank goodness Nancy called to ask about carpooling! Otherwise, I wouldn't have known at all..........even though I have the invitation on my cork board AND it's written on my calendar too! Anyway, because I'm still not feeling well, I didn't go. I was so looking forward to Julia's shower......I even registered with her! It's a total bummer and it makes me sad. But I would be even sadder if she got sick because of me. I haven't had a fever all day (woo hoo) but my throat and ears have really been hurting. Plus, I've developed a gnarly cough. But like I told Kelly, I'm beginning to mend and I should get a little better every day. Now it's off for bed. Caitlin has been down since 8:30 and if our current theory holds true again tonight, she should wake up for another 3-4 hours! I'll share the theory tomorrow.....I don't want to jinx anything yet!

Fever....yet again.

Yesterday morning I woke up feeling achy and not myself. I got to school and I had perked up a bit and was feeling okay. Then, an hour later, I wasn't doing so good at all! I was fading fast, but I was determined to make it through the day......but it didn't happen. By 1pm I was done, and by 1:30pm I was in bed with a 99.6 temp. Thank goodness daycare had room for Caitlin today because I felt miserable this morning. I stayed in bed until 10am and then headed to Urgent Care to see if I had strep throat.....and of course, it's just a virus. So I'm still feeling crummy and I have a baby shower that I really want to go to on Sunday. Let's just hope I feel better by then!

So Caitlin has graduated to apple "wagon wheels." She absolutely LOVES them and gets so excited when she sees me getting one out. We also gave her the mesh feeder for the first time today filled with apricots. She really liked them, even though they were pretty sour. Oh, and it was a no-go on the tofu or cous-cous. I think we'll have to try it again in a week or so.

Have a great weekend!

Photo Spectacular

We had a wonderful Memorial Day visiting family this weekend. There are not enough words to describe our fun, so I will have the photos help me out.

Our sweet family.

J, K, B-man, and Miss Maddie

Awe!

Caitlin giving Maddie a big wet one!

All tuckered out from a day at the park!

B-man catching a ride on Uncle Dennis

Silly girl!

He's getting to be such a big boy!

So cute in a hat!

Look! Mommy actually got a clip in your hair!

Are they sharing? Or playing tug-o-war?

Ogling her daddy!

Brady watering the garden!

Maddie: Oh, Caitlin, just a little hug.
Caitlin: Not right now Maddie. I'm a little grumpy after my 3 hour car ride.

Maddie: But Caitlin, I missed you SO much!
Caitlin: I know, but give me a bit to calm down.

Maddie: Please!
Caitlin: Later Maddie.....Mooommmyyy!

Maddie: I'm sorry Caitlin. I just wanted to give you a hug.
Caitlin: I know. Maybe I can give you a hug after I wipe my tears, okay.

Maddie: I thought you said a hug!
Caitlin: Ha! Paybacks!

Shy Brady

Papa, Grandma, and Caitlin

Papa is SUPER excited to see Caitlin.

Cousin Hunter holding Caitlin during his picnic at school.

Caitlin trying to "attack" Hunter.

Caitlin showing Daddy how to use the laptop.

Alright Mommy, enough with the photos already.

Okay, my sweet baby girl!

Surprise!

Today Caitlin and I surprised her cousin ,Hunter, at his school. They were all out on the front lawn having a picnic and rocking out to a local band....he's in kindergarten by the way. All the kids were so cute! Hunter really liked seeing Caitlin and was really excited and gentle while he held her on his lap. Later, while we were at my dad's house, Hunter and my sister stopped by and Caitlin was so fascinated by him! I'll post pics as soon as we get back home.

Well, tomorrow we're off to Trader Joe's!!!!! Woo hoo!!!!

6 month check up

Caitlin had her 6 month check up and received 3 shots (sniff, sniff) This time she wasn't patient of the day. She cried through every shot and when she did cheer up between the 1st and 2nd shot (while I did a rendition of the chicken dance), she was completely startled when the nurse gave her the 2nd shot and immediately started crying again. Poor, sweet, baby girl! Anyway, she is now 25 inches long (25th percentile) and weighs 14 pounds, which puts her in between the 10th and 25th percentile! She has upward movement! In the next week or so I'm going to add tofu to her baby food to give it more texture.....that should be fun!

Oh, the horror!!!

I can't believe it was that bad!.....Twilight the movie, that is. Within the first five minutes, I thought, "No!!!! It can't be this bad! It's just my imagination. It has to be better!" Oh, no! The acting was HORRIBLE and the soundtrack was just as bad! I had prepared myself for the usual plot tweaks that always happen when a book is turned into a movie, but there is no excuse for the bad acting!!!!! I had to read part of New Moon just to get the movie out of my head! And all day I've been trying to block the horrible images. Did they really need all those up close shots of Bella and Edward? And what was with Edward's eyebrows!!!! I know Bella is a bit mellow in the book, but she was simply without a pulse in the movie! Then, when she was supposed to be quite dramatic at a specific part in the movie, it was like she was having a normal conversation!!!!! Plus, the dramatic camera motions and blue tint, drove me nuts! Oh, and Edward's supposed to be this beautiful creature, but in the movie he looks just so unattractive! This has to be one of the worst movies I've seen in a very long time! Hopefully, with a new director (and some acting lessons) the second movie will be much better. I mean, it has to be, right?

3 Words

Twilight the MOVIE!

2nd Tooth

.....is both feelible and visible! This one didn't seem to cause as much commotion as the first one either. There was no fever or runny nose and on Friday night she only woke up once!!!! I actually got 4 hours of sleep in a row! It would have been more, but I've become embarrassingly addicted to the Twilight series and can't seem to pry myself away from them.......even if that means I sacrifice sleep. I find myself actually giddy when I read them! What is THAT about?! I've even caught myself reading in the middle of the day! I usually only read in the evening just before bed, but now I search out a minute here, and a minute there, just to read a little bit more. I've got a problem......Hello, my name is Cindy and I'm a Twilight-aholic. I wish I had the super fast reading capabilities of my friend Crystal. It would make things so much easier!

First Boo Boo

I knew this day would come, but I didn't think it would be this soon. This afternoon, as Caitlin and I were playing on the floor, she rolled over.....right into the leg of the coffee table! She stopped cooing and I picked her up right as soon as she started the "silent scream." She was like that for so long that I actually blew softly into her face, just so she'd take a breath! Finally, she did and then let out a HUGE scream!!! Poor baby girl! She only cried for a few minutes and then laid her head on my shoulder. After that, it was like it didn't happen at all. The only thing is, she's gonna have a little bump on her head for the next day or so :(