1 year check-up

caroline went in yesterday for her one-year appointment. all is well and she is right where she should be. she cried after her shots but for whatever reason did not cry during or after her finger prick blood draw. her stats:

• length: 29 inches (45th percentile)
• weight: 20 pounds, 4 ounces (36th percentile)
• head circumference: 45.4 cm (59th percentile)

in other progress, she is so close to taking her first steps. she stands all the time but then instead of moving one foot to take a step, she tries to hop with both feet at the same time. she has taken a few stutter steps as a result of the hopping but no real intentional steps yet.

train wreck

it's thomas time again at our local cranberry-themed pseudo amusement park. based on the success of our trip last year, we decided to go again today. - not as much fun this time. Q was in a "mood" and not pleasant to be around. we think he senses the chaos our lives are becoming with the big move and maybe is acting out because of it. that's what we're going with because we like that better than our kid is just a jackass. - here quentin attempts the airplane ride. he did not actually ride it. nor did he ride any of the other rides we tried to put him on. -

he did like all the stationary trains he could climb on. so that's something.

and the bulldozer was a huge hit.

we also spent a significant amount of time in their giant sandbox and on their swings and slide. good thing we spent $60-something dollars to go here. the playground is free.

-

we realized that caroline could actually ride some of the rides. she and quentin took a spin on the flying turtles. pickle had a blast, and for a few fleeting moments, even Q seemed to be having fun.

caroline enjoyed the rides so much that she went on a few more times solo.

well sort of. this kid rode in her turtle. maybe we can photoshop Q's face onto that kid and pretend that we were just one big happy family?

there are no photos of us actually riding the thomas train. i had foolishly booked us on the 12:50 thomas and it was a struggle to even make it until then. Q was being such a pill. then we got on the train and he really kicked it up a notch. i'm sure all the parents around us with well-behaved children were really loving his shrieking and thrashing. Q and jeremy left the train, though they reboarded a different car where Q was at least momentarily pacified by strangers with fruit snacks. caroline LOVED the train. she danced to the music, clapped, and waved to everything we passed. she loved hanging on the side rail, watching the landscape go by.

-

after being a complete pain all day, Q then had a fit when we booked it for the parking lot, screaming, "want more thomas!" even now he's in his room "napping" and i can hear him mumbling about thomas over the baby monitor.

who eventually got his cake

and ate it too

-

i deemed the 6 noodles he actually swallowed to be enough to warrant cake. i mean, that was more than he eats at most meals.

and then there's Q

quentin did not eat his dinner and therefore did not yet earn a piece of cake. after i repeatedly informed him that he wouldn't get cake until he ate his noodles, this happened: oh quentin.

actual birthday cake

after inhaling her dinner, caroline again feasted on birthday cake, with the same results:

-

birthday breakfast

caroline enjoys her birthday breakfast, including a cup of moo juice (not me juice)

happy 1st birthday, caroline!

then:

-

and now:

-

happy 1st birthday, caroline!

-

you've grown so much and we love you more every day!

they say it's (almost) your birthday

we held caroline's 1st birthday party today! she had a great time and loved being the center of attention. she doesn't understand present-opening, but she loved seeing what came out of them. she really loves her panda bear from uncle joe.

of course, quentin enjoyed "helping" with presents

and caroline was fascinated by the bows and shiny paper

-

it's hard to see, but caroline is modeling the charm necklace jeremy and i got her for her birthday. we got her three charms - her birth stone (pearl), a cross for her christening, and a pig because her 1st party theme was the barnyard. the plan is to buy her charms for major occasions throughout her life so she ends up with a complete necklace full of memories. awww.

seriously. i was told there'd be cake. (we had to move inside mid-presents because a thunder and rain, which didn't really ever get worse than a few droplets. oh well.)

she started eating the cake very delicately

but eventually resorted to grabbing fistfuls.

in chocolate heaven.

and quentin was there. grabbing whatever he could from the food table. the boy chose broccoli and cucumbers over chips. weirdo.

pickle's pretty sundress sunday!

a special birthday party edition!

-

20 more years, kiddo. 20 more years.

we want cake. where's our cake?

tomorrow is caroline's 1st birthday party!! in my usual tradition i have made an obscene number of cakes. we have a #1 chocolate cake for caroline to destroy and then a barnyard trio for the rest of the guests - a brown cow (chocolate), a sheep (yellow), and a pig (strawberry.) the animals are all girls, as evidenced by their fancy eyelashes :)