Happy Halloween

Cara is 3 months old today! We wanted to wish everyone a Happy Halloween!

Baptism

Today Cara was baptized at our church. She was such a doll in her Christening gown. She was very good during Mass and then during the Baptism following Mass. Her Godmother is Scott's sister Cyndi and her Godfather is Emily's brother Michael. Many family and friends were able to share in this special day with us! We had a luncheon at our house following the Baptism.

Daddy's Concert

Cara went to her 2nd concert directed by her Daddy last night (outside of the womb)! It was the Fall Concert Band Concert, grades 6-12 performed. Cara got all dressed up in one of her Halloween outfits-limited time to wear them so we take every opportunity! I put a bow in her hair to make sure she still looked like a girl since she wasn't in one of her many pink outfits.

Daddy introduced Cara and I at the concert, she got a nice applause! It seemed like EVERYONE came up to us after the concert to tell me congratulations! She was very good at the concert. Slept through most of the middle of it, but at least she didn't cry. Especially since the superintendent and principal sat right in front of us!!

12 Weeks

Sharing Cara's most recent pictures! She is a happy healthy 12 week old! She is getting more active, cooing, and has a two new favorites toys that she loves! They both have bright lights and music and she just lights up and laughs at them. It is so cute!

Last night was Mommy's first night back at work. Everyone survived! I am sure Daddy would have preferred her to fall asleep before midnight though. She had fun playing with Grandpa today while Mommy slept!

Fell Asleep Sitting in Boppy

This afternoon I was talking on the phone while holding Cara. She started getting really restless so I set her in the boppy pillow on the couch right next to me. She started fussing so I gave her the pacifier (aka mute button) and two seconds later she is fast asleep! So cute. Luckily the camera was close because I had to capture this moment.

11 Weeks

Never in my life has 11 weeks gone by so fast. In one sense it feels like yesterday that Cara was born, but in another I can't remember life without her so it seems like she has been a part of our lives for so long.

This past weekend we went to Grandma and Grandpa A's house in Ft Wayne. We celebrated Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday afternoon. Uncle Duane and his daughters Kristin and Erin, and Erin's fiance Nick joined us. No we aren't crazy, we know Thanksgiving is over a month away, but Cyndi has not been here to have Thanksgiving with us in 3 years so we enjoyed our turkey dinner a little early this year. After stuffing ourselves with turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry salad, muffins, and pumpkin pie we retreated to the family room for football and relaxation. Scott and Cara immediately went into the post-turkey slumber as evidenced in the last picture.

This is my last week of maternity leave before I return to work. Cara will be in great hands while I am at work and when I am home sleeping. I plan to return to my regular shift of 7pm-7am three days a week. She will be home with Daddy at night and Grandpa F and Grandma A will be babysitting while I am home sleeping during the day. I am fortunate that my job is only 3 days a week and she will stay here at our home. I will be able to see her in the morning before I go to sleep and then I will be able to spend some time with her in the afternoon before I go to work. I know for our family that it is best that I return to work full-time, but I will miss my girl.

Present from Uncle Dan and Aunt Cyndi

Uncle Danilo painted these 4 pictures of Mickey Mouse to send to his beloved niece Cara. They are 5 x 5 in size. I was lucky enough to find the PERFECT frame for them. They are now hanging on the wall in Cara's nursery. Thank you Uncle Dan for your talent and to Aunt Cyndi for the perfect idea!!

More from Apple Fest

Sharing more pictures from Sunday! Oscar and Cara were having a serious conversation! It was so cute!!

Apple Fest Family Time

For as many years as I can remember, it has been an annual tradition of my family to go to the orchard/pumpkin patch in the fall. Scott became a regular when he joined the family, and my mom, dad, Scott and I would make the short drive to a local orchard to participate in Apple Fest. Apple Fest has a craft area, games for kids, hayride to the pumpkin patch, a corn maze, lots of food, and of course lots of apples to buy . We had some special guests join us for Apple fest this year. Scott's parents and sister were here for the weekend, and Dillon and Oscar were spending the day with Grandma and Grandpa while there parents were at the Colts game. We couldn't have asked for better weather, although almost too sunny for little Cara.

After browsing through the crafts areas, we sat down for lunch. Pork burgers and chips were followed by hot apple dumplings with ice cream. The day wouldn't be complete without caramel apples (had to get those to go as we had already eaten so much).

Cara and Oscar were very good at the event. After a short nap Cara was fired up and giving out smiles left and right. Oscar always give out the smiles and didn't let us down! We have a ton more pictures from the day, having minor technical difficulty in getting them onto blogger. Will attempt to put up some more later in the day. Have some very cute ones close ups of Cara and Oscar!

Aunt Cyndi's here!

Under the ruse that we needed a babysitter on Tuesday, we got Grandma and Grandpa A in town for a visit. The real reason they needed to be here was because Cyndi was surprising them by coming home 9 days earlier than they expected her. After a long day of flying back to the states, a cancelled flight in Chicago (thank goodness she got on another flight), Cyndi arrived safe and sound (without luggage) in Indy!

It was a great reunion! It has been a year since Cyndi has been here. We decided several months ago that it would be fun to surprise the parents with an earlier arrival than they planned. It worked great! We feel bad that we told them so many lies, but the look on their faces was priceless. I was able to capture Steph's face when she first realized it was Cyndi standing in front of her.

The first picture is Scott and Cyndi standing in the garage waiting for the surprise entrance. I went in first to tell them I was home, then said that I forgot something in the car! Little did they know that what I forgot was their daughter.

So finally, at last Cyndi got to meet her niece in person! Cara was unfazed by the day's events but it will be a great story to share with her when she is older!

p.s. Sorry I didn't get a post up after Cara's doctor appointment on Monday. She is 23 inches long (75 %), and 11 lbs 13 0z (50%). She got three shots, I wanted to get a picture of her legs with the bandaids but they fell off before I could (not her legs, the bandaids)!

From the Milan runway

Cara is modeling her Italian fashions! This outfit was sent all the way from Aunt Cyndi and Uncle Dan in Italy. I just love the sweater!

Grandma A and Daddy were practically dancing on the heads to try to get Cara to smile for these pictures. As soon as they set the camera down, guess who was all smiles!