Memorial Day Weekend

Enjoying time in the new ball pit

Mommy, Daddy and Cara at the pool getting ready for a swim

Hope everyone had a good Memorial Day weekend. We enjoyed the long weekend even though I had to work Friday and Saturday nights. Grandma and Grandpa A came to visit for the weekend and brought Cara an inflatable pool and filled it with balls. It is great, she has been having so much fun playing in it. On Sunday afternoon, after morning and early afternoon rain we headed to the pool for some swim time to show G & G how good Cara does with her float ring. Well, not 15 minutes into our swim time we heard thunder and it started pouring shortly thereafter. It didn't stop us from enjoying a nice cookout, then lazy time on the couch watching the Indy 500.

Monday was a nice relaxed day. Scott, and his parents went to see the new Pirates movie, while Cara and I opted to stay home. They enjoyed the movie and Cara and I enjoyed our play time.

Cara really enjoyed the visit from her grandparents. She loves all the extra attention, does she really not get enough from us?! She is very excited that Daddy will soon have the whole summer off. I am sure there will be some sort of musical lessons started this summer already, haha!

Present from Italy

Unwrapping her present from her Aunt Cyndi and Uncle Danilo

So excited to see her new outfit, her first birthday present

Modeling her new threads

The outfit passes the mobility test, she can easily crawl and roll

Cara received her first birthday present this past week (yes, we know it is still 2 months until her birthday). She received an outfit from Aunt Cyndi and Uncle Danilo which traveled all the way from Italy. Aunt Cyndi heard that our monkey is chunky and was afraid to wait 2 more months to bring it in person, so she mailed it. Cara was excited to get to open the presents. The outfit is adorable and fits great! Thanks Aunt Cyndi and Uncle Danilo.

This picture was taken from day 2 of swimming in the neighborhood pool. We got dressed and ready to head to the pool complete with sun hat and sunglasses. Cara was having a fit about the sunglasses and kept trying to take them off until I let her have her pacifier. I thought this picture was too cute!

First Swim

Our neighborhood pool opened for the season this week and yesterday was perfect weather for us to go try it out! After slathering pale little Cara in sunscreen and dressing her in her cute little swimsuit we were ready to go. She LOVED it. It was like a giant bathtub for her. The water was a tad cool at first but we both quickly adjusted and enjoyed swimming/floating. Cara got this floatie ring from her Grandma and Grandpa A for Christmas and it works perfectly. She was able to touch the bottom and "walk" around while floating, she was all over the place. Daddy got home from work just in time to join us and take pictures! We all had a great time!!

Getting Bigger, Smarter, and On the Go

Aren't I sweet?

Cara LOVES to be eating whatever we are, so today she opted for my angel hair pasta in marinara (leftover from dinner the night before) over her baby food for lunch. She loved it and couldn't eat it fast enough. She ended up with more on her bib than in her mouth but she enjoyed the opportunity to feed herself

Busy playtime, Mommy caught me in a rare moment of sitting still

Good look at all her teeth, 7 of the first 8 are through now in various stages of growth. The 8th one will be making any appearance any day now, we can see it through the gums.


Cara is busy moving all the time, whether it is crawling, army crawling, scooting, rolling, or being carried she always wants to be in motion. She is a pro at dusting our hardwood kitchen floor by rolling all over. She has recently learned how to wave and does with some consistency. The other day I was holding her on the couch in the family room and Scott was in the kitchen and she said "hi Daddy" and waved at him. It was so cute. She babbles a lot, coos, and has a laugh that is contagious. She desperately wants to be best friends with Panther and will spend tons of time chasing after him. He is a bit faster and scared to death of her, but she enjoys the chase. She is growing up so fast, each new milestone is exciting but I wish I could put time in slow motion. We are trying to savor every second because we know it doesn't last long enough!

Starlight Serenade

Rossville Jazz Orchestra

Vince, Charlotte and Grandpa entertaining Cara

Is she holding her hat on or covering her ears??? Holding her hat of course!

Saturday night was the Starlight Serenade at Scott's school. It was an outdoor concert performed by every choir and band from elementary through high school. We had great weather for an outdoor event. Grandma and Grandpa F were babysitting Vince and Charlotte, so they got to come too. We packed a picnic and enjoyed our front row parking lot view of the bands and choirs. All of the performers did a great job! We had a really fun evening!!

9 month pictures

I recently took Cara to get her 9 month pictures done at the Picture People. I couldn't post them because they were part of our Mother's Day presents to the grandmas.

The adorable dress she is wearing was made by my friend Milissa who started her own children's clothing line. She is a nurse who wants to stay home with her two little girls, so she is using her talents to design and sell clothes. I wasn't sure about a headband on Cara, but I think it came out pretty cute.

Happy Mother's Day....

...to Emily's grandmother (mother of 8, grandmother of 23, and great-grandmother to 37)

...to Scott's grandmother , Mother of 3, grandmother of 4, and greatgrandmother on one, (who lives in Florida and shares in Cara's life via the blog), we are looking forward to seeing her in July

...Grandma A, a Mother of 2 and Grandmother of 1

Celebrating Mother's day as a first time grandmother is very special to Grandma A. She was able to visit this week and spend some time with Cara. Some people are born to be grandmothers and she is one of them. Her love and devotion to Cara is unconditional, whether it is for babysitting, shopping for new Cara clothes, feeding, or cuddling, she is always available. Her family has always been her top priority, which is why she raised two wonderful loving children

...Grandma F, a Mother of 3, grandmother of 5, my Mom..

She is very lucky to have all of her children close by, so she can be a part of all the grandchildren's lives. Whether it is attending Dillon's baseball game, Vincent's graduation from preschool, babysitting for Charlotte, Oscar or Cara she is always ready and willing!

I have always had a very special relationship with my mom. I never imagined growing up that my mom would become my best friend, I didn't realize the ties between mother and daughter could extend to geniune friendship. I only hope for the same relationship with my daughter.

Being a Mom is a really hard job, I didn't realize how true a statement this was until I became a mother. The constant worry, dedication, unconditional love, and responsibility that a Mother goes through makes her deserving of one day devoted to her. In all those years that we struggled with infertility and our desire to be parents I knew one thing; God would not have given me such a desire to be a mother if I wasn't supposed to be one. Even as a little girl I knew I would be a Mother someday and just having my daughter in my life is enough of a gift to make this a wonderful Mother's day.

To all the Mothers out there, Happy Mother's Day. I hope you feel as blessed and loved on this Mother's Day as you deserve!!

Having a Fun Day

Mommy put in my brand new hair bow today, it works perfectly even with my "baby" fine hair

Cara is so excited to realize cousin Oscar came over to play

Oscar preferred to keep his distance today, he enjoyed Cara's toys, as long as she wasn't too close. He was a little overwhelmed by her enthusiasm and squealing.

We had unexpected visitors today with a visit from Oscar and Grandpa F. Grandpa F had the day off watching Cara today, so he jumped at the opportunity to babysit Oscar today. Oscar was not too sure what to make of crazy Cara. She was SUPER excited to have company, and it overwhelmed Oscar. He did enjoy getting to play with her toys though.

Cara was even more surprised when she woke up from her afternoon nap to find Grandma and Grandpa A had arrived for a visit. What a fun day!

9 Months Old

Cara playing in the family room, also known as Cara's toy room

Raspberries to the camera!

Babbling away as this picture was taken

Notice the drool running down my chin, those darn teeth make me a drool monster!

Cara is officially 9 months old as of Tuesday this week. Wow!!
She had her 9 month check up yesterday and she is perfect. She is meeting or exceeding all of her developmental milestones. She had to have a hemoglobin check which was done with a drop of blood from poke in her big toe. She did great and was "helping" the nurse by trying to hold everything for her. She is a chunky monkey, but that is okay by me, more of her to love!

She used to be so good for picture time, whenever I would break out the camera she would give me the perfect little smile. Now she has to ham it up for the camera! We get the funniest facial expressions. So these pictures are a perfect example of her playing it up for the camera!!