Caylee's Calendar

12 months of how she's grown from a tiny newborn into a little girl in just 1 year!

Happy Birthday, Caylee!

Covered in cake and icing,
your smile stretched ear to ear.
A single candle celebrates,
the joy of your first year.

We sing Happy Birthday,
you play midst wrap and bows.
We marvel at how you touched our lives,
just one year ago.

I remember the first time I held you,
kissed your head, whispered your name.
you've changed our lives forever,
Our hearts will never be the same.

As a child you'll love this day,
for all the sweets and presents too.
As parents we'll love your day,
for the gift we got was you.

Each year we'll add another candle,
so proud to see you grow.
But always with the memory,
of your first day long ago.

I can't believe it's been a year since this day.  That was one of the longest days of my life, but it was all worth it when we got the most precious gift at the end.  My heart and family are truly complete with you here.

Our matching bracelets are something I will treasure forever. 
Mama and my two babies <3 br="">

That sweet little face on your first day in the world

All those perfect little baby features that I just wanted to treasure forever...

Before I knew it, you were 3 months old and a smiley little girl!

You learned to sit by yourself at about 6 months and started saying, "Dada!"

At 8 months, you were already loving every food you tried and starting to really enjoy playing with your big brother.

At 10 months, your little personality was developing, you started to crawl, and you really started to interact and play with Connor.

And at 12 months, you're a little girl! You look more and more like Connor (and I) each day, you're trying to talk, you're more interested in standing up, and you love to eat!

My love, you are one today

And learning so very much,

There is nothing in this house,

That you don’t want to touch!

Your fingerprints are evident,

In every single place,

Along with the mischievous smile,

On your little face!

You have made our lives complete,

In each and every way

You alone brighten up

Every single day.

You are our special little girl,

We’ll watch your life unfold,

Have a Happy Birthday.

Now you are one year old!

Happy Birthday to my sweet baby girl.  I love you so, so much!

When did they get so big?

It's hard to find the time to really sit back and reflect on them, but wow, they're so big now.  In these few minutes when Connor decided he wanted to shovel the snow and then sprinkle salt down on the sidewalk, I realized how big he was.  When did he learn how to do this?  And how does he do it so perfectly at only 3.5 years old?  He grew up before our eyes and he's a little boy now.

His scribbles turned into letters and faces in the last few weeks.  It was literally a change that happened in an instant.  Something just clicked and he figured it out!


My baby now eats real food and pretty much anything we give her.  When did she learn to feed herself?  And when did she learn to do it so well?  I love this stage when she'll eat anything we give her and she smiles as she chews it. 

Those black beans were gobbled up quickly and she wanted more!  It was her first time in a highchair and suddenly I realized I had to start carrying bibs with me again.  She was just a little newborn and now she's eating from the table with us. 

:::Sigh::  

My babies are growing up.

Connor Bakes a Cake

We were watching something on tv a couple weeks ago where the character baked a cake and Connor asked if he could make one too.  When we were at the grocery store, we let him pick out a cake and he chose the rainbow birthday cake mix.

It was so adorable that he carefully studied the front of the box with the yellow plate and blue birthday candle and then wanted to replicate the image himself too.  With some help, he mixed everything up!

Waiting for the cake to bake didn't really make sense to him, but he was excited to see it once it was done.  The funny part is that he was more interested in preparing the cake than actually eating it.  He took about one bite and left the rest.  More for me!

So proud!

Caylee's First Sit

Last Tuesday, November 4, Caylee sat by herself for the first time!  I really didn't think she'd be able to do it, but she just seemed so strong and she loves to sit with help.  She sat by herself for about 20 seconds before she fell over!  Connor didn't sit on his own until he was almost 8 months, so this is pretty amazing.  She looks so proud!

Precious Siblings

Heart melted.

It's taken 4 months for him to ask to hold her, but he finally did it this week!  I think he knew it was momentous because he posed for so many photos!  Then he said, "Take her back.  She's too little."

First Time in the Bumbo

I'm an emotional mess today

I go back to work tomorrow.

I'm going to miss spending every waking minute with this little face.


It didn't really hit me until today as I sit here in the dark with her sleeping next to me.

This week, I tried to make it a little extra special by taking more photos...

And capturing every little detail...

But it still just doesn't seem like enough to make me feel good about going back...

Yeah, I miss seeing my coworkers and hearing the gossip, but I'm gonna miss the snuggles and this face more.

I know I have to do it...it's just so, so hard to get through the days leading up to it.  Once I'm back, it will be routine and I won't know any different.  I have to remind myself that I never look back and wish I would have done it differently with Connor.  I'm giving them the life I want them to have by working.  They're going to grow up and understand that we decided this to give them the best childhood and best education. 

As I'm typing this, I'm crying.  She's growing up so fast.  She was a newborn just yesterday and now she just looks so big sitting next to me.  She's just about ready to find her right hand, she loves to sit up and look around, and she looks more like a baby than a scrunched up newborn.  It's everything I ever wanted, but it just happens so fast.  I love her more than anything and I feel like my family is complete.

She's about ready to breastfeed and I'm running out of tears, so I'm going to stop now.  Love you, Miss Caylee, my baby girl.

A Special Outfit from Mama to Daughter

This week, I finally remembered to take a few minutes to dress up Caylee in a special outfit knitted by my Grandma (her Nana).  This outfit was my going home outfit from the hospital when I was born and my mom found it right after Caylee was born.

The styles have changed since 1982 with the big bonnet and wide cardigan, but it's still a classic look.  Her ruffle leggings made it look a little more contemporary!

My grandma is going to be so excited when she sees these photos!

Potty Training Begins

Now I get why parents say this is one of the hardest things you have to do as a parent of a young child.  This has happened so fast and we definitely weren't quite ready!  Since Connor started int he big kids room at daycare. they have the children sit on the potty at scheduled times each day.  He's only been in the big kids room for about 3 weeks, but the teachers keep saying how he's catching on very quickly.  This was quite a shock for us because we thought he'd kinda watch and try for the next few months and then maybe start getting more serious.

In just a couple weeks, he's gone from all diapers to wanting to go potty and making us crazy with his demands to do every part of the potty process all by himself.  We've quickly learned how to tolerate it, but it's been really hard!  At first, he was peeing on the floor and slipping in it because he couldn't control when he had to pee and it would come out so fast.  Now, he's a little better at sitting longer so he can wait for it to come out.  He goes potty every morning at home and insists on reading books while he waits.  Just in the past few days, he's been asking to be left alone when he's on the potty which is actually kind of cute and gives us a little break.  We have a very long way to go with this process, but we're starting!

This is the other little challenge that we have.  He's started to take off his diaper and pants while napping and then fall asleep in his mess.  He doesn't quite understand that he needs to call us if he has to go potty, but we're working on it.  He'll be moving to a big kid bed eventually, but my plan is to wait until spring if we can.

Next up, underwear!  Daycare said they'd like to try with him during the day, so I'd like to get more details from them about their plans and then we'll go shopping.