Cook-in-Training

I have figured out how to keep Caroline entertained while I am trying to cook dinner. She is so alert and just wants to watch every move I make, so I figure she might as well start learning how to cook :) I learned from watching my mom when I could barely see over the counter, and I'm sure she will be the same way. I pretend that I have a cooking show and I explain everything I am doing to her (I know I am outrageously cool). Steven walked in on "Cooking with Caroline" the other day and basically called me crazy. Oh well. Hopefully her husband will thank me someday for teaching her how to cook ;)

(Yes, I realize that I have a big knife very close to my baby.... Mom of the Year right here!)

Caroline 3 Months

I can and yet, I can't believe that it has already been 3 months since Caroline was born. For the most part, time has flown by, but there have also been moments that seemed to stand still (like the first 3 weeks). Steven and I have found ourselves trying to remember what our days and nights were like before she came into our lives. It is hard to imagine that one little person would have such a huge impact on your life in such a short time.

We have settled into our own little loose routine. I pretty much know what to expect from my darling girl at just about any time. She is still sleeping great at night and I can't complain about that. She is also holding her head up really well. I know she will start sitting up on her own sooner than I realize too. She is also VERY alert and always taking in every little thing. People are always stopping me when we are out and about and commenting on how alert she is. If I would allow it, she would happily stay perched on my hip allllll day just to watch everything I do. It gets a little tough doing everything with one hand though. Caroline is also a very happy baby, which is very reassuring for this rookie mom, because I figure it must mean I'm doing something right. She is all smiles, not just for Steven and I, but even random strangers in the store. I just love that sweet little smile :)

She is still long and skinny, but she is growing. She is starting to fill out, but I'm not sure she will ever be a rolly polly baby. She is healthy and that's all that matters!

"Mom what are you taking a picture of now???"

Big eyes!

Apparently I did something funny :)

So happy!

Every month just keeps getting better and better and I just can't wait to see what the future has in store for my Sweet Caroline!

1st Trip to Grandma Daisy's

Get ready folks, this is kind of a long one....

This past weekend, Steven had to go on a cross-country trip to Florida with a student, so I decided to brave the 4 1/2 hour drive to Turpin with Caroline AND Jack and Fred. Yes, I am crazy, certifiably. I was really nervous about the drive, but it actually went much better than I expected. I had to stop half way to let the dogs pee and to feed Caroline. That took almost an hour, which totally shot my time. But, we made it there in one piece, which is all that really matters.

This was Caroline's first visit to Grandma Daisy's house. (Backstory: Yes, my mom's name is Linda, but I have called her Daisy or Miss Daisy for about 7 years now... You know the movie "Driving Miss Daisy"??? Well, let's just say that there is a lot of similarities between the real Miss Daisy and my mother.... So, since I pretty much only refer to my mom as "Daisy", it was only natural that she would be Grandma Daisy to Caroline....) And let me just say, it was a weekend to remember!

When we got there Friday, I was too tired to think, much less take pictures. But Saturday morning, we got up and caught up with Grandma Daisy and Bump (Bump is our name for Jim... Long story short, several years ago, my mom got a sign for her birthday that said "I enjoy life in the fast lane, but I married a speed bump" If you know Jim, you know that this couldn't be more true. Steven came up with "Bump" for Jim and it works). Since Bump has been so busy with his cattle, it makes it really hard for him to get away, so this was the first time for him to meet Caroline. I think he was just in shock that I have a baby :)

Caroline and Bump

Enjoying Saturday morning with Grandma Daisy

Caroline also got to meet my younger cousin, Torrie. Caroline loved her!

And Caroline spent some time with Aunt Jean too.

So, after Saturday morning coffee, Grandma Daisy, Caroline, and I got ready and went into "town" (Liberal for all of you that don't know). We did a little shopping and returned home to prepare for our family BBQ later that night.... Little did we know that things were about to get reallllllyyyy interesting.

It is no secret that the panhandle, along with many other areas of the country, desperately needs rain. However, it would be far too easy for it to just rain nicely. Oh no, there must be wind, tornadoes, and hail involved. We kind of watched the storm move in for the better part of the afternoon, but didn't think it would be too bad. We were wrong! Pretty much the entire family had arrived at my mom and Jim's house when all hell broke loose. There was a tornado spotted about 9 miles away. So, we started scrambling to get all the cars and my mom's potted plants inside. In the midst of that, the wind was blowing about 30-40 mph, but all of a sudden, it went totally still.... The creepiest feeling ever. We had been watching the other tornado in the distance, but when the wind died, we looked up above us to see those clouds starting to rotate. Growing up in Oklahoma, I don't usually get nervous about storms like this, but when I saw those clouds rotating right above my parents' house, I got a little scared. My parents have a basement, so we had a place to go. Sure enough, when we got inside, the radio was saying that there was a tornado in Baker, which is a mile from my parents' house. I was shoved to the back of the closet underneath the stairs with Caroline. While waiting out the storm, I said pointed out that this was Caroline's first tornado.... And Grandma Daisy just couldn't pass up the opportunity to document this monumental first in my little girl's life.

Caroline and I sitting in the basement closet... She fell alseep :)

This was after the storm was pretty much over and we had all crawled out of the scaredy-hole. Thankfully, everyone was ok. My parents had several limbs down and it took some shingles off of their roof, but the damage was pretty minimal.

After all of that excitement, we finally ate the food that had been waiting for us throughout the entire storm. It was well worth the wait :)

Sunday morning we woke up and went out to the front porch to enjoy the beautiful morning with Grandma Daisy and to go through "the trunk". When I was little, my mom started saving special things in this big gold steamer trunk. Ever since I can remember, we have always just referred to it as "the trunk". My mom put special clothes that I wore as a baby and then different things that I became really attached to as I grew older. It was so funny to see the things that I deemed trunk worthy. I mean, not that a polyester princess style nightgown isn't special...

THE trunk :)

Any way, my mom had a picture taken of me in this little blue dress when I was about as old as Caroline is right now. She wanted to see if the dress would fit Caroline... It did not. No surprise there, since I was a huge baby from the start. It took Caroline awhile to pass my birth weight :) However, the little patent leather mary janes I wore in the same picture did fit Caroline. I haven't put shoes on Caroline yet (I mean come on, it's not like she walks anywhere), so it was funny to see her reaction to having something other than a sock on her foot.

Grandma Daisy putting the shoe on

She was trying so hard to grab the shoe... We probably just started her shoe addiction.

Jack and Fred enjoyed hanging out on the porch too

Later that day, my older brother Hunter or Nun-No as I call him stopped by to meet Miss Caroline. (I couldn't say Hunter when I was little, so I called him Nun-No... What can I say, it stuck).

Caroline and Uncle Nun-No

We love our Nun-No!

I packed up and headed back to Wichita Falls shortly after Nun-No left. We had a great time visiting Grandma Daisy and Bump, but we might have to get Caroline a pair of ruby slippers next time we go :)

Caroline: 1 & 2 Months

1 Month

Where do I even begin??? The first month of Caroline's life was pretty much a blur. All I can really remember is feeling like a dairy cow and being so tired I could cry (which I did a few times). I know every one tells you how hard it is with a newborn at first, but I just don't think you can fully understand until you actually have one and have to care for it 24/7. I'm always up for a challenge, and before Caroline was born, I thought "It is just one little baby, how hard can it be?". Oh did I get my answer. I actually remember at one point turning to Steven and saying "Isn't there some place that you can send babies for like the first 3 weeks until they're over all of this???" I wasn't serious of course and I absolutely love Caroline to the moon and back, but when you've only had 30 minutes of sleep and it is time to get up and nurse AGAIN for an hour and then spend another hour and a half trying to get the little bambino back to sleep, you become desperate. In those first 3-4 weeks, I found myself wondering how anyone could do this more than once and I actually started thinking that I might never have another baby ha! Needless to say, things are MUCH better now and I wouldn't trade my little girl for anything in the world!

Not real sure what to make of all this....

2 Months

Boy what a difference a month can make! The second month was SO much easier than the first. For once, I found myself thinking, "Ok. I've got this". Caroline got her days and her nights straightened out, and even though I did still have to get up once and feed her during the night, she would go right back to sleep and the whole thing would take about half an hour. Caroline started to develop much more of a little personality this month too! In the mornings when she would wake up, she would just hang out in her cradle and squirm and talk to herself. She would make such happy noises! And, best of all, at 7 1/2 weeks, she started sleeping through the night!!!! I couldn't believe it the first time it happened. So, with that, at 8 weeks, we moved her into her room. I really didn't want to start her out sleeping in our room, but Steven insisted. So, once she started sleeping through the night, I wanted her in her own room before she became too attached to sleeping in our room. She did great with the transition. Didn't even have one rough night, much to my relief.

At her 2 month checkup, she weighed 9lbs. 6 oz. and was 22 3/4 inches long (she was 7lbs. 2 oz. and 20 inches long when she was born). That put her in the 20 percentile in weight and the 75 percentile in height. I was concerned that she was too skinny, but the doctor reassured me that she is just fine and she will fill out eventually. I drive Steven crazy with all of my worrying, but hey, that's what moms do right?

Wonder where she gets those long legs???

A little smile!

I can't believe that my sweet Caroline with be 3 months old in just a few more days (June 17). However, I am glad that we have the newborn stage behind us. I am having so much fun with my little buddy and I just can't wait to see how she keeps growing and changing!

Daddy's Study Buddy

As most of you know, Steven had to go through about 5 1/2 months of training once we got here to Wichita Falls in order to become a T-6 instructor pilot. Needless to say, the training required ALOT of studying every night when he got home from work. Things didn't change much when Caroline was born about 3 1/2 months into the training. However, Steven did gain a study buddy. In order to spend time with Caroline after work, Steven started hanging out with her while he was studying in his big blue chair. It has now turned into our nightly routine. I give her a bath and off she goes to "study" with Daddy. She absolutely loves sitting in her little spot and usually falls asleep after about half an hour. Steven has since finished his training, but Caroline still sits with him every night while he checks email or watches TV. I love that they have their special time together and it also gives me a chance to get some things done around the house and get ready for the next day.

Hard at work!

Yes ladies, I have to live with this hideous blue monster in my living room... Barf...

Caroline kind of looks like a chicken with that hat on. It is actually a little flower hat, but she squirms so much that it always ends up turned sideways, making her look like a chicken.

Who knows... Maybe Caroline will grow up to be a pilot just like Daddy :)

Here goes nothing....

Ok, so I finally gave in and decided to jump on the blog train. Once upon a time, I thought about starting one before Steven and I had a baby, but let's face it, I don't think anyone wanted to read about the adventures of Jack and Fred. So, now that Caroline is in the picture, I feel that having a blog is a little more acceptable :)

I think this will be a good way for everyone to keep up with the crazy Broussard family. Since Caroline is almost three months old, I'm a little behind. I am going to start from here on, but I will try to do some flashbacks of the last three months so you all can see how much she has changed.

And who am I kidding, but this blog will probably be an outlet for me to ramble on about things that seem really important/interesting to me at the moment so that my poor husband doesn't have to pretend like he is listening to me talk ;)

I will do my best to post things a few times a week, but you know how crazy things can be some times with a baby, so please bear with me. Enjoy!