Smelling the flowers...

Caroline loves being outside. She loves to collect sticks, point out the flowers (or as she calls them,"wowies"), and point to all the bugs, which she calls "ee ee buh" (for "icky bug").

Caroline in the white dress

Growing with Mr. Bear - 15 months

Our first trip to "the lake"

We all ventured to "the lake" for Memorial Day weekend with Kevin's parents. Caroline had an absolute blast running around the grass, pushing her babydoll stroller (which she calls "doodee" for some reason), walking/splashing in the water, playing in the sand, and the favorite activity of the spring - picking up sticks and rocks. She is saying more and more too. She points out the birds and says "boobie" and "other one" when she sees another bird. She also likes to point out when she sees an "aypay" (airplane). She knows "on" and "off", and "owie" for the scrape on her knee. She loves to repeat what you say too so her vocabulary is growing every day. It is so precious to hear her little voice say something new.
Here are some highlight pictures from our trip...

Who is "soooo big?" - Mama!

Yes, I am only 29 weeks pregnant, but my belly has gotten unproportionally huge.
Over the weekend, I had a woman tell me that she's convinced that it must be twins. Yesterday, my neighbor looked at me in amazement and said "wow, I've never seen anyone carry so...so... out there. " Today, at the grocery store, the checkout girl was like "any day now, huh?" Um...I wish. Actually, I have 11 weeks to go, thank you very much!
If I keep going at this rate, by July, I'm no longer going to be able to stand without support beams. UGH!

Playing in the baby pool.

This baby pool is "awwwwwsome"!

A visit with friends

Caroline and I got to go visit Erica, and Caroline got to meet her Godsisters, Sofia and Eva! We also got to see Michelle and her son Cayden! It's so cool to get together with friends you've had since high school and share this amazing part of life together - motherhood!

Birthday party!

Today, I got to go to a birthday party for Payton, a little girl in my Gymboree class. It was so much fun! We got to climb around all the Gym equipment, eat birthday cake (which I partially ate all by myself with a fork), and play bubbles (which I enthusiastically call "bubums".)

Here I am with my party hat on and my balloon from the party!

Our "babymoon"

Kevin and I went on a "babymoon" yesterday (in other words, a last night away for just the two of us before the baby is born.) While Grandma BB and Papa very generously watched Caroline, we drove up to Lake Geneva and stayed at a great Bed & Breakfast off the beaten path called the Hillcrest Inn. It was wonderful and relaxing, and we very much enjoyed having good quality "couple" time.

Somebody found the playing cards...

Spaghetti is MESSY!

The whole "eating independently" thing is really nice, but it sure can be messy!

my own little step

"I like to go to my own little step at the bottom of the stairs, which is just the right size. I turn around and then "plop" down.

Mother's Day

Oops...I should have gotten a picture of Caroline and me for Mother's Day. I guess that's the downfall of always being behind the camera!

We went to GiGi's for Mother's Day and got to see GiGi, BB, Poppa, Uncle Taylor, and the Begleys. Caroline had so much fun seeing everyone.

Here is Caroline with "Aunt" Julie!

I LOVE the park...especially the sandbox!

It was hot last night, so Caroline just slept in her diaper and her T-shirt. What did I find in the morning when I went to get her? The little stinker had figured out how to take off her diaper and had done just that. There she sat "commando" in just her T-shirt! Thank God she didn't pee on the sheets! I think we'll stick with onesies for a while!

Today, we went to the park. Caroline LOVES the sandbox. She had a momentary relapse and tasted a little fist-full, then remembered that she's not supposed to eat sand.

Erica and her twins on their first stroll!

The day's activities

"Oh look, a ball!"

"I think I'll try kicking it..."

"Ok. I'm done playing ball now. Ooo -mama got me some pinecones!"

"I've got 'em now!"

"I think now I'll try copying mama and try this watering can. OK mama, I watered the patio, my dress, and my sandels. What's next?"

Spring life

When checking the little nest in our front door wreath this morning, we were amazed to find that one of the eggs had hatched. A tiny bird had emerged and was opening its beak hungrily for some food. (Luckily, after we closed the door, we soon saw the mother bird fly to the nest to tend to her new little one.)

Hanging out in jammies on a Saturday morning...

Then all dressed up for Jack Fowles' first birthday party!

The beauty of spring

A little bird decided to construct a nest in the wreath on our front door.
We peeked inside, and were surprised to find 4 tiny eggs. We check every few days and hope that one day we'll see 4 baby birds, just hatched from their shells.

fancy pants

Here I am wearing nothing but my "fancy pants" and shoes. Grandpa gave me 2 plastic golf balls to play with. SO FUN! I love to play with tennis balls, wiffle balls, Gymboree balls, pretty much any kind!