The last couple days...

I think the oxegyn is being cut off in her brain!

We had a busy couple of days. Yesterday, we ran around all day from 11am to 10pm. I keep forgetting that Cara can't just stay out all day. She was great until the end. She hadn't slept at all all day long. She was a overly tired little mini-monster. Today we stayed home until after naptime. We had a dinner to go to and it was fabulous! The germans just loved the baby. She rewarded them with smiles and coos. It was great. The owner's husband got an absolute kick out of her teeny-tiny barette. Cara was fabulous. She even took a nap in the stroller after supper. We had a great time. Tomorrow is going to be an experience for us as well. We are getting up and going to church. I decided that the base church will do until we get back to the states. I am rather pleased.

I do have to say, I'm not sure if I've blogged on this thought or not, but Blake and I were talking how I think he thinks he does more than he does with the baby and so on and so forth...well, now that he is gone, I can see how he really does do more than I thought. I am utterly pooped by the end of the day. Being a single parent is hard work! I cannot wait until he gets back on Tuesday.

A day of cleaning.

This is not a swimsuit, it just looks like one. It's a balmy 80 degree's out today. A huge yuck factor on the no air conditioning!

Cara loves to sit in the big blue chair. She sat here while I cleaned. She loved hanging out with Ann and Andy.

Well, today starts the whole cleaning regime. I started out with the baby's room. It had so much junk in it, it was amazing! All I have left to do is vaccum. I had to take a break because Cara needed her nap. Our downstairs is pretty much done, I just need to go through and sweep to pick up the cat sized dust bunnies everywhere. Tonight, I will be cleaning and organizing my room and on Saturday I will do the spare bedroom. Then, I am pretty much done. It sounds a lot easier than it really is. The guest bedroom is actually our closet. We keep the wardrobes in there and boy does it get out of hand quickly. Most of the mess is from me. I have a habit of trying a shirt on, and instead of hanging it back up, I just throw it on the bed...I am working on that. Cara hung out with me while I cleaned her room. She is such a delight now days. She will sit there and talk and talk and talk...I'm not quite sure where she got the talking gene from (wink), but she sure loves to do it!

Our trip plans are starting to smooth themselves out. I am not so stressed over it anymore. Things are coming together really nicely. Blake is in France this week. Lucky!! I can't wait to see what suvioner he brings me. He is really great like that. I love it! Well, I think I've taken enough of a break~

Cereal

Well, today we tried our first rice cereal. It was quite the experience. It took her a couple of bites to get the hang of it. I think it was a hit!! She had no problem sitting in the highchair, which I love too. I am super pleased!

Pretty girl

She is just so adorable!

Prince Caspian

I went and saw Prince Caspian yesterday. It was a great movie, however... They did, in fact, deviate quite a bit from the book. A lot of the changes weren't bad. This second book is my least favorite out of the series, but I do still like it, but most of the changes were okay by me. There were two things I did NOT like about the movie. I didn't like what they did with Peter's character and I didn't like the whole white witch scene. I won't go into it in case you havn't seen it. I would recommend it, though. I love the Narnia series and I so far, the movies havn't dissapointed me too much~

Random shots

Big blue eyes

Supposed to be sleeping

Playing with her toys

Talking a walk

We had such a grand time talking a walk today. It was cloudy, but warm. It's Saturday, so everyone is out washing thier cars, tending to thier lawns, weeding their gardens and so on. Cara absolutly loved it. She talked for most of the walk. I'm not sure what she was talking to, but she loved being in the stroller as a "big" girl. No more carseat and stroller combo! I may have had her dressed a little to warmly, but I'm still learning. She still had a great time!

We tried something new today. Sitting up. I had noticed lately that when I sit her in my lap, she really doesn't need my help anymore staying upright. Well, she can sit for about 3 seconds, but that's waaaay better than before! This first picture would have been fabulous, but for some reason, I caught the only blink of the day! Have you ever noticed how little babies blink?

She was quite happy to be done sitting up by herself.

And we have a thumbsucker!

She found her thumb today...and continued to suck on it all afternoon!

She was very much contemplating Mr. Froggy....

Just hanging out
Her lovely dress...marred with spit-up.
Hanging out with Kimberly..Not a super picture of Cara, but I wanted to show her dress. Blake says it's frumpy, I love it!

Dancing with the Stars!

Well, it was a fabulous season finale of Dancing with the Stars. Yay Kristi!!! I thought it was a great season. This was Cara's outfit for the day. I LOVE the hat. Thank you Auntie Ness!!

I'm not a killer!

My ficus when I first got it.

My ficus now!

I am so pleased that I did not kill my plant. Granted, I think it does quite well on it's own..there have been a couple of weeks where I forgot to water it...oops :) I re-potted it yesterday and I think it turned out very pretty. I am so happy it's still alive. I had to go through and trim it a little bit and cut off all the half chewed on leaves. Yes, I said half chewed on. My cat thinks I put it there just for him. Thankfully it hasn't killed him...yet. I am going to be sad when we leave Germany. I don't think I will be able to take it with me. I think I may give it to my landlord. The germans are BIG into plants and whatnot. I do wish I could bring it with me, though. This is my longest lasting plant yet. It's strange how one can grow attached to a plant.

"Normal"

We are finally getting back to "normal" life. Blake and I were playing a video game the other day, and Carolyn took turns sitting in our laps. She tries to get the buttons and nobs on the controls. It just felt like a normal ordinary day. I am starting to have the thought "We are going to make it". Blake was quite convinced that she wouldn't disrupt our lives too badly...I was quite convinced she would. I have to say, I was right to begin with. I am seeing, though, that life really isn't that different with her in the picture.
The first three months were defenitly hectic, filled with sleepless nights and sparkled with a few more stressed induced arguments than normal. I've never been the greatest housekeeper in the world, but for the last year, it's really REALLY been bad. Blake has done everything, with no complaint. I have set myself a goal to get back into it by his birthday (June 10). I will have the house straightened back up and cleaned by then. Blake is just so wonderful but I sometimes think "I think he thinks he helps out more with the baby than he really does". He thinks "I think she thinks she helps out with the housework more than she really does". I forget that things go both ways. Yes, motherhood is a HUGE responsibility, however, taking care of Blake and the housework is just as important. Blake has to go to work everyday. It isn't fair, that on his days off, he has to do dishes and sweep...and do laundry. I am so so soooooo going to be that mom that can get everything done. That is my goal.
Our next big obstacle is the trip home to the states next month. If Cara's passport gets here on time, we will be flying into South Carolina, driving to Georgia, flying to Sacramento, flying back to Georgia, driving down to Florida, driving back up to Georgia, driving back to South Carolina and flying back to Germany. Blake and I have already discovered we don't travel together the greatest. We both have our different ways of flying. I will be flying by myself with the baby from Germany to the states and back, but for the rest of it, we will be together. I am worried about stress arguments. I am really working on my attitude with this. This isn't something that I need to be in control of. Blake knows how to do everything. We will make it to California and back with everything we need.
I am pretty excited to see everyone. I spend a week with my Mom, Jess and the girls and Bud and Amy and thier little ones. We then fly out to California to go to Blake's mothers wedding, we will also get to see the Dave and Ness family and everyone else out there. We then fly back to go to Florida to see his Dad and Marcia. We will be spending our 6th anniversary in Florida as well. I am pretty psyched about that. I am really hoping everything goes well. All these travel plans are completly dependant on whether or not Cara's passport gets here on time. If it doesn't, we don't go. Everyone will be pretty bummed if that happens.
Blake goes to France next week for a week. It will be my first week alone with the baby. I am hoping to get a lot of the housework done. I just think he will be so pleased to come home to a completly organized and cleaned house.
Okay, so I've gone on a complete ramble here and I'll bring it to a close. I basically wanted to say how happy I am with my family. I didn't think life would ever be normal again, but it finally is. I love Cara. She brightens up my day, every day. She is learning so many new things and is growing massivly! I can't wait for you all to meet her! Okay, I'll be done writing now~

Having fun

Just hanging out with Gratch

In a fabulous mood, talking up a storm!!

Living life in a boppy

Some days, this is the only thing she likes...today was one of those days. Thankfully, it was a lot cooler than it has been the last couple of days. She even got to wear footie pajama's again. I just love her!

Just hanging out~

Cara has so many facial expressions, it's insane! I just love her and she's wonderful.

Concentrating

She really concentrates on herself in the mirror. I think she's trying to figure out who that adorable baby is!

3 Months Old

My baby is three months old! Wow, time really does fly!

Playtime

Yay!!!

My baby girl just rolled over for the first time! I thought it was a fluke to begin with. I had just laid her down for tummy time and she rolled right over. I thought she kind of just fell over. I put her back on her tummy and she did it again. I just love it when she hits milestones. She is so amazing!

Water

So, I think it's safe to say she HATES plain water!