Last week of June

Cash never turns down a chance to pose for a picture.  I went and picked him up Monday from my parent's house.  He vacationed there while the rest of family went to California. 

 Pip was left in the care of Jacee.  Jacee was a little reluctant to take care of Pip because she threw up all over the house the last time she took care of her.  Pip decided Jacee was her only chance at survival and did not get on her bad side.

Cash making sure his yard is as he left it. Notice his back end.  I gave him a hair cut and I think he is a little embarrassed of my beautician skills.

Just a few pictures from this week. 

 Caroline and I take a morning walk everyday.  This week she got to ride without her car seat being strapped to the top.  I realized she was big enough when I used Lane's stroller in California and she loved facing out.  She is strapped in tight & "talks" the whole time.

We found these glasses from Kelley's surprise party buried at the bottom of a suitcase.  Caroline insisted we put them on her since she slept during the actual party.

Caroline and Lolly playing a really fun game of peek-a-boo.  She thinks her grandmother is hilarious!

Just Keep Swimming

Caroline's first swim & she loved it!!! We lathered her up with SPF 50.  She kicked and splashed for about 10 mins before we took her out. 

Leah showing Caroline how to swim

We also celebrated Father's day on Wednesday.  The boys used Luke's new smoker.  Luke made brisket, Ricky made chicken & Chris made his ribs.  

Chris cutting his ribs

Food for Thought

Caroline had her first cereal feeding today.  By the picture above you would have thought we gave her a lemon .  I love the middle picture because it sums up the whole experience.  I think she will prefer good real food- not blah rice cereal. Most of it ended up on her "I love daddy" bib and under her neck.  Mimi made her better fitting bibs that we are going to be using from now on. She ate the whole bowl and then finished a 3 oz bottle.  We have been watching her all day to make sure she did not get sick. This week we are only feeding her rice cereal once a day. Next week we will bump it up to two feedings a day, then it's on to peas!

Yosemite

    Chris has been watching these documentarys on National parks. One of the parks that really stood out to him was Yosemite. We have been talking about going for awhile.  When the Hendricks clan came down in April we started planning this epic vacation.  We left last Sunday. Luke, Stephanie, Leah, Lane & Nana in one car. Papaw, Chris, Caroline, Kelley & I in the other. We bought food for picnics and to grill out, small suitcases and filled the rest of the space with infant gear {2 infants require A LOT of stuff}

The ride into Yosemite was not for the faint of heart.  I'm glad I couldn't see the map because it was very windy. I, along with everyone else, was glad to be out of the car.

 Luke found a really nice cabin where we could stay all together and grill out. The first night we grilled steaks, chicken & Chris's famous rats. It was nice to just hang out without any cell reception.

 On Monday we hiked all over the Yosemite valley.  Caroline & Lane did great getting carried around in baby bjorns.  Leah loved being outside and was great outdoors women.  The scenery was unreal.  The pictures can not do it justices.  I want to take Caroline back when she can really appreciate the beauty.

Half Dome Rock in the background

Nana & Papaw

Prather kids

There was tons of wild life.  We did see a black bear from the safety of our cars {don't worry Amy it was not snacking on humans}

My favorite part of Yosemite was the Mariposa Grove. Home to the giant Sequoias the oldest & tallest living things on earth. I saw trees that were the size of small Christmas trees when Christ was born!

The Hendricks totem pole

Can you believe this tree still grows even with a hole cut out?!? 

Yosemite was awesome!

Crazy Cali Saturday

    When the Hendricks clan came down in March we started planning a vacation to visit California.   Chris, Caroline & I headed out last Friday {See below post to experience flying fun with the Prathers}. Beverly & Ricky met us at the airport and took us to the Hendricks' house.  Kelley was already in California for the summer. Before we headed out to Yosemite on Sunday we got a chance to cheer Leah on in 2 different events.

 Last Saturday Caroline woke up at 7:00am Texas time- 5:00am to everyone else in the State {She refused to acclimate to California time the whole trip} We waited for everyone else in the family to wake up.

   At 10am we went to cheer on our favorite Jackrabbit. This was Leah's 2nd soccer game.  She had a huge fan club on the side lines that would say "GO Leah!" as she ran by.  She really liked the socializing and the running. The soccer ball was an afterthought but she was really entertaining to watch. The Jackrabbits beat the Tigers.

Dressed up to watch her cousin

After the soccer game we went back to the Hendricks' casa to change for Leah's dance recital.  Her class taped to a jazzed up version of ABC.  All the little girls were adorable but Leah was the best.

 She was so excited to get flowers at the end of her performance.

"flowers for me?"

After the recital we celebrated Kelley's birthday.  

Happy 19th birthday Kelley! Leah picked out party favors and silly string to make it extra special.  Beverly made a crock pot roast and Stephanie got a Cold Stone ice cream cake. 

It was a busy first day but really fun to celebrate these moments with family.

Flying at 37,000 Feet

   
So, an interesting fact about Caroline... She does not like flying. I might even put it in the "blue nasal bulb hate" category. From the start of the 2 hour flight from Lubbock to Las Vegas she fussed. Chris and I went to the back of the plane & hoped having a baby would deter anyone from sitting with us so we could spread out. We were wrong an older, bigger man sat down and didn't make eye contact. Caroline fell asleep right before the plane took off with a pacifier in her mouth. I thought It was going to be ok so at 10,000 feet Chris turned on a DVD.  She woke up about 30 minutes into the flight. At first she was playing & smiling. Then all of a sudden she erupted. She was pulling at her ears & screaming like I have never heard before. I stood up and held her in the baby Bjorne. The flight attendances were really nice and let me stand were they we're fixing drinks. She screamed and screamed and screamed. Poor girl, I felt so helpless. She finally fell asleep right when the captain turned on the seatbelt sign. I went and sat back down but was afraid to wake her up so I didn't move an inch to the point of weird neck crick that lasted for 2 days. We had a violent landing & she woke up but seemed happy. We finally got off the plane and to be honest we were already talking about how much we were not looking forward to doing that again.

We did 2 things different coming home: 1. We made her stay awake when were taking off so she could suck on her pacifier 2.  We let her watch Anchorman for almost 45 minutes.  Yes, I know what I just said...

"You stay classy San Diego"

We were also able to let her sit in her own seat and stretch out.  What a different experience we had. Everyone was coming to us and telling her what a good flyer she was... Chris and I just smiled We both agreed we were going to be driving until she is much older.

Killing Me with Cuteness

Once again Brooke impressed the heck out of me.  She managed to take an adorable baby and really heighten her cuteness.  She is such a talented photographer.  She took these pictures when we were in Dallas a few weekends ago. When I looked at these pictures I tried to figure out who Caroline looks like.

 I think she is a good mix of Prather & Carter. I hunted down a few baby pictures of Chris and I to be able to do some side by side comparisons.

Chris

Caroline defiantly has her daddy's eyes, forehead & face shape.  She also gets those spratic red hairs from him.

Chris when he was about Caroline's age 

His nose looks looks like hers

My granddad and I- Do those cheeks look familiar? 

I think her cheeks, lips & ears come from her momma

My mom & I in 1985 

{Side note: Dondi & Jacee will recongize this couch in the background. It is the one we would flip over the back of while performing for the 1992 Olympics... How we made it to adulthood is beyond me.}

No matter who she looks like- she is such a cute baby  {I know I am bias.}  Her daddy & I love her so much!

Fantastic 4's

We have a 4 month old!!

Things I want to remember about her 4th month of life:

• She is FINALLY sleeping through the night.  Her bed time is 8:00ish. She is sleeping until 4 or 5 am then going right back to sleep till 7 or 8am.-  I do not miss the informercials for face wax, beauty products, insanity workouts and an amazing saw that cuts cars in half.   {at 2 am this all looks really amazing} 
• A nap schedule has not been set but on average she is taking 3 naps a day. That is my goal for the summer to get a nap schedule
• Just this week we moved up to size 2 Pampers diapers.
• I missed it but last night she was laughing at her daddy. Not just smiling and squealing but actually laughing out loud. He got some of it on video. It makes me smile every time I watch it.
• On Thursday she has her 4 month well check up. The doctor wants to start her on cereal this week but I think we are going to wait until after California. 
• We drove to Dallas and she doesn't mind her car seat. We will see if she is just as tolerant with the plane ride.
• I have been going to work at Levelland and Monterey these last 2 weeks and Caroline has been going with me.   As long as she is fed, she is content.  She really enjoys the attention from all the different people she has gotten to see.

Pip wanted to jump into the picture to document how big she has gotten

• Please notice the sock- her favorite toy  I think because it is easy to hang onto 

• She is also reaching for objects we put in front of her. We are pretty sure she would try out for the 2028 Olympics for gymnastic if they let the girls preform on the rings. On her activity mat there are these rings she tries to pull herself up on and do a little routine.

• She is wearing 3 month clothes or 3 to 6 months.  My favorite pair of PJ for her to wear are her red poke- a -dot footy pajamas her nana gave her.  
• In the morning she talks to herself.  For about 20 mins she babbles.  This is enough time for mommy to eat breakfast quickly, put my contacts in, brush my teeth, & get a bottle ready before she is ready to eat.

I'm so excited I get to spend June and July with her before starting August 2nd!