caroline joy {12 months}

I know I am late writing Caroline's 12 month blog post.  One month and 6 days past exactly from her first birthday.  Ugh.  The month of July was a busy one!

Well, since I am a month past, I will blog about this past month and what Caroline's currently up to in her 13th month.

Caroline Joy

12 Months 

Weight: 21 lbs 88 oz / 79th %tile

Height: 30 inches / 90th %tile

Head Circumference: 18.25 inches / 86 %tile

At TWELVE MONTHS you are wearing 6-12, 6-9, and 12 month clothing.  You need a smaller size of pants/shorts because of you short legs (just like Daddy as a baby!).  You were wearing size 3 diaper but this past month we have switched you to size 4.

At TWELVE MONTHS you are down to just taking a morning bottle and a nighttime bottle.  We have the rest of your drinks throughout the day in sippy cups.  You love drinking out of straws - especially your big sister and brother's straw cups.  If you see anyone drinking from anything, you think you need to have a drink, too.  Same goes for food.  You think you can eat just about anything!

You haven't made the transition from formula to cow's milk very smoothly or easy.  Right before your birthday, I started introducing milk and you were not interested from the start!  We tried mixing the two to ease into the switch, but you refused to drink if more of the mixed ratio was milk.  I tried warming it up a bit thinking it was the cooler temperature.  Nope.  So, because you still drink some formula, I now am still giving you two bottles a day.  You seem to like vanilla almond milk as an alternative, but I am not giving up on your love for milk.  (I am so over buying formula and bottles, Caroline! ;))

You love to eat!  Love it!  A lot of the times I feel like you are a garbage disposal and I don't ever know if you're truly full or not.  Sometimes you might take your bib off and throw it on the floor to signal your done, but not a lot of the time.  You still love to feed everything to yourself - rarely letting me spoon feed her.  You've been trying to master eating with utensils because you see all of us doing it.

 Some of your favorite foods to eat are: strawberries, blueberries, grapes, banana, peaches, mangoes, green beans, cheese, yogurt, crackers, any sweets!, baked beans, sweet potatoes, and pancakes and waffles with syrup.

Some of the foods you haven't been interested in are: noodles or pasta dishes, any meat, mashed potatoes, and most vegetables.  You are game for trying anything that's on your plate but spit it back out right away if you don't like it.

This photo shoot was a constant struggle between Caroline and Mommy over keeping her 12 month sticker on her shirt.  You thought it was fun to keep taking off, handing it to me, and then trying to reapply it back on your shirt somewhere. ;)

At TWELVE MONTHS you have been a great sleeper at night.  You sleep through the night and will occasionally cry out, like clock-work, right around mid-night.  You go to bed around 7:30 p.m. and then wake up 12 hours later at 7/7:30 a.m.  You love to snuggle with Daddy and Mommy in bed in the mornings.

You still sleep with your security size muslin blanket, paci, sound machine, and nighttime CD.  You seem to sleep the best when the room is dark.  You do a great job of falling asleep on your own.  You might fuss for a minute after we put you to bed, but then you quiet down for the night. 

Your napping schedule is a bit all over the place depending on what time you wake up and what we have scheduled for the day.  You are very flexible if your napping gets skipped or pushed back.  You are still taking two naps a day.  Your morning nap is around 10/10:30 and you sleep for about an hour.  You then take an afternoon nap around 3/4ish and can vary from 1.5 to 2 hours. 

At TWELVE MONTHS you became a little walker!  You were not walking by yourself at your first birthday, but a few weeks after you started taking off!  You actually started standing up, not holding onto anything, a lot before taking any steps.  And you did this crawl walking on your knees only.  Never have seen a baby do that before.  You are doing more and more walking every day and a lot less crawling.  Daddy and I were just saying today how it still seems weird to see you up and walking all around the house.  You look so proud of yourself as you have the biggest smile the lights up your face as you trot along!  Beginning walkers are just the cutest!  You and your wide-stance and bowed legs! :)

At TWELVE MONTHS you have five teeth.  Right around your birthday your top, right, front tooth came in making your teeth count to 4.  Just this past week, the tooth next to your left, front tooth has started to come in.  You haven't seem too bothered by it so far.

At TWELVE MONTHS you are a chatter box!!  You can say mama, dada, and bah (bye) as you wave.  You are constantly jabbering to yourself (especially as you are walking around the house going to from room to room) or trying to tell us something.  You like to say, "Mama" and then have me reply back to you, "Caroline"  Then you repeat this over and over. And your voice level can get pretty loud! ;)  You love to imitate sounds we make or buzzing and popping with our lips/mouths.  I think it's looking like we might have a house filled with girls who like to talk - the poor boys in our family! ;)

You have the best big brother who loves you so much (and Kate too!!).  Matthew was such a helper trying to get you to smile or chase after your 12 month sticker as it was blowing away in the grass after you'd take it off.  Both Matthew and Kate are so patient with you.  They give you so many hugs and kisses throughout the day and help with whatever you need and never get angry with you.  You're very lucky, Caroline!  And the twins are lucky to have such a loving, fun, silly little sister!

At TWELVE MONTHS some of your favorites are: 

* taking a bath and swimming - once you hear the bath water running you immediately come to the bathroom and start trying to crawl into the tub.

* playing with bowls and utensils

* playing with phones and remote controls

* climbing up onto Kate and Matthew's beds

* climbing stairs

* playing in the bathroom cub boards - getting out the kids' toothbrushes, air freshener, and mommy's make-up.  And you've been known to play in the toilet water some, too! ;)

* crawling into the dishwasher and unloading all of the silverware and kids' plates

* looking out the window/front door and watch Daddy mowing or people outside 

* stroller rides and falling asleep in the car

* climbing in and out of chairs that are just your size

* playing with Matthew's trains and Kate's princess clip dresses

* being right in on the action - must be in close proximity of everyone and doing what we are doing.  You like to get what you want to play with and then bring it and sit in my lap and play.

Nicknames: Caroliners, Liners, Liner-bears, Liney, Freight-liner, Diesel, sister bear, sissy

Happy 12 Months to the cutest, fun-loving, silly, snugly Liner Bears!

caroline joy {11 months}

Miss Caroline is already one month away from her first birthday!  I can't believe it!  I guess need to get my party planning started!  Love first birthday's!! <3 p="">

Caroline Joy

11 Months - June 7, 2015

At ELEVEN MONTHS you weigh 21 lbs and 1 oz (you were weighed at the doctor's on 5-31-15) and wear size 3 diapers both day and night.  You are wearing size 6-9 month, 9 month, and some 12 month clothing.

At ELEVEN MONTHS you are eating 3 to 4 bottles a day at 5 to 6 ounces at a time.  You have your first 6 oz. bottle when you wake up around 7-7:15 a.m.  Then a second 6 oz. bottle at 11:30/12 and sometimes then a third 5 oz. bottle at 4ish.  You will take your last 6/5 oz. bottle at bedtime around 7-8:00 p.m.  Some nights you don't finish all of your bedtime bottle because you have ate a lot table food at supper time.

At ELEVEN MONTHS you are the best eater!  There really isn't a food you don't like!  Sometimes it's hard to know when you are full because you just keep shoveling it in.  We will be cleaning you up and you'll keep eating the food we've cleaned off of you or pieces that have landed in your highchair.  You still primarily feed yourself with your left hand.  

You eat three times a day - breakfast, lunch, and a supper with us.  Some of your favorite foods are: bananas, sliced baked sweet potato, baked beans, string beans, toast, strawberries, yogurt, cereal bars, and muffins.  You're not as crazy about Cheerios, carrots, and peas. 

You sleep 12 hours each night.  You go to bed around 7-7:30 at night and then wake up sometime in the 7 o'clock hour.  You might cry our once at night some nights, but you're able to soothe yourself back to sleep very quickly.  At naps and nighttime we put you in your crib awake and you do a great job of falling asleep on your own.  You like to look at books or play with your lady bug as you fall asleep.  

When you sleep you have a nighttime CD playing and your sound machine.  You must have your muslin security size blanket and paci when you go to bed.  

At ELEVEN MONTHS you take 2 naps a day.  You take a morning nap around 10/10:30 and will sleep 45 minutes to an hour.  You take an afternoon nap at 2/2:30 and your nap length can vary from an hour to 2.5 hours.  On occasion, depending on when you start your morning nap, you have just taken a one nap going down around 11:00 then sleep for a good 3 to 3.5 hour stretch.  I like you to still take two naps so then it's not a long time until bedtime. 

At ELEVEN MONTHS you are working on getting several new teeth.  You're a drooling machine!  Your left, top front tooth just started to poke through.  You now have your two bottom front teeth and the new top tooth that's just barely though.  It won't be long until the three other teeth your working on come!

At ELEVEN MONTHS you are starting to say, "Mama" to me.  It's so cute to hear your voice say it!  You also wave and say, "bu-bye".  You like to jabber and make noise all of the time!  You really like to be vocal in your car seat riding in the car.  Sounds like you are telling us a story!  You also like to try and copy sounds that we make or respond back to use like we are having a conversation.

At ELVEN MONTHS your nicknames are: Caroliners, C-Line, Liney-bears, Liney, Liner-bears, Biners, Freight, Diesel - grandpa Dufel's nickname, Lil' Sis, Sissy Bear, and Captain.

At ELEVEN MONTHS you aren't walking but are cruising along furniture and pushing anything you can walk behind - especially our dining room chairs.  You have stood a few times, but are quick to sit down once you realize what you're doing.  You also have started to open drawers and cabinets.  You love to play in our bathroom drawers and big cabinet when we are getting ready in the morning.

At ELEVEN MONTHS you favorites are: bouncing, being around and playing with your big sister and big bother, sleeping in the car, stroller rides, bath time or just playing in water, getting tossed around and hung upside down by Daddy, T.V. remotes and cell phones, and any of the twins' toys you can get your hands on. ;)

At ELEVEN MONTHS the things you dislike are: getting your hands and face wiped after eating, laying still for a diaper and clothes change, and not being able to be in on the action.

Caroline, I can't even tell you how much of an easy going baby you are!  You go with the flow and are happy to just sit and watch all that's around you.  You rarely cry and fuss - even when you have to be in the car seat or stroller for longer periods of time.  You are so happy and love to be around people.  You must be in the action!  You love to smile and have the loudest, biggest deep giggles!  We just love to tickle you to get you giggling!  We love you so much, Liner-bears!

Caroline Joy {10 months}

Better late than never.  Finally getting a free evening to get Caroline's 10 month post done.  At least it's done before she turns 11 months. (just barely!) ;)

You were in such a happy mood during this month's photo shoot!  You were all smiles and laughing at mommy doing funny stuff while taking your picture.  We love your fun personality!

Caroline Joy

{10 Months}

At TEN MONTHS you weigh approximately 20 pounds.  You are are wearing 6 months and 6-9 month clothing and size 3 diapers both day and night.  You seem to have short legs, Liner-bears, so the 6 month pants fit you great still! ;)  

At TEN MONTHS you are eating 3 to 4 bottles a day at 6 to 5 ounces at a time.  You have a bottle when you wake up around 7/7:30, again around 11:30/12:00, sometimes an afternoon bottle at 4:00ish, and then your bedtime bottle at 7:30/8:00 p.m.  You usually go about 4 hours between bottles.  Sometimes your morning bottle is 6.5 ounces.

At TEN MONTHS you eat all table food.  You love to eat and are all about feeding yourself - as fast as you can! You definitely want to eat all that we are and want to eat when we do too.  Some of your favorites this past month have been: sweet potatoes, baked beans, bananas, banana bread, strawberries, peaches, mangoes, muffins, mac n' cheese, toast with jelly, potatoes with ketchup, cereal bars, and yogurt.  If a food involves me having to spoon feed it to you, it won't last long.  After a few bites of it you just want to completely take over and have the spoon yourself.  Because of that I have given up and just focused on table foods.

You get a sippy cup of water with your meals and snacks.  You love your water and will drink a whole sippy during this time!

At TEN MONTHS you are continuing to be a wonderful sleeper at night!  You will sleep through the night for 12 hours.  If you do wake up in the night, you most of the time will soothe yourself back to sleep before we need to go into your room.  You usually get up around 7:00-7:30ish.  At the beginning of the month, you were wanting to wake up in 6 o'clock hour.  Glad that phase seems to be over...for now.  You were also getting in your second bottom tooth so that could be a reason for the early rising.

At TEN MONTHS you are on average taking 2 naps a day.  That's definitely what you need, but some days you will take one nap then for a longer time.  Your naps times seem to be all over the place.  A lot of your schedule depends on when we are home running the twins to and from school or errands.  Your morning nap is around 10:30ish and usually is a fairly short nap lasting only 45 minutes to an hour.  Your afternoon nap seems to be much longer.  You nap around 2:30/3:00 and on a good day will sleep for 2.5-3 hours.  I feel like the 2 to 2.5 hour naps are what you usually give me most days.  Some morning you seem like you just want to play, play, play with the twins and don't get put down for a nap until closer to 11:30.  Then you may sleep for 3-4 hours.  I like to have you still take 2 naps a day.  You seem to be more rested and I feel like it's a long time until bedtime.  Those one nap days you will usually go to bed around 6:15/30 p.m.

At TEN MONTHS you still love to sleep with your security size muslin blanket and lady bug toy.  You love your lady bug and always hold onto it's leg that has the heart attached to it.  Daddy and I love it when we come to get your from your crib and when you see us you then gather all of your favorite belongings from in your crib and wait for us to pick you up.  Like you need to get your "stuff" before you can leave. ;)

When you sleep you also like to have the sound machine noise and nighttime CD playing.  I just hope the noise is enough to drown all of the craziness of our house.  But you still seem to continue to be a 'light sleeper'.  So far we still do not have a nightlight in your room.  When you sleep you like to snuggle right up to the corner of your cribs either on your tummy or your back.

At TEN MONTHS you can now cruise around furniture.  You started doing this last month at 9 months.  Now we see you moving and grooving around furniture like a pro.  A favorite thing of yours to do it walk and push our dining table chairs around the kitchen.  We never know where we are going to find a chair in our kitchen!

At TEN MONTHS you also learned how to wave good-bye and say "ba-ba" as bye-bye.  It's the cutest thing!  You will just start waving to us at anytime time or if we or you go and stand by the door.  You love your new trick!

At TEN MONTHS you now have two teeth.  Last month, at 9 months, you got in your bottom, right front tooth.  You have been a constant drool bucket.  I can see now it looks like you are working on 4 more teeth that could pop through anytime.

[those baby blues]

You continue to be such a happy baby and so easy going.  You are happiest when you can be right in the mix playing with Matthew and Katherine.  If you're not by me, I know to look in the twins' room as you'll be playing right next to them.  You can see in your face how much you adore them!  

Some of your favorites are: playing with remotes and phones, playing in the bath water, looking at your animal cards and books, playing in the pantry and now in my cub boards, being tossed around by daddy, peek-a-boo, riding in the car, going for stroller rides, bouncing in our arms, babbling, 

You love to 'talk' and making lots of noises all day long!  I think you just love to hear yourself and the fun noises you can make.  It does sound like you say 'mama' and 'dada' and then you also imitate some of the noises we make to you.

Nicknames at TEN MONTHS: Caroliners, Liner, Liney, Liner-bear(s), C, Lil' sis, Liner-Biner, Biners, Liney-Biney, and a new one given by Grandpa Dufel - Diesel (because of her former nickname of Freight-liner).  

And big brother and big sister go in on the picture action too!

Happy TEN MONTHS, Liney!!  We really couldn't have asked for a better baby.  We are thankful for all of the joy you bring to our family!

Caroline Joy {9 Months}

Miss Caroline turned 9 months on April 7, 2015.  I don't want you to turn a year in just a quick three months!!  Oh Liner-bear, you need to slow down a bit. ;)

 

At NINE MONTHS  you weigh 19 lbs and 8 ounces (77th % tile) are 27.25 inches (34th % tile) and your head circumference is 17.75 inches (82nd % tile).

 

At NINE MONTHS you are wearing size 6 month, 6-9 month, and 9 month clothing.  You are also wearing size 3 diapers.

 

At NINE MONTHS you now eating 4 bottles a day.  I worked these past few weeks on cutting out your 5th bottle - the one around supper time.  You have a bottle when you wake up at 7/7:30ish, again around 11/12ish, an afternoon bottle after your nap at 3/4ish, and then your last bottle at bedtime around 7/7:30.  You are taking either 5 or 6 ounces at a time.  

You can see your first bottom left tooth in this picture!

 

At NINE MONTHS you have been eating all types of table food.  You've become more interested in table food rather than us feeding you baby food.  You see us eating and want to eat too or have a bite or ours.  For breakfast you like jelly toast, pancakes, muffins, yogurt, bagels, or cereal bars.  Some of your favorites at lunch or supper are baked sweet potatoes, bananas, peaches, and mangos.  You aren't as much of a fan of vegetables but you will eat them if nothing else is put in front of you.  You seem to like pieces of vegetables you can pick up rather than vegetable purees.  You seem to eat anything and can't seem to shove all of what's on your tray in fast enough and all at once.

 

I have been giving you a sippy cup of water at meal times in your highchair and you are doing great with drinking out of it!  I have to make sure the twins' sippy cups aren't left around in your reach because you love to try and drink out of anything you can get your hands on - especially their cups that have juice.

 

At NINE MONTHS you have been such a great sleeper!!  I can now say you do great at falling asleep on your own in your crib.  I can put you down awake and not have to go back into your room to help soothe you to sleep.  Such a great milestone!!  There were a few weeks last month where you kept waking up crying several times in the night.  I took you to the doctor and found out you had your first ear infection.  Since then you have been doing great.

 

 

At NINE MONTHS you have been sleeping through the night most nights.  You go to bed in the 7 o'clock hour and wake up the next morning around 7:00-7:15.

 

At NINE MONTHS you are now taking 2 naps most days.  A few weeks ago I started having you drop your third nap, the one around 5:00, because you started sleeping longer in the afternoon.  You go down for your morning nap around 9:00 and will sleep for an hour to an hour and a half.  Then you'll take a longer nap in the afternoon around 2:00 for 2 to sometimes 3 hours.  But...you still have days here and there where you take very short naps lasting only 20 to 30 minutes long.  Those are days when I will have you take a third nap so you can make it until bedtime around 7:00. 

 

 

  The silly faces of Caroline - she loves to stick our her tongue!

 

At NINE MONTHS you love to sleep and snuggle with your security size muslin blanket.  You still love to rub the satin trim on your fingers and against your face.  When you sleep you have your sound machine and nighttime cd playing.  We don't use a nightlight in your room still because you seem to sleep better in the darker room.  Your favorite sleeping positions are on your tummy or left side.  You have been moving around in the crib a lot more in your sleep.  Many times I see you sleeping tucked in the corner of crib. 

 

At NINE MONTHS you now have one tooth!  At 8 months your first tooth came in.  It's your bottom left front tooth.  The one right next to it is very close to popping through any day now.  Hence the drool all over your shirt in these pictures.  You are a drooling, teething machine these days!  Which I think might have some to do with the nights you wake up in the night.

Just {love} that smile!!

 

At NINE MONTHS you have a new skill - pulling yourself up to the standing position!!!  Daddy first learned this after putting you in your crib and when he came back to you and you were crying, standing there, holding onto the railing in your crib.  Daddy quick lowered your crib down a notch before putting you back down for your nap.

 

You love pulling yourself up on anything you can.  Toys aren't safe now that you can reach on the coffee tables and couches.  Your favorite is to reach for the T.V. remotes or our phones.  The twins really have to make sure they put their smaller toys in a safe place not within 'Caroline reach'.

 

At NINE MONTHS you are now a quick littler crawler who moves all around the house!  You go to tummy to sitting position like a pro but really love to play laying on your side in the 'side pose' (similar to the one pictured below) :)

 

Matthew wanted to help take pictures of Caroline, too.  He's been really into taking pictures and videos.  We might have a little photographer on our hands.  Love that he's so interested in it! :)

 

At NINE MONTHS you babble all of the time!  You are one vocal baby!  You make sounds like sound like "ma-ma" and "da-da".  You also love to growl.  We can be in a different room than you and can hear you coming by your constant growling sounds. 

 

At NINE MONTHS you definitely have a hard time separating from me when I am in the same room and someone new tries to hold you.  You also love to be held by Mommy or Daddy and will come to our feet and reach up with both arms to let us know you want up.

 

At NINE MONTHS you have become such a happy baby who rarely cries.  You seem so easy going and enjoys just watching the environment around you.  Your favorite is playing with Katherine and Matthew.  You will follow them to where ever they are playing and join right in - definitely love to be around people.  And you have started really playing with a lot of their toys.  You seem more interested in doing what your big sister and big brother are doing.

Some of your favorites are: being held, bath time, family dance parties, jumping in the Jumper-roo, being tickled, crawling or 'pig piling' on top of us, putting everything in your mouth, play in the pantry with the plastic cups and napkins, car rides, sleeping in the car, crawling after the bottle of carpet cleaner (which we use a lot because you still spit up!!), playing with pieces of paper, stroller rides, and playing peek-a-boo.

Things you don't like are: getting your hands and face wiped off, laying still too long to get your diaper changed or get dressed, and wiping your runny nose.

 

At NINE MONTHS you nicknames are: Liner, Liney, Liney-bear, Liner-bears, Freight, Freight-liners, Lil' Sissy, Lil' Sis, Sister-bear, Liner-Biner, and Caroliners

 

I can't believe you have blessed our lives for 9 months already.  Feels just like you just entered the world.  Daddy and I say many times a day how we think you are just the best baby!  You have the biggest smile and a fun personality that is starting to emerge.  Happy Nine Month, Baby Girl!