my sick child

Caroline has had croup since Tuesday. She's had a fever on and off for four days! It's odd to me because it seems like when I get a fever it usually comes and then goes. Her fever just won't seem to stay gone. She really sounds like a seal. Her cough is awful. I don't think I can even tell you how many hours of Dora/Diego she's watched. All I've heard lately is "watch Dora mommy." I've caved quite a bit on the TV lately b/c she's so pitiful.

We've been a little bummed today because we had to cancel our Halloween party...our own party! We had invited a few of our friends over that have toddlers. We obviously couldn't have people over with Caroline being sick. I'm honestly relieved we called it off b/c this morning I woke up and could tell I was getting sick. I think with Caroline being in preschool this is only going to happen more frequently. We've been really fortunate so far because she really hasn't gotten all that sick.

I'm sure that tonight we will let Caroline hit up (no not really "hit-up" :) a couple houses, just so we can get her outside for a bit. We've been trapped inside this cave since Tuesday. Stay tuned for pics....

caroline + 9 years

Keith thinks this will be Caroline in a few years,
field stripping an AR15.

dino day

At the advice of my friend Aubrey we decided to take Caroline on Sunday to the Zilker Botanical Gardens. They have a dinoland exhibit going on right now and since Caroline just recently had "dino day" at her preschool we knew she would be excited. Any dinosaur that was small (are there small dinosaurs?) was a "baby dinosaur" to Caroline.




Dinosaur stamps and markers

After we finished up at dinoland, since we were downtown, we decided what a better time than to eat at an Austin favorite, Guero's. After we finished up at Guero's there was live music(of course, the live music capital of the world!) playing outside. Caroline immediately starts to dance on her own. Keith and I are constantly amazed at her vibrant and free spirited personality. She makes our life so fun. I look back at my life before her and think what did I do? (Okay, so maybe I could answer that.:) What a blessed life we have.

Port Aransas

Despite the circumstances of our cancelled trip to Galveston, we thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Port A. We were actually fortunate to be able to find a place to stay due to so many people re-routing their trip from Galveston to Port Aransas. This was Caroline's first trip to the beach and it definitely won't be the last. My parents treated us, along with my brother and his family, on this trip.

I hear that some kids don't like the feel of the sand on their feet, but our little C had no issues getting her hands and feet dirty
The girls building sand castles with grandad "gan-dad"

Caroline and Elena are best pals. Most of what we heard all weekend was "Come on Elena."

Thanks again Mom and Dad for a great trip!

take a hike ike

The latest reports show that if the storm surge reaches 25ft it would basically wipe the whole island of Galveston out. The thought of losing my favorite ice cream parlor (La Kings) and Colonel Bubbies (not to be crass, but I always thought it was "colonel boobies" as a kid!) makes me very sad. I can make jokes or comments about my favorite places, but I'm definitely more fearful for the people of Galveston. I pray that all my family in Houston (Nana, Pop, Grandmom, Aunt Kathy, and all of my other aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends) would be okay and would merely have some broken limbs in the front yard.

Here's a little fascinating history for you-my great-great grandmother came to the US from Sweden. She came to Ellis Island (NY) and then to Galveston, where her family (my grandmother-"nana") would eventually be raised. She was actually in the big hurricane of 1900 that wiped out the entire island. She was found on the beach after the storm and a hero came to rescue her (a fireman), who would eventually become her husband, my great-great grandfather.....talk about romance!

My family has had a trip planned to go to Galveston for the end of Sept since May so I'm really bummed that we most likely won't be going! I bet we won't even get a drop of rain in Austin!

preschool and the coolest product ever

Caroline's first day of preschool was on Tuesday. She walked right on into her room and started playing with no issues at all. I was glad that she didn't have a melt down, but it was almost worse because I felt like she didn't need me. :( When it was time for me to pick her up I was looking in through the window of her classroom and there lay all the sweet children taking naps on their little nap mats. Oh, and there's my sweet Caroline tossing and turning because she never fell asleep (the only one). They did however say that she minded very well and never got off her mat so that was nice to hear. When we got home at about 2pm I thought I would just try and put her down and see what happens (she normally goes down at 1pm) and she slept till 3:30pm!


The coolest thing ever-
A week or so ago I went on a mission to find an insulated cup for Caroline so her drinks would be cold throughout the day, mainly used for when she is away from me for a long period of time. I found Thermos Foogo and I love it! When I was getting ready to leave the house before dropping C off at preschool (8:30am) I filled it up with all ice and water for her to have for the day. When I picked her up (1:45pm) there was still ice in the cup. And it gets even better....at 6pm when I cleaning up the gameroom the same cup from preschool was now upstairs and it still had ice in it. Needless to say, it is no lie when they say it stays cold for 12 hours. It's is well worth $15. I got the 12oz bottle with straw from Target. It says you can buy in the store, but I never found any so I ordered online.

anxiety....

Caroline is starting preschool on Tuesday. She'll be going T/Th for a couple of hours each day. Ever since I found out that she got into the program I have had anxiety on whether or not I am making the right decision. Am I starting her too young (she's only 2)? Does she really need this? Do I need a break? and the list goes on....I've really been noticing lately how bored she is at home and how hard it is to keep her entertained. I pray that God would watch over my baby as she takes this next step this week. It is our prayer that throughout this first year of preschool Caroline would gain Godly character according to Biblical truths and that she would gain more confidence in learning and being more independent.

I really feel like this will make me a better mom in a way because I'll have some time to take care of myself. I'm really looking forward to going to Smoothie King and getting my fav "island treat" and then shopping for shoes at Marshalls! Oh, and how could I forget grocery shopping (yuck).

Pray for me this week that God would give me peace as we take this next step and that I will have faith in knowing that He is ultimately in control.

"For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations." Pslam 100:5


Caroline has been really excited about her nap mat.