Growing UP

My little girls seem to be growing up too quickly right now! They are increasingly more perceptive of their surroundings- & it's obvious by their clever comments.

**Madisen**
She LOVES to sing! I hear her singing primary & other songs throughout the day & I'm constantly impressed at how many words she remembers accurately.

She really is tender hearted & tries to include Caitlyn in what ever she's doing.

Her new favorite colors are pink, purple, & blue. (Notice we've added 2 colors to the repertoire.)

Her fine motor skills have greatly improved over the last few months- she colors in the lines, uses scissors appropriately, and tries to correctly form letters.

Madisen got her first CTR ring on Sunday and she wears it each day with pride! I couldn't resist snapping this picture of my grinning girl who was elated to show off her new jewelry!


**Caitlyn**

You know what they say- The best things come in small packages! So true, she brings 100% smiles to us! (When she's not whining, that is.)

She only knows 1 volume- loud!

It's fun to hear such a little body talk like she's 4. The other day after we dropped Madisen off at preschool she said, "I don't want to go home." I asked where she'd like to go & she said, "To Kiera's."

She also loves to sing & amazes me with the songs she can sing! My favorite is when she insists on singing "Sunbeam" all by herself!

I feel blessed to have these girls in my life!

Caitlyn

Oh, how I love this little girl! She's full of sugar & spice... and she's usually nice! I just have to jot down a few 'Caitlyn-esque' moments before I forget.

*Yesterday our errands took us to Target. While we were finding a few birthday gifts, Caitlyn stood up in the cart and loudly announced, "I'm in charge!" I fought back a smile & asked her to sit back down. I guess she saw through my facade, because she repeated that phrase multiple times through the rest of the store, the checkout line, & into the parking lot.

*Today while she was trying to get something out of the toy closet, Caitlyn tipped a bucket onto herself. I hurried over to comfort her, but she walked right past me whining, "I want my stister!" And I turned around to watch her walk into Madisen's open arms. It was one of those moments that you don't want to have ever end!

Caitlyn's Birthday

In our family the birthday girl gets to choose what we eat for breakfast. Caitlyn chose oatmeal, despite Madisen's desperate attempts to try and talk her into creamy oatmeal. Caitlyn didn't budge. This is a girl who knows EXACTLY what she wants!We are getting Caitlyn a handle for the trike that she inherited from Madisen- but it hasn't arrived yet. So she opened a gift from Madisen and one from Grandma Carruth. She was so excited about the tissue paper that she almost didn't make it to the tea set! The first words out of Madisen's mouth were, "Can we share that tea set?"

That evening we celebrated Caitlyn's birthday with some friends, pizza and cake following the BYU/Utah game. It was a sad day for the Cougar fans, but we all found a smile for Caitlyn! I made a giant pink cupcake. She was so excited that it was for her birthday!
She kept wanting to grab the candles out of the cake. And boy did she LOVE the attention of everyone looking at her while singing to her!
I love the delighted look on Caitlyn's face here. She had just blown out the candles & she was so proud of herself! It was a pretty low key celebration, but perfect for our 2 year old princess!

Happy Birthday Caitlyn!

Today is our little Caitlyn's birthday- she's already 2!!! More about the birthday girl & her day to come.

Clever Caitlyn

Last night Bill & I were 'taste testing' some caramel popcorn that we made for our date night. Caitlyn walked into the kitchen & saw us eating the popcorn and in a persistant tone started saying "nummy, nummy, nummy" while holding her hand out- meaning I NEED some of that RIGHT now. So I bit off a piece & shared it with her. Silly me, I thought this had satisfied her desire for a treat as she walked back into the family room to play. Seconds later she returned with a small pink plate from the play kitchen, held it out to me & repeated her urget "nummy, nummy, nummy". She is WAY to young to be learning such behaviors from her sister! I really had to laugh at her clever attempt to get a plate full of popcorn, but I wasn't to be fooled so I simply gave her another kernel or two & put her back in with the toys hoping to distract her. Ah, she's a smart one! I've got to be on my toes 100% of the time to stay ahead of these 2 girls! But it's all worth it & I just love these precious pictures of our sweet Caitlyn.

On that note, I want to record Caitlyn's 'words' at the ripe old age of 14 months, in no particular order.
*Nummy, nummy, nummy= food, or 'I want something to eat'
*Deee= drink
*Mo= more
*mom
*dad
*Mommmeee- voice goes up at the end
*Daddddee- voice also goes up at the end
*Beee, or bebe= binky
*Be= toothbrush
*Mine, mine, mine= spoken all too clearly!
*Go= She says this anytime we get out our coats or when she sees my keys.
*Due= shoe
*Dank do= thank you
*Hi
*Uwoe= hello
*Bow= book

Caitlyn & Chloe

Our friends who visited us from Utah have a little girl that is just 3 months older than Caitlyn. The two of them enjoyed following each other around all weekend. Caitlyn was a little sad that she couldn't fully keep up since she's not walking yet. We snapped these pictures just before the Bryant's headed home. The second one is so precious!

Caitlyn is 9 months

Wow! She's getting to be such a big girl! I can't believe how fast this year has flown by! She's such a sweet, curious, & noisy girl! Sometimes Madisen covers her ears and tries to hide b/c she says that Caitlyn is being "Too woud!" Caitlyn is always making some kind of noise, usually it has a bit of a sing-song sound to it.

*She crawls EVERYTHWERE & is getting into everything. Sometimes she crawls on her toes- it's very funny to watch. Right now she's chewing on dad's clean pants that are hanging on the drying rack. I guess it's time to put that up, too.
*Her new thing is to pull herself up to a standing position: in the crib, on the dishwasher, on the piano bench, the laundry soap & anything else she can reach.
*On Wednesday while she was playing at my feet, she clapped by herself for the first time. It was so cute to watch the excitement fill her face as she realized what she had done, especially when I made a big deal of it.
*She's added new consonant sounds to her babbling, the 'h' & the 'w' are the ones I've noticed, no 'm' yet. When I go get her out of her crib she responds with "Hi". (At least I like to think that's what she's saying.)

Ode to Caitlyn

Caitlyn was 8 months old on the 22, but I'm just getting around to posting some pictures of her. She is such a happy & sweet baby. Except that lately she's really discovered her voice! And whoa does she ever have a voice! When she wants attention, she doesn't hesitate to let you know. It's not a whine or a cry- it's just a scream. It usually comes when Madisen does something that frustrates her, or if she's sitting in her high chair waiting to be fed.

*Her bottom 2 teeth broke through her gums this weekend. Notice the drool on her yellow shirt. (Maybe this has been the reason for the squeeling, b/c she hasn't been fussy.)

*She has been getting around by army crawling. She follows me or Bill around if she wants to be picked up. But today she crawled! I can't believe it, she seems too young to be mobile. She's still a bit unsteady & resorts to army crawling after about 4 or 5 crawls.

*Today we went to story time at the library & she enjoyed the songs. It's fun to see her so aware & interested in her surroundings. I love this girl!

Caitlyn is 3 Months

I can't believe the she's already 3 months old! Time is flying too quickly. Some things that she's doing right now...

*She smiles when we talk to her or enter the room after her nap.

*She has a very strong neck and if she's in her carseat or laying on my lap she tries to sit up.

*Caitlyn loves her big sister who is so sweet to her-most of the time.

*She has discovered that her hands can make it to her mouth and is always trying to put them in there.

*Yesterday when she was laying on her tummy she rolled herself over to her back. Then she looked at me with a puzzled look as she was trying to figure out what had just happened.