Random Thoughts, News & Notes-My Life&Family Journal
-By Dawn (Caitie's mommy)

 

 

January 30th,2006-Potty Time

Ok, today we finally did it...we got Caitie her own little potty to start this whole potty training thing...which of course we are scared to death of and have no idea how to do...but this will be a start anyhow. We got her this one potty called the Royal Potty..it came with a little princess potty time storybook and stickers as prizes etc and plays music. Caitie so far loves the thing and cried when she wasn't allowed to carry it around and take it out of the bathroom...she likes it as a chair and hasn't used it as a potty yet..but likes to sit there anyhow...so I guess we will see how this whole thing goes..eek! :) but boy I will be so glad the day we don't have to change diapers on her anymore..because we love her and all...but changing diapers on a kid this size and age is just totally gross hehheheh....she definetely needs to go to the bathroom on her own. Not to mention diapers are a fortune so it will be good not to have to buy them anymore one day here.

November 21st,2005-First Hair Cut

I gave Caitie her first real hair cut today. I've cut her bangs before but all the rest I've let grow out since she was born. Anyhow the back of her hair grew out much faster than the sides etc so she had all these natural layers and waves going on and as her dad said all the time it looks more and more mullet like hehheh so anyhow not anymore..Caitie is now sporting a super cute little mid cheek length bob with bangs. Its really cute and I did it myself which I'm so suprised I could do because it is hard to get the girl to stay put in one place too long. But anyhow, the hair I did cut off I saved for her baby memory book etc. Now when she wakes up she doesn't have this massive mop going on and in her face anymore..I just have to splash some water through it and tossle it a bit and she is styled and good to go. I got the idea for the cut from a Mervyn's ad..a little girl had this style in the picture. Also my friend/co-worker Jen at work has a Caitlin too, and her daughter also has this hairstyle, so I went with it and love it for Caitie! I took some ok pics of her with it...but hopefully I'll get better ones like on Thanksgiving.

November 21st,2005-Caitie and Abby

Just reporting on how Caitie is dealing with life with baby sister now. Well....needless to say there is jealousy and alot of acting out for attention and not listening to us the parents..but all in all, Caitie likes Abby and has said so, and despite the fact that Caitie is really pushing my buttons and driving poor Abby crazy by being loud and getting in her face and all wild and not letting her sleep alot etc..its not that bad I guess..it could be worse. So we are getting by and Caitie is being a typical 2 year old..so that is life and I know it will only get better as time goes and that one day as Abby gets older we will have two cute little girls running around playing and having fun together and things will be alot easier than this newborn stage! :)

 

August 29th,2005- Caitie's 2 Year Well Baby Check-Up

Today Caitlin clocked in as what the doctor called a thriving healthy totally 100% fine active 2 year old. Here are her stats as of now:

Weight- 32 pounds

Height- 37 1/2 inches Tall

Percentile for Weight and Height on the Children's growth Chart is in the 97-100% for Both! She's gonna be a tall one. Go figure since her dad is 6'4'.

But anyhow, this was the best doctor's visit ever! While I filled out some paperwork in the waiting room and everything she quietly found the toy corner and played and stayed there, didn't run around or get lost or into anything. Then she got on the scale without too much of a struggle and stood there. Then when the nurse wanted her to lay down so she could measure her height she stay perfectly still and did as she asked because she felt that the sheet on the exam chair was paper..so she was cool with paper and the fact that the nurse was going to draw a picture of her. Then she let the doctor look in her ears and take her temperature all while staying still and played with more toys in there and got two stickers from the doctor for being good. All in all a big sucess. It helped of course that this was a shot free visit since she is done with those till kindergarden..yay!

 

August 24th,2005- Caitie's Halloween Costume

The other day I was in Toys R Us and they had some little baby/toddler Halloween costumes, including a really cute Tigger one, but of course naturally the biggest size they had was in 24 months or something, and it was very small. Caitlin liked it alot and was all Tigger! Boing Boing Boing. So Josh went online and found a Tigger costume in her size from Walmart, and we ordered it, so here is a picture of it, she should be super cute in it, and it says 3T-4T so should fit just right since she is so tall and everything.

August 24th,2005-A New Addition to the Family

Caitie loves and I mean loves animals like nothing else, from zoo to home to farm animals, big or small, especially fish. Josh has been trying now for awhile to talk me into getting Caitie a fish/starting an aquarium, which I'm fine with, but being pregnant and a newborn soon to be here I told him taking care of a tank might be a bit much at this time, the cats are a big enough pain dealing with. So I told him to wait, until after Caitlin was two or so, so that she would be a little bit older and could handle something like a fish being in the house without trying to pick it up or knock it over or who knows what. So today we were at Petsmart and ended up coming home with a beautiful male betta I named Dragon. Not only is he super colorful and healthy he is fiesty and spunky as heck, a real wild one. So we set him up in a cool little betta bowl that we got at the same time and Caitie seems to like him, and the cats do too, which I'm worried about. So for now he is up high out of cat reach and children reach. Click here to see more Photos!!

 

August 24th,2005-Bye Bye Bottles Hello Sippy Cups..Finally! Also a Pacifier Change.

This has been a hard habit to break with Caitlin but we finally found sippy cups she likes and will use not just for a short time like with past ones here and there and then want bottles again, but she sees these cups as bottles and doesn't ask anymore for the others. We got her the Gerber Cool Cups, its these Triple Layer 9oz sippy cups that keep the drink cooler and fresher longer etc, and they have animals and letters or bugs and numbers on them which she absolutely loves of course, all of her favorite things, animals, counting and letters to recite/name off what each is. I went to the store to get more, but the store I went didn't have any, so we got a two pack of Platex Sipsters sippy cups which look and feel very similar, so hopefully she will take to those too, they also have cute little pics all over them which is the perfect way to win her over. She's also fine with the Gerber Sippy Snacker cups, but she pretty much just sees those for drinking juice in. But with these others, she will actually drink milk or juice from. Yay! Now down the road we just have to break the pacifier habit and blankie habit and she will be good to go, but for now those are fine..she just barely turned 2, so all is good. Oh and speaking of Foos (that's what she calls a pacifier) we've now switched from the Avent ones to the Mam ones. Her grandparents already started her out on the Mam ones, and so we figured we would switch over to those too and just have one universal type going. Also so we know which set is for at the Grandparents house and which set is for home, I got ones that have pictures/designs on them so they would be different from the jewel/solid color ones they have for her. That way they don't get all mixed up cause she has her set of things for over there when they watch her while we work, and then we have our set of stuff for here.

August 23rd,2005-My latest Doctor's Appointment

Today was another one of my every 2 week check ups since I'm at the end of month 7 now just about. I had the appointment at my doctor's new office, that is just for pregnant patients. They are so busy and have so many patients the Medical Group I go to split into two locations, one for pregnant patients and one for not, so now at the perinatal office it is all brand new, not crowded and you get in and out right away. It was just a small appointment, the usual, check blood pressure, urine, listen to heartbeat of baby and take my weight. So all is still good and fine. My doctor said in like 5.5 weeks I will be considered full term, so to hang in there and make it at least to week 37 and he would be happy, and I said ok, I can live with that hhehehehe(cause I am so ready to be done ahhh! hehhe) Week 37 is when Caitlin was born so who knows maybe Abby will be then too. I had to take the TB test too, so I have to go back in on Thursday and show them my arm all healed so they can mark me down as not having that. I had to do that too when I was pregnant with Caitlin, its one of those fun routine tests to go through. Health wise as each day/week goes by I'm still full mentally going at full speed but physically I am getting tired and slowing down, so that sucks..but I keep on doing all that I need to do which is probably good in the long run, I didn't work when I was pregnant with Caitlin and was sick more and longer and inactive, and now I'm up and on the go daily from 6am to 10pm and its making me healthier in the long run for it, hopefully stronger too for the whole labor thing at the end. My weight is loads better this time around too, always a nice plus, cause I really really hate being "bigger" and can't wait to diet and exercise again and have a waist and fit in clothes and all those small nice things.

August 1st,2005-Movin On Up

Today at work I start a new position. Less than two years ago I started working at my job just part time at first as an assistant/associate at the financial firm that I'm still at, and then I went from that really small position as an assistant to being the front office receptionist with increased hours and duties, almost fulltime. Then now on August 1st I am moving up again from receptionist to Branch Cashier/New Accounts Clerk for the office. This position is fulltime Monday thru Friday and is like doing all of the reception things plus now all the cashiering/new accounts paperwork and duties. So I've been training and working on it all and am now taking on this new position. When I say cashier it has nothing to do with a register or anything like that. I mean handling funds paid, received, journaling cash and securities/stocks, deposits, and lots more, and the new accounts stuff is all client documentation that has to come in, and be copied, filed, and sent on to various places for approval and receiving. So lots of computer and paperwork and the mail in and out, wires, the phones, client walk ins and deposits etc. Lots of interesting stuff. I like it alot, this job/company is the best one I've worked for so far in life, and the people are awesome.

 

July 4th,2005- 4th of July 2005

Well we had big plans to go to a 4th of July event up in Morro Bay, and to a friend's house from work for fireworks and a bbq, but we got a late start, needed to do some errands and Caitie was super tired, so we ended up staying in town and going out to do our errands and then had lunch out at Baker's Square, ate a bunch and had dessert (Josh Oreo Pie and Caitie and I shared some Carrot Cake) and then took naps in the afternoon. Later at night I introduced Caitlin to what fireworks were via live video of some on the internet and she did fine with the sights and sounds so we figured she would more than likely be ok with the live in person real thing. So around 8:30pm we packed up and headed off to see our town's local fireworks. close by the fairgrounds is an unsafe madhouse so we went to the mall and parked in the parking structure on the highest level and watched the show from there. It was nice, maybe three other families there, all with little kids, and some were doing some ground fireworks right there..so Caitie got to see those and the regular big aerial ones that were actually occuring in all four directions, so every time you turned your head something was in the sky somewhere in town. Being this far from the fairgrounds deadened the sound some, so she didn't get scared at all, and loved it! She kept saying, pretty, and naming the colors, and saying more, more. So besides being very cold, she had an awesome time and liked fireworks. Poor girl was still tired after all day and so went straight to bed when we got home :)

June 29th,2005 Monthly Doctor's Check-Up Results

Hi guys, ok went to the doctor's today for my normal once a month appointment and my doctor said I and the baby check out totally healthy and good to go, the baby is very active and very nice strong fast heartbeats..(in the 160's) and any symptoms or things I told them about that I was experiencing lately are 100% totally normal and all of that, got a physical and all the normal tests like blood pressure(114/60), weight(169) etc they do..so clean bill of health for the both of us. As for the placenta previa thing..he said it was only marginal..or you know not blocking the opening/baby's exit really its just lying on the side of the opening and he thinks that by my next appointment (July 27th) that everything will have moved up and that will be fixed and done with. So that is very cool! I get another ultrasound I believe at my next appointment too just to check it out and make sure, and gives us another chance to see the baby again..make sure its still showing as a girl etc :)

 

June 20th,2005 Father's Day Suprises

Well I totally made Josh's Father's Day and suprised him with the ultimate in Father's Day gifts..at least for a Star Wars Fanatic. I ordered him a custom made Jedi Robe, it had to be made specific to his size cause of course he is 6 Foot 4..not your standard sizing. So anyhow it didn't come on Father's Day, but I got it today, Monday and layed it out on the bed so he would see it when he got home. He walked in, and was like oh my God, what is this..and I said..hmmm well looks like I mugged a Jedi hehehehh and he picked it up and for the next half hour walked around modeling it and checking it out in the mirror on as I knew he would heheheh nerd bomber ha ha..no but it was really cool..he couldn't get over it and had to tell his friend right away to make him jealous. See he already has a replica lightsaber..the real deal...lights up, sounds and all..pricey but very cool..and he's been wanting since last Halloween a jedi robe and no one has ever offered any big enough. But thanks to the latest Star Wars release someone is custom making them now and I got it! Very cool. So we have Anakin on our hands for Halloween this year :) Oh and Josh also got McDonald's as breakfast in bed..his favorite and he didn't know anything about it..Caitie and I went grocery shopping really early and then came home with some good breakfasts for all of us. Oh and a Lord of the Rings related Father's Day card..cause when I'm on a roll shopping for him I am dang good at getting his fav. things :)

June 16th,2005 Caitlin's 2nd Birthday!

Caitie turns 2 years old, hard to believe already on July 20th. I plan on having a nice family birthday party for her, nothing as big as her 1st birthday was, but still fun. The theme this time is Blues Clues, one of her favorite shows. I just ordered her a Blues Clues cake yesterday which looks awesome, it is going to be a white cake with whipped frosting/icing and custard filling and has a big Blues Clues picture on it with the cake having a blue border around the top edges and the bottom. They are also going to write on there Happy Birthday Caitie! Now I'm in the process of getting all the other Blues Clues birthday supplies ordered etc, they have some cute stuff and fun little favors I think she will love :) So anyhow I plan on having it on Sunday July 17th.

 

June 16th,2005 Baby # 2 is...

Ok we found out back on June 8th and I am just now finally posting about it..but anyhow drumroll please*** the baby is another girl! 90% chance anyhow. I guess size wise or so it looks like my due date which was originally the 23rd of October may be the 29th now, but who knows..if its like with Caitlin is won't be either and I'll be several weeks early like with her. But anyhow, also found out a not so great thing at the ultrasound that I have marginal/partial Plecenta Previa which if you look up on the net talks about how it can be a normal thing that corrects itself as you get bigger and everything moves up then the low lying plecenta moves out of the way of the baby's exit etc, and if not..then you more than likely will experience spotting and need hospital time or complete bedrest for the rest of the pregnancy etc once symptoms like spotting occur...there's chances of more complicated things like hemmoraging, or having the baby way to early and other horrible things..but its supposedly treatable in 99% of all cases without the mother or baby losing their life..good to know. So this is all super scary and I think about it all the time, but so far all is fine..and I guess if anything doesn't fix itself syptoms would occur around week 28 to 32 or so or later..so I have about almost 2 months before that time period. So I guess we will see..eek! :) the ultrasound lady told me not to lose sleep over it, but she would like to do another ultrasound scan on me around week 32 to see how it is going. She also said at that time the baby would be bigger then, and she could tell us a 100% what it would be, girl or boy, just to confirm for sure that it is infact a girl. So incase you don't remember this baby's name it is Abigail (Abby as her nickname). Full name is Abigail Estelle Mattissen W.

Name background info, for those interested in knowing. Abigail is a name just because, I've watched alot of baby stories on tv and always thought it was a cute name when couples chose it, and one story we watched the couple had a Caitlin and they named the second baby Abigail and I thought..hmm Josh what do you think of that..Caitlin and Abigail, and he liked it and so it is heheh. Now Estelle is after my Grandma (my mom's mom) her name was Estelle Faye P. and the funny thing is she hated the name Estelle and went by Faye, and so what name do I pick heheheh but I just liked it better than Faye and was going to pick one or the other and decided on Estelle, it means Star and is pretty so I like it :). Now Mattissen is a name we created/made up, I don't think anyone else has that spelling out there so far. The story is we have a friend named Matt who passed away from cancer a few years back and in honor and memory of him whether we had a boy or girl we wanted a name in there after him. As girl names go there is really no female version I can come up with for Matthew or Matt besides like Mattie, and we wanted something more than that, so I've always liked Madison and just created a new Matt version of that, so we did it, Matt is now in there mentioned for always :) I know and some of you are all, but two middle names?!? I say YES two middle names..if you remember Caitlin has two middle names as well..she is Caitlin Deborah Labau W. That is our way of giving them special unique names, and plus there is too many great names we wanted to use and it makes it easier to get to do that.

 

May 29th,2005- I haven't updated in forever!

Well we are all moved in and its awesome, we love our place and love finally being on our own. As for Caitie we've been working daily on letters and numbers and words and she recently has become really interested in her Baby Eistein DVD's so she's learning some new things from there. We found out also she likes Blue's Clues alot and still loves Sesame Street and Teletubbies. She is pretty much over the Wiggles now. She's also really into playing with her flash cards which are letters and animals and stuff. So now that she is almost 2, wow is she active..she goes from like 7 or 8 am to 9pm everyday..she wears me out! Working, being pregnant and chasing her around is alot, its crazy! I really need to find her other little kids to play with, I know she'd love it and they would be be fun at games and toys than me I'm sure. Since we've moved in here she really really loves the bath, the tub is bigger, and she can sit in there with all her toys and bubbles forever! (We have a set of the numbers and letters that can float and stick to the walls etc so we play with those alot). Here's a list of words she says on a daily basis..figured I should document them as they come hhehehe: moon, stars, sun, cloud, flower, fish, dog, cat, frog, water, cookie, off, on, up, down, wet, mouse, hot, potty, hat, shirt, clothes, yucky, uh oh, elmo, tubbies, duck, grover, dancing, barbie, shoes, bath, tv, night night, bed, light, no, yes, whoa, cool, wow, happy, foot, hi, good bye, all clean, food, eat, jump, yum, tree, ball, good, baby, peek, outside, yay, go, wash, car, mail..and that's all I can think of off hand..but dang that's a lot. Some things she says we still have no clue..but she's getting there. So moving on..her 2nd birthday is just around the corner..I have to pick a theme..there's so many I could do that she likes.hmmmm, oh and in two weeks we find out if this second baby is a boy or a girl, on June 8th yay! At that time I will be 20 weeks or 5 months along. So anyhow that's the latest from here..so no new pics lately..Josh got me a new digital camera for Mother's Day and I have yet to use it yet...but I will :) ok bye for now, this has been enough of my random ramblings for a little while, talk to you all later!

 

April 23rd,2005 Moving Time

Hi everyone, we are moving one weekend from now so there won't be any site updates during the next couple of weeks because I'll be busy with the apartment and plus it will take a little while to get DSL going over at the new place..so just wanted to let you know, and we'll be back after that, so talk to you all later! (We are moving from a house that we share with my sister, into our own apartment-it will be the 1st time in like 8 years that we have ever lived on our own without roomates..very cool)

April 17th,2005 Amazing

Caitie is counting and doing letters...you can hold up one finger at a time on your hand and she will count one to five(She does 6-10 too but not as clearly sounding). Were getting her to remember that each hand and foot have five, and that makes ten, as well as the word hand, fingers, toes, and foot/feet. She has down perfectly and says and points to ears,eyes,nose,mouth,and hair, so now I'm working on arm, and leg. She says the letters in somewhat understandable language so far..so definetely is working on the numbers and letters right now and loves them! Basically when we talk to her or point and tell her what something is she repeats the word to us, its amazing how fast she is picking it all up. Some of her fav words or sounds to make are any of the animals, and things like sun,moon,flower, fork,spoon, no,hi,good bye, uh oh. Currently words she hates to hear are, "time to go in the wa (bath)" and "na na (night night-bed)" hehehhe she's very defiant about those items. For some reason she calls her pacifier foo too..so oh well works for me :)

 

March 25th, 2005 Updates

I am just about 10 weeks along, and have had 2 ultrasounds so far, had one at 7 weeks and one at 9 weeks...and yes morning sickness, oh lots of morning or shall I say all day sickness..and all is going good besides that with everything, can't wait to find out if it is a boy or a girl this time around. Sorry for the lack of updates, when I feel sick the last thing I want to do is sit at a computer longer than I have to. Oh and my due date is October 23rd, just to let you know..and of course if I'm three weeks early this time, it will be at the beginning of October instead..so we shall see. Onto names, I'm sure your dying to know what names we have picked out..so here goes:

If its a boy: Blaine Christopher Matthew W.

If its a girl: Abigail Estelle Mattissen W.

 

Oh yeah Jen and Eddie Murray (also parents of a Kaitlyn) at work have their second baby due August 4th, she is going to have a scheduled C-Section in July, and anyhow they just recently found out that their baby is a boy, and they are naming him Quinn Patrick Murray, congrats guys!

February 28th, 2005 Suprise!

Well this past weekend I was several days past due on "that time" of the month so I was joking with Josh and told him and his friend while they were out to eat to bring me home a pregnancy test, and they did...So first thing Saturday morning I took it and boom...positive results, we were really suprised/shocked/wowed all of that.(I was on birth control till just days ago). So on Sunday just to make a little more sure I took another test, and once again positive. Monday morning rolled around and I went to the doctor's in the morning for test confirmation with them, and that got scheduled at noon. So I went on my lunch break from work and got the big YES..I am pregnant. I had already clued in some of the girls at work about it, and so had to tell them the results when I got back. Everyone was all suprised and so now I'm the second pregnant girl at work. The other is my friend Jen, who also has a daughter named Caitlin(She spells it with a K). Her Caitlin is 2.5 years old and Jen's baby is due in August. I'm due sometime in late October. I'll have more of a ballpark number on that once I get it for an ultrasound and checkups etc. Two of Josh's friends have pregnant wives currently too..infact, dang I know alot of pregnant girls right now..So all in all, we didn't plan this one, it was a suprise, but I always knew the second one would be, and we are really happy and excited, and can't wait to find out if its gonna be a boy or girl, and what they look like, and all of that fun stuff. Just please no morning sickness...7 months of that last time was plenty for me hhehehe..so far I feel fine, I hope it continues, especially since I work Monday thru Friday these days. I'm guessing that I'm 6 or 7 weeks along right now. My first appointment is on March 10th.

To do a suprise baby announcement to Josh's parents like we did the first time around with Caitie we got the above bib, the closest thing we could find mentioning being a sister, and since it said Little Sister, I had to customize it with some puff paints to make it say the correct Big Sister statement. It came out really cute, can't wait to see their expressions when we don't say anything but have Caitie walk in wearing it. Good good stuff!

 

February 21st, 2005 18 Month Check-Up time at the Doctor's

Today was the big day, Caitie's last 2 shots until she starts school...yay! She has to go back at 2 years old for a general check-up but no more shots..which is really awesome. Today she checked out great, 34 inches tall, just about 30 pounds, in the 90th precentile for her age in height and weight etc. Her head measurement was 19 inches. She got 2 shots, and just about when she was going to let out a major loud cry, I said Caitie, Look! Doggies, arf arf..(they put snoopy bandages on her) and she was so interested in the snoopy's she totally forgot about the shots she just got and didn't cry..very cool and a big first..and after that she let me get her dressed and out of the office and home and still no crying....good good stuff! Oh yeah another cute thing she's been doing lately is pointing out or knowing mommy and baby. She pointed to the woman holding her baby on the pampers wipes box and said mamma and then baby. So I said point to the mama and she did, and then I said point to the baby and she did. At the doctor's office they had a Fisher Price Little People's mini van with a mom and a baby. She recognized looking at them that the women was a mom, and the little figure in the basket in the backseat was a baby. She points at me now and says mama also, its very cute :) We are also working on her remembering some of the first numbers like counting to 3 and what letters are etc and her Grandparents taught her some body parts like ear, eye, nose, mouth etc..and she knows shoes, socks, hat, go, bye and all that. Communication is great :)

February 15th,2005 Boy its been a long time since I posted!

Hi everyone, sorry I haven't written anything in forever on here or taken many pics, we've been busy from everything like Holidays to all being super sick with flu/bronchitis and all kinds of stuff..but we are all good and happy and well, hope you all are too. Caitlin is just days away from turning 19 months old, wow hard to believe! She's fully into toddlerhood these days, walking, running, talking baby talk, and even yes tantrums..ever fun..but she is growing up so fast and so smart and is so interested in all around here, its amazing. Other updates..we just had Valentine's Day. Josh and I both had to work, so Caitie spent the day with her Grandparents. She got from daddy a cute pink beanie baby unicorn/pony, and I, mommy got some Hershey kisses and a very cute card. Caitie also the other day got her very first Barbie doll, that she picked out herself. The cart was close to the isle of dolls all lined up and she literally gasped and lunged for this pink fairy sparkly glitter Barbie. Its awesome she loves it alot! We always tell her make the Barbie dance, and she bounces her up and down (dancing). Caitlin's favorite thing herself is music and dancing, we can get her to dance on command hehhehe..we just say dance baby dance, or dance Caitie and she starts twirling around or swaying..she's so cute! :)

December 18th,2004 We Adopted!

Yesterday while in Bakersfield, Ca we visited an SPCA Pet Adoption Center, and came home with a 2 year old Tabby named Gracie. Our other cat, Maria, is not to thrilled about a second cat, but they aren't fighting or anything, so eventually Maria will hopefully warm up to her. See the details and first pics of Gracie here, on Maria's site.

 

October 17th,2004-15 Month checkup appointment.

Today Caitie went to the doctor's for her 15 month checkup. I found out something cool that she should be happy about. They said we need to come in for one more appointment at 18 months and then she's pretty much done till kindergarden. Today she only needed one shot, just like at her 12 month appointment so that was good, cause God, knows, one shot is one shot plenty hhehehe. She was happy and having fun the whole appoinment, they had little people toys in there and a puppy puppet that she liked, and she was fine with everyone coming in and out and looking at her. Then came shot time, she cried after they did it, oh yeah..did not like that one..they said the one they gave her burns a bit (just lovely, way to go people) so anyhow she cried for a few minutes, and then when I redressed her, and as we walked out..and finally when we got down to the car she stopped because she heard me say the magic words, let's go to the farm and see some ducks and ponies, and then all was good smiles all around. Once we got the the farm in Avila, she had fun but was still fussy so we stopped at one more store on the way home to get diapers and then brought her home for lunch and a long long nap. Later in the day she was still fussing, and then I saw her grab in her mouth and cry, so she must be teething some more. Looks like bottom back teeth..maybe molars or something. At the store where we got the diapers she got a new little bouncy ball and a mini stuffed pony, so she was happy :)

October 14th,2004-A New Vue

That's right..we traded in my Yellow 01 Saturn SC2, for a 2005 FWD V6 Saturn Vue! We now have loads of comfy room, drives smooth as silk, and lots of power, 250 Horsepower..very sweet..we love it,and this is Saturn number 3 for us, and the cool thing is we got it in Dragonfly Green..which is pretty much the same teal color that my first Saturn a 95 SL1 came in..so I totally love it and feel at home already. We took some pics of Caitie enjoying the new Vue too.

October 13th,2004-Scott's Birthday

Caitie's cousin Scott had his 1st Birthday party today, the kids got to enjoy some Wiggles, Pizza, and cake.

October 30th,2004-More Zoo Fun and Carving Pumpkins time

So I found out today, that the other zoo, Charles Paddock Zoo in Atascadero would be having today a Boo! At the Zoo event too, so we packed everything up and headed out for that one. This event was smaller, and its a smaller zoo, so it was more like a school carnival kinda thing, but loads of families and kids and fun stuff so it was really cool to go to. Caitlin loves Halloween so much, its great cause we do to! After the zoo we went and carved pumpkins at Caitie's Grandparents house, and you guys can check out the cool photos of those..the carvings came out awesome!

 

October 29th,2004-Boo! At the Zoo

Tonight we took Caitie to an event at the Santa Barbara Zoo called, "Boo, and the zoo." We had no idea it was such a big event..the zoo's whole parking lot was filled and all the smaller surrounding streets by the zoo..wow..zillions of families and kids, and people everywhere..luckily we got a spot not too far away and then headed it. It was amazing, totally done up as a massive haunted house type thing with different themes throughout or sections, like pumpkin area, pirate ship area, cemetary, witches area, fairy area, mermaid area, spooky tour area, storytelling area, carnival area etc..good stuff..the whole zoo..lights out except for red, or white spot lights here and there and everyone had glow sticks and necklaces..so that was about it for light besides pumpkins. We followed the trail and checked out all of the booths, and activities going on..Caitlin and Scott loved it all, they were in awe and amazed by everything and all the people and little kids. I think they really had a blast. I hope they have this again next year, because then Caitlin will really enjoy it being a little older then and everything and able to take part more with everything that is set up for the 2 and older kid crowd.

October 28th,2004-Language

Caitie has been spreading her vocabulary lately. She now says Duck (Da) Water (Waa) Ball (Ball) then when she sees or hears a dog its (rrff rrff rrff-she barks hheheh) oh and pony/horses..she makes the galloping hoof sound..she's working on saying fish too. As far as understanding what we or others say she understands so much now. She knows good bye, ba ba, night, nana, bath, come here, no, yes, cat, and clap..

October 23rd,2004-Favorite Things

Just for fun and memory sakes I want to post some of Caitlin's current favorite things in life:

Ducks,Ponies, Dogs, Pumpkins, Airplanes, Baths, Tigger Blankies, Rides in Shopping Carts, Walking, shoes, Bananas,Grapes, Apples, ladybugs, Books, Fisher-Price Little People, Dorothy the Dinosaur, Her Orange Whale, Sesame Street, Wiggles, Bear in the Big Blue House, The Gerber Baby, Being spun around and turned upside down and spinned which everyway and bounced-she's a thrill seeker, Happy Meals!

October 14th,2004-Recovering and she's still walking!

Josh and I are slowly mending from being super sick..and Caitlin is still walking..now she's getting brave..she stands up, giggles, and then charges across the room..not just casual pacing either..fast walking..she's ready to take off hehhehe :)

October 13th,2004-Congrats To Andy and Marie!

Our friends Andy and Marie, who's wedding we were just in this past May, called us with big news, they are Expecting a Baby, they've been trying for one since their wedding..so big congrats to them..looks like Caitlin will have a new friend down the road to play with.

October 12th,2004-She walked!

For a long time now Caitie has been taking steps, like walking back annd forth between her dad and I, or from her Grandma to her Grandpa etc..but no actual walking on her own beyond that. Well the other night while we were sitting on the floor watching tv with her she was a little ways away from us and I turned and looked and she stood up and walked over to us..on her own..holding nothing, no help or whatever!!! The best thing was her dad and I were right there and saw it all.

October 11th,2004-Food Poisioning

Caitlin's dad and I have food poisioning..it is the most god awful thing ever..like being hit by a truck over and over again..dang this sucks. Not that normal throwing up and other flu like things are fun or anything..but oh yeah..this takes the cake completely!

October 8th,2004-Two farms, one day

That's right today we visited two farms-Windmill Farm, which we have never been to before, and then our old favorite, Avila Barn. We checked out the fruits and veggies and goods at both and the kids played with all the animals and we took some photos and got some small pumpkins(we'll get big ones later). I found this website called Central Coast Kids, and they list places up and down the central coast here that are fun family outing spots and that's how I found out about Windmill Farm..I also found out about a miniture horse ranch too..which we are planning on seeing soon also. I think we may be taking Caitie to the zoo this Sunday.

October 6th,2004-Halloween Updates

Well my sister Krystal wanted more than anything for her baby, Scott to be a frog for Halloween this year and tried to win a costume on ebay which didn't happen, so luckily while I was at the store getting my costume I found a baby frog costume. So I brought that home to suprise them, they love it! :)

As for Josh and I's costumes, we decided just to buy costumes here at the store instead of from online..so anyhow, we got costumes that go together(couple costume)..his and mine our long black and velvet, mine a dress with hood, and his robe style with hood..his is called Gothic Priest, and mine is Countess..so that will be fun..and we got some makeup to go with it, and of course as you guys know Caitie is being a ladybug.

We've also now decorated the house with all the Halloween stuff which I love to do, and now its time for us to drive over to this other street by us and see if these people have their haunted house up yet..(they go way out..you can see in our last year Halloween pics, they live by this really old graveyard and do up their yard with tombstones, and all kinds of fun stuff..a must see..I will take pics of course :)

October 1st,2004-Back to the Barn

Today Aunt Krystal and Cousin Scott, and Caitlin and I went up to Avila Barn again. We walked to kids around, and showed them all the animals, and took them thru the baby hay maze and then played in the pumpkins..there are zillions of them..Orange or White! Then we went into their market and bought some green grapes, and purple grapes, cider, a cookie and turnover, some raspberries, honey, and strawberries. The kids and well us too enjoyed cookie and berries on the ride home :) and we took lots of cute pics which you can see in the month 14 album. It was a fun little field trip. We will be going back up there again when its time to get pumpkins for Halloween.

 

September 30th-Doctor's Visit

Well the whole family from Aunt to cousin to Grandparents have all had this horrible cold/flu thing on and off for the past couple of weeks..so yesterday Caitlin and I went to the doctor's to get some medicine to get rid of it once and for all..so we are both on Amoxicillin (sp?). They weight her, and of my god, she was like 28 something pounds..I'm sure she can't really weight exactly that because she had just had a huge lunch, was holding her blanket and a toy and wearing shoes so some of that was probably the weight..she's probably like 26 or 27 pounds..but we will find out for sure on her 15 month old appointment which isn't that far away. So for now all of us sicky heads are trying to get better.

 

September 8th-Beach and trip to the farm

Today Caitlin went to the beach and touched the ocean for the first time! We also went to the Avila farm and saw lots of cute animals and had some fun and then we went to lunch at the beach and then headed down to the water.Caitlin was one tired little girl after all of that.

September 5th-Teeth Latest

Noticed the other day that there are now 3 visible top teeth in Caitie's mouth..the two front middle teeth and then one next to the left of those.

September 4th-Halloween Costume

Just ordered on Ebay a Ladybug Halloween Costume for the Caitie Bug, so if it fits and everything good to go with it, this is what she'll be for this Halloween, if you remember last year she was a pumpkin. We will be adding a long sleeve black shirt and pants under it to keep her warm for trick or treating.

September 4th-Off to School we go

Today for the first time, my sister Krystal and I took the two kids, Caitlin and Scott on a walk in their strollers to the elementary school by our house. We took them on the little kids playground, and then went down to the big kids playground below. The cool thing is since way back in the day when Krystal and I went to school there, they have added handicap ramps so you get get up and down the three levels without doing stairs..so oh that was sooo so nice with the strollers to use those. They also painted a Chumash Indian mural and an Island of the Blue Dolphins mural (painted by students). So it was fun, and Caitlin didn't like sand at first, and isn't thrilled about grass..but by the end she was pretty good with either. I also took her down all the different slides..which was fun for me to do also heheheh :)

August 23rd My two front teeth!

Ok..finally I caught those new little teeth on camera..not the bottom ones..but the top ones..check it out! She fully has her two top in and the two bottom front teeth right below those and the rest are just starting to peak out.

August 20th,2004 Doctor's Check Up Time Again

Today Caitlin is 13 months old! Wow how fast time flys when your having fun. Today Caitlin went into the doctor's for her 1 year check up and for medicine for a really bad diaper rash. She only had to get one shot this time around, the chicken pox vaccine, plus the fun part for me finding out how much she has grown since her last visit. She is 25 lbs and 11 ozs, and 31 inches tall. For being such a brave girl and not crying much with her shot, she got a toy airplane while we waited at the drugstore for her prescription to be filled. Caitlin loves planes! I hold one up and make the motor sound and make it fly over her head back and forth past her, and then she grabs one or another toy and makes the motor sound like me and flys it around above her head. If she hears and airplane fly over head she looks out the window and up at the sky to see it.

August 15th,2004 First Trip to the Park

Today is a big day, we took Caitlin to the park for the first time, she also ate her first happy meal ever, fries, cheeseburger and all and loved it, she also was wearing jeans for the first time too..she's so cute! She liked the park alot..she got upset when it was time to go. We're going to try to make it a weekly or so trip to do together as a family outing.

August 12th,2004 More Teeth!

Caitlin is popping little pokey teeth points out all along the top..one of the teeth or maybe its two right next to each other (not sure) are really coming out. She started knawing on my arm yesterday, and I was like hey?!?! This girlie is biting me..I feel teeth! That's a first. I noticed as well that her chewing real food is getting easier for her, so yay finally lots of teeth maybe? She has her two lower front teeth fully in so far with all the top ones peeking out. To see inside her mouth we have to make her laugh or do something to get her to make an expression that we can see in there with, because she just does not like to show the teeth off. Forget about too sticking your finger in there to check for the teeth, she does not allow that either hehehehhe...so maybe one day I'll get a photo of the teeth happening in there.

August 8th,2004 A Treat for Caitie

Caitlin absolutely loves the Gerber baby..so as a treat for her while she was taking her morning nap, I found an image of the Gerber Baby Logo online(from one of the original drawing prints), saved it and then blew it up big in photoshop and printed her an 8x10 to hang for her in her room. I also looked up the story of the Gerber Baby which is really neat, you can see the photo of the lady who is the Gerber baby..check it out here on her site, and a good story of it here on this news site. There is more about it too of course on the Gerber site.

When we are feeding Caitie, we have to turn the jars of food around so she can she the gerber baby on there, and then we're like,"Look, there's the baby," and she gets a huge smile on her face and laughs..and sometimes if she won't take a bite, I say, Look there's the baby, the baby likes it, and then she'll eat whatever it is hehehheheheh.

August 7th,2004 A Girl who Knows What she Wants

Caitlin has learned to communicate in a new way besides baby talk..when she wants something or someone to do something she picks up an item and puts it in your hand or lap etc. For example, if she wants a book read or you to play with a certain toy she picks it up and gives it to you..and when your done and put it down, more than likely she will pick it up and give it back to you again. She does this with food too, she goes into her little food cabinet in her room and pulls out whatever book of cookies or crackers (Gerber Snacks) that she wants and hands the box to us..she does this with her bottle to..she grabs it by the nipple and puts it down right in front of us..like ok, feed me hehehehhehe...so basically she knows what she wants and knows how to tell us to do it for her. Sometimes she wants to share and will want to hand us a toy or some of her food, and then we say thank you baby, your a good girl.

August 1st,2004 Jessica Simpson Concert

Krystal and I went to see Jessica Simpson tonight at the Paso Robles Mid State Fair and it was freakin super awesome! Her sister Ashlee Simpson's boyfriend Ryan C. opened the show (He's a singer too) Krystal ended up getting an autographed CD from him personally because she was 1 of 400 who ran to get one where he told people to meet him after his performance..too cool..Jessica sang a bunch of her songs, and did some questions and answers and talked alot to the audience..and on the big screen behind the stage they showed clips from her show Newlyweds, and the Nick and Jessica Variety show, and her commerical with her sister for Ice Breakers. So just when we thought the show was over, because Jessica said it was..we got up to beat the crowds to go buy Jessica S. concert tour t-shirts and then she started singing again...so we rushed back to the outskirts of the stadium basically and then she annouces again that the show is over, and all of a sudden her husband Nick Lachey comes out too!!! and her best friend Casee and her family..all of which we know from the show...so that was so super cool...I just wish we hadn't been so far away to see the end..we should have stayed in our seats hehehehh cause we had nice close seats..I took pics but of course they all came out blurry because we weren't close enough for good ones..but it was an awesome show and really fun, we got to be silly teenage screaming girls one more time at a concert on our mom's night off. This was a special show because it was the last performance by Jessica of her 2004 Reality Tour. It was so cute too..Nick picked her up and was carrying her off stage in his arms. Oh and then this was a big night for Caitie too...Josh had to work so we had my friend Kelley watch her.

See the concert pics here

 

July 31st,2004 Milk!

Big day today..Caitlin has had Milk (Vit. D Whole Milk) for the first time today..I think at first she thought is was weird but now its nothing to her..she found out its good with cookies :)

July 30th,2004 We Moved

Hi everyone..ok we are finally all moved in now over at the house we are renting from my dad, its kinda neat that Caitlin is getting to do some growing up in the house I grew up in and her room just happens to be the room my sister and I shared when we were little. I'm glad that she took to her room and crib and everything instantly..that makes things nice and easy. We did the move all in one day&night..boy do I hurt now..my sister and I did it all alone..except for the very end when our StepDad Norman came and brought our bed and desk for us..but other than that we two super strong girls did it all..while watching the babies even..pretty good..but oh yeah all that lifting ouchy...I hope I can still move tomorrow hehheh :) and Jessica Simpson concert here we come Sunday!!

July 21st,2004 New Foods

Today Caitie got toast and scrambled eggs from her Grandparents today..first time ever and they said she loved it..she just couldn't stand jarred Gerber Oatmeal anymore hehheheh I guess. Now she can have her yogurt like normal and some eggs now and then.

July 21st,2004-Movin...and Sleeping thru the Night!

It has begun! The big move from where we live now, with Josh's parents to the house I grew up in, which my dad is renting to us. So anyhow all the carpet is now in..and Caitlin's room is all put together. It came out so cute! (Yes, Photos will be coming soon) So past and present baby supplies,clothes,toys and what have you and her new crib and all her Princess room stuff are all together and ready..finally huh?! It only took her till 1 years old to get her own room hehehhe..well not really though she's shared a room with us over this past year she always has had a nursery upstairs here at her grandparents house.

WHICH she now sleeps in all night on her own...this is huge because she has only done this 3 days her whole life so far..and they all happened this week. Normally she wakes up a zillion times a night and I get up and give her bottle and all that..and haven't had a full night sleep myself in a year..BUT now..I just might get some real sleep..hehehehhe...ahhhhhhh. So since she is now sleeping upstairs in the nursery, I took down her bed in our room..so now we have all this open space again yay! However I'm still having problems sleeping through the night myself now since its been a year since I've had the chance to..but each day its getting better..its weird after so long not waking up so often taking care of her and not having her right there. But its a good thing, so I'll get used to it :)

July 18th,2004-Welcome!

Welcome to Caitie's latest website, this one is for the fact that now she is turning one years old, so time to start fresh and close the chapter on her newborn site. This site will be like her past, with all the latest news and going on's, and cute photos, and first moments and what is happening with Josh and I, her parents as well. So stay tuned and welcome to the next chapter in little Caitie's life.

July 18th,004 Caitlin's 1st Birthday

Caitlin had her one year old birthday party today. Its theme was ladybug princess, so of course ladybug and princess everything for all of the party supplies,cake,and favors. We also made 30 individual ladybug cakes!! It took a day and a half working on them to do. Make sure and check out all of the party photos, it was a great day! She came out of it with a zillion new books because she loves books so much! Also some super fun toys and new clothes. We all can't wait to play with all the new things with her.