watch out on memorial day...

be careful of the sun on memorial day... check out rhett and link's warning video

and imagine my trumpet solo at our wedding.

just kidding, we actually did not have a trumpet solo.  but adam loves to tell the story to people that we have just met that i played the trumpet for 8 years and that i actually played a solo while he walked down the aisle.  and he says it with such a straight face and so seriously that you would swear he was telling the truth.  i inevitably blush everytime because it is not true!  well i did play the trumpet for 8 years but not at our wedding. :)

sittin' pretty

some of Caleigh's adventures in sitting - she is getting good!  she can sit for about a minute unassisted

mom look, i'm a big happy girl!

woah, this sitting is some fun stuff... thankfully i'm got this big belly to help me balance my weight... i really don't know how i feel about sitting up... you're way over there and i'm all alone here a little help here... like a sweet little bump on a log

waking up

waking up then...

waking up now...

happy mothers day

happy mothers day to me!  caleigh got me these pretty pink flowers (our favorite color) and Adam got me a rose.  Adam got up early before church to make me pancakes, bacon, and a fruit salad for breakfast... we had a great mothers day!  I have been blessed with such a beautiful, healthy, happy little girl...

and an amazing husband!  caleigh is stealing daddy's hat... who me?  i didn't take that hat! notice the chunky legs - so sweet

sweet thing

who would believe that this sweet thing...

could do something like this...  after 3 days of no poop and lots of solids we got this... happy mothers day to me... as a fun bonus - it was all over the car seat too :)

wachovia tourney

2 weeks ago (yes it has been FOREVER since I have posted on the blog) Adam and I took Caleigh and went to the pro-am day of the Wachovia golf tourney.  Adam and I have been a couple of times before and it was so fun this year to go with Caleigh.  It was the most beautiful day and the weather was perfect - if even a little cool.  I love it that spring is dragging out this long.  I dread the long hot humid oppressive summer.  The sling came in handy once again - the hotsling is for sure the must have item.  Here is our cute family!

Adam got to meet John Fox (Carolina Panthers coach for those not in the know)... well not really but we did manage to snap this shot in passing. This is the 17th hole with the island green where we watched much of the play. Here is Adam watching some Nascar player on 18. The 18th hole - it has been said that the last couple holes at Quail Hollow are some of the hardest on the tour.

5 months

Caleigh turned 5 months old this past weekend!  She is such a big girl.  Here are some pictures of our week last week.

At 5 months Caleigh has learned an important skill - drinking out of a sippy cup, though here she is only knawing on it...  the only think she drinks out of there is a tiny bit of water - maybe up to 1 ounce on a hot day.   And as for solids, we gave those up a while ago.  I think she just wasn't ready yet, and the rice cereal made her constipated.  We will probably start up on solids again in a week or 2 and then we will start introducing everything - veggies, fruits, etc. She has also gotten so much fun for Adam to be with.  She is just so interactive and is sure to laugh when he is around. And she has found her legs :)  The first time she found her legs and stood on them she just laughed.  It was hilarious.  

Other things she is doing as a 5 month old:

-she laughes from time to time - mostly with Adam

-she sleeps 7p-730a with no interruptions and takes 2 2-hour naps and 1 45 minute cat nap

-she loves screaming - not crying - just shrieking at the top of her lungs for fun - it is her favorite mode of communication

-she hardly ever cries but has perfected the whine... she whines when she is hungry or when she wants out of her particular position

-she has only rolled over front to back once over 1.5 months ago and she has only rolled over back to front once and it was about 3 weeks ago... she is SO laid back

-she pushes up high on her arms and puts her legs up under her like she wants to go somewhere but can't

-we aren't making much progress on sitting up either - she can sit up for about 30 seconds before falling forward on her face

All in all she is a fabulous baby and is so much fun.  She is an easy baby and a great sleeper - we are so spoiled!  

playdate

The other day the Dirks came over for dinner and Maggie decided to show Caleigh the ropes on her Exersaucer.  Here Maggie is teaching her about the red rocket toy with much expression.

Here Maggie wants to know why we are interrupting her by taking a picture. And lastly Maggie decided walking away was much more fun that playing with a boring baby.  Cals clearly doesn't want her to go. :)

park here we come

We have been taking advantage of some of the nice weather lately by going walking and heading to the park.  Notice Bailey on the left giving me the sad eyes (which mean you better take me with you).  We did not take her with us b/c I'm not sure I can single-handedly push a stroller and hang onto a dog who is a maniac for squirrels (who also love the spring weather).   Cals really isn't the biggest fan of her stroller but being the laid-back baby that she is she tolerates it with no complaining.

Hanging out at the park... On our balcony - clearly refreshed after enjoying one of her super long (2.5 hours!) naps.

caleigh's real baptism

Caleigh got baptized on Sunday.  It was such a special time for us.  This is a picture of Adam reading our blessing for Caleigh.

Caleigh's blessing:

"Caleigh Grace, you are more precious than we could have ever imagined.  You have blessed your mother & I so much over these past 4 months!  We have loved experiencing all of the firsts with you, whether it is rolling over, smiling, or eating solids.  You are truly a gift of God's grace to us.  We named you Caleigh, loosely after your mother whose middle name is Leigh, and we named you Grace because of the incomparable riches of God's grace, expressed to us through Christ Jesus.  We pray that God's grace would truly be the undercurrent of your life & with that in mind , your mother & I choose Ephesians 2:8-9 as your life verse.  "For it is by grace you have been saved , through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast."  God's grace is defined as the undeserved favor that God shows on us as sinners.  Our prayer for you is that you would know that God's grace is sufficient for you in all things.  We pray that you would never try to add anything to grace, instead that your trust & faith will always be in Him alone & not in your own works or success.  As you grow up we pray that you would be a woman of grace and that you would love the Lord with all your heart, mind, soul, & strength."

Here is the entire family after Caleigh's baptism and reception at our condo. Caleigh with her special bonnet - a gift from her grandparents - and her Daddy. Congrats Cals.  We are so excited for you!

baptism

yesterday we tried on caleigh's baptism outfit... see below...  (ps i don't know why this part is blue and underlined - it is driving me crazy) actually we are getting excited about the summer and i couldn't wait to try on her summer stuff...  croakies so early in life - she is a carolina girl at heart. and the solids are going so much better!  we are up to 1 tablespoon of rice cereal once a day and she seems to like it!  as you can see it is still a messy process.

some pix from this week

big girl - she looks so much bigger in this than she used to!

outtake #1... baby on my shoulders (could you tell we were a little stir crazy?) somebody has found her feet!  they are her new favorite toys.  and with the help of those feet she rolled over from front to back this week (on thursday while i was at work!)

solids video

here is the solids video - it took forever for us to get it to load.  remember adam took it so it is a little shaky :) and it is pretty long (and some may find it boring) - but that is the purpose of a blog - too much information too often.

solids

Well - in celebration of Caleigh being 4 months last week and the fact that she keeps waking up 45 minutes into her nap we decided to try to start her on solids.  Try is the operative word.  It did not go over so well.  We tried the rice cereal once a day Tues through Thurs and she just really wasn't into it.  She has become a pro, not a swallowing, but at chomping her mouth shut and turning her head to the side.  We also now use a bib - but hey, live and learn.  She looks jaded in this picture - and the big blob of snot looking rice cereal is pretty cute.

Here is a video of Caleigh enjoying her first attempt at solids.  I have to warn you that it is pretty long (about 3 minutes) and some may find it pretty boring.  And there is the fact that since Adam is taping it, it is somewhat Blair Witch Project style - shaky... But for your viewing pleasure here it is.

We decided to take a break on solids and we will try again this week. :)

just because

only daddy would have put caleigh in this outfit and then captured her chunky legs

she's sneaking a peak at what daddy is doing from last week this is my favorite picture!  so cute!  and caleigh was 4 months last week. she was 13 lb 6 oz (50th%) and 24 inches long (60th%) - so she is still average and super cute...

easters!

Happy late Easter!  Caleigh dressed up for the occasion.  We enjoyed Caleigh's first Easter last weekend with a church service at noon on Good Friday, an egg hunt with our church at Latta Park on Saturday morning, church on Sunday morning, and then a great Easter dinner with the Dirks!  Cals was looking pretty cute...

Happy Easter!

eggs (not easter eggs)

We think Caleigh might be allergic to eggs.  This is what happens when I eat eggs and then nurse her...

Hot rash + hives... Caleigh honestly couldn't care less...  She is SO laid back! Yes that is a chunky leg...

here are your daddy updates!

Adam - here are your daily updates that I have missed because blogger has been down.  We hope you are having a great time out in Idaho, your girls miss you but we are doing fine here.  Here are your updates.  Saturday Caleigh wore some Carolina gear to cheer the Tarheels on to victory against Dook.  She likes her leather chair.

Obviously I haven't had a shower yet today in this picture... Big chubby Carolina cheeks... And then Sunday this is what Caleigh wore to church.  We went to the 2nd service and then to my parents for lunch.  After coming home to take Bailey out we went to the Kulps and hung out and ate dinner before Lifegroup.  Cals did not do very good at lifegroup - several meltdowns and cry fests.  She just cannot sleep well there.  But we enjoyed it anyways.  That was our weekend.