Life Lessons

I often find that I underestimate Caroline's understanding of her world. The other night, we were having a particularly challenging time with her at dinner. She was just generally unhappy about what was put in front of her to eat, despite the fact that I had prepared some of her favorite things. It was a night of taking a few bites, crying, throwing food, yelping, howling and pulling her bib off. After about the sixth time she pulled her bib off, I decided it was enough, and that she must not really be all that hungry. So, I took her out of the high chair and put her down on the floor and off she toddled toward the playroom. I said to Chris, " Well, I guess she would rather play than eat." She disappeared around the corner and, no more than 3 seconds later, she turned around and made a beeline toward the kitchen. She went straight to her high chair and stood by it with her arms outstretched, bouncing up and down. I asked her if she would like to finish dinner, and I picked her up and put her back in her high chair. Much to our surprise, she calmly and quietly scarfed down the rest of her food. Of course, we prasied her and told her what a good girl she was for coming back and then proceeded to chuckle about the whole situation for the rest of the night.
I have always said that I would not be a short-order cook for my children. If you don't like what's put in front of you, then you can wait until the next meal to eat. I think Caroline realized that it was a really, really long time until breakfast!

Trick or Treat

Caroline was a ladybug for Halloween. She was so cute in her costume and had a lot of fun trick or treating with the other kids in the neighborhood.

Pumpkin Patch

We visited Guthrie's Pumpkin Farm in Riceville. TN today. It was a great trip. The farm had lots of activities-- several different types of mazes (corn, hay, etc.), petting farm, hayrides and, of course, the pumpkin patch. Caroline loved playing with the pumpkins, trying to pick them up, roll them around and pull on their stems. She also enjoyed the hayride with the wind blowing in her face and hair. We had a really fun day and hope to make this an annual event.

Pumpkin Patch

Pumpkin Patch

Pretty Dress

This is one of my favorite dresses on Caroline. She wore it to mommy's friend Ms. Lesley's birthday party last weekend. We got new shoes from Stride-Rite last week too (see second picture). She had already worn out her first pair of Pedi-Peds that we got back in August-- and she needed something sturdier. Caroline likes to hold the hairbrush and try to brush her hair (see third picture), which is a big help to Daddy who sometimes forgets that little girls need to have their hair brushed (see first picture). She is a VERY busy little girl these days. She learned to say "belly button" in the bathtub last night and will look down and point to it if you ask her where it is. Her favorite game right now is to go all around the house opening drawers and cabinets, taking things out of one and putting them back in another. It also apperars that she is working on her sixth tooth, which will probably appear in a few days.

Cottage Cheese Face

Caroline's favorite food is cottage cheese

Caroline and Grammie. She visited last weekend.

Waking up from her nap. She loves to play with her pacis.