fun day and fun mail!

We are glad to have Daddy home today! Patrick finished teaching on Thursday, so to treat himself he headed to San Diego to meet up with his good buddy Ryan to hit the links at Torrey Pines! He got home this morning, so to kick off the holiday weekend we headed to the pool to beat the 101 degree heat! We had a great day and came home to a package from Grandma and Grandpa! Caroline loves her book and Pj's, thanks G and G!

modeling her new duds!

Caroline's first dentist appt

We have been meaning to call and schedule a dentist appt for Caroline as she is nearing the 2 1/2 year mark.

A few days ago I noticed that one of Caroline's front teeth seemed "dirtier" than the rest. I mentioned it to Patrick and he said it looked fine to him. I tried scrubbing them extra hard, but it still seemed discolored to me. Saturday, while we were at the pool, Patrick and I both noticed that the tooth had gotten considerably darker. By this morning it was dark gray in color, so I immediately called the dentist. We went in this afternoon and THANK GOODNESS the doctor said it should hopefully turn back. He said it could possibly need to be pulled, but most likely it will get a bit worse, but then over the next few months go back to its original color. He thought most likely it got bumped in a fall and the darkness was due to a blood buildup in the tooth. We will be keeping an eye on it and are praying it gets better, I would be SO SAD if she had to be without her front tooth for the next 5 years or so! *We know it is not the end of the world though, with all the parents dealing with serious childhood illness, we will take a little ole tooth issue anyday!

Here is a picture of the "dark tooth":

Due to the nature of the first dentist visit, I did not get any pictures, but I did catch her when we got home with her new (electric Cinderella) toothbrush!

just a few books...

Tonight Caroline wanted to read her books on the couch before bed instead of in her bed. I kissed her goodnight and headed back to the bedroom to relax while Dad read her 5 books. I came out an HOUR later and this is what I found..... over 20 books ....and one very awake little girl!

I guess you can't complain about a having a little girl who loves to read so much, and a very loving Dad who is so willing to humor his little darling!

If you have any doubt that these two are related check this out...

Paw-Paw's boat

The weather has been so beautiful here (high 80s) so last night we decided to go out with Paw-Paw on his boat. We thought as much as Caroline loves the pool, she would really enjoy a boat ride! She was super excited to put on her life jacket and jump aboard. We started the ride and all was good... until her hat flew off. Even though we were able to retrieve it, I think that scared her a bit and after that she wanted nothing to do with the boat. We could not help but laugh at her sad cries "It's too windy, I want to go back to mommy's car right now." Not even candy bribes could calm her down, CRAZY!

before the breakdown

Paw-Paw, Julia and Caroline

eventually we realized part of the reason why she was so unhappy, she was POOPED! She passed right out as soon as we stopped! The rest of us enjoyed a QUIET dinner and the beautiful surroundings!

Smokey and Patrick

*The funny part is after we got off the boat Caroline said "Mommy, I had a really good time on Paw-Paw's boat!" Such a funny girl!

Swimming lessons

Caroline had such a great time trying out swimming and gymnastics lessons two weeks ago that this week we signed up for both! Last night she went to 1/2 hour gym class with Mr Matt and followed that with a 1/2 hour swim class with Mr Ethan. I was unsure how she would do with guy teachers, but it didn't phase her at all! She had a really great night and we are looking forward to many more fun weeks of class! our little fishie!
here she is "blowing bubbles" (going underwater) to get Grumpy

they are counting to five

after her turn with the teacher, she is headed back to the step to sit and wait her next turn

the end of class.....a little tour around the pool to the wheels on the bus!

Right now they are working on:

"blowing bubbles"-going underwater

floating on their back

getting out of the pool from the side (elbow, elbow, leg, leg)

getting a ring underwater on the bottom step

diving in (more like jumping with their hands in front of them)

walking hand over hand down the wall (Aba-Daba's)

Lots of stuff, no pictures....

Gosh, I am normally so good at taking my camera everywhere we go, but lately I have just enjoyed BEING and DOING and have taken a break from behind the lens! (*Sorry Mom and Aunt Linda)

Wanted to put a few things down to remember:

*Our second annual Derby Party was really fun and festive, too bad there were no winners in our big group, darn Animal Kingdom! *Although Aunt Laura did win the "party pool"!

*Mother's Day was really nice and really hard. We decided part way through the morning to call a mulligan and from now on celebrate Mother's Day the weekend after. It puts too much pressure on P to plan, execute, and try to make my day super special when the loss of his Mom is so raw. We did end up having a nice day at the pool with our friends and then came home to host dinner for my SIL and FIL. My gift is ordered, when it arrives just wait till you see it...IT IS AWESOME!

*Caroline went to her first (OK second, but first where I was not in the pool with her) swim lesson and Gymnastics class, and LOVED them both! I had purchased a leotard with a skirt attached a while back at a consignment store for dirt cheap and she looked darling! (pictures in last post). Ever since that swim class she had been OBSESSED with going under water!

*My mulligan Mother's Day last Saturday was perfect with breakfast in bed, a day at the resort pool (complete with smoothies and ice cream), and dinner out to our new favorite pizza joint! Plus, Caroline was perfect...she is such a good relaxer at the pool! She calls going under water "blowing bubbles" and wanted to swim to Patrick and I all day underwater! She has also mastered walking along the wall with her hands. We got her a princess tube and she loves the independence, she is such a fish!!

*We are getting super excited about the new baby and cannot believe how fast time is flying! I am convinced it is a boy, but we will see! We are still having a hard time with names, hopefully we will start agreeing on some soon! I have started physical therapy and am getting monthly massages to keep the back ache at bay, and so far so good.

*Some of our good friends just had a baby girl and we went over to visit and bring them dinner. Caroline was over the moon to be able to hold her, she is going to be such a big sister! She loves babies and has not stopped talking about baby Aubrey since! I am excited to have a big helper at my disposal!

Funny things she says/does:

-Caroline's new favorite expression is "Oh my Gosh" she says it ALL DAY LONG!

-When we ask Caroline to do something like stay in her bed at night, she says "I promise" it is so stinkin cute!

-When Caroline is being naughty and we get on her, she says "Mommy, I be nice"

-Caroline still has good and bad days on the potty, but the funny thing is that she doesn't let us look at her when she is pooping in the potty. She says"No Mamma, " I want my privacy", and makes us stare at the door or leave the room.

-Her new trick is she pretends she is snoring at nighttime right before we leave the room ( I think her Daddy taught her that)

-Speaking of Daddy, P is the night baby wisper-er. He normally does the bedtime routine (books and 2 videos on his phone) while I put the house back together, and they are a good team. She rarely ever puts up a fight or comes out of her room and goes down every night around 7 like a champ.

-Caroline loves to know everyone's names and where they fit (for instance she knows all her friends names, and their parents names to go with each child), AND has the best MEMORY, tell her once and it sticks!

-She knows all her letters, and what sounds they make

-She has almost perfected her numbers (1-20) too!

-She is now becoming obsessed with dress-up and anything princess (especially princess fruit snacks her VERY favorite things!)

-She sings all day long, and has even started singing some non-kid songs (I think Daddy was kid-songed out on the way to and from school) which makes us laugh. She likes to sing: Cheeseburger in Paradise, Why you gotta be so mean by Taylor Swift, OLE (the soccer version), and California Girls by Katy Perry (she groves to this one in her car seat like nobody's business!)

-We know she is a great kid but lately we have taken Caroline places and people just cannot stop commenting on how good she is. She really is the most sweet, quiet, even-tempered kid most of the time. She loves babies, is great at sharing, plays nice, and is perfectly happy to sit and read books for hours! She has her moments, FOR SURE, but overall we feel so blessed to be her Mama and Daddy! It is amazing how you can love a child more each day.

So that's the latest......we have lots of fun things ahead.....so promise more pictures to come!

Mother's Day and stuff

Family Fun

This past weekend we had lots of fun family time! Saturday we spent the day at the football fields watching James play in his tournament and then all headed over to Paw-Paw's for a cookout. Sunday we headed to Wickenberg for an extended family get-together. It was a busy weekend for sure, but nice to catch-up with the whole Stover clan! Car's new favorite pose
Our girlie girl's first run with a ball cap!

Daddy, Car, and the football star (James)

Paw-Paw, Patrick and Caroline