Orlando

I headed down to Orlando Labor Day weekend to spend it with my college suitemates. Erin is the last of us four to be getting hitched, so we had celebrate suitey-style! The bridesmaids, (Liz, Bethany, and I) planned a BEAUTIFUL Tiffany-themed lingerie shower with Erin's sis, the MOH, Hayley. We all four live in different cities, so it was interesting to plan a shower completely on Facebook (our FB thread has over 100 messages). Anyway, there was a lot of chocolate and frillies involved.

The bride and her bridesmaids.

Bethany made the yummy cake...

On Sunday, we headed to WDW (where Erin works). We hit ALL FOUR PARKS IN ONE DAY. I didn't even know that was a possibility. We headed to AK first, and rode Everest 3 times.

"The Sleeper" on Everest

After a mishap with forgetting where we parked and a nice security guard helping us out, we headed to Studios. Tower of Terror, Rockin' Roller Coaster, and Buzz Lightyear...

Erin taking part in a street performance with Cynthia Bloom...

Then on to Epcot (looking a little worse for the wear). We rode Spaceship Earth and then toured to World Showcase, with dinner at Tutto Italia (yum!).

The bridal party (plus Liz's baby) crammed in a phone booth in England.

And finally we made it (exhausted) to MK! We got a Dole Whip pineapple float, watched the parade, and then the most hilarious viewing of Wishes I have ever experienced! We sat in the back behind the carousel, and there were fireworks on either side of us, and we were all whipping our heads back back and forth with every BOOM. I wish I has video of this! We walked away with a little whiplash and aching sides from laughter.

The Dole Whip...highly recommended!

Which way to look?

left...

right...

These are some of the best gals in the world, and I cherish our friendship of (small gasp) 9 years. I'm so glad we all four make it a priority to spend time with each other each year! Looking forward to the wedding in October!

Birthday Party

(This is a month overdue, but I'm putting it out there anyway...)

We had C's birthday party at my parents' house on Lake Logan-Martin. It was a great time of celebrating this past year of having her here with us! It's hard to remember what life was like before we were three...

My friend Bethany helped me decorate the cakes for the party. I am fairly creative, but cake decorating is just something I've never really gotten into. I think I like it! We made on BIG cupcake and several smaller (though still bigger then normal-sized) cupcakes. I LOVE buttercream icing...yum. :) They turned out even better than I had hoped.

Of course there were presents...

At her one year check-up, she weighed 17 lbs 11.5 oz. Still hangin' in at the 5th percentile! What a little munchkin she is. Who would've thought Philip and I would have such an itty bitty thing? One upside is that we've gotten a LOT of wear out of her baby clothes since she stays in one size for so long. :)

Some things about Caroline at one year (so I can scrapbook it all after the dissertation is done):

-She finally learned at 11.5 months to roll over. Being a reflux baby, she didn't spend much time flat on the floor, and just never had realized that she could!

-She is a GREAT sleeper. She had been sleeping through the night since 8 months, but was SUCH an early riser (usually 5:30 am). Since she learned to roll, she has been sleeping until 7:30! I think the ability to roll over and sleep on her belly was the turning point. :) She naps twice a day for 1.5-2 hrs each, and goes down for the night by 8:00.

-She is a GREAT eater. She doesn't love her veggies, but tolerates them until she realizes there is something else better to be had. We try to start lunch and dinner with a veggie before we reveal any other food. She does love anything dairy and all fruits. She does NOT like to be fed, however, and wants to feed herself.

-She LOVES her paci...a battle to be fought after the dissertation is complete.

-She is so close to walking, and can stand for 5 seconds or so on her own.

-She is definitely very musical, and has a distinct twitch (which we call her dancing) when any music comes on. It's a head-to-the-shoulder twitch, and she also does it when she someone first walks into a room, when she sees a toy she loves, or when you hand her her sippy.

-She LOVES her sippy! Weaning has been easier than I thought it would be, and we are almost done breastfeeding, which I am both happy and sad about.

-She loves books. She will sit one the floor and "read" for quite awhile, turning page after page, book after book. She also loves dolls; she will hug and pat them. So maternal. :)

Such a sweet baby! We love you, little girl!

One Year Old!!

Our sweet Caroline turned one year old last weekend! This year has really flown by. I'll put up the pictures from her party soon, but here are some photos that Stephanie took of Caroline at Aldridge Gardens. She truly does beautiful work!

Crawling and Cruising

She's crawling and cruising all around now! Her first birthday is coming up so fast. I'm loving every minute of this!

Adopting Two!

I recently realized that I had not blogged about our newest adoption decision. We have decided to adopt two! They will be siblings under the age of five. We are hopeful that this will take place next year, but international adoption is so unpredictable.

We had originally tried to go on "the list" in Colombia as wanting EITHER one OR two, but were told that we had to choose one or the other. This was when we were pregnant with Caroline, so we felt unsure about two! So we went with one. A few months ago, we decided that we did indeed wish to adopt two. Something about actually having Caroline here took away some of the uncertainty. Sibling groups are harder to place in adoptive homes, and there is such a need for adoptive families for them. As such, the wait is shorter (our wait for one infant kept lengthening and lengthening, and would currently be 2-3 MORE years).

So before too long Caroline will have two siblings, and we will be a family of five. We couldn't be more excited!

The Happiest Place on Earth

After our weekend in Miami, we drove up to Orlando for more fun in the sun with the Sumrall family. We met my parents, brother Rob, sis-in-law Michelle, and their kiddos Joshua, Laura Beth, and Anna. We had six days in the park, and we had a blast! We did Disney five years ago with this same group (minus two kids), and we had every bit as much fun as we had the last time! The experience was very different having Caroline with us. We usually go, go, go from park opening to close (including Extra Magic hours). This time we had to head back to the room before the fireworks a couple of nights, although we did see Fantasmic. This little girl actually decided she wanted to nurse and go to sleep with all that racket going on! Caroline absolutely loved all of the stimulation, colors, and characters! And she really enjoyed any and all shows we went to, especially ones with music. It's great having grandparents with you on vacation, though, so we could enjoy the "adult" rides. Everest may have replaced Rockin' Roller coaster as my favorite ride. That important decision is going to take some serious contemplation, though, so I'm not ready to commit just yet.

Meeting Mickey and Minnie

Mimi made matching outfits for all four grandkids

Check out the precious Minnie bow! Thanks for the idea, Steph!

Our FAVORITE princess!

We love Aunt Belle!

Callie spent a lot of time being strolled around...we love our Peg!

It's a comfy napping place...

Fast Pass is key to fitting in all of the rides. We actually had four at one time...that may be a record.

The whole fam on the Boardwalk where we were staying.

The Boardwalk at night

Meeting Piglet at the character breakfast

Callie's first time in the pool. She LOVES the water.

If you ever eat at Whispering Canyon, be sure to (1.) tell them you are VERY thirsty and (2.) ask for ketchup.

Sunny Miami

We traveled to Miami in June to visit with Philip's fam. His brother Daniel lives there, and his parents and we were all able to meet up for a long weekend. Caroline did great on her first flight! We stayed at a nice hotel across the lagoon from Daniel's condo. We got to hang out with Daniel's girlfriend Naty and her two beautiful boys. They are so adorable! Sebastian and Carlos loved reading to Caroline.

While we were there, we went to a Brazilian steakhouse and an Argentinean steakhouse, as well as a delicious seafood restaurant in Southbeach. We also went on an air boat ride in the Everglades and a cruise one evening in Bayside. We packed a lot in to the little time we had together! It was our first time to Miami, and we really enjoyed the city. It was a great place to visit, and hopefully we will get to go back soon!