Caylee's First Thanksgiving!

This Thanksgiving brought about a lot of first for our family!  Not only was it Bryan and my first Thanksgiving as parents, not to mention Caylee-bear's first Thanksgiving EVER, it was also our first road trip as a family!  Both Bryan and I were astounded by the amount of STUFF required to cart our little girl to the hill country, but we ended up using every last piece of equipment we packed!  I guess at least that means we didn't over-pack, even though there wasn't room to set the dog kennel up in the car.  Haley and Annabelle didn't seem to mind getting to ride on their pillow though!

Caylee did wonderfully on her first road trip!  We left home on her 3rd Month Birthday and made it to Frederickburg in about 6 hours the Friday before Thanksgiving.  We stopped once for our dinner, and for her bottle and diaper change, and then it was back on the road!  We stayed with Gan Gan Friday night through Monday morning, and sure Caylee sure enjoyed getting to spend good quality time with her great grandmother!  Also, she got to see her second cousin Jenna Kay and her second cousin Eleanor drove in on Sunday especially to meet her!

Monday, Gan Gan, Mom, Dad, Bryan, Caylee and I all headed out to Junction to Aunt Zala and Uncle Charlie's incredible new lodge!  It's still a work in progress, but it is already fantastic!  Bryan and I spend Monday and Tuesday night there, while Caylee went back and forth on day trips from Frederickburg with her Grandma and Grandpa.  She did great on her first overnights away from us, and we did ok too lol.

Wednesday, we headed back to Fredericksburg and Thursday and family Thanksgiving with Gan Gan and the rest of her clan!  Caylee got to meet her second cousin Morgan and his girlfriend Anna, as well as her Great Uncles Bruce and Pat and her Great Aunt Susan.  She also got to see Uncle Austin and Aunt Fanny, and her Great Aunts Candy and Amy!  She didn't get to meet her Great Uncle Larry this trip, or see her second cousin Brooke until the very end of the trip, because poor Brooke was sick for most of Thanksgiving.

Thursday through Saturday saw us return to Junction!  Mom and Dad were very sweet and got Bryan and Caylee and me a hotel room in town, but we were out at the Koym land every day, seeing and spending time with cousins I hadn't seen in almost two years.  Saturday was the big family turkey fry, and almost everyone from my Gan Gan's side of the family was there!  We're talking over 70 people!  Caylee got to meet soooo many family members!  It was wonderful!

Saturday night we headed back to Fredericksburg and got to see Mama and Daddy P as well as Caylee's Uncle Mike and Aunt Jess.  Oh, and we got to watch the Aggies BEAT THE HELL out of MIZZOU!!!  WHOOP!!!  Caylee actually likes watching football more than any other TV program so far, which I think is awesome!  We headed home Sunday morning, making Caylee's first Whataburger stop, and made it in another 6 hour trip.

It was a wonderful week, but it's good to be home!  This week is all about re-establishing routine, and to that end, it's time for little bit's three o'clock bottle!

MILESTONES FROM THE TRIP:

As mentioned, first road trip, first overnight away from mommy and daddy, first Thanksgiving, and first time at the Ranch!

Caylee now sleeps from about 9 pm to 8 am (or later!)

She has started teething, so we bought her first teething rings as soon as we got home.

Caylee can stand, holding her own weight with me holding her hands to help with balance!

She has hit another growth spurt, and as of today I'm making her 8 oz bottles instead of 6 ounce so she can drink as much as she wants without getting a belly full of air!

What a Month!

I've been meaning to post an update for what feels like ages...but looking on here, it's only been a month since my last entry!  I guess that shows how busy we've been lol.  So, just in time for the craziness that the holidays always bring, I'm going to share in brief form what all we've been up to for the past month!

CAYLEE

Our Caylee-bear will be 3 months old in two days!  The time just seems to be flying, but I know that we're doing our best to enjoy every single day and experience with our baby girl.  She's getting so big, and developing so much!  I'll do a picture post on her 3 month bday, of course, but here's an activity update!

• Eats at 6-6:30am. 9am. noon, 3pm, 5:30pm, and 8pm.  Has 30-60mins of awake time after each feeding, and then naps until her next baba.
• Rolled over from back to tummy--TWICE--at Park Avenue Yarns!
• Rolled over from tummy to back once here at home!
• Has the "social smile" down pat, and GRINS whenever she is really happy, or when she sees me or her Daddy first thing in the morning!
• Sleeps from 9pm-ish to 6am-ish most nights!
• Eats between 4 and 5 ounces most feedings!
• Has gotten really good at grabbing things in the past week...even if she can't control what she does with them beyond that!
• Has really active playtime on her mat!
• Holds her binky in about half the time.
• Pats the bottle during feedings.
• TALKS!  Well, baby talk lol.  She makes all sorts of coo and goo and mmmm sounds now!  She actually woke us up the night before last at 2:45am talking...for about 30 minutes lol. 
• Has started self-soothing sometimes when she wakes up at night...see above lol.
• Has a new best friend--Raffa the Giraffe!         

 

BRYAN

• Built his work benches in the garage.
• Getting really close to having the Sportster where he wants it.
• Bought a new, self-propelled lawn mower when the lawn mower from my childhood stopped working.
• Fixed the old lawn mower.
• Has the back yard about where he wants it, as far as flowerbeds and such.
• Working really hard at work.
• Is fantastically supportive and all-around wonderful :-).  And such an amazing Daddy! 

ME

• Enjoying the heck out of all the baby cuddles I can, and loving every minute of taking care of my beautiful, sweet daughter--even on the rare fussy occasions, and the rare-but-not-as-rare-as-fussiness early morning wake ups.
• Finally got my butt to a Weight Watchers meeting to weigh in last week, and returned this week.  In other words, I've officially gotten started.
• Had a blast at the Quilt Show with Mama Lynn and Julie--and bought waaay more yarn than I had intended lol.  Also, bought yarn and INTERCHANGEABLE NEEDLES at Park Avenue Yarns' Anniversary Sale!
• Have started knitting again!  Lucy's hat is done, and her blanket and Nannie's scarf will be done by Christmas--I hope!  And then I can start on my long list of other projects :-).
• Bought 3 new WW cookbooks, and spent all day yesterday cooking and freezing meals for when we get back from the Ranch.  Mostly, because I don't want to have to menu plan, grocery shop, or cook for a while lol.      

ANNABELLE & HALEY

• Loving on their baby and coming to get us/howling and baying if we don't address her crying quickly enough.
• Enjoying sleeping in bed with Bryan and I (Annabelle) and on cushy pillows on the floor (Haley).  Yes, we've gone soft lol.

All of us are very much looking forward to our trip to the Hill Country this holiday season, and seeing all the extended family that we haven't seen for over a year and a half now.  And, of course, looking forward to Caylee meeting all of her cousins that she hasn't met yet!!!  Hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving!