Caylee's Catch Up!

Boy oh boy do I have some catching up to do!  First, I'll catch up on our Caylee-bear!  When last I blogged, we had just finished up Caylee's first Thanksgiving, and December saw many other big moments as well!

During the first half of the month, we celebrated Daddy's birthday with a bunch of Caylee's honorary Aunts and Uncles.

On December 17th, one day after she turned 4 months old, we got Caylee's ears pierced at her doctor's office.

Later that week, we loaded up and headed out to the nearest Bass Pro Shop for Caylee's first pictures with Santa!  She loved Bass Pro, and especially enjoyed watching the fish in their large tank.  She didn't give Santa a big smile, but was very comfortable with him.  After all, he had a beard like Daddy!

We had a whole slew of family Christmases this year.  Caylee's first family Christmas was at her Grandpa and Ganma's house with Uncle Austin and Aunt Fanny, Grandma Robin, Grandpa and Grandma Pior, and Uncle Mike and Aunt Jess, and Nannie and Papa!

The next family Christmas was Christmas Eve at Nannie and Papa's house.  Caylee got to meet lots of family she hadn't seen yet, and got some wonderful presents that she continues to enjoy every day!

Christmas morning, we had family Christmas at our house.  Uncle Austin and Aunt Fanny were in France, and Grammy Lynn came a little later, but Grandpa and Ganma, Paw Paw, Aunt Kelyn and Uncle Clint all celebrated with us!  Caylee wore her My First Christmas booties from Aunt Fanny, and got many wonderful presents, including a birthstone earring set from Mommy and Daddy!

For New Year's Eve, we went over to Uncle Ethan and Aunt Julie's house, and Caylee got to play with  Lucy!  The two of them were thick as thieves! 

December also saw Caylee start on "solid" foods!  Her first food was rice cereal, which she felt was "meh".  Her favorite food so far is sweet potatoes, which she ate for the first time on her first New Year's Day! (Rice is on the left, sweet potatoes on the right.)

Caylee's final first Family Christmas was the Cardwell Christmas and Reunion in January!  She got to meet several cousins for the first time, and thoroughly enjoyed getting to spend time with all of the cousins she already knew!

 January 16th saw Caylee turn 5 months old!  

February saw Caylee's first Super Bowl, which we celebrated with the SOT family!

February 14th was Caylee's first Valentine's Day!  Before V-day, Carina with Kat's Photography had taken some wonderful Valentine's pictures, and on the day itself, Caylee received her first Valentine's Day flowers from her first and forever Valentine: her Daddy!

And, of course, our baby girl turned 6 months old on February 16th.

And yes, that 7 pounds is a typo.  She was actually 17 pounds and 7 ounces!

And now we're in the month of March!  I still cannot believe how quickly she is growing, and how much she is changing and learning every single day.  She now drinks four bottles a day, and has two meals of pureed foods--one at lunch and one at dinner.  She eats anywhere from five to eight ice cubes of food at each meal!  I make her food and freeze it in ice trays...thus the unit of measurement lol.  She can use her sippy cup, and she sits up on her own.  Just this week has figured out how to get into a sitting position from laying down.  She isn't quite crawling, but she's definitely mobile, and now goes forward with the same ease as backwards!  She wants so badly to stand up, and if you give her your fingers, she will pull herself from a laying down position into a sitting position and from there she stands up with only a little assistance.  Her balance on her feet is getting better by the day, and she will actually baby step along while you hold her hands--especially if she wants to go after one of her puppies!  To cap it all off, just this morning I felt the edge of her first tooth making it's way through her bottom gum!  She still sleeps through the night and now take two naps a day.  She is still one of the smiliest babies I've ever seen and has a happy, sweet, even temperament to match.  I love her more each day, and more than I ever thought possible--and it constantly amazes me that, each time I utter those words, I feel the sentiment more keenly and deeply than the time before.

We are so proud of our Caylee-bear!