Baby Caroline had her 1st birthday last Saturday (Sept. 8th). She is the cutest baby in the whole world, according to me. I am amazed by the intense bond a mother & baby can have. I’m overwhelmed by how much I adore her & her calm disposition. She is a joy!
Caroline weighs 20 lbs (55th percentile), is 28.5” tall (75th%), & has a head circumference of 44.1 cm (25th%). She used to be quite the little chubster, but just like her siblings, she thinned out when she started crawling (at 7.5 months old). She has 4 teeth, & it looks like 2 more are popping through. I believe her 1st real word was “Mama.” She also says “Uh-oh” (<our fave), “dada”, “ba”=bath, & “whoa.” Like always, I really wish I could somehow bottle up the wonderfulness of this age & her sweet smell, just like I wanted to with Chase & Charlotte. It is gone before you know it!
I love when Caroline repeatedly sticks a chubby leg up in the air for me to rub or tickle her. Or when she sticks out her chubby baby foot when she sees me about to put her little shoes on. Or when she vigorously shakes her head back & forth or sticks her tongue out, just to be funny.
She still doesn’t quite know how to go down the stairs, but she certainly cruises up them (since she was 9 mos. old)! She started taking her first steps on Sept 1st, a week before her birthday. Then on her birthday, she stood up on her own & walked several steps! So walking right at age one. With both walking & crawling, she started about 2 weeks before her siblings did when they were that age. Prodigy child, I tell ya.
These were from a couple months ago, but they illustrate how much she enjoys scavenging food from the floor, since it constantly has little crumb treasures on it that she thinks are just for her.
Caroline has wonderful relatives that love her! The McCulloch grandparents & the Skankeys live in the area, so they get to dote on her regularly. We’re glad to have them nearby!
Caroline really loves being outside. I don’t go out on walks with her as often as I used to with the older kids, but we still take time to be outside. Sometimes the older kids get to play out in the backyard while I make dinner, & Caroline watches them excitedly from the window, longing to be out there with them!
I love how thick & rich her hair is. Sorry girlie, it might be a curse when you get older, & you’ll have to get it thinned out every other month like mama does just to keep it manageable!
Chase & Charlotte fight over who gets to play with Caroline. They are both very protective of her & love to see her when she just wakes up. She eats up all the attention, even if she sometimes clings onto me like a baby monkey when she sees them a-comin’!!
Even though Caroline has a very mild disposition, she is a busy girl & loves to pull everything out of the drawers & cupboards. The other day during Joy School here at our house, while I was helping the four other kids with a craft, she found a dishwasher tablet & put it in her mouth (which she does with EVERYTHING, especially LEGOs). I pulled the tablet out immediately, but she still got a little in her mouth & threw up. Then she was fine.
She eats all kinds of food now. The only sugary treat she’s had is that big ol’ cupcake & ice cream on her birthday. I love her little face.
Caroline still nurses & doesn’t show any sign of slowing down with that. I’m okay with it for now. She also still wakes up a lot in the night, something we haven’t figured out even with the third child. We do not make good sleepers, that’s for sure. Until they’re about 2 years old… then they sleep like champs, 11 hours a night! But until then… painful.
We love it that Caroline is such a calm, quiet girl. She is fascinated by other babies & studies them. Some of her little friends scream a lot or get upset when someone takes something away from them, but she has never done that. Caroline seems to think about things & take it all in. Sometimes when I’ve been standing there talking to someone for a few minutes, I forget that I’m even holding her because she’s so quiet & content to just be there in my arms. Sweet, sweet girl. I’m glad she still looks like such a baby with those yummy cheeks, & not like a toddler quite yet.
