Fishing Again

Grandpa

Grandpa with his grandkids (L to R: Me, Julie, Evan, Jill, Katie)

I have been fortunate live 29 years with all four of my grandparents alive and an active part of my life. Today, my grandpa died around 5 AM. He had a degenerative brain disease and several physical ailments so he had become very sad and very confused over the last few years--it was time for him to go. His two children, my dad and my aunt, and my grandma were with him--and I know he is so much happier in heaven than he has been here the last few weeks. I like to think that my brother got up early (which would be rare!) today and was waiting for him. They've probably already gotten their rods and reels and are out on the lake--although, they'll only be out there for a little while before Grandpa will decide there is work to be done. Grandpa has always valued a good day's work and didn't believe in sitting around very much. Evan will be on the lawnmower by this afternoon! (I know that's silly, but heaven is hard to comprehend--it's easier to think of it in earthly terms and just wait until we get there to see how much better it is!)
Even though he has been barely aware the last few weeks, Grandpa was lucid on Monday night when Mike, Caroline, and I went to visit him in hospice. He had seen Caroline several times before, but was always hesitant to hold her--on Monday night when I held her in front of him for him to look at her, he laughed and reached out to take her. She let him hold her close to his face for a minute before she got restless. He played with her and talked to her several more times that night. I don't think he really know for sure who we were, but he was still able to carry on a normal conversation, and I showed him a picture of Cole, his newest great-grandbaby that was born that day. (Julie, he said he was a "good lookin' fella"!) By yesterday afternoon when I saw him again, he had pretty much gone to sleep for the last time.

Although this video is dark and grainy, it is one of my favorites. You can't see in the video, but Caroline was pretty amused by Grandpa.



Goodbye, Grandpa--we will miss you, but we are so glad your body is well and you are able to work and enjoy the good things again. Take care of Evan!

Rock...and roll!

Caroline had two big firsts today! This morning she went to her first "rock" concert. While she wasn't able to dance along to Miss Gail and the Jumpin' Jam Band like the bigger kids, she did seem to enjoy the lights, music, and movement.

Our friends Eli, Abby, and Jake were able to get their groove on, though.

(Ok, so no one is dancing in these pictures, but they were all dancing fools at one point or another.)

And, then, as if that weren't enough excitement for one day, Caroline came home after all that rock and did her first roll! Mike and I have spent quite a bit of time cheering her on, laid out in a sea of toys just out of her reach, as she tried to roll over. Today we went through the same drill before giving up and letting her do tummy time on her own. Mike had laid back to take a nap, and I was on the phone when, out of nowhere, Caroline just flipped over on her back, unassisted. I watched her do it, but it didn't even register at first. Mike had to point it out. Now he claims she's probably done it ten times already, but I just didn't notice. I don't think so...I think she just needed a little rock to make her roll.

Father's Day in Review by Caroline

It's me again, Caroline! I wanted to post to tell you about my daddy's first Father's Day. First we went to a Father's Day party with a few of Daddy's friends, and I wore a onesie that Mommy made telling everyone how much I love him.
Here's a picture of me with our friend, Carson, at the party. I like him a lot because he always tells me how cute I am. I think he's pretty cute too!
He better watch out, though, because this is what Daddy does to boys who think I'm cute.
Here's Daddy and me with the present I gave him.
It's a book--if you want to see it, click here.

Here we are before church...
...and here we are after along day of fun.

Happy Father's Day, Daddy!

Happy Father's Day, Papa Jim!

Happy Father's Day, Grampy!

This Day in History

Four years ago today was a VERY big day. The world became a better place when Lacie Joy Allen arrived.

Happy 4th Birthday, Sweet Girl!
We wish we could be with you today, but we are SO EXCITED about seeing you and introducing you to your baby cousin in a few weeks.
We love you,
Uncle Mike, Aunt Nana, and Caroline

Also, one year ago today was Father's Day. This is what we gave my dad.

(The card inside reads, "Your newest golf partner will be here in nine months.")

This year, we gave him golf shoes again--this time in his size--but the reaction wasn't quite the same. I think he still prefers the pair from last year.

S'More Visits With the Laginess Family

My friend, Amanda, has been in town , and for the first time in a LONG time, her whole family was able to visit with our whole family. They came over on Friday night, and we made s'mores on the patio.

Jackson "firing" his marshmallow. He had scolded Amanda earlier for eating a piece of chocolate before it was "fired".

Julia loving on Caroline.

Julia with Linda, a good friend of their family who accompanied them on the trip (and who reads this blog--thanks for keeping up with us, Linda!)

Jackson in Caroline's excersaucer. (He had been playing in Caroline's playroom by himself when I heard, "Hey, look at me!" I went in to find him giggling from inside the toddler seat. I asked him how he was planning to get out and he said, excitedly, "Like this...watch!" And then, after a few attempts and no progress, he said, with a bit of panic in his voice, "How AM I going to get out?" For more Jackson stories (that will have you rolling in the floor), check out Amanda's blog.)

Look at this...

Maggie, look at this!

Thanks for all the tummy time tips! She played like this this morning for over 20 minutes! And, maybe because we have been on a tummy time marathon since you and I talked yesterday, I think I am already starting to see more tendancy for to reach out to touch or manipulate something with her arms. She's still not showing a lot of coordination, but look who her mama is. That may not ever happen!

We've also been working on the boppy sitting...

But, don't worry, we have been taking lots of breaks:

(Maggie is my pediatric physical therapist friend from college that I called yesterday all concerned because Caroline didn't seem to be hitting the typical four month old milestones where upper body movement is concerned. (If you know me, you know that not worrying isn't really a strength of mine!) Maggie explained a lot of helpful things to me and gave us some (obviously effective) tips about tummy time and other things to help develop some of that upper body strength.)

Gogo, look at this!

Remember these pants? They finally fit...and they are super cute! And they obviously make her very happy!

Thanks for letting us benefit from your super bargain shopping skills!

(When Gogo (Mike's mom) came to visit recently, she found these cute little pants on clearance for $1 and, even though she knew Caroline had tons of clothes, she couldn't pass them up. They have turned out to be one of our favorite pairs because they are comfy for her and an easy match for the white onesie or t-shirt that she is almost always wearing when we are at home.)

Leslie, look at this!
Remember our brainstorming session on the Poly Vi Sol predicament? Well, I know one approach that WON'T work!

We did that about 8 times, and every drop that went in came rolling right back out.

(My friend, Leslie, has twins 10 days younger than Caroline, and we spend a lot of time swapping stories and problem-solving together. Not only are our babies the same age, but we go to the same church, have all the same doctors, and live in the same community. So we run into a lot of the same things! Of course, she runs into twice as much as I do, but I am so thankful for a friend to so closely share mommy-hood with. Anyway, Poly Vi Sol is the smelly, clothes staining, nasty tasting vitamin that all breastfed babies are supposed to take daily.)

Readers of Amy and Sandy's blogs, look at this!

You read about the "great race" here and here...so here's the footage of the end of the race...it's not great quality, but, since the winner had finished before the camera started rolling, it's pretty clear who the swimmer in the group is.

What cracks me up is that my husband, clearly in last place, comes out of the water with a triumphant cheer like he's just taken the gold for the US. Sorry, Mike and Michael, when Carson, Macie, Bryce, and Caroline join the swim team, looks like probably only Jeff's phone will be ringing with an offer to coach.

A Second Dip

We went to the pool again this weekend, this time to the aquatic center about a mile away. This will be so much fun when Caroline is a little older!

Notice the fun waterslides in the background...the little kids' area on the other side of the pool is even more exciting!

Daddy hiding that baby skin from the hot, hot, hot sun!

Watching the fun from the safety and shade of her seat.

We finally take a little dip!

Trying to get rid of those tacky diaper-tan lines.

(Just kidding--we made her a soft, shady nap spot, and she liked it so much that she rolled back on her side, mid-diaper change, to continue her nap.)

Multitasking

If you have spent any time with our little one, you know about her coping mechanism:

The only problem was that her fingers would easily slip out of her mouth, and she'd have a hard time tracking them down again. So our little problem solver learned to put her right hand on top of her left to hold them in...this is what we have been seeing for the last few weeks:But now, innovative as she is, Caroline has added a whole new element to her finger sucking, allowing her to accomplish two tasks at once:

And I was worried about how we'd break the finger sucking habit when she's older!

A Good Day Gone Bad

Our day was going well today--we slept late, visited with Julie and Madeline, Caroline played in the bathtub and had a good nap--she never suspected what was coming at 3:00. Time for round two of immunizations. I wasn't dreading this trip because the first round was less traumatizing for all of us than I anticipated. We made up for it this time. Caroline cried so hard that she didn't breathe for a long time--it was long enough that even the nurse was alarmed. And I was brave for a while, but eventually couldn't hold back the tears myself. Our sweet baby was in so much pain, and she didn't forget about it easily...she cried and coughed and struggled until the Tylenol finally kicked in and she kicked out. Her little thighs have swollen knots where the shots went in so we've been applying cold compresses and watching her for fever. We're hoping for long and restful sleep tonight.

She remains long and lean--her weight is in the 1oth percentile (10 pounds and 9 ounces), but her height is in the 50th (25 inches). There are no major concerns because she has been gaining weight steadily, but the doctor did recommend that we go ahead and start introducing solids over the next two months--so we'll have a bit of a change in lifestlye. I didn't anticipate thinking about all of that for a while. I guess we'll be shopping in the baby food aisle now. It makes my heart hurt a little--not sure if it is because she is growing up so quickly or because I am concerned that she is having to start this early. But regardless, I am so very thankful we have a growing, developing and apparently healthy baby.

Madeline, complete with tutu, wants a turn to hold the baby.

Madeline is kind enough to share her tutu with Caroline.

Dr. Gorvy entertains while he checks her out.

Things start to get dicey with the oral vaccine.

My poor baby!

Nobody is happy here!