Chicago

We went to Chicago a few weeks ago and had a wonderful time! Here are some pictures of what we did while there!

Caroline playing at The Chicago Children's Museum

Chapman is hard at work in the water room at the museum. You guessed it....this was his favorite place there! They got to pick out a raincoat before going in. He was so excited!

This picture was taken from the top of the ferris wheel at Navy Pier.

In Millineum Park they were having a Family Fun Festival that we stopped by while on a walk one day. Chapman had so much fun doing all of the activities.

The Big Bean in Millineum Park

Changes!!

This is what Miss Caroline has been up to....pulling up on everything!! She just crawls right over to the table, couch, ottoman, anything and pulls herself up.

Chapman's room has been so much fun putting together. We have been collecting his artwork that he made last year at "shool" and this summer at his "prodram" in a basket in his closet. I told Mitch that I may frame some of the things to display on his wall and he suggested getting a bulletin board. I thought that was a great idea so off to Hobby Lobby I went. I had so much fun making this for him. When he got up from his nap and saw the board he was really excited. I told him that when Mitch got home from work he would put it up on the wall. Later that night Mitch got it hung up and we let Chapman look through his art and pick out what he wanted to display. After we got everything put up Mitch said, "Well Chapman, what do you think?" He stood there for a second and then said, "Woah, I made a lot of stup!" We cracked up. It was so cute to hear him say that. He has enjoyed seeing his artwork displayed!

This is the result of fighting some sleep in the worst way, even to the point of propping yourself up with every pillow and stuffed animal on your bed so that you are sitting straight up and then falling asleep anyway!! : ) It is hard to tell but he is sitting up with his legs crossed. I found him like this in his room yesterday during naptime.

And I must brag for a minute...Chapman has done so well with *change*! He did great with potty training and the other day I said, "Chapman, we are getting rid of your paci today. Daddy has babies at work that need them and so he is taking them to work." He seriously didn't skip a beat. I couldn't believe it. As much as he always wanted it, I thought it would be terrible trying to take it from him but he did great. Didn't ask one time for it and still hasn't! I am so impressed! He goes to sleep just fine without it.

Cute Pictures

I finally was able to upload pictures! But it took so long I only did 3!

This picture cracks me up and begs the question all of us have once or twice asked ourselves, "And why do we pay money for toys??" The laundry basket is so much fun on a lazy Friday morning!

And this is what happens when daddy has worked 75+ hours in one week and wants to take a nap and the kiddos find out he is home. They of course want a horsey ride! Sorry daddy, no nap for you! Even if you did only sleep 3 hours last night! : )

This picture is of my very brave boy jumping off the diving board for the very first time! He did great! Of course daddy was there to catch him. This picture was from his cousin Caden's 2nd birthday party which we were able to go to last week in Missouri. Happy Birthday Caden!

Update!

Hey Everyone! Sorry it has been so long since I've updated the blog. We have been really busy around our house. Caroline is 6 months old now! It's so hard to believe. Time flies when you are having fun, right??

As many of you know we have been dealing with weight issues with Caroline since her 2 week checkup. She is consistently below the 5% for weight. We have done lots to try and get her to consume more food with no avail. At her 6 month checkup she weighed in at a whopping 13lbs, 1oz. She weighed 12.1 at her 5 month weight check appointment. Aside from that, she is a wonderful, happy baby. She loves her big brother and watches his every move. She is army crawling and gets up and rocks on all fours. She can go anywhere she wants! This is a good thing and a bad thing as all of you mom's know. Good because she is content on the floor crawling around, bad because I don't always know what's on the floor that she is going to find. : ) But she is such a joy! She sleeps from 8pm-7am so we can't complain. Her hair has continued to grow and she has about as much of it as I do. Mitch is totally smitten with her and tells her all of the time how beautiful she is. Chapman does the same. When she has on a new dress Chapman says, "Showine such a pretty princess." It is so sweet. We are loving having a little girl!

Chapman has had a fun summer! He goes to Lakeside Presbyterian to their summer program. I made the terrible mistake of calling it "school" and he promptly corrected me saying, "No, mommy, not shool, it's my prodram." I about died. Of course I had Mitch ask him later that night and he said the same thing. He says Pinelake (our church where he goes to MMO) is his school and Lakeside is just his "prodram." I don't know who he heard say this but it cracks us up. He is still playing ball all of the time. He loves going in the backyard and practicing. You know children are always listening to what you're saying but they repeat the funniest things! The other day he was riding his train around the house and he stopped by me and said, "Mommy, I going to the shore. I need shupons and money." Oh brother, what have I done??? This is such a fun age and he is a big helper with Caroline. We are very blessed!

Mitch just started his 4th year!! Can I get a whoop-whoop?? I am so proud of all he has done. We had a fun trip in June thanks to his hard work! He did some research and it got accepted to a meeting in Point Clear, AL at The Grande Hotel. We all went and it was fabulous!! We had a ball. If you ever have a chance to go, please do! It is beautiful. And some other research he did got accepted to a meeting in Chicago in September so we are going with him there too. Chapman is really excited about flying on an airplane.

Sorry there are no pictures. I have a ton to share but I have been trying for a week now to upload them to the blog and I cannot get it to work. Has anyone else had this problem? I mean I will leave it for 30 minutes and they still will not work. I have tried 1 picture and I have tried 5 pictures, neither works. I thought I'd give an update though of what's been going on around here. Hope everyone is doing well!

The Sweetest Thing

First of all, what's sweeter than seeing this in your bed?? My sweet babies with their lovies & pacies. And check out the hair on Caroline!!! Still sticking straight up!

Now for some funny Chapman stories:

*The other day we were in the car driving on Lakeland at 5pm. (People who live in Jackson know what this means - bumper to bumper!) Anyway, Chapman says, "Mommy, I need to go potty (yes, he is potty trained!!!)." We are at a red light in the middle of traffic and there is no where for me to pull over. I say, "Okay Chapman, can you hold it for a minute until I can pull over?" His response, "Okay, I hold it with 2 hands."

*Everyone knows Chapman loves baseball and the Redhawks (my dad's team). We had been listening to a game the other night on the computer when Chapman went to bed. Well, they lost and when Chapman woke up the next morning I said, "Chapman, the Redhawks lost their game last night," and he *burst* into tears!!! I mean some serious alligator tears. Had no idea this was going to happen. I was trying so hard not to laugh but it cracked me up.

Easter

We had such a fun Easter trip to Missouri! We got to go to some baseball games and watch the Redhawks win!!! Chapman fell in the biggest mud puddle you have ever seen (he was trying to fall in it - don't kid yourself) and had to take off all of his clothes. I had an extra set of shorts & undies for potty training accidents, but no extra shirt. That is why he is seen here with no shirt on. He got to run the bases after the game and had a ball.

Later that night, we had a special visitor! : )

Who could it be and more importantly....will I like them???

The Easter Bunny himself!!! Chapman is a little shocked.


Chapman is not happy with the Easter Bunny. Mitch said he was holding on to him for dear life. Caroline doesn't seem to mind at all!

The Easter Bunny turned out to be okay after a few minutes. And later Chapman & I got carrots out for him to enjoy when he returned later that night.

The Easter Bunny *loves* carrots and was so glad Chapman picked out 3 for him to eat! : )

The next morning the Easter Bunny had returned and had hidden eggs and left a basket full of goodies.

Of course, the real reason we celebrate Easter is because our savior is RISEN and has overcome death. PRAISE BE TO GOD, GLORY IN THE HIGHEST!!!!!

Put Me In Bop (Coach) ...I'm Ready to Play!

Chapman's little cheerleader can only watch so many reps before she needs another nap! Sweet baby girl!

Our little lefty is loving the warm weather. No more "wall ball" inside against the foyer wall...we can go out and really play! Chapman is always the pitcher and we have to hit. When you hit the ball, he throws down his glove and runs the bases. It is hilarious! These pictures show him "pitching."

He does this first - puts the glove up to his face and says, "Ba, Ba" right before he throws it. He told me he is saying "Batter" but prefers the shorter version.

Nice form, right?? We're pretty sure he's gonna have a mad fastball one day! Put me in Bop...I'm ready to play!!!

Caroline's Nursery

I have been meaning to post pictures of Caroline's room since before she was born. You see how well that worked out! : ) Anyway, here they are:

This picture was painted by our preachers wife who is an artist. I bought this because I just loved it long before we knew we were having a girl. I'm sure glad we had Caroline because I was thrilled to be able to put it in her room.

The patinting is above the rocking chair. My super talented friend, Amy Norris (Brownie Goose owner) made the pillows for me.


Her crib bedding

The whole ensamble.

We had so much fun decorating this room for our sweet little princess!

And on another note, Chapman has just been precious with her. Our tax lady stopped by the other day to drop some paperwork off and Chapman told her, "I fish Shi-i-nine all day." Translation: "I kiss Caroline all day." Mitch & I were so proud. This is actually true! He will kiss her way before Mitch & I can even sneak one from him. Caroline is 9 weeks tomorrow and going for her shots on Tuesday. Time flies when you're having fun!

Fun Times

We have been having so much fun lately! Saturday Chapman went to Chuck-E-Cheese for the first time. He had a blast playing and couldn't decide which game to do next.

Here he is with his sweet friend, Chandler Reese.

Chapman loved this game : )

We got snow again! And lots of it! Enough for Chapman & Mitch to build a snowman. They had a blast playing outside.

We are potty training right now, too. Chapman is doing so well with it. We are so proud of him. And baseball season is here!! We are headed to Auburn tomorrow to see the Redhawks in action. Chapman has been talking about "Bops Team" for so long now....I'm glad we're finally going to see them! We've been practicing hitting, catching, and fielding all winter long. : )

Our Sweethearts

We have been having so much fun with our new little girl! Chapman is a wonderful big brother and even tries to share his lovie and paci with her! (This is a big deal because he is very protective of it!!) Caroline is doing great. We had her weight checked last Thursday and she weighed 7lbs, 1oz. We were really excited! Here are some pics of her & Chapman.

Is this bow not super cute??? I know if you have a girl this may not be a big deal but I *love* it!

Our Sweet Caroline

Hey Everyone! We welcomed our sweet little Caroline Mae into the world on Monday, December 28th. She was born at 8:30am and weighed 6lbs. We are doing great and are loving having a little girl. Chapman is so sweet with her and wants to "fish Shi-a-nine" all of the time. That means "Kiss Caroline." So far she is sleeping great and nursing is going well too. Sorry it has taken me a while to get pictures up. Things are a little busy with 2!