Happy Birthday Caroline!

So my baby turns one today!  When did that happen??!  It feels like yesterday when Waylon and I were heading off to the hospital at 5:30am to go have our baby girl.  I just cannot believe how fast time passes.  Caroline's birth was fairly easy so you could say she has been nice to momma from the beginning.  She was born via c-section because of her size compared to my size.  Many people have differing opinions on c-sections but both of babies were c-sections because of their size and both times I had a good experience.  When Caroline was born she weighed a whopping 9 pounds 2 ounces!  No wonder I got such strange looks from people as I was nearing the end- my belly looked like a freak show.  Haha  It's funny because at the time, I didn't feel humongous.  I mean obviously I felt big and was getting somewhat uncomfortable towards the end, but nothing seemed completely outrageous.  Only now when I look back at maternity pictures do I truly see how big I looked to others.
Thinking back on my pregnancy and the past year with our sweet girl, I feel truly blessed.  It is pretty incredible to look at both of my babies and remember that I was their 'home' for the first 9 months of their little lives.  They grew into tiny humans in my belly and that is just amazing.  God gave me the gift of children and I am so glad that I now get to spend the majority of my time at home with them.  Being a momma has truly opened my eyes and my heart to so many new things.  I never knew love like this before having babies.  Everyone says it (and I agree) that you do not know what it is like until you actually have kids.  The love and devotion and protectiveness you feel is truly indescribable.
Caroline has been such a blessing to our family.  She is a wild, crazy little girl and she loves to cuddle as well.  I cannot imagine what our family would be like right now without her.

A few facts about Caroline at one year old:

          - weighs about 25 pounds and is about 29 inches tall.

         - wearing size 18-24 month clothes and size 4 diapers (almost to a size 5 my chunky girl)

         - loves to play with the dogs (hug them, pet them, throw their toys for them to fetch)

         - says mama, dada, yay, up, uh-oh

         - LOVES food (again with being a chunky girl)

         - loves her brother (and bothering her brother when he's trying to focus on something)

         - very steady on her feet and has now started to run around the house (loves playing chase)

         - not quite sleeping through the night still but that's okay bc I enjoy the cuddles

         - starting to drink whole milk (but still won't take it by itself just yet)

         - quite the daredevil- this girl is pretty fearless and while I like that about her, it also scares me

         - very lovey when she wants to be :)

Cannot believe this was a year ago- headed to the hospital for the big event!

One of our first pictures together

 Such a big girl now- playing at the park with big brother

Happy Birthday my sweet Caroline!  Thank you for making me a mommy for the second time!  I love you to the moon and back!

Now it's party time!  Cannot wait for this weekend and the girly decoration explosion that is going to take place at our home :)