Perfomer

(After yesterday's success at video-posting, I decided to test fate and attempt to post a video I've attempted to post for months. Advice: turn off the music at the bottom of the blog and listen to the music on the video. Caris loved listening to this song and on her own initiative, added her own little 'sniff' at just the right moment. Did this EVERY time. I think this is one of my favorite lil C videos to date. I found it hilarious that she got this little insert right on beat, every time. Let's hope it does actually work....

p.s. I think this is from July, she looks so little!)

Dancing with the stars

So, we've established that music + dancing = love for Caris. So much so that she's earned a reputation at school for her dancing commitment. And with this in mind, dancing shows have become a favored indulgence (and a necessary distraction in that critical fussy hour post school, pre-dinner). Enter: 'Dancing with the Stars' and our new DVR capabilities. I turn on the dances for Caris in that 30 minute period when she really just wants to be held, but I really need to put together some semblance of dinner.

So the stage is set. Quite literally, I believe, in lil' C's mind. And she watches intently, smile plastered on her face, dance moves ready to be engaged.

But on this night, she had another agenda. Off she goes, with purpose, to her room. And returns with 'Emily' (her doll) in tow. Clearly she realized that her lack of a 'star partner' was a disadvantage. Emily was up to the task.

(Here's hoping this video works...)

And so they dance. And even perform some lifts. But mainly lots of twirls.

Shortly after this moment, Caris went back to her room and insisted on adorning a pretty twirling dress. Really, I should have known better. You can't really twirl without the proper attire.

p.s. I scored her a 10.

Thursdays with Caris: the Birthday Episode

Thursday mornings with Caris look a little like this:

Caris: (in a sing-song voice) 'Moooommmyy, mommy mommy mommy, momyyyyy, Moommy' My daughter sings me a song. Music to my morning ears.
Then the inquisitive: 'Mommy? Mommy? Mommy?'
And if I wait too long, on to the demanding: 'MOMMMY! MOMMY!'

It was a Monday, the day that Caris made me a mom. And my Monday's and Thursdays and every day in between have never been the same. Caris, you gave me a mother's heart. And it changed me forever. It gave me a purpose I never knew existed and filled my life with a depth I didn't know to pursue. A mother's heart knows a form of love that changes the definition of what love is.

That day was one and a half years ago yesterday. (18 months old she is!!) And 29 years ago today, I became my mother's daugther. Daughter to a mother (and father) who have supported me in all ways iaginable and made this all possible.

I am forever thankful that I will spend the rest of my birthdays with a mother's heart. And I am forever grateful for 29 years of wonderful birthday memories that my family has created for me And forever lucky that 8 years ago I began celebrating birthdays with someone who changed my heart in another way and has walked beside me to create a life we love.

Caris, thank you for the best gift I could have ever received.

As I enter this last year of the decade of my twenties, I am so thankful for where these past 29 years have brought me.

And so this Thursday with Caris, we celebrate.

Country Living

So clearly, life in the heart of Houston is pretty far from 'Country Living'. In fact, quite the opposite. And we truly love so much about living in the hearbeat of such a dynamic place. But we were both raised with simplicity that comes from small-town, country living. And we love this. And treasure the times when we are able to spend time in the places we know as comfort. We are so lucky to have ties to such places and access when we need a little 'soul refresher' that can only come in the smell of mesquite trees, dusted from the dirt roads, and the easy living of an afternoon on a porch swing. Garrett's 'place' is Gonzales, TX; where both his grandparents raised their children and still have a home base. We have been lucky enough to live in close proximity to his 'place' through dental school and now residency/med school; allowing us to retreat for respite when hectic, is well, just a little too hectic. And we have loved introducing Caris to the beauty in nature and the comfort of her family in a place that has been near and dear to generations of Garrett's family.

Caris' first visit to Garrett's parents land. Loving country walks in the Bjorn. And the splendor of a country sunset.

Back-porch swinging is a must when visiting Grandma Blundell's. Caris has joined the tradition of loving time after dinner spent swinging away. Lil' C learns to fish! She was a natural. Figured out how to reel that little rod after one attempt. And caught two little fishies.

The Blundell crew. Also evidence of where Caris gets her 95% in height.
And it's not a trip to the country without grillin' up some hot dogs and resting in the adirondacks.
Holidays are always a double bonus as we get both sides of the family and usually extra aunties and cousins to spoil us. Caris spent her first Christmas and Easter in Gonzales. We loved hunting for eggs in the Boysen's famous backyard! A haven for grandkids :)
And there is just nothing like a good ole' nap in the country. And we take full advantage of both nap times and babysitters.
Ahh, country walks. THE BEST. Dirt roads, cows, sunshines, family. Caris literally walked miles on her new found walking legs on the most recent trip. Girl LOVED trips to the barn. Thank goodness there was plenty of family to take their turn walking!
Back porch. Country. Swings. = Perfect afternoon.
Center of attention? No, not Caris. Always plenty of people to love on us and lil' C!

We are lucky to have been able to spend so much time here in the midst of a busy season of life and look forward to being able to create many for family memories in the future. New Years Eve fireworks, festivals and parades, hunting trips, long walks, and tank fishing are all in lil' C's future. And the beauty is, they are all from her poppa G's past.

Thursday gardening with caris

Do you know what Caris is doing in this picture? I don't either. But for some reason, lil' C picked up this sprayer and set out determinedly across the yard. She went to every plant, every part of the yard, and pointed that little sprayer, just like that, at each one of them. I mean, I don't think it can be accurately described. I had no idea what was going on in her little mind...

Pretending Pink Puppies

Playing Pretend.

Playing dress-up.

Hallmarks of girl-hood.

Of which my lil C began a few months back. Brushing her 'emily's' hair. And dragging 'emily' to tea parties.

Stealing her shoes. (see pic above. Caris became obsessed with the idea that she could wear the doll's shoes)

Caris loves playing tea.

Pouring it out, serving the cups.

Giving it to her babies and any nearby guest.

Playing dress up.

jammies + the orange hat are a favorite.

Putting on mommies clothes and shoes.

And make-up.

Caris loves when mommy gives in and she's allowed to put on makeup to her heart's content.

Oh so pretty.

And the puppies.

Oh my, she is in love.

With ALL things puppy.

She pours out tea and serves all her little stuffed dogs.

And then chases the real dogs around with a cup of 'tea' for them to share in the goodness of pretend as well.

Caris also chased Max around trying to read him her 'Doggy' book.

Doggies always put a smile on her face.

Oh, and purple and pink? Truly the colors of a girls heart. And the choice for our little C. Let the girl choose her clothes, it's always the pink, then the purple.

So, playing pretend with purple puppies and pink pincesses may just be this girls best dream come true.

Potty party

This week's edition of Thursdays with Caris also marks a milestone.

The Potty.

Apparently, this week Caris is interested in the potty. And toilet paper.

After following me into my bathroom the other day, lil C takes off quickly and purposefully.

I find her in the hall bathroom, toilet paper in hand, lid lifted on her mini-potty, and attempting to pull down her pants. Too funny.

So I help her accomplish her intended goal.

Apparently, Caris also really likes toilet paper. And blowing her nose while on the potty.

After a discussion on what constitutes 'dirty' in terms of toilet paper use, Caris apparently also likes throwing the TP away and asking for more.

And so there she sits, on her little potty, toilet paper in hand, happy as can be.

So for a few days, this is what we do.

Caris wanders into the bathroom, repeats above process, and just hangs out.

So last night, I could tell she needed to 'go potty'. And so I asked her if she would like to do so on her potty.

Wouldn't you know, she marched right into her bathroom, grabs her some toilet paper, raises the lid on her potty, and pulls down her pants.

And then to my complete surprise, she was successful at the potty mission!! Way to go lil C!!!

So then she throws applicable materials away, closes the lid, and goes to wash her hands. All on her own.

Such a big girl we have these days!

Anyways, so I guess we are potty training. Or something along those lines. Although I think we will take it slow.

Advice welcome!!!

Thursdays with Caris

So it's the second Thursday in a row that I've been inspired to share a 'Caris story' and so I started thinking I might make this a regular feature. I have a feeling our funny Caris stories will undoubtedly increase and it might be good practice to remember one a week. I would love to look back on these one day and have a true recollection of a Caris moment.

Welcome to.....Thursdays with Caris.

Last night, I arrive home to a house already occupied by Caris and her poppa G. Garrett has been on anesthesia rotation and his schedule has been soooo nice that he is able to pick Caris up from school! It has been really enjoyable to come home to an evening already in progress to see what these two have been up to.

On this particular night, I round the corner to see an excited lil C running toward me with a shoe in hand. Instead of allowing me to pick her up and entering into her normal 'your-home-momma-and-I-will-NOT-ever-leave-your-side' pattern, she makes a little running turn and purposefully sets off to the kitchen.

Again, purposeful march = entertainment. And so I follow.

And laugh out loud at the sight I see.

A HUGE pile of shoes in the kitchen. (why I didn't snap a picture, I do not know)

Apparently, Caris had tasked herself to carrying all the shoes from around the house and piling them on the kitchen floor.

And the funniest part is that she names each one.

picks up my shoe....'Momma'
picks up Garrett's shoe....'Poppa'
and so on and so forth for the next several mintues this is what our house sounds like:
'Shoe! Momma'
'Shoe! Poppa'
'Momma. Poppa.' (aside: Caris loves assigning gender roles to many items based on momma. poppa.)

'Shooooessh' is a closer pronounciation to what has become one of Caris' favorite words. And items. Girl LOVES her shoes.

This morning in our getting-ready-for-school routine, I ask Caris to go get her shoes, thinking she would get her current favorite, the new pink sneakers, that were right in front of us. Instead, she proceeds to her room returning with some semi-dressy pink Mary Janes. And despite my attempts at convincing, she will not budge on her intent to wear her decided upon footwear.
With an expectant look and sweet voice saying 'Shooeessh?' followed by an attempt to place them on her feet, I decided not to pick this battle and thus the dress shoes were worn to school.

Report card

Here's my girl at school today. Excited. Doesn't she look so grown up? You can't see it, but lil C is sporting a 'uni-pony' as her daddy calls it. Big-girl style.

Yesterday's report card:

Caris had a great first toddler day. She stayed all day, didn't need to visit the mover room, ate well, got her food, played outside, got along with the other kids, and did good at potty time. I was so relieved to hear she had a good day; I've heard this transition can be tough and she was (as per usual) crying when I left. Her teachers were very complimentary about her first day and said she had no trouble and loved every minute. (more annoying mommy brag for you :)

This was my big girl on the way to school this morning:

Mommy - Caris, would you like to sing?

Caris- Yash!!!

M - What would you like to sing?

C - (points to her head, then feet) and says Toes! (they apparently sing this in school. and when she saw a commercial with it on, she was sooo excited. and thus I realized to sing it)

M & C- Head, shoulders, knees and toes. Knees and Toes! And Eyes and Ears and Mouth and Nose (you know how it goes...)

Caris' actual version - Hea, nan, knee, toe. KNEE TOE!!! Eye, Ear, Ma, Nose, Nananananana. BAHHHHH (which is how Caris says YAY!!!) While pointing to knees, toes, head, eyes, nose, mouth.

M - Caris, do you want to sing your ABC's?

C- Ya! Nay, Nay, B, D, D, E, ff, G, nananana nananana.

C- Bahhhahhhh!!!! (YAYY!!!)

And repeat.

Totally feels like big girl school when duet-ing is the activity on the journey there.

p.s. Just got some breaking bragging news on my other student, Garrett passed his latest medical boards!! Woo hoo Dr. G! So proud of all the hard work he has put in and how well he consistently does. Such a great example for our newest student.

School Girl

This morning I dropped this little lady off in the toddler room. She looked so big and was ready to be a big girl. These pics were at the start of a new school year, about a month ago. Caris looks much more grown in just that short span of time! Can't believe the change.

Got my 'pack-pack' on and my keys in hand. Ready to go mom.
Although she always cries and looks a little like the picture above at drop-off. And it never fails to break my heart, and make me threaten to turn in my two-weeks notice.


Caris spoke excitedly about 'sKool' (emphasis on the K, a bit lacking on the S when lil C pronounces) all weekend. When hearing some older girls speak of 'school' at the park, Caris turned to me with wide eyes and said 'sKool!' over and over. I think she was ready to start her new class. The transition began last week and reportedly Caris envoked her use of 'No' when asked to return to the mover classroom. She was ready to be a big girl.


It was clearly time for the transition. But still somewhat surprising to see my little one sharing a classroom with kids who look so grown up. She's loving the attention she gets from being both the newest addition and the youngest; girl eats this up.


We had a meeting with her previous and incoming class teachers to talk about all things Caris. It was so interesting to hear how closely their observations are to our own. Caris loves the fine motor skill work and is able to do some pretty advanced work with threaders and grouping. (I know that's annoying mommy brag) But I share it because it is SOO her daddy and I love to see that in her. Caris is following commands well; she sets the table, clears her plate, washes her hands, on cue. She leads the group to circle time and knows the rules. She knows where the potty is, where her clothes are located, and where her shoes reside and knows when to get said items upon mommies arrival. She knows her animals and objects and puts her work away. They also say books are her favorite :) We concur.

I have loved her mover room teacher and we will be sad to leave her; she along with a few other teachers in the baby room have really taken to our lil C and have loved on her and cared for her with such insight to her personality. I loved hearing what they had to say about our girl. It is still a struggle for me at times be gone from Caris during the week; particularly when she is tired and I realize how much time she spends away from her home. But I am so grateful for the environment they have created for her; she is loved, understood, and indpendence is fostered. The have taken the time to understand what makes Caris, Caris. It helps so much to have such a great place to support Caris.

This morning at drop-off, Caris was greeted by hugs and smiles from former classmates welcoming her to the new environment. She was surrounded by little ones comparing the days chosen attire. Then ventured off with another friend who showed her around. Those two legitimately looked as if they were having a full-on conversation. Her interactions with other girls is so grown up these days. Caris loved showing me her work, table, and chairs. So proud.

Caris even plays like a big girl these days. going up and down the slide on her own. in her big-girl sneakers and 'jeggings'. Love this.

Love my sweet school girl! Hope you have a good first toddler day!!