I can take a hint...

I know, I know. Nobody cares about me and Chris, just Caroline. And I've been thinking allaboutdenise isn't an appropriate name for a blog that's all about Caroline. So I've created a new blog: babycarolinesmine.blogspot.com. It's all about her.

NOTE: This blog will no longer be updated. It will be left as is for your perusal, but please check the new blog with just as much loyalty as you did with this one, and maybe a porn star named Caroline won't decide to do a website with a similar address!

Thank you so much for checking the blog. It makes me happy.

This and That

Several things have happened since the last post. Caroline can say, "Mama, you are my favorite person in the world and I want to snuggle with you all day." Well, not in so many words. She has become increasingly clingy, although she still expects everyone (strangers, included) to want to hold her. We walked in Scott's Seafood the other night, for my birthday, and she went straight into some old man's arms. I didn't know what to do! Today we visited my mamaw and papaw at the nursing home in Homer, and Caroline went into the arms of almost every passerby. Thankfully, I knew most of them.

I graduated from Louisiana Tech this past Saturday! It's all over. Now I need to find a job. I was turned down for the position I interviewed for the other day. They gave it to a lady that had experience. I won't let that keep me down. I have graduation moolah! Not so much of it is left...I finally own my very own video camera (which I've wanted for years) and I have a Kitchenaid mixer in a box with my name on it somewhere in the mail. We made an overdue stop at Books-A-Million and picked up a few new things. And I bought a few Christmas presents. So, yes, it seems money can buy happiness. (I really hope no one thinks I'm serious.)

Before I post the picks, I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. I am thankful for you.

Caroline with her "great" Papaw Burgess. He told everyone, yes, she is beautiful, and she gets it from him!

A snapshot from the zoo today. My favorite exhibit (although the lions put on a real show today--knocking barrels over and batting them around!).

Biting the [hand] that Feeds You

Last whatever day that was, maybe Tuesday the 30th, Caroline and I were at the Calhoun Middle/West Ridge Middle soccer game. She was biting my fingers when all of a sudden----a tooth popped through! I know this because her gnawing wasn't painful at first and then suddenly she scratched my finger. I took a peek in her mouth and there it was: the first real sign that Caroline was not meant to be a boobivore all her life. Thankfully, because no matter how much I love to nurse (and two weeks ago I would have told you I would do it all day), the once sweet bonding experience has turned into a "let's bite mama, look surprised when she yelps, then smile on purpose" game. Anyway, she has the cutest two teeth I've ever seen. Even though they don't completely rise from the surface. You just see the little ridges.
In other news, graduation is approaching. I'd better find my instruction sheet. I went to my last student teacher meeting today and my last day at Calhoun Middle will be this coming Tuesday-the day before my birthday. I will really miss those kids. It makes me sad to think about it. I like them a lot. And I've been having bad dreams about the job openings out there.
Time for some pictures:Caroline started throwing out gang signs the other night.

Vote for your Favorite

We opted not (or rather our checkbook refused) to go out and buy a really expensive Halloween costume this year. Luckily, we have people looking out for us, supplying our options. Look for the Poll on the left and place your vote to let us know what you think she should wear on Halloween. Here are a couple of pictures of each:





Well, student teaching is almost over, which means the quarter is almost over, which means my 472 class is almost over, which means I have about seven assignments to turn in including a six-page paper, but I'M GRADUATING IN THREE WEEKS!! That's my update.

Chris is doing well, still loving West Ridge Middle, starting to coach soccer. Caroline and I will have fun going to soccer games. Their first game is against Calhoun Middle (my school), so we'll definately be there!

Anyone who knows me well knows that I don't cuss. It's very unnatural coming out of my mouth. However, and I'm serious, no one has ever made me want to cuss so bad as Caroline. She's so **** cute. I'll leave it at that.

This just in:

Chris, Wesley, Sam, and Mrs. Linda have all heard Caroline say "mamamamama!" She hasn't said it for me yet.

Da-Da!

Saturday night right before bed Chris said, "Denise, I know you won't believe me, but Caroline just said Dada. Very plainly." Then she did it again. So Sunday, it was "Dadadadadadadadada" all day long! She loves practicing her new word, or sound. I added a video to the side bar to prove it. You have to sneak up behind her to get anything on video.

Also, she threw up a few times this weekend, for the first time ever. Dr. Bimle thinks she's just swallowing a lot of snot and its irritating her tummy. Gross!

Caroline attended her first Tech game Saturday! As the pictures show, she was super cute as always. Aunt Karen held her ears so the cannon wouldn't bother her. Then she slept through part of the game.

Above: This is what she does after she tells a joke.

She's Everywhere, She's Everywhere!

Caroline is not crawling on her hands and knees yet, but she can cover every inch of the floor in a matter of seconds! She loves moving out of her designated blanket area. I think I actually heard her singing her version of "Don't Fence Me In." She's doing really well at Mrs. Linda's, which makes me kind of jealous because that leaves me as the only person who can't get her to nap without nursing. Her daddy has that special touch, too.

She has a fascination with shoes. That is, she likes to try to eat them. Especially the ones with big clods of dirt on the bottom. She's also taken a liking to sweet potatoes, as the following pictures will show.

Sixteen WHAT?!

Caroline went in for her 6 month well baby visit today. She weighs 16+ pounds! And she's perfect, says Dr. Bimle. Hey, I've said it all along, but she's the one with the medical degree! Caroline also had to have her little finger pricked. This is about the time babies start losing the iron they have stored up from birth, so some of them become a little anemic. All the numbers came back fine, though. (Oh, Chris, we need to start remembering to give her the multivitamin everyday...) Caroline got a kick out of sticking her tongue out at Dr. Bimle. She's discovered that people smile when she does that, I think. Yeah....well, we're claiming she's said her first word: "hey." Plain as day. That is the very first word she hears every morning. As soon as her eyes open, we say, "hey, baby!" So it would make since. Tomorrow night we'll start giving her some sweet potatoes.

I hate school. My school (LA Tech), not Calhoun Middle. I hate writing papers, that's all I'll say.

UPdaaate!

Before I tell you what's been going on with Caroline, let's talk about me. I was born first. Be patient. I am currently student teaching under a great teacher at a great school, but man, this job is tiring. I have been working on this computer for almost 7 hours straight trying to finish my portfolio which is due Friday. This Friday. I'm just throwing all kinds of things in there, probably in the wrong places, but I don't care. I got observed Wednesday and the lady (not the teacher I'm under) said I didn't ask questions correctly. I asked the class, "Who remembers which organelle is the site for photosynthesis?" The lady said the correct answer to my question would be "I do." But the class knew what I was talking about and said, "chloroplasts." Even if a kid had said "I remember," I would have asked him to elaborate, I wouldn't have thought he was being smart-alecky. Well, I promised I would work on my questioning skills for her next visit.

Caroline is perfect. Yes, I said perfect. What? You didn't think that existed? Well, it does, and its name is Caroline. I'm adding a new video to the left, but it will take several hours to show up (google pre-screens it). She has been jabbering to her sitter and rolling everywhere she wants to go. Today, I tried to get a cute video of her, but she stops doing what I want when I start recording. She used to use a soothie pacifier that you could stick your finger into. Now she won't take it unless she gives it to herself, but she sticks her thumb in it and sucks her thumb that way. She was so cute. Chris had to come get me off the computer to see it. Oh, and she sits in the buggy when we shop now! Okay, so maybe she falls to the side a little so I have to stick my purse beside her. She swings her little feet out of the holes.

Chris is still lovin' Westridge...

Is that cleavage?

So much for getting gas

I'm mainly writing this post to preserve a memory for myself. After picking Caroline up from Mrs. Linda's the other day I stopped at Jmart to get gas (I wouldn't leave Chris with an empty tank in the morning, would I?). Caroline was crying like crazy because she was ready to eat and she was strapped into her car seat. As I start pumping gas I press my face against the window to check on my girl, which I shouldn't have done because she sees me looking in and thinks I ought to be getting her out. So she cries as hard as she can...then looks at me. Then she cries as hard as she can...then looks at me. She does this a few times until I decide to look at her through the back glass. (It tears at my very heart muscle to just stand in her view doing nothing when she wants me to get her out so badly) She catches on fast and finds me in the back glass, too. I couldn't stand it. I stopped the pumping at ten dollars and rushed home where I promised Caroline she could nurse as long as she wanted to.

Then we went to the West Ridge vs. Calhoun Middle football game, of course! Caroline wore her "My Daddy is a Patriots Coach" shirt, and people loved it. I spent a little time on the CMS side, too, since I'm student teaching there. All the girls went crazy over Mrs. Cavin's baby! Now you can go crazy over this baby bootie:

And in her pretty pink polka dot dress!

Do it for Daisy

This morning we made a family trip to the local animal shelter and found Daisy, our new Beagle mix. Mally had been asking for a little sister for a while now...well, not in so many words. She was so sweet from the minute we walked in. She beat the competition in bark-lessness (a trait we were looking for since we live in a neighborhood), size, demeanor, and just plum sweetness. Chris went back to get her after hitting an ATM and she rode with her head resting on his arm and her tail wagging all the way home. She looks at him with the most love I've seen in a poopy-dogg's eyes in a while. She and Mally sort of hit it off. If hitting it off means not snarling and barking at one another. It took Daisy a minute to come out of her shell while Mally kept running around her trying to play. I think Mally understood this new puppy wasn't just here for a playdate, also. Well, as for the title of this entry, I urge everyone to never pay for a pedigree dog again. There are SO many perfect pooches in the pound that need-and deserve-a good home. Our hearts were breaking as we explained to all of the other dogs that we couldn't fit ALL of them into our backyards. Did you know there were over 1300 dogs dropped off at the shelter in June alone? We were the first to adopt one this morning and already there had been 20 dogs surrendered to them. It really ticks me off that someone would have a dog or cat and have it TAKEN AWAY from them because they refuse to take care of it. People know better. These animals don't. They take the crap that their owners dish out because they don't have an option. (Excuse my language on thispreviously G-rated blog) Every one of these animals deserves to be treated better than that. So please consider giving a donation to or adopting your next pet from your local pet shelter.


Other things we're up to: Caroline is doing really well at Mrs. Linda's. She had one bad day when she refused to eat out of her Avent bottle and wouldn't take a nap. Another mom brought a Dr. Brown's bottle the next day for her to try and she guzzled it down in no time! Now she's eating and napping like a pro---at Mrs. Linda's. She's growing up way too fast.


Calhoun Middle is great. I was worried about losing my milk supply, so I went to ask Mr. Aswell, the principal, if I could pump at school. He said yes before I got the question out. I taught Friday and the lesson went really well. However, what I had planned was completely changed by seventh period. I had to reteach Atoms to these kids, and that's not one of my GLEs! Oh well. Thank the Lord I remembered the basics about atoms. Although CMS is good, I'm feeling a little overwhelmed with all the assignments I have. I have to turn in a case study and my whole Portfolio in a couple of weeks and I haven't started on either one. I'm also taking another class and, after reading the syllabus, my stomach started hurting. There are so many assignments with so many components. Let's just say I might not see or talk to any of you very often in the next couple of months.


Chris is having a ball at Westridge. It's a great school and a great parish to work in. Their football team is winning games, and his classes are pretty good. They LOVE seeing pictures of Caroline. Speaking of people loving to see pictures of Caroline, I've included some for you. I think they all begin with her daddy getting her ready for church and end with her and Abby in the rocking chair.

Oh no she didn't...

Yes, she did. Caroline (you know, MY daughter) took a TWO HOUR nap for Mrs. Linda today. Last week, she wouldn't leave my arms to nap for twenty minutes. That shows the power of the boob. They're like magnets. She is so distracted by the other kids at Mrs. Linda's that she forgets to fuss, too.

Anyway, my first day at Calhoun Middle...yes, Calhoun Middle, not West Monroe High was good. I really like the principal and my teacher. They originally placed me at Westridge with Chris against their own rules. When I informed them of his employment we had to scramble to find another placement and luckily, CMS took me on. They couldn't (or rather wouldn't) put me at WMHS because there were no other Tech students there. Oh well, I'm excited because I get to teach reproduction to junior high kids...

Carolines crying, gotta go!

Fine!

I don't want to spoil you all with frequent posts, but my husband is bugging me to update! Update! He gets pictures off my blog to use as his background on his computer at school. The students see the background projected on the tv when he minimizes their bellringer, and he wants them to be able to see a new picture EVERYDAY! Chris, there's, like, 180 days in a school year!A new way to dispose of junk mail.

"Why am I just now wearing this awesome shirt? Because Sir Wesley and Lady Sam just brought it to me from the Georgia Aquarium in Hotlanta!"

You can tell she enjoys her new tee. Thanks Wesley and Sam!

Give me a P!

P! You got your P, you got your P! Go West Ridge Middle School Patriots!
Chris' school beat Good Hope Middle (their big-time rivals) for the first time ever! Man, that new defensive backs coach really knows what he's doing! They'd better keep him! So inspired was I by their win that I made these for Caroline to wear to the games:

I don't normally take pictures of Caroline with her shirt straps hanging down (risque!), but when she came up with this idea to wish her uncle Phillip a happy birthday I had to snap a pic.

Anyway, next week Caroline starts going to a sitter and I start student teaching (although I don't know where. If they tell me early, they "have to tell everyone else, too.") But I need to know if I'll be allowed to pump at all or if I'll have boobs the size of small watermelons by sixth period. Oh well, maybe the boys will pay more attention that way. I'm just kidding! But here's what's serious: Caroline has an eye doctor apointment next Wednesday morning, and although I haven't noticed any problems as of late, we would still appreciate prayers. Other prayers that would be appreciated include those supporting our attempts to get Caroline to take naps or go to bed without the aid of nursing. Last week we were doing so good. I could wrap her up (while singing my "Wrap You Up" song) and rock her to sleep (singing my "Whose That Baby's Mama" song). Then I could gently put her in her crib and have about 30 mintues to myself...or the bills...or lunch. THIS week she refuses to take her pacifier, even when she's happy. That pacifier was crucial in the wrapping up/rocking deal. She'll fall asleep while nursing, but every move I make, no matter how small, is going to wake her. I swear she knows what I'm trying to do and she's fighting it with all 14+ pounds she has! However, her daddy was able to come home and get her to take a nap without nursing on him. She knows what I have, and I'm being used. Anyway, advice and/or encouragement is welcome. I'd be fine nursing her all day long, but next week things are going to change a lot, and I want it to be smooth sailing.

Well, before I go, I want to say goodbye to our friends Will and Jennifer who are moving to the Dallas area. They are a really cool couple that Texas is lucky to get. Remember, folks, to take advantage of the friendships you have while they still live close by. Will and Jennifer, this was Caroline's reaction when I told her you guys were leaving:

The Return of Tuttle and Bad Mothering

Every time I see Tuttle I think, Will he come back? I'd like to pretend that he loves us and considers us his new home, but I figure we're just his convenience store where he refuels on kitty food on his way home from work. BUT, Caroline and I were hanging out on the couch yesterday and I saw something pass the window out of the corner of my eye. That Chloe, I think, "she's so silly," I say (because Caroline likes to hear it). So we get up I peek out the window and who do I see? Tuttle! But this time he doesn't need me. He's helping himself right on top of the kitty bowl:
(By the way, if you're wondering, we use a plastic salsa and chip dish for kitty food. TIP: Fill the chip ring with water so ants can't cross to the food. That was Chris' idea.)

Anyway, Bad Mothering? I was arranging some fake flowers into two hanging baskets and Caroline was watching. She started getting bored so I let her play with a set of the flowers. So...I didn't know that the dye from the flowers would come off all over her face and clothes, with the potential to cause some kind of skin reaction. Luckily, I got her cleaned up so fast, I didn't even have time for a picture. That's too bad-she was really cute with her first real mess.

Oh, the joys of motherhood...and the not so joyful days of stay-at-home motherhood. Don't get me wrong, I do love it most of the time, but we have our ups and downs. The downs primarily being me going crazy at the house all day watching the second hand tick away on the clock. I would continue my painting hobby or make some cards or something, but Caroline (bless her napping little heart) wants to be played with 59 of 60 seconds of every minute! I look forward to Chris coming home all day. The first couple of months I thought, It's time to nurse AGAIN! Now I think, When do we get to nurse again? I'm just one of those people who needs a job. But I desperately want to witness everything she does this fall. I got a sick feeling in my belly thinking about leaving her with a sitter (although we have a great one, I think). My heart aches thinking about it. So, yes, I do go crazy during the day, but here's what makes it ALL worth it:

For Your Viewing Pleasure

The videos in the sidebar should be updated periodically! So enjoy!

Tuttle the Turtle Takes Tidbits of Taurine

A while back, we backed out of our carport to find a box turtle hanging around underneath our car. Oh! How cute! We had to get out and see him. He scuttled along and we left. Chris continued to see him every now and then just hanging out with the kitties, Chloe and Oliver. So we named him Tuttle the Turtle. I hadn't seen him in a while, so I thought Tuttle had moved along to the next Soup Kitchen. But yesterday, Caroline and I walked out to water our tomato plant that will never bear fruit (we need to get him in to hear Dicky's sermon on that), and to our surprise, there stood Tuttle the Turtle! We brought him a special treat-kitty food with the amino acid taurine essential for kittywitties-and he gobbled it up. Here you go:


And to those of you who are SO glad we've "started solids," we haven't officially started solids. That runny cereal mix can hardly be considered a solid. And really, we just give her a little bit before she nurses around suppertime. I'm afraid to stop now, though, because I really think she might get mad. She wants our food SO BAD! But, Michelle, if you are around the house at "feeding time," you are more than welcome to help. Just don't put your hand inside the cage.

Here is a pic of her napping. The easiest way is to wrap her up really tight while singing a "wrap you up" song.

We are in serious need of some video on this blog. Someone tell me how to do it please, without going through photobucket...

The Return of Happiness and Faked "Firsts"

We had to do it. Chris and I both NEED reliable internet access at home, so we got DSL again, which is great-we couldn't be happier!-but we have to pay for it, too. Yes, we really do need it. Chris needs it for work outside of school and I'll be needing it for my classes this fall. So lucky for you ducks, you get Caroline pictures more often!

We've all been doing wonderfully. Chris LOOOVES his new job, and everyone loves him. He's had two sets of parents request that their kid be in his class, just after meeting him, not even knowing his teaching capabilities. And I've just been hanging out with Caroline all...day...long. New babies are fun, especially Caroline (!), fun to hand over to her daddy when he gets home! No! I really do enjoy it, but I'm excited about working, too. She can be a handful and the cause of a little back pain.

Caroline is set for her first eye doctor visit on September 4th. We're going in to check to see if her little eyeballs are developing correctly. The camera flash takes her by surprise sometimes (can we say googly), but lately I haven't noticed it as much. In any case, we want to make sure every thing is okay early on. In other Caroline news: a friend recently gave us a Johnny Jumo Up that her baby has outgrown. I was skeptical at first, but it is some kind of sturdy! Check out how much she likes it.


We also gave her a little cereal recently. Partly because she shows the signs of being ready and partly because I was super jealous when our friend Natalie announced that her little cutie, Isaac, had started on it. I also wanted to see how she reacted to being spoon-fed, since she'll be getting a little bit of it from her sitter come September. She loved it! She grabbed the bowl at one point. I guess I was holding it a little too close! Here is a picture of her "first spoon feeding." Actually, it's not a true first. The camera went dead on her real first. So this is the second day.

I also said I'd never put a headband on Caroline, until I played around with one. She is the cutest thing ever. Evidence:

I want to send a shout-out to my faithful readers. Milton. Thanks!