Another weekend of firsts!

We had a great visit with some of John's family this weekend! We got to meet our adorable nephew, Christian! We took the babies to their first Easter egg hunt, and Caroline got to visit the beach for the first time. Hope you enjoy the pictures!

A heavy heart

I sat down with the intention to write a sweet post about our nightly bedtime routine that I love to share with Caroline but saw I had a Care Pages update about my friend's daughter. Her name is Charlotte--she is 3 years old and is suffering from stage 4 neuroblastoma. She has gone through more these past few months than anyone should have to go through in a lifetime. She has responded well to all of the treatment (she's finishing up radiation next week, I believe), but they just have to play the waiting game to see what will happen next. Now that I have a child of my own, I cannot even begin to imagine what it must be like to see your baby go from a lively, spirited 2 year old to a tiny, bald 3 year old who has to go through all of this terrible treatments. We also have the friends whose baby was born at 25 weeks (and hopefully will be going home soon) and friends whose baby was schedule to have heart surgery this week (but was postponed until next month) and friends whose little boy had to have a spot on his lung removed. It hurts me to think of what they are all going through. But it also makes me cherish Caroline even more. We are so lucky and thankful that God has blessed us with a beautiful, healthy baby. When she was a tiny baby and crying and crying, I would start to get a little frustrated...and then I would think, "Bobby and Natalie would do anything to have Perla home and worrying about how to make her stop crying". When I see her big smile, I hope that Greg and Patrice get to see millions more of Charlotte's smiles. I pray for all of the doctors that are helping all of these little ones, and I hope what my friends are going through helps me to never take a single moment with Caroline for granted.

Big week in the Campbell house!

Caroline has hit a couple of milestones this week. Friday night was her 1st "real" time to sleep all night! She went to bed around 9 and slept til almost 8! She woke up for a bit around 5:45 but was able to put herself back to sleep. Then, she slept all night for the next 2 nights. Mommy was loving it! She was up at 5:30 to eat this morning but went back to sleep at 6 and slept in til 9. Woo hoo! Seems like she may be a late riser like her Mommy and Daddy...let's hope so! Today we were doing some tummy time in her room (it gave her more room than on her tummy time mat). Almost as soon as I laid her down, she had rolled herself over onto her back! She did it 2 more times and then showed her new skill off to Daddy when he got home. I love watching her grow and learn new things. She has started to really grab at toys and her burp cloth when I lay it on her, laugh at Mommy, and loves playing peek-a-boo. We practiced trying to sit up by herself but aren't quite there yet. Can't wait to see what she can do tomorrow!

PS--Our dear friends, Bobby and Natalie, have a little girl (Perla) who was born at 25 weeks 2 days before Caroline (Dec. 3). Little Perla is a fighter--she's had a tough time so far, but we just heard the great news tonight that she should be going home next week! We got to see some pics of the cutie pie tonight too. I really have so much admiration for Bobby and Natalie. I can't imagine having a baby in the NICU for over 100 days. I'm so glad she is doing great and will get to meet her doggie brother, Kiser, soon!

Tebow!

As most of you know, I am a bit obsessed with Tim Tebow. He was in Jacksonville yesterday to launch his new foundation. Check it out at www.timtebowfoundation.org. For a donation you could get his autograph or have your picture made with him. Caroline and I packed up and headed to the mall. Timmy raised a lot of money yesterday because those were the 2 longest lines I've ever seen! We waited about 3 hours to get our picture made and then another hour to pick it up. But, man, it was worth it! Meeting him (well, if you can call it that...I was too starstruck to really talk and we only had a few seconds with him) was one thing I've always wanted. And now I have a picture with more than just him and my hand in it (I've got 2 of those from the past 2 FL/GA games)! I really hope he does well in the NFL draft. He's such a good role model for kids to look up to. Crossing my fingers that he ends up here in Jax!

3 months

Well, I'm going to steal a blog idea from my friend, Erin. :-) Hope you don't mind! Caroline turned 3 months old on Friday. This has been the fastest 3 months of my life. I didn't think it was possible, but I fall more and more in love with her everyday. The day she was born was such a crazy and hectic day. I walked into the hospital not feeling well (but not in labor) and had a beautiful baby girl about 4 1/2 hours later. I wish that day wasn't such a blur to me. I'll have to tell that long story another day for those of you who haven't heard it. It's crazy to think around this time last year she was just a tiny dot on an ultrasound screen.

Here are some Caroline facts:

She loves to talk! She coos all the time now. Sometimes she looks at me with the most serious expression and talks and talks...I just wish I knew what she was telling me!

She has the world's greatest smile. I am not a morning person, but I love walking into her room in the morning, saying "Hey baby girl", and getting this huge gummy grin. :-)

She is really starting to be more aware of her surroundings. She bats and kicks her toys on her little mat and spins a toy on her Exersaucer.

She loves to sit up and stand up. She is really strong and has good head control.

Like Andrew, she hates tummy time. And I hate making her do it. I shouldn't be too surprised--I hate being on my stomach too.

She liked Gymboree last time we went! Hope she does tomorrow too!

She has reddish hair. I always thought I'd have a little blonde baby...

She is definitely a mommy's girl! But she has fun with Daddy too... :-)

I can't wait to see what the next 3 months have in store!

Oh, I almost forgot! Caroline got to meet her Uncle Mark and Aunt Rhonda this week. My brother and sister-in-law came to visit for a night during their trip to FL. It was so good to see them! It had been too long since I had seen them the last time! My dad warned Mark not to spoil Caroline...he didn't but Rhonda did! :-)