to our sweet caroline

3 years

2 years

14 months

2 days old

april 15 was your 3rd birthday and i cannot believe it, sweet girl! i will never forget the day you were born and our lives changed forever in a magical way. here are just a few things we love and cherish about you...

* your big beautiful blue eyes
* your belly laugh when you get really tickled
* your red, shriveled up left thumb that has comforted you since you were only a few months old
* the automatic tears that roll down your face the minute you have a valid reason to cry or more often, when you don't have a reason :)
* the way you love on everyone - you love to hug, kiss and caress any and everyone (this can throw complete strangers off guard a bit)
* how much you love your family and friends - you get so excited any time we make a trip home to georgia or when you play with friends in charleston
* how you say momma and daddy
* your stalling tactics at bedtime - reading books, praying
* your coordination - you fall down or run into things all the time
* your voice - you have always sounded like a little duck
* your speech/vocabulary - you talked early and say the craziest, most grown up things at times
* your expressions - your eyes get big and you speak volumes through them, kind of like momma daddy says :)
* your love of all things girly, pink and princess oriented - you always say your favorite color is pink (and red b/c it's momma's favorite)
* the way you cry when we come get you in the nursery at church or leaving a friend's house, etc. - you're the only kid that cries b/c you don't want us to come get you
* how excited you are about your baby sister/brother - you can't wait to give it your crib, toys and help momma feed and pray for the baby (this i'm sure will change when the baby actually comes out, but for now it's sweet and warms my heart)
* the way you make your daddy's heart melt - it only takes a sweet face or kind word from you
* how much you love being on the go - you ask mommy every night what we are doing the next day and get so excited
* your pretty dirty blonde hair with just a little bit of curl on the ends - it curls up really good in the charleston humidity
* how you wake up in the morning and yell "it IS daytime now mommy"
* your sweet spirit
* your already tender heart towards Jesus

you are our treasure and we can't imagine life without you. we pray daily that you will love and follow Jesus with a passionate heart all the days of your life and never know a day without Him. we love you more than words can ever express, sweet girl, and we always will!!

more family in charleston pictures

having fun with papa

she was totally into taking pictures

"let's hug" was the direction she gave papa and grammie for this shot

all the cousins eating dinner together

total exhaustion

having a blast at the beach despite the chilly water

the beach can wear a little guy out

andrew's having fun

caroline loving on andrew

brothers

sarah and andrew

here are some more pixs from my parents' visit to charleston and the time my sis and her kids spent with us. enjoy!!

the big 30!!

i know our heads are cut off, but had to get a width shot of the huge chocolate cake and caroline's awesome expression!

the best family shot and only one where caroline was smiling like a normal little girl

pre easter egg hunt

precious girl hunting eggs

she managed to get quite a few without any help at all

just a few of the easter egg hunting gang

25 weeks

i turned 30 on thursday and so far, 30 is good! doesn't feel any different to me :) my parents are in town and took me, john and caroline out to dinner friday night to a wonderful restaurant on james island. here a few pixs of our celebration, an easter egg hunt caroline had with a few friends on wednesday and a belly shot of me at 25 weeks...i'm 26 weeks today. it's flying by!!