Happy Thanksgiving!!!

So, I've finally caught up with most (ok...some) of the events of the last week or two. SO...its time to live in the present. We had a wonderful first Thanksgiving. All of our family was here to celebrate. We were able to have Crystal's mom and dad here as well. Bethany and Joanna hosted a total of 12 here at Pecan View for Caitlyn's First Turkey Day. It was a wonderful time. Additionally, Caitlyn finally met her Aunt Joanna who is in from Michigan for a week, her Uncle Steve who was up from Austin, and Crystal's mom and dad, GREAT AUNT Sara and UNCLE Rod! A great time was had by all, and we even found a little time to start planning for the future with Caitlyn and Sam's Holiday pictures (Thanks for the awesome dress Crystal!!)

Here are pictures from all of the fun:

Mom and Caitlyn pose for Christmas Pictures

Caitlyn looks to see what all the fuss is aboutCaitlyn and Aunt Jo

Caitlyn and Uncle Steve watch football (and sleep a bit, but don't tell)

CR and Aunt Jo share a laugh in front of Aunt Jo's awesome art.

A super CUTE Thanksgiving outfit--Thanks Aunt JO!!Sam and Caitlyn get acquainted. He is growing SO big, SO FAST.

Nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Wiggins!

I know Caitlyn grows every day, but I didn't really see what everyone meant about how much she is growing until I was gone from Sunday to Tuesday night. She looked like a totally different girl from when I left!!! Its excited to see all of the new things that she does. She hasn't yet hit her stride and routine (Bethany has been AWESOME about taking care of her 24/7!!!) but she does have so much more strength and control in her head and neck. Her eyes are getting clearer, and she is already starting to turn over and reallly kick those legs! I'm afraid that I'll wake up tomorrow and she'll be asking for my car keys.

Well, tomorrow brings Christmas lights and a Christmas tree. Pretty excited stuff! Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family.

Here's to looking forward to Christmas:

Getting closer...A photo collection...

I'm SO FUN...And I can already turn my head to watch as you play with my toys!!!

Caitlyn's first stroll....

Caitlyn reads to us from her first book

Matt and Natalie Boening -- Alison's Mom and DadMy belly button is falling OFF!!!! (don't worry, we kept it.)Cindy - - John's momI'm not so sure about the idea of the bath just yet!?!?!?!but I LOVE it when DADDY changes my diaper!!Sleeping with MommySleeping with Daddy -- ok, so Daddy isn't really sleeping, but it makes a good photo:Checking out Aunt Jo's AWESOME wall-hanging...Ummmmm....Fun....Someone was so generous to mention that Caitlyn already has more hair than Daddy...Thanks for that...no, really....This is one of my cute new outfits (a bit big, but getting more snug every DAY!)Having fun with Daddy (Stop it with the hair thing!)I'm so cute in my towel.I love to follow my Doggie toy with Daddy!!
I have a good strong grip and love holding hands too!Tummy time is OK...For a while.Dad gets to take his first walk with CaitlynMommy is an old pro already. My first ride in our new swing...Does the trick every time!!

Catching up...a Fast Forward

Its SOOO tiring being so BEAUTIFUL....

So...I know that if we don't press the fast forward button on the last couple of weeks, I'll never get around to writing about what is acutally happening in our lives!!! SO...here are a few pictures that sum up our time for the last couple of weeks:

Bethany's "Aunt Rhonda" and her mom

NMHS Guard Instructor Ashlee Gearner
Brandon Downs NMHS Band DirectorChuck and Floss -- Our good friends from ChurchDallas and Sarah Lusk -- Friends from church (expecting a little boy in the Spring!)Mike Major (NMHS Band Director) and GracieMiMi and CaitlynMom and Caitlyn with a beautiful mum made by Ms. Ogles --one of our NMHS Band MomsGrandpa meets Caitlyn!!!Noni and Grandpa meet Caitlyn

So...you would think this would catch us up to Thanksgiving, but there are still more to come!!!!

Halloween and a Baby Tanning Bed....

So we came home on Halloween afternoon. Please don't think that we would wait until 2007 to take advantage of Caitlyn in a Halloween costume. Bethany's best friend Faith Lamb joined us to celebrate the occasion. She and Caitlyn were fast friends:

So, Caitlyn decided to go as a pumpkin (all of the ghost costumes were gone...) My favorite moment was as we were leaving to "Trick or Treat," Bethany says "Okay, Jeff you take pictures. Faith, you open the door; I want a Snickers." :) We had a good time and enjoyed getting to have her at home without everyone coming in every two hours to check on this, or move that, etc.

Wednesday marked our first trip to the doctor. It was an exciting one to say the least. Other than the receptionist, everyone was super and took great care of Caitlyn. Our doctor, Dr. Abel (pronounced Able), is located just a few minutes from the house.
The conclusion of the visit was that everything seemed fantastic except for the possibility of Jaundice. Caitlyn was one of the approximately 50% of babies that get Jaundice. Basically Jaundice is caused by interaction between mom and baby's blood. If you need more details, CLICK HERE.

So, to treat it, the babies undergo intense photo therapy that causes the condition to break down. The therapy is either applied by a photo-blanket or photo-light therapy. Caitlyn received the photo-light therapy. Both have their ups and downs. The light therapy is great because it works faster and is more effective, but the downside is that the baby must remain under the lights constantly (and it gave our house a suspicious blue glow)....Thankfully it was extremely successful and after 36 hours and 5 pin pricks in her little feet :(, Caitlyn was pronounced healthy again!!!
The best part of Tuesday was the arrival of Aunt Crystal (Dan's wife and Sam's mom). Aunt Crystal was kind enough to put her family duties and her classes at Texas A&M on hold for a week to help us with our new bundle of joy. She was an amazing help and it was so great to have her here with us!