Big Girl Time

Most days AP just takes one nap.  Caroline will spend that time doing a quiet activity (or at least that's the goal) and I will take that time to get stuff around the house done.  On days that AP takes two naps - C and I use THAT time for some special mommy-big girl time!  Yesterday we some extra special time since little sis took two long naps.

It was so nice outside, so we took advantage and spent some time outside playing and eating ice cream.  I am so in love with this sweet big girl!

Daisy got to lay in the grass and watch birds.  Best.afternoon.ever.

And this is why we live in play clothes all summer long...

The Cow Hunt

My kids have a TON of toys.  Most days I think it's too many.  However, when people say that kids have so many toys that they don't even know what they have - I have to disagree.  We have too many that take up a lot of room, but Caroline knows EVERY toy she has and EVERY piece to EVERY toy.  Seriously.  She will pull out toys just to check and make sure everything is in its place.  She knows that she has 9 princesses in her castle currently - including 2 Snow White's and 2 Cinderella's.  She knows that in her wooden food group toys there are 6 fruits and 4 dairy items.  She knows that there are 6 animals in her Little People farm.  Because she is well aware of all this, I have become the same way.  If I don't know where every single thing is, then I can't help her find things and then a meltdown will occur.

I have a love/hate relationship with this.  We never lose toys and her room is virtually always organized.  The only downside is that we can never have huge playgroups here.  Seriously...too many kids poses a threat that too many things could go missing.  5 or 6 big kids is our limit...unless we are outside playing and not getting into the inside toys.  As I type that out I am actually realizing that it's not a bad thing :)

The other morning, however, something went terribly wrong.  Caroline pulled out some puppets.  She will put them in a line to make sure they are all accounted for before she starts playing.  As soon as she set them out, she saw that all four birds were present, but one of the farm animals was not.

The cow was gone!!!  Yikes!  We launched a full scale cow hunt that morning.

She started looking in the most logical place...the barn.  Even though the puppet is almost the size of the barn, she still had to look in each tiny little spot. :)

She looked in all of her drawers, under her bed, with her dolls and wasn't able to find Mr. Cow.  She was sad.

Very sad..

Even Ann Parker was distraught.

Finally, after a thorough inspection of her dress up bin, she found Mr. Cow among the tutus, pompoms, and sequins.

So excited to have Mr. Cow back with his buddies!!!  Right before this all happened, she poured water on herself...I don't usually put my kids in dirty clothes.  I let them get dirty themselves!

What a Weekend!!

We had such a busy, busy weekend!  Two of our friends from law school were getting married and the weekend was packed with wedding festivities.  We started Friday evening off at the rehearsal dinner at B&A Warehouse followed by a Birmingham Barons game.  It was the first game that we took the girls to.  They were both getting tired but extremely interested in the new surroundings, so it was hard to keep them corralled - thus, no pictures.  We will be taking them back soon though...perhaps to an afternoon game and not a 7:30 game.

Saturday morning we woke up bright and early to watch Adam participate in the Lakeshore Foundation's Amazing Race.  It's a fundraising event put on by their junior board.  Adam was on a team with some people from his office.  They finished 9th out of 19.  We were so proud!!

While we waited for his team to finish, we played at the awesome playground!!

He was on the red team.  After the race, we headed to the building to eat some delicious food from the Off the Hook food truck and Steel City Pops! yum.

We came home, rested for a bit, and then got ready for the wedding!!  Seriously - one of the best weddings ever.  We stepped out of our car and were given glasses of champagne.  The bridesmaids and bride carried champagne flutes with rings of flowers at the bottom in lieu of bouquets.  The outdoor wedding ceremony lasted all of five minutes and ended with group toast to the bride and groom.  We spent the next several hours eating Kathy G. food and baby bites, catching up with old friends, and watching our girls sing and dance.

Caroline had the best time.  I tried to get a picture of her, but within 10 seconds she took her bow off and hit the dance floor...and was never still again.  Well, once she figured out she could get on stage she was fairly still as she tried to sing along!  ha!

Sunday morning, there was a "marys after they are married" brunch at the top of the Kress building. We stuffed our faces, had champagne and bloody marys, watched all the kids throw bocce balls, and spent a little time with our friends before saying good bye!


My girls love "baby" Drew..luckily he lives in Birmingham and we happen to love his parents so they get to see him more often!

Caroline was OBSESSED with our friend Margaret!  She climbed up into her lap and kept saying, "I need to ride in your car.  I need to go to your house."

We were supposed to go to a pool party Sunday evening, but both girls were super cranky from all the activities so we had an early dinner at PF Changs and came home and relaxed instead.  Let's be honest, Adam and I were equally tired and cranky.  I feel like we need a weekend to recover and rest from our weekend.

I hate that I didn't get a lot of pictures, other than my kids!  We'll just have to plan to see our friends again soon so I can take some pictures.

Night and Day

My two sweet girls seem to be night and day...very different in looks and personality.  My pediatrician laughs when I call (or on a visit) make comments like, "Caroline didn't do that" "Caroline likes X, I wonder why Ann Parker doesn't."  She always reminds me that I two different children, not two of the same child.  I guess I just assumed that they would be more similar.

Caroline is very tall with straight strawberry hair.  Ann Parker is shorter with (what we think will be) curly blond hair.  Their overall looks are pretty different as well...here are some comparison shots.

Photo by Stacey Gresham of Simple Color Photography - AP 6 mo.

Caroline 6 mo.

Caroline at 13 mo.

Ann Parker at 13 mo.

Caroline has never been a good sleeper.  She likes to stay up late, sleep in late, and gets up a few times in the night.  Ann Parker couldn't be any better - she goes to bed early, wakes up early, and hardly ever wakes up in the night.  Basically, Caroline is little Adam and Ann Parker is little me.  On Saturday mornings, Caroline and Adam sleep in my bed (because C has gotten up at some point in the night - maybe a couple of times - and somehow made it in our bed) and Ann Parker and I are up early making breakfast.

Caroline is LOUD.  She always has been, even when she couldn't sit up.  She likes to sing, dance, and put on a show.  When we say she is active - that's what she is doing.  Ann Parker is much quieter.  She gets into more things though.  When I say she is active - I am referring to her constantly getting into cabinets, drawers, trash cans, baskets, dog food bowls, etc.  She pulls anything and everything out albeit quietly.

Caroline eats some strange things for a little kid.  She loves pho,tempura, lamb saag and other Indian dishes but won't eat "normal" little kid food like macaroni and cheese and grilled cheese.  She also eats like a bird, four and five bites and she's done.  Ann Parker on the other hand eats adult sized portions and she cannot get enough of the "normal" kid food.  She could live off of macaroni but she's more hesitant about the "strange" foods.

I had a love/hate relationship with Caroline's sleep schedule, or lack there of.  On one hand, it seemed like we were always fighting the good fight at bedtime trying to get her to sleep.  On the other hand, we could go anywhere with her.  She was so flexible that we could go out to eat or to a friends house and she was fine.  Ann Parker will sleep and we hardly ever put up a fight for her to go down each night, but she is so regimented that we have to be home by  7:30 or we are probably headed for a meltdown.

I find their differences so interesting.  They certainly have some similarities too.  Both love sweets, playing outside and in the water, and both tend to be daddy's girls.  It will be interesting to see how they are alike and different as they get older too.  I often wonder what a third child will be like - will they sleep like Caroline or like Ann Parker (praying for the latter)?  Will they be tall or short?  I already have such different girls, so it's hard to imagine where another one would fall.  We're not expecting another one right now - so don't read too much into that.  It will be a little bit longer before another baby joins us - I just wonder how different he/she would be.

I love my little girls - for all the ways they alike AND for the all the ways they are different.  It sure makes life interesting around here!

Time for your checkup

Who is singing the Doc McStuffins theme song right now?  I am...

Ann Parker had her one year check up and Caroline had her three year check up yesterday.  I put off AP's so that I could take the two of them at the same time.  I was preparing for a disaster, but it was the easiest doctor visit of all time.  We literally did not wait at all - in the waiting room, in the actual room, or in the lab.  We had two checkups, three shots, and one visit to the lab for a finger prick and we were in and out in less than an hour.

First up...Caroline!!

Caroline had a great checkup - nothing to worry about and as healthy as can be according to Dr. Wilson!  Her vocabulary is rather large and she has a wild imagination.  Even though she doesn't eat very much (quantity wise), she is growing like a weed and kids will usually start adding quantity down the road.  She weighed 30 lb. 4 oz. (50%), was 38.5 inches long (90%).  She is going to be a tall girl for sure!!

Next...Ann Parker!!

AP also had a great checkup.  She had to get three shots and her finger pricked.  She cried for just a minute until I was able to pick her up and love on her.  She has met all the developmental milestones that Dr. Wilson wanted her to meet at this point (pointing, waving, beginning to say words, and walking).  She weighed 17 lb. 3 oz. (10%), was 29 inches long (50%), and had a head circumference of 17.25 (25%).  Although she is smaller than Caroline was at this age, she is starting to catch up!  Caroline weighed 19 lb. 12 oz and was 29.25 inches long at age one.  AP weighs less, but is almost at the same length so I wonder if she will also be a tall girl one day.  Clearly they got the height from me...

I am so thankful for these two beautiful and healthy little girls!

Sweet matching sisters after their checkups!!

The sweet hugs quickly turned into a choke hold and some wrestling.

Ann Parker was not a fan...

Reynold's Plantation

Adam and I just got back from an AMAZING little get away to Reynold's Plantation.  We stayed at the Ritz-Carlton Lodge and it was just fantastic.  Adam's firm has their retreat there and spouses were invited to attend.  It was my first time leaving Ann Parker overnight and I think we both did pretty well.  A little kid free time was just what I needed to recharge.  I didn't take too many pictures because I was busy relaxing!!


I spent most of my time at the infinity pool looking out over the Oconee River.  Literally the only time I got up was to go get the best massage ever.  Tough day y'all.

 The view from our balcony.  It was a perfect way to sit and wake up in the mornings.

The bed was so comfortable!!  I tried to convince Adam that we should steal the pillow top cover that was on the bed.  He disagreed...

Not a bad place to get ready...

Like I said, I didn't take hardly any pictures.  I was too busy eating great food, laying by the pool, getting a massage, ordering room service and eating in my comfy bed.  I hope that we go back soon!!

THREE!!!!

My baby girl turned three!!  I am so excited to see what these preschool years bring, but I am sad to see the 2's go.  Two was a good year for Caroline.  It was certainly hard at times, but oh so wonderful too.  When Caroline turned two, she was a new big sister - only a month into the gig - and at three she is a seasoned pro.  She is so wonderful to Ann Parker.  When AP cries, Caroline will say, "It's okay baby." or "Just breathe Ann Parker."  She still likes to take toys away from her or will occasionally push her down, but for the most part Caroline is a kind and protective big sister.

Some other info on C at this age:

Caroline went from going to school one day a week to three days!  She did wonderful and already cannot wait for the fall!

Caroline potty trained at 2 1/2!!  She is now fully potty trained.  No more pull ups at night either!  All panties all the time.  She hasn't had an accident in the longest time.  Yay!!

Caroline's vocabulary has grown a thousand times over.  At two she would say, "Mickey the tv" when she wanted to watch Mickey on the tv.  Now she will say, "Mom, I want to watch Doc McStuffins on the ipad." My how things have changed...and stayed the same ;)

Caroline will still watch Mickey and Little Einsteins, but her new favorite shows are Team Umizoomi, Sofia the First, and Backyardigans sometimes.

Caroline wears size 3T - 5T depending on the brand.  She is in a size 8-9 shoe.  She has about 20 teeth.  (No, I didn't count.  We just went to the dentist.)

Her favorite color is pink.  Her favorite snack is marshmallows, not that we have them often.

She loves pizza, shrimp, noodles, icing, popcorn, fruit, broccoli, beans, ribs, and steak.

She loves playing pretend.  She will often give checkups, put her babies to bed, turn into animals, becomes the grumpy old troll from Dora, etc.  I love this wild imagination!!  She also loves reading, doing puzzles, and art projects.

She has gotten so sassy lately!!  I will ask her to do something and she will respond, "Give me one minute!" or "Not right now, maybe later!"  Doesn't make me happy, but it's still pretty cute.

She can count to 20 all by herself (sometimes leaving out a number) in English and can count to 10 in French and Spanish by herself.

She has this big floor puzzle of the US and can correctly name about 40 states.

She knows her right from her left.

She knows her colors (well, not teal and lilac and colors like those - but black, brown, white, purple, pink, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red).

She can get herself dressed and undressed.  We will still have to help and now then getting things turned the right way, but she knows to look for tags!

She knows all the words to several songs including: Jesus Loves Me, The Itsy Bitsy Spider, Row Row Row Your Boat, Twinkle Little Star, Happy Birthday, The Wheels on the Bus, ABC's and a few others.

She can recite several books from hearing them so much!  She can do this with Hands Hands Fingers Thumb, Madeline, Llama Llama Mad at Mama, and Bark George.


She is so kind hearted.  When she sees people upset or crying, she will always ask me, "What's wrong?"  When I tell her I don't know, she always wants to go help them.

She loves introducing herself to people.  Yesterday she went up to a family at the grocery store and said, "Hi.  I'm an Israel.  I am Caroline Grace Israel.  This is Emily Israel and that's Ann Parker Israel."  Not shy at all...

She loves to stay up late and sleep in, much like daddy.

She remembers EVERYTHING.   Gone are the days when we can say something and think she'll forget.  We've made lots of trips to get ice cream, we've read extra books, gone to the park extra times, and gotten extra prizes.  Seriously, she doesn't forget a thing!

She loves to dance and will dance along with So You Think You Can Dance when it's on TV.  We love it!!

She loves to perform for people.  Anything she can do for attention and a few laughs and she'll do it!


I guess it's okay that my baby is gone, because I have a pretty amazing little girl in her place.  Caroline keeps us laughing all day long.  She gives some of the best hugs around.  I am so proud of the person she has become and know that it will only get better and better.  I cannot believe that THREE years has passed, but what an amazing journey it has been!!  Happy third birthday little girl!  I love you so much!