Favorite Play Mate

Caroline has lots of play mates, both big and small, but her favorite person to play with is always Daddy. Just ignore Frances' barking - she's just jealous that she's not being included in the fun :)

Busy Day!

  Whew! Today was an especially busy day for us. Caroline must have been really excited about all we had to do because she decided to get up at 5am. Ugh! This made both Mommy and Caroline very cranky and we only lasted about an hour before we both went back to bed for a little bit.
  Once it was a much more respectable time, we started off our day with a morning play date with Hailey, Clarke, Madeleine and their mommies. As usual, Caroline commandeered the snacks before getting busy with all of Hailey's toys. Luckily, Miss Holly knows how to keep Caroline well fed :)
  Next, we went home to meet big Caroline for a lunch play date while her Mommy went to an appointment. Both girls munched away on grapes, pretzels, and PB&J sandwiches while they watched "Elmo Goes to the Firehouse." After some playtime, it was time for big Caroline to head home and time for little Caroline (and Mommy) to take a nap!
  After nap time, we had a quick snack and then headed over to big Caroline's house for some play time and a tasty pizza dinner! We were excited that Wingrove and her Mommy joined us as well. Caroline wore her jammies for this play date because she knows how much Mommy likes to hang out and chat with these ladies!        
  Before it got too late though, we piled into the car and headed home. We were a little surprised to see that it was snowing outside! With the threat of a "snow day" tomorrow, we made a quick stop at the Libbie Market for our "essentials" - eggs, coffee creamer, and ice cream (and we may or may not have also purchased a cookie to eat in the car) :)

  Soon after we were back home and all snuggled in for the night. Caroline went straight to bed, with her blanket over her head - which is how she prefers to sleep these days. What a day!

Caroline and Clarke. Notice Caroline's possession of the snack bowl and the fact that it's empty.

Caroline, Hailey and Clarke at the table. Again, notice the snack bowl directly in front of Caroline. And Clarke shooting her the stink eye :)

Playing at our house with big Caroline. Making music and reading "Olivia"

Hamming it up at the dinner table.

Playing with big Caroline's super cool cupcake set.

Sticker Sister

Today Caroline received a sweet Valentine's Day card in the mail from her good friend, Hailey. Inside, along with a nice note and some pretty fancy coloring, was a sheet of princess stickers! Caroline got right to work putting each sticker where she knew it should go - on her body, of course! Which would have been fine, except that she didn't have a shirt on. Caroline went right ahead and stuck the stickers right onto her belly anyways. After some guidance from Mommy, we put the stickers in a better spot - on the card for extra decoration!

Birthday Party!

Yesterday we went to our friend Wingrove's 1st birthday party. Caroline enjoyed some playtime with her friends, lots of tasty snacks, and singing to the birthday girl. Wingrove's mommy is a fantastic cook, so Mommy and Daddy also enjoyed some delicious food. In fact, we were all so busy eating, we didn't get too many pictures from the party. :)

The birthday girl, Wingrove, and her Mommy.

Some of the delicious food served at the party. Other yummy treats included pasta salad, fruit, ham biscuits, cream of crab soup, carrot cake, cupcakes, cookies and more!

Caroline reaches for some decorations. Doesn't her eye look so much better??!

Of course Caroline spent time checking out the kid-sized chair - this girl has such an affinity for furniture!

Beating the Winter Blues

With the gray skies and cold temps of January seeming to go on forever, Caroline and I are busy finding ways to beat the winter blues. Making lots of play dates with friends is our best strategy. Going to the gym is also a win-win for Mommy and Caroline. Mommy gets to work out and Caroline gets to hang out at the Kid's Club, which she loves. Eating out for lunch and going shopping are two more of our favorites, but the CFO of Hepper, Inc. (aka Daddy) doesn't like these strategies quite as much as we do so we try and keep them to a minimum. :)

Today we enjoyed a nice walk outside (it was unusually warm here) and then had a great afternoon play date with Hailey and her mommy. 

Hailey was still sleeping when we arrived, but that didn't stop Caroline from digging into the snacks while she waited for her friend to come downstairs. And aside from having to explain to Caroline that not everything (or anything for that matter!) in the room was "mine!", the play date was a blast. We're so thankful for such good friends who also live so close by!

A whole tray of snacks, all to herself!

But two at the table is so much more fun!

Jumping on the trampoline. You don't want to know what happened next.

Enjoying time together on the giant bean bag.

One Girl Band?

She may not be a musical genius (yet), but she sure is cute. :)

Out on the Town!

Now that the daytime nausea has subsided and I feel like I want to die only in the evenings :), Caroline and I have been able to get out and be social again. Today we went to the Children's Museum and Caroline wasted no time reacquainting herself with her favorite attraction: the slide. As you can see, the child has no fear of speed :)

Daddy's Little Helper

For a long time now, we've known that Caroline is quite concerned with being a good helper around the house. Whether it's to help unload the dishwasher, let the dogs outside to go potty, throw things away, or return phones to their rightful owners, Caroline can always be counted on to help. Last night was no different. Paul was busy assembling our new entertainment center and Caroline was right there, princess tutu and all, helping out. :)

By the way, please don't be (too) alarmed by the shiner Caroline is sporting in the last picture. She had a nasty fall earlier this week, but a trip to the ER and a CAT scan later, we're relieved to know that she's okay, despite the way she looks!!

Happy New Year, Baby!!

Now that 2011 is here, Paul, Caroline, and I are ready to make a big announcement: 2011 will be an exciting year for our family in more than one way. What does this mean? Well, if you've already guessed that we're expecting another Hepper this year, you are correct.

What you may not have guessed, however, is that we are expecting TWO new Heppers this year. That's right folks, we are currently cooking not just one, but two "buns" in the oven - and boy have I had the nausea to prove it!

We just got back from our latest doctor visit and ultrasound and we're happy to report that the twins look good, are growing well, and do not show any signs of having a chromosomal defect (i.e. Down's Syndrome). Our ultrasound technician even complimented us on how photogenic the twins are :)

As you might imagine, this has been very surprising and overwhelming news for Paul and me, but we are thrilled and can't wait to meet the newest members of our family. The babies are due sometime between mid-June and early July (and hopefully not a minute sooner).

We won't learn the sex of the twins for another several weeks, but frankly, I've had all the surprise I can handle for a while, so I don't mind the wait!

Check out the new ticker I've added to the blog to show the twins progress. We'll also be changing the name of our blog soon to reflect our growing family. I need some good name ideas, so if you have any, please share!!!

Seeing double??? So are we!:

Baby A:

Baby B: