Caroline in Dance Class

Ok, I know I haven't posted since May and I promise to catch up (some how!), but I just had to post this video of Caroline in the meantime. She is at her new ballet class that she has been so excited about.

Eleanor's Temper?!

Brett and I just found out this week that apparently Eleanor has discovered her temper! What has happened to our calm, laid-back baby??! All the sudden this past week, she has had MAJOR temper tantrums on a regular basis AND has started to use the word "NO!" regularly, too! She has been repeating words pretty regularly since she has been about 15 months old and has a pretty large vocabulary, but for some reason, she never used the word "NO" until this week when she paired it with the tantrums. FANTASTIC! At least we figured out that most of the tantrums are related to wanting to do something all by herself (taking crackers out of the box, putting the top on the cup, taking the peel off the banana or trying to put on/take off her shoes). Isn't that supposed to happen closer to two? Eleanor definitely picks up a lot from The Original Little Miss Independent- oh, I mean Caroline! : ) Or maybe it's just a girl thing? Help! 

Visit Back to Ohio

Franklin Conservatory with Eleanor
Caroline and Grandma feeding the goldfish
Sister kiss
Grandma and Eleanor sharing some laughs
Chase and Charlie joining in
A squirrel stole one of our eggs!
Kelly's son and daughter, Bailey and Owen
Kelly and I finally remember to take a picture after about 3 years!
Caroline and Eleanor looking at more fish at the Conservatory
Getting a closer look at a butterfly
Eleanor's "Cheese!" pose at the egg hunt at Aunt Sarah's house
Caroline and her cousin, Hailey
Jonathan (Brett's younger brother), Uncle Tom (Brett's uncle), Ron (Brett's older brother), Ron Sr. (Brett's father) and Brett
Kerri (Ron's wife), me, Audrey (Jon's wife), Aunt Sara (Brett's aunt) and Donna (Brett's mom)
Caroline, Eleanor and their cousin, Hailey
Caroline holding her cousin, Beckham. She was very proud to hold him.
Caroline and her cousin, Brady, dying eggs with Nana and Uncle Ron
Daddy and Caroline hunting for eggs
Trying to get a family picture!
L to R: Eleanor, Dylan, Hailey, Evan, Caroline and Brady at the cousins' Easter egg hunt 
Aunt Kristin & Caroline playing ball
Cousin Ireland eating cupcakes
The cousins: Eleanor, Brady, Beckham, Hailey, Ireland, Caroline & Dylan
The grandparents with our girls
Daddy and Eleanor
Caroline checking out the manitee at the Columbus Zoo
Eleanor collecting candy
Caroline and her Papa at Caroline's birthday party
Aunt Sarah and Caroline
Baby Beckham
Caroline and Grandma baking the bunny cake
Grandpa and Eleanor playing peek-a-boo
Grandma, Grandpa, & Eleanor singing "Happy Birthday" to Caroline
Grandma and Caroline at the manitee statue at the zoo
Grandma and Grandpa with Eleanor on the carousel 

We just got back from about 2 weeks in Ohio to visit the girls' grandparents. ON the 8th I took the girls (very bravely) by myself on the plane to my parents (the girls' Grandma and Grandpa's) house in Columbus, OH.  On the 9th, they took the girls to the Columbus Zoo for a special Easter event they were having. The girls had a bast collecting candy in Easter baskets, riding the carousel and looking at the animals. Caroline also helped her Grandma make a bunny shaped chocolate cake and we celebrated her fourth birthday together at dinner. 

On the 11th (Caroline's actual birthday) we all left to go up to Cleveland. Brett's dad was turning 60 the following day (Easter) and Brett's sister and mother planned a surprise party for him on the night of the 11th.  When we arrived in Cleveland, Brett's Aunt Sarah had a birthday party planned for Caroline at her house. Caroline was able to see her aunt, uncles, cousins and all four of her grandparents for a birthday celebration with pizza, cupcakes and cookies. Thanks Aunt Sarah, we all loved it and Caroline had a great time!

After visiting with Caroline and Eleanor's Nana and Papa for several days, Brett went back to TX for work and I left the girls with their Nana and Papa and went to NJ to visit my friends Kelly and Laura. Kelly and I have known each other since 7th grade and Laura and I went to high school and college together. We had a great time catching up and I was even able to get into NYC for some "real" Italian food, a show, and a kid-free hotel stay. Meanwhile, the girls were super busy in Cleveland with their Aunt Rita, Aunt Sarah, Nana, Papa, cousin Ireland and all their Cleveland playmates.

After returning to Cleveland, I took the girls back down to Columbus to spend a few more days with their Grandma and Grandpa. They had fun meeting Grandpa for lunch,  visiting COSI (Columbus' Science Center for kids) and watching the butterflies at the Franklin Conservatory.

Caroline's Unicorn 4th Birthday

Caroline had her 4th birthday party this past Saturday! SHe choose a Unicorn Fairy Tale theme this year. We played games, made princess crowns, hit a pinata (that Brett had to eventually rip open, since the thing just WOULD NOT BREAK!) and had cupcakes and cake with Caroline's friends. 13 little girls and one little boy were the there to wish Caroline a very Happy 4th Birthday! She had a great time at her party! She said her favorite part was when "Daddy, ripped open my pinata and the candy went everywhere!". Caroline wore a princess pink tutu that her grandma made for her and a "Caroline" unicorn t-shirt. All of her friends were invited to dress up as princesses (or a prince) if they choose to. The weather was perfect for a birthday party at the park!