My family of three

So Cayleigh is currently about 23lbs and 33.5in. The law say to put your child forward facing they have to be one year old and 20lbs. We decided not to turn her around when she got to 20lbs around her first birthday due to all of the reading and research I did on extended rear facing. Our car seat allowed for much more time and it is just all around safer, I'll spare you the videos, they are scary. Fast forward to Cayleigh, now 20 months. She has never been a car rider. Since she came home from the hospital she has been unhappy in the car. Anyone who has been in the car with her can tell a good story. She is much better than she was as an infant, but it is still a struggle. Her newest thing is to get stiff as a board when you try to put her in and she has my back seat as leverage. It is nearly impossible to put her in and I always feel like I am hurting her. It is such a defeat. I decided yesterday enough is enough. I want her to be safe, but I also want her to be happy. It is ...

It was a beautiful evening so we went on a walk.... Sharing a flower with daddy..... Such a pretty smile.... Kicking the ball... Cayleigh and her shadow! Thought this was pretty..... Look at those twins! They are walking exactly the same!

It's been a year since I had my gall bladder out! For those who didn't know me then, a short recap... After having Cayleigh, about once a month I started having pains in the middle of the night that were so bad, I considered going to the hospital each time. I never went because Cayleigh was so little then, I was nursing her, and just hoped and prayed I wasn't dying! Dramatic perhaps, but it certainly felt lethal! It would keep me up all night and make me unable to eat the next day. Finally after 6 months of it, and becoming more frequent, I went to the doctor and had a sonogram that confirmed I had gallstones. I had the laproscopic procedure and after a few horrid days post preocedure, I was feeling better again. All in all, it was my only option. I will say that the doctor's told me I would be 100% back to normal and completely forget that I didn't have one, and that isn't true. Cayleigh a year ago....

Today we spent the day at Matt's Aunt Jane and Uncle Dick's house. It was slippery pot pie time and that brings everyone from all over. We came and although Cayleigh was tired, she was happy to be greeted by kids to play with who seemed to be waiting for her! She was a bit shy at first, but as soon as she saw her one true love, she became another kid! Her "true love", the slide!! She played with the other kids going up and down the slide over and over. The girls had a good time pushing her down and catching her. She also enjoyed the car.... We came in and had a scrumptious pot pie, although Cayleigh really just wanted to go back outside. I'd never had slippery pot pie before Matt's family made it for me, it is similar to chicken and dumplings, but waaaay better. The "dumplings" are thinner and amazing! We hung outside and chatted and Cayleigh found a little house to play in. She decided to cook up a batch of her famous stone soup. They ended the aft...

Today was an absolute gorgeous day so we decided to head to D.C. with Amanda and Marissa to the National Zoo. I gathered everything I could think of the night before. When we got to the zoo, we realized we indeed had everything, except Cayleigh's shoes. Honestly!!! Who forgets their kid's shoes??! I can explain. Cayleigh newest obsession is being barefoot. Anytime, anyplace, anwhere. Every single time we are in the car, her shoes are off by the time we get to our destination. We typically have a pair of shoes lying around in the car because of this. Friday I knew I had left her pink shoes in the car so I didn't bother to put any shoes on her Saturday morning. I forgot we took the truck Friday night and they were in there! Shoot! We scrambled around and found a pair of shoes, but they were her winter boots! We felt so sorry for her, she wanted to be down walking, but we ended up having to hold her for most of the trip. She did stay in her stroller some of the time and at the...