**As a side note: Since this is primarily for my girls, I am going to go back a little (actually several years) to some of my first digital pictures and hit a couple of highpoints from when Caroline was born forward rather than starting with today....just wanted anyone who decided to read backwards to understand I'm not crazy.
Sweet Caroline...how long we awaited her arrival! The excitement that comes with knowing you are pregnant is something that every mom experiences (hopefully)...but after having seeking fertility treatments and facing all the uncertainty of whether a baby will ever come or not, there is just a different kind of joy that is shared with the knowledge that the Lord has blessed you with a child. Although those couple of years of trying to conceive were difficult at times, I am so grateful for the way that God used this situation to draw Chris and I not only closer to each other, but also to Him.
She got so big so fast! She looked so much like her daddy...we had so much fun watching her learn to roll over (went from back to tummy first- opposite of most) and then get mad about it because she didn't like being on her stomach! Then she was crawling and pulling up...but walking was NOT on her list of priorities. My sweet girl was so content, she didn't see the point of getting around. (At least not until she was over 16 months old.) She was perfectly happy wherever you put her- provided her beloved pacy was close by! She wasn't attached to a lovee, blankie or stuffed animal...but she HAD to have that pacy! It's actually amazing I have as many pics as I do w/out it. 
And speaking of pictures...that was a hobby I discovered that I truly loved after Caroline was born that I never had considered before. (I had definitely had a lot of hands on experience going on photo shoots w/ work, but never really thought about trying it myself.) I could-and still do- spend hours tracking after her trying to capture every expression or thought.
The pic to the right is Caroline's first birthday...to her daddy's great joy, she was not all about getting messy. One finger into her cake- that's the most we could get out of her. She partied all day and had a blast. No nap, but no bad mood. She was such an easy, happy baby we were scared to have another!
Moving back home after Caroline was born was an easy decision and a hard one at the same time....easy because we both felt like God was leading us back home to our families during this time. Not only for the assistance they could provide us, but the opportunity we also knew it would provide them to love on their grandchildren on a more regular basis. The decision was hard because of some dear friends we had made...who had essentially become our family away from home although we didn't realize it at the time....Brentwood was a place where the Lord had worked in our lives as a couple and where He helped us lay the foundation of our marriage by providing us with Godly role models and instruction. How I grieved for them after we moved! But God had a plan. And He led us to a new place- and new friends who would continue to help us grow.
My sweet little girl has always loved the water... in fact shortly after this picture was taken she and I did a swim class together at Swim School. It was so much fun for the two of us! 
This is Caroline's first day of Mother's Morning Out. We decided even though we were not attending church there, it was our best bet for a MMO since it was so close to our house. And wow, the Lord really blessed that decision! I could never say enough good things about our experience there. Truly wonderful teachers and quite obviously people who love children and love the Lord. She was always so ready to go every day.
When Caroline was twenty-one months, our family took a vacation to Vail, Colorado. I had never been to that area before- or snow skiing. It was an adventure to say the least. Even more of an adventure though is the actual trip. Our family tries to do this together every other year...we are able to because Chris's parents and one of his aunts and uncles (Pat & Buddy) all own timeshares. So we put them all together and go...all 18 of us and growing. Being an only child, I have to admit I love all the chaos and confusion and love that abounds. Although packing for a weeklong ski trip was a challenge.
That January they had had record snow fall amounts in that area...so much fun! Caroline was a little unsure at first- it was so deep! But she finally got used to making snowballs...we never could get her to go down the hill with us on an inner tube. She started screaming at the top of her lungs as soon as you sat down. We did go on a snow plough type thing up the mountain though which was pretty neat.
On a personal note, I discovered that skiing is NOT my forte. People tried to be nice and tell me that it is a lot harder to learn when you are over 30 the first time you go...but I really don't think that age would make any difference to me. I remember going down a blue (the easiest one) by myself on the second day and seeing drop offs on my left side (which my skis kept wanting to go towards) and thinking "I am going to seriously injure myself...this is absolutely pertrifying!" My vote will be to return to Hilton Head next trip (where we went in 2004).
Next, we come to Caroline's second birthday...she had a circus themed party and cake because that is what I had when I turned two. Unfortunately, in the excitement I never got a picture of her in front of the cake. (What I had intended was to have them framed side by side- hers and mine. Sweet, huh? Oh well, the best laid plans....be assured we never forget the cake shot any more.) You can also see from the pics that a new baby has been added to mix....Jennifer (Chris's sister) had John Clay on November 7, 2005. Such a pretty baby- and typical boy, he got the beautiful curly hair and long eyelashes! One of the favorite gifts from this year were colored bath tablets- compliments of Aunt Jen- big hit!
Caroline loves being outside! Playing in the flower bed 'helping' Daddy weed is definitely at the top of her list. She also was obsessed with blowing bubbles at this age (and I guess still kind of is!) I can't believe how quickly those first few years flew by...that is definitely a piece of advice I have come to appreciate more over the years. (About how to cherish the moment, time flies by before you know it.) Her little personality at some point just exploded- along with her vocabulary. She was a little slow to talk...she understood everything. We just did a lot of Ugh! and pointing. But not any more...my sweet baby is growing up!
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