A family vacay at the river

My parents came down to Texas and met us and my sister and her family at the Nueces River in Camp Wood, Texas. We had an amazing time being outside, playing baseball, playing in the river and spending time together. The last time my parents saw Caroline, she had just had her heart surgery and I believe was still sedated so it was a big change for them to see her now.

Might be my favorite pic from the trip . . .

The boys' new favorite thing to do is play baseball. They were naturals at it.

Caroline's first time in a kayak.

Just having a little convo with Aunt Jenny.

The kids couldn't get enough of the river. Note to self . . . reapply sunscreen when you are out in the sun for several hours. We all ended up a little crispy!

Here's to you, Lauren!

Just two girls sitting lady like!

Gigi got some quality Caroline time! I love that Caroline looks so chunky in this picture. She isn't but it's fun to pretend.

First picture with all the grandkids. What a great little vacation we had!

A little catch-up and some visitors

With physical therapy and occupational therapy every other week for Caroline, she is making great progress. She can almost sit-up completely by herself, is trying to grab things out of her reach, is eating baby food like a champ, and is a pro at rolling over. We have an appointment with the plastic surgeon on Monday about her left arm. We're anxious to know what comes out of that appointment.

Jack got his tonsils out last week. It was more rough on him than I thought it was going to be and his voice going up an octave has taken some getting used to. It's hard taking him seriously when he sounds like he has been sucking on a helium balloon. James has had a hard time sympathizing with Jack. He keeps saying, "He doesn't feel that bad!"

Cooper had his 3rd birthday party at the Children's Museum a couple weeks back and the kids had a blast!

Yes, Jack is scanning a pear!

A little unsure of silly uncle Robert.

Jack watching Lauren on the space TV.

Caroline got to meet Aunt Stacey for the first time. They connected right away.

My best friend from College, Rebecca, and her kids stopped by on their way to Mexico. Although Caroline freaked out at first at the prospect of new people being around, she adjusted quickly and Rebecca and Caroline got some great bonding time.
Rebecca's son, Isaiah, was born a couple months before the boys. It's not everyday that we get to play with another 5 year old that is the same size as Jack and James.
Caroline slept in her real bed in her own room last night. I really intended for her to sleep next to me for the rest of my life so I am a little sad that she did so well. She's been napping in there too. I walked in earlier and found her sound asleep like this . . .

Is that not the cutest thing you have ever seen?

And, I feel two bottom teeth coming in. Should have some cute first teeth pictures coming soon!

We've been working on a couple things!

Caroline started Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy about a month ago. She had her first real sessions last week and we have been given lots of activities to do with her. Jesse has been really good about working with her throughout the day and she has made great progress. The occupational therapist was very impressed last week with how much she had already changed from her initial evaluation to her first session. They are working on her arms and the physical therapist is working on getting her gross motor skills up to date.

I came home today and found out that she is now able to roll over!

In the video, we are working on two things: Caroline successfully rolling over and the boys successfully working the video camera. James kept treating it like a regular camera and kept turning the video off right when the action was happening. We had to practice with the camera quite a few times. Caroline was getting a little annoyed!

James' Video . . .


Jack's Video . . .

Easter

We had a wonderful Easter weekend! Everyone got over their respiratory infections just in time to have a jam packed three days.

Caroline has been so happy. She is off all monitors and oxygen and is practically a completely normal baby now.

Ready for an afternoon of errands!

For some reason, we have never dyed eggs in the Chupp house. I decided this year was the year to start. These are our finished products. Not bad for our first time!

Easter morning. She is so happy when she wakes up.

The boys weren't really about their Easter baskets this year. I made the mistake of saying, "You know, the Easter Bunny is kind of like Santa Claus." I think they were expecting more than what they got. Jack looked at his basket and said, "I want to go back to bed!"

James' face is saying, "Why do you keep taking my picture?!?!" Jack's face is saying, "I know I look cute!"

They LOVED the tie!

It's hard to get a good picture of Caroline so you can get the full effect but I can assure you, she looked BEAUTIFUL!

Sometimes, she looks at us with this look and you can tell she is thinking, "Do you people know what you are doing?"
This is the first picture of all the cousins. Pretty cute bunch!

The annual Puckett/Chupp Easter egg hunt. It's pretty competitive!

Five!

My sweet little babies just turned 5!

How is it possible that 5 years have gone by so quickly?

Everyone says, "Savor the moment because it will fly by!"

or "They grow up so fast!"

But you don't realize just how quickly they really do grow up . . .



until you look up one day and see these faces looking back at you . . .
and you can almost see in their eyes the men they will become!

Happy Birthday James! Happy Birthday Jack! You will always be my little babies!

Hoping time slows down for this one . . .