A Little About Cailin

So, since Cailin doesn't really answer any of my questions yet, I thought I'd just tell you a little bit about her.

--Cailin is HILARIOUS. She is constantly doing things just to make me laugh. I don't remember my other girls doing this so young. She makes funny faces, funny noises, and does funny poses just to get a smile. She loves performing, but only for our family. Because...

--When we're anywhere else, Cailin is pretty shy. There are a handful of people who have gained C's trust, but for the most part, she doesn't want anything to do with anyone else touching her.

--Cailin is my earliest crawler, and latest walker. She does take steps, and has been for a few weeks now, but it is only if and when she wants to. There is no pushing this girl, because...

--she is so stubborn! If she wants me to do something and I'm busy doing something on my phone, she will do everything in her power to knock my phone out of my hands. If she sees something she wants (like bananas), she will yell (not cry, YELL) until she gets them, or some sort of explanation as to why she can't have them, and they disappear from her sight. Like yesterday at the grocery store. Can't eat 'em until we buy them, place them in the cart where she can't see them, and walk away from the display. 5 minutes later, we're good.

--Related to her stubbornness, if Cailin doesn't want to do something (like you're holding her and she doesn't want you to sit down), she will throw her head back and arch her back and cry or yell until you get up. Yes, this is exhausting, and I can't wait until she figures out a better way to solve her problems. Good thing she's so cute.

--Cailin is super ticklish up under her collar bone, and giggles every time I tickle her there. I love that it is so easy to get a good laugh out of her.

--Cailin is by far my best eater at the current moment. Yesterday for lunch, she had 2 bananas, 1/4 my quesadilla, a piece of bread, 2 pieces of cheese, 2 graham crackers, and 1/2 cup of milk. And was still demanding more. For dinner, she had a cheese sandwich, a banana, goldfish crackers, graham crackers, water and orange juice. (Usually we have more structured meals for dinner, I swear, but yesterday was exhausting, so we ate sandwiches. Don't judge). She will eat whatever we're eating, and more. Two days ago, I made up some tomato basil soup, and she even ate half my bowl of that. What one year old likes tomato soup? Mine usually don't, but this one does!

--Despite all her eating, Cailin is still only 18 lbs 13 oz, and 26 3/4 inch long. She's a short chubby girl, and I mourn the day that her rolls disappear and she grows up into a little girl.

--Cailin says quite a few words already. In her vocabulary: Hi, Dad, Hazel (she calls every cat Hazel), up, cheese, please, thank you, and UH-OH (which she says nearly every time we get into the van, a couple minutes into the drive, as she tosses her pacifier out of her seat. On purpose. I don't know how many times I'll have to explain that throwing is not an accident. :))

--Cailin has the thickest hair of all my kids, and it's not as curly as the other girls. It still definitely has some curl to it, but it spends much more time straight. It's super long on top, and has a bit of length in the back, but not enough to put it in ponytails just yet. So she usually just gets one on top, maybe tucked under to keep it under control.

--Cailin loves to shake her head "no" and occasionally tips herself over by doing it so violently. And then she usually laughs.

--Cailin surprised us the other day by folding her arms when I asked her to. I hadn't taught her that, but when I was trying to get her ready for a prayer, and said "fold your arms, baby" she surprised me, and did.

I'm sure there are more things I'm meaning to tell you about this sweet sweet girl, but this is a good list to start. I have to admit, I was hesitant to get pregnant with her, because I was terrified of having 3 kids. At the time, though, I felt distinctly impressed that if we had her, we would be blessed. And we are. This little girl belongs to our family. I am so grateful that we followed our promptings to bring her here. She is such a loving girl, and so strong-willed. She is a blessing to our family, and I can't wait to see who she grows up to become. In the meantime, though, I'm trying to enjoy every minute.