We're Now Ready to Call It

This feels a little like election night, but here goes....

After months of careful analysis, the Brosch Family is now prepared to call Caitlin's first word. It is........

DOG.

This should come as no surprise to anyone who knows Caitlin. She is a big fan of anything related to dogs and her two furry live-in companions in particular. Her first favorite books were "That's Not My Puppy" and "Dog". Tonight, Caitlin and I were reading her Baby Animals book from Grandma Brosch and she stuck her hand out, laid it down on the page - right on a picture of a dog - and said, "DOG!" very authoritatively.

Mommy and I have decided that Caitlin has a lot to say but just doesn't yet have the vocabulary to get it across. I can't wait for her to pick up more words so that we can find out what's going on in her mind.

In other exciting news, she is also doing a very good job of picking animals out of her books by name. Asking "Where is the pig?" or "Where is the donkey?" is yielding the correct answer a surprising number of times. Some nights are better than others, but that may be related to how hungry/tired/cranky she is at the moment.

Our little girl is growing up!

Caitlin's 1st Year

Caitlin's 1st Year
Originally uploaded by UCFGEEKS

A nice collage of photos - one photo per month for the first year. We made this for the inside cover of Caitlin's 1 year scrapbook.

Fun in the ball pit

Fun in the ball pit
Originally uploaded by UCFGEEKS

Filling a blow up pool with some balls is such a simple way to provide hours and hours of entertainment!

Bubbles Bubbles Everywhere!

Bubbles Bubbles Everywhere!
Originally uploaded by UCFGEEKS

One of Caitlin's birthday presents was a bubble maker. The other day I took her out in the stroller and turned on the bubbles - Caitlin was in heaven! She loved grabbing for the bubbles and thought it was very fun! It is awesome how something so simple can give such delight!

Caitlin's "Friends" Birthday Party!

Playing at the Pavillion
Originally uploaded by UCFGEEKS

We had a party at the local park for Caitlin's little friends on August 9 - I just haven't had time to blog about it yet! It was great fun - we reserved the pavillion near the playground area so the kids got to play on the playground, have some yummy food and cake, and celebrate Caitlin's birthday! The theme was still rubber duckies and the kids got to take home some ducks along with special bears and shirts embroidered by Caitlin's Grammy. The families had fun at the park and Caitlin enjoyed spending the morning with her friends! Fun Fun Fun!

Loving the strawberries

Loving the strawberries
Originally uploaded by UCFGEEKS

The past three weeks have been a world of discoveries for Caitlin in the fruits and vegetables department! It seemed like the longest time that she didn't want to eat any food that wasn't baby food. Lately she has been so excited about new foods! Strawberries are her current favorite followed a close second by blueberries. I don't think I've ever seen one left on her tray after dinner! She also enjoys tomatoes, green peppers, cucumbers, apples, bananas, and baby yogurt. She is very excited by all of the new tastes and will definately let you know verbally if you take too long to cut up and serve her food!

Where's Your Tummy?

Where's Your Tummy?
Originally uploaded by UCFGEEKS

This week Caitlin learned about her tummy! Now when you ask her "Where's your Tummy?" she will squeeze her tummy with both hands! Now we are working on ears.... too cute! Also this week Caitlin learned how fun rolls of toilet paper are! Oh boy!

Caitlin - a comparison

Original photo: Playgroup babies

Playgroup babies
Originally uploaded by UCFGEEKS

See post below..... This is the original photo taken in October.

The four original playgroup babies reunited!

The four original playgroup babies reunited!
Originally uploaded by UCFGEEKS

I have been intending to blog this for a few weeks... but never quite got the chance. Back when Caitlin was 4 weeks old I joined a playgroup. Just a small group of people that meet each week to lget the babies play and mommies chat. It started out as a group of four and is now a group of a dozen or more. This gorup has been a lifesaver for me - giving me a Mommy network of friends and support. One of the Moms had to go back to work - so we had not seen her in while. A few weeks ago she was able to come to a birthday party and we had a little reunion. This is a photo of the original four playgroup babies reunited! We took a similar photo months ago... it is amazing to see the differences in all of the babies! Long live playgroup!