Christmas

We enjoyed another Christmas as home with lots of company. Uncle Rusty slept over Christmas Eve and Caitlynn loved waking him up Christmas morning. Nonna and Pop-pop, Mimi and Popi, and Richie and Steph all came down Christmas morning to celebrate with us. Caitlynn must have been on Santa's "Super Good Girl" list this year as the tree had lots of presents with her name on the tag! She was given: a toy box, easel with art supplies (including paint), Mrs. Potato Head, laptop, Magna Doodle, Bitty baby and baby diaper bag, comforter and bed sheets, clothes, snow boats, Duck umbrella, bath towels, books, and movies. Her largest gift was a Barbie 4-wheeler. She was a bit uneasy about sitting on it at first but quickly figured out how fun it was and wanted to ride it all over the house! Below is a short video of her enjoying her new ride. We are so lucky that family is willing to drive down to see us for Christmas and loved spending time with everyone! We enjoyed all the extra hands and help with Caitlynn and the putting together of her new toys and items.

Barbie 4-Wheeler

Christmas Eve

We went up to PA to spend some time with Grandmom Harbold and Ryan's family. We missed seeing the extended family over Thanksgiving weekend since Caitlynn was sick. Caitlynn entertained Gradnmom with her chatter and play. Santa stopped by to hand out gifts to everyone. Caitlynn was still not a fan of Santa but she was OK as long as she was "safe" sitting on Mimi's lap. Santa brought Caitlynn a shopping cart and groceries, which she loved pushing around. She was really excited to fine a spot in her cart for her baby. We had a great time seeing all the family members we missed from our last visit home!

Week 32

Laura is now 32 weeks pregnant and is so happy to be in the home stretch! She has been having some pain in her right leg due to the extra baby weight she is now carrying around. She is also having Braxton Hics contractions but the doctors ensure her they are quiet normal. She is spending much more time sitting which has helped. We still can't believe we will be adding a new family member sometime soon in the new year!

Christmas Tree

We finally had a free weekend where we could get a Christmas tree. We drove out to Mt. Airy to the same tree farm as last year. This year, Caitlynn loved walking around the hill side and helping us "choose" a tree. Last year, I picked out a 10.5' tree and we ended up having to cut off the top. So this year, Ry decided to be in charge of picking out the tree. The tree he choose was not as tall as last year's but was quite wide. Some say it kind of looks like a Christmas ball! Caitlynn really wanted to put the lights on the tree, especially since we had to use a ladder to get them around the top. She loved taking all the decorations out of their boxes but really didn't want to put them on tree. Luckily, she hasn't taken anything off of the tree yet but there is still time! No matter what it may appear to look like, we certainly enjoyed the weekend of decorating and family time!

Christmas Pictures

We attempted to get Christmas pictures with Santa this year but Caitlynn was NOT having it! She cried the entire time and sat on Santa's lap for maybe 30 seconds. Out next thought was getting her in front of a tree at Mimi and Popi's house since she is comfortable there. Well, she decided she did not want to wear her dress at all that day so bring on the water works again! Looks like we are just going to be wishing everyone a holiday filled with "tears of joy" this year!

Thanksgiving

We all went up to PA to spend Thanksgiving with Mimi and Popi. We went to Grandmom Harbold's to celebrate the day with lots of family. Aunt Jill and Uncle Mike even came down from north Jersey to be with everyone! Caitlynn had a great time trying to hit a turtle pinata that Aunt Margie put together for all the little ones. She even bought Caitlynn a Santa pop-up book! The guys raked leaves as usual and Caitlynn helped out this year. She mostly enjoyed helping Popi push the leaves in little piles with a shovel. Unfortunately, Caitlynn ended up getting a little fever and belly ache and we came home on Saturday so we missed the big Harbold gathering. We're sad that we didn't get to see some of the other family members but hope to see them all real soon!

Boulder, CO

Caitlynn is quite the traveler! She just returned from a trip to Boulder, CO to visit Gigi. She hasn't seen her since she was 4 months old so we felt this trip was way overdue! Everyone flew out to CO except Laura (she was just to pregnant to go). Caitlynn was great on the 3 1/2 hours plane ride. Ryan had help keeping her entertained from Mimi, Popi, and Uncle Rusty. Aunt Jill was already out there visiting their cousin Aspen. Gigi enjoyed spending the weekend with Caitlynn. It was a short trip but a lot of fun was had by all!

Trip to NJ

We just returned from a busy weekend in NJ. Uncle Andrew and Aunt Kitty were up from NC and Caitlynn loved spending extra time with them! On Saturday, she went to the Philadelphia Zoo with them, Uncle Richie and Mommy. She got to see a real Giraffe for the first time but thought seeing all the snakes was the best! Caitlynn had a great time checking out all the animals and even went for a ride on a train with Uncle Richie! He even let her pick out her own stuffed animal, she got a little monkey which she carried around with me all weekend long. On Sunday, we went to a luncheon to celebrate Adalean's baptism. She is Caitlynn's first cousin on Mommy's side of the family. Caitlynn was well behaved at the restaurant, of course, and loved running back and forth between the tables. It was a jam packed weekend of visiting with the family but we all had a great time seeing everybody and can't wait for the next family function!

Happy Halloween!

Caitlynn was invited to go trick-or-treating with her buddy Evan around his neighborhood. Caitlynn and Evan had a great time walking around to the different houses and checking out other kids costumes. They loved picking out their "own" candy and even got to taste some along the way (only gummy bears, of course!). They only made it to about a dozen and a half houses but Caitlynn's basket was filled to the top! we think she was the cutest duck! We had a great time celebrating Halloween with the Birrane's for the second year in a row and hope to make this an annual tradition for years to come!

Apple Picking

We decided to take Caitlynn apple picking for the very first time this year. We drove out to Baugher's Farm in Westminster, MD. It was about a 45 minute drive from our house but well worth the trip! They had all different kinds of apple trees to pick from. Caitlynn didn't really want to pick any off of the tress but she did love eating the Ida Red Apples. She ate an entire apple, skin and all! She even tried to eat some of the core until we took it from her (I guess if she starts to sprout an apple tree, we know why!). They had a store and bakery which we browsed after apple picking and ended up buying apple fritters, which were delicious. We picked about 20 lbs of Ida Red and Green Delicious apples which we turned into homemade apple sauce, apple crisp, and had left overs just to enjoy. We had a great day and are now looking forward to a new fall family tradition for years to come!

Wedding Weekend!

This weekend, Aunt Jill and Uncle Mike got married in Lancaster, PA! I was honored to be a part of their big day as the flower girl. It was a family affair- Mommy and Daddy were in the wedding too! I didn't walk down the aisle but I sure looked pretty as Mommy carried me down without tears. I hung out Nonna and Pop-pop during the wedding and was so good. I had a great time playing with my new cousins, Madison and Simone, at the Reception. Aunt Jill looked so beautiful! I had a great time playing with my extended family!

Amish Farm

I went to an Amish Farm today with Popi and Mimi. My soon-to-be cousins, Madison and Simone, came along too! I loved seeing and petting the animals, especially the horses. The girls and I even got to pick out our own pumpkins (mine was white!). It was a great way to spend a Fall day in PA!

Weekend in PA

I spent this weekend in PA. Popi and Mimi took me to go pumpkin picking at a local farm. Then, they let me paint it all by myself! I really created a work of art. The next day, Uncle Rusty came over and played play-doh with me. It was a great time filled with lots of fun activities!

Sonogram of Baby Bean

Laura went for her 20 week ultra sound appoint a little early. The tech was able to get a lot of great pictures of Baby Bean. We still find it amazing how detailed the images are and how they are able to see every part of the baby's body structure! We are thrilled to report that everything looked great on the ultra sound and baby bean was developing right on track! Caitlynn even went to the appointment with use. She kept pointing to the screen and saying "baby", which we thought was super cute!


Even though the tech was able to tell the sex of the baby, we decided NOT to find out. We just feel that there are so few surprised in life that you get to share together and this is one of them. Ryan thinks it is another girl and Laura thinks its a boy. We will have to wait until delivery day to find out who is right!


Laura has been feeling really good lately. She hasn't gotten or felt sick for a few weeks. She is just tired, which is par for the course. She has gained 15 pounds so far which she thinks is a lot but the doctors assured her that it is fine. She is really starting to pop out, which has happened much faster this time around. We guess that is how it is supposed to be!

Toddler Bed

Today, we decided it was time to take off the crib side and put on the toddler bed rail. Caitlynn was really excited that she could now get in and out of her bed on her own. She liked being able to get out and play with her toys, books, and clothes from her dresser. However, when it was nap time, she wasn't a fan of having her door closed all the way. She cried at the door for a while then, eventually fell asleep on the floor. Here is a picture of her napping on the floor and the clothes she decided no longer needed to be in her dresser!
*She must have figured out that the floor was not a comfy place to sleep because that night she slept in her bed without making a peep! She catches on quickly!*

Animal Sounds

Caitlynn has been learning about farm animals at day care. She now knows lots of her animal sounds which we find super cute. Check her out!

My daddy is an Iron Man!

Ryan competed in the Louisville, Kentucky Iron Man. He finished the entire race in 16:15:42 and was ranked 2022 out of 2995 total athletes. He started the race around 7:11 am and finished at 11:32 pm. It was a long day for him and for his personal cheering section of us and both sets of grandparents. We are all so proud of all the hard work and training he did over the last 9 months to become an official Iron Man!

Caitlynn and her Cousins

Caitlynn's soon-to-be cousins Madison and Simone were in PA at Popi and Mimi's for the weekend and we just had to go up to see them. The girls loved playing with her and she even started saying their names: Mad and Mone. They had a great time playing in the pool and a slip-n-slide. It was a fun time had by all!

A week with the Grandparents!

Laura had to go back to work a week early this year so Caitlynn got to spend some extra time with both sets of Grandparents!


Caitlynn spent the beginning part of the week with Nonna and Pop-pop. She enjoyed splashing in the baby pool they got her but loved trying to get Charlie dog wet when he was outside too! She went to work with Nonna to help her "organize" her office. Nonna claims she did a great job and didn't get into anything she wasn't supposed to but we know Caitlynn better than that so we're a bit skeptical. Here is a picture of her hard at work in Nonna's office.


Caitlynn spent the end of the week with Mimi and Popi in Ocean City, NJ. She really enjoyed playing in the sand and even put her feet in the ocean. She still didn't want to go "in" the ocean though! She loved playing at the park and even got to go on some rides at Wonderland Pier. Here she is having a blast on the rides!