The Beauty of Life

June 1, 2009... the miracle of life brought tears to my eyes. This was the day we first saw the newest and youngest member of our family. Not just seeing the baby, but seeing the heartbeat- what joy it brings!

Baby's head is down (the big round part) with his/her legs up.

We are 14 1/2 weeks along, making us due at the beginning of January. New Year's Baby?

Saying Goodbye

In the past few months, we have said 'goodbye' two of our grandparents. My grandpa- Grandpa Bilinski, and Matt's grandma- Grandma Grandma (or as Tatum called her- Grandma Grandma Grandma). We both learned a great deal from them, and as my cousin, Jen, pointed out- the greatest way to honor them, is by keeping the family going and pass on their stories to future generations. They will forever live in our hearts, and in our children.

Loving the Toddler Days!!!

"Hi, wall. I'm Tatum" (Hi, Tatum)

"My friends are over there, wall" (where's that?)

"My friends are in bed" (that's nice)

"there's a little wall over there, wall" (that's a baby wall)

"wally, there's another wall downstairs" (do you talk to that wall, too?)

"yeah" (is that wall nice?)th

"yeah" "bye, wall, see you later" .... later ....

"Hi, other wall, I'm Tatum" (Hi, Tatum)

"Wall, want to play Legos?" (Sure) -she puts legos to the wall

"There's another wall upstairs, wall" (really?)

So, this is a typical conversation in the Carrington household now. :) Tatum just cracks me up all day... her conversations she has with her baby dolls, Baby Tad, Puppy, Jackson and Hunter... she tries to get Jackson and Hunter to play with her all the time... they just don't quite get it yet... soon they will, I'm sure! "This is my Jackson" "Hunter, come play" ...

Tatum absolutely LOVES to be outside... she has some rain boots (you can see in the pictures) that she slips on.. "Mom, I'm putting my boots on. I go outside, 'kay?" And off she goes! (she knows she has to wear her shoes to be outside)

We took another trip to IN in May for my brother, Carl's, wedding. Carl and Samantha looked amazing and what a beautiful wedding it was! Welcome to the family, Sam! :) ...

Tatum was the flower girl and she was absolutely adorable. She did manage to walk down the aisle (in front of me) and tried to hold Benjamin's hand (ring bearer)... During the wedding, she did circles around the bridesmaids, said "Hi, Uncle Carl" during the ceremony, and loved the 'waterfall' under the cake. I think Sam's mom was a little afraid of her knocking down the cake, but she didn't... she just looked at it and admired it! (Beautiful cake, Sam!)

We had a great time visiting family and friends! Enjoy the pictures and videos!

Stealing the Groom...

Day after dancing the night away...

Crazy neighbor boy makes it rain food... Can NOT get over the laugh!!!! :)

Rock Rock Rock

Baby Tad Rings the Door Bell

Pop, Pop, Pop

Fun times with Family!!!

I can not get enough of Tatum right now! What an absolutely fun stage! She is talking up a storm, and interested in everything! She has this fun head bob when she is completely sure of what she is saying... Matt and I laugh everytime :) She loves to be outside, looking at flowers or playing with rocks, or giving the dogs a stick to chew.

This past month we've seen a lot of family! Dan, Kim, and Grace came to stay with us a little over a week, and Pocky (Ron) & Lola (Patti) joined us all Easter weekend. Tatum and I headed to IN when Dan, Kim, and Grace headed back to TX where we saw everyone else! :) Here are a few random pictures from this past month. (no particular order)

They love each other... lol... (Grace was grabbing Tatum's ear)

Toddler Double Trouble... Look out Carl & Sam!!! :) (Ring bearer and flower girl)

May bride, Sam, in the middle

June Bride, Katie

My little artist

Learning Time w/Tatum!

So, I'm not like my brother, Carl... the editing of videos and being creative w/the computer and pictures... sooo, sorry this is a long video, but enjoy!!! It's learning time with Tatum!

Did I mention SPRING last week??? I was just kidding

Matt, Christy, and Tatum... welcome to Colorado weather... lol... Last week we were wearing shorts and capris- forget the coats and boots- watching the daffodils popping up in neighbors' yards. Today, we pulled out the snow shovel (so we could pull the car into the garage), snow boots, hats, gloves, and our thick coats! We are expected to get about 8-16 inches (maybe even 2 feet) by tomorrow morning. Oh the fun! :) This morning, Tatum, Jackers, Hunter, and I enjoyed the morning snow before the wind really picks up. The wind was already blowing, so I could only get a little of it on camera and it was before Tatum enjoyed watching me make snow angels, slide, and roll around in the snow. She also enjoyed learning to make snow balls and throw them to the dogs (or at the dogs ;) )... so they could catch them in their mouths.

Enjoy!

Ready for Spring & a new adventure...

With all of this beautiful weather, we are starting to see the beginnings of Spring all around. The lily leaves are popping up out of the ground, grass is beginning to green, birds are chirping more, and the trees are budding, ready to bloom! Ahhhh, what a beautiful time of year! Looking at the calendar, we are coming up on closing out our first year in Colorado.... what does that mean? Usually, it means it's time to move on to the next place, or at least move into a different house... not this year! :) Matt and I were discussing moving, and had a place in mind... things didn't work out, and so Matt and I consider this a new adventure... staying in the SAME house for not one, but TWO years in a row! WOW! Some of you may think... really, Christy? Well, if you know Matt and I, and think back to the point of us getting married- we have not lived in the same place for two years straight, yet. Many of you have received emails every year... here's our new address...ope! we're moving AGAIN- here's our new place... and thought that maybe, just maybe you could write it in ink... well, perhaps you can keep this one with darker writing at least... just not the ink, yet... ;)

It's hard to believe that we have been here for almost a year, and I was looking back at pictures from when we first moved out here... I can not believe how different Tatum is already! She is just soaking up everything around her- labeling EVERYTHING! She absolutely loves to go outside, and as you can see in the video, the challenge will be, not to get her to go outside and play, but to keep her in, so I can at least cook! Oh the fun! :) I will not complain, part of the reason I wanted to move here from AZ was so Tatum could be outside playing all summer.

Tatum is at the point now, where she enjoys dressing.... and undressing herself. I will oftentimes see her taking her sweats off in the living room.... and putting them back on again... it is quite humorous! One day, I went to get her from her nap and she had her sweats on, along with two onsies she had grabbed from off her dresser wrapped around her legs. She just looked up and me and grinned- so pround of herself! Shoes, well those have been an issue for a couple of months. I don't even put socks or shoes on her until we arrive to our destination. She enjoys putting her shoes on... and my shoes... and Matt's shoes... and Aunt Liz's shoes, in the house, but if they are her shoes on in the car... forget about it! It is rather fun to watch her walk around in our big shoes, and she knows whose shoes she has on- 'Daddy's shoes'. Hats are another favorite. Whether it is one of her 'sun' hats or Matt's workout hat (gross, right?) or even one of my hats, she will put it on, walk around, and smile- whether she can see or not! I often have to follow her, so she does not walk right into a table. :)

After her nap... extra clothes on

It's amazing how much better the walking has become, as now she runs when she's excited, and walks up the stairs- just holding the banister. Not only is she walking, but she has been in the water quite a few times, and seems to have taken to it well!

The end of February was a sad time for us, as we said "goodbye" to our friends next door. With a great job opportunity for the family, they moved out to Arkansas :( ... We're so happy for them, but Tatum doesn't quite understand that Addie isn't next door anymore. Yesterday, we were outside walking/playing and she kept walking her stroller with one of her stuffed animals in it up their driveway, and then walking towards the door, 'Addie', and I would have to distract her. :( Tatum says her name a lot while she is playing or as we pull into the garage- wanting to head over there. We had a great couple of days before they left- kidnapping Addie for a while. Here are some pictures of our fun:

Tatum's 'big brother', Dawson (Addie's brother)

The got a kick out of being together in the stroller! :)

Sharing the foam numbers

Peek-a-boo

This video is great... don't mind the hair- it was first thing in the morning... Also, notice the ground covering... this was the week after a week of 60's and 70's! Nice...