The Tooth Fairy

Well....Caroline had her tooth removed, and it was definitely split in two all the way up to the root.  It was pretty gross!!!  They gave her some meds to get her all loopy before she went back to get the tooth removed and it was hilarious!!  She couldn't move her head and was just giggling and couldn't walk.  I took a little video of it but I'm not going to put it on here cause of that recent YouTube outrage about the dad who put loopy dentist kiddo video up (if you know what I'm talking about...if not, I probably sound crazy).  The tooth fairy visited her, and she insisted the night before that the tooth fairy brings "two monies", which means 2 quarters in Caroline talk.  The tooth fairy is pretty cheap:)

All in a week's time.....

A couple weeks ago I thought Caroline was going to completely fall apart!!! First, she cracked her tooth while messing around at Hobby Lobby (and yes, the MEAN mom I am fussed at her while her face was bleeding in the check out line, and the lady behind me was looking at me like I was crazy...). She was jumping up and down on the check out counter and came down on her mounth...it made her nose bleed and really busted her tooth!! Caroline told me that she doesn't like that store anymore because "the store hit her":) Now the tooth has completely split into two (there is a front and back half...it is REALLY strange) and it looks like it is going to have to be completely removed and a fake tooth put in. The dentist scared me and said that we could have the choice of gold or sliver for tooth, but he was just joking and it will be porcelin!! She goes in tomorrow morning and can't eat or drink after midnight tonight because they do put her under anesthesia.

You can see a little in this picture what the tooth looks like:

She was also pretty terrified to go to the dentist. I have no idea where that would have come from, but she was crying the whole way there (may have something to do with me waking her up mid-nap to go, but whatever!!). SO...I had to totally bribe her to calm down...she got an ice cream cone from Sonic afterwards, and I let her have it in my car. And for anyone who knows me well, you know we DON'T usually do ice cream cones (way too messy...I know, I'm really mean!!) and they are NEVER eaten in the car!!! By the way...she LOVED the dentist and I think she would have been good and liked it there even without the bribe once we got in there.

Then, her coughing spells got so bad (she has a mild case of asthma, and she doesn't wheeze, she coughs) that she was making herself throw up! This would happen every time she would run and play, or even when she was crying (which is a normal occurance now!!). So...we had to start breathing treatments on her. She kind of puts up a fuss when she does one, but we put on an episode of Dora the Explorer and she'll sit still through them.

Then she went to the ENT for a regular check up. He said that her tubes are still in there, but not functional (which would usually be OK at this point), but when they did a fluid flow test, there was absolutely no fluid flow in her ears. I don't really know what all of this means, but he said we have to come back in about a month to check again and decide if we have to go with tube set #3 or not...with our luck, we will!!

She goes tomorrow to get her tooth removed...wish us luck!!!!!!!!!!!

Caroline's 3rd Birthday

Since it's been about a month since her birthday, its about time I get around to posting some pictures, huh!!! I've been VERY busy with my new job, so I'm going to try to catch up with some posting. Now that she's been 3 for a few weeks, I think I've learned that 3 is worse than 2. Her attitude, temper and drama have defiantely increased...but she's still a great, smart, fun little kiddo!

Ok...here is a look back at Caroline:

Caroline at 5 days...weighing only 3lbs. 13 oz. (I'll always remember how much she weighed that day because she weighted 3 13 on 3/13!! And yes, these are preemie clothes that are so huge on her):

And here she is at her first birthday party:

And at 2:

And now, she's 3!!!!!

Opening her first present of many...on the morning of her actual birthday (March 8th). It was a cute outfit that she got to wear to church that morning, and a Birthday ribbon that she got to wear all day.

That evening, we had all of the family over for a family party, since her actual party wasn't until the next weekend. She is showing off her new puppy that actually barks (Jack is his name), and her new bedding and pillow.

Aunt Shanna, Uncle Mike and Becca got her a baseball set, a golf set and a badminton set. She hit the ball the first time she swung and seems to really enjoy baseball!!

Then we had her birthday party the next weekend. Since she loves cooking so much, we decided to do a cooking party. First, the kiddos decorated their own aprons:

Then, they all made mini pizzas:

While the pizzas were cooking, they all decorated their own placemats:

Then ate:

Then they decorated and ate cupcakes...boy that was a lot of sugar! Most of the kiddos ended up with multiple different colors of icing, tons of sprinkles, mini M&Ms, AND mini chocolate chips on their cupcakes:

Last, Caroline opened presents and they played some more in the church courtyard:

I had to add this picture in here for you, Tierney! Caroline got a Belle wig and crown from her friend Brentley at her party, and it was one of the first things she wanted to put on when she got home. She thinks it is funny to put this wig on and look at her "black hair" in the mirror. She will say "Mommy...my hair is BLACK now, not yellow!!":

The next day we went back to the church courtyard for Caroline's friend Annie's third birthday...it was a fun weekend!!

More Jett pictures...

James Calvin Evans III

James Calvin Evans III (probably will be called Jett...we'll see) came this morning at 11:08 AM! The pitocin didn't even start until about 8:30 ish, so he came really quick!! He is 7 lbs. 9 oz. and 21 in. long. More pictures will be posted tomorrow...I forgot my camera cord at home!

Cox Family Update...

Well...there aren't any pictures with this post (ugh, how boring!!), but I wanted to give an update on what is going on in our lives!

Suzanne Update: It's official!! I have a new job!!! I start as a Development Officer in the College of Engineering on February 16th...I am SOOOOOOOO excited! I think this is going to be an awesome opportunity and I have really enjoyed meeting everyone I am going to work with! The next three weeks in my current position I travel twice and have A LOT of things to go to get to the point that I can leave and feel that someone else could comfortably step into this position.

Caroline Update: She has moved up again at school! She is now in the mid-late 3's class, even though she doesn't turn 3 till March!! But...she is completely potty trained and they felt that she would do better and gain more from going ahead and moving up. So when they asked me if I minded I totally OK with it!! Also...bed and sleeping update - UGH!!! The waking up in the middle of the night EVERY night has started again!! She is still going to bed great, but waking up every night! If anyone has any suggestions let me know!!!

Dale Update: Since I am starting this new job, Dale may be looking at applying for some different positions within TDCJ. We'll update when he knows what he may do! We bought a home gym a few weekends ago at Play it Again Sports, and Dale has done so great at working out every night!! I have, however, really only used it as a clothes rack! Caroline wants to "work out" every night with her Daddy. And she HAS to put on "work out clothes"...she can't just stay in her clothes that she is wearing! Ah ha...I do have a picture of Caroline on the machine!

Trans Siberian Orchestra

I decided at the last minute to get tickets for the Trans Siberian Orchestra since Dale loves them and the concert was on his birthday. Since we got the tickets so late, we were all the way on the side of the stage and couldn't see the front, but it was awesome anyway! We definately plan to go back next year and totally know where to sit now.

Big Girl Bed!!!

Over the Christmas break, we went ahead and turned Caroline's toddler bed into the full size bed. WHY DIDN'T I DO THIS EARLIER????? She has not been giving us any trouble on going to bed, she has not gotten up in the middle of the night, and she has been sleeping much later since getting this bed. It's been great!!!! Plus, we moved her rocking chair and ottoman out of her room to make room for the dollhouse, and moved a few things around, so it didn't take up any more floor room than they way her room used to be. She looks so cute in her "big girl bed"!!!

5 Christmases!!

We had 5 Christmases this year! By the 6th day, Caroline was totally expecting more presents!!!

On the 23rd, we went to my parents' house (Jimbo and CoCo) for dinner and did presents over there. Jace and Cyndi and Zoe were there too. Since Dale and Jace both work in Lamesa, on complete opposite shifts, this was the ONLY time that all of us could actually get together! Caroline really started understanding that we were about to open presents, and could hardly wait until after dinner! She kept trying to hurry us all up.

Next we went to Dale's mom's house (Nana and Grampy Steve) on Christmas Eve for dinner and presents. Shanna, Mike and Becca were there as well as Uncle Matt. There were money rolls on the tree for each of us. Once Caroline unrolled hers (it was 10-1s), she wanted to share them with everyone. She kept running around to everyone and saying "here is one for you." I finally had to take them from her since I knew she would end up loosing some of her money!! Grampy Steve got a Wii for Christmas, and I'm sure that is what we are going to do EVERY Sunday night before and after dinner from here on out!

When we got home from Nana's house, we had to put out cookies and milk for Santa (yes...all we had in the house was Oreo's because I forgot to get anything else and we didn't have time to make more) and carrots for the reindeer. I asked her earlier in the week if we should get food for the reindeer (I was planning on making "reindeer food" out of glitter and oatmeal) and she said "yes...carrots...reindeer eat carrots only." So, we put out carrots!!

Christmas morning Caroline was a bit confused that Santa didn't eat ALL of his cookies (there was one partial left)...maybe next year he'll eat them all...oops! Caroline kinda got a killing from Santa...Santa went wwwaaaayyyy overboard as usual!

After breakfast we opened the rest of our presents and then spend the rest of the day cooking a Christmas feast! We had Jimbo and CoCo and Pop, Cyndi and Zoe (Jace had to work Christmas), and Nana and Grampy over for dinner. Dale cooked an AMAZING turkey, and we did salad, mashed potatos, green bean casserole, brussel sprouts, stuffing, rolls, orange jello salad, and gravy and by the end of the day we were TIRED! No one ever warned me how tiring (and expensive) it is to cook a big holiday meal! That being said, I think even though we cooked all day, I enjoyed having it at our house and Caroline getting to actually play all day than having to run all over the place.

On the day after Christmas we went to Dale's Nana and Grandad's house with his whole side of the family (except for him...he was hunting with my dad). I don't have any pictures from there.

Then, on Saturday the 27th we went to Dale's dad's house (Grandpa and Deidra) for lunch with them! Caroline got a bunch of dress up stuff that I don't think she's taken off yet!!!!

All in all, we had a great Christmas...or 5 Christmases! It seemed a bit less stressful this year, we had a great time with family, and everyone got what they wanted (or at least I did:))! Can't wait till next year (uh...yes I can!!!)...