695

Why 695???

Yes, that is the number of days it has been since I updated this blog!  WOW!  Needless to say, as the title of this entire blog states .... we have been VERY Busy At Home!

Top Ten things that have happened over the last 695 days:

 Here is Kevin and Caroline the day before he left.
4.21.12

1.  Kevin left for a 7 month deployment to the desert.

Here they are the night of his return.
11.10.12

2.  Caroline turned 2!

Family gathered around to celebrate the big 2!!
July 2012

Even Daddy was able to join us for Caroline's 2nd Birthday Party
July 2012

Everyone had a good time!

3.  Caroline's 1st hair cut ... it only took us 2.5 years to cut it :)

Daddy Giving Caroline Her 1st Haircut
March 2013

4.  First Trip to Busch Gardens

Fun times
5.4.13

5.  Daddy & Caroline had their 1st Wedding Dance :)

6.  Caroline turned 3!

Caroline had TONS of fun with her friends :)

Daddy teaching Caroline how to bowl

Grandma Cathy came down to celebrate Caroline turning 3!

7. Found a new home for our furry friends!  This turned out to be a lot harder than I had anticipated.  But we are so incredibly thankful for our friends who opened their homes to our little guys, who are still talked about and referred to daily by Caroline.

Napoleon posing during his last photo shoot
September 2013

Caroline and Lucien sharing 'a moment'

8.  Sold our Minivan!  For all of you who knew us when it was just Kevin and Kelly, with no kids, buying a minivan.  We sold our Swagger Wagon that we had for 7 years.  Wait, isn't Caroline only 3??  Yes, we had that minivan for almost 4 years before we had kids, and trust me - we heard every joke in the book.  But, hands down it was the best vehicle ever!

9.  Caroline took her first airplane ride!

Caroline and Daddy during the 2nd flight
11.7.13

Caroline and Mommy 
11.7.13

Best way to get from here to there in an airport
11.7.13

10.  We moved ... to South Korea!  Probably wondering, why would they find new homes for their pets, sell their vehicles, close up shop?  We traveled to the other side of the world in November and will be here for a couple of years.

 

Before taking off, she was out of it :)
11.7.13

So, there are the major highlights of the last 695 days of our lives!  Most of those you were all probably aware of, via friends, family and Facebook.  I am determined to update this more than once over the next 695 days :)

A Tale of Two Kitchens!

Thursday, Caroline and I decided to take a quick trip up to the local farmer's market.  They had lots of beautiful fruit to choose from, so we decided to take advantage of all of the colorful choices to fill up Mommy's kitchen!

As soon as we got home, Caroline found the strawberry box pulled it out of the bag, then insistently kept signing 'more'!  I found this to be interesting because it had been a while since she had tried some, and when she did, she wasn't too thrilled.  So, we pulled one out of the box and she went right at it.

After completely devouring the first one, Caroline wanted more and more.  So, I tried to show her how to 'enjoy' her food by making it last a little longer.  Needless to say, that's what she did, one bite at a time :)

At church, we picked up a little table and chair set from the music minister whose girls had out-grown it.  We now officially have a kitchen area in our living room!  After our nap, we set up the table and one of the chairs (for now), right next to Caroline's princess kitchen in the living room.  Her toy box fits just right underneath.  Here are a couple of pictures of Caroline enjoying a snack at her table while watching Sesame Street :)

So, now there are 'two' kitchens here at the Henderson house!  Both have sinks to wash our hands, ovens to bake in, cabinets to clutter and tables to dine!  We hope you all enjoyed your first weekend of March too :)

February in a Flash!

 Caroline's newest and most favorite toy is now ... a Pink Bouncy Ball!  At the beginning of the month I took her to the BX to pick out a ball.  Don't know why I hadn't thought of it earlier!  She absolutely loves it and as soon as she spots it we hear "Ball, ball, ball!"

 On Valentine's Day, Caroline got a package from Grandma Webber.  It was complete with two picture magnets and a bag full of Yogurt Melts (one of Caroline's favorites)!  Caroline just loves to play with the magnets on the fridge :) 

 Thanks Grandma!

 Caroline and I had a week in the middle of February where we were both under the weather.  So, we had a lot of snugly, nose blowing, cuddly days!

 Yet, even when she is sick, Caroline always can whip up a cute little smile that melts away all of the aches and pains :)

 Caroline also enjoys Mommy's jewelry as much as Mommy does.  Every time I go to open my jewelry box that hangs on the wall, Caroline comes and points to see 'The Pretties!"

 Caroline has had a lot of fun with Lucien this month.  She likes to come up to him and give him random kisses on occasion :)

 Sometimes they even like to chase each other up and down the hall.  We never know what is going to happen next at the Henderson house!

 Soon they will be discovering the great unknowns together!

 He might be bigger than her, but she holds her ground and lets him know who is boss!  

 Silly girl waiting for Sunday morning breakfast in her high chair.

 Caroline has also started the 5-minute hair-do phase.  This occurs when we get her hair just perfect, then 5-minutes later we are back at square one :)  We snapped a quick pic before we were back to square one again!

 Does anyone recognize this dress?  This was the same dress that Caroline's cousin, Libby (my sister, Cindy's, daughter) wore to our wedding.  She was just over 9 months at the time.  Here is Caroline at just under 19 months :)

Caroline just wanted to say "Happy Leap Day" to everyone!  She was so excited to celebrate her very first one :)

Valentine's Day 2012

Well, since last night ended at 1:30 am, this morning, for me, Valentine's Day started early.  Clipping coupons and getting ready for my monthly shopping trip.  No, I don't only go shopping once a month!  Once a month, I make a list of all the things that we will need for dinners and buy them all at once.  Meats, cheeses, spices, pantry items, etc. plus whatever else we happen to need at that time, all in a day's shopping trip.

So, Caroline woke up bright and early at 7:00 am, so I got myself ready, get her ready and headed downstairs to a special surprise from Kevin ....

The mug with candies was from Caroline and the Conversation Hearts (which are my absolute FAVORITE candy in the whole wide world) were from Kevin!  Needless to say, this Mommy's heart was touched!

Then, Caroline and I headed out to the Farmer's Market and Commissary.  We went as fast as we could since we both were feeling under the weather and the weather wasn't too great outside.  So, off we go and 2 hours later we were back and Daddy just happened to be home to help unload the groceries from the car!  He is my sweetheart and I love him so much :)

So, while Caroline took her nap, I cut-up, wrapped, foiled and labeled 4-weeks worth of meat and arranged it in the deep freezer.  Then, when Caroline woke up from her nap we watched Sesame Street and colored a Valentine for Daddy!  Caroline is learning to color with crayons and not eat them ... a big step for a toddler :)

The cutest part was, when Kevin came home from work, Caroline was standing in the living room holding her card with a BIG smile on her face to show her Daddy!  If I knew it would have timed out so perfectly, I would have taken a picture of it, it was priceless... maybe next time!

Kevin took us out to Jason's Deli for dinner and a couple stops on the way home.  One stop was especially for his other little Valentine, a very special treat ...

 Caroline LOVES balloons!

Whether they are in a store or in a book, she just loves to point and giggle!  So, she had the best time hugging, tugging and simply loving her special gift from her Daddy.  She even chased the cat around the living room with it :)

A good day was had by all!