For about the last week, Caroline has been wired. I’m talking about the kind of hyped-up, frenetic energy that would make a Tasmanian devil say, “Wow. You’re kind of a spaz.”
She’s always been a high energy kid, but I’m talking about levels of activity that defy any relation to my gene pool. I tend to think of napping as a neglected art form.
Maybe it’s the cooler weather or maybe it’s because the Christmas Toy Syndicate has ramped up their campaign to make sure your child’s Christmas isn’t complete without a Barbie Jammin’ Jeep, but we have reached new heights of enthusiasm for life.
In fact, last night as I attempted to wrestle her into her pajamas, she suddenly exclaimed, “WAIT! I NEED TO GET SOME KICKS OUT!”
And then proceeded to move to the middle of the living room floor where she kicked the air with great gusto for the better part of four minutes until P told her she needed to take it down a notch.
It’s like living with a five-year-old version of Salley O’Malley. She can kick. She can stretch. She can kick.
But in spite of the fact that all the activity is about to kill me, I still have moments when I look at her and can’t believe she’s mine.
I had no idea I could love someone this much.
What a very stylish and precious Salley O’Malley you have!
ADORABLE!!!
And yes, the love is overwhelming, isn’t it?
Oh, get ready sister…these moments of sudden clarity will continue happening for YEARS, I tell ya. YEARS.
Thanks for letting us watch her grow up.
Awwww…. you make me laugh, you make me cry. The beginning of this story.. laugh. The end, cry. I love your writing and want you to know that you are the first person on my ‘favorites’ list and I look forward to reading you every day! Weekends are tough, since I usually forget and go back three or four times looking for a new post, only to read the same post that’s been there since Friday. Yes, I know. I am brain dead that way.. but it doesn’t mean that I can’t appreciate good writing when I read it!
Love your blog..
She is a doll…and what a cute dress!
Oh so true! God has THE best intentions with this whole motherhood thing. It is almost baffling, huh?
What a privilege to be called mama!
I love it…it’s one of the greatest things to have ever happened to me.
Now..let me go get that teenager out of the shower (WATER HOG!)!
I love these, I need to get some kicks out, soooo funny and so precious!
The fact that you compared her to Salley O’Malley makes you my best friend. Still laughing … I’m going to go do some kicks now.
So true! That picture is so cute.
Cute dress!!! Cuter kid!!!
Oh my word, how cute is she?!?!
I think it is in I Peter 4 that says to love deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins…
I think that verse may relate to parenting.
Or maybe marriage.
Either way, it hit home to me.
It only gets better! My girl will be 23 next week! God has truly blessed me!
The cutest thing I’ve seen all week….and that’s saying something, coming from the mom of an adorable learning-to-walk 11 month old!
My husband and I often say that these are the salad days of parenting. Mostly just love all around before the hormones kick in.
We should all remember to enjoy it while it lasts!
I need a Fashion Friday for little girls. I have a 4 year old, and I want to know both where you got the dress and the bow! Darling. Little Girl bows are especially hard to find where I live (Northern VA.)
Oh how cute is she? I want that outfit and boots in my size!!
I know exactly how you feel. My little one is 19 years old now but I look at her and I can’t believe God loves me so much. She is perfect.
Sheryl
Great picture of Caroline! There are days when I look at my boys and heart wants to explode. at 8 and 3 I still can’t believe they are mine and even more I can’t believe how very much I love them both.
I know exactly how you feel. Almost like your heart could burst.
long time reader, first time commenter (I feel like I’m calling in on Rick and Bubba). Anyway, LOVE her dress and her “wonder woman” shoes. Sweet girl!
She is a doll!!! Sounds a lot like my Anna Katherine (who is now eleven, going on twenty-five!). She was full-speed from the time she came out of the womb, but just like Caroline, had that precious, angelic face!! How can you resist that! Enjoy the enthusiasm! And believe it or not, God will use it to do something awesome with her as she grows older. I’m with you, though…the nap is definitely a lost art!!!
That is awesome. And any reference to Sally O’Malley just makes my day. I might be doing that all day. “I’m FIFTY!”
Ha! I love the Sally O’Malley reference
Sometimes you just gotta get the kicks out!
I think I know exactly where that dress is from, so adorable. My 5 year old won’t wear dresses.
Love this age!
She’s yours alright! She looks just like you. And you are so right- who knew a heart could hold that much love?!
Now that’s what I call a bow!
SO sweet! After years of infertility and pregnancy loss, we are finally pregnant with a GIRL. She is kicking and squirming as I type. I am SO looking forward to the overwhelming love you wrote about today.
S.
Ha! Caroline cracks me up!!
I LOVE the dress. Seriously, that is so cute
That cracked me up!! Salley O’Malley cracks up. Why doesn’t it ever get old… that Salley O’Malley?? I about pee my pants every time!
I have been lurking around your blog for awhile now… thought it might be high time to leave a comment.
Did any of us ever think we could love our children as much as we do? I think it is so we could get a glimpse of how much God loves us. For the record, if you ever have another child (like if someone brings one to your hotel room) (I read BooMama too… that’s how I found you.), somehow you will love that one as much as your beautiful Caroline.
We have 3 biological children and we just added #4. We adopted a little girl from China and every day when we about squeeze her until her head pops off (which would not be hard to do because she is 13.8 pounds at 15 months), we look at each other and say, “Did you ever think we would love her this much?”
My husband performs lots of weddings he always ends them by saying, “Love is in the business where it pays to be extravagant. Give it away, throw is away, empty your pockets, shake the basket…. and in the end, you will have more than ever.”
Have a great day… cyber friend! Go to Sonic and eat some ice or something!:-)
April
Okay- I must have the dress- seriously- I have to have one- where did you get it? I’m starting my Christmas buying and need a great dress for my little one.
Too funny- I have one that has to get the kicks out too!
Aren’t children wonderful? Caroline seems to be truly sweet and entertaining.
“I have to get some kicks out!” I’m still laughing so hard my eyes are watering.
Very cute, I feel the same way about my boys.
And are those the infamous spray painted Wonder Woman boots I spy?
Seriously, I think November is the toughest month every year to get through. Something about the hype of the holidays coming up and the transition from playing outside to being contained indoors. My son, who is just a year older than Caroline, is the same way. It does get better after 6 but he still has a need to kick the air for no apparent reason. I just try to give him those moments (from a safe distance).
She says the greatest things “let me get some kicks out” hee hee hee.
She’s so adorable and I love hearing about her!
It must be in the air. Just last night, as we were getting out of the car from the MILLIONTH thing we did yesterday… my son rolled up a piece of junk mail (from the abyss of the back seat) and began to WHOOP and HOLLAR into it like a megaphone. “HEY ALL MY NEIGHBORS!!! WHATCHYA’LL DOIN?” I pretty much had to SHOVE him into the house (still yelling into his rolled up tube of paper) before someone alerted the MP’s.(We live on a military base.) He should have been tired (like me). He should have been an exhausted little child, but no… he had to get his kicks out, too.
Um, are those the Wonder Woman boots? FABULOUS!!
So sweet. Thanks for sharing.
That is the exact comment I tell people about my (fixin to be) 3 year old son. And the thing that really amazes me is the fact that I felt that way when he was in the womb. I could not get over the amount of love I felt for someone I had never even seen.
God is so good!
I to feel the same way. I had always heard you were suposed to put your husband first but i am sorry i cant see that happening, I have always felt like my kids were my existence. They are 19 and 17 now and don’t need mom much and I know soon I will be like most parents and wonder what to do with myself when they are gone. Enjoy every minute you can. Love the blogs…
ARE THOSE THE WONDER WOMAN BOOTS?!
I’m so glad you’re getting extra use from them. LOL!
She’s beautiful.
I love it that she needed to get her kicks out!
sounds like my house except multiply it x3!! and what a super cute outfit she has on!!!
heeey i recognize those boots
what an adorable dress (where did you get it?) and what a precious little gal.
sooooo cute! and could those be the wonder woman boots???
And might I add to all that cuteness that your life will never be the same. That you will love her so much sometimes that it hurts and then you will watch her give birth and you’ll love that little person so much you can’t believe it. It’s a cycle of where your own heart never re-enters your body.
I just want to warn you… this might not be something that will go away. My 21 year old married sister still stands in her kitchen and says HaiYA! in a high pitched voice and gets some kicks out. Right then and there in front of whomever she pleases whenever she pleases. She has also been known to hop in the cart when we go to target and ride in style like we used to in the good old days.
My theory is connected to the fact that my little sister is still 5’0” and weighs about 98lbs so since she never grew up… she never grew up. The bright side is that when I am with her I laugh my guts out all of the time, and I am never board.
Kind of makes your heart ache… like it’s about to explode from your chest. I know just what you mean.
My Victoria is one of those rock em sock em sometimes you want to lock em (up) kinda gals too. No clue where she gets it. Napping is indeed a lost art form, completely lost on my children anyway.
I bet Caroline and Victoria would have a lot of fun together.
Are. those. THE. boots?
I know what you mean! And it never ends! My three kids are 28, 30, and 31 and I still look at them sometimes and wonder how I got such smart, beautiful, wonderful kids that are now doing great with families of their own! God is so good!
Marilyn
If you figure out what is causing the extra spurt of energy, tell me! After a few minutes in a waiting room with my 4-year-old on Monday, an elderly lady across the way commented, “I bet you put her to bed at night then collapse in exhaustion.” Amen, sister!
I think I’ve seen those boots before! Love it!
Mel,
The smile melts the heart, and the style dazzels the eye. She is adorable, enjoy!!!
She is so, so, so, so beautiful! I can’t wait to meet her!
She’s adorable!
Love the outfit and the bow! And I love those moments where I catch myself staring at my own daughter and thinking the same thing…how could I be so blessed?
I loves me some Sally O’Malley.
Maybe your Caroline is going to grow up to be another Molly Shannon character; Helen Madden, Joyologist.
Kick it out, girlfriend, kick it out.
This was precious. She is the best.
she is beautiful. i think she get’s that part from her mama. have a good day Miss Melanie!
::Taylor
(…from Las Vegas Deeper Still)
Have to say been there with my 9 year old daughter. But have to say, sometimes you just gotta kick. Love your blog and how I can relate.
Andi
Awww…she is beautiful! Loved the post! Isn’t it crazy how they can drive you mad one instant, and then they look up at you with such a precious, innocent (or mischievous…whatever!) expression.
Caroline is so sweet and a lot of fun and she looks soooo cute in her dress and boots!!
Who is Sally O’Malley??? I must be the ONLY person missing the reference here!!! But Caroline is oh so adorable in that dress, and I love the hair bow. She’s definitely a Fashion Friday Fashionista in the making…
Adrienne
Oh Big Mama! You are my blog hero. I’m new to this and you INSPIRE me!! I love that you love your family and Jesus and tell the world about it.
I’m so impressed that picture isn’t a blur.
She’s beautiful.
She is so cute! I love that outfit and bow:-)
I have the boy version of her! Which I think might be worse. ha! I had to get my mean mommy voice out in Chick-fil-A (at a school fundraiser night) to get him to settle down and slow down before he hurt someone and all the boy was doing was eating! arg! I have no patience for all this bouncing, kicking and fighting his sister with a light saber. My 2 year old is the calm one. Thank the LORD for her!! I need to get his Kindergarten teacher a REALLY good Christmas gift. He is one of 16 boys in the class. I don’t know how she does it?
You have the cutest daughter!!! She really is precious!