Casalese Family

It's been a while

2006-12-06T19:43:00.000-05:00

We're sorry that we have not kept up with the blog, but here are some photos of Caroline over the last few weeks. She is getting be such a big girl now and our love for her grows bigger every day!

Back To Church

2006-10-22T12:27:00.004-04:00

We made it back to church this morning for the first time since Caroline has been born. She did great and looked adorable! She only cried once during the lesson but as soon as we gave her the bottle, she was an angel!

First Shopping Weekend

2006-10-15T11:57:00.000-04:00

Mom, Dad and Caroline got out of the house this weekend to run some errands and went shopping for the first time! Our trip was short and sweet but we had a great time!

Growing Faster Than Expected

2006-10-09T21:11:00.000-04:00

We had a quick visit to the baby doctor today and found out that Caroline had gained a little weight...ok, she gained A LOT of weight. She is now up to 9.9 lbs from 7.5 lbs just two weeks ago. She is a plump little baby, but she has also growing longer so now we have to figure out if she is going to play volleyball, basketball, or maybe golf like Michelle Wie.

Michele and Steve (pictured) came by this weekend. I was able to take a photo of Michele holding Caroline, but I must have been in the other room when Steve was holding her. Caroline also wanted to try on another Halloween outfit. This was one Aunt Carrie gave her and she loves it!

Ready for Halloween

2006-10-04T20:35:00.000-04:00

Caroline wanted to get started on the Halloween candy early so we put her in the first of a few Halloween outfits she received. This one is from Gabe and Nikki and by the smile on her face you can tell she loves it.

3 Weeks and We're on our OWN!

2006-10-02T19:16:00.000-04:00

Over the last week we had a couple of good friends stop by and Caroline got to meet her first friend, Rowan (pictured with dad Shawn, myself and Caroline). Rowan and Caroline were born just 2 1/2 weeks a part. What is crazy is that within a month we had several friends have babies including our friends Ray and Julie whose son, Cole, was born on the same day as Caroline but at 8:00pm. My friend Rebecca and Rob were due just one day after Caroline's original due day but their baby boy, Benjamin came one week and a day after Caroline. So Caroline already has some good friends...although they are boys and Daddy is going to be keeping an eye on them.
Meme and Grandpa Johnny left on Sunday and it was really hard to see them go. Caroline was obviously upset as she hardly slept all day. After we gave her a bath (pictured) she felt refreshed and ready for bed. She settle down for the night and got some sleep, but on Monday she was up again most of the day. Caroline is just getting adjusted to being at home with Mom and Mom is getting adjusted to being at home with Caroline. We couldn't be happier with our little Princess. We love to read the comments on the blog so keep them coming!

Weekly Postings...

2006-09-24T21:53:00.000-04:00

So much for posting something every day or every other day. I've quickly realized that my time is not mine any more. I can't believe that Caroline will be two weeks old tomorrow. We have had a great week, even though I had to go back to work, with Caroline and all of the family and friends that visited us. Caroline is doing great and has been sleeping fairly well. Even though the doctor made us change our "Baby Wise" routine in order to get her weight up over a weeks time. Jamie has been doing AWESOME and I am so blessed to have such a strong wife. I also thank God that Connie and Johnny are still here because they have been tremendously helpful with all kinds of situations. I will try to do better this week to put up more postings. Here are a few more photos of friends, family, and of course The Princess Herself.

Baby Wise

2006-09-18T13:42:00.000-04:00

Um, could someone not have forced us to read "Baby Wise" before we had Caroline?! Our great friends Stephanie and Brandon (parents of a 2 yr old and twin 6 month old girls) brought us the book and told us their results. We have heard many people talking about the book and heard the success stories, but we never picked up the book...until yesterday. Caroline slept for two-four hour stints last night after we started applying a few things we read. Today we started her on the three hour routine and so far so good. We both know that it will take time and patience, but we are going to stick with it and hope to continue the results from last night. Here are a picture of a well rested dad and a well rested baby.

She's Getting Cuter by the Day!

2006-09-17T10:45:00.000-04:00

We had a good day yesterday with a lot of family coming over to see the princess. Aunt Carrie and Uncle Skip came by in the morning and Aunt Carrie held Caroline for a couple of hours. I put Skippy to work in the yard. Grandma Karen came over to help in the yard as well and saved me hours of weed pulling time. Papa and GJ came over in the afternoon and stayed for a couple of hours. Then Aunt Sheila, Uncle Billy, and Cousin Mathis came over for dinner. Needless to say Caroline and Jamie were very tired by the end of the day, but for some reason Caroline did not want to sleep when we wanted to sleep. She finally settled down at 4am and let us sleep until 8am. Here are a couple more photos of Caroline and I think they show how she is already changing day by day.

She looks like...

2006-09-15T15:47:00.000-04:00

Ok, here is a photo of the three of us and a photo of just Caroline. Click the comment link below and let us know who you think she looks more like...if you say, the milkman I will add your name to the junk mail folder.

More Family Photos

2006-09-15T12:06:00.000-04:00

I think that it is incredible that when I talk about my family I am not just talking about my parents, sisters, or Jamie's side of the family. I am now saying that I have a complete family of my own and that is an awesome feeling. Here are some photos of Caroline's extended family: Grandpa Johnny is a natural with her and some how she is always sleeping when she's with him. Aunt Sheila has been with us since the night Caroline came into the world. She was been a tremendous help ever since.

Jesus Loves the Little Children

2006-09-15T09:02:00.000-04:00

The talk about being sleep deprived is no joke. The good thing is that I read that this pattern should only last for 2 or 3 more months! What?!

However, each night before we go to bed we have Caroline say her prayers. If you ever saw her 4-D sonogram photos she has been doing this since she was in the womb. She has a real close relationship with Jesus.

Denver is doing fine, too!

2006-09-14T13:11:00.000-04:00

Sorry, Denver was mad that has been left out of this blog until now. He was taken by surprise by this whole thing as well. When Jamie and I left for the hospital Sunday night he was completely confused because he had never been left alone at night. Luckily, Grandma Karen was able to go back to the house at 3am, before Jamie delivered, to check on Denver. He was lying on our bed crying when Grandma came in. When we arrived home with Caroline he was a little confused and very curious, but quickly came to love her. Now he gets a little upset when Caroline cries, but he is learned to sleep through it after two nights.

Bark at you later...

Papa and GJ came to visit Caroline

2006-09-14T12:28:00.000-04:00

Last night Papa and GJ (pictured bottom left) came back from their cruise to Alaska and finally got to see their granddaughter. Papa commented that he could not believe that his boy now has a baby girl. Caroline knows she will be seeing plenty of all of the grandparents in the years to come.

After the grandparents left Caroline settled down quickly and fell asleep so Jamie and I rushed to join her. She had not slept for a long block of time all day so we thought this could be it...nope. She slept for an hour at a time through the night and then finally fell asleep for 3 hours starting at 7:20am. Even though we were only sleeping for 45 minutes to an hour at a time I thought it was a much better night because we are finally learning how to react to Caroline's cries before they get out of control. Jamie is an unbelievable mom and I amazed every day how she and Caroline are bonding.

To everyone that has sent flowers and other gifts, The Casalese Family says THANK YOU!

First Night at Home

2006-09-13T07:52:00.000-04:00

Ok, all you parents out there were right--this is NOT easy. Our first hours at home were wonderful because after Caroline fed when we got home she settle into her swing for a few hours. After that she was all about exploring her new surroundings and decided to take until about 2:30am to settle back down. She did a great job of sleeping for about 4 full hours, which was Jamie's longest block of sleep in three days. Mommy and baby are back to sleep after a short feeding, but I am wide awake (but still very tired). I am looking forward to every new day to see what blessings (including the challenging blessings) God will provide us today.

Meme (top - Jamie's mom) & Grandpa (not pictured - Jamie's dad) and Grandma (bottom - my mom) are here to help so we have been doing very well. Papa (my dad) and GJ (my stepmom) are back today from there vacation and will get to see their granddaughter today!

We are at home now!

2006-09-12T22:01:00.000-04:00

Yeah! The doctor gave us the clearance to leave and Jamie couldn't get out fast enough. We threw Caroline in the car and sped home. Denver greeted us at the door and immediately sniffed out Caroline. He was a little unsure of what to do about her, but he has already taken to her and has sworn to protect her. Right now Jamie is getting her first real sleep since Saturday night and Caroline is fast asleep in her swing. I think after Jamie can get a few hours of sleep tonight and get use to sleeping when Caroline sleeps she will be ready to see more visitors. I'll keep you posted, but please don't hesitate to contact us by phone or email if you want to come visit.

Baby Caroline Is Here!

2006-09-12T19:20:00.000-04:00

Caroline Grace Casalese finally arrived on Monday, September 11, 2006 at 5:55am. Both Caroline and mom are doing wonderful. If this is what all deliveries are like we are probably going to have about 10 more...but I know they aren't so we are truly thankful for a wonderful labor that was kept to 7 short hours (and 50 minutes of that was waiting for the doctor to show up because Caroline was really ready at 5:00am). Here are her stats: 7.2 lbs, 20.5 inches and a perfect 10 on the cuteness scale.

I will be posting pictures as often as I can so please visit this new blog thing as often as you can.