Caroline is Seven (and Four Months)

Caroline is seven (and 4 months). Wow, I'm getting worse at this!

Caroline continues to be all that is sweet. She was so happy to be gifted piano lessons for her birthday. She has been eager to start and had been self-taught/sister-taught for quite awhile. Since this is being written four months after her birthday, I can report to you that since starting lessons in January, she has already completed level one piano. She LOVES to play. She LOVES to practice. She LOVES her lessons. She LOVES her teacher. She often forsakes her other school work in order to play piano longer. In fact, I had to enforce rules on when she can play piano since she was not getting any school work done.

As sweet as Carrie is, she really doesn't love to complete school work. She would prefer to play with Heidi and Ruth or play piano rather than other school work. She does like to read, but not to the degree that her older three sisters are book-obsessed.

Caroline loves spicy foods and even adds sriracha to many of her foods. Her favorite foods are Chinese food, rice, tacos, broccoli and cauliflower (especially if there is cheese sauce), chili, coffee and more. Her least favorite foods are lasagna and ravioli. 

 

Carrie's favorite color is still purple and she still loves roses and zinnias. She loves to help in the flower garden and is very happy to be alongside of me pulling weeds. She loves to drive the mower sitting on my lap and is already showing marked improvement from last year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Caroline loves to be outside, climbing trees, swinging on the tire swing, and more. 

 

Played more video games than I care to admit during the winter.

More than anything, Caroline loves her two little sisters. She asks and prays daily for more siblings. Caroline has a tender heart for orphans. She grasps that her sisters would not be her sisters without adoption. She was so sad when she learned that we cannot adopt from China again because of certain rules China has that we do not meet (specifically the number of children currently in our home). She was quick to ask if there were other countries that don't have that rule. 

 

She still wants to sing about Jesus in prisons when she grows up and wants eight or nine children. Her one concern was who will watch her children while she's singing about Jesus. It was so precious to hear Ruth pipe up that Aunt Ruthie will watch Carrie's kids. As you can see, Caroline has a very soft heart for many people. It will be a joy to continue to watch her grow and mature into a sweet young lady who follows Christ whole-heartedly.

The main complain lodged against Caroline by her sisters is that she's “perfect”. The older sisters complain that they “know how Jesus's siblings felt” growing up with a perfect sibling. Of course, Carrie will readily admit she's not perfect, which makes them all the more angry. 

 

With a house full of girls with lots of different strengths and personalities, it's been very pleasant to have such a happy-go-lucky child. Carrie is easy to be around, and a friend to all. She loves to chatter non-stop and loves to be with other people. She has been wrestling with a fear of the dark but I have faith God will help her overcome it soon. 

 

Happy 7^th (very belated) birthday, Caroline Rose. You are a joy!

 

Caroline is Six!

Six! She is six years old. In truth, I didn’t know kids like Caroline actually existed. I think all of us have some gift that comes naturally to us. Carrie’s gift happens to be kindness. She isn’t perfect of course, but she is truly a sweet, tenderhearted, kind girl who wants the best for everyone. She’s the kind of person to send a card or letter just because she was thinking of them. 

I mean, she even LOOKS angelic. 

It has been a hard year for a girl so young and not many could have come through it with her joy and optimism. 

She started snoring way back in January. We ignored it for awhile but then she would be tired and grumpy during the day and started taking naps again when she had recently stopped. It took several doctor appointments, including a sleep study, which revealed she has moderate sleep apnea and she stopped breathing on average eight times per hour. 

So sweet even covered in wires. 

She ended up needing her tonsils and adenoids removed. Unfortunately the soonest they could do the surgery was the week of her birthday. In true Caroline fashion, she accepted the news without complaint. It meant she couldn’t eat her favorite food on her actual birthday or do much activity. So many told us of the horrible recovery. She did have a couple of bad nights and days, but through it all she was still her sweet, kind self. 

I think if you asked Caroline about her year, she would say it was great. Because Heidi came home. Heidi, who has required more physical and emotional energy from me than any other child in our home right now. And none of that matters because, she’s ours. And you do whatever you have to do for the ones you love, even if it means sacrificing your own desires. Maybe especially if it means sacrificing your own desires. 

As an already kind, compassionate child, having two sisters (one her BFF and the second in a close race to being co-BFFs) has opened her eyes to the needs in the wider world. The other day she was taking a leisurely bath with Heidi. Since Heidi can’t talk, she had my undivided attention to share all the thoughts and questions that have been building in her mind. Things that never entered my mind at sixteen, let alone six. She asked why babies are abandoned? And why can’t we go back to China? What happens to a kid when they get too old and aren’t adopted? Why does Africa make you stay there so long to adopt? What other countries are in Asia?  Could we go somewhere else to adopt? Because it hurts me that there are little boys and girls who won’t ever get a mom or a dad or big sisters. Guys, my six year old daughter’s heart is so big that it hurts for other children who don’t have what we have. 

No, this isn’t an adoption announcement. This is me, hoping some of my friends will be moved by Caroline’s big thoughts and big hearts. I actually was starting to cry during our conversation and texted Trent that she’s breaking my heart. 

But sometimes we need our hearts broken to reveal what is good and true bleeding out of it. 

She’s the kid who loves (instead of feels slighted) that her birthday is close to Christmas. Because she is almost “birthday twins” with Jesus. What more could she want?

She was happy to be reading well enough to get to read the story of Jesus’ birth at our Hess Christmas this year. 

When asked things she loves, Caroline said:

- Heidi

- animals

- purple

- rice, chicken, chili, Chinese food and tacos (fav foods)

- Christmas

- my big sisters

- Ruthie

- getting my ears pierced

- wearing overalls

- church (favorite place to go)

When asked things she doesn’t like, Caroline said:

- I can’t think of anything. 

She couldn’t get her ears pierced before her surgery so we had to do it after her birthday (plus she wanted to eat the mall’s Chinese food so we had to wait for her throat to heal). 

She started off brave and excited. 

Then got nervous. 

Then freaked out and jerked away. Anne and I switched roles at this point so I could hold Carrie and get her calmed down enough to let them pierce her ears. 

Once she was calm she got her mind straight and sat perfectly still. She said afterward it didn’t even hurt but the waiting was scary. Isn’t that just like life? The anticipation of the unknown is terrifying, but the actual event isn’t usually as bad as what we build it up to be in our mind. 

She is looking forward to a great rest of the year of Kindergarten. She’s a wonderful student and (usually) hard worker. She likes to be homeschooled. Learning about animals and reading books is her favorite. 

She started off so tiny (4 lbs 14 oz) and vulnerable. It’s such a joy to be her mom. She challenges me regularly to be kinder. 

On the phone with her Sunday School teacher (also one of the kindest women alive). 

Happy birthday, Sweet Caroline. You live up to your name every day. We love you and the special girl you are. 

Caroline is Five!

Five days before Christmas, our sweet Caroline turned five. A whole hand!

PC: Stacy Parmarter Photography

We don't do big birthday parties every year for our kids because 1. it's too expensive, 2. we have a lot of kids, 3. I personally prefer small gatherings. 

When we do have a party I try to make them extra special and memorable by having their favorite people and their favorite foods. We have chosen special years for parties; so far it has been 1st birthday, fifth birthday, and 10th birthday. I guess we'll have to figure out what year beyond 10 to celebrate, maybe 13 and 16. 

For Caroline's fifth birthday she knew just what she wanted. She wanted her favorite people (family, of course) but also her friend, Eliana (who happens to be her 3rd cousin), Matteo (who happens to be her cousin), and her friend Caden (who happens to be Matteo's nephew). Everyone would come and make Gingerbread Houses.

Friends!

Carrie's Gingerbread House

She wanted her favorite foods. My sweet Caroline loves spicy foods. She wanted Jalapeño Chips, Chili (which she calls "cold". Get it? Chilly = Cold), chocolate cake with white icing, purple roses (Rose is her middle name and purple is her favorite color) with writing that says "Happy 5th Birthday Caroline Rose". There were some other assorted foods that she enjoys, like spicy cheese, regular cheddar, crackers and things like that. 

Love Shady Maple's bakery at Fergies!

Caroline is genuinely the sweetest child I have had the joy of raising. Not that my other kids aren't sweet, but do you know how some people are so nice you feel like they can't possibly be genuine? Then you get to know them better and you realize that, while they aren't perfect, they are truly super super super nice. That's Caroline. She wanted our word for the year to be "Niceness". 

Isn't this the sweetest face?

Her generous nature is what has forged the deep bond she shares with Ruthie. When Ruthie came home from China I joked that they were like hens, and it took about a month for them to establish their pecking order. Ruth came out on top. But in all seriousness, I think it took Ruth about a month to realize that Caroline isn't going to fight her and they settled into an easy rhythm of love and friendship. They do occasionally have their spats but they make up with alarming speed. They can be fighting like cats and dogs, screaming and crying, then three minutes later they are holding hands and dancing. 

Snow Bunnies

Caroline started life a tiny newborn, 4 pounds 14 ounces, had a collapsed lung at two days old and spent a total of ten days in the NICU. She has rarely been sick since she came home from the hospital, with the exception of needing tubes in her ears last year (which worked wonders for her hearing!). She still isn't very big for a 5-year-old, just 31 pounds, but size isn't everything. 

Cutest overbite

 When asked, Caroline says she loves: music, Ruthie, babies, chocolate, rice, chocolate milk, bubble gum, catching butterflies, zinnias (which she pronounces zingias), the time when we can grow zinnias, riding my bike, baby bunnies, sledding, eating ice pops outside, Chinese food, swimming lessons, and playing in the bath.

These girls LOVE to wear matching outfits. They would dress alike everyday if they had enough matching clothes.

Caroline does not like: horses, goats, bees, big dogs, at night when I think a tarantula is going to come up the wall and bite me, lima beans, tuna noodle casserole, and fire ants.

When Carrie gets older she wants to be a mom to eleven kids. Because Annie is eleven and eleven is a big number. 

We can't imagine our lives without Carrie in it. She is really smart and excited to start Kindergarten in the fall. She is already starting to read on her own and I know that she will do great with a little bit more structure than what we have done for her early years of learning. She prays everyday for her little sister still in China. Like I said, a sweetheart. 

Happy (belated) fifth birthday, Caroline Rose! We love you!

Caroline Rose is Four!

On December 20, 2017, Caroline turned four years old. While she may not have grown much in size this past year (she’s just over 3 feet tall and only weighs 25.5 pounds putting her in the first percentile for height and weight), she has grown tremendously in all the ways that matter. 

The biggest change for Carrie this year was becoming a big sister. It’s something she has wanted for a very long time (since she could voice her opinions). I would say Ruthie has far exceeded her expectations. She didn’t have to wait for Ruth to “grow up” to become her playmate. I’ve said before that Ruth and Caroline are practically inseparable and that remains true. 

They love to read books together,

Color together,

Feed their babies together,

And take tea (or hot chocolate) together. 

While I do love my older girls just as much as my littles, the older girls are more independent and not as eager for me to photograph their daily activities.

Caroline has struggled for the past several months with a radical hearing loss. We are grateful to learn that she has no permanent damage and will just need a minor surgery to place tubes in her ears. That surgery is tomorrow, Friday, January 5, 2018. It has been very frustrating for all of us and particularly isolating for Carrie. 

Things Caroline loves:

-Ruthie

-all things purple

-coloring with and sniffing her smelly markers

-writing her name

-listening to books on CD (really loudly)

-kids song cds

-Wild Kratts

-watching movies

-babies

-“remembering” when she was a baby and wishing she was still a baby

-when her big sisters play with her or carry her piggy back 

-breakfast 

-rice

-cousin Matteo

Things Caroline doesn’t love

-naps (the idea of them, she generally takes a great nap every day)

-big dogs

-cleaning up her toys/games

-getting ready for bed

-when I tell her that her shoes are on the wrong feet

In general, Caroline is a very happy, healthy little girl. She tends to be kind, generous with her toys, and a social girl. She seems to be going through a phase where she cries a lot about everything, but she’s four now so I’m pretty sure she’s about done with that. (Haha!) I was tired of the tears every time I brush her hair so I finally just cut it. It has helped a little bit, but probably not significantly enough that I would keep her hair short. 

And we had to take our annual Christmas photo together! Her first Christmas was in the NICU and I hadn’t been allowed to hold her for two days because her lung collapsed and she had a chest tube. But on Christmas Day I was able to hold her again and was so thrilled. The next year I took a picture wearing the same shirt and it has since become tradition. 

First Christmas: 5 days old 

 

Second Christmas: 1 year + 5 days old 

Third Christmas: 2 years + 5 days old

Fourth Christmas: 3 years + 5 days old 

Fifth Christmas: 4 years + 5 days old. 

Happy fourth birthday, little love! You are such a special girl and we can’t wait to see what this year holds for you!

Daddy-daughter date to the museum! Hess family tradition to go to the museum at age 4.

Caroline turns Three

It's so hard to believe that Caroline is now three years old. She arrived four weeks early, a scheduled C-Section, in all her tiny glory. Though we knew she would be small, we had hoped she would be healthy. She experienced significant fluid in her lungs at birth and was immediately taken to the NICU.

At two days old she developed a hole in her lung. I was immediately grateful that she WAS in the NICU. She was exactly where she needed to be so the nurses and doctors would be awake, monitoring her in the middle of the night, (2 am) when she would experience this distress. She was sedated, had surgery to insert a chest tube, and placed on a ventilator. It was so awful to see her in that condition.

Christmas day, three days after her lung collapsed, I was finally able to hold her.

12/25/13 : 5 days old

Every Christmas I put on that same flannel shirt and take another picture with Caroline, holding her to my chest. It serves as a visible reminder to me of how precious her life is, and how holding her in my arms that day was one of the greatest Christmas gifts I will ever receive.

12/25/14 : 1 year + 5 days old

12/25/15: 2 years + 5 days

12/25/16 : 3 years + 5 days

And now Carrie is three. She is so spunky and fun. She is such a chatterbox and says the most hilarious things. On her birthday we ate chili for dinner. She ate everything out of her bowl that she liked. Then she said, "I want some more cold." I had no idea what she was talking about. She repeatedly told us she wanted more cold and got angrier by the moment that we didn't know what she was referring to. It finally dawned on me that chili = cold. I was amazed that she was able to recognize chilly as a synonym for cold and replace the word was had been using to describe the meal with a word she was more familiar with. She was delighted when we finally understood what she meant and ate her "cold" with gusto.

birthday cookie

She is completely devoted to her sisters (usually it's a different sister each day), but most often it is Abbey. Caroline absolutely loves babies. Her current favorite little person is her cousin Matteo. She delights in him (it's hard not to, he is really sweet and cute!)

Her new baby "Olivia"

Caroline is so excited to be a big sister. Every time we get a new picture or video of her sister she loves to look at it and talk about her sister and be hopeful for when she will get to see her in real life.

Caroline is also excited to move into the same room with her older sisters. I feel very strongly about the bond created by sharing a bedroom. We (as in I) have decided that Caroline will move in with her big sisters sometime in the New Year. I hope to create a new post for that transition.

always drawing

Caroline still sucks her thumb when she sleeps. She will only suck her thumb when she has her special night time blanket. She never sucks her thumb during the day.

She is definitely, very much a three-year-old. She is starting to assert her own will more and more. She is very sensitive. Usually if I tell her "no" very sternly she will start crying.

She loves playing the game Sequence for kids, but only according to her own rules. She likes beans, and chips and salsa and sour cream. She loves coffee with cream. She hates to have her hair brushed and her teeth brushed, unless she is doing those things by herself. She likes to snuggle up to watch movies. She went to Sight and Sound Theater to see Samson and loved when he knocked all the walls down. She loves Sunday School and her teachers. She intentionally wriggles during church so she can go to nursery with her beloved cousin, Matteo. She likes painting her fingernails, and has unfortunately gone to great lengths to achieve this; going so far as to get a stool, put it in the closet to reach the nail polish , and paint her own nails while the rest of us were busy elsewhere in the house. When she was found out she immediately started crying and saying she was sorry. She loves sparkles and boots and sparkly boots from Mema. She loves her piggy bank and delights in demanding coins from her Grandpa every Wednesday night. She likes tea parties with Grandma and books in her bed.

All that to say, Caroline is a joy to our hearts. We are so glad she was born. While she still is just a peanut, she is quite healthy, with just a tiny white scar to show for her rough start. Happy third birthday little bird. We love you!