NJ fun and NY troubles!

I know today is Charlotte's birthday, but I've been so exhausted from the past couple of weeks that I figured I should get this post done before I think about birthday posts! And...I always feel like I have to report events in chronological order...sorry!

So on August 6th, my mom and the kids and I left and flew to NJ to meet my dad and sister and nephew for the weekend. We stayed at my aunt and uncle's beach house for the weekend with my grandparents and then stayed at my aunt and uncle's house till Tuesday when we attempted to come home. The time at the beach was great, I hadn't seen my grandparents since my wedding and they had never met Timothy and Charlotte, so it was great to get to see them again, hopefully we can go back soon and spend time with my aunt and uncle (who graciously let us stay in their homes while they were away in Europe!). The beach up there was surprisingly nice too and the water wasn't too cold. Charlotte, of course, loved to eat the sand, and Timothy liked to stand and look at the water. Tyler jumped right in and swam in the ocean, that boy has no fear!! I think Timothy's favorite part of the week was standing on the top balcony in the house and spitting ice onto the driveway. The best part of the weekend was when the lifeguard pulled up and parked in the street in front of the house and Timothy saw her get out of her car (in a bikini) and exclaimed quite loudly, "Look, she's a naked girl!".

On Sunday we headed back to my aunt and uncle's house and stayed there Sunday night and Monday night. On Monday, the real fun began. We tried to drive into NYC to go the Museum of Natural History and to the Yankee's game that night. On our drive in that morning, the Kia van that my parents had rented from Enterprise lost all power in the middle of the George Washington bridge!! We were able to coast off the bridge and off on the first exit to a park along the Hudson River where we were stranded for the next almost two hours. Needless to say, none of us will be buying a Kia or renting from Enterprise again - and that's not even the end of the troubles with that darn van!! We got it to start back up and made it to the Museum and the Yankee's game and home again that night.

The Museum was really cool, I wish we had had more time to spend in there, the ocean room was amazing. The Yankee's game was fun, but SO hot and humid! We made it to almost the end of the 5th inning when Charlotte started to fall apart so we had to leave. I don't think Tyler or my dad were too happy about that! We enjoyed time at the house and the wonderful pool and ate dinner at Friendly's - we used to eat there every time we would come visit when we were little. Brittany got a picture of us in front of the sign so I'll post it when I get it (hint hint!!).

We attempted to leave on Tuesday morning. We were driving to the airport when the van started to break down again. It was crazy, we would drive for a few minutes and then dad had to pull off on the shoulder and let it rest for a minute and then try it again. We ended up getting to the airport five minutes past the check in time for mine and mom's and the kids' flight back home and they wouldn't let us check in, so thus began our fight with the Delta counter at Newark airport. That was the rudest bunch of women I have ever seen!! They finally got us on a flight to Atlanta but couldn't guarantee a flight to San Antonio. We got to Atlanta and waited to hear our names called for the SA flight since we were first on the standby list...but in the end, we didn't make it and ended up spending the night in Atlanta and catching a flight home the next afternoon. It was so sad, the kids were starving, we had to sleep in our clothes, Charlotte spent the night in a hotel pack n play in the bathroom and the poor girl was so tired that I had to wake her up the next morning so that we wouldn't miss the shuttle to the airport!! Again, needless to say, I will never buy a Kia or rent from Enterprise again!! I had never been so happy to be home and to take a shower!!

It was a fun trip in all though, and I do hope we get to go back and see everyone again soon. I promise I'll blog about Charlotte's birthday soon!!

Random Update and Pictures

Not much new going on here, just trying to survive the heat and keep up with these kids. They've both been making major developmental progress lately (at least I think it's major) so they're keeping me busy! Timothy is going on a week or so now of being somewhat potty trained...we don't leave the house much, so he spends his days at home in his underwear, but he keeps it dry now most of the time and he went all day yesterday with NO accidents! And Saturday he pooped in the potty TWICE!! We're going to the store tomorrow to buy him a prize. Charlotte is determined to walk soon, her record so far is seven steps, so she's doing pretty good! As long as she doesn't start laughing she can make it at least three steps most of the time. She's also learned that when mommy has the camera, she's supposed to pose and smile...so cute! Anyway, here are the random pictures of life at our house this past week!

Eleven Months Old

I remember this time last year and how I was so miserable and I just wanted to have that baby and get it over with and "next July" seemed so far away! Charlotte seems so much bigger this month, she's getting so much more hair, she's getting quite a personality, and she's becoming a big handful as well! We had a big month for #11, we drove across 4 states, stayed at the beach, celebrated the 4th of July, got a cold, and learned how to throw a fit! So here is what the little missy has been up to in her own words...

I had a lot of fun this month, I especially enjoyed going to the beach and playing in the water and the sand.

I still don't know how to walk, but I want to learn. I get really frustrated trying to figure it out. I will stand up and hold a toy and try to take a step and then I fall and throw my toy and then I stand up and try it again!

I like to crawl all over the house now, especially the kitchen. Mommy doesn't understand why I like the kitchen so much, but it's my new favorite place to play.

I also like to play chase, it's my favorite game. I like it when Timothy chases me and I crawl as fast as I can into his room to play with his trains. His bedroom is my second new favorite place to play. He has a lot of fun toys.

I like to eat anything and everything, but I don't always like to have mommy and daddy cut it up for me. Sometimes, I like to try and hold a big piece and eat it all by myself. Mommy and daddy think I might be a little independant.

I like to make silly faces for the camera and I like to show off my teeth.

That's all there is for this month, but I've been told that next month is a big deal and there will be a big cake and lots of balloons!!!

HOT, HOT, HOT!!

I can't believe this weather we're having, I'm so glad we moved here in the winter, because I think I would have just packed back up and moved back to WA if we had arrived here in the summer. I don't even know how many straight days now we've had temperatures over 100. Plus, all of us, except Brandon, have had colds, allergies, ear infection, cough things going on this past week so it has really not been a fun time at our house! I think we're all recovering though, so if the weather could cool off a bit, that would be perfect!!!

But, enough complaining, here are some pictures of what we've been up to lately!

Brandon stayed home on Monday to help out with the kids since I wasn't feeling well, they both enjoyed cuddling with daddy until I started taking pictures and then they got silly!

They've been playing together fairly well lately. Timothy still tries to take over and doesn't want to share much, and now Charlotte gets mad when he takes her toys away. It's not as bad when they're at home and she has more toys of her own that she can play with, but when they're in the car it gets pretty bad. I can only imagine it's going to get much worse before it gets better!!

Timothy and I watched the Narnia movies the other day and he decided he needed to sit in his "zebra" and hold his "sword" so he could help fight the bad guys. He was so funny, he would run around the room and "kill" some of the bad guys and then sit down and then out of nowhere he would jump up and have to go get the rest of the bad guys. He has quite the imagination!!

Charlotte doesn't really seem interested in walking much at all. She can stand by herself, without holding onto anything, and she can walk with her walker, she doesn't really seem to like it though. She's a fast little crawler and she likes to have mommy or Timothy chase her now.

She's really into making messes though, and she loves to pull EVERYTHING off of the bookshelves and make a huge mess. She throws around all the puzzle boxes until they open and the pieces all fall out. She's really becoming a little toddler and not so much a baby anymore :(

This is one of the rare moments that Charlotte did decide to use her walker, but you can see it was short-lived!

Happy Fourth of July!

We have had quite the day today, both kids are sick, running fevers, runny noses, Timothy is coughing up a storm and has an ear infection...it's been a fun holiday weekend. So we tried our best to celebrate as best as we could. We got some red, white, and blue cupcakes and then we dressed the kids up to take pictures. Now, we're going to put them in their pj's and head out to try and find a fireworks show that we can just park and watch from the safety of our car. I told Brandon I was tempted to put them to bed early and call a babysitter to come sit at the house while they slept so we could go out, but oh well, it's a memory I guess :)