Wide Awake!

I have no idea why I did it, but for some reason I went to Starbucks tonight at 9:30 and drank a whole grande white mocha and now it's past midnight and I'm so wired I can't even lay in bed. So I figured I'd get up and come sit at the computer and maybe that would put me to sleep. My mother in law had brought me a big stack of books last weekend but I finished them all or I would just lay in bed and read...but I thought you would like to see some pictures and hear what we've been up to lately!

While laying in bed, before I realized I was hyped up on caffiene, I drafted in my head a schedule for the kids and I to try and follow during the day. I normally don't like schedules too much, but I feel like lately I've been a really selfish stay at home mom and I haven't been providing much education or activities for my kids and I think they're bored. So, hopefully making a schedule and putting it up where I can see it all day long will help me remember that the point of staying at home is to be with my children! I also thought about making up a reward chart for Timothy. I have seen plenty of them online and I even put one on his wish list on Amazon, but I thought in the mean time, I could just make one to hang up with out daily schedule. He works really well if there's a reward in sight, so hopefully this will help him learn some manners. He's been a little bad recently about interrupting (what three year old isn't?) and about hitting and pushing his sister so we'll see if working toward a goal will help him think before he acts!

I also enrolled him last week in a Mother's Day Out program at a local church. I had called around to a few preschools to see if I could get him in, but most were either full or really expensive so hopefully this will be a good fit. It's Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9-2 and they seem to have a good program. We go this Thursday to meet his teachers so I'm starting to think of things I will need to ask them ahead of time! I think Charlotte will enjoy the time alone with mommy and I know I'll enjoy her morning naps when I can get even more done around the house!

Some funny stories from this week - Timothy was playing with Charlotte tonight before dinner and they both came walking into the kitchen together and he announced, "we are ladies and gentlemen!", it was cute. We were in the car the other day and I was asking him what he had learned in Bible class on Sunday and usually he just replies, "Jesus" but this time he went into detail about how they talked about Jonah and the whale and Jonah was swallowed by the whale because he didn't obey God because he didn't want to go to "Ninenah" and the whale spit him out by a tree. Not too bad for a three year old, way to go Mac CofC 3 year old Sunday morning class teachers!! Charlotte got over her fussy spell from her 12 month shots and has returned to normal. She also cut a new tooth on the bottom and I think she's working on two more on the top so that would only add to the fussiness! I have to say though, she is the world's best sleeper! She will sleep 12-13 hours every night and still take two 2 hour naps each day...such a blessing! She's starting to babble more now but she still won't say much, I'm sure it will come in time.

I know I'm rambling, this is what happens when it's late and I should be sleeping...I'll just post some pictures and leave you with that for tonight, hopefully I'll be headed to bed soon!!

I had to throw in another pretty pig tails picture, and also one of her in hew favorite place to sit and play, the kitchen. She'll toddle over the oven and pull the towel off the door and wave it around and play with it...maybe her obsession with the kitchen means she'll be a famous chef someday...or maybe it just means she loves food!

I can't WAIT to pull this one out the first time he brings home a girl to meet his parents! Playing in his pull up, pushing a baby doll around in a stroller holding onto a purse...what a man!

They also love to play together in Timothy's closet. He has a storage basket full of stuffed animals in there so they pull them all out and close the door and "hide".

And I LOVE this one! Charlotte has no idea what her Wii remote is for, but Timothy has been a little obsessed with "glofing" lately (as he calls it) and plays almost every day.

And of course, Charlotte loves to make a mess with her pasta and any time I get the camera out, I have to take a picture of Timothy too. He was proud of the noodle that had gotten stuck on his chin.

One Year with the Pink Chair!

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!!

Well, this past Monday, my little baby turned one year old. Hard to believe this time last year we were just freshly home from the hospital! She had a great birthday party last Saturday and we were so blessed to have so many family and friends here for the occasion! She got so many new clothes and toys, it's nice to finally have more girl toys around the house, although she still plays with Timothy's cars a lot.

I had her one year check up on Tuesday and she came in at 20 pounds, 9 ounces, 31.25 inches tall which puts her in the 45th percentile for weight and the 97th for height. Basically, she's tall and skinny...much like her brother! She's walking much better now, she can make it the whole way across the room, but she's still a little unsteady. I tried giving her whole milk yesterday and she drank it, but I don't think she liked it very much...this weaning thing may be harder than I thought...I didn't have to worry about it with Timothy, but Charlotte is a different story! She eats great though, so far her favorites are either cheese or jelly sandwiches, quesadillas, yogurt, mandarin oranges, and of course, cookies. She didn't seem to like her birthday cake too much, but I don't think she really likes being messy. Her new favorite word sounds something like, "this" and she's started saying some form of "thank you" when I give her snacks or toys. She's not too consistent on "mama" or "dada" and she's stopped saying "uh oh" but hopefully that will all pick up more once she masters walking!

Anyway, here are the pictures from the party, they're not great and I didn't get very many, but I was a little distracted, and I'll post her first year of chair pictures next!

Charlotte's New Hairstyle!

I know, I know, I still have to post about her birthday, but these pictures were so cute and she looks so sweet I had to share!

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!!