....Twelve Months....

A year ago today I went to bed, feeling a little off, but ready for some sleep.  Charlotte had other plans.  I went into labor and at 6:59am our little Charlotte Elizabeth was born, weighing 8 lb 3oz and measuring 21 in long.  I can hardly believe that it has already been a full year.  This little girl has been such a joy to our lives and we are so grateful for her, I can't really remember life without her.

She continues to grow and develop.  Charlotte is currently 29 inches tall and weighs 21 pounds 15 ounces.  She walks everywhere these days, claps, waves good-bye, says "mama" and "dada", and climbs all over everything!  We've started weaning and she is taking to a sippy cup like a pro.  She prefers to drink from a normal cup, but she always spills so she only uses one of those while I hold her.

 She loves to play with her toys and she cuddles her babies and stuffed animals.

 For her birthday we gave her a sandbox, sans sand.  We'll get some sand this weekend and move it outside then, but Charlotte has enjoyed playing in it as it is.

 I see these girls having a lot of fun playing in here as the weather warms up.

 We are having a little birthday party for Charlotte on Saturday, but I still wanted to have a cake today, since it is her birthday.  I tried out a fun technique to frost it and had fun doing it.

 Charlotte had fun eating it so that's what matters.

 The birthday girl had a busy morning though and she fell asleep while eating her cake.

 Thankfully the sun came out so after nap time the girls and I went outside to enjoy the sun and get some work done.  Charlotte loves to swing and is happy to sit in the swing for an hour.

 Lily helped me clean up the last of the leaves in the yard.  She is actually really good with the rake and enjoys helping me put the leaves in the bags.

It has been a great day and we are so grateful for our little family!

Lily the Sous Chef

 Lily loves to cook and bake with me, in fact, if she is awake she has to be by my side, on a chair helping in some way.  This afternoon she helped my make bread by pouring some of the ingredients into the mixer and holding the mixer (cause that's important) while the dough was kneaded.

She asked for mac and cheese for dinner (not that she ate any of it) and helped my stirring the pasta in the milk while it boiled (also, a very important job) while mom got everything else ready.  This girl is going to be a pro in no time!

 Of course after dinner the silliness was on!  The girls were rolling around in a blanket on Oscar's bed with a flashlight and laughing like it was the funniest thing ever.

I love being a mom!

My New Friend

It is amazing what growing up can do to a person.  I've never been the coolest kid on the block, but I'm not the biggest dork either.  But somehow, over the last decade or so I've grown up a bit and the things that get me excited and make me happy have changed.  Somehow, I've turned into someone that gets ridiculously excited to get a new dishwasher.  How did this happen to me?  I'm so much happier having spent the money on a dishwasher rather than new clothes or (gasp!) even shoes!  This is ridiculous, but I suppose that it is what it is and I may as well embrace the change.

I've been hand washing everything for the last nine months, since our old dishwasher bite the dust (or flooded the house) and frankly, I'm tired of it.  My poor hands are dry and cracked, and my counter and sink are always covered in dishes.  And given how much I love to cook and bake there is no end to the washing.

Yesterday, I woke up, checked my email, and there was my salvation!  An email from Sears saying that the dishwasher that we ordered 2 weeks ago was in.  I got in the truck and took off down the road to go get it, I was not waiting any longer than I had to.  Last night Tyson installed it for me, and we checked it for leaks, but there were only 5 or 6 dishes in the sink at the time because, silly me, I had washed them earlier in the day.  So this afternoon, after lunch, I ran my first load.  It was glorious!

Just in time too, because we have a birthday tomorrow and I'm going to be baking and making all kinds of messes.

Oh the silliness!

Today was nuts!  But this little bit of silliness was sure a lot of fun to watch.

Sisterly Love

Wouldn't it be fun if sisters could always act like this?

Don't get me wrong, our girls absolutely love each other, they play together, and they take good care of each other.  But at the end of the day they are sisters, and since I have 5, I kinda know how it goes.

They really do love each other, right after Charlotte fell here Lily let go of the ball and crouched down next to Charlotte and asked if she was okay.

And she is walking!

Wasn't she just this big? 

 I can't get past it, I still think of her as my little baby and now she is walking all over the place!  She took her first steps about 2 months ago, but has preferred to continue crawling for the most part, taking occasional steps to get to me or from one item of furniture to another, but never more than 7 or 8 at a time.  However, in the last few days that changed and now our little Charlotte is walking all over the place, and only crawling after she falls.

When she is walking to me her arms are almost always outstretched, this is what I call her "zombie baby" walk.

One week from tomorrow this little girl turns one, my how time flies!

Don't call me bald!

It made be sparse and so light that it is hard to see, but the girl does have hair!