So Thankful

I have SO many things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. I have never been more blessed in my life. I am first and foremost thankful to my Lord and Savior for forgiving my daily transgressions and filling me with hope, joy, and peace. Everything I have comes from You and may I always praise Your Name!I have never been more in love with my amazing husband. Watching you become a Daddy has been the most amazing experience. I love sharing our little girl together. I don't know what I would do without you to share my journey through life. You make me laugh and hold me when I cry. Thank you for loving our family so much.

Oh, sweet Charlotte, there could not be prouder Mama. You are such a joy. You make your Daddy and me laugh and smile constantly. I could never had imagined how much I would love watching you grow and learn. You change on a daily basis. Slow down! Your smiles and laughter bring joy to my heart.

I am so thankful for all of our family. We have so many people who love us and care for us. Who could ask for more?

Finally, to our friends and church family, thank you for sharing in our daily lives. We love you all!

Not good

This is what happens when a little girl gets a stomach bug. She cuddles with Mommy and Daddy all day.
Charlotte is smiling even though she was definitely feeling bad. When we got her out of bed on Saturday morning we discovered that she had thrown up sometime during the night and then slept in it all night. Poor baby! I immediately gave her a bath because she was smelly. We were trying to decide if it was just a fluke, or an illness. When she started to lay around on her Daddy the answer of "illness" was confirmed. Our little girl is not a cuddler, so that was very abnormal. Later that day, we heard from her babysitter and she and her daughter both had the stomach bug as well.
Luckily, Charlotte only threw up one other time that evening. I totally reacted like a Mom. She threw up all over me. Instead of being upset about being covered in throw up, I started crying because I was so sad that she felt that bad.
On Sunday night I came down with the stomach bug. Again, my first reaction was to think, "I can't believe Charlotte felt this bad." I just felt so horrible that she had to suffer through what I was suffering through at that moment. I am feeling a lot better and Charlotte is mostly back to herself. She is just more tired and wants to eat less than normal. Our first stomach bug is out of the way and I hope it doesn't come back for a VERY long time!

On the move

This is what has been happening lately at our house!

7 months old

Charlotte is 7 months old! We went to the doctor for a check up today and got her stats:

Weight: 17 lbs. 11 oz. (50%)

Height: 26 1/2 inches (50 %)

Head: 26 1/2 inches (75%)

Charlotte is such a happy and fun baby! She love to smile and laugh. Her neck is very ticklish and she loves blowing raspberries. She has the best smile for Mommy and Daddy when she sees us. We love our little girl and are so blessed to be her parents. She brings so much joy, love, and laughter to our lives.
Here are some things about Charlotte at 7 months:

- She can crawl! She is off to the races - well sort of. She has the perfect crawling technique, but does it slowly. She gets a little faster every day

- She can almost go from crawling to a sitting position, but not quite

- She pulled herself up to standing all on her own two times last night! Aaaa!

- Char goes to bed at 7:30 and usually sleeps about 10-11 hours through the night. She usually takes 2 naps a day and sometimes we can get her to take another short early evening/later afternoon nap.

- Her favorite toys are her balls from her monkey toy, her little musical laptop, and our cat, Oreo!

- She still loves jumping in her jumparoo. She will jump for 20 minutes straight!

- In the car she loves to play with her car seat toys and talk to herself.

- Things don't stay on her feet very well. She loves to pull off her shoes and socks.

- She eats oatmeal, green beans, peas, avocado, squash, carrots and sweet potatoes. We will introduce fruit very soon! She is picky about texture so she seems to like the Gerber food better than the homemade food I have made because it is smoother.

- She is completely on formula now.

Happy Halloween 2010

We had a wonderful Halloween this year! I LOVE Halloween. As a kid, there was just nothing better than playing dress-up and getting lots of candy. So, I was excited for Charlotte's first Halloween. We had several different Halloween shirts to celebrate. I will let the pictures tell the story of our Halloween.

"I love my Mummy"

So excited to be a "Little Pumpkin"

"My First Halloween"

Charlotte loves Oreo SO much!

Charlotte was a little ladybug

Sitting outside handing out candy

She looks very concerned that I am going to take her toys away.

Mama and baby ladybugs.

A few days before Halloween, our small group had a costume party. Here is our family:

Somehow we ended up with a garden theme that we didn't plan! We always keep costumes a surprise until the party. Charlotte is a lady bug, Jake and Mal are garden gnomes, and Emmie is a bee.

A bee and her beekeeper (Emmie and Cari)

A gardener, rosebush and bud, and two garden gnomes (Justin, Alli, Jake, Mal, and little Beau)

Liz Lemon and Frank from 30 Rock (Jenn and Jacob)

A sheriff and wanted criminal (Haley and Brian in spirit)

Iron Man and Peek-a-boo (Eric, Summer, and baby boy)