Making her mama smile!

The teacher in me does a back flip every time I see this little one "reading". She absolutely loves books. She loves to be read to and she loves quietly looking at books by herself. At least once a day she will disappear into her room for 5-10 minutes. When I go peek in on her she is sitting in her chair reading. She loves to yell "mama" when she wants new books. The first few times it was so cute as I went to retrieve her more books. Now I just yell back, "Charlotte, get your own books!" Reading has always been a big hobby of mine, and I hope she grows up loving the adventures I book can bring as much as I always have.

So happy to be reading!

Little Pink Riding Hood

Mark's Aunt DD made this cape for Charlotte when she was born. It is very cute and so special to us. Charlotte wore it to church this past Sunday and she was so excited about it!

Favorite Moments of 2011

This will be a post in pictures. They are in order from January - December. Just look at how my little girl has grown!

The last Christmas post!

I'm just barely squeaking in the post before the new year! We had a wonderful time celebrating Christmas with Mark's side of the family. Charlotte just loved being around everyone and she especially love playing with her cousins. They are so much older than her, but still love to play with her. I know she just adores them and I am really appreciate them always including her. Isn't family great?

Daddy and Char in front of the fireplace

Hanging out with Poppy and Grammy

Hanging out with Ben and watching him play his game

Finally, present opening time!

Early Training

No, this post is not about training for any kind of physical activity, although it should be with the amount of calories I have consumed in the past week! Rather, it is about training Charlotte in the art of housework. She got a vacuum for Christmas because she loves to follow me around when I vacuum. She has been playing with it a lot in the last few days. Today, I finally pulled out my vacuum to clean up our Christmas mess and Charlotte was beside herself because she got to mimic my every move! I can't wait until she is big enough to push the real vacuum! Hmmm, I wonder if she will still want to after she realizes it is a chore?

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! Santa came to visit us and we had a great morning together opening presents before church. Here are a few snapshots of our morning.

Cookie Madness

I don't know what it is about iced sugar cookies that just calls my name. Maybe it is the way my teeth sink into the doughy goodness just before the sugary wonder melts onto my tongue. Or perhaps it is the bright colorful decorations that just beckon to be eaten. Whatever it is, I can't get enough of these sweet little morsels. My mom did some cookie decorating with the kids in Buda, but Char missed out on it. I knew that our nieces and nephews on Mark's side would love it, so I decided to replicate the activity. We used a royal icing recipe from my friend, Alli. Then, I put the cookies on wax paper and let the kids decorate away. After the icing hardens, they are ready to eat! Yummy!

The kids waiting patiently with their sprinkles at the ready

I love how fast her little hand it shaking the sprinkles!

Ben and Anna get in on the fun

Mama and daughter in matching aprons. I'm so glad that Charlotte decided (today) to start smiling for pictures again.

Charlotte's creations