I'm not particularly crafty...

So, I'm not really a crafty person. I wish I was... I'm just not...

I was playing with Charlotte yesterday and I found a very small container of play doh she had received in a gift bag from a birthday party. She held it in her hand, dropped it on the floor and walked away. I attributed it to the fact that it was a boring color (white) and wasn't big enough to really enjoy. So, while she took her whopping 3.5 hour nap, I looked online for a homemade play doh recipe. The first one I found looked easy enough! So, I gathered my ingredients and followed the instructions. I was surprised at how simple it was, and after about 10 minutes I had myself a nice large lump of pineapple smelling play doh sitting on my counter cooling off.

Granted, it wasn't very attractive, but I figured I'd add some food coloring and we'd be good to go. I waited impatiently for my creation to cool down enough to add some flour and dye. When it finally did, I added some purple food coloring... What's more fun than purple, right?!?

Needless to say, the food coloring didn't really take, so it ended up being a funky tan, brown color. Still, I was not dissuaded. This homemade play doh was sure to provide my little girl with hours of entertainment! 

Finally she woke up! I ran up to get her out of the crib, telling her excitedly that I had made her something special to play with and whisked her downstairs to show her... 

She seemed hesitant at first as I tried to hand her the large lump of play doh. She wouldn't even take it from me. I showed her how to poke it and prod it, and she did for about 10 seconds. I even got my husband involved. He started forming letters and shapes and pointing them out to her. 

But apparently after two minutes she figured she had humored us long enough, because she turned to me and promptly said, "I want fraw!" (i.e.- I want to draw.) So, defeated, I got her a pencil and some paper and she settled down on the kitchen floor to entertain herself. 

Note my homemade play doh, neglected in the background!

Feeling at least marginally bad for me, and taking pity on me, my husband mustered up some enthusiasm and joined me in making use of my somewhat wasted experiment! 

The creepy thing in the middle was my artistic rendering of Elijah... I know, it's obvious that I missed my true calling! I could have been the Madame Tussaud of the play doh world. 

Anyways, I salvaged the doh as it began to dry and plopped it into a container and stuck it in the fridge. Who knows, I might even attempt yet another play doh torture session with my daughter this evening! 

Laughing Baby...

Who doesn't love a laughing baby?

Um... No one!

Smiley Guy

Another comparison

As Elijah gets older he keeps making facial expressions that remind me of baby Charlotte. I'm always amazed when I go through baby photos of Charlie and compare them to Elijah. 

Wow, they really look so much alike! 

The Beach

Sorry I haven't posted much lately. Living my life in three hour increments means I'm pretty much narcoleptic all the time! So be prepared for an onslaught of posts over the next few weeks. Enjoy!!

Long before the weather turned warm, I took Charlie to the beach and introduced her to sand.

My handsome little man

Comparison photo

It isn't until I put pictures of baby Charlotte up next to pictures of Elijah that I realize how similar they are. Here is a picture of Charlotte at six weeks old and Elijah at nine. Definitely siblings!

Elijah finds his voice...

With my little man passing his nine week mark, he's become quite the little charmer!

Try and resist those coos... just try!

Charlotte and her baby doll...

If this isn't proof enough that Charlotte needs baby supervision, I don't know what is!!

Poor baby doll!

Introducing Elijah John

We are pleased to announce the birth of our son, Elijah John, on March 19th at 6:52 pm. He was 7 lbs 9 oz and was 20 inches long.

Welcome to our world, little man!!

Eighteen Months!

My little bug turned 18 months this past weekend! In celebration, I would like to share with you the many faces of Charlie!

"I do not approve of your shenanigans.. or this hat..."

"stink eye"

"Paranoid"

"Watch me dance"

"I'm just minding my own business..."

"Please don't interrupt me, I'm in the middle of my two favorite activities-
talking on the phone and watching Pride and Prejudice"

"borderline smile"

"concentrating"

"Contented Charlie"

 

HAPPY 18 MONTHS, CHARLOTTE!!

An assembly such as this???

At 17 months, Charlotte's absolutely favorite thing to watch on television is the 5 hour british version of Pride and Prejudice. The one commonly known as "The one with Colin Firth."

As my belly has gotten larger, my energy level has greatly diminished. After a long day at work and a long commute, I am pretty much spent by the time I get home. Usually I am able to muster just enough energy to make dinner, but then I really just want to veg. This is no easy task with a very active toddler running around, wanting to be carried and doted on. Believe me, I would much rather be playing with her on the floor or chasing her around. I started letting her watch a little more television than normal. We would sit on the couch and just chill. At first it was Baby Einstein, but that got old really quick (for me, not her!) So, one evening I popped in Pride and Prejudice and a monster was born!

Charlotte LOVES it. She will sit and watch with me as long as I want. She points to all the horses and 'talks' about the dogs. She waves to Lizzie. She knows exactly when the dance scenes are coming up and starts to wiggle. I won't be too surprised if she starts speaking with a British accent pretty soon!

To my horror and delight, the other week, she brought me the Pride and Prejudice case and made the sign for more. Last week I asked about each of the characters on the cover and she could point out each one of them... And last night she tried saying "Darcy" and "Lizzie!"

So here are some videos of Charlotte enjoying her favorite movie of all time. What's not to love?

*Here is Charlotte pointing out the characters on the case*

*Note the dramatic fall at the end and the enthusiastic clapping*

*Pride and Prejudice has also taught her that all good dancing involves bowing*

I comfort myself in the fact that there are worse vices she could have!

Early domesticity is highly encouraged...

Charlotte's love of vacuums is starting to get out of control. She knows the word, knows where one is kept and can hear one a mile away.

Sometimes she tries to intervene and take over vacuuming, but gets angry when I try to explain to her that you can't always go forward with a vacuum. Sometimes you have to go backwards. She will have nothing to do with that silliness.

I was giving her a bath in the sink last night when she heard Tim vacuuming in the other room. This elicited such excitement that bubbles and water flew everywhere accompanied by squeals of delight.

Later, Tim laid the vacuum down on the ground so that he could clean out the bristle area and she wandered over, got on the floor and nestled her head against it. My precious. 

In Charlotte's world, her love of the vacuum is rivaled only by her love of the kitty. Therefore, I truly pity B'Oscar if she ever learns to combine these two passions!

She took a brief moment out of her vacuum reverie to talk to me in her "old man" voice.

Now back to playing... I like how at the end of this video, she crawls across the room and starts chewing on the protective guard we installed on the fireplace... Mmm... tasty... 

One year later...

Have I mentioned lately...

.. how much I love this girl???

This picture was taken back at Thanksgiving. I love her hair!

A girl on vacation...

A little girl in a great big world

2012

2011 will always have a fondness in my memory. It's the year my baby started to crawl and then walk. It's the year she learned how to give kisses and wave hello. It's also the year of "mama" and "dada" and learning how to roar like a lion.

Watching Charlotte grow up right before my eyes has been amazing, humbling, frustrating, inspiring, terrifying, rewarding and so many other things! Seeing her discover the world around her and observing her personality really beginning to blossom has been such an extraordinary experience. People said it would happen fast, and they were right. One year ago she couldn't do much of anything. Now she tries to put on her own socks, dances to every song she hears and gives some pretty good cuddles (when she's in the mood!)

2011 is the year we found out about and started preparing for Chapter 2 and soon, Chapter 2 will be here. Feeling the baby kick and watching my belly move makes me smile, even at three in the morning.

2011 had its rough patches as well... Moments I wish never happened, or moments that seemed to change everything. But there is no undoing those moments, so we move on, trusting that God's plan is bigger than our vision.

2012 has a lot of potential. We are all eager to meet Chapter 2 and watch our little family grow and change. We are curious how Charlotte will react to being a big sister and interested to see how she embraces her new role.

I've never been one for New Year's resolutions and this year is no different. I only pray that God will use this year to reveal himself more to us each day and draw us closer to Him and help us to follow closer in His will.

A girl and her daddy...

There's nothing more fun than a laser pointer...

Happy New Year!!

Christmas Breakfast

Not the most enthusiastic kitchen helper...

Half-asleep

Nope, not much help at all!