Toddler Charlie

      Oh, the trouble with being a toddler. Your mom dresses you like a character you have never heard of and forces you to sit on some hay only to shove a camera in your face. Sorry Charlie! But you make such a cute Pebbles Flintstone! I must say, I love this age, meltdowns and all. She has become a parrot repeating EVERYTHING I say...and don't teach toddlers the word "bench" unless you want to get weird looks in the mall as your kid screams a word very close to bench, but with more of a "T" sound in there...oh man! Charlotte is still my small little peanut, unintentional curse words and all. I love her personality. It takes her a while to warm up to people but once she does she's full of eskimo kisses and high fives.  She loves to dance, and sing! She sings the bubblegum song constantly and makes her stuffed animals do patty cake all day long. Nov. 5th she will be 20 months old and the countdown to her 2nd birthday begins...Okay Charlie, you can stop growing up now :)  Here are our latest adventures!

The last pool days of Summer...

Charlotte's first wedding...She was a dancing machine! 

Play time!

Tagging along with mommy and daddy while shopping, and her first Carousel ride!

The many faces of Charlie

First day of Preschool, First official School picture (with ladybug) and a happy Pebbles at the Zoo!

A trip to Indiana and wedding dress shopping with Aunt Sam!!

Fort Wayne Zoo! 

Story time, play time, and first Ponytail! 

Well my little duckling...You are just awesome...that is all! :)

Fun in the Sun!

      The last couple of weeks have been so busy for Charlie and me!  Most of our time has been spent with family outside in the warm (some might call it hot) Houston weather! Thank goodness we have 8 neighborhood pools to choose from. Even more so, thank goodness Charlie likes the water! We had a great visit from Nana and Papaw and were able to travel to Harlingen to visit Great Grandma and Grandpa! Charlotte got to play in the ocean for the first time at South Padre Island. Then for the 4th of July we traveled to Lake Palestine to visit Grandma and Grandpa Stevenson and Uncle Scott and played in the lake. Although Charlotte cried and cried because Aunt Gigi couldn't come, she was almost inconsolable at times! :) Well enough chitchat....here are the pictures!  

life lately...

So, since the last post a lot has happened.  Matt and I no longer have a baby, we have a full fledged toddler! Where does the time go? She is so stinking cute these days, but I'm a little biased of course. Here are some things Charlotte has been up to...

                       -She is walking/running everywhere, and getting into EVERYTHING.

                       -Everyday she adds a new word to her repertoire...my favorites are turtle, yellow, and pretty. 

                       - She loves her big (hairy) brother Buddy and loves throwing the ball for him, and thinks it's

                         hilarious when he sneezes.

                       - She is very shy!

                       - She loves bubbles...who doesn't love bubbles! 

                       - She loves going to story time at the library and dances the whole time.

                       - We took our first long car ride to Oklahoma, and she did fabulous!! And loved seeing her  

                         Aunt Gigi and Uncle Scott...and her furry cousins Nova and Phoenix!

                       - Her favorite foods at the moment are cheese, peas, and "Quackers" 

  

 She is just amazing, I could go on forever...but I'll just get to the pictures! 

 First Birthday party! It was cold, and WINDY! But none the less it was a great time and we are so thankful for great friends here in Houston. On her actual birthday we stole Matt from work and went to the Children's Museum.

Her second Easter! It was so much fun this year.

Bath time, bed time, play time!

Zoo, pool, and new helmet for the bike trailer! 

My beautiful toddler...I love you! 

11 months!

"Let your roots grow down into Christ and draw up nourishment from Him, so you will grow in faith, strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught. Let your lives overflow with thanksgiving for all He has done."

Colossians 2:7

       This was the verse we used to dedicate Charlotte at church. It was such a special moment that we were able to share with Grandma and Grandpa Stevenson. She was the star of the show of course, pointing and talking the entire time we were on stage. She even raised her hand in the air during the worship songs...hilarious!
      This past month Matt and I have been reminiscing a lot about how far we have come from so desperately wanting to start our family, to fertility treatments, to pregnancy and now we are planning Charlotte's one year birthday!  I know everyone says it goes fast, but no one said it goes at super sonic speeds...slow down!!! Here is what Charlie has been up to!


  -She has become a lot more aware of things around her and understands more and more. She pointed to the clouds for the first time and got really excited. I love discovering the world again through her eyes.
       
 - She can now point to her head, ears and nose. Although when you ask her where her head is, she slaps the side of her head and waits for you to say "BONK" then laughs hysterically.
       
 - She is becoming more stable while walking and takes 3-4 steps at a time alone but cries and prefers to hold onto a finger...not your hand, or thumb or anything else.  It has to be a single finger, and she will grab your hand and fix it before she takes another step!
       
- Oh and she loves unrolling the toilet paper, sigh...

Here are some photos!

Charlotte in my Great Grandmother's bonnet .

"look Joy (the owl) I'm 11 months old" 

reading her bedtime story

Her dedication wearing the cross necklace Nana and Papaw got her.

Family photo before the dedication. Thanks number 81 (?) for the photo bomb!

Happy Valentines day! 

Best friends looking out the window together. 

She loves the ducks! 

Run 4 the Children, 4 mile road race.

I got First Loser (according to Matt) aka 2nd place in my age group! 

She wanted to run too!

Charlotte and Matt....Identical! 

Trip to the aquarium....She loved the fish as long as they were smaller then her. 

The End :)