Life In the Northwoods

Santa!

2011-12-12T21:25:00.002-07:00

Charlie lives in the middle of a world of fantasy. She is a princess and mean dragons, mean monsters, and mean polar bears are real threats. She has all the Disney princess and speed dial. Belle and Beast visit us frequently, and a trip to Disneyland for a tea party is a daily occurrence. You can see how Santa Clause fits perfectly into her daily routine.

The first time we talked about Santa this year is on Thanksgiving. We were listening to Christmas music and I said something like, "Charlie, did you know Santa says Ho, Ho, Ho.?" She responded, "No, Santa says Bwa, Ah, Ah, Ah! And has mean eyes and mean teeth." She obviously thought that Santa was a vampire...she had no idea who he was.

Fast forward to the Monday after Thanksgiving. We were at the mall and I decided to just point out Santa to Charlie. I didn't really want to stand in line or go into details on who he is. We hadn't really talked about him and I wasn't sure how much I wanted to tell her. But when she laid eyes on the pudgy old man she fell in love. "Santa! See him. See him!" I told Charlie that we were just about to leave and we would have to stand in line to see him. "Stand in line! Stand in line!" So we did. (There were only about three kids before us.) She waited patiently and then sprinted to him when it has her turn. She was in heaven. He asked her what she wanted for Christmas. She said, "presents." And right there and then she knew that Santa was real and he was bringing her presents. I mean, she believes in mean polar bears and she has never sat on one's lap. How could she not believe in Santa?

So I decided to use this belief to my advantage. Santa is taking Charlie's diapers when he comes to leave her presents. I think Santa is going to leave some panties and some potty treats in place of all those diapers. So I get to blame all the hard potty training on Santa! I think it is only fair he gets to be the mean guy this once since he takes so much credit for leaving presents. Don't you?

78

2011-12-12T21:15:00.003-07:00

Charlie is starting to get the concept of time. I can now ask her questions like "How long have you been awake?" or "How long have you had a poopy diaper?" and she will accurately tell me "long time" or "little time." (She is growing up so fast!) But in regards to time of day she still has no idea, but she doesn't like to admit she has no idea. If she hears me ask Seth a question dealing with the time of day she will positively answer, "Seven-eight."

"What time is it?" "Seven-eight."
"When will you be home?" "Seven-eight."
"What time did Charlie get up" "Seven-eight."

It is pretty much always seven-eight around here.

Liken

2011-12-01T22:14:00.002-07:00

Charlie is very much into likening everything unto her own life. Here are my two favorite examples:

The other night we went to the Dinosaur Museum and there is a big Lizard in the foyer. I pointed at it and said, "Look how chubby that lizard is!" It had a big belly sticking out. Charlie said, "Just like baby Paige!" (Her six-month-old cousin.)

A few night ago we were reading the classic Christmas poem 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. When Seth got to the part that says he had a "little round belly that shook like a bowl full of jelly," she said, "Just like Mommy!"

Oh dear. Good thing she is so cute.

Compliment Game

2011-12-01T22:04:00.002-07:00

The other evening Charlie and I were reading The Friend magazine before bedtime. I read her a story about a Sharing Time activity where kids told compliments to other kids. She quickly gets bored of stories that don't have enough pictures, so I had the idea to play the game ourselves. I told her that I would say something nice about her and then she would need to say something nice about me. She thought it was a great idea! It went something like this...

Me: Charlie, you are very smart.
Charlie: You go to Disneyland. (I really do think she thinks this is the nicest thing you could say to or about anyone.)

Me: You are nice to your friends.
Charlie: You put blanket on Belle.

Me: You have a beautiful smile.
Charlie: You turn on my fan.

And on and on. We probably did 20 rounds and she never said the same thing twice. My goal is to play the game again and remember everything she says. She is so creative!

Toddlers Are So Fun*strating!

2011-10-31T22:47:00.004-06:00

Charlie has become so much fun lately! I just love her. And she has also become so frustrating! I just can't stand her! Here are some of the fun things she has done lately:

-The other morning she woke up and the first thing she said is "Mom, NEED watch Doya!" (As in Dora the Explorer, her new favorite show.) So I was trying to stall and asked her what her very favorite thing about Dora is. She said, "Doya NOT favorite. Ca-eee love ALLLLL princesses. And mean monsters. And mean dragons." She then proceeded to pester me until I would turn Dora on for her.

-We went to Cornbelly's Corn Maze the other Friday, and they have a bunch of playground areas and bounce houses and things that toddlers love. But it was starting to get dark so Seth was trying to talk Charlie into going over to the corn maze. She was NOT interested. He couldn't get her to put her shoes on and she could have easily gone into tantrum mode. But then he had the brilliant idea to tell Charlie that a corn maze is just like a scary forest! Woa! We couldn't get to that maze fast enough. And she just ran, and ran, and ran. Which is great because I never let her just run and run.

-Every now and then we stay out too late with Charlie and she had a complete fit in the car on the way home. One way we have found to calm her down is to sing songs. Wheels On Bus was the song of choice a few weeks ago. Seth went through the usual things on the bus like wipers and babies and started in on the not-so-usual things like dogs. Charlie started laughing and said, "No dogs on bus daddy! Hehe! Silly, silly daddy. No dogs on bus!" So then he continued on with cats, lions, bugs, etc. with Charlie laughing and calling him silly, silly daddy all the way home. So the last few days Charlie has been wanting to talk about the silly things that go on the bus. She'll ask, "Wheels On Bus, daddy! But just talk 'bout it. Just talk." The singing is out! And Seth has to keep talking, and talking, and talking about things on the bus for what feels like hours. You should hear some of the things that get on the bus! My favorite is when Charlie said God got on the bus. Seth wasn't sure what to say God did on the bus. I believe he just stayed for a little while and told the other passengers that they need to be nice to each other. Not too blasphemous, right?

-Charlie has to do everything by herself. If you pick her up to help her down the stairs she will walk back up those stairs so she can walk down them herself. If you take her shirt off for her she will put it back on so she can take it off herself. So I have to get her permission to do anything to her or I run the risk things taking an eternity to get done.

Happy Birthday!

2011-09-19T21:02:00.002-06:00

Seth's birthday was on Saturday and a few days before I told Charlie that she needed to get a present for him. She automatically got a big smile on her face, put her hands up to her mouth, gasped, and said in a whisper, "Ooooh, fruit snacks?!?!" I told her that was a great idea. Then she said, "Daddy, share? Daddy SHARE!!!!" She was positively giggly about it.

So the day before his birthday I told Charlie it was time to wrap his present. So she went down to our horde of fruit snacks and picked the Toy Story variety for Seth (I'm not sure if she thought that the Princess or Tinkerbell varieties weren't manly enough for him or if she wanted to keep those ones for herself). Then she picked a bright pink bag with brighter pink polka dots to wrap it in.

Ya'll might think that fruit snacks wrapped in a bright pink bag are not that exciting of a present for Seth. But I'll tell ya, he LOVED them and Charlie's reaction when he opened them. And then Charlie loved them as he shared.

The Boss

2011-09-09T16:27:00.003-06:00

"Kids are definitely the boss of you. Anyone who will barge into the room while you are on the commode is the boss of you. And when you explain to them that you're on the commode and that they should leave but they don't? That's a high-level boss." Tina Fey

So Charlie is the boss of Seth and I. In so, so many ways.

-If I eat my string cheese the way it is meant to be eaten-pulling pieces off in long strings-she tells me, "No! Like this. {CHOMP}!" Meaning, I need to take big bites off the end. No stringing allowed.

-When Seth gets home from work we are not allowed to talk to each other. If I dare strike up a conversation she puts her hand up in a "STOP!" action and says "STOP TALKING DADDY." (meaning to Daddy). She'll do the same to Seth, "STOP TALKING MOMMY!"

-We are not allowed to sing unless she requests it. Heaven forbid I get a song stuck in my head and accidentally sing a few bars, "No singing mommy!"

-My hair is not allowed to be pulled up in a ponytail or messy bun. Apparently it is so offensive to her that she will cry over it, "Mommy, no hair up {WAIL}!" She really doesn't cry often so it is fascinating to me she is willing to let the tears spill over this. If I come into a room with my hair down after having it up that day Charlie will say, "Mommy! Hair down! So toot! So toot!" And she will stroke it and laugh and just be adorably happy about it.

-Whenever we need to leave I always give Charlie a count down. Something like, "Charlie you can go down the slide two more times, then we have to go." She is always ok with this until we get to the number one. "Charlie only ONE more time down the slide." She then starts in on the countering. "No. Five." She doesn't ask for one or two more. It is five every time. I personally think she is going to be a great salesperson when she grows up because she usually gets her five more times.

-Charlie asks us to tell stores ALL. THE. TIME. "Story? Story? Story? Story? Story? Story? Story? Story? Story? Story? Story? Story? Story? Story? Story? Story? Story? Story? Story? " FINE! I will tell you a story! I probably tell 20 stories a day. And if I tell the story in a way she doesn't like she will tell me about it. "No, mommy! Then dragon come." Oh, I am so sorry the MY story isn't how YOU want it. Geez. I have recently started asking her to tell me a story and her response: "Noooo, Charlie toooooooo busy." (Right now she asks for stories about Belle, King Triton, Flounder, and Prince Philip. Oh, and she is either marrying Prince Philip or Daddy depending on the day.)

I just want to let you know that even though Charlie is quite bossy, she really is the sweetest thing and I just love her to death. If I ever feel like she is being a little too bossy or mean I'll say, "Charlie, can you be nice to mommy?" and she will repeat whatever she was saying in the sweetest high-pitched voice and big old smile and a really long "pleeeeeaaaase?" She really is just a sweetheart.

Little Tooter

2011-09-08T22:19:00.002-06:00

The other day Charlie was eating breakfast and she tooted pretty loudly. I responded as I always do by saying, "Charlie, what do you say?" and she always says "'cuse me."

Usually it ends there, but this time she looked at me and said "Mommy, what Charlie do called?" (She is doing really well with sentences, just not so well with putting the words in the right order.)

So I said, "It is called tooting." She nodded that she understood. The rest of the day there were three or four times that I would look at her and she would be making a certain face and then see me watching her and exclaim, "Mommy, Charlie not tooting!" Suuuuuuuure.

Our First Garden

2011-08-25T22:31:00.002-06:00

We have a garden this year. Why have I waited so long to give it a try? It is so fun! And really not as much work as I thought it would be. Unfortunately it also isn't as fruitful as I want a garden to be. So far this is what we have...

watermelon: died
cantaloupe: one tiny fruit on the vine
zucchini: five medium sized squashes
yellow squash: one squash
butternut squash: one squash
pumpkin: one squash (are pumpkins squash?)
four tomato plants: one red tomato; countless green tomatoes

If you count the watermelon and zucchini as outliers and throw them out, do you notice a pattern? Only ONE fruit per plant?!? Geez. I guess I need to plant things in a place that gets more than four house of sunlight a day.

We also have a garden box in a community garden space with lots of sunlight. I planted carrots, green onions, cucumber, and...SIX tomatillo plants. I just found out that ONE plant would have done me just fine. But when I asked the nursery if they had tomatillos they gave me six. So I planted six. I was planning on making a little bit of tomatillo dressing like they have at Cafe Rio and now I am planning on canning a whole bunch of tomatillo salsa. Hopefully I like it. If not I'll keep it in my food storage and pour it over my wheat kernels when the world is coming to an end. I'm sure I'll be grateful for it then.

Wake Up!

2011-08-07T22:02:00.003-06:00

Today during church we had three baby blessings. I always try to get Charlie to fold her arms during prayers, but it doesn't always (ok, never) work. So I was folding my arms and closing my eyes and Charlie had her eyes wide open. I guess she decided she wanted some company because she kept coming over and kissing me and saying "awake!" If it worked for Sleeping Beauty and Snow White it should work for me, right?

Pronunciation-na-na-na

2011-07-31T19:14:00.002-06:00

I love how Charlie says all the names of the princesses. She is quickly correcting her speech so I want to record it before she becomes any wiser:

Cinderella: Cin-ra-ra-ra
Ariel: Me-me (as in mermaid)
Sleeping Beauty: Seep-ing Boo-tee or
Aurora: Dora
Snow White: Sowhite
Belle: Boo-tee or Bell-Bell
Jasmine: Jazz-a

and my favorite

Tiana: Ti-na-na-na but I have heard her make it into a nine syllable name Ti-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na. The extra syllables all depend on her level of excitement.

Scary is Best

2011-07-28T20:47:00.002-06:00

Charlie is slightly obsessed with princess movies lately, but extremely obsessed with the scary parts in movies.

Whenever we happen to be near a bunch of trees Charlie cannot rest until we have gone on a walk through the "Scary, Scary, Forest!" She always comments on the eyes watching her, and the hands grabbing her. (Snow White)

And whenever she wants me to tell her a story she wants it to be about a dragon. Breathing fire! And a sword stabs it! (Sleeping Beauty)

She also loves singing the "Mermaid Song" which is the one where Ariel sings aaa-aaa-aaa, aaa-aaa-aaa up the scales. Charlie emphatically says "KEEP SINGING" just like Ursula does in the movie. (I think Ursula is her favorite.)

She also loves when the Evil Queen turns herself into the Old Lady in Snow White. However, now when she sees real, sweet old ladies she points at them and says "Scary, scary, scary!" And I have to assure her that most old ladies are not trying to poison her.

B-L-O-G Post

2011-07-28T19:44:00.003-06:00

If Seth and I keep going as we currently are Charlie is going to learn how to spell before she learns how to speak in complete sentences.

We have to hide the c-a-n-d-y. And Charlie has to be forced into her n-a-p-s. She has to go h-o-m-e after a long day at the pool.

The thing is, I'm not that great of a speller, so hopefully we can stop this spelling nonsense soon!

My Pretty Charlie

2011-05-27T14:58:00.006-06:00

Charlie is turning two in less than a month so we had a photo shoot this week. It turned out so, so beautifully. Here is just a sample. Thank you to Lacee Locke of Elle Imagery for capturing Charlie exactly how I want to remember her. Because I have these it just might be ok that she grows up. Maybe.

Our Little Musicians

2011-01-31T12:43:00.000-07:00

Charlotte and Savannah (Charlie's cousin) make sweet music. Little cheesers.

2011-01-31T12:08:00.005-07:00

Recently I asked Charlie to sing me a song and she did! She still has her deep voice, and she isn't exactly carrying a tune, but she holds a few long notes every time I ask her. And if you ask her to sing "I'm A Child of God" she'll sing "Gaaaaaaa, gaaaaaaa, gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa." For a 19 month old I think it is impressive. Oh, and she also leads the music in sacrament meeting. See. Impressive.

Conversations BETA

2011-01-23T20:29:00.002-07:00

It is really impressive to see Charlie's progress in conversing with me. We can talk for quite a long time about a variety of subjects. However, I'm pretty sure Seth and I are the only ones who can understand her. So she is still in BETA phase, but she should be ready to go live in just a few more months.

Here is a sample conversation. We have this conversation whenever drive somewhere.

Charlie: Go, go, go
Me: Yea, we are going, aren't we.
Charlie: Ca, ca, ca (emphatically moving her hands as if she is turning the steering wheel back and forth)
Me: Yes. We are in the car.
Charlie: Da-ee, Da-ee
Me: Is that Daddy driving? You're right!
Charlie: Sh, sh, sh
Me: Yep. We put your shoes on so we could go in the car.
Charlie: Co, co, co
Me: We are all wearing coats! How observant!

From there we usually start over again. Ah, life with a toddler. It's a blast.

My Charlotte

2011-01-22T21:43:00.006-07:00

I just love my little Charlie's personality right now. Here are just a few of the things she has been up to lately...

She LOVES to take showers. All by herself. And they need to be long and hot. If I don't warn her two or three times that she only has 5 minutes left she cries and cries when I get her out. When I remember to warn her she only cries a little bit. :) If she is this bad now I'm not sure how I'm going to handle her showers when she is a teenager.

She has started saying "YEA!" lately when she is excited about something. My favorite is that two days in a row for both naps and nighttime she said "Yea!" when I told her it was time to lay down with her babies and go night-night. She loves her sleep just like her mama.

Charlie is obsessed with her babies. One morning I got up with her and before Seth came down 20 minutes later Charlie had said "baby" at least 1,000 times. I had to leave the room for a few minutes because I couldn't handle her enthusiasm anymore.

Charlie and I already fight over the computer. I always want to get on and check my email and she always wants to get on and look at pictures of her baby cousin Garrett. We watch slide shows of him and his sisters at least 3 times a day; probably a total of 2 hours a day. Tiffany, if you are reading this please change up your music that accompanies the slide show. It is starting to drive me batty. I have tried to tell her that she can't watch the slide show, but she gestures to the computer and says "baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby" over and over again until I give in.

Charlie does love babies, but she also loves her "night-nights" aka blankets. My aunt gave Charlie a three-pack of blankets that are very soft and have a silky edge. One is pink, one is white and one is brown. She sleeps with all three of them every night. I'm not sure why, and it is a little bit weird, but Charlie has to chew on the corner to fall asleep. And sometimes she clamps down on those corners as hard as she can and yanks it out of her mouth. It kind of looks like a stress reliever, but I'm not exactly sure what she is doing. Silly girl.

Charlie calls all Disney princesses "ribbits." Netflix has The Princess and The Frog as an instant play and I started playing it for Charlie a couple months ago. She could only pay attention for about 20 minutes but that is a lot of time for a mom, so I took it! She started calling it "ribbit, ribbit" for obvious reasons. A few weeks after I started showing the movie to her we went to the store and Charlie saw a calendar that had Cinderella, Snow White, Belle, The Little Mermaid and Sleeping Beauty on it. She pointed to it very excitedly and started saying "ribbit, ribbit!" Not sure how she made the connection since Princess Tiana wasn't in the picture, but since then all princess are ribbits.

November's Habit

2010-11-09T14:24:00.002-07:00

If you haven't figured it out already I have started my habit this month a little late...but it is on purpose. Since last month's habit was all about showing more gratitude (which was hard and awesome all at the same time), and usually November is reserved for gratitude, I decided to make my habit for November be all about FOOD which is just about as important as gratitude this month!

So what I am doing is planning dinner before noon every week day and preping as much as possible before noon as well. Planning meals is one of my most dreaded tasks, but I think it is made worse when 5:00 rolls around and then I start looking in my cupboards to see what we can whip up. I started on Saturday and already we have so many leftovers that my fridge is full to the brim.

And I started late because I will be visiting my sister (who just had a baby) later this month and into December, so I want this habit to carry over until I come back. Hopefully my planning meals will help her out. :)

Yea for November! Yea for food!

Mini Me

2010-11-04T20:12:00.000-06:00

Last month my mom forced me to take home all the boxes filled with my nicknacks and things from throughout my childhood years. Rude! But I took it like a lady and have been sorting through them for the past couple weeks. Among the My Little Ponies, Pixietails, Popples, and Cabbage Patch Kids was a box full of my clothes from when I was a baby. I put Charlie in a dress my mom made and headed off to church. Seth said she looked like a pioneer. I think she looked adorable.

Shade Sale!

2010-11-03T19:56:00.000-06:00

When I found out Shade was going out of business I was so sad. Until I realized that it meant a wonderfully crazy warehouse sale where all my layering basic needs from now until forever could be met. And so, yes, I've been to the Shade warehouse and picked up my little undershirts and swim suits, but my very favorite thing that I got from the downfall of Shade? Wooden hangers! They were 5 for a dollar! Twice the cost of normal hangers, but a fifth of the regular cost of wooden hangers. Check out the before and after. I love it. Thank you Shade for going out of business!

Cheese Please!

2010-11-02T20:19:00.000-06:00

I haven't been taking as many pictures lately because Charlie is such a cheeser. And not only does she pull out the toothiest smile possible she also closes her eyes every time. I pretty much know that if I whip out the camera I will not be getting a good picture. Behold the proof:

Boo!

2010-11-02T19:49:00.000-06:00

Since this may be the last Halloween that Charlie doesn't care that she isn't being a princess or a fairy I took full advantage and made her be a scary spider. What a mean mother I am! She isn't just any old spider. Can you guess who we are? (If you can't I am ashamed of you!)

Welcome to the World Garrett!

2010-10-24T08:04:00.001-06:00

My sister Tiffany had her baby on Friday! I can't wait to see him. What a cutie! Good job Momma Tiffy and Daddy Donny!

Garrett Davis Hallman
7 lbs 12 oz, 19.75 in

Emo

2010-10-22T17:03:00.002-06:00

Charlie has been working on her emotions lately. She is getting pretty good. Many of you may be asking why she needs to work on her emotions. Because it is just so dang cute. That's why. Enjoy.

You may also enjoy viewing Charlie's bed head. And the reason this video looks like it was taken in the 1970s is because the lens was dirty and I didn't know it. I kind like the dreamy look.

The Fist Pump

2010-10-13T09:51:00.003-06:00

When Charlie gets super excited she does a fist pump. When she gets super, super excited she does a fist pump, body wiggle. You can see both in this video.

Ever since Charlie has realized that horses live right across the street from us we have to go visit them everyday. Therefore I get to see the fist pump, body wiggle everyday. It is one of the highlights of daily life right now.

October's Habit

2010-10-04T21:20:00.002-06:00

I have LOVED my habit for September. I got so many things done around my house that wouldn't normally gotten done. In fact I was so in love with my habit that I wasn't even thinking of new ones, so when October rolled around I had no habit replacement. (Usually I am so ready to move on that I have thought of two or three good replacement habits by the end of the month.)

On Friday I decided to wait for inspiration during conference to see what kind of ideas I could come up with for October's habit. President Monson's talk gave me my idea. I know I need to be more grateful and who needs to wait until November to be a grateful, thankful person?!? Not I! I am going to start this month. In fact I started last night. Every evening my personal prayer is going to be a thankful, gratitudinal prayer instead of my usual asking, requesting, pleading kind of prayer. I don't like being too repetitive in my prayers, so I'm sure this is going to cause me to look at my life and see the things I should be grateful for but am usually too busy to notice. I think this habit is going to be hard, but amazing at the same time. Wish me luck! (Thanks!)

Little Miss Communication

2010-09-30T20:53:00.004-06:00

When I was growing up I thought that all moms spoke their baby's language. And a lot of the time I do speak Charlish pretty well. However, there are some subjects that get confusing. If I bring up any of these subjects I can follow the conversation quite well, but if Charlie brings them up I'm in trouble. I hope you can see why.

Ball: Ba
Bottle: Baba
Papa: Baba
Book: Ba
Sheep: Ba, ba
Chicken: Ba, ba
Bath: Ba
Bear (as in the Teddy variety): Ba
Grandma: Baba

Wrar

2010-09-27T20:00:00.002-06:00

Charlie has started loving animals lately. We go through this scenario quite often:

Me: Charlie, what does a dog say?
Charlie: Wruf, wruf, wruf.
Me: What does a cat say?
Charlie: Ki-ee, ki-ee (I don't know why kitties don't say meow, but I'll take it)
Me: What does a lion say?
Charlie: Wrar, wrar
Me: What does a fish say?
Charlie: (sucking noises)
Me: What does a horsie say?
Charlie: Ne, ne
Me: What does a sheep say?
Charlie: Ba, ba
Me: What does a chicken say?
Charlie: Ba, ba (supposed to be bock, bock)
Me: What does a cow say?
Charlie: (silence)

I'm not sure what it is, but Charlie doesn't seem to like cows. It's like they are dead to her. She doesn't even acknowledge that I've asked the question. I have this to say to cows: I'm not sure how you have offended her, but you need to apologize. I'm sure Charlie's moooooos are adorable and I want to hear them!

Call For Help

2010-09-15T20:22:00.001-06:00

Hello all you primary workers out there. Just a few weeks ago I was called as the 2nd Counselor in the Primary Presidency and I don't know what I'm doing. I've heard of some pretty cool blogs that discuss Primary-ish type stuff. Can anybody direct me to them? Does anybody have words of advice? Does anybody have headache medicine?

Also, I'm in charge of Scouts. What the?!? I need help.

A Play Room

2010-09-07T17:28:00.000-06:00

Since I've been working exclusively as a mom I've been trying the tackle a few projects that have been on my mind. The first that has been {almost} completed is Charlie's play room. We have a few things left to hang up and to buy, but every time I walk by this room it makes me happy.

A Few More Pictures

2010-09-06T20:09:00.003-06:00

I have a confession. I was having too much fun to take many pictures on my vacation in Virginia. At the time it was just too much of a hassle, but now I'm mad about it. But here are a few of the few I took.

Jane and Charlie got a long really well. When Charlie wasn't with mommy she wanted to be with Jane! Lucy and Charlie, however, were a little too young to play well together. But next time we visit I bet they are best friends!

Here is Tiffy, Donny, Jane, and Lucy at Virginia Beach. On the Saturday we were there Donny and Jane spent about seven hours on the beach straight. The rest of us took turns napping with the little ones in the hotel.

Here we are having the time of our lives. I had just come in from body surfing (which I am a total pro at BTW) so I'm not exactly put together.

We also went to the Air and Space Museum near Dulles Airport. We saw this space shuttle as well as many, many other famous planes--such as the Enola Gay. Can you remember why that plane is so important without looking it up? Seth, Tiffy and I were trying to remember what it was and we all got it wrong. I think I need to go back to school and study history.

Other fun things we did:
-We went to the National Zoo. Very awesome, but oh my the heat! The humidity! This is Seth and my first time to visit D.C. during the summer and when we were at the zoo literally DRIPPING sweat we swore we will never again go during the summer. NEVER!!!! It was so gross.
-Seth and I went on a tour of the Capitol Building. I swear the whole thing has been set aside for tourists and all the real work happens in the buildings surrounding it. (Side note: did you know that each state gets to put two statues in the Capitol. Utah's are Philo T. Farnsworth--guess who he is without looking it up!!! Seth and I got it right!--and the second one is Brigham Young. After the tour I was looking at some of the other state's statues. Out of all of the historical figures Florida could choose they chose the inventor of air conditioning. After my experience at the zoo I think it makes total and complete sense. I think we should all pay our respects to that man.)
-Of course our trip-within-our-trip to Virginia Beach was amazing...but the ride home must be mentioned. A 4-hour trip turned into a 7-hour tour of Virginia side roads. Tiffy and I decided that a GPS can give a man a sense of security they shouldn't have. Whenever there was a slow down on the main roads Seth and Donny would just ask the GPS to reroute us and off we would go on crazy side streets and little country roads. Good thing none of us get car sick.
-Seth and Donny thought they were too manly to reapply sunscreen and they got soooooooo burnt. They were so red and sore that they had to buy a special aloe with pain killers in it. I just kept asking them how it could have happened. Aren't they adults?!?! Adults know to put on sunscreen! Geesh.

Yea for vacations!

The Usual

2010-09-03T19:32:00.001-06:00

This is the most common conversation happening in my house right now. And it happens a lot. Probably 30 times a day.

Charlie: mom
Me: Yes?
Charlie: Mom
Me: What?
Charlie: MOM
Me: Yes?
Charlie: MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM
Me: Yes, Charlie?
Charlie: MOM
Me: Charlie! WHAT DO YOU WANT?
Charlie: {Smiles shyly and walks away.}

Just Do It!

2010-09-01T19:45:00.004-06:00

I'm referring to this month's habit as "Just Do It." (Thank you Nike for letting me borrow your slogan for a month.) There are so many things around my house that only take a few minutes to do and I always seem to be waiting for the time to do them.

For example: my mirror in my downstairs bathroom needs to be cleaned. I am waiting for when I have time to mop the floor, wipe and polish the counter, scrub the faucet, and clean the toilet just so I can have a clean mirror. When am I going to find the time to do all of that? So my mirror never gets clean. UNTIL NOW! With my Just Do It theme in full force I will just clean the dang mirror and get on with my life. Just a few minutes of spray and wipe and I will no longer have the thought "I really need to clean this mirror" every time I walk in that bathroom. (Wow, that was a long example.)

Second example: I need to call my friend. For some reason I just keep letting other things get in the way. Geesh, just call her! You like talking to her. You enjoy the time spent doing it. Just do it already!

So today was my first day "Just Doin' It" and I took on a very big project that I may have put off just one more day--and it would have ruined everything! Today I canned a huge box of nectarines off the tree in my front yard. If I would have waited one more day they all would have been too ripe and I would have had to ground myself for bad behavior. But they have turned out perfectly. All 18 jars of them. (Wow. It was a lot of work.) So thank you September Habit. You have already changed my life.

Dulash Giveaway

2010-09-01T19:41:00.002-06:00

So every morning when I get up I really, really wish that I didn't have to put on my makeup. Recently I heard about some products coming out that make your eyelashes thicker, stronger, and longer. Bring it on! No more mascara for me!

VanillaJoy.com is doing a giveaway for Dulash Eyelash Gel right now and you can get five extra entries if you blog about it too. Yahoo!

Yo Ho Ho!

2010-08-30T22:18:00.000-06:00

We have had a wonderful August. I can't believe it is over already! One of Charlie's favorite things was visiting Virginia Beach and learning to talk like a pirate. Arrrr Matey!!!

August's Habit

2010-08-03T20:47:00.003-06:00

This month is going to be a busy one with vacations and camping (camping does not equal vacation) in our near future, and so I've decided to go easy on myself because I can promise that no completely new habits are going to be formed. So I am officially revisiting one of my earlier habits that has gone by the wayside. We'll just call it a habit spit-shine.

My cute friend Marisa decided to try and take on this habit and reading her blog post made me excited to make it a habit again. Back in February I promised to make sure that every night:

all toys are put where they belong.
dishwasher is started and ALL pots and pans are washed and put away.
our little coat station is all cleaned up.
our kitchen table and counters are clear.

I've heard that people refer to this as "putting your house to bed." Isn't that a great way to think about it? My little house has been having a fitful rest every night because I have let it go to sleep pretty dirty some days. Back in February Charlie couldn't even crawl and she wasn't eating solid foods at all. Now she is throwing food off her high chair for fun, emptying my kitchen cupboards to hear the different sounds the pots make, and keeping collections of rocks in her toy box because, man, it is fun to suck the dirt off them! So it has become quite a new thing to get the house in order every night and I think I need to put a little extra effort into it once again. Wish me luck!

P.S. I really enjoyed July's habit. I got quite a few things done around the house during the week, and hopefully I will be posting some of the results soon!

Official SAHM!

2010-08-03T11:03:00.002-06:00

I would like to announce that I am officially a full-time, stay-at-home mom! Yesterday was officially my last day of work. I have been extremely blessed to be able to work from home over the past year, but I felt like it was time for me to be with Charlie full time. It is very bittersweet for me. I will miss everyone I have worked with, and probably miss having adults to interact with, and definitely miss the money, but I already have felt the benefits. Every morning I wake up now thinking "I love my life" instead of waking up with an underlying feeling of stress. Yea! I started working at Young Living Essential Oils in February of 2005, so it has been a big part of my life. Goodbye Young Living! Hello freedom!

My sis-in-law Mary took these pictures about this time last year at the Young Living Lavender Farm. It was a beautiful place to work!

Smooshy

2010-07-28T19:59:00.001-06:00

Sometimes I go outside without Charlotte just so I can see this. What a silly girl I have.

Independance Day Road Trip

2010-07-12T21:30:00.004-06:00

I asked Charlie what she wanted to do for the Fourth of July and she told me she wanted to go on a road trip with her best friend Lindi Bolke. So we rented a van and off we went!

Points of interest: Mount Rushmore, Custer National Park (with giant herds of buffalo...of which we saw exactly two...two buffalo not two herds), Storybook Island, and Devil's Tower.

Charlie loved her 4th of July outfit.

The little girls and big boys.

Look who fell off the mountain!

I promise this is in South Dakota, not off I-15 in Lehi.

The whole crew at Devil's tower.

One of the only beautiful views in all of Wyoming.

Seth and Charlie had such a great time together.

Charlie has never seen a phone like this. How did she know what it was? It's a mystery.

Here is Lyndi...Charlie loved having her as a seatmate.

Oh, the hours and hours we spent in the car. It was tiring!

Yea! For car trips!!!

Happy Father's Day to Charlotte

2010-07-11T09:48:00.001-06:00

Charlie gave Seth a Ukulele for Father's day, but I'm pretty sure she only did it so she could have the box to play in. Ok, ok. She thinks her dad is pretty great, too.

p.s. Thanks for the hat Kelsey! Charlie loves it!

Time for Physics

2010-07-10T09:24:00.000-06:00

Can someone please explain the Law of Gravity to hungry Charlotte? She just doesn't quite understand.

Hair Explosion II

2010-07-09T09:08:00.000-06:00

Charlie's side ponytails and piggy tails make for some awesome bed head. So, yes, with all of her naps I have to do her hair two to three times some days. And, yes, some days I spend more time on her hair than mine. Ah, the joys of babies with lots of hair.

2010-07-08T09:01:00.000-06:00

Every now and then I think I have Punky Brewster living at my house.

Birthday Fun

2010-07-07T21:31:00.003-06:00

Charlie had a fantastic birthday. She was spoiled rotten and got her very own cake. It was perfect.

P.S. Charlie is up about two hours past her bed time in these photos, so no smiles were to be seen.

P.P.S. Charlie demolished her cake in less than 30 seconds. I think it may be a record.

P.P.P.S. Video to come.

Cute Little Mommy

2010-07-06T21:57:00.004-06:00

Charlie got this soft dolly from her Grandma for her birthday. She has grown to love it and it made her happy for hours and hours on our road trip this past weekend. As you can see in one of the pictures she is pretty protective. However, we do need to discuss what shaken baby syndrome is before she becomes a real mommy.

First Forward-Facing Car Ride

2010-07-06T21:43:00.003-06:00

Charlotte's reaction is either indifference or shock. You be the judge.

July's Habit

2010-07-06T21:31:00.001-06:00

I don't really want to discuss June's habit. Let's just say it is the first month that I feel like a failure. So, no I don't have rock hard abs. Let's just move on...

This month we are busy, busy, busy as usual. Just about every Saturday is already spoken for, so I was beginning to worry about how we would get anything done around here. So this month's habit is....trying to accomplish weekend chores throughout the week. If this works I am going to be so happy.

Seth and I have already made a list of things we want to accomplish this month that we would usually reserve for Saturdays. We are going to work on something every night so that when Saturday comes we can play all day without feeling guilty. We just started today by going outside and picking the weeds in our front yard. Tomorrow: sweeping out the garage. Yea for getting things done that would otherwise stay undone forever!

One Week to One

2010-06-11T11:54:00.002-06:00

We are a week away from Charlie's big day, and boy has she reached some big milestones. In fact, she learned three new things in three days.

First, I need to announce that I have an official toddler at my home. Charlie took her first steps on Tuesday. I think my celebration after she did it was a bit confusing for her, but I was just so excited for her. She had been taking one step with her left leg for a few days but that right leg was just too hard for her to move. Maybe that is the leg she stores all her fishy crackers in--I swear she eats too many of those for her tiny digestive system to handle. Since Tuesday she has gotten up to about six steps in a row now and is loving it. She is very proud of herself.

The next day she learned how to give high fives. She loves giving high fives so much that she uses both hands and gives you a high ten.

Then the next day she learned how to give kisses. This is my favorite. She gives nice, big, fat, open-mouthed kisses right on your lips. And today she has a runny nose, so you might get some snot mixed in there too, but I just think it is the most adorable thing. See, Charlie takes after her dad and doesn't show too much affection. Seth's mom always says she knew she was getting a lot of love from Seth when he would pat her on the back with one hand. No kisses, hugs, or cuddles were coming my way until two days ago, so I'm just happy to take them snot an all.

I'm hoping she learns something new today, too. I'm thinking I'll try potty training.

New Habit

2010-06-09T11:51:00.002-06:00

So even though I haven't updated you on my new habit I am still doing it!!! This month is a busy one for Seth and me. This week he has scout camp, next week I have a work trip (meaning I will be staying in Salt Lake City so NO it is not exciting), and the week after Seth has youth conference. Because of all the madness I wanted to do a pretty easy habit that I can do all by myself. So I decided to do an ab workout every night before bed. Nothing crazy...I don't want to work up a sweat or anything. But so far my abs have been pretty sore. I've been trying to work out more lately, but somehow it is just easy to forget about working my abs. But not any more!! I totally plan on having a six pack come July 1. (Even though that six pack will be buried underneath two inches of flab, it will be there.) Wish me luck!

P.S. Our bed making habit has been established! We are still doing it even though we are in the second week of a new month. I think this is the only habit that has successfully carried over!

I've Got Sunshine

2010-05-11T09:14:00.000-06:00

Charlotte has a little patch of sunshine that she knows is all hers.

She likes to drag a few "toys" over to it and bask in the light as she plays.

Every now and then she gets a little sun-drunk; she starts feeling a little too good. But that is fine by me. As long as it makers her happy she can stay within the bounds of her sunny box until she passes out from solar intoxification.

Unfortunately as the day goes on her little box gets smaller and smaller and suddenly it isn't so fun to be in anymore. But man, for at least 10 minutes a day it is just a perfect, warm, sunny, delightful place to play.

Top Heavy

2010-05-10T16:11:00.000-06:00

Charlie's top teeth are coming in. So far it looks like they are going to have quite the space between them. It is so cute.

This officially makes it so I can't let her bite my finger anymore. It just hurts too much.

Crinkly

2010-05-08T16:04:00.001-06:00

About two weeks ago Charlie was a crinkle-nose girl. It was her response to everything.

"Do you want a banana Charlie?" Crinkle nose.
"Do you want to get out of your crib Charlie?" Crinkle nose.
"Do you want to play with this awesome trash?" (Obviously a favorite pastime.) Crinkle nose.
"Do you love mommy?" Crinkle nose.
"Do you want a million dollars?" Vigorous nod of approval. Ha.

After a few days of the crinkle nose I started taking offense. I began to feel like the crinkle nose was the equivalent of a teenager's eye roll. After I found myself being stern with Charlie a few times ("I know you want this banana...it's your favorite!" "You do love mommy. I promise!") I had to remind myself that she was just a baby, she was not annoyed at everything I did or said. She just really liked the feeling of her nose being up, her eyebrows touching in the middle, and squinting her eyes a bit--all at the same time. She was just experimenting with her face.

And just a few days later the crinkle nose is gone. Now I kind of miss it.

With Gusto!

2010-05-08T11:00:00.000-06:00

Last Sunday Charlie taught herself how to jump on the couch. Bounce! Bounce! Bounce! And boy does she do it with gusto. It was pretty entertaining...until we showed up to our usual pew in church and she decided to show off her new skills to the congregation behind us. Again, it was very entertaining, but not very reverent. Do you think the people behind us were laughing at her or laughing at me trying to get her to stop?

When You Give a Baby a Tissue

2010-05-07T15:50:00.001-06:00

Seth learned a lesson the other day. Tissues are not toys.

(Thank goodness the lesson he learned wasn't "used tissues aren't toys.")

You're It

2010-05-07T11:00:00.000-06:00

Charlotte's favorite game right now is tag. She already knows the rules. She tags you it and takes off running (well, crawling as fast as her little limbs will allow) and giggling all the way. Once you get her she turns around and starts coming after you. Sometimes she'll even let you be it three or four times in a row because she just takes off giggling again right after you get her. Isn't that sweet of her? There is only one problem. Charlie needs to work on her cardiovascular health. After just a few minutes she is panting and taking rests once she crawls about three feet. Time to get her a treadmill.

Goodnight My Baby

2010-05-06T16:12:00.003-06:00

Charlie is (usually) such a sweetheart when it is bedtime. She snuggles up to me as I read her a few books, she'll gently stroke my face as she drinks her bottle, and she stares into my eyes as I sing her a lullaby. Well, she stared into my eyes last week. Now she has decided that my singing isn't good enough, so she sings with me. Ok, it's not so much singing with me as trying to drown out the sound of my voice with her own. I admit that I'm not the best singer around. But isn't an almost 11 month old not really supposed to understand that her mom is a lousy singer?

The Stink Eye

2010-05-06T15:48:00.001-06:00

In a matter of moments we can go from this:

To this:

And this:

Man, she is good.

Review of April's Habit and on to May's Habit (Thank Goodness!)

2010-05-01T14:06:00.004-06:00

Have you ever really, really tried to eat at least 5 fruits and vegetables everyday? It is such hard work. Seth and I are real cereal lovers, so there were a couple of nights that we ate a side salad, carrots, and an apple (or some such combination) and then got out our trusty bowl of delicious cereal. But I'm glad we persevered through April's goal. It has made me realize how many veggies and fruits you actually have to buy at the store to make it through a week of eating 5+ a day. It is a lot. And you have to stop eating out as much, because you won't get your whole ration at a restaurant. (You may get A serving of fruit or A serving of veggies, but not the two or three servings needed at dinner time.) And you have to be willing to actually prepare more things for dinner...not just the main meal and one side. You need the main meal and at least two sides. What I'm trying to say here is that eating healthily is A LOT of work.

Anyway, on to May's Habit. Seth wasn't exactly on board with this last habit. He was always the one willing to give in on just eating one veggie at dinner not two, or skipping the fruit at breakfast, or counting Oreos as a veggie because they are made with a cocoa BEAN. Anyway, I decided it was Seth's turn to pick our habit and he chose............drum roll.............wait for it . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . making the bed everyday!!!!!

It is slightly on the lame side, I know. But that is ok. It is a little known fact that Seth has been a bed maker most of his life. When we were engaged I would often glimpse his bedroom and I NEVER saw his bed unmade. Pretty weird for a single guy, right? And we actually made the bed every day for the first three and a half years of our marriage. So we really were in the habit at one point. I think that it all fell apart when we moved to this house and don't really see our bedroom throughout the day. Out of sight, out of mind. So now I have to either start making the bed everyday or start getting up before Seth so he has to make it. Hummm...choices, choices.

Spiritual Fiber

2010-04-28T17:32:00.001-06:00

I just found Charlie eating a page out of my scriptures. We take the admonition to "feast on the words of Christ" literally around here.

Goats!

2010-04-18T19:52:00.002-06:00

Seth's brother Jed and sister Jenni are now proud owners of three proud mama goats, all with three babies each. And they should be very proud. The babies are cute little suckers. Charlie loved petting them.

Everywhere we go Charlie is pretty serious. She can be happy or wary or annoyed but she doesn't let it show to strangers. But when she was petting those goats little giggles kept erupting. She just couldn't keep the happy in.

Charlie liked looking at the goats more than holding them.

This is Braden and Beth and in the picture below is Caleb. They single-handedly helped deliver one mama goat because their dad was in a work meeting and couldn't be reached. They are really good caretakers. These goats are lucky!

Little Leggies

2010-04-09T12:38:00.000-06:00

Summer please gete here faster so I can dress Charlie in little dresses and shorts every day. The chubby just kills me.

Habit Update

2010-04-08T16:00:00.000-06:00

Seth and I haven't had this colorful of a plate in months! And this is what our dinner looks like every night! However, I must admit that the 5 fruits and vegetables a day is hard, hard work. And I feel like I need to go shopping ALL THE TIME.

A Predicament

2010-04-08T12:26:00.000-06:00

Yes, Charlie has a mom who grabs a camera before helping her to saftey. Poor thing.

2010-04-03T13:00:00.000-06:00

So last week millions of slings were recalled because of infant deaths. It reminded me that I had one, and throwing caution to the wind, I got it out and have started using it/making Seth use it. So far it has proved super useful at the library. Am I a bad mom?

Win Win

2010-04-01T17:58:00.001-06:00

Finally a situation where Charlie has gained freedom and I have, too! Yea! For the past three days I have made Charlie hold her own bottle. So every three to four hours I get seven to eight minute of my life back. I so happy.

April's Habit

2010-04-01T13:11:00.003-06:00

March's habit has been great. Writing a list of things to do every night has helped me get things done around my house that never would have been done otherwise. (I forgot how far elbow grease can go in making a room look livable!) I did learn that sometimes I am more ambitious at 11 p.m. than I am when I wake up the next day. But I worked through it :)

Now on to introducing April's habit....drum roll please...it is eating two fruits and three vegetables EVERYDAY. This is going to be hard! I hate vegetables! Ok, I just hate most vegetables. Currently the food groups at our house include:

bread
tortillas
cheese
cereal
tacos

This habit all came about because I'm trying to get in shape, and I've heard it is more important to focus on what you eat than on how much you work out. So wish me luck in this endeavor! I need it! (It is already 1:00 and all I've eaten is cereal and a banana. I still have one fruit and three veggies to go! Eek!)

P.S. I'm also going to be swimming three times a week this month with my sis-in-law Kelsey. I'm not counting this as a habit because I am only willing to commit to four weeks of swimming.

P.P.S. Is a potato a vegetable?

P.P.P.S. I'm counting tomatoes as vegetables even though they have been part of a fruit/veggie debate for years. But it doesn't matter because I hate them anyway, so I won't be eating them.

To Those in Power

2010-03-25T22:33:00.002-06:00

Dear Police Officer,

Please do not tell me to "have a nice day" after giving me a speeding ticket. (That took you a half hour to write up while my baby was screaming in the back seat--hence the speeding to get home.) It is like gloating. And I find it to be rude.

Tricia

For Claire and Addison

2010-03-23T13:22:00.000-06:00

I hear that a couple little girls like watching videos of Charlie. Here are a couple more that I took a few weeks ago.

Charlie at Nine Months

2010-03-22T20:03:00.003-06:00

Charlie turned nine months old on St. Patty's Day. Here are some interesting facts about this little weed:

She really is growing like a weed. She was a skinny baby for the first few months of her life, but now she is a chunky chunker that is as tall or taller than many babies months and months older than her. She is officially in the "greater than 95th percentile" for height.
She has a very deep voice. I used to think she was an alto for sure. Now I'm betting on tenor.
She loves to clap. If we are watching TV and an audience starts clapping she will drop her toys to clap along.
She HATES solid food. Milk is glorious. Finely pureed baby food is satisfactory. Anything with chunks is not tolerable!!! If I give her food, such as a french fry, she won't take it anywhere close to her mouth. If I bring a spoon full of real food up to her mouth she will tuck her top lip into her bottom lip so that there is no way you could wedge anything in there. She just isn't interested.
Sometimes she gets confused and forgets that a bottle is her milk delivery system. We have to swaddle her and put her in a headlock so that we can force the bottle into her mouth. Once she gets one swallow down she calms and will drink the whole thing. And we know she is hungry because she hasn't eaten in HOURS. She just HATES things in her mouth if they don't have to be there. (She does suck on toys sometimes, but it more like a few licks and done.) She has been a bit better about this lately.
She still loves being swaddled to go to sleep. To this day we wrap her up in a straight jacket every night for bed. I've been keeping her out of her swaddle for naps, but it is frustrating because she will cry for 20 minutes if she isn't swaddled. Also, once she does fall asleep she will only stay asleep for 30 minutes to an hour, whereas if she is swaddled she might take a two to three hour nap. I think it just makes her feel safe and secure when she is all bundled up.
This girl is a talker. She hasn't said any actual words yet, but she has gone through a ton of consonant sounds. She'll pick one and stick with it for a few days and then move on to the next sound. One day it will be dadadodoooodododu and then the next babubuuuubadadadada. She has gone through Ds, Bs, Ms, Ns, Gs, and I'm sure a few others.
Charlie is a pure angel. I really have no complaints about this little one's personality. She is super patient and an all around sweetheart. She is very content with her lot in life. I think this is why it took her a few more months that some other babies to roll over and then crawl. She was just happy where she was at. But boy did she learn fast on both counts once she figured it out! She is a smart one, too.

The Day Has Arrived

2010-03-22T13:00:00.000-06:00

To everyone who ever said that my life will never be the same once Charlie started crawling: you are absolutely, 100 percent, in every single way correct.

Charlie started crawling on Tuesday. What do batteries, ammunition, a rotary cutter, a shot gun, and scissors have in common? They are things Seth and I have had just laying around our house that we've pried out of Charlies hands/mouth. (Please don't forward this on to Child Protection Services.)

So Tuesday just happens to be the first day Charlie has been naughty. Once she realized that she could move her knees and actually get somewhere she got this sparkle in her eye and a look of determination set on her brow and she went for my magazine basket. She has had her eye on that thing for months, and I know she knows it is off limits.

So far she has been a good listener and has stayed out of it. (Observe the video.) We'll see how long that lasts.

P.S. This is the first time I've used my angry voice with her. Also the first time I've used her full first and middle name while being stern. I'm not sure I like doing it.

Bad Headband

2010-03-21T20:41:00.000-06:00

The other day I decided to make Charlie a new headband. I had seen cute lace headbands around that are kind of pricey, so I went to JoAnns looking for some elastic lace. I found something that claimed it was "flexible lace" so I bought it without actually opening the package. It had absolutely no give at all. I should turn those marketing people in to the police and have them prosecuted under the "truth in advertising" law. I'm sure I would win a lot of moo-la for my pain and suffering over not getting my stretchy lace.

Anyway, since I had this lame lace and happened to have some elastic thread laying around I decided to make the lace flexible even if it didn't want to be. This is how it turned out:

Does it remind you of anything? Think wedding. Think leg. Think no way I'm letting my baby out with that on her head. Oh well. Wish me better luck next time.

Snowow

2010-03-21T20:31:00.001-06:00

The other day Charlie was getting restless. It happened to be snowing, so I opened the window and let her look out. She was memorized. She stayed that way until she got too close to the window and bumped her head. I was able to quickly kiss the bump better, but then it was time to move on to something new.

Crystal Cove

2010-03-18T21:34:00.001-06:00

Poor Charlie. She was sick our entire trip to California. The moment we got to the beach she started crying (which is very, very rare) so Seth carried her around and she napped the whole time. But you know how people used to take trips to the ocean to get some sea air? Well, it really did help Charlie's cough. Next time I'm sick I'm heading to the ocean.

Smile!

Ok, for real this time.

Hanging By the Pool

2010-03-18T21:03:00.003-06:00

We bought a whole pack of swim diapers for California and Charlotte never made it into the pool, but they sure helped her fill out her swimsuit. (If only I had problems filling out the bottom half of my swimsuit instead of the top half. Ah, the problems women have with life after breastfeeding.)

A few other pictures by the pool...

Sunny California Day

2010-03-18T18:55:00.003-06:00

We just got back from a trip to California. It is so hard to come back to the cold, and it wasn't even that warm there! I am ready for spring. While there we went to a park behind my grandma's house that I've been going to my entire life. I'm glad I'm able to share it with Charlie now. She had her first swing ride while there. I'm pretty sure that her kicking legs are comparable to a dog's wagging tail. She loved it.

March's Habit

2010-03-01T19:11:00.003-07:00

I must admit that I have loved February's habit. Waking up to a clean house rocks! And it was actually very easy to spend just a few minutes every evening making everything tidy. I hope this habit sticks around!

So on to March's habit....I like to call this one micro goal setting. I did this for a week or so at the end of last year and it really helped me get things done. Seth and I are going to keep a pad of paper at our bedsides and every night before we go to bed are going to write down five to ten things we want to accomplish the next day. These are going to be really small things. For example: start dinner before Seth comes home, spend 15 minutes cleaning my craft room, spend 10 minutes outside, wash off the counter tops, call my visiting teaching companion, clean all the toilets in the house, set up game night, etc.

When I did this before I always seemed to have one or two things that I couldn't get to, and that was fine. I just put it on my list of things to do for the next day. So my micro goal setting should be a pretty stress-free way of getting a lot of little things done. I'm pretty excited.

Tricia Norwood and the Olympians

2010-02-28T20:58:00.003-07:00

Seth asked me what we used to do before the Olympics. I seriously can't remember.

I now have all my evenings open from 7 to 11. If anyone has any ideas to fill my time, please let me know.

Toys vs Trash

2010-02-18T11:00:00.002-07:00

We always take a bunch of super cute toys to church. See, they are darling:

But what does Charlie want to play with? This keeps her occupied for three straight hours:

Freedom

2010-02-17T16:13:00.006-07:00

I'm starting to realize that how much freedom I have is in direct correlation to how much freedom Charlie has.

Yesterday Charlie figured out how to rollover. Both ways. She is a maniac. Every time I look at her she is in a different position. Sitting up. Now on her stomach. Now on her back. Now back to her stomach. Now by the couch. Now close to the fire place. So in one day she gained a whole ton of freedom. I lost a whole bunch of mine.

(PS This movie is really long. Just watch the first 45 seconds and be amazed at the skills this girl gained in ONE DAY. She had never, ever rolled from her back to her front before. Also if you want to see another video of her rolling over go here.)

I knew this day would come. But still, I'm a little sad about it. She hasn't figured out how to scoot herself forward yet, so I can at least be happy with that. She is getting really close though:

And that isn't the only thing she learned yesterday. She also figured out that she doesn't just have to sit in her high chair and eat. She can also look around, play with the spoon, and lick her bib. It now takes twice as long to feed her and twice as much effort. Again, more freedom for Charlie, less freedom for me.

"Mmmm. This spoon is just sooo good."

My Funny Valentine

2010-02-10T11:00:00.000-07:00

My mom made this dress for Charlie. It sure makes us feel festive!

Story Of A Happy Childhood

2010-02-04T22:17:00.004-07:00

I just finished reading A Girl Named Zippy. It is adorable. I highly recommend it. However, I am left with some questions after reading it.

1) What exactly is a memoir? How is it different than an autobiography?

2) How can someone have more than, say, five detailed memories from childhood? Seth and I are barely convinced that we were once children. We have just enough memories that we can't deny it.

Accounting For January's and Introducing February's 21-Day Habit

2010-02-01T19:39:00.003-07:00

My 21-day habit for January was to get up at 7:30 a.m. and do P90X. Half of that goal is now a habit! (Take what you can get people.)

I still can't quite get up at 7:30 no matter how early I go to bed. My internal clock only knows that there is one 7:30 in a day, and it happens to fall in the evening. But the more important habit of exercising five times a week has been established.

I don't own a scale, so I can't tell you if I am loosing weight. I actually fell a bit flabbier because exercising has made me more aware of how far I have to go. However, I have noticed that I am a lot more flexible than I was January 1. I also have more stamina and don't yell at Tony (the P90X instructor) to shut his trap as much as I did in the beginning. So I feel I'm getting somewhere. We'll see where the next 60 days takes me...

But on to February's 21-day habit. I like to call it Experiments in Homemaking! Did you know that some people vacuum EVERY week...maybe even daily?!? And some people wash their kitchen counters EVERY day?!? And some people make their beds after sleeping in them, not just when company is coming over?!? This isn't a rumor folks.

Now that I am home more often, and now that I have a baby with a LOT of stuff, I am realizing that maybe I need to learn how to flex my homemaking muscles a little bit more. So for the month of February Seth and I are going to be tidying up EVERY SINGLE NIGHT before we go to bed. This means:

all toys are put where they belong.
dishwasher is started and ALL pots and pans are washed and put away.
our new little coat station is all cleaned up.
our kitchen table and counters are clear.
anything else I may decide to make Seth do.

No, this isn't extreme. It will probably take us less than 10 minutes every night. But it will make a big difference in my house. I am very excited to wake up every morning to a clean first floor. Here's to a happy, and clean, February!

Fun New Toy

2010-01-29T10:39:00.000-07:00

When Charlie was about three months old she decided that binkies were for babies and she didn't need one anymore. It was actually quite frustrating because not long after that I had to stop nursing--dang low milk supply--and so I couldn't soothe her by letting her suck away on something. She still doesn't really suck on any toys. She licks and chews.

But the other day I gave her a binkie again to see what would happen. She loves it. But she treats it like a new fun toy. It still isn't a binkie.

First Impressions

2010-01-28T09:08:00.001-07:00

The townhome I live in is pretty big. We have enough rooms for an office, my own craft room, and a guest room, but is there a mud room? No. So our entryway gets pretty cluttered and fast. So I've been formulating a plan. Well, plan A was to go out and buy a hall tree. (That is a really big piece of furniture that usually has a bench and hooks and baskets that you put in your entry way.) The only one I could find was at Pier One and was out of my price range. (Plus it seemed kind of flimsy.)

So I decided to go with plan B and take these things and turn them into my own hall tree.

Ta da! One weekend and $60 later we have a fake hall tree. (Did you know foam is expensive!?!) We painted the magnet board frame, painted and upholstered our old coffee table, bought some hooks, and repurposed some baskets. We still plan on tufting the bench.

It is really nice to have a place to put Charlie's car seat and gear. It was always just sitting on the floor behind the couch before. It is also really nice to have an organized magnet board. I got the two prints for free from a free art website. If anyone asks about it, I might tell ya the web address. I'm nice like that.

Now I just need to find a coffee table to replace the one I just upholstered.

Good Baby

2010-01-27T10:46:00.000-07:00

Charlie is a very good baby. The other day I sat her up surrounded by her toys and went into the kitchen. A few minutes later I heard a few grunts and went to see what she was complaining about. She had fallen backwards, hit her head against the couch and was awkwardly holding herself up just waiting for a rescue. No screaming involved.

Do You Want To See Charlie's Tooth, II

2010-01-26T11:04:00.000-07:00

I say "Charlie bit my finger" every single day. It really does hurt.

Valentines

2010-01-25T21:57:00.002-07:00

I never got around to doing Christmas cards this year and am considering sending out Valentines instead. If you want one please email me your address. patriciadawn8 at yahoo dot com. I'm still not sure if I'm going to do it, so don't be offended if you never get one.

Attempting Better Pictures

2010-01-25T09:46:00.001-07:00

There is a professional photographer at my work who completely admits that I am not photogenic. He takes pictures at all of our company events, always taking a couple of me hoping that they will turn out. They never, ever do. He has tried many different things to make me look good, it just doesn't turn out. And I have come to terms. It is actually really nice to know that I'm not photogenic because I can always look at a picture and think, "I'm not photogenic, so I really look better than this."

So I know that I am officially not so good lookin' in front of the camera. But do you think there is such a thing as not photogenic behind the camera? Because I think I am that, too. I don't know how to take good pictures. The other day I was reading about how to take better pictures. The main points were turn off your flash and use natural light as much as possible, focus on the eyes, and try different angles. So I tried it and here are the results.

Problem Solved

2010-01-22T10:11:00.000-07:00

Charlie is so messy. Her stuff is just everywhere! Observe her bedroom:

Hello messy! She just drops her books at the side of her chair when I am done reading them to her. She is just too lazy to put them away where they belong. Or at least put them in a neat stack. Enter the solution:

A book-hangy thingy! I am so proud of this little contraption. Not because I thought of it--I found it on ohdeedoh.com--but because it only took me an hour to sew and only cost $6.50. I like solutions like that!

Attempt Thwarted

2010-01-21T18:29:00.004-07:00

I just wanted to let you all know that Seth went and got himself a professional hair cut. The scaredy cat. And I just want to post this picture to prove that he was in desparate need.

January DIY Night

2010-01-19T10:13:00.000-07:00

My good friend Kristen put on our DIY Night (formerly known as craft club) last Thursday. Isn't my new hand towel adorable?!? It is my first Valentines related decoration ever and I love it.

Attempting the Impossible

2010-01-18T09:56:00.001-07:00

I tried to give myself bangs. And I think it actually worked. I kind of like 'em.

I've had side bangs for awhile now, and every time they got too long I would pay someone at the local Great Clips $5 to cut them for me because I was too scared. Then I read about how to correctly cut your own bangs here. I'm not sure if I should have read it because my fear is gone. I can just snippity, snip, snip, snip with the greatest of ease.

I've been trying to convince Seth to let me cut his hair all day. Let's just say his fear is not only still in tact but has grown. Can you believe that just because I have a little more ambition and confidence in myself Seth gets all intimidated and scared? Just 'cause I don't have skills or experience doesn't mean it won't turn out! I've read a blog post about cutting bangs for heaven sake! I'll keep working on him and let you know how it goes.

Gross

2010-01-15T10:03:00.001-07:00

Seth and I have completed two weeks of P90X. (Applause is expected.) It is tough, but I'm loving it at the same time. I wasn't really going to worry too much about the food I am eating, but now I'm starting to think--if I'm doing the workouts, I might as well try and get the best results possible! So I looked up the food suggestions and there is a lot of salad they want me to be eatin'! I am not a rabbit! I went to Tony's (creator and ruthless whip master of P90X) website to see if I can find some more ideas. And I saw this picture.

Gross. I don't want to end up like that!!! You can see all his little muscle fibers! No salads for me thank you very much.

Fruits Of My Labors

2010-01-14T10:08:00.000-07:00

So some of you have asked what I am making with my felt. Well, here is the first thing. And there is more to come...

Well, there may be more to come. This is time consuming I tell ya!

Little Manipulator

2010-01-13T09:54:00.000-07:00

This is what Charlie does when she needs attention. She gets kind of mad but, in the midst of her madness, she'll smile at me and try to look cute so I'll pick her up. And people wonder why working from home at least three hours a day is hard for me.

Tongue Chewing

2010-01-12T14:59:00.000-07:00

Silly Charlie.

Do You Want To See Charlie's Tooth?

2010-01-12T10:06:00.001-07:00

So do I. However, we know who is in charge here. If she doesn't want to show it, you ain't gonna see it.

Hair Explosion

2010-01-11T10:01:00.001-07:00

What am I supposed to do with my baby's hair? It has just exploded in the last few weeks. Sometimes I think I'm looking at an Ewok. Except not only does she have hair all over her head, it is also very, very long on only the top. Proof:

So I tried this:

Not so pretty.

Don't worry. It came out immediately.

And so I tried this.

But don't you think it makes her look odd? Like one of these guys?

So now we are stuck with the Pebbles do. Lame. I think I need to go purchase some hats.

Table Gym

2010-01-08T09:59:00.000-07:00

Charlie still isn't crawling, hallelujah, and hates being on her stomach. So that leaves two positions...sitting and being on her back. And since her play gym (that we bought for $5 at a yard sale) has pretty much given up the ghost, being on her back has become just too boring for the little princess. So in a moment of sheer brilliance I thought of screwing some hooks into our coffee table and making our own, very sturdy play gym for Charlie's toys to hang from. She just loves it. And I love that this solution was FREE. I love being brilliant.