our midwestern life...

Christmas.New Years.Caribbean.First Haircut

2012-02-12T13:11:00.026-06:00

Okay, so I just might be completely caught up.

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Helping Daddy put up the Christmas lights.

I found her one day shoving cheese in her mouth. It was hilarious.

They took a nap on the couch together and woke up quite happy.

Alright, so it was Christmas Eve and we were driving home from a friend's house and remembered we had zilch for stockings. Nothing for each other's and nothing for the little bug. So at 8 o'clock Christmas Eve the 3 of us headed to Target. And tried on masks. Of course.

This Christmas it was just the 3 of us. Ben had to work the week before and after. Luckily he had that weekend off. It was a lot more fun than I first anticipated. We woke up Christmas morning and she played with her kitchen and stocking stuff until it was time for church.

Then we came home and skyped opening presents with my family and with Ben's later in the afternoon. It was nice and quiet and relaxing.

Dancing. Of course. There is LOTS of dancing in this house.

One of her favorite gifts. Buzz pjs from my sister Laura.

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The next week we headed to Austin, TX for New Years.

Ben's grandparents, aunt, uncle, and cousins live there. His parents and one sister were also able to make it too. We played games, ate good food, shot fireworks, ate at Sandra Bullock's restaurant, golfed, worked out, slept in, and saw some movies. It was a great week visiting with family we don't see very often.

This is our cousin Hans. Charlotte has a bit of a crush on him.

With Auntie Jenna

Watching fireworks with our cousin Hailey.

I have no idea what she's giving her to drink. You never know with Jenna =)

Lovin' on Hans again.

So one morning Jenna and I went to work out at the gym and I came home to find my kid planted in front of the tv with a bowl of chips in her lap. Ben and everyone else were playing games (see below).

We LOVED going to Texas to see this family. If we had the mulah I would fly out there every other month. NanaMoo went to Ireland with us and we became two peas in a pod. I love that woman.

She did awesome on the drive too. We drove straight there (16 hours) and on the way back we stopped in Little Rock for some southern food and spent the night in Memphis.

Right before we left I took her in to the doctor because she was really sick. I took her into to see Ben and he examined her and saw she had an ear infection and had a fellow resident write her a prescription and we were out the door and on our way in 30 minutes. I think I'm going to like this married to a doctor thing.

**********

Our cruise: was amazing. We went for a week and left from Miami then went onto Key West, Grand Cayman, and Jamaica. It was ridiculously cheap. Like ridiculously.

My good mother flew out to stay with Charlotte and that little girl was in heaven. They went to the zoo, park, made cookies and valentines, had Chicago pizza, and shopped.

First we arrived in Miami and had a few hours to burn before we headed out on the ship.

Miami is... interesting. Very interesting.

We saw lots of chihuahuas. Most were dressed up which was a little creepy.

The best black beans/rice and plantains.ever.

Our first stop was Key West. LOVED IT. I could have stayed the whole week here.

We mainly shopped, stopped on the beach, and toured Ernest Hemingway's house.

Oh, and tried the most amazing KEY LIME pie.

Hemingway's house.

Our ship at the port.

Every night you sit at the same table at dinner so you get to know the others sitting at your table pretty well.

This is Bob and Kim. Hilarious and drunk.all.of.the.time

And this is Danielle and Don. They were really fun and we actually met up with them a few times to hang out.

There were 2 nights we got to dress up for dinner. Anytime is a good time for Ben to break out his bow ties.

Every night they had movies projected out on the deck with popcorn and snacks. One night we watched Pirates of the Caribbean. On the Caribbean. That was pretty fun.

Grand Cayman Islands

We went out on a boat ride and snorkeled (hence the red marks on our foreheads below) around a sunken ship and then some coral reef. I almost ran into a jelly fish and started swimming backwards to avoid it and slid right against some coral reef and scratched up my thigh. What an idiot...

But it was definitely my favorite thing we did all week long.

Ocho Rios, Jamaica

It was gorgeous and ghetto. Which is to be expected from a third world country I suppose.

We shopped. Well, I shopped while Ben negotiated prices.

He even negotiated to get us on tours cheaper. Thank heavens he was game for that because I would have given them exactly what they asked for.

B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L

We visited the oldest plantation on the island and had a tour.

The 'great home' was built overlooking the main waterway where the slave ships from Africa would enter on their way to the West Indies.

The final day on the cruise was a sea day. We played miniature golf and had races down the water slide. We laid out alllll day.

Admiring my scratched up leg from the coral reef.

On Saturday morning we disembarked in Miami and had the day to hang out. We hung out at the beach, ate some fantastic crab, and went on an art deco architecture tour.

Hanging out on the beach and soaking up as many rays as possible before we headed back to snowy Chicago. I was so tan it looked like I had been gone a month instead of a week.

My mom and Charlotte picked us up that night and the little bug was asleep. In the morning she was thrilled to see us for about an hour. Then she was back to hanging out with Grandma.

**********

Some random in-between time from January.

Charlotte trying on her backpack and then holding hands with Theron watching Toy Story 3.

Pretending to sleep to get out of going to church and reading in bed with Daddy.

***********

Charlotte's first haircut... finally!

This kid had the loooongest hair. I couldn't bring myself to get it cut so if it looked long and ratty I'd put it in pigtails or two tiny toots. But it was past her shoulder blades so it was finally time. My sister Carrie cut it since we're in Washington for a visit. The first is a before pic that I took really quick.

To get her to sit still Carrie bribed her with a new princess plate and white tutu that she has worn every day since.

Below is her staying at home/chillin outfit that she still insisted on wearing her tutu with.

And I can't really explain her pained expression below... whatever.

almost caught up...

2012-01-29T16:29:00.014-06:00

Okay... so this was supposed to be a complete catch up post from the last two months but something is wrong with blogger and won't let me upload anymore pictures. So this will have to do for now.

For Christmas (which isn't on this post because I couldn't get the pictures on) I helped Santa make a kitchen for Charlotte. She l.o.v.e.d (s) it. I was pretty picky about what kind of kitchen I wanted to get her. I didn't like plastic and the cute wooden ones I liked were sooooo expensive. I decided to make one and for the last few months have collected things to put together.

Before.

(Small hutch found on Craigslist for $15. Stovetop at a garage sale for $1. Bookshelf at Goodwill for $4)

Sanded it down. Painted a few coats on. Put it all together. Twisted some knobs on and voila! Done in 3 hours tops.

After.

The final product had a stove top and knobs, but blogger won't let me put anymore pictures on this post for some reason. I'll post the final product when I get the rest of Christmas on here.

Enjoying some tea with friends.

on the potty. first tattoo. snuggling with snoopy. howdy partna'

Splashing in puddles.

Hangin' with Mom.

Hangin' with Theron.

The birthday cake.

Now if you recall my post about her birthday a few months ago and how she threw up everywhere... here is the before and after. We were getting supplies for her cake while she rode around in this car (see below). Then I took her out of the tiny car (heaven forbid) and she went ballistic. Which in turn made her phlegm-y which in turn made her puke. Everywhere. In the car. All over herself. Soooo we still headed out to the zoo (minus pukey coat) wrapped in a blanket.

The decor. Ohhh yeah. We went all out with Toy Story this year. It was fun.

Next up: Christmas, Texas, New Years, the Caribbean, Grandma visit, and Charlotte Charlotte Charlotte.

six years ago today...

2011-12-27T07:49:00.001-06:00

I made the best decision of my life.

gosh I hope they make it in time... but probably not

2011-12-19T08:45:00.003-06:00

So we rushed to get these made, ordered, and picked up last week.

And they're still sitting on the kitchen counter... dang it!

Hopefully they'll be coming sometime before the New Year.

Luckily the cards say Merry Christmas AND Happy New Year.

Oh well.

my daughter... the actress

2011-12-15T20:50:00.002-06:00

I just stumbled across this tonight. Last summer Charlotte and I were playing at the park behind our house. This wife and husband were filming this stroller review when one of the babies had a melt down and went home. They needed another baby and asked if Charlotte could sit in. I said, "Hmm.. why not?" and went with it. I didn't even think twice about whether or not it was a good idea until I was home later that evening. Thank heavens it didn't end up being something weird.

She calls herself Mama Natural and has several videos on YouTube and a blog twitter.com/MamaNaturalBlog. She's nice and... interesting... I believe you can watch her give natural birth on YouTube. =) Charlotte is in the beginning and then the last 10 seconds or so.

And I have no idea why she has a dude's voice but whatever.

Ben's phone

2011-12-06T23:17:00.010-06:00

So my power cord died most inconveniently. Which means my computer is dead for the time being. So I've been using Ben's for important work like checking my email, people.com, and this here blog. I was perusing his photos and noticed he had a ton from his phone that I had never seen. So I share them this evening with you.

Random? Yes. Blurry? Mostly.

Delightful? I think so.

This was after church last Sunday (hence Charlotte wearing Ben's bow tie after he changed).

I'm not a big fan of Dr. Seuss. Never was. But these two loooove him. I think they read 6 in this one sitting.

Decorating a ginormous gingerbread house.

Being silly.

Washing down the neon green birthday cake.... blast-I still need to post bday pics...

Posin' again. Looking rather thuggish.

As thuggish as a white doctor from Salt Lake City can look.

But since Charlotte hails from Chi-town, she can totally be a thug.

My little darling at the zoo.

(post vomit episode... read last post if you need a reminder...)

Her first Coors Light.

Couldn't be more proud.

Over Thanksgiving weekend we watched the men's BYU basketball team play in a tournament.

She loved it.

And if she doesn't grow up to be a basketball player I'll probably disown her.

I mean come on! She's already wearing her first pair of pink Jordans (thanks Laura).

This is how I find her many times in the morning.

(you might have to search for her on the floor)

She's in a toddler bed, but we've put a child's doorknob thingy on her door so she can't get out at all hours of the night if she were to wake up.

So she either knocks and calls out to me, or grabs a book and reads to herself.

Lovin' her dahdeeee.

Doesn't she look like life just couldn't get any better?

Hanging out in pjs. Sunny weather. Tossing leaves everywhere.

This particular morning she woke up suuuuper early (hence the light being on because it was dark outside). I put on Super Why which she loves to watch in the morning and I left to make some tea. Came back and she was out cold like this for almost 2 hours.

Love her.

When we decide to go out to eat Ben likes to look up places we've never been before that he's seen a review for, read in a travel book, or heard through word of mouth.

This always takes us downtown.

Luckily it takes less than 15 min to get there from our place.

This is Lou Mitchells which serves amazing breakfast.

Like lines are out on the sidewalk to get in.

And it was dang fine.

She honestly asks to wear Ben's ties every day he gets home from work.

When he comes home wearing scrubs she's very disappointed.

Oh yeah, apple picking. From like two months ago...

And I stumbled across this picture from the summer.

With her Auntie Jenna and Cousin Hans.

Both of whom we get to see in a few weeks!

Charlotte, the two year old

2011-11-29T21:30:00.003-06:00

My little tiny is now TWO.

That's right. Two.

How we spent our day:

This morning she woke up at 8:30 (bless her heart).

She ate scrambled eggs, a blueberry muffin, and chocolate milk.

Watched a little Mary Poppins.

Went to the grocery store to get ingredients for her bday cake.

Had a complete meltdown after being taken out of the shopping cart where she was in the little red car that is attached to some shopping carts.

Got so upset that she gagged on her saliva and puked e.v.e.r.y.w.h.e.r.e. in the car and on herself. Remember what she ate for breakfast?... yeah...

Headed into Taco Bell to get sprayed down.

Still headed to the zoo for a few hours.

Came home and took a 2 hour nap (bless her again).

Waited very impatiently for dahdeeee to come home for cake and presents.

Colored and colored and colored while waiting.

Watched Toy Story 3 while waiting.

Talked to every family member on both sides plus skype-ing with Ben's side of the family.

Opened presents and ate a Toy Story alien cake made by yours truly.

Played with toys.

Danced with dahdeee while singing the Beauty and the Beast song.

Went to bed at 9:30!

Man, what a day!

She's still in love with Toy Story so that was the theme I went with. Balloons, wrapping paper, candles, plates, figurines, candy, sign, cake... all Toy Story. It was a lot of fun. Who knows how long this phase will last. Soon she'll be wanting princess and barbie birthdays so I had to take advantage of this stage while it lasts.

More about her and pictures of her party later this week.

For now, I'm pooped.

a conversation with Charlotte

2011-11-21T00:19:00.003-06:00

Last week the three of us were able to go to the zoo together before Ben was on call that night. We have a family pass that we used a lot in the summer, but haven't been in a few months. After Charlotte's experience and reaction from this day's visit, I definitely think we'll be going once a week. She's always enjoyed it, but this time was different. She was really really into it and asked so many questions. We were at the polar bear exhibit right when it jumped in the water to eat it's lunch. That was almost a week ago and Charlotte is STILL talking about it:

"Poah bayah jump on the weewee for the fishies!"

Yes, she calls water wee wee. Which I think is hilarious.

On the way home from the zoo she kept saying it over and over so I pulled over to tape her tiny little voice... wanting to remember it for always.

The video is horribly grainy, but her voice is adorable.

*Please notice that she calls me Jamie in the beginning (she does that a lot when she's trying to get my attention). I have to often remind her that I'm mommy and not Jamie to her. She'll smile and call me MommyJamie... whatever.

from October to now.. ish

2011-11-15T19:10:00.015-06:00

Alrighty, so here it goes:

Every Friday morning Charlotte goes to the library for reading/singing/craft time and LOVES it. At first she was shy around the other kids and librarian but now she enthusiastically gabs, jumps around, and dances. Constantly this kid dances.

Doesn't she look so old in this picture? She's not a huge scribbler. She likes to make meticulous little swirls and zigzags throughout her paper. And might I add that she holds her crayons/pencils/markers properly? Oh yeah preschool - bring it on!

One weekend last month Ben had off so we drove over to Michigan for shakes and antique shops (thank you Ben!)... I was in heaven.

Mi familia? I know just where to take you on your next visit.

Nothing beats a chocolate milkshake.

Why is she acting shy as I try to take her picture before church?

I have no idea.

Okay, at the end of last month my parents flew Charlotte and I out for a few weeks. We aren't coming home for any of the holidays and Ben was suuuuper busy delivering babies for a few weeks so it was the perfect time to jet out for a visit. And can I just say that it rained TWICE. That's it. And when I went in the summer? It rained ONCE. And this is within a 3-4 week period. I just bring the sunshine wherever I travel. =)

My parents have a playroom (oh heaven I hope I have one someday). If we didn't know where this little darling was we would find her in that room playing with a toy castle or having a tea party.

Please read the tiny sign my sister is holding then the above and below pictures would make sense. I LOVE MY FAMILY!

They are all my best friends and I never tire of flying out and spending loads of time going to antique shops, holiday craft fairs (like the one we are at in these pictures), watching movies, making craft after craft after craft and hoping it fits into my 50 lb checked bag, and catching up.

And of course here's Halloween. Ben worked that entire weekend and was on call the night of Halloween so I didn't feel bad not being home for this holiday.

We were pirates. Okay that's a little obvious right? She had the "arrrrgh matey" down pat.

Patiently getting her eye patch painted on by my 'rastafari' sister (see below).

My other sister Carrie hosts a huge Halloween party every year that she goes ALL OUT for. I mean it's ridiculous. and pretty amazing.

Charlotte playing the "i'm too little" card so she can pumpkin bowl close up. Little cheater.

And here is her boyfriend. If these two married... well, let's just say I wouldn't complain.

His name's Cole. And they're in love.

My littlest niece Adison. Scrumdiddlyumptious.

Charlotte loved playing with the big kids. Including putting her arm/face/body into a gross bucket of apples.

We had two Halloween parties we attended, our church's trunk or treat, and then the actual night of trick or treating. Once the morning of November 1st rolled around I was ready to put the Halloween season far behind me!

Chowing down on some pizza before we hit the streets for candy.

Auntie "Whoa-wa" came down to trick or treat with us.

Can I just give my sister Laura a tiny shout out?! She's amazing. She's already the head counselor at the high school she's worked at for only 2 or 3 years. She just found out that she's speaking at the national conference of counselors in St. Paul, Minnesota (which I get to drive up and watch!). This year was her first year as their head volleyball coach. They hadn't been to the playoffs since 1982! Last year they only won 2 games. As her first year as head coach they went to the playoffs and were 8th in districts. 3 of her players were freshman! We were fortunate to make it to 3 tournaments while we were there. Of course my pictures are of her looking rather intense or ticked off coaching (she haaaates to lose...wonder where I got that from...) so I won't post them. But we are so proud of her - CONGRATULATIONS LAURA!

okay back to Halloween...

Proof that I actually am around (Ben, I love you. But you never take pictures of us together... just sayin).

My other sister Carrie with 2/4 of her kids. And my BIL Dave. Who I quite like. Just don't tell him I said that. =)

Doesn't she look so tiny? She definitely got the whole "twick tweat" thing going and the occasional "tank ta" (thank you), but half of the time would gaze longingly into her bag as candy dropped. She was in heaven. Towards the end of the night she was galloping toward each door instead of dawdling along like she did at first.

Here's her cousin Hallie. Hallie is a good sport. She stayed next to Charlotte the entire night; even when all of the other kids ran on ahead. She has the patience of a saint.

(and isn't my daughter's costume amazing? (thanks mom) it also came with a hate which of course I left in the car)

Okay random picture of Charlotte enjoying a train ride at the mall.

For some reason my sister got rid of her double stroller. So we'd double stack em and call it good!

Charlotte turns 2 in 2 weeks (don't even get me started...) so while we were out there we joined Adison's first birthday with Charlotte's second.

The theme was 'state fair'. And of course my sister went all out. Again. Love her.

Her party in Chicago will be Toy Story themed (she's OBSESSED with all things Toy Story) so my mom made her a '2' t-shirt using Toy Story fabric.

Our buddy Theron showed Charlotte how to put on her own jacket and Charlotte thought it was pretty cool. Here she is showing everyone at the party how she does it using her new church coat my mom got her. She puts her arms in and then swings her arms up and back so the jacket swings behind her head and up her arms. Brilliant.

She was very dainty when she ate her first birthday cake.

All of the attention/singing/clapping/late hour made this wee one get a bit shy.

But boy was she ready to blow out her two tiny candles!

She too ate pretty daintily.

Not the greatest or most attractive picture of these two, but boy were they buddies. Here they are snuggling on our last night in Washington watching a movie. I believe it was Gnomeo and Juliet... I just may have to purchase that one.

Okay, minus Adison's attempt at escape, I love this picture. Charlotte loves her 'baka' (for some reason she can't say grandma so that comes out). They are two peas in a pod.

Then there's Emma. She is the FIRST person Charlotte mentions in her prayers under the 'I'm grateful for..' inventory. The FIRST! I'm like... sixth or seventh on the list.

So we finally made it home and Charlotte literally RAN through the terminal right into Ben's arms. I think she missed her daddy. There were 8 babies on our return flight. Eight. Two screamed almost the entire way. Charlotte played with stickers, watched The Lion King, and colored. Not a peep. And I think our return flight marked her 27th flight.

We had tons of fun and made/bought so much Christmas decor that my house is going to look like a flippin winter wonderland. I'll post pics in a week or so. =)

She does this just about every day. We have a bucket filled with her little animals and people. She pulls them all out and talks to them. Then pics her favorite animals and makes them line up. Then she lays on her tummy in front of them and talks to them again.

This morning I got home from my run (Ben wasn't on call until 5pm so he was home) and from a distance saw these two playing in the leaves. It was a perfect sunny and crisp autumn morning.

Don't mind the pjs and white trash hair. It was morning and we weren't quite put together yet.

We cleaned up and headed to the zoo for a few hours before Ben had to go to work.

Remember what I said about her loving all things Toy Story? Look at that shirt. Thank you Auntie 'Cayway".

'Howling' like a wolf.

She may be the cutest wolf I've ever seen.

This girl is a hugger. She hugs anything and anyone. And she adds a "Mmmmmmm" so that you know she means it.

I always thought my sister Laura was weird because she eats her pizza crust first. But Charlotte eats hers top down. As in toppings first, then cheese, then sauce, then the crust... weird.

A little game of leap frog.

I love that she still claps for herself when she thinks she's done something amazing.

Yes, my car is filthy. But it'll be a sad day when I wash it and this little handprint goes away. Good excuse to wait on the washing right?!

Now we've been settling back into our routine and getting ready for the holiday season. I cannot believe that Thanksgiving is already NEXT WEEK! Aaaaaahhh! Love it! We're spending it with our 'family' the McCombs and then having Christmas in Chicago. Luckily the week of New Years Ben has off so we're headed down to Austin to have us a southern partay with his side of the family. We're pumped to see all of them!

Okay, toodleoo!

some random down time

2011-10-09T23:25:00.003-05:00

Learning the ABC's.

Hanging out in our sideyard while the weather is still nice, because when the Chicago winter sets in - we'll all be hibernating.

She loves spotting her name.

"OH! Charleeet!"

And playing some ball.

I wonder what sport she'll play... I can't believe next year she'll be doing little sport's programs =(

And she was SO done having her playtime interrupted by my incessant picture taking.

I promptly put the camera away.

Sassy one, eh?!

a movie date

2011-10-07T13:26:00.002-05:00

Last week Charlotte and I went with my friend Beth and her daughter Ellie to see the Lion King. This was her first movie theater experience since she was 9 months old when she would just kick it on our laps.

She LOVED it.

She did not love it when they held baby Simba up (you know the most famous part) because she thought they were hurting him.

She kept saying "oh the baby! the baby!" and had a look of grave concern on her face.

Other than that she was a fan.

The last 20 minutes the two little ladies were restless and walked up and down the aisle, peeking at the movie through the seats.

the many faces of Charlotte

2011-10-06T20:42:00.005-05:00

{surprised}

{happy}

{sassy}

{excited}

{sad}

{angry}

-with some growling-

{shy}

take me out to the ball game

2011-10-06T00:06:00.002-05:00

A few weeks back Ben got four free tickets to a Cubs game from work. I'm not even going to tell you how amazing these seats were... okay I'm going to tell you.. a.m.a.z.i.n.g. We were in the fifth row in left field. Foul ball territory. Plus free parking. And did I mention these amazing four seats were FREE? Yeah, pretty sweet.

This girl is a peach. She insisted on bringing her "Adie baby" to the game and many many books.

She had two extra seats to enjoy and felt like a big kid.

One of many activities/books we brought to help entertain.

Did I mention the game went into extra innings? Like three or four extra innings?

She cried once. When she smacked her head on the seat. I probably would have cried too.

Ben explaining one of the many intricacies of baseball.

Ben teaching her the fine art of eating sunflower seeds at a game.

love love love her

is it sad when...

2011-09-16T11:32:00.004-05:00

... Charlotte is watching Sesame Street and Elmo's World comes on that I stop whatever I'm doing to watch? I can't help it.

And check out my FOUR new posts below that I did this morning.

Carrie, you should be proud.

a much needed Charlotte update

2011-09-16T11:00:00.003-05:00

I kind of miss the monthly updates I used to do.

So here's a post dedicated to catching you up with Charlotte - it's loooong.

Charlotte is a PEACH. I couldn't have asked for a better first born. She's my little buddy that follows me everywhere - which after 10 hours gets a bit 'much'. She even has to sit on her little potty while I'm using the facilities. We just sit there together and chat.

She loves shoes and bows in her hair and calling outfits cute which sounds more like "coot".

Every few days I have to switch out her nail polish. A few days ago I let her pick out some polish at Target to get and she grabbed hot pink, neon yellow, and bright blue. Put those together with the neon orange we already had and those are her rotations.

She's a good little eater - thank heavens. If she could live off of eggs, cheese, berries, carrots, and chicken nuggets she'd be a happy camper. She also drinks so much milk in a day, I'm praying she doesn't ever get into alcohol or she'd be a binge drinker.

Her favorite movie is still Toy Story (preferably #3) and I love that about her. She is so in love with Buzz. When she hears the song "Dream Weaver" from the movie she dances and says "ohhhh Ken Bahbee". If you've seen the movie then you know what I mean.

Speaking of dancing. Any time there's music on she breaks out in what we call an "interpretive" kind of dance. She spins with her head down on one side, bounces, and eventually twists down to the floor. h.i.l.a.r.i.o.u.s.

She sleeps in a toddler bed due to jumping out of her crib. After a week or two she loved hopping in there, hearing stories, and falling asleep, but she would always get up in the middle of the night, knock on the door, and yell our names. Oh bother. We'd go back in and shuffle her back in bed. Finally, we nixed going in there and she's been putting herself back into bed and asleep. The last few nights we haven't had to go in at all. Hallelujah.

We've stopped writing down words she says because she blabs and copies everything we say now. Although recently we've found she has a bit of a dirty mouth. Just don't ask her to say "fox" or "sit"... she might surprise you.

I've started doing little 'preschool' lessons when I babysit 3 days a week. We focus on a letter a week. I even put a word wall up. Any teachers out there know what I'm talking about and are probably making fun of me right now... She knows a ton of letters, all of her colors, counts to 10, but cannot get past the shape circle. Apparently that is the only shape she needs or wants in life.

She loves when dah - deeeee comes home but is a huge mama's girl. Like huge... If I leave a room she's right at my leg tugging on my pants to pick her up. Ohhhh how I 'love' that. I have to remind myself that one day she'll push me away and not want me to hug and kiss her all day.

We LOVE her.

I'll make sure I give little updates on Charlotte more often so these ridiculously long posts don't occur =)

me and dah-deeee

2011-09-16T10:44:00.002-05:00

The past couple of weeks Ben has had more time to spend with us.

Charlotte is THRILLED because - let's be honest - dad's are just more fun.

Especially when they're not with the kids 12 straight hours, right?

So we went to the zoo where if we brought blankies, a pillow, and her baby doll - Charlotte would be content to live there.

I know this pic is blurry, but how cute are these two?

We also stayed in to watch the US Open and color.

We love it when the Dr's in.

best friends

2011-09-16T10:33:00.002-05:00

I know I've had posts about these two plenty of times, but I just can't get over how cute they are together. I babysit this little dude 3 days a week and it's the happiest time in Charlotte's little life. Even nursery at church isn't the same if her best friend's not there.

She would not stop hugging and tickling him!

He finally retaliated and tackled her from behind. She doesn't look to pleased does she?

Best friends.

And this is how they take naps every day. I lay in between and read a few books while they drift to sleep. Later on when they wake up I can hear them talking and giggling with each other.

Oh, it makes me melt.

baking with mama

2011-09-16T10:01:00.002-05:00

Every day Charlotte helps me with cooking and baking. She sits on top of the counter and pours, stirs, squishes, & throws food.

She looooves eggs for breakfast (once again) so every morning she sticks her thumb in the cracked egg to pull it open and then stirs the scrambled eggs into perfection.

This day I was feeling rather "fall-ish" (I won't tell you that I've had all of my fall and Halloween decor out... pumpkin spice candles and all... for almost two weeks... I couldn't help myself) and made pumpkin chocolate chip muffins. Up until then Charlotte was so afraid of the hand mixer until I let her hold it all by herself - then she was a champ.

I caught her on more than one occasion sticking that little finger into the batter. Just like her mom =)

Every 30 seconds she'd turn on the oven light and take a peek at their progress.

She'd say "ohhh hot hot baking".

Partaking of the baked goods.

(they were still hot, hence, the cringe =)

cousins

2011-09-01T08:46:00.002-05:00

There's nothing like seeing your kid play with family. Especially small family members that are just her size. We love it out here in Chicago, but it will sure be nice to live closer to family some day.

{Claire, Adison, Emma, Charlotte, Hallie}

*taken in my mom's back yard*

*taken at the campsite at Ensign Ranch*

so wrong and yet so funny

2011-08-30T12:34:00.002-05:00

thanks carrie for showing this to me

finally... an update

2011-08-28T21:03:00.018-05:00

Oh where do I begin... I'm so behind.

Well, after Ben's graduation we had a few days to play around Chicago with my mom who had come out before we headed to SLC. Ben's sister Caitlin was getting married and we were lucky enough to fly out for a week to be with her and the rest of the family. We didn't have a camera then so Ben took pics with his phone which I have yet to get from him. Those pics will have to wait. So I'll talk about that when I get around to it.

We drove back home in a 'new' (new to us) car that Ben's parents didn't need and we did since Ben was starting work as soon as we got back. Thanks, in laws!

July 1st Ben started his residency and has thus loved it. His hours aren't too bad, but I'm also used to long hours and seeing him here and there. He comes home with interesting stories and sad ones. Last week he had to 'pronounce' a patient for the 1st time =(

Fourth of July we had a BBQ here at our place with a bunch of friends and watched fireworks from our porch. Gosh, I hope I can find pictures of that.

Ben had his 28th birthday with the most amazing homemade carrot cake made my yours truly.

A week after his birthday (when we were all in WA) my parent's threw him a mini party to celebrate and took us out to eat. He was spoiled.

From me he opted out of presents and instead put money towards a trip for just the two of us we're planning for next year. I still got him something, but I completely forgot now what it was...

I'd share pictures of the cake and party but I didn't take any.

Story of my life.

Then at the end of July Charlotte and I flew to Seattle to visit my family. Well, first we flew to Kansas City, then Albuquerque, and THEN Seattle. You see, my parents usually fly us out and they're kind enough to always buy us direct flights. This time around we insisted we pay our way and couldn't afford direct. Charlotte was a champ - thank heavens she's a seasoned traveler.

We had a few days at my parents before Ben flew in and we drove down to Bend, Oregon for his family's reunion.

We headed to Alki Beach like last year. This kid is fearless of water.

"Ohhhhh so cooode" (cold)

We sat there and picked out our future house across the water.

With Claire.

With Gramo.

On our way down to Bend, Oregon.

This is officially Charlotte's first bike. The place we were staying at had a bunch of bikes to use and my father in law thought Charlotte needed one of her own. He went out that first afternoon and bought her this little radio flyer trike. She LOVED it.

It was so nice of Jeff to get it for her. He is one of the most giving/generous people I know.

Every afternoon she took HUGE naps because of all of the activities that were going on.

Ben, S.I.L. Jenna, attractive cousin Hailey, and F.I.L. Jeff

This kid fell in love with everyone in Ben's family.

I would have LOVED to have framed this picture of these two... unfortunately Jeff's BLASTED hand is in the way!

Okay, so at Caitlin's wedding we planned to prank another house by saran wrapping their entire kitchen.

S.I.L. Caitlin and Jenna

Every plate, bottle of wine, egg, leftover enchilada, coffee grains, cupboard doors... EVERYTHING was wrapped. It was awesome.

Charlotte loved her "nay nay" (Nathan). If we ever wanted a break or to take a nap he'd take over and watch her. She asked about him for days after the reunion.

The twins.

Charlotte and her entourage.

Samdaddy and Jackie finding their center in the woods.

This kid is obsessed with Toy Story. She finagled many a family member to watch it with her like Hans and Hailey. Thanks guys!

Other activities we did were golfing, swimming, hiking through some lava caves, biking around, fishing, and white water rafting (which I'm totally addicted to now). It was an AWESOME trip. Ben's extended family have these reunions every three years so it's wonderful catching up with so many people. I think close to 80 - 85 people attended!

I dropped Ben off at the Portland airport to head back to work and I headed back up to my parent's for a few weeks.

Now that she finally has her four molars she loves to brush her teeth.

She also loves getting into my makeup and applying it all over her face.

Newest member of the family: Adison.

Darling!

Eating a most delicious cupcake in one of the best antique-ing towns in WA - Snohomish.

My sister Carrie and Adie.

My other sister Laura enjoying the baked goods.

I'm sure she'll love this picture =)

Charlotte got to spend the night with Laura and have a play date with this little darling Cole (who she just asked about today).

She always is spoiled with her Auntie Laura and I got to sleep in until 10!

It was amazing.

This is my parent's dog Sophie who Charlotte called "Sosie". She either giggled and chased after her or ran after her kicking and saying "Go! Go!".

What would summer be like without running through the sprinklers?

We went camping at a place called Ensign Ranch which our church owns. It had free boating, a 100 foot long slip n slide, and $3 horse back riding.

Both babies enjoying a powdered donut. Charlotte looks like she was caught red handed.

Enjoying cherries.

Horse back riding with Claire.

Charlotte was SO excited to ride "Bullseye" (from Toy Story) until she got on and the horse moved. Then she was off in a flash and we walked next to it while she petted it.

"Down, Mommy, down!"

Hallie and my B.I.L. Dave.

Emma and Laura

Who poses like that on a horse?

Apparently Emma does.

We had so much fun with my family shopping, crafting (I made close to 30 hair bows), swimming, golfing, BBQ-ing, seeing late night movies, and eating delicious food usually prepared by my amazing sister Carrie or dad (no offense mom =)

My sister Laura and I also ran in a 5K (my first, her gazillionth) for colon cancer. We wore matching outfits, and put a huge heart on our arm with DAD written on the center. It was so much fun. I used to hate running. I associated it with getting in trouble because I'd miss a lay up or serve in bball and vball and had to run lines as a punishment. But the 5K was fun and a wee bit easy.

Side note: my dad was diagnosed while we were in Ireland. He since has had successful surgery and is receiving chemotherapy as a precaution until Christmas.

LOVE YOU DAD!

Okay okay, last Wednesday Charlotte and I finally headed home and have been spending lots of time with Ben. Yesterday Charlotte went potty in the toilet for the first time and we went downtown for ice cream to celebrate.

Now we're all together enjoying the last of summer, getting Charlotte used to a BIG GIRL BED (she hopped out of her crib too many times so we have successfully gotten her to sleep in a toddler bed for the past few days!), and planning a camping trip for this Labor Day weekend coming up. And I hate to admit this but I can't wait to break out the pumpkin spice candles for the FALL!

**I have a TON of pictures and videos on my phone and Ben's that I'll eventually get around to posting. I'm just thrilled to have this much finished... finally.

a year ago...

2011-07-02T10:34:00.003-05:00

Oh what a difference a year makes! Last year we were at Disneyland with my family celebrating the fourth of July. Charlotte was scrumdiddlyumptious.

Her little face looks exactly the same as it did back then... just a mop of hair, a few teeth, and some height are the only difference.

Every now and then I look at these old videos to pump myself up about even considering having a second... then I remember how 'amazing' the first two months were... yikes... maybe we'll remain a family of three a little bit longer... =)

{below: eating a lime, saying her first word 'hi', and being eaten by Ben - all at Disneyland}

Book of Mormon musical

2011-06-30T20:39:00.003-05:00

I haven't seen it. And I don't particularly plan on seeing it. But I've heard enough about it. I was reading a friend's blog that had this link from a Washington Post article. It's fantastic and wonderfully refreshing to have someone outside my faith defend my faith.

the rest of Ireland... finally

2011-06-21T15:32:00.034-05:00

This is a HUMONGOUS post. There are over 90 pictures! You may need to take a bathroom and snack break ... if you last that long...

I can't believe we've already been back for almost three weeks! It was a bit of an adjustment coming back. I turned into oncoming traffic TWICE the first weekend back. We definitely miss it and feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to live there for six weeks.

Below are the last two weeks of our time in Ireland. We lived in Galway the first four weeks and then travelled all around the island for the last two weeks that Ben had off.

Now remember we didn't have a CAMERA because it BROKE. So these were all taken with Ben's iPhone.

We headed straight north to the UK and saw Giant's Causeway. It's a bunch of basalt columns from a volcanic eruption. Back in the 16th century a Spanish ship sank after trying to attack the Giant's Causeway, thinking it was a city.

We thought this sign was pretty stinkin funny.

Afterwards, we drove along the Antrim Coast scenic drive. It was at sunset and GORGEOUS. This was Ben's favorite scenic place. It was super twisty and steep in some areas where I had to gun it in first gear and still barely made it.

Then we headed to Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK.

Below is the city hall with Queen Victoria's statue (her name/face and also of her husband, Prince Albert, is everywhere in Belfast). Also below is a cathedral we wanted to see a service in. As we sat there waiting, we realized they were having a special mass for soldier's who recently died and returned from Afghanistan including their families. We felt a little intrusive and snuck out before the service began.

Oh Guinness, Guinness, Guinness... it was everywhere

Prince Albert's tower (which leans slightly to one side).

We went on a boat tour and saw where the Titanic was built then went on the

Black Taxi Tour.

One of my favorite things we did in all of Ireland.

This was our taxi.

It's a political history tour of the city and depending on what type of taxi driver you get (Loyalist or Unionist) - determines the type of tour you receive.

Ours was a Unionist. A very strong Unionist.

We learned all about the Troubles.

It was supposed to be an hour and 20 minutes and he took us around for 2 1/2 hours. It was really interesting to learn about the uprisings, hunger strikes, and violence that just recently stopped. Over in the public housing neighborhoods are murals (mostly Unionist) painted on most walls and buildings.

Below is part of the wall that used to divide the Catholics and Protestants, but is more to divide the Unionists and Loyalists now.

Next, we drove through Dublin when Obama was in town. There were cops and soldiers in groups of three every 100 yards or so on the highway. It was nuts, but those Irish LOVED Obama. Or O'bama as the t-shirts would say.

Bru na Boinne was an ancient burial site built hundreds of years before the pyramids. At the winter solstice a beam of sun lights up one of the chambers for 17 minutes (below and to the right), otherwise no light or water can/has gotten inside for thousands of years.

This is how poor Charlotte would take her daily nap.

What a trooper.

Up next is Powerscourt Estate. It's where the Count of Monte Cristo was filmed (not that I went because of that reason). It's biggest attraction are its gardens that surround the house for miles.

Charlotte has a thing for rocks. Whenever she'd get a little restless we'd let her throw some rocks around and she'd be happy as a clam.

Another way she'd get her daily nap - in the car in between the next town we'd be traveling to.

Glendalough is an ancient monastic site we visited right after Powerscourt Estate. It was founded by St. Kevin who went there in the 6th century as a hermit. He had many followers which became a thriving monastic village.

We enjoyed some ice cream. Apparently the monk did as well.

I can't even express how grateful I am that Charlotte is such a good traveller and goes with the flow. If ever she got cranky we'd give her some rocks to throw, a dandelion to blow, an apple to munch on (she had two a day), or put on Finding Nemo on Ben's iPod.

Watching Nemo before we headed out again.

One of our hotels in the coastal town of Bray.

Wicklow had a really creepy jail (or gaol) that was in use until the 1920s. Below is a wheel they would make the inmates turn for hours just for the heck of it. It didn't grind wheat or force water anywhere, it just spun in a circle. I would have died!

Many of the men caught rebelling against England were jailed and executed here.

In New Ross (where Pres. Kennedy's grandfather came from) we boarded a coffin ship. These were ships that would take hundreds of starving Irish to other countries (usually America) during the potato famine. They lived in such bad conditions (little food and lots of disease) that many would die and so the ships were nicknamed coffin ships.

Next up was Waterford. We went on an excellent walking tour with a local.

Waterford was one of the busiest ports in Ireland. The clock below was how all seaman would check the time on when to leave port. Then there's a Waterford crystal chandelier from a church.

The Waterford Crystal Company went out of business years ago and was bought by a Poland company and is now made there. Most of the workers were given a few days or even hours notice. Some of the glass blowers who were fired made their own business.

One of the head glass blowers was asked to create a sculpture for the five and ten year anniversary of 9/11 (below).

They invited us right in and taught us all about glass blowing and of course Mr. Obama's recent visit.

We then drove out to Kilkenny where we visited the Rothe House (a 17th century merchant townhouse) and Kilkenny Castle. It was one of my favorite villages.

We also went to a hurling match. It is such an intense sport and the fans are nuts.

We loved it.

It's a lot like field hockey.

But bloodier.

I don't know about you, but knowing that the bacon that I ate came from a happy pig makes me happy.

The Rock of Cashel used to be a fortress, but once the owners found out that their opposition was going to take over they donated it to the church.

Smart move.

The monks built it up very nicely and used it until the 18th century.

Charlotte is at an awesome age where she likes to make you laugh and be goofy. She'll copy just about any face that Ben throws at her.

She is such a crack up.

Then onto the Blarney Castle.

Yep, we both kissed it. Even after hearing about what the locals do to it.

Let's just not think about it.

It was so scary dangling down with a stranger holding onto you.

I was waiting and waiting for these two to return from the bathroom and looked over to see the tummy.

Loving her dandelions.

Cork was a quick trip. Charlotte made a friend at a cathedral. He was just about to lock up the church but let us walk around. He fell in love with Charlotte and would let her walk around blocked off areas. He even tried to teach her to cross herself with holy water.

Sorry, wrong religion for us.

But it was sure cute to watch them together like he was her grandpa.

Cobh is a nearby town we went to for their visitor center all about the Titanic. This was the last port the Titanic stopped at before venturing out into the Atlantic and sinking.

She was always tuckered out at the end of each day.

We stayed in a town called Baltimore that was having a fish and music festival. When we made the reservation the manager said the festival was close and would be loud until late. We stayed there anyway and found out that our hotel room overlooked the town square directly above the musicians. Luckily, at about 8 it started to rain and everyone went home =)

Next up was my favorite activity we did. We headed out to Killarney National Park and took a boat ride through 3 lakes for an hour and a half. Then we biked through the Gap of Dunloe. It was BEAUTIFUL and so much fun.

She fell asleep about five minutes after these pictures were taken.

Our last day was spent driving along the Dingle Peninsula which was almost as pretty as the Antrim Coast. It was the perfect way to spend our last day in Ireland. Misty, green rolling hills, rocky coastline... beautiful.

An old church and beehive tomb out in Dingle.

This is where we made Charlotte sleep the night before we flew back... hehehe... jk.

Dropping off our second car. I grew quite attached to her. I drove all six weeks (since Ben had to work the first four and it was too expensive to have two drivers).

And finally flying home. The direct flight from Dublin to Chicago is 7 hours. Charlotte slept for an hour and a half, watched 2 movies, and cried 0 times.

I love this kid.

And now we're home.

Happy (-ish) to be here.

I'll never forget the time we spent in Ireland.

It was Charlotte and my first stamp in our passports.

And since it was Ben's decision to travel there, I get to pick the next country.

It begins with an I and ends in a Y. =)

*blogger was having a hard time uploading videos so I'll have to try it again sometime

yep... I'm married to a doctor

2011-06-05T21:34:00.002-05:00

Ben graduated from medical school today!

I couldn't be more proud of him!

Congratulations babe!

{below}

Charlotte watched Toy Story 3 throughout the entire ceremony and never made a peep.

And eventually I'll blog the last two weeks of our time in Ireland...

you should have seen what the OTHER kid looked like...

2011-05-20T16:14:00.004-05:00

Just kidding.

She didn't get into a fight =)

Last night we went with our friends (the Currans from church... did I mention they had us over AGAIN for dinner and games... we love that family) to a fair that just came into town.

Charlotte LOVED every single ride she could get on. We bought her a bracelet that let her on any kiddie ride as many times as she wanted.

She was having the time of her life.

Until the fall.

I had put her into the stroller without buckling her in and Ben didn't know and started pushing her along. She leaned a little too far forward and fell face first onto the concrete.

Mud and blood dripped down her little face. She cried for a few minutes as we cleaned her off, but as soon as I mentioned going on another ride she was as perky as ever.

These are the only pictures we took of her. They're from a phone and super gritty.

And here is the ONLY (how dumb are we...?) picture we have of the Curran family we spent so much time with. This is their 2 1/2 year old daughter Sophie.

They loved each other - as you can tell by Charlotte's worship-like stare.

We're hoping to meet up with them next year when they visit the states. =)

so long farewell

2011-05-20T15:47:00.005-05:00

Today is our last day in Galway. Ben's last day of medical school was yesterday!

WooHoo!

He wrote his last reflection for his time working in Ireland and sent it off today.

Now we have TWO WEEKS to travel before we head back home. We'll be going all over the south to every County I think (Cork, Limerick, Kerry, Waterford, Tipperary, Kilkenny, Carlow, Wexford, Kildare, and Wicklow). Then up north to just a few places (Giant's Causeway, Belfast, Counties Down and Armagh). The longest we stay in any county are two days so we'll be on the go go go.

Today we stayed at our apartment getting ready to leave in the morning.

Then we headed to our front yard to play on the beach.

I just may get teary in the morning when we leave.

I'm not sure how much blogging I'll be able to do over the next two weeks since I don't know if where we'll be staying will have internet. If you don't hear from us, then I'll catch ya'll up when we're back in Chicago.

And last night we dropped our camera. I say "we" because Ben was handing it to me and he thought I had it and I thought I had it then WHAM! It fell to the concrete floor. If we could afford to go out and buy a new one we would. Unfortunately our pictures will now have to come from Ben's phone.

Boo.

just one of those days...

2011-05-17T12:09:00.001-05:00

when clothes were optional

hiking and climbing and more ruins

2011-05-16T06:24:00.015-05:00

Last week Charlotte and I had a play date with some new friends from our church on Tuesday and Wednesday. Wednesday we went to see Water for Elephants at a 10:30 showing where you could bring babies and young kids. Charlotte ate snacks on my lap and walked around chatting with other babies the entire time while I got to enjoy the movie. It was lovely.

Ben is really good about taking Charlotte to the playground and going on the huge swing.
See below video as well.

Smooching.

***

Thursday we visited Knock where in 1879 14 people said they saw the Virgin Mary, Joseph, John, and a lamb surrounded by angels. The Vatican looked into it at the time and said it was a real apparition and it is now a holy site. I didn't take many pictures because there wasn't much to see.
In 1979 the Pope visited. People from all over the world come. Many have been healed of illness. They even have 12 or so fountains of holy water you can fill up jugs and take home.

We also visited Cong to see their abbey and church. It was built in the 12th century.

This was the monk's fish house. They built this over a river and had a hole in the floor to fish from. A string connected to a bell in the abbey's kitchen told the cook when there was fresh fish available.

We've seen quite a lot of fly fishing.

***

On Friday we finally made it out to Connemara National Park to hike and climb.
Charlotte was in a huge 'mommy mommy' mood so I had the privilege of carrying her.
The entire way.
Yay.

At the top!

Beautiful views.

Then we went out to Killary Fjord for some seafood and a gorgeous drive.

***
Last Saturday we climbed this:

Croagh Patrick

This is believed to be where St. Patrick climbed, fasted for 40 days, built a church, and threw a silver bell down the side to banish the she-demon Corra which expelled all snakes from Ireland.
It's a huge pilgrimage site. Very devout Catholics walk barefoot (on the summer solstice) and some even climb up on their hands and knees.

We met an older couple right before we started the climb who gave us some tips. She had climbed up 21 times barefoot and 5 times with shoes.
She told us to be careful if it gets crowded (which it didn't) because she's seen people pushed off of the side by accident!
Nope... that comment didn't make me nervous at all.

Right before the climb. We were so excited and full of energy.
Good thing, because it was a much harder climb than I anticipated.

The view of the mountain as we started.
We passed a handful of people who were training for a fundraiser where they were to go up and down 12 times in 24 hrs! Today their goal was 8. They were practically running on the way down.
On average it takes someone 3 - 3 1/2 hrs to do it once.

What you stared at as you climbed and climbed.
The older couple we met (who are below to the right) told us when you were finished, you'd never want to see a rock again.
I agree.

More views as we started to get higher.

The church below is at its summit and only has mass two or three times a year.

Views from the summit.

Right as we got to the final climb (where you had to use your hands to get up) Charlotte wanted me to carry her in the backpack.
Oh.my.gosh.
If you look at the picture below and see the mountain. Look at the point at the bottom of the mountain right before it climbs up steeply.
Yep, that's where I got to carry her all the way to the top.
We had to bribe her with hopes of playing with Ben's iphone at the summit, crackers, and singing 'Old McDonald'. Luckily she fell asleep quite a bit because it was so windy and cold. People would look at us with huge respect for carrying her up there, or like we were the worst parents for bringing her up there =)

It was amazing. Beautiful. And was a fantastic workout.
But we (and our legs) were happy to be down again.
The statue of St. Patrick (above) looked like Jesus to Charlotte. She was thrilled to say and point out "Jeezuh Jeezuh."

Close to Croagh Patrick is this famine ship memorial to honor all of those that died during the great famine. Those are skeletons making up the ship.

Charlotte picking out a cheese sandwich for dinner.

Since then we had our friends Eli and Krista visit Saturday night until this morning. We've been able to travel with them quite a bit in the past so it was fun meeting up with them out here.

Charlotte's caught a nasty cough so her and I stayed home from church yesterday and napped.
We have a few more things planned for this week to places that are within an hour and a half away before we leave this Saturday. Then we either head south or north (haven't finalized our itinerary yet) to travel the coast for two weeks before we head back to the states.

from Dublin to Connemara and everything inbetween

2011-05-10T16:57:00.026-05:00

Wow.

I'll never take a week and a half off of blogging again (when I have so much to blog about).

I have put all of my pictures in backwards. Meaning the first things you'll read about and see are the most recent events. Once I realized what I had done it was just too late to switch it and I had already been working on this post for an hour.

The past three days have been super laid back which we sort of needed. Especially Charlotte. You'll realize why once you see the rest of this post. Today we had a play date with a few kids/moms from church, Ben took Charlotte to our playground, and we went out for seafood yet again (yummm). Yesterday we hung out at our apartment, watched movies, and took a two hour nap. Sunday we went to church and had dinner at another member's home. Oh and celebrated Mother's Day.

The following is what happened the week prior.

On Friday we had to drop Nana off at the airport so we stayed for an extra day and visited Dublin. We didn't get through our whole list, but made a good dent. We'll be going back for another day or two next month before we head back to the states.

We were able to walk A TON through out the city and visited O'Connell Street, Temple Bar, Trinity College, Book of Kells, Merrion Square, Four Courts, a preserved Georgian home, and Marsh's Library.

My favorite were the Georgian doors. I took about 25 pictures just of doors.

Trinity College. You know that the way you get in is based solely on your exams after secondary school? Whatever score you get tells you if you can get into college or not. Each degree has a number attached to it which you need to get in order to go after that degree. I think it's out of 700 or something, which if you want to be a doctor or lawyer, you have to get. Philosophy is like a 300 or 400. You also have to decide what your major is before you start your undergrad. The fantastic thing is that it's 100% paid for if you continue to pass your exams throughout college. If you fail a test, you have to pay up.

Unfortunately we had to say goodbye to this lady. We were so fortunate to have her for our first two weeks. She was my traveling buddy every day and I definitely miss her. Charlotte was so used to having her around that after she left Charlotte kept saying "nana nana nana" and looking around for her =(

On our way to Dublin we saw this van. Ben has an uncle Peter so we thought it was hilarious.

We also noticed that Curran is a very very common Irish name in these parts.

He was just collecting money dressed as a leprechaun.

A wee bit sad.

I'm not gonna lie... those pints of guinness look quite refreshing.

Oh goodness this girl is not a fan of the stroller anymore.

(yep, she still only has six tiny teeth)

The next six pictures are from our visit to St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Site where St. Patrick baptized a bunch of pagans from a well that once stood here.

We unfortunately didn't have enough time to read about everything because the place was just huge. It had flags from wars that Ireland fought in from the past 200 years, knight's coats of arms from hundreds and hundreds of year, and the most amazing stained glass. Charlotte kept pointing out every Jesus she could see and saying "Jeezuh Jeezuh".

We also saw a few Currans buried there.

She was just tuckered out after walking about Dublin and found her way into our bed =)

Checking out O'Connell Street.

(the next two days are accidentally switched around... whatever... I'm too tired to change it)

Last Thursday we headed out to see a castle that was on Nana's list of things to do before she left. She had read about it in an Irish magazine that they have a monthly subscription to. We went to the town it was supposed to be at and couldn't find a thing so we stopped at a gas station. They weren't sure where it was but pointed to a man working at the carwash and said he owned it and to go ask him.

HA! We were so confused. Sure enough, he was the owner looking to sell it and was really confused as to why we would want to go see it as tourists. We showed him the magazine article and he showed everybody around that his castle was in this magazine that an American was holding. He said it was small and to not get our hopes up.

Then he tossed us these:

THE KEYS TO THE CASTLE!

He didn't even ask us our names or anything. Just said to take our time. Luckily he was still at the gas station later when we dropped off his keys! It was a pretty small castle. But it was still a stinkin castle! It was on sale for €600,000 - now it's down to €450,000 - which is less than $650,000! Hello!

After feeling like we owned our own castle for an hour, we headed down to Kinvara for lunch and to check out their local castle. Dunguaire Castle was built in the 16th century and is in a fantastic state. They've renovated each floor to represent what the castle looked like in that century starting in the 1500's on up.

Trying on hats in their gift shop.

Afterwards we picked up Ben and headed back to Galway to eat at Nimmo's.

Later I was holding Charlotte and running away from Ben while he chased us. He captured some great little moments on his iPhone.

Outside Nimmo's.

Their restaurant is in the Spanish Arch.. how cool.

Last Wednesday we headed to a friary that's been abandoned since the 18th century. It was built in the 14th century. The poor monks that lived there were kicked out so many times I lost count as I read the history. It was huge. As I walked through, I kept climbing through tunnels into new rooms, up and down stairs into new hallways... it was amazing. So far the best ruins I've seen.

This was a deep well they'd fill with fresh water and keep live fish all year round. Genius, huh?

As we were headed out of town we stumbled across the Ashford Castle. It also acts as a hotel with a golf course.

Below is the entrance onto its grounds.

Two Tuesdays ago we had a low-key day since we had been on the go so much. We headed out to downtown Galway to shop and site see. I bought a Claddagh ring (which originated from Galway). We also visited St. Nicholas Church where Columbus visited right before he left for the New World. This is where Nana went to church one Sunday.

Two Mondays ago Ben didn't have work so we all headed to the Aran Islands. We took a 40 minute ferry out across the Atlantic and rented bikes for the day. We biked all over visiting ruins dating from the 6th century. It was really cold/windy/rainy that day, but still a lot of fun to experience Ireland biking.

Charlotte kissing the gross window on the ferry.

Can you tell we don't worry enough about germs in our home?

Snacking on an apple on the boat. She asks for an apple about three times a day.

Lotte on top of an altar.

My family next to an old temple.

A temple from the 6th century.

When we would stop to look at anything one of us would go explore while the other hung out with Charlotte then we'd switch. I caught him teaching her to blow dandelions.

I love these two together.

She LOVED riding on the back of Ben's bike. He would purposefully go on bumpy areas and she would say, "whoooooaaa!" or "weeeee!" over and over. After a few hours she fell asleep on the back of that thing.

She loved the boat rides to and from the islands. I, however, am a wuss. On the way over the Atlantic was just super choppy. I got a little queasy, but she wore this smile the entire way.

She was tuckered out on the boat ride home and laid on Ben's legs most of the way back.

Two Sundays ago we went to church at an LDS branch that meets here in Galway. When all of the members are present there are 35 or so. It happened to be a holiday weekend so maybe half of that showed up. It was fast and testimony meeting which was awesome to hear everyone's testimonies. Almost everyone spoke of the temple and its blessings. The closest one that they can attend is in London.

The branch was so excited to have visitors and were really welcoming. We were asked by a family over for dinner that night (a family by the last name of CURRAN =) The wife is actually from a family that Ben's dad knew while he was on his mission here. She was born a few years after he served here, but her older brothers, sisters, and parents knew my father in law really well. He even did one of their baby blessings. Small world, huh?

Two Saturdays ago Nana (Ben's grandma) watched Charlotte for the day so we could go explore. We went on a long drive all around the Connemara Peninsula. There were some barren and rocky areas where you could see why people packed up and moved to America for an "easier" life. Then an hour or so later we drove through the most beautiful land I've ever seen. Mountains, streams, random castles nestled in a forest.

Breathtaking.

The three videos below are of us biking on the Aran Islands (just a quick video to show you how windy and yet awesome it was), bells ringing at Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin, and Ben/Charlotte chasing birds in Dublin. He kept doing this with her all day to get her happy about staying in the stroller. Now she always asks where the birds are. Enjoy.

Cliffs of Moher

2011-04-30T04:37:00.010-05:00

A few days ago Charlotte, Nana, and I went on a little bus tour of Galway City. Charlotte was a peach until she tossed the container of crackers everywhere. Thus leading to a breakdown and subsequent vacating of the bus.

Then yesterday, Ben got off of work around noon and we headed down to the Cliffs of Moher.
It was in the upper sixties and not a cloud in the sky.
Perfect day to see the cliffs.

She hung out in Ben's backpack the whole time and loved it.
Side note... the ride to the cliffs is gorgeous but really twisty/turny and the poor girl got car sick and puked all over herself. She was a delight after that, but we had to buy her a new outfit.
And the car smelled oh so nice the rest of the day.

Below, Nana with O'Brien's Tower in the background.
See this video. It's hilarious.

You weren't supposed to go past this fence (which of course everyone, including us, did).
It had the best views, but there wasn't a fence.

Below, me dangling over the edge. I'll never do it again.

Then we stopped by this pub for some seafood.

Kylemore Abbey

2011-04-28T02:45:00.006-05:00

Imagine you're driving out to a national park to do some hiking and turn the corner to see this:

.....

Yeah... we had to stop. We ended up staying here for the entire day.

It was first a castle built by a doctor/politician (who inherited tons of money when his father died) for his wife. It was built in the 1860's, has over 70 rooms (33 are bedrooms), heating, its own fire department, a lake, and 21 glasshouses for exotic plants.

Charlotte climbed up and slid down the same three steps forever.

Above a closeup and below the castle's front yard.

About ten years after being built, his wife died while traveling in Egypt. He built this church (below) in honor of her and buried her in a mausoleum on the property. He stayed at the castle until around 1901, sold it to a playboy of an Englishman and his aristocratic American wife (the Duke and Duchess of Manchester), who then sold it to nuns years later because he went bankrupt. The nun's abbey in Belgium had been bombed by the Germans in WW1 so they needed a new home. They turned it into a boarding school for girls just up until last year when they ran out of money. They asked us if we knew any rich Americans to let them know about the abbey and ask for donations =)

The next day Charlotte was not in the mood for going out and about so we stayed in, took naps, went to the park, and headed to the grocery store.

and we're here!

2011-04-25T16:20:00.009-05:00

Last Friday we left for Ireland on an overnight flight. It was only a 7 hour direct flight from Chicago to Dublin. Charlotte hated trying to sleep the last few hours so I held her the entire time while she squirmed this way and that. I maybe slept for 45 minutes. Total.

We arrived in Dublin on Saturday morning and picked up our car. I'm the only driver since Ben will be working at the hospital for the first month and won't need to use the car.

Great.

I have driven a stick shift a handful of times in my life.

Never with my left hand, on the left hand side of the road.

Let's just say that the first 200 yards of driving were interesting. And I may have cried, uttered a swear word, and yelled at Ben for talking too much while I needed to concentrate.. =)

Oh, and the one time I drove into oncoming traffic. Woops...

After the first few hours I definitely now have the hang of it and only have to remind myself once in awhile "left, left, left".

We went to the "grocery store" to pick up food for our apartment and loved buying 'biscuits' instead of cookies and 'nappies' instead of diapers.

Some accents are sooo thick I honestly can't understand what they're saying. Usually the older guys smoking and having a pint of Guinness are the nicest and most helpful ones.

I still can't believe we'll be living here for a month and a half.

Sweet.

Our plane behind us before we left from Chicago. Charlotte was a wee bit excited.

Charlotte playing at a local playground in Galway City where we'll be living the first month.

For Easter Sunday we went to the Galway Cathedral for a Catholic service. It was beautiful and absolutely packed full of worshippers. Afterwards we walked around to familiarize ourselves with the city and got a traditional Irish-Easter meal. Think potatoes. Lots of potatoes.

Nana below (who will be with us the first two weeks) and the cathedral we went to mass at.

Overlooking the Corrib River in Galway.

Today, Ben (who doesn't have to go to work until tomorrow) and I went to Clonmacnoise while Nana hung out with Charlotte. Clonmacnoise is a monastic site founded in 548 by St. Ciaran along the river Shannon. The original buildings from that time were made of wood so they are long gone, but the majority of the ruins there today are from the 12th century.

The most and best preserved high crosses of Ireland are at this site.

Below is a castle ruin that was built in the 13th century.

This was called Nun's Church. Close by there was a stone path called the Pilgrim's path where people would make long pilgrimages to Clonmacnoise.

Tomorrow Nana, Charlotte, and I are headed to Connemara National Park.

Hopefully I'll be good about blogging every night, or at least every few nights.

I'm off to bed.

'Oiche mhaith'

{goodnight}

easter, laura, goodwill... in that order

2011-04-20T10:11:00.007-05:00

Last weekend our church had an early Easter activity of breakfast and an egg hunt. The weather was horrible so we had it inside. Charlotte was so darling to watch walk around and collect eggs. Often she'd hand hers off to someone else or put hers in their baskets.

{gotta love that crooked smile}

{her tiny friend Henry who she kept handing eggs off to}

The week before last my sister came into town. YAY! {thank you for coming, Laura!}

She has come at least twice every year we've been here. So I believe this last visit was her 8th or 9th time. Isn't that so nice?! It always makes life a little easier when family comes to visit.

We went to the zoo and downtown of course.

We also went and had an "adventure day". These "adventure days" started with my mom when we were little. We would pack up the car and just drive until we found a cute town to explore. Usually this town had to have amazing antique stores and cute restaurants for lunch. Now when I go home to visit we have a good handful of tiny towns we visit that we 'discovered' years ago.

Laura and I decided to explore some tiny midwest towns northwest of here and found some amazing shops, old Victorian homes, and lots of cornfields. =) It was so much fun.

Then we parked really far north along Lake Michigan and biked along the lakeshore a good 20 miles. I've always been meaning to do it, and it was awesome.

Her flight got in at 1:30 in the morning so Charlotte's 6:30 wake up call was great... She walked right over to sleeping Laura, climbed up with her blankie, and watched Curious George. Then she took Laura's bra and requested to put it on.

Below is a steal I got from Goodwill.

$25!

I'm going to paint/distress it and put some bead board in the back and maybe another shelf, but how sweet was that deal?! I'll take pictures when I'm done with it... which will have to wait until this summer since we're leaving this Friday.

The first video is from the zoo when my sister was in town. The other one was from this past Monday when I babysat Theron. I love these two together.

gasland

2011-04-15T23:49:00.004-05:00

Alright, so we've been on this documentary kick lately. The latest we watched was called Gasland. It's about the environmental impact of drilling or "fracking" natural gas all over the country. Countless people's water and air supply is now toxic causing their tap water to light on fire, asthma, cancer, and so on. There is a bill that's trying to be passed in Congress that would regulate drilling and the disclosure of chemicals being used, among other things.

If you're interested check out this website.

ridiculously huge post

2011-04-11T20:12:00.016-05:00

This is a regurgitation of pictures from the last few months (even some from Christmas time). Ben has been downloading the pictures onto his computer lately, hence the little blogging I've done recently since I normally blog from my own. And sometimes I just avoid blogging because it takes too dang long.

I believe this post has 36 pictures. It's everything up to about a week and a half ago. I'll get to those pictures later along with about a thousand videos.

I want to get caught up before we head out of town next weekend to IRELAND! Ben is doing an away rotation at the university hospital in Galway for four weeks. Then we'll be there two more weeks traveling.

We have an apartment, rental car, passport for the wee one. We're set.

Now enjoy this ridiculously huge post.

{lunching with two ponies in her hair, tossed around by Daddy and Eli, trudging through the snow in Michigan}

{sharing a ginormous donut with Daddy and Krista, gearing up to head out on the snow, being pulled by Eli and sliding with some friends in MI}

{loving on Big Bird, on a walk in her new rain gear, "bubbos" are her new obsession}

{trying to love on a friend at Match Day, giving her goofy side smile, enjoying St. Patty's downtown Chicago}

{swinging at our favorite park, "requesting" to go outside, with Dr. Judy - one of two of her peds}

{sitting on her hedgehog bean bag she loves, she asked to wear her Mickey ears all evening, having a family day at the zoo}

{getting tuckered out at an Indian restaurant, she looooves hiding under the dining room table, and she loves just about anything she can cuddle/manhandle - monkey, baby doll, Ugly Doll...}

{playing with her boyfriend, up at Mt. Rainier in WA while visiting my fam, at Snoqualmie Falls with Ben's aunt and uncle}

{up at Mt. Rainier, Pike Place Market in Seattle, celebrating New Year's Eve with silly string}

{on a date for our 5 year anniversary, playing with Papa, making/decorating/eating her first sugar cookie at Christmas time with Gramo and her cousins}

{sitting with a stranger on a plane, meeting her first kitty (not very impressed... I think she's a dog person), with her little cousin, Adison}

{excitedly putting on her Santa pjs}

Charlotte is almost 17 months old. Where did the time go?! It feels like it is going by much faster than in the beginning. She is definitely a toddler now. Seeing what she can do without you looking, arching herself backward when she's ticked, getting some quality time on her time out rug, teasing you, not listening... oh the joy... She still hasn't learned the word 'no', but I'm sure that won't last too long. She loves having bows in her hair, shoes on, and twirling. She loves taking naps cuddled up with me watching a Disney movie (preferably Toy Story 3). Every night she sits on Ben's lap, folds her arms for a prayer, "helps" Ben read a verse, then flips through a few pages pretending she's reading. Love it. If we don't immediately get the scriptures out after she's ready for bed then she'll grab them for you and fold her arms waiting.

We love love love her more every day.

worth watching

2011-03-21T23:43:00.002-05:00

Tonight Ben and I netflixed this movie. It's a documentary (just won an Academy Award) about the financial meltdown that occurred just a few years ago.

Super interesting.

Warning: It may seriously get you ticked at our 'system'.

the wonderful day you were blessed with my presence

2011-03-19T20:36:00.004-05:00

Today's my birthday.

I'm 28.

That's right.

2.8.

I don't feel like I'm 28 (although asking/getting a SpotBot for my birthday from my mom may say otherwise).

Maybe because Ben still hasn't started his 'career' so I feel like we're still in college. Living off of loans. Studying to the wee hours of the night. Eating ramen noodles... okay we don't eat ramen noodles (although I wouldn't pass up a yummy bowl of ramen right about now).

Today's been quite special.

We went downtown for breakfast for cinnamon rolls from Ann Sathers.

dee.lish.

Ben cleaned the house and babysat Charlotte.

I went downtown to a spa for a massage.

h.e.a.v.e.n.

Ben made me a toll house cookie pie.

a.m.a.z.i.n.g.

Then we're going downtown to see Jane Eyre.

That's a dang fine birthday if I do say so myself.

(flashback picture from October - but I felt like I needed to put some picture up - and I haven't taken any of today - so this will have to do!)

and we'll be moving to...

2011-03-17T14:57:00.003-05:00

Nowhere! We're staying here in Chi-town for his residency. We're stoked!

(2 1/2 months until Ben's a doctor! Finally!)

a 15 month old and lots o' snow

2011-03-01T22:33:00.011-06:00

It's been nice not having to post Charlotte's monthly birthdays now that she's over a year, but she's 15 months old. Time to go back to the doctor for a check up and shots. Anytime your birthday is marked by receiving immunizations shots, you deserve a blog post.

She loves to walk around stores alone and not sit in the shopping cart. awesome.

She loves being tossed around and tackled. Well, she likes to tackle you.

She is a fantastic eater and will try pretty much anything. She would be the happiest baby in the world if she got to live off of cheese, milk, peas, peaches, and scrambled eggs. And if you threw an occasional cracker in there she'd be in heaven.

She's darling to put to bed. She folds her little arms to pray, then cuddles while we sing the same song we've sung since she was tiny ("Stay Awake" from Mary Poppins), holds on tight to her Dumbo stuffed animal she got from Disneyland, then lays down and gabs to herself for a minute while you sneak out.

She hates naps anywhere but snuggling with you on a couch (or in the car while you drive). It feels like she's a month old again. We're working on a solution... not that I mind too much taking a nap with her.

Her favorite word (besides hi and yeah) is cracker. Well, she says 'cwacko'. And she calls babies "daydees".

She's very mommy mommy right now which means she has to do (or at least wants to do) everything with me and be sitting on my lap while I do it. Anytime you play with her she grabs her toy or book and then backs into you with her bum until she finds your lap and then plops down.

She runs to Ben when he gets home and when he's gone she'll randomly walk around yelling "Daddy?! Daaaaaddy?!!" until you distract her with something else.

She's very much into equal shares for mommy and daddy. Meaning if she kisses one of us, then she has to kiss the other. If she high-fives or fists-it with one, the other has to get it. If not, then her fist, hand, or lips are waiting until you recognize and give her what she wants.

She's starting to throw tantrums by arching her back when she's upset/frustrated. Sometimes she yells and jabbers at you like she's telling you off. It's hilarious and rather annoying at the same time. =) She's starting to receive time outs.

Whenever any music comes on her bum bounces and she twirls in a circle with one arm out and her head cocked to the side. It doesn't matter if she's listening to Katy Perry or the organ playing a hymn at church.

I could go on and on, but that would incredibly bore many of you so we'll stop there.

We like her a lot. I think we'll keep her.

Below is from a few weeks ago after we got a few feet of snow. I had to plan a lesson I was teaching for church, so Ben took her out and I videotaped a few moments (very bottom).

little happenings

2011-02-26T17:29:00.006-06:00

For the past two months Ben has had research months. So he doesn't have class or have to go into the hospital at all. Which means we see him. A lot. It's nice.

We hit up the Art Museum.

She did pretty good.

Charlotte and American Gothic - here she's contemplating deeply the traditional roles of man and woman

The artwork and conversation were just too stimulating - so she zonked out.

On the way back home it was so stinkin' windy, but Charlotte loves the wind and opens her mouth and sticks out her tongue like a puppy.

Oh, and we had a huge snowstorm {2 feet} - more pictures later.

Enjoying a fudgesicle.

Below - walking in the wind downtown - that's what makes Chicago so blasted cold!

can't get enough of

2011-02-22T01:23:00.002-06:00

love her

(even at 1:30 in the morning...)

she's got a ticket to ride

2011-02-20T20:10:00.006-06:00

Back when we went out to Philly, we actually took an Amtrak train back. Well, we went from Philly to DC. Then DC back home to Chicago. It was almost 100 bucks cheaper than flying and was so much fun. We got a sleeper car that was surprisingly really comfortable and Charlotte did awesome cozying up with one of us in the bunk.

(please excuse her unkempt hair.. I didn't worry too much about styling it while on a train)

When you book a sleeper car your dinner and breakfast are included. Charlotte was so excited (see above) when the waiter brought scrambled eggs (which she eats almost every morning).

And of course we had to get Crumbs Cupcakes while in DC.

Charlotte was quite a fan.

(don't mind her showing you the birdie)

We are definitely train people now. All of our trips that we're looking into for the future, we're always checking train routes. If you've got the extra time then a sleeper car is the way to travel. Especially if where you're traveling to has great scenery.

she's a lover, not a hater

2011-02-12T11:11:00.002-06:00

This morning Charlotte handed me two Little People animals.

A cheetah and a lion.

We practiced the sounds they make and how they act.

I started making them roar and leap at one another.

Charlotte did not like that.

So I had them make up and kiss.

She looooved that.

She grabbed the animals out of my hands and gives them each a few kisses.

Then makes them kiss again, and again, and again.

What a softie.

big kid

2011-02-06T19:23:00.002-06:00

Charlotte seems to becoming quite the little toddler lately.

She LOVES shoes. Anytime she sees any she grabs them, sits on your lap, hands you the shoe and says "hee -a", and points to her little foot.

My mom recently sent her some sparkly pink shoes that she has to wear even over her pjs.

we're working on the whole utensil thing

she also loves to bat her eyes, roll her eyes, twirl in a circle, put bows in and out of her hair, tease you by handing you something and then as soon as you reach for it snatching it back with a grin

and she said thank you ("tee choo") for the first time this weekend

and love you ("ya yoo")

she melts my heart

we went to Philly

2011-02-05T20:58:00.004-06:00

and this is how we both felt.

honestly.

Ben was in NYC checking out a residency program and then traveling to Philly to check out another one (our rank list is due soon so he was taking some second looks at a few programs).

I was super excited to check out Philadelphia since I had never been there.

Charlotte and I flew to Philly, rented a car, and had a full day planned of historical tourism before we were to pick up Ben at the train station. I literally had a travel book highlighted with a list of things to hit up for our one day there.

What happened the night before we get there?

A foot of blasted snow.

Philadelphia doesn't know how to handle snow of this magnitude. I'm used to Chicago having the streets plowed before you leave for work in the

morning or else a politician is kicked out of office.

So, we get there. Park. Walk to what I thought was the right area to find out we're 12 blocks away. So we walk. Well, I walk, push Charlotte through a foot of snow in a stroller, carry her over mounds of snow that I can't push through, past a drunk homeless man that kicked at us to get out of his way, right to the visitor's center. Only to find out that they're closed. For the entire day. As well as every single historical site that was highlighted in my wee book.

I cried. No joke.

There was one last place I could think of to visit. The visitor's center said that a tavern (3 blocks away) where Washington, Franklin, and Jefferson ate dinner every night should still be open. I wiped off my face and made the trek. On the way I saw the liberty bell through a window and met a cop that told me he could totally tell I was from Chicago because of my accent...? What?! The tavern ended up being closed too. A few choice words may have escaped my lips at this point. It was 2 o'clock. Ben's train wasn't coming until 8 and our hotel was an hour away. We had nothing to do and nowhere to go.

To make a long story short (I know... too late for that...), Charlotte and I went to Border's Books (one of the few places open) and hung out in the children's section, Ben switched trains and got in at 4:30 instead, and we finally headed to the hotel. Hallelujah.

she was such a good sport
finally happy reading books in a warm room

some of Christmas break

2011-02-05T20:29:00.006-06:00

Half of our Christmas break pictures are on Ben's computer, so I'll post those later.

We had a wonderful time with my family. They planned so many activities for us to do like seeing the Nutcracker and sledding up at Mt. Rainier. Of course all of the good pictures along with Christmas morning are on Ben's computer which he's using right now to play Madden football.

above my parent's fireplace they had this little setup that Charlotte loved

she always pointed and said "Santa! Santa!"

so we plopped her up there to see what she would do

she loved to poke Adison in the belly button and mouth

and kiss her

lots

she tried so long to fit inside this tiny car seat that did not belong to her

she clapped and then sat back with her long legs dangling over the edge

loving Great Grandma

matching Christmas outfits

with her cousins that she looks nothing like =)

on the flight home we had the whole row to ourselves

(love it when that happens)

she liked having her own little area to kick back

kissing Adison again

this is actually one of her birthday presents

she loves her giraffe

although she only knows how to move backwards

the cutest Santa helper