Charlotte's first trip to Utah: Part 2

Our first day was spent with Grandah and Granny Co, my dad and step mom. We went bowling the first part of the day, then spent the rest of the afternoon at Grandah and Granny Co's house where they had a super sweet swing set that Charlotte loved! We were also blessed by the presence of Uncle Jobi and cousin Morgan, my brother's darling thirteen year old daughter, and we all had a blast!

Charlotte, Uncle Jobi, and cousin Morgan at the bowling alley

My dad recently had surgery, and was told by his doctor that he shouldn't bowl. Of course, this didn't fly with my brother, who immediately grabbed him one of the bowling guides they used for little children, so my dad could bowl without straining himself. Maybe if I use one of these I'd actually get a strike every now and again.

So many cool things to play with at Grandah's house.

We then waited around for some delicious Chinese food, and baby girl and I headed back to Granny Lisa's house to hit the hay. It was a wonderful day with perfect weather, people, food, and activities!

Two peas in a pod

Charlotte's first trip to Utah: Part 1

After being away from my family and home state for more than two years, Charlotte and I finally took a trip home to Utah for nine days. Ander didn't come with us for this trip, since he was too busy being a super busy fishing guide, so it was just me and baby girl: Charlotte's first ever flight, and my first ever flight with a child on my own.

I hoped that I could let baby girl run her little legs off before we departed so she'd fall asleep on the plane, and she sure did a lot of running. Well, pushing, really. She just wanted to push her stroller everywhere and anywhere she could, and why not?

 Unfortunately for me, all of her running didn't tire her out enough to nap on the plane, and she stayed fully awake for the entire three hour flight. She was champ, though, honestly. She hardly made a peep, and when we finally landed our flight attendant told me she'd forgotten we were even there. A huge shoutout to Baby Einstein for keeping my little one thoroughly entertained! Seriously, how did parents do this without technology?

Of course, after we landed, and we had to wait for everyone to get off of the plane, Charlotte began to nod off. We were in the very back row, so we had to wait a while, and I had to keep shaking her and bouncing her to keep her awake.

While my little sweet pea did great on the plane, the ride to Granny Lisa's house was not as smooth. It was extremely jerky, actually, because we got stuck in terrible rush hour traffic, and it was that that was Charlotte's downfall. She got car sick and ended up throwing up three times in her car seat, and right when we were about to pull over to get her cleaned up, she fell asleep... hard. We decided to just keep driving and let her sleep as long as we could, but when she woke up at Granny Lisa's house, she was covered in vomit, disoriented, tired, queasy, hungry, and terrified all at the same time. It took me a long time to calm her down after I was finally able to bathe her and get her into clean jammies, and after that she clung to me like a little koala bear. Poor thing. Too much stimulus in one day, and when I finally put her to bed, she slept a solid twelve and half hours. Turns out that was all she needed. Go figure.

In the morning, she was a completely different kid. Bless her little baby heart.

More to come on our trip to Utah! Stay tuned!

Today was Charlotte's first official day in nursery at church! Everyone tells you how fast time flies once you have a baby, but I mean seriously...

Eighteen months old??

I heard it from the nursery workers themselves, she was an absolute champ! No tears, no grumpiness, just sweet little Charlotte from beginning to end! Of course she was exhausted on the way home. Church that starts at eleven is terrible for tiny humans who still desperately need naps. But after only a short fifteen minute power nap, she has been pleasant and lovely ever since we got home!

I can only hope that this is a habit that will continue, and that I will finally be able to pay attention in Sunday school.

Balloon baby

For my 29th birthday this past Monday, Ander brought baby girl to the Lash Lounge to surprise me with some yummy birthday treats and a cute balloon! It became very clear from the moment I laid eyes on my sweet little girl, however, that she had no intentions of handing over said balloon, and that she now considered it hers. "She can keep it," I said, giving my sweet husband a hug, "She needs it more than I do."

Well...

Ander sent me a few pictures throughout the rest of the day, and it appeared that she really did need it more than I did! She never let it go!

Oh, and she wanted to hold it, not have it tied to her wrist or clipped to her in any way. She also liked to see it bump against the ceiling, but she refused to be the one who let it go to allow it to do that, so Ander had to physically take it from her to make that happen.

Silly little baby bean.

Bathtime funnies

Sorry for the wonky angle, I was playing entertainer and cinematographer!

Nine years

Nine years, five addresses, one fur baby, one little munchkin, and a whole heckuva lot of bass = one very happy family.

Happy anniversary to my one and only, my puzzle piece, my soul mate, my baby daddy, and my eternal companion.

And I thought I loved you then...

My apologies for not posting anything for a while. I have had some projects that I've been working on, not to mention a new calling for my church, and with the holidays and work being insane, this post is long overdue.

December was a crazy time for us, because our complex raised our rent and we were entertaining the idea of possibly moving, but as we searched for somewhere else to live, we didn't find anything the piqued our interest or seemed to be worth the hassle, so we've decided to stay where we are. The ward we are currently in feels more like family to us than any other ward either of us have been in, and even though our rent is higher, we're actually glad we're staying. We've been in this ward for over six years now, and I'll tell you, it's going to be a rough day indeed when we finally have to say goodbye.

But enough about that...

Because this post is so long overdue, I'm going to do my best to condense it and to not be too long winded. For those of you who know me personally, this is a challenge, for sure, but we'll see how it goes:

In October, my dad and Colleen, my stepmother came out to visit us for a weekend, and it had been over a year since they had seen Charlotte in person. She did great with them, and we had a wonderful time! It was so good to see them after so long, and it pleases me so much to see how happy they are with one another. The weather was beautiful, so naturally Ander took them on a guide trip which was a success, and we got to go and see Ander's brand new boat, which was being processed and worked on at Bass Pro Shops. It was so much fun to spend the weekend with them and show them around our favorite spots in Austin, our little home!

In November, Granny Lisa and Auntie Katie came to visit for Thanksgiving, and Charlotte gave us the best gift we could have ever asked for for the holidays. She started walking all by herself! And let me tell you that the old sayings are true: Once the child starts walking, the parents start running. Charlotte loves to walk around, making any outing we take now much more of a chore since she wants to be on the ground, but it's so much fun to take her outside and let her go! She loves the outdoors, (just like papa) and actually has begun to throw huge fits when we bring her inside, so I'm not sure whether to be grateful for that or not. I believe she started walking at Thanksgiving because she had an audience, and who wouldn't want to take more steps when you have an entire cheer squad applauding your every move? Thanksgiving was great, and it was once again wonderful to have family here, even if our apartment is small and doesn't much space for visitors.

 

 

In December, Uncle Joe came to visit for one night while he was on tour with A lot Like Birds, and we got to take him to dinner downtown with little Charlotte in tow! We ate at a sandwich joint which was relatively empty, so after dinner we put Charlotte down and let her go while we cracked up at how excited she was to be walking around the restaurant. Joe looks wonderful, hairy, happy, and healthy, and I was actually worried that Charlotte would be nervous to be around him, much like tiny children are afraid of Santa Clause, but Charlotte bonded with Joe instantly, which was a great mommy moment for me.

 

A huge thank you to everyone who came and visited us, we had an absolute blast with each of you! We miss you dearly, and look forward to more fun visits in 2016!!