friend kidly

Halloween turned into a two day of wearing a costume event for Charlotte. You can’t really blame me for putting a stinking cute tutu on her as much as possible. She has even asked to wear her tutu a few times since on her own accord, I swear. We met up with friends at the Fullerton Market on the evening before Halloween but poor Charlotte was suffering from a congested sinus condition and was in a horrible mood. She managed to last for a couple of hours however and seemed to enjoy the company of friends and all of the creepy people dressed up for the holiday. On Halloween evening we went to Linsey’s folks house for some chili and trick or treating. We figure it’s about time for Charlotte to start working off some of what she owes us and lucky for her we accept payment in the form of candy Here’s a few pictures of our sweet autumn fairy donned in a homemade and very puffy costume. Who knew having a girl would make me so into tulle?

Charlotte and I spent most of yesterday at Disneyland helping her twin cousins celebrate their 4th b-day. It was quite a successful trip especially since it was a no nap day with no real break down to speak of. I think Charlotte was thriving off of the crowds and possibly the allowance of more sugar than she’s used to. As a mother, the most memorable part of the day was the tiki room visit. It started off fantastically with Charlotte tap dancing and clapping for the singing birds. That quickly changed when it got dark, drums started beating, and the tiki guys on the walls started chanting…oh yeah, the lightning and thunder didn’t help. Baby girl turned into a little monkey, clinging to me and almost crying until it was over. However, she did much better than the little boy in front of us who cried the entire time, poor kids. Having to guess, I would say Charlotte’s favorite part of the day, besides being with her cousins, was the jungle cruise. She goes nuts for animals and these looked real enough to elicit animal sounds and lots of pointing from her. All and all it was a great day and I have to thank Pigwinked’s father for the free pass (which without we wouldn’t have been able to go, thanks Mr. E). I look forward to our next free trip to Disneyland even more now that I know Charlotte can hang and that she really enjoys it there. Hopefully when it cools and the summer crowds leave we will make it back, hopefully.

On a very different note, Saturday Sweet B and I enjoyed an afternoon at the ballet.  And I mean really enjoyed from our Orchestra 4th row center seats (thanks to husband’s work, TBG, which built this for the OCPAC).  The American Ballet Theatre started their performance with Etudes which I have come to learn is a staple in many companies repertoires.  The music was beautiful and worth the visit alone.  The dancing was basically a walk through classical ballet from the first five positions to the most technically difficult and amazing dancing one could imagine, breathtaking.  I found myself looking forward to the day that Charlotte might find interest in ballet and wear an adorable tutu

As wonderful as the first performance was, we really went to see Rabbit and Rogue which was choreographed by Twyla Tharp to music composed by Danny Elfman.  Again, the music was worth it alone.  The story was a bit confusing as one of the lead male dancers seemed to disappear half way through and was replaced by someone else.  We couldn’t figure out if it was intentional.  Confusing as it was, it was still a blast to watch people dancing on point to Danny Elfman, truly a unique experience.  Carlee and I parted both agreeing that we must make trips to the ballet a more regular event and I’m already looking to see if I can score orchestra 4th row center tickets to the Nutcracker.

I’m kind of on summer vaca from the blog. We’ve been spending a majority of our time outdoors during the day and in the evening husband is usually working on the computer so this little blog is a tad bit neglected. All for very good reasons however. There’s not too much to write about but I wanted to put something up before an entire month elapsed.

Just to keep things visually interesting, here are some shots from one of our recent trips to the arboretum. Charlotte really took a liking to this confused yet fancy rooster who was crowing in the middle of the afternoon. Funny, he didn’t take a liking to her. Must have been the chasing and screaming that ruined the chance of a friendship.

(please bare with me as I do some online journaling)

Can pick me out in a picture of my 8th grade class (we’re talking an image of me taken in 1993)

Can correctly sort shapes in her shape sorter toy (most of the time)

Turns everything into a phone and has long conversations with who knows who

Draws with crayons, not eats them

Sings the chorus to her favorite song to let us know she would like to hear it (ay di di lai di di lai di di lai di di leio)

Understands most of what I’m saying but sometimes ignores it

Likes to stretch with me on my yoga mat

Brings us a book when she feels like being read to

Makes a chomping sound when she would like a bite of food

Barks when we ask her what a doggy says

and the list goes on and on…

…Charlotte was baptized! We will observe this anniversary by lighting the same candle used for her baptism in remembrance of that very special event. It’s hard for me to believe that a year has gone by already let alone how much she has grown.

Also, check out the cool art Charlotte’s godfather gave her as a baptismal anniversary gift…cute, huh?

God bless you my little girl.

Believe it or not our 8 year wedding anniversary is coming up next week; on tax day to be exact. It recently occurred to me that I’ve been married for the same length of time that I lived with a step-dad and step-sisters. The comparison doesn’t really mean anything it just struck me as odd mainly because that seemed like a big chunk of my life when I guess it really wasn’t.  Obviously the older I get the shorter eight years will seem.

As an early anniversary gift husband and I decided to purchase a grill…finally. This will be our first grill in seven years as our first one was purchased then immediately stolen shortly after we were married. Needless to say we were pretty shocked to find it gone especially because it was merely a charcoal Weber. I mean come on, who steels something like that? Anyway, we broke in the new grill with two lovely rib eyes along with grilled carrots and asparagus. A nice pre-anniversary dinner. I’m actually looking forward to summer now that I can picture long warm evenings and lots of cooking outdoors.

It might be due to Easter being early this year but Lent seemed to really fly by up until Holy Week where things slowed down to a nice reflective pace. J and I became a Godparents to little Henry David on Easter Even which was a beautiful experience. I’m really excited to be a Godmother and hope and pray that I live up to the title. Our Easter celebration started off wonderfully with the Easter Even service/baptism then off to Easter service the next morning followed by a nice gathering with the family. As usual I neglected my camera and have very little photos of the day. I don’t even have a picture that really shows off Charlotte’s cute little Easter dress…I might have to put it on her again and take some

My Grandparents and Aunt are coming in from Missouri this Tuesday so we look forward to a pretty busy week. That being said, I hope all had a great Easter celebration and continue it through this Easter week.

P.S. God wiling, my friend Andrea has a chance to visit Israel this May and is currently raising funds for the trip. She has started a line of natural aromatherapy products and is selling them on Etsy. So, if you’re interested in helping a fellow believer see Israel and purchasing something nice at the same time please visit her shop.

Here’s a link to a petition which requests the depublishing of the court case mentioned in my previous post.  Please sign if you feel that families should have the right to home school their children in CA regardless of the instructors credentials.

Also, no matter what feelings you have towards our current Governor, you might be pleased to know that has vowed to terminate this court ruling…no pun intended.  Read more here.

Yesterday we celebrated Charlotte’s first full year of life with a bunch of family and friends. Poor thing was fighting a cold but she was such a trooper that you never would have known…minus the runny nose. God provided a beautiful day and Grandma/Grandpa Wade provided a big yard so all of the little party goers could enjoy themselves outdoors. It was a treat to have so many near and dear to us all in one place. Charlotte is very loved!

Check out our Flickr account if you want to see pics of the festivities which include Charlotte’s first sweet treat…

OK, I know it’s been around for awhile and all but I just need to share what great background music the above album (by the beloved-in-our-home Broken Social Scene) makes while babies are sleeping. I’ve been playing it regularly while Charlotte naps since she’s been born and with it I will forever associate peace, tranquility and memories of my beautiful daughter. What a great association for an album, wouldn’t you agree?

1 Day Old

4 Months

9 Months