Signing Off

Well, Charlotte, the time has come for me to write your last post.  I've been secretly putting off your one-year-portrait session so that I didn't have to do this yet, but I think it's finally time.  You have accomplished so much in one year! 

You can walk confidently and even run (although sometimes you're a little kamikaze), your vocabulary is just starting to take off, you sleep through the night, you have eight teeth (including one molar!), you play so well with your sister (about 50% of the time), and you're quite the seasoned traveler having been to Michigan (twice), New York, Florida and Texas. 

You have met all of your great grandparents and all of your aunts and uncles (except for Uncle Mark who you'll meet June 21st!).  Everyone you come in contact with walks away with a smile. 

I hope that continues throughout your life, my Charlotte.  We love you and are already so proud of you.  We can't wait to watch your life unfold.  So it's goodbye to the blog, and hello to whatever tomorrow brings.  :)

A Very Special Game

We only caught the tail end of your game, but here you are with your Great Bomaw playing her special rendition of Barany Dutz just as you turn 13 months today.  :)

You Two Meet at Last!

After a scare from your Bomaw last Saturday, we dropped everything and headed down to Austin to see her this weekend.  The trip down was long, but well worth it.  You met your Great Bomaw, the woman you got your middle name from, in person, at last!

She was so excited to meet you too!  She insisted that we stop by for five minutes (even though it was past your bedtime) so that she could see you for the first time.

You two played a game of Barany Dutz, and you loved holding her hand and listening to the little ditties she hummed to you.

You even wanted to give her kisses, complete with your "Mmmmmwaaa" sound.  :)  Daddy was able to make the trip too.  It was so good to spend some much-needed time with your Great Bomaw as a family. 

You may not remember this visit, but I will, forever.

Your Singing Debut

Charlotte!  I was singing a Shirley Temple song with your sister this weekend when I noticed that you were singing along!  When did you learn how to do that???  You amaze me every day.  Here's your version of "Laugh You Son of a Gun."

Fun In the Sun

These are my favorite days.  Spending hours in the back yard watching my two girls playing together, going from the little pool, to the water table, to the sprinkler and back to the pool again.

You two make my heart sing.

Cuddle Buddies

I just love how you cuddle up to Rockne.  And look how happy it makes you.  I don't think he minds much either; he just lays there and lets you snuggle.  I'm so glad he's still around for you!  It was a close call last October!

It's Your Day

It happened.  A year has come and gone and you are one-year-old already!  I think you must know it's your special day, look at that glow!

You walk like a champ; your even trying to run now and then!  You have a few words that we all enjoy hearing: "Wow!" "Yes," "Dada," "Wee!" and "This."  It was adorable hearing "Wow!" come out of that little mouth of yours when you saw the bows on your gifts.  And, there were plenty for you to open!  Thank you to all of your wonderful aunts, uncles and cousins for thinking of you on your special day!

Your Nonna and Ga gave you all sorts of wonderful gifts too.  They even drove all the way from Aunt Melinda and Uncle Sam's house in North Carolina to be with you on your big day.  That was a special gift all by itself!

Your tooth count has not changed, you've got six, but I have a feeling a few more are on their way soon.  Your favorite foods are meat and bread.  I often feel like I'm feeding a bird when I'm getting your meals ready.  :o) 

You are a cuddler, an explorer, a giggler, a walker, a copycat and just plain adorable.  We love you to pieces!

Celebrating You

We had a little get-together to honor your first birthday today.  Your friend Teagan Moranz came over to celebrate with his parents, Brittany and Ryan.  LaKase (your so-much-more-than-a-babysitter) and Charlotte Perry brought MJ and Tatum over for your big day too.  Of course your mommy, daddy and big sister Ellie were here, along with Nonna and Ga, all singing in your honor.

You enjoyed eating alongside your two best buddies.  It was so cute to watch the three of you interact up there at the table together!

You weren't actually too interested in your cake.  After we sang happy birthday, you pushed your hand into the bunny's bow-tie a little bit, and tried some of the frosting, but that's about as much as you wanted.  That's fine with us!!  We can hold off on sugar as long as you want.  (Video coming from Ga soon.)

You loved the cow from LaKase and Charlotte, as you can see in the picture.  I think you liked the doll and accessories from Teagan, but it was a little harder to tell since Ellie decided that she would test it out for you first...

There were smiles all around you today, Charlotte.  Happy first birthday sweet girl!

Happy Easter!

Happy first Easter, Charlotte!  As is tradition, you had to find your Easter basket this morning.  Rockne was happy to help.  :o) 

The Easter Bunny left all kinds of fun toys, books and cute spring T-shirts for you in your basket.  I think the favorite gift was the spring garden for you two to share.  Ellie enjoyed putting the flowers in and watering them, while you enjoyed pulling the flowers out and climbing into the garden yourself.  :o)

As much as I tried, I simply could not get a picture of all of us together today.  Your daddy caught this video of you walking though, and look how good you're getting!  I could listen to that excited giggle all day.

First Steps!

Charlotte!  You've been taking single steps lately, but tonight you stepped it up to the next level (pun intended).  Of course you picked the craziest moment to show off too: your sister had just spiked a 104.3* temperature and Daddy was trying to check her throat when you stood up with that big grin on your face.  You took one step and I said, "Daddy, watch, Daddy, watch!  One...two...three...four!"  You took four steps in a row!  We were all so excited for you!  Even Ellie was clapping and saying, "Good job, Charlotte!"

It's been amazing to watch you practicing.  And you really have been making a conscious effort to work at it.  You can see the determination in your eyes as you stand and try to put one little foot in front of the other and then topple to the ground only to get up and start again.  Such tenacity!  It won't be long before you're off and running!

(We took this video a couple of days later.  You are so excited about your new moves!)

Duets with Daddy

You have a love for music that is so fun to see.  You smile and laugh and bounce and sway back and forth along with the beat.  At music class, others can't help but smile and laugh along with your enthusiasm. 

You especially love it when Daddy sings while playing his guitar.  It's not always easy for him though, with you trying to play the guitar too.  Your drumming accompaniment on the wood of the guitar is music to our ears.  What a beautiful duet you and Daddy have together!

Celebrating with Grandma and Grandpa

Grandma and Grandpa were here at the beginning of April, so we celebrated your birthday with them a little early.  We didn't get too many pictures of you opening your gifts because you weren't too interested in the gifts until they were unwrapped.  :o)

They brought Bomaw's card for you which you liked reading...and chewing.  Mommy will have to take you to The Toy Store so you can pick out something special with your Great Bomaw's gift.  And I can't wait to put you into the adorable outfit that Grandma and Grandpa picked out for you!  You're going to be bringing bell-bottoms back in style.  :o)

I wish I had captured your little face when Grandpa brought out the big gift: your water table!  You were so excited!  Ellie enjoyed showing you just how it worked.  There isn't even water in it yet and you two are already having a ball together.  I can't wait to see your faces when it's full of water!

Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for making the special trip to visit for Charlotte's birthday!

Happy Clapping

You are very pleased with yourself, you've learned to clap!  Of course we're all just as excited as you are.  :o)  Way to go, Charlotte!

Only One Month to Go!

Can it really be that my first year with you is almost coming to an end?  You have added so much joy and laughter to our lives, sweet Charlotte.  Watching you and your sister grow together is amazing too.  I love how you make one another laugh and how you talk to one another in your own special language.

At this point you have six teeth in your mouth, but you're drooling like crazy, so I imagine that there may be one or two to add to the list as early as tomorrow morning.  You've got a couple of words in your vocabulary like "Dada" and "Wee!"  You're starting to copy a lot of the sounds that we're making too.  You even tried to "boop" your own nose today!  Bread and pasta are your current favorite foods, just like your mommy and daddy.  You are becoming quite the champion eater! :o)

Most of your day is spent pulling up on everything and cruising around all of our furniture; you have even started to use moving toys to help you practice walking.  I still think that your first independent steps are a little ways away, but it's going to happen before I'm ready for it, I can tell you that much! 

Your Tampa Travels

What an adventure we had this past week!  You, Ellie, Daddy, and Mommy all flew down to Tampa, Florida for a week's vacation. 

Nonna and Ga met us down there and shared in the merriment.  I feel like I failed at my job though, I hardly got any pictures at all! 

Your first big new experience was going to the Florida Aquarium.  Luckily I DID remember to capture a few shots of you here.

You and your sister were so fascinated by the big fish, and especially the shark.  You kept pounding your little palms against the glass while Ellie told you all about how big the fish and sharks were.  I could have stayed there all day just watching the two of you.

We also went to the Glazer Children's Museum where you chewed just about anything that was within arm's reach.  You loved the ball pit and the building blocks the best.

Other than that, we spent most of the week walking to and from restaurants, the water, parks and shops.  Thank goodness you enjoy being in the Moby, because I'd say you spent about 75% of the time attached to me in it.  You loved spending time with your Nonna and Ga when you weren't stuck to me, I only wish I had gotten more pictures of you all together!

It was a fun family vacation, but it is definitely great to be home again.  By the time we take our next one, you will be able to walk, and then it will be a whole different ballgame!