Sweet Elliott

Last Sunday we attended Elliott's baptism. While I didn't manage to get any photos of the actual baptism, I did get a few at their house beforehand. He is such a sweet, sweet baby. He is constantly smiling and has such a laid back personality. Thanks for letting us help celebrate your day, Elliott!!

Charlotte Hearts Corn

Not just any kind of corn, but corn on the cob. The first time we had it, I cut the corn off the cob and placed it on her tray and wow did she throw a fit. Whining and pointing at everyone's corn on the cob. Like most things these days, she did not want to be left out. She wanted her own cob and she wanted it now. She absolutely loved it and refused to let us take her out of her seat until she had eaten every last kernel. I'm pretty sure I've never seen anyone get their cob quite as clean as this little girl. Wish we would have discovered her love of corn a little earlier this summer. Claire likes to pretend she likes corn on the cob as much as Charlotte. After about 2-3 bites she often declares that she is done with it. She does, however, like her toast!!

Cake Smashing

We had an additional birthday celebration for Charlotte a few weekends ago. As evidenced below, the highlight of the night was Charlotte devouring her cake. She did not take the job lightly and enjoyed shoveling handfuls of frosting into her mouth. She loved every minute of it and it was a delight just to watch her.

Visitors

Kate, Jeremy and their adorable little girl Madeline came over last Saturday afternoon for a play-date and dinner. Madeline is 7.5 months old and is one of the happiest babies I have ever meet. Charlotte and her are only 5 months apart, so I imagine that they will be great friends in the upcoming years. Lets do it again soon!

Celebration #1

Charlotte hit the one year mark while we were at Grand View, so we had a little celebration. Grandma brought the most adorable animal party hats I have ever seen, which were a huge hit with everyone...even the adults! There was cake...which Charlotte absolutely devoured. She loved it. There were gifts. Charlotte could have cared less about the presents, so it was a good thing she had some other little ones to help open them for her. It was a great celebration.

Summer Vacation

We spent last week up at Grandview Lodge with Art's family. We had wonderful weather. Sunny and warm. The girls loved exploring the outdoors and spending time with their cousins. Art took advantage of the golf and I took advantage of the spa.

The view from the porch of our cabin

There was fishing.And boating.
And sand...lots and lots of sand.
And many hours spent by the shore, splashing in the water. We are already looking forward to next year. More pictures to come...

One Year Old

This little lady turned ONE over the weekend! This last year has been an amazing adventure and we have loved watching Charlotte's personality develop. She is sweet and cuddly. Independent and happy. She loves to laugh and adores other babies. Her sister is her best friend. She is an absolute joy and our family feels so complete with her in it. HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHARLOTTE!

At 12 months old, Charlotte:

• is very steady on her feet and is getting faster every day.
• loves to eat. In particular she LOVES graham crackers. She goes crazy the minute she sees the box.
• points at everything in order to communicate what she wants. She is also starting to repeat more sounds.
• says "hi" while waving and "more" when she wants more food.
• has 6 teeth total and I'm suspicious that 2 more are on the way.
• loves to dance. When you ask her to dance, she starts bouncing up and down.
• claps on her own.
• loves to swing. She honestly could spend hours swinging back and forth.
• is getting more comfortable with the pool. We were on vacation this past week and she did great at both the beach and pool.
• weighs 19 lbs (17th percentile) and is 28.75 inches tall (40th percentile).
• is a very happy and healthy one year old!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHARLOTTE! WHAT AN AMAZING YEAR IT HAS BEEN! WE LOVE YOU!