Jayke Turned 5!!

Jayke's birthday was Sunday and amazingly enough he turned 5!  He is growing up so fast and was well aware that being 5 means he gets to go to kindergarten.  Crazy that he will be in school next year.  I think in my mind he is perpetually 2 1/2....perhaps my favorite kid age ever.

His party was on Sunday so we got ready to head out that morning.  We decided to put Charlotte in her Nebraska gear since she doesn't get many chances to wear it.  Before we left the house Charlotte's hair looked so cute after her bath and all ready to go. 

Hanging with Uncle Jesse waiting for the party to get started.

Chelsea and I

Chelsea hanging out with Char

Leighton lovin' on Uncle Jim

Some of the kids at the party

The birthday boy and his mom

Opening gifts...clearly the best part for a 5 year old.

With his Transformers cake which gave all of us party guests fantastically vibrant blue, red, and black mouths.

Crossing her legs...little miss proper

And rounding out the party pics, our 49 week old family.

48 Week Family

Update: This was Sunday...the snow was gone.  That's Iowa for ya!

Reading

The Difference a Day Makes...

Here we are playing outside Thursday night, enjoying the beautiful weather.

Yard free and clear of snow.

A few minutes without the jacket even.

Grilling with Dad.  Our first time grilling this season!

And then on Friday afternoon it began to snow.  Saturday we woke up to this...

They were calling for maybe an inch...

We got 6.7 inches.  It is the 3rd snowiest winter in Des Moines history.  So far this season we have seen 69 inches of snow, the all time record is 72 inches.

I have to say though, it was quite beautiful.  The tree had buds dusted in snow.

The sun was rising beautifully.  (This is the view to the east from our backyard.  I love that we get to see so many trees)

Soon this maple will be full of leaves, but for now it is full of snow.

So Close...

...to turning 1!  Charlotte turned 11 months old today and I can hardly believe it.  Both Jim and I have looked at each other on multiple occasions wondering where exactly the time has gone.  She is such an awesome girl and is beginning to grow into that large, boisterous personality that she has.

She is just like her Dad...with her giant brown eyes and inquisitive nature.  She can find her way around any problem, be it opening her puffs container or reaching the end table to pull it towards her to get what she wants but shouldn't have!  She has his desire to figure things out.  And, just like her Dad, she has a deep love of the remote control, able to locate it wherever it is and inevitably change the channel, try to order something, mute it, etc... 

She is just like her Mom...with her quick wit and strong will.  She knows what she wants and has no problem making sure that you know too!  She is loud and happy and, let's face it, a little bossy too ;).  She loves swimming and is the ham in the class.  She likes to be the center of attention and, like Mom, she rarely stops talking.

She loves to play and climb the stairs.  She answers her phone with a happy "hi!"  Everything she sees and wants she lets you know by pointing and repeatedly saying "that....that...".  She hasn't found a food she didn't like (except for baby food ham and ritz crackers at first, although she will eat them now).  She loves to be outside, but won't touch her hands to the grass.  Boomer is her best friend and she adores playing tug with Odie (when he'll let her).  She is happy and loving and most ticklish under her chin and on her thighs and knees.  Basically she is awesome, and we can't believe in only one short month, she will be ONE. 

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Charlotte donned some green Wednesday morning to celebrate St. Pat's Day!

The schools are on spring break this week so Charlotte is the lone daycare kid aside from our provider's own kids.  So, on Wednesday, they went downtown to enjoy the St. Patrick's Day Parade.  Our day care provider sent us this picture on her phone of Charlotte enjoying the parade.  Charlotte looks great considering her spring jacket happens to be green also.  Funniest was that as everything came and went in the parade she said "hi" and "bye" repeatedly as it passed.

See That!!!

It's our yard!!  It hasn't been seen in 3 1/2 long months because it has been covered in SNOW!!  Welcome spring...we missed you!  Happy to commemorate our yard on our 47 week family picture.

Best Buds

Girl Scout Cookies

Well, pretty much everyone loves a good Girl Scout Cookie including Charlotte.  She indulged in her first shortly after Jesse and Cheryl left for the evening...her cookie of choice?  It was a thin mint.  Yum Yum!!

Uncle and Aunt Day

This past Saturday Jesse and Cheryl came for a visit.  Charlotte had been looking forward to it and was getting very excited while waiting for them to get here Saturday morning, so much so that she missed her nap!

The day involved a lot of hanging out, playing with the girl, going out for lunch, and basically just relaxing.  As usual Charlotte played shy at first but warmed up quickly.

Charlotte and Cheryl enjoyed sharing pictures.

Acting silly and playing!

With her Aunt and Uncle.  She loves them!

My brother and I with Char before they headed out for the day.

I am so glad they came to visit for the day.  It's so much fun to get to spend time with family and hang out. 

Crappy Camera Pics

Yep...even in March we put her in her Christmas Jamjams. 

Hanging with Dad before heading to work and daycare.

"Talking" on the phone...she loves to pick it up and say "hi", especially if I go "ring ring".

Gigantic brown eyes.

OMGoodness....this picture is SO creepy to me!  Attack of the giant baby... with an eye the size of a small planet and itty bitty arms...RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!

Week 46 Picture

ACK!  The quality of this picture blows.  I was excited to get a new point and shoot camera but it stunk so bad we took it back and got a different one.  It stunk too so we returned it also.  Still on the look out for the right one!

She Ate What?!?

Apparently this sweet girl was hungry because one minute here she was playing, books in hand (cut out of picture...sorry...but seriously who knew what would follow?)

...and the next minute she is munching away and literally eating her books.  Poor little board books!

Grandma's Weekend

*disclaimer...I started this post a few weeks ago but forgot to copy the pictures off my Mom's camera and so I waited for them before updating...sorry so late!*

It's Grandma's weekend!  This weekend both Jim's Mom and my Mom came to visit!  On Friday night we had both of them over and enjoyed some chicken chili and great conversation.  Charlotte also at some goodies while we did and managed to get a piece of her puff stuck tot he tip of her nose...cutie!

Saturday we hung out around the house before getting ready to run some errands and go shopping.  Joy and Barb headed to a craft show and a basketball game so we missed them on Saturday.  Here is Charlotte cheesing for my Mom before we headed to lunch. 

We ate lunch at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants because me Mom LOVES their tamales.  While there Charlotte had her first taste of a lemon.  She kept going back for it believe it or not!

Sunday Joy asked that we all go to breakfast together so we headed to Mimi's cafe (it is delicious and if you have one around you, definitely GO!).  The crew included Jim, Myself, Charlotte, my Mom, Jim's Mom, and Barb.  We had a great time visitng and cracking up at the girl.  She is such a ham!  She loves her shades and saying "Hi"  on her hand phone.  Just an all around good time was had by all.

   

We even got a picture with both Grandma's before heading out.  Afterwards we ran an errand and headed home.

I am adding this picture because I am not sure if I have shared it before.  When the girl gets her puff container there is NOTHING that will keep her from chowing down.  When she can't get the lid off right away, she uses her teeth....little stinker!

And FINALLY...we will round out the weekend with our 45 Week Picture!!