Monday, May 20, 2013

Mays Lake

Last week we had a play date with some friends at a lake. We hiked, found a field of grass and wildflowers to play in, had a picnic, and skipped some rocks in the lake before getting into our air-conditioned cars to escape the heat and humidity.
 Charlotte not surprisingly playing with boys.
 Playing swords using sticks.
Not one kid got hurt which was a shocker.

 Skipping rocks with Brimley her buddy.
Brim's mom tells me that most mornings he wakes up and asks to play with "Chawlet".
 His birthday party is coming up and he asked for balloons and "Chawlet" to be there. That was all he needed.
 I love her tiny friends she has here. It will make it that much more difficult to leave next year.

Mother's Day

Mother's Day was postponed in this house because Ben had to work.
He did get home in time to grill the salmon which was a plus.

 Charlotte all ready for church.

 She sang with the primary up in front of everyone and it was adorable. She knew the chorus and kept giving me a thumbs up. Some of my friends took pictures so I'll have to post those too when I get them.

 I got flowers from my in-laws which was awesome and we skyped with both families later that night.
Charlotte was kind enough to not have any tantrums or give sass for the entire day. Which was probably very difficult for her.
 And Ben getting home right in the nick of time.

she takes these things very seriously

Her primary teacher sent this to me yesterday after church. Her class was in charge of sharing time and Charlotte represented the sun (I have no idea what they were teaching/showing) in front of the rest of junior primary. 


and apparently she took her role very seriously

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Charlotte in April and bits of March

I have not talked just about Charlotte in a long time or given any kind of "update". 

She is scrumptious, full of sass, super sensitive, very affectionate, hates when you're not happy with her, sings... a lot, reminds us each night to pull out our scriptures to read together, has mostly boys as her friends, will not walk across a street or parking lot without firmly holding your hand (and will yell at you if you forget to grab it), has the worst emotional meltdowns that land her in her room with the door closed, is extremely excited about having a sister and tells me daily "when I'm a big sister...." and then follows with things like "I won't be able to fit in my car seat", "I can drink pop", "I'll be super tall", or "I can use Mommy and Daddy's toothpaste." She's hit a growth spurt and is too tall for most of her 3T clothes. Her conversations can go on and on until you sometimes have to tell her to go tell Daddy all about it  =). It's like you're talking to a 5 or 6 year old who still can't say their r's. She's got a great memory of scripture or church history stories she learns and LOVES having family home evening (a once a wk family activity where we learn about the Gospel, play games, sing songs). And would prefer to have it more than once a week. Every time I drop her off at the gym's daycare, primary, or a friend's house she has to give me a "mooch and a hug"... usually several times over.

She's darling. I'll save more for another post. This one is getting a bit too long already.

*****

Her first Saturday primary activity. 
 They were put into different teams. Charlotte was on the purple team, hence, having a bandana on her head. We weren't encouraging her to look like a thug.


 This station talked about keeping our bodies healthy so they did some workouts. 
Can you tell she needs to go to the restroom in the above picture?
 Doing pushups.

Doing sit ups.
 And jumping jacks.



 Learning about David and Goliath.
They got to use sling shots and marshmallows to "slay" Goliath.



 Then they went on a blindfolded walk that represented listening to the word of God and not being tempted by others.

She loves loves loves Primary. Especially the songs she learns. They usually get a little take home activity that she wants to do later that afternoon when we're home from church.

*****

Easter.
I was happy to not have it at my house again this year =)
Too much preparation and I tend to go overboard on decorations which I didn't have to worry about this time.

 We grouped together with four other families and potlucked a delicious dinner.
 I couldn't figure out which picture to put up so you're seeing a plethora of them.



Eating our dyed eggs the next day. She only likes the white part and tosses the yolk.


After hiding from Ben when he gets home (so he has to look for her), this is the second thing they do. Whip out his camera and take silly pictures.

*****
Last month we had family visitors come for a week. 
Love it when people trek out here for a visit.
 On the "L" above.
 At the Field Museum of Natural History.


 Bull's game.



 Eating out.

 At the Legoland Discovery Center.
 At a Cub's game.

That was a busy busy week.

*****
 Trying on my new necklace.
 She still lets me put on whatever in the morning, but as soon as we're home in the afternoon she either gets down to her skivvies or puts on a ballerina outfit.

 At the zoo.
There's an indoor part where the kids can paint their own faces.
She was drawn to the purple and black colors.
If I had taken one more picture 3 minutes later you'd see completely covered arms as well as face.

 Heading out on a rainy day.

Helping make cookies.

Building with some Lincoln Logs.