Morton Arboretum

We went and played for the afternoon at a local arboretum. It was one of the last mild weeks before the cold hit.

one year old

One very short year ago this little lady joined us. I can't find the right words to express what she means to us and how she's changed our lives. She's the biggest blessing we could have hoped for. We are grateful for our Heavenly Father for entrusting her to be in our family and for Ben and I to be her parents. always.

Charlotte, we love you to the moon. and back.

Today, Charlotte and I played and played. I didn't try to get any cleaning or crafting done. I played and cuddled with her every second that I could. We went on a walk and to the park to swing. We shared a scoop of ice cream. We went and got her pictures taken. We read her Happy Birthday to You by Dr. Seuss. I think I sang "Happy Birthday" to her two dozen times. She smiled and loved the attention.

Gosh, I love this kid.

This Saturday is her big party with friends and presents.

Ladybug themed.

Of course.

enjoying the end of fall

Charlotte, her buddy Theron, and I spent the afternoon in our yard playing in the leaves. It was the simplest thing, but for some reason I had so much fun. We collected leaves, ate them, crunched them in our fingers, made leaf rubbings, and enjoyed the mild weather while it lasted.

I could not keep these leaves from entering her tiny mouth. over. and over. and over again.

But she's pretty darling so I didn't mind too much.

This kid conducted music half the time we were out there.

crunching those leaves

my view

eating leaves... again

just hanging out

watching a coldplay music video on my computer

a few more from Halloween

I've been going through my pictures and had a few more Halloween I was meaning to share.

I think her face says it all

she crawled over and hugged him/her/it ... then stroked its face

this was her first candy grab ever ... she didn't know what to do so Ben helped ... and of course grabbed his favorite candy

she was done at this point and it was way past her bed time

sifting through the goods ... I think she got five pieces

we let her lick a sucker =)

the irish and amish

We live less than two hours away from Notre Dame and some of the best Amish country around. A few weekends ago we went to a football game and then hung out with the Amish for an afternoon. When we got home after the football game we watched Rudy... of course. It was a nice little getaway.

one of my absolute favorite pictures of her

we strolled through Notre Dame's campus before we headed back home

it was beautiful

finishing off Ben's coke... just kidding just kidding...

she actually napped for a few minutes during the game... a very short few minutes

Ben took her on a walk because she was getting a little restless and brought back a pom pom and our baby

it was so fun to go to a college football game and be in that kind of environment again... made me miss BYU

she doesn't look too happy does she? gosh, this makes me wonder what kind of faces she'll give me when she's a teenager... =(

a very late shout out

Two weeks ago from today was this little man's FIRST BIRTHDAY!

I still remember visiting him when he was less than a week old. I could barely hold him on my lap because I was so pregnant with Charlotte.

Theron is Charlotte's absolute best friend. We are fortunate enough to have he and his family (who are like family) live above us in a two flat. They get to play almost every day with each other and get so excited to see one another that often they hug and tip over... then someone cries.

We love you, Theron! Happy Birthday, bud!