Silly girl in her new hat

Almost a ponytail.....

A Walk in the Park

We joined every other family in our area for a walk in the local park. Seriously, this place was so packed that people were parking on the grass! Bryce and I thought it would be nice to get Charlotte out of the house and let her do some exploring now that she is big enough to walk by herself. Ha! Charlotte really showed us who's boss, we ended up carrying her more than she walked. We even found a nice shaded trail that went down to a little waterfall and creek but she was not having it! We had to take at least two time outs to sit on the trail and scream that we didn't want to go any further but by then we had gone too far to just turn back. Charlotte was way more interested in following the people walking their dogs than seeing some stinky old creek any way! We were so shocked, we really thought all little kids love to be outside on their own. Charlotte goes nuts in our backyard and never wants to come back in. I think she just didn't understand where we were trying to go and that we were going on a walk rather than just making her go somewhere.
We did get some really cute pictures though:










Once she realized there was also a playground life was good again....until it was time to go home! That was another fit that had to be carried away. Whew, toddlers are exhausting!

The sweetest day

It was the sweetest day, all the way around! Charlotte was very sweet and loving all day AND she got to fill up on sweets all day too! Bryce and I bought her the "many kisses Elmo" and I set it up in her high chair for her last night. We were not even in the kitchen yet when she yelled "Elmo"! She was so excited and kept trying to climb up to get to Elmo. Ever the sweet girl, she ripped open the card first and then proceeded to love and kiss all over her new Elmo. If you put Elmo's hand up to his mouth he will blow you a kiss and she laughed and laughed over that one! For breakfast we had heart shaped french toast and I put sprinkles on her to make it even more Valentiney. Charlotte had a good day in and out of the house playing with what's left of the snow and kissing on her Elmo and her baby dolls. Surprisingly she stayed in my lap for a lot of the day too. When we were sitting on the couch together I looked at her and said "Charlotte, I love you so much" and she said "I Lou You" back! It literally brought tears to my eyes! This truly has been the sweetest day with the sweetest words!












Wait, I want to take a picture in your valentine shirt!

Fine Mom, here you go.....

The Perfect Snow

We have snow for the second time this year here in Georgia. I honestly cannot remember having two snows in one season in my lifetime. It started snowing during my last class period of the day and we all stared dreamily out the window while we did our work. By the time I got home there was about an inch of snow covering everything already. We bundled up and headed out to find the most perfect snow. It was beautiful! Brilliant white everywhere, a nice crisp crunch underfoot, and not too wet on your face. Charlotte thought it was great fun watching the dogs run around like they were crazy but she didn't want to stay outside for too long. We couldn't have asked for better conditions though, it started snowing at the end of a Friday workday and everyone got home safe and sound in enough time to enjoy it!












This morning we woke up to the most snow I've seen since the blizzard we had in Georgia in the 90's. We got 4-5 inches and it was so tall that Charlotte couldn't even step up that high. She just had to drag her feet along or get carried. The sun was out so it wasn't too cold and Bryce took apart one of Charlotte's baby toys for us to use as a sled. I will definitely be prepared next year, we are officially on the hunt for a real sled! Our backyard has the perfect hill for one. Charlotte did much better out in the snow today. She still wouldn't touch it but she was content to be moving around outside. She actually cried when we came back inside (but maybe it's because she realized how cold she really was!).

Random....

So, Bryce and I aren't really diet coke drinkers but I like to keep them around because both of our Moms are. Bryce and I were cleaning up after cookies and noticed that Charlotte was getting the cokes out of the pantry and bringing them to the table. She did a really good job of getting them almost in a straight line but the chair was in her way. She stacked them up and then brought them back over and over again. I think it is amazing the way the mind of a toddler works!

Sugar cookies

My friend at work, Dennise, has convinced me how much fun baking with little kids can be. Plus the weather had been so yuck down here we had to use up our energy indoors! First was the grocery store run to stock up on cookie mix, frosting, and sprinkles. I went a little crazy and bought a decorators tube of frosting, tips, and cookie cutters too. I've made sugar cookies from scratch before but never again! The pouch of mix tastes just as good and was SO easy! Charlotte helped me roll them out and watched them bake in the oven. The next day we spread out our parchment paper and got to work. We had a real assembly line going-I frosted, Charlotte and Bryce sprinkled. Charlotte thought it was so cool to pick out what color sprinkles she wanted and dole them out. I am so proud of our creation and it really warms my heart to see Charlotte enjoy the fruits of our labor when she eats them!

Birthday dinner

We went out to Joey D's at Perimeter to celebrate Bryce's birthday with family. The food was so delicious! Charlotte had a really good time visiting with everyone too, I was really impressed by what a little lady she was!


Charlotte playing peek a boo (that's her under the napkin!)


Boo!


Sweet girl


Grandma Monica made Bryce's cake and cupcakes for Charlotte


She said "yummy"!


Playing patty cake