Hoppy Easter!

Charlotte's first Easter was a big hit! I talked to her as we got her ready this morning about Jesus and his sacrifice for us and she seemed to be amazed....oh wait, Bryce was blowing bubbles at her. I can't wait to teach her about Jesus and have her really understand! Bryce's whole family always gathers for Easter, and it seemed like Charlotte was just passed from person to person because they hadn't seen her in so long. Growing up happens double in baby time, so she truly was a different baby than they all saw at Christmas.
Today is also the last day of Spring Break. I am trying to relish the time we had at home with Charlotte rather than begrudge the return to work. I know we will all be on a count down to summer starting tomorrow though (both the students and teachers!). This was just a little taste of how great it is to wake up late, do whatever we want to do during the day, and cuddle with Charlotte for hours on end. I think we love her more every minute if that is even possible.


We had a visit from the Easter Bunny last night. Charlotte got a so soft Giraffe to lay on, bubbles, a rubber ducky (complete with bunny ears), and two books.

Charlotte thinks this present thing is pretty cool!


I cannot wait for Christmas this year! Charlotte was really getting into her basket!


Charlotte had no idea what to think about the bubbles. She would
just blink whenever they popped.


She sure loved that shiny whirligig though!



Thank you God!


Momma and baby.....ready for Easter!


Have you ever seen a sweeter picture! Charlotte LOVES her Daddy!
Check out her TOO cute shoes! Bunnies!


Easter basket from Grandma and Grandpa F



Time for bunny ears




Love from Great-Aunt J



To celebrate with an Easter feast, Charlotte had her first taste of chicken.
My mom bought us a grinder and it worked great, Charlotte ate every bite!



Easter from Grandma and Grandpa M. Robe with matching slippers included!




On a side note, I bought Charlotte some "baby legs". I'd seen them at Target
and thought they might be a sham, but I really love them. It helps protect her
knees while she's learning to crawl, and I don't have to change a whole outfit
when it starts to get cool in the evening.

Thank you God for the food we eat, and thank you for the world so sweet. Thank you God for
the birds that sing, thank you God for everything. Thank you for my family, Thank you God for loving me.

Do it yourself baby food

My Mom stayed to help Bryce and I with Charlotte today so that we could recover from our night out. Thank God! I cannot even explain how nice it was to wake up in your own bed after 10 AM and realize your child has already been fed and dressed! I really loved having my Mom here, and we even tried our hand at making our own baby food. The pros: it is CHEAP! We made about 12 servings of everything, and our materials cost lest than $1.50 per item, it also made me feel very good to know that I had prepared Charlotte's meal and knew exactly how fresh it was. The cons: it is a bit time consuming. As with all cooking, once you have the prep work out of the way it's a breeze, but peeling and chopping takes some patience. If you have a few hours to do all of your fruits and veggies at the same time (like we did) then it is definitely worth it. Charlotte had a chance to taste green beans and home made apple sauce today....verdict is a thumbs up!


1. Peel and chop your fruit or veggie
2. Steam until very tender. We boiled the apples in water (Mom wanted to be able
to use the apple's water to flavor our other foods)
3. Grind your fruit or veggie until very fine, about half way through add two to
three tablespoons of water (this will help it mush up).
4. Separate into servings in ice cube trays.
5. Once cooled, cover the ice cube trays with a freezer bag and place in freezer.
6. After completely frozen, pop out each serving from the tray and put them back
in the freezer bag. Label with contents and date.
7. Use only what you need, you can defrost as little as one at a time.

Fresh green beans, yum.

In Wedded Bliss

Bryce and I attended a wedding yesterday for a sorority sister of mine. It was a beautiful wedding, and we really enjoyed getting to spend time with some of our old friends from college again. Another one of my KD sisters, Katie, made the comment that before she got married a wedding was just another event you had to go to, and after you get married everything about a wedding is romantic and sentimental because you think back on your own vows. I felt that was a very profound thought (especially considering we were all taking advantage of the open bar!). My Mom came up and spent the night so we could really have a night out on the town, and even though I was yawning by ten o'clock we really did enjoy ourselves. There is one thing you have to keep in mind when you have kids though, the job is still waiting for you when you come home. It doesn't really matter how late you stay out, or how badly you want to sleep in....I really recommend making sure your baby-sitter is willing to stay on board for the next day too!

I adore this picture....Charlotte was completely enamored with my Kappa Delta pin.
I hope she gets to wear it one day!


Amber, Katie, and me...one of many pictures!


My handsome husband


Kappa Delta chant.....I'll be a KD 'til I die!!

Wordless Wednesday

A whole new world

Can I just say how much fun it is to have Charlotte around? Each month gets better and better, which is hard to believe because we have been so enamored all along. You think you're having the time of your life and then Charlotte learns something new and the bar gets raised again. Charlotte is so into the world around her these days. It can be a bit distracting at times (like when it is time to eat and sleep) but she is such a curious baby and I love watching her learn. Charlotte wakes up with a smile on her face ready to go, go, go and then lays down at night like she is worn out. We are actually on day three without the swaddle, it is going much better this time around. Something about not having to worry about an alarm going off at an ungodly hour makes us relax a little more and better able to deal with the night time. It has been absolutely WONDERFUL to have Bryce's help every night and to be able to sleep in a few extra hours. I feel like a whole new person with a good nights sleep!

We had dinner with our friends from college, Andrea and Chris (and baby Nathan). Check out Charlotte holding Nathan's hand!


Andrea let us borrow one of Nathan's activity centers.... Charlotte LOVES it! She will sit in it and play the whole time Bryce and I are in the kitchen now (Bryce cooks, I clean!). Doesn't she look like such a big girl in this picture?!


And Charlotte is officially a "sitter" now. She can hold her own even though she does get a little wobbly every once in awhile.

Spring Break!

It is finally here! Everyone at school kept asking "So do you have any plans?". Yes, I have one plan and one plan only....to SLEEP! I am so looking forward to nine glorious days of sleep that I don't even know what to do with myself! Life at work has changed too, now that Charlotte is on formula during the day I have all this "extra" time. The days have been much more pleasant. I am also proud to say that we have gone one week without the pacifier. She still misses it when she lays down for a nap, but I really know it is for the best. Charlotte got a little cold this week, and I am convinced that it is because of her pacifier at daycare. Mrs. D said that she really doesn't like for the kids to have a paci because of all the germs they carry and how impossible they are to keep clean around all the kids. So, no more paci for Charlotte! More than anything, I did not want her to be "that kid" who was way too old and still begging for it. So we have survived our first cold even though it was exhausting for all. Bryce ran out to Babies R Us for a humidifier and some saline drops and those seemed to do the trick. Now it's on to a week of rest and relaxation!

Wordless Wednesday