Big Girl Room

Big changes are in store for big sister Charlotte, so we decided to try and make the transition as painless as possible. Bryce convinced me that Charlotte needed to move into our office since it is a bigger room than her current bedroom. She not only needed a bigger room so she could have a bigger bed, but it also allowed us to put some of her toys in the room and make room for baby "stuff" (bouncer, swing, pack n play....oh my!). Somehow we convinced ourselves that we might as well go ahead and move the rooms now while we were still on summer break. We won't have a break again until Thanksgiving, and I'll be eight months pregnant by then.....I seriously doubt I will want to be putting together beds and moving closets then!

So. Charlotte got to pick out her paint and help move all her stuff. She is THRILLED with her new room, and even calls her old room "the baby room". Bryce worked really hard at getting everything together, and it was worth it!

Before: Our office was kind of a blue/gray color


After: The color is called "aurora borealis"



The big girl bed:



We were also able to put together the hutch that came with her bedroom suite in the bigger room:


Charlotte was quite the helper!


Before hutch:


With hutch, such a difference!:


Charlotte loves to go play in her room now. She loves, loves her bed and feels like such an accomplished little person!

Swimming with Friends

We had such a fun swim day with the VanPelts. Charlotte LOVES hanging out with Raigan, and Raigan is SO good with her! The boys are always a blast and add a lot of laughter too!

Jack-a-roo showing off under water:




Charlotte thinks she is a fish now. She and Raigan were jumping off the side of the pool together. So cute!


Jacey Bear held his own in the water too. Watch me guys!


Charlotte and Raigan landing in the water after a jump!

Until next time VanPelts, we will miss seeing you dearly!

12 week check up

Mrs. D offered to watch Charlotte so that Bryce could go with me for the twelve week scan. I am the type of person who believes knowledge is power (rather than ignorance is bliss!) so I opt to have the quad screening for down syndrome and birth defects. I wanted Bryce to be there with me because I knew bad news would be devastating, but luckily we got nothing but good news. Everything looked great, there appeared to be no risk factors for any type of defect. It was SO cool to see a little baby moving around, a HUGE change from my 7 week ultrasound! The best thing for me was seeing this little baby with it's legged crossed at the ankles, Charlotte did the same thing when we saw her on ultrasound. It actually brought tears to my eyes! We've managed to make another perfect miracle!

Hilton Head 2011

Amber arranged a girls trip to help celebrate turning 30 this year with Amanda, Mary, and me. Out of the 4 of us, we have June, July, August, and September birthdays, so a little summer vacation with just the girls was perfect! Amanda hooked us up with a condo in Hilton Head, South Carolina and it was fun, sun, and beaches for four days!


Our very first day on the beach we found TWO starfish. It was so super cool to be walking in the water and all of a sudden see such a unique sea creature.


Hilton Head has some really good food. Seriously over indulged in seafood on this trip!


We also took a day trip out to Savannah. It was very cool to walk up and down river street. Such good shopping! We ended our Savannah day by eating dinner on Tybee Island and walking out onto the pier. So beautiful!


These make my mouth water just looking at them. Fried pickles, Yum!









I think I have fallen in love with Hilton Head!

First Theater Movie

We decided to help close out summer by taking Charlotte to the opening weekend of Cars 2. She was super excited to get to see a "real movie" and her most favorite thing of all was the POPCORN and "dummy" bears. She was a little concerned it would be too loud and held her hands over her ears a couple of times, but other than that she did great (until about the last 20 minutes...then she kept saying "is it over yet?!".




They definitely need more kid friendly seats! Charlotte wasn't heavy enough to keep the seat from folding up, so we had to hold it down with our legs. Oh well, it was a super cute movie!

Bubbles, Bubbles, Everywhere

Ah, the lazy days of summer. Now that we have a toddler, the question is usually "What are we going to do today?!". There are many ways to keep a toddler entertained and one of them usually includes heading outside before it gets blisteringly hot. Once outside we usually get the question "Now what?!". Answer: Bubble Time!

New and Improved

I have finally accepted that this is NOT the market to sell our house. No matter what everyone else said, I was determined that it was time for us to move on, but when the Realtor told me what we could sell our house for in this market, the light bulb finally flashed on. Rather than mope about something I can't change, I've decided that some new improvements will make do until we can move on.

First up, the living room. Before:




After:


I am really pleased with the purchase of our new and improved entertainment center. It took us a WHOLE day of searching, but it is beautiful. It makes our living room look so much more complete now. And Charlotte LOVES having her own cabinet space!

Next, the kitchen. Before:


Rug that we bought when we bought our house. It has been through two puppies in the chewing stage, one baby, and countless dropped forks. It has served us well.

After:


Pattern rug that totally fits the space better. And lots of scotchguard, of course!

We opted to pick up our furniture to avoid the $200 delivery fee. Bryce had to borrow his Dad's truck, and this is what we ended up with:




Notice the little head peeking over the top of the box. Those things were HUGE!