All Is Full Of Love

She said WHAT?

2012-02-10T21:09:00.001-08:00

This was a quick email I typed to Daniel earlier this week:

So, Charlotte kept asking the lady at the bank if she had whiskers. I'm not sure the lady heard her of could understand... But I was mortified! I wanted to say " no she doesn't " but the truth was the lady kinda did and I thought C might protest by saying, "yes she does. See? Those are whiskers!". Eek! I did my best to distract C and get her on a different topic... But still... The guileless truth from a toddler... :)

Parent's what would YOU have done? Do you have any similar stories of children saying things that were horribly offensive or awkward?

Homemaker Extraordinaire!

2012-02-05T09:38:00.000-08:00

I made my own Paneer (Indian Cheese) for an Indian feast I made. This was my first time making cheese and afterwards I felt proud of myself for taking part of an age-old process. Everyone should make their own cheese at least once! :)

Oh, it tasted especially good sliced into little cubes, pan fried and served with kale. YUM!

Blast from the past

2012-02-05T09:35:00.000-08:00

The little boy sitting on the floor is my dad! Then going from left to right is my Aunt Becky, Great Grandma and Grandpa Stice, and Grandma Darlene. What an amazing photo! I love the glasses, Aunt Becky! Grandma, I want to raid your closet - you have amazing style!

Dress Up

2012-02-05T09:28:00.000-08:00

Most days, the first thing Charlotte wants to do is put on her ballerina/princess/tutu costumes. She is in and out of these cloths all day long as she plays make believe. She puts on little dance recitals for us and sings little songs while in costume. It is so much fun having a girly-girl in the house!

"I'm Doctor Ballerina. I am going to make you feel beh-tow!"

Look what I can do!

2012-02-05T09:23:00.000-08:00

A few months ago I made these pillows for our sofas. (I don't usually have ALL of them on the one, it was just staged for the photo).

I didn't know how I was going to do it, so I looked on YouTube for a tutorial on how to sew pillows with piping and found some that were very helpful. I also wanted pillow cases that I could remove and wash (remember, I have a 2 year old, everything must be washable!), but I didn't want to use zippers, so I closed them with Velcro and it works great!

Christmas Day

2012-02-05T08:30:00.000-08:00

This was our first Christmas in our own home. Of course there was a part of me that missed seeing my own family on Christmas day, but I have to admit that it was kind of fun to start our own family traditions for the holiday. I enjoyed merging the things that we had both grown up with to create our own unique family traditions. A little of this and a little of that. Our breakfast included lox and bagels (from the Norwegian side) and monkey bread (from the Crosby side). We got a family picture in front of the tree (a Farnsworth tradition). We each took turns opening our presents so we could make the morning last (both of our families did this). It was a great Christmas!

Christmas morning... you can see from the picture above that it was still dark when our Christmas morning began. We had agreed the night before to wait until whenever Charlotte woke up... but Daniel confessed to me later that he purposefully woke Charlotte up because he was too excited. :) He is still such a kid sometimes!

Santa came!

Auntie Kirsten made this beautiful yellow tutu for our little ballerina - it is her favorite color and she LOVES prancing around in it.

Charlotte has gotten increasingly expressive with her dancing and will close her eyes to create a more emotional dance. It is such a crack up.

Daniel got me the painting I talked about a few posts ago. This was an especially sentimental and meaningful gift for our family this year. I love it. Thank you, Sweetheart. :)

Charlotte has twins! Not knowing what the other was giving Charlotte, both Lola and Beste got her the American Girl Itty Bitty Baby dolls! Great minds (and grandmas) think alike! She LOVES to play mommy and now there is more for her to love!

I love it when the house is all decorated for Christmas. It is so warm and cozy. I just had to document how our home looked this Christmas.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T18:16:00.000-08:00

The month of December has been a flurry of activity.

We got our Christmas tree...

Saw the dancers from The Nutcracker Ballet at story time...

I took Charlotte to the Nutcracker Ballet (a 2 hour performance for a 2 year old - risky, yes... but she was so good and she LOVED it)...

Ever since seeing the ballet, Charlotte has been absolutely OBSESSED with all things pertaining to the Nutcracker. She has 2 books that we read several times a day. She prances around the house in a tutu pretending and acting out different parts of the story. She often will introduce herself as "Clara" the little girl from the story. She dances, talks, plays, and even sleeps with her nutcracker. She can be heard humming the tunes to several of the songs and singing the "Ahhh-ahhh-ahhh-ah-ah" chorus of the snow fairies. We listen to the CD just about every day and she dances around recognizing which song goes with which part of the ballet. "Now its da dancing doll!" "Oh! Dis is the part widda MICE!" "Dis is da one widda flexibow lady!" She will also do distinctly different dances for each of these songs; for example, tippy toes, scurrying around like a mouse, the splits, kicking, etc... I will try to get some videos of this on here...

We met up with some friends from Nashville in a little town called Bell Buckle, TN for some Christmas shopping, a visit with Santa, and a buggy ride...

We participated in the neighborhood's annual luminary display. My favorite part was our family walk through the neighborhood and hearing Charlotte say the word "luminary" over and over as she identified each one along the way, "Oh! Look at doze luminaries!... Look! Some MORE luminaries!"

I took her to our church's Christmas Festival concert, live nativity, and nativity display.

We had our Annual Gingerbread Making Extravaganza...

Please notice the nutcracker helping Charlotte decorate her house!

And last night I hosted my first Christmas Eve dinner. I was really excited about it and I felt so grown up being in charge of the dinner. We invited Alison, Phil, and Garrett, and the 2 missionaries from our church. Having a brother serving a mission in Peru, I felt honored to have the missionaries in our home for Christmas - part of me couldn't help thinking that hopefully some nice family in Peru was doing the same thing for him. That same night, before dinner, I got to talk with him on the phone! We love and miss you, Elder Jonny!"

After dinner, we had the Norwegian dessert of Ris Krem, followed by marzipan. I forgot to get a picture of it!

Then we read the Christmas story from the Bible and acted it out. I want to thank all the willing adult participants! Charlotte, you were the perfect mother Mary - gentle, attentive, loving, and in awe of her wondrous baby.

Also, I want to mention that the baby doll playing the role of Baby Jesus was MY baby doll when I was a little girl. She is my sweet Baby Sarah. That doll made her first debut as Baby Jesus ~ 25 years ago!

After writing a note to Santa and leaving out cookies and carrots, it was time for bed!

Merry Christmas to all! And to all a good night!

And we're back...

2011-12-10T21:25:00.000-08:00

It has been a struggle for me to begin posting on here again.

It seems as if the more time goes by, the harder it is to jump back in again.

I love this online journal documenting our family life. I hope those of you who read this enjoy the little snippets from our world, but mostly it is fun for me to look back and see the things we have done.

I have wanted to continue this family blog, but whenever I look at it I am reminded of the reason there is such a big gap in time to begin with. But somethings can be too sacred, too emotionally raw, too taboo for such a public forum.

I have debated whether or not to post something this personal on here, but I have decided that this gap needed to be recognized and given a moment.

***

This summer I was pregnant.

I had a miscarriage.

***

It has been 5 months now and still the emotions and sadness of it all come in unexpected waves.

Overall, I'm doing much better. I have learned many things through this experience and one of those things is just how many women and couples go through the loss of a baby. It is devastating. It changes you. And though it can be hard, awkward, and the timing may never be quite right, it has been healing for me to talk about it. That may not be the case for other people and I respect that. But for me, it has been helpful to try to let others know what we have been going through.

For those of you who didn't know about this, I'm sorry this blog is the way you found out. It doesn't mean that I didn't want to share with you. In fact, it was quite the opposite. I desperately wanted everyone to know. It's just, please tell me, how do you make that kind of announcement?

I want to thank my dear husband for his love and support. Daniel, I couldn't get through this without you by my side. This is something that we are going through together and I know the experience has strengthened our relationship. It has given us greater love and appreciation for each other as well as our precious daughter, Charlotte. I know that each moment I have with her is a gift and I am so thankful I have the blessing of being her mother. She brings so much joy and meaning to my life. I love you both.

I am comforted by the message of the gospel and for the knowledge that families can be together forever. This time of year brings awe and wonder as I contemplate the circumstances surrounding the birth of our Savior. While visiting BYU's campus this last fall I went to the Museum of Art and came across this painting of the Nativity by Brian Kershisnik.

The original painting is an impressive 7 feet high and 17 feet wide and takes up an entire wall. It's scale is magnificent. There are many things that I love about this painting - the fatigue that shows in Mary's face, the relieved look on Joseph's, the attending midwives washing their hands... all of this is beautifully depicted. I love the movement that is created as the angels flow across the sky. If you look closely, there are angels of all ages. I have never before paid much attention to infant or child angels in art, but now they have a much greater significance for me. This painting brought tears to my eyes as I thought of my own Baby Angel.

May the joy of what our Savior's birth really means touch your heart as this painting did mine.

God Bless.

Merry Christmas.

Blueberry Picking and Lemonade Stand

2011-06-18T13:16:00.000-07:00

The fun never ends while Jacob is in town!

This morning we picked blueberries at a nearby farm. Yum!

Then, this afternoon Jacob had his own lemonade stand. His profits were over $14! I think it is because of his marvelous business plan that we wrote out beforehand. Way to be a great entrepreneur!

Nooga

2011-06-18T12:46:00.000-07:00

We went to Chattanooga the other day to meet up with my Atlanta friend - Kristi - and her two darling kids - Kat and Calvin. Jacob came along, too, and will stay with us for a little over a week while my folks are house hunting.

All the kids LOVE Jacob. They were so good to hold hands as we walked from place to place. Thank you for being so great with them, Jacob!

We first met up at the downtown riverfront for a picnic and to play in the water.

This was before I put on a swimmy diaper - man, if a diaper is capable of holding THAT much, I must be changing them too frequently! ;)

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a flash thunderstorm came along and rained us out. We got drenched on our way back to the cars. Then it began to hail! Jacob noted that it was pea-sized hail.

We finished our picnic lunch in our cars.

Then we walked to the Creative Discovery Children's Museum.

We finished the day off with dinner at Sticky Fingers and then said our farewells until next time!

The Beach

2011-06-17T14:32:00.000-07:00

My Dad recently got a job offer which will move their family out to Utah. My folks decided to have one last trip to the beach before they headed out west and they invited us to join! We are so sad to see them move so far away but we know that this will be good for their family and we wish them the best in their great adventure!

Here are some photos from our trip to St. George Island:

This was Charlotte's 1st trip to a beach and.... She LOVED it!

She loved the sand (she demonstrated this by rolling around in it and "bathing" in it).

She loved the water and the waves. She was completely fearless!

Nothing bothered or scared her. It was such a joy to watch her experience all of this for the first time.

Charlotte and Uncle Jacob...

Our Sandcastle...

Only those at who stayed at the Memory Maker will know to look closely at Jacob's tummy to see a faint battle wound - the result of a game of toss with Daniel. Poor Jacob!

There is nothing quite like coloring in the nude on a beach... why do babies get all the fun?? :)

It was a last minute decision, but I am SOOO thankful Daniel was able to pull away from the demands of running his own business for a few days to spend time with his girls on the beach. The time we had together as a family was so special and it meant so much to me that he could be there with us. Thank you, Lovie!

Mini Photo Shoot...

My Little Goldilocks

2011-06-10T12:16:00.000-07:00

We just got back from our trip to the beach... I will post more pictures and stories later....

King!

2011-06-10T11:59:00.000-07:00

Today Charlotte and I were at Joanne's Fabrics picking up a fabric order. We were waiting at the checkout register up front while the man ran to the back to find our things for us. When Charlotte saw the man coming towards us she pointed and said, "King!" I wondered at first why she was calling him a king, when I realized she was thinking about a book we had read about Martin Luther King, Jr. Sure enough, the man who was bringing us our fabric bore some resemblance to the man she calls, "King!"

Craft Day at the Library

2011-06-03T13:17:00.001-07:00

The Pond

2011-06-01T13:20:00.000-07:00

This spring the geese at the pond at the front of our neighborhood had 5 little baby goslings! Charlotte enjoys visiting them as part of our walks through the neighborhood and she gets a kick out of feeding them. It is pure joy for her! They are so cute!

Coloring with Charlotte

2011-06-01T13:09:00.000-07:00

Piano Recital

2011-05-30T13:03:00.000-07:00

When I moved to Huntsville our new ward wanted some information on us. As part of the things I said I was interested in I included playing the piano. This information was published in the weekly church newsletter and shortly thereafter I got the call to be the organist at the church. Never mind that I had never played the organ before in my life. They said, "Well, you can play the piano, right? You won't have any problem learning how to play the organ!" I thought, "Umm, sure... these instruments are similar, but still, VERY different!" Nevertheless, I did learn to get by on the organ. I am not great, but I think I do OK.

Also as a result of that newsletter I started getting asked if I teach piano. I said yes, and before I knew it, I had a full schedule and 8 students!

This weekend we put on the 2011 Spring Piano Recital.

I must say, it was a THRILL to listen to all my students play so well. Each was required to perform two pieces from memory. The whole performance lasted 45 minutes and then we had a reception afterwards. Strawberry shortcake, cupcakes, petit fours, lemon meringue, cookies, and hello dolly bars - it was a sugary treat invasion!

To my students - Well played! You all worked so hard preparing for this recital. Thank you for your hours of practice. You all gave a performance you can be proud of. Thank you for letting me be your teacher!

Mom and Dad, thank you for the years of piano lessons and for encouraging me to stick with it. Thank you for seeking out the best instructors and giving me a real quality music education. I LOVE that I know how to play and it is so fun to now be teaching a few students what I know.

Kirsten, thank you for your Master piano teaching tips. :) I know you have a much greater depth of knowledge than I do on the subject, but thank you for encouraging me! I know you are a fabulous teacher, I wish we lived closer so I could sit in and see how you run your lessons. I am sure I would learn a lot from you!

Alison and Phil, thank you so much for letting us hold on to your piano until Garrett is ready for it. I cannot tell you how nice it is to have a piano in our home to practice on, teach from, and to play songs for Charlotte. It has been a HUGE gift. Thank you also for watching Charlotte at least once a week so I can teach lessons. It is really nice for me to know that during that time she is having fun with her Lola and Papa. I wouldn't be teaching if it were any different. Thank you for really making this arrangement possible.

Sarah and Andy and Baby "Nana", thank you for making it to the recital. It was such a nice surprise - I cannot tell you how much it meant to me to have you there to support me. Thank you! PS - Baby Anna gets the best baby of the year award - she was so GOOD during the recital. Not a peep!

Last, but certainly not least, Daniel. Thank you for supporting me in this effort. Especially for watching Charlotte so much the day of as I ran around crazy finishing the details and preparing for the recital. Thank you for being ok with grab-n-growl dinners on the nights I teach. Thank you for listening to my teaching stories and for encouraging me to find ways to get involved in our new home. It has been such a great first year here in Huntsville!

Charlotte - 22 months

2011-05-19T13:09:00.000-07:00

Charlotte has been getting into pretending these days. The other day, after I read her the story of Corduroy she turned to me and said, "I Corduroy!" She then proceeded to recite parts of the story from memory, such as, "I looking my button! My on da mountain! Da ground is moving! It's de escalator! CRASH!" Then she decided she wanted ME to be Corduroy and that she was now going to be Lisa, the little girl in the story. "I Lisa now."

The following story may be TMI for a blog... oh well. It has to do with NURSING, so if that bothers you, don't read it!

Well, a few weeks ago I officially weaned Charlotte. It was a beautiful relationship and I feel so blessed that I could nurse her for so long. I remember being so worried that I might not be able to breastfeed after I ended up having an emergency c-section. Those first few days were tense as I waited for my milk to come in. All my life I had dreamed of being able to provide that for my child and I was worried that it may not work for us.

I remember feeling confused about knowing what to believe because I was discovering contradictions in things I had read and the advice I was being given. I remember feeling exhausted and sore from surgery and lack of sleep. I remember feeling especially sensitive and weepy with all the hormones post delivery. I felt like the smooth labor and delivery I had imagined had been taken away from me and that now the hopes of being able to successfully breastfeed my baby might also be taken from us as well.

The nurses at the hospital were freaking me out by saying my (9lb 6 oz) baby was loosing weight - I learned from my lactation consultant and pediatrician that this is totally NORMAL and not a reason to give up breastfeeding and go to formula. Besides, before the milk comes your body produced colostrum which is packed with nutrients and is exactly what the baby needs first.

They say it can take 3-5 days for your colostrum to change into milk. Charlotte was born on a Tuesday night. I was released from the hospital on Saturday. Once I got home, Charlotte and I both were able to take a good rest without any interruptions. When I woke up and it was time to feed Charlotte again, my milk had come in. Happy day. I remember feeling so relieved that I started to cry.

I know that breastfeeding may not be for everyone and there are some real reasons why it may not work. That is fine, and I respect all women for whatever they decide is right for them.

That being said, I LOVE that I was able to breastfeed my baby Charlotte. It was a commitment, true, but one that I would never trade for anything. I loved knowing that my milk was sustaining life. That it was the best possible nutrition specially made for my baby. She was always super healthy because of it and it also helped me loose the baby weight quickly. Nursing was our special time. It would comfort her if she was scared or hurt or sad. Often it would help her fall asleep. It was our time to snuggle in bed in the morning. It was convenient in that I didn't need to remember to pack a bottle or formula whenever we went out and it was always the right temperature. I love that I was able to provide that for her and that we were able to do it for so long. It was a natural weaning process. There wasn't a deadline or artificial stopping point. It was gradual and slowly the feedings decreased in frequency and eventually we were down to one time a day. Then every other day. Then as needed. And then a few more days went by and it was over. She was ready and I was ready. I will always have fond memories of her snuggled in looking up at me (my favorite was the sly grin she would give me while still latched on).

One of the things I did to wean was distract her and offer a glass of milk instead. Other times I would say, "That's for babies... are you a baby?" To which she would usually reply, "No, I a big girl now."

Charlotte has a new baby cousin in town, Baby Anna (A.K.A. Baby "Nana" to Charlotte). Recently, when Charlotte came up to me and asked for "Nigh-nigh?" I said my usual, "That's for babies... are you a baby?" This time, however, she replied, "I Baby Nana." Nice try! I thought it was a clever usage of make-believe, but, it didn't work and we got the glass of milk instead.

Outdoor Living Space

2011-05-19T12:43:00.001-07:00

I LOVE before and after photos and I have always wanted to remember to take a picture BEFORE a project so I could do my own AFTER.

Well, this time, I did!

We got the coffee table a few years ago from someone at church and the wicker love seat once belonged to my Grams and Granddad (thank you!).

BEFORE...

A couple of cans of spray paint later, and some new cushions...

AFTER...

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-18T12:00:00.000-07:00

Again, this is a few weeks late - oh well. :)

The night before we went to Longhorn's Steak House for dinner - soooo yummy!

Daniel got me a beautiful orchid, made me breakfast in bed and cooked dinner. And the best part was not having to change a diaper all day!

From the time I was little, I always loved babies and wanted to be a mom. I would tote around my dolls, push them around in their stroller, and even pretend to nurse them.

This is me with Baby Sarah (my favorite doll).

This is me, Kirsten, Baby Erik (and above Erik, you can see another one of my dolls).

Again with Baby Sarah (my favorite doll).

I remember when this one was taken -

my Mom was watching a friend's baby and I sat with the baby on the back deck and tried to sketch him sleeping.

This is me and Kirsten holding Baby Jonathan.

Here I am holding Baby Jacob.

I am blessed to have an amazing mom who showed me what a joy motherhood can be.

I have wonderful grandma's who were also an example to me of motherhood and womanhood. I feel so blessed to have these outstanding women in my life.

This is my Grandma Bodil bathing my mother when she was a baby.

This is MY mother bathing me when I was a baby!

Grandma Darlene holding me as a baby.

Grandma Bodil holding me.

Grandma Bodil holding Charlotte, my Mom, and Kirsten.

I LOVE being a mom. No other job or responsibility that I have had comes close to the meaningful work of motherhood. I LOVE this job! I LOVE my dear little Charlotte who made me a mother. She brings such joy and entertainment into my life, it is hard to imagine what life was like before she came into this world.

Historic Week

2011-05-09T12:57:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, April 27th TORNADOES swept across Alabama and Georgia and 5 other southern states killing at least 337.

Early reports estimate that "there were more tornadoes in a single day during the outbreak than ever recorded in history. Of the 312 twisters that were spawned, 226 occurred within a 24-hour period."

Here are some news articles on the storms:

This is a video of the tornado that hit Tuscaloosa, AL. And here is another one.

In Huntsville, we were lucky to not receive these huge tornadoes, but there was still some wind damage and the surrounding towns in our county were hit pretty hard and included some fatalities. Huntsville (along with much of north eastern Alabama) remained without power from Wednesday until Monday. Some neighborhoods took even longer to restore power.

At the time of these storms, we were all in Atlanta so Daniel could do some business with the Ron Clark Academy. When we heard about the power outage we decided to extend our trip to Atlanta until power returned. Every day we would receive random updates from friends and family about long lines at the gas station, not enough food at the grocery store, having to throw away the contents of fridges and freezers, and cold showers. But those inconveniences paled in comparison to the devastation others in surrounding areas experienced.

One particularly devastating story came from a co-worker of Daniel's. Her childhood home is about an hour outside of Huntsville and that is where her Mom lived. It was a 2,000 sq/ft brick home that was completely leveled. Some of the surrounding homes were damaged by the tornado in the form of a wall collapsed here or a roof blown off over there; but there was not a brick in place that remains of what was once her home. In its place is a pile of rubble and the foundation.

This is where her childhood house once was.

This is her boat wrapped around the tree.

Miraculously her mother was not in the house at the time of the storm. If she had been, there would have been no way she could have possibly survived. Earlier that day, her brother, who lives about a 1/4 mile down the road, called and invited her to come to his house to ride out the storm together. She was reluctant, but eventually she went to his place. What are the chances, right? They could have just as easily decided to stay at her home, but for some reason they were in the right place at the right time.

When Daniel went to help her clean up the property he said that you could see the path of the tornado by the damage that was left behind. It first hit her mother's house and then it was heading straight for her brother's home when the tornado split and went to either side of his house sparing them the most devastating damage. Still, portions of the roof were destroyed, but they were fortunate to not have any loss of life.

A few days later, they began receiving in the mail things like bank statements and other documents sent from people 3 hours away in Tennessee who had discovered items of theirs that had blown in from the storms.

I cannot begin to imagine what they and others are going through right now. It is unbelievable to me how long it takes to first - build a house and then - what it takes to make that house into your HOME and then - just how QUICKLY it can all be destroyed.

May we all pull together to help those who have been affected by the storms in whatever way we can. Charitable donations of goods, clothing, and time are all needed. May God give strength and peace to those who have lost so much and let US be His helping hands.

***

Other historic events that same week:

Friday, April 29th - A Royal Wedding! For Prince William and Miss Catherine Middleton. A modern fairytale full of beauty, pomp and circumstance, and elegance.

Sunday, May 1st - Osama Bin Laden, the world terrorist is dead. Ten years after the 9/11 attacks, Osama Bin Laden is found and killed by U.S. CIA officers and Navy SEALs. People across the world rejoice.

***

Local historic event that same week:

Sunday, May 1st - Atlanta, Georgia temple is rededicated by President Monson. Daniel and I attended the 2nd dedication broadcast to the local stake center.

***

Big family news that same week:

Sunday, May 1st - Granddad falls and bumps his head while getting ready to go to the temple rededication. The result was 8 staples! Poor Granddad! :(

Monday, May 2nd - My nephew Charlie was born!

With all that is wrong and all that is right in the world, I feel blessed to have the perspective the gospel brings in my life.

Happy Easter!

2011-05-06T11:39:00.000-07:00

So, this is a little late, but still.

Here are the pictures from our Easter Sunday.

As you can see from this next photo, we got off to an *early* start!

After church and a nap, we went to Lola and Papa's for dinner and a egg hunt.

This is from a few weeks ago when we went to an egg hunt at our friend's house:

(This next one reminds me of American Gothic.)

This is the same day, just back at our house.

And these are from the Friday before Easter at the Hampton Cove playgroup egg hunt:

Utah Trip

2011-04-21T11:41:00.000-07:00

Decided last minute to use some miles for a free trip out to Utah for my cousin's wedding. In just a few months Charlotte will no longer be a lap baby and so this was our last opportunity to travel without having to buy her a ticket as well.

I hadn't been to Utah in 4 years (the last time was before we moved to Atlanta!). A lot has happened for us in those few short years.

It was fun to see family and friends as well as familiar places from when I attended BYU. I just wish Daniel could have joined us on this trip! :(

First night we stayed in SLC with Tracy.

The next day we went to the SLC library - this was taken on their rooftop garden.

Then we roamed around Temple Square.

This is the day of the wedding.

Charlotte, Scarlet, and Madeline

Erik, Charlotte, and Kirsten

My Dad, Kirsten (my sister), Aunt Becky, Charlotte, Me, and Grandma Darlene

Kirsten and Grandma Darlene

Charlotte and Erik

Kidd Family, Jake and Emily and Jackson, Aunt Becky, Grandma Darlene, and Granddad

The reception...

One of these sweet little girls asked, "Do you like to lay in the grass? I do!" After this announcement, she, Madeline, and Charlotte all lay down in the grass. Darling girls! Such a big day, and they were all so good!

Handsome Jackson!

Charlotte and Jonathan

Megan, Marilee, Chrystal, Aunt Dot, and Uncle Garth

Bath Time...

Matt and Jamie (friends from BYU)

Ben and Charlotte

Charlotte, Ben, and Miles

Thanks to everyone for a fun filled vacation!

The Many Faces of Charlotte

2011-04-12T13:35:00.001-07:00

Charlotte can do several faces on command.

Here is her "Mad/Angry Face":

This is her "Surprised Face":

This is her "Happy Face":

This is her "Sad Face":

This is her "Cute Face":

And these are just Charlotte being "Charlotte"!

What a fun girl!

Family Date Night

2011-04-12T13:27:00.001-07:00

Our family of 3 went to a pizza place for dinner and then enjoyed a walk around the pond and feeding the ducks.

Daddy insisted on not having any pics taken of himself... :(

And he looked so handsome, too!

Yesterday was a sad day....

2011-04-12T12:47:00.001-07:00

The famed and loved "Miss Patty Cake" billboard has been replaced with a new sign.

Yesterday, we drove by expecting to see Miss "Pah Kay" and she was gone. This has made a huge impact on a certain little girl who always looked forward to seeing that sign.

Even this morning, the first thing she said had to do with Miss "Pah Kay" running away. Oh, what's a girl to do??

Are we there yet?

2011-04-02T13:37:00.000-07:00

There are many things that parents do to entertain their children while driving from place to place. What do YOU do?

Sometimes I use one of her dolls or teddy-bears and pretend like it is driving the car. Charlotte gets a kick out of this.

(BTW - this is just a pic I found online...apparently I am not the only one who thought of this!)

When her toys or books are no longer of interest, we like to sing songs together. An especially fun song is "The wheels on the bus..." When we get to the part with the wipers going swish-swish-swish, I turn mine on and Charlotte will squeal in delight. She is developing an amazing vocabulary and can now sing several songs and nursery rhymes.

Here is a clip of her singing, "Old MacDonald."

Here is a clip of her reciting, "Hey Diddle, Diddle..."

I also point out things to her and label them for her. This has recently turned into a game of "I spy with my little eye ____!" With it being spring time there are so many different flowers and trees in bloom it makes this game especially fun ("foh-sith-ea" - forsythia, pansies, dog-wood, "redeh budeh" - red bud...). She can recognize cars, trucks, dump trucks, motorcycles, airplanes, and my personal favorite, "ex-ca-vay-tahs" (AKA - excavator).

She also has land marks all over town that she likes to point to and name, including:

"watah-faaaall" for the waterfall in front of our neighborhood
"figh-ya-en-chin" for the fire engine at the fire station
"Daddy's hi-ee cool" for Daddy's high school
"Miss Pat Cake" which is really Miss Patty Cake on a billboard as we go over the mountain

"dah-oon in da valley, dah valley be-LOW" - down in the valley, the valley below
"lye-berry, tory time, Miss Betty!" - Library, story time, Miss Betty

When all else fails, we find a Baby Einstein video on YouTube and play it on my iPhone propping it up in the head rest in front of her seat. This is for special occasions and usually reserved for night-time driving when there isn't much to look at outside. It will ALWAYS guarantee at least 7 minutes of captivated bliss.

***

In a related topic:

Each week, on our way to story time at the library, we always pass this pink house (well, not THIS one in the photo, but still...).

So, I do what I always do and say to Charlotte, "Look at that pink house! Do you see it?"

Charlotte responded enthusiastically, "Yeah! Pink house! LUHve it!"

Is being a parent great, or what?? :)

Bath Time

2011-03-21T14:43:00.001-07:00

Beautiful Spring Day

2011-03-21T12:32:00.000-07:00

These were taken this weekend at the entrance to our neighborhood.

I have been playing around with some different effects in iphoto - this is the antiqued look:

Let's Go Fly a Kite! (and plant some herbs!)

2011-03-21T07:13:00.000-07:00

Last Friday we drove by the elementary school and saw the whole field full of people flying their kites. It was an impressive sight to see all those many brightly colored kites soaring in the air!

When we got home from our errands, I got out our kite and tried to show Charlotte how to fly it.

Then we went swinging.

Then Charlotte helped me plant some herbs.

Mmmmm - I HEART SUSHI!

2011-03-17T13:15:00.000-07:00

If I could, I would eat this EVERY DAY.... soooooo yummy!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

2011-03-17T13:00:00.001-07:00

I took Charlotte to the HSV St. Patrick's Day Parade today.

Yes, that is a GREEN DOG!

(Man, two parade posts in a row! I promise that is not all we do around here!)

Elephant Walk

2011-03-07T12:43:00.000-08:00

The Barnum and Bailey Circus has come to town! When they arrive they do an animal walk from the train station to the civic center. It was fun to see the elephants!

The 2011 Best Valentines Awards go to...

2011-03-07T12:31:00.000-08:00

My favorite sister :) for making her own Valentine's tea bags:

Not only were they adorable, the peppermint tea was de-lish!

And my sister-in-law for making these awesome cards with a photo of her son:

I love how she got him to "hold" the lollypop!

Flower Hair Clip

2011-03-07T12:24:00.001-08:00

Last week I made lots of bows, headbands, and clips for Baby C,

and her new Baby Cousin,

and while I was at it I decided to make one for me!

A Petty Weekend

2011-02-25T13:41:00.000-08:00

Thanks for the movie trailer, Josh!

So sorry we gave you the stomach bug! :(

We had a great time with you!

Hope for Autism Gala

2011-02-15T12:54:00.000-08:00

It was fun to get dressed up for a fancy date with my hubby on Valentine's Weekend.

Don't you love his bow tie??

I sure married a handsome man!

Anthro shirt

2011-02-15T12:47:00.000-08:00

Well, the shirt actually came from Walmart ($3)...

I cut the neckline, and made some ruffle rosettes from scraps leftover from other sewing projects. Then I sewed them on. Voila!

Happy Valentine's!

2011-02-15T12:29:00.000-08:00

Kissin' Cousins...

I wanna help make sugar cookies!

Winter Wonderland... In Alabama???

2011-01-19T12:28:00.000-08:00

Yes. It actually snows in the south!

Last week we got about 6 inches of snow and it basically shut down the whole city. We were not the only ones incapacitated by this storm. Atlanta got it as well and with only 10 snow ploughs for the entire city it took a LONG time before roads were passable again.

The kids had a WEEK of snow days (even though that wasn't totally necessary). Keep in mind those snow days happened after they had already been out for 2 weeks for Christmas. Then they went back for 3 days, and then it was a weekend + 5 snow days + a 3 day weekend!

I thought is was beautiful!

Christmas Crafts

2011-01-19T11:52:00.001-08:00

After almost 5 years of marriage, a new house, and a baby, this Christmas really got me wanting to do some homemaker-y things.

Here are the crafty things I did for Christmas:

I finished painting those salt dough ornaments...

I wanted the outside of our house to look cozy and festive so I put candles in all the windows and turned them on every night. I also decorated our mailbox and I made a wreath for the front door using scraps from a place nearby that sells Christmas trees this time of year. I even incorporated some greenery from the trees and shrubs surrounding our house.

By the way, the day I made these it was actually warm enough that I could do it outside on a card table I set up in my driveway. This way I didn't have to worry so much about making a mess with all the pine needles and Charlotte could enjoy running around.

I am carrying on the family tradition of making KrumKake (these little Norwegian "ice-cream cones"). I made about 12 plates and gave them out to neighbors, friends, and family.

I had a lot of felt leftover from the felt playhouse I made for Charlotte this year for her birthday so I decided to put some of it to good use as Christmas ornaments.

These are just 2 of the woven felt hearts I made. These are another traditional Christmas decoration you might find in Norwegian households. I made about 8 of these.

And this is how our family room looked all decked for Christmas!

Santa's Village

2010-12-17T19:47:00.001-08:00

Tonight we decided to have some family fun at Santa's Village.

It is this darling, historic part of town that they set up special during Christmas. They have live reindeer, Santa's Workshop (where elves are making wooden toys), Mrs. Claus' kitchen (where you can decorate your own gingerbread cookie), a craft area where you can make your own ornament, Story Time with Mrs. Claus, a stage with dancers, and of course a photo op with the man himself - Santa Claus!

Riding Santa's Sleigh

Charlotte's most favorite part was being read to by Mrs. Claus. She eagerly sat on Mrs. Claus' lap was attentive to every word.

What you can't see in this picture is the crowd of 30 or so adults and children packed in the room to listen to the stories. For Charlotte, this made no matter, as far as she was concerned, Mrs. Claus was reading just for HER!

Charlotte even helped pick out one of the books.

Even when she was supposed to be sitting with us, Charlotte had to walk right up to Mrs. Claus to get a better look. And there she stayed, fully captivated.

Afterwards, Mrs. Claus said to Daniel, "You can always tell the children who are read to... and the ones who aren't... Your daughter clearly loves to read!" Well, what would you expect from a girl, who when she spoke her first word, said, "Book!"

***

After such a memorable visit with Mrs. Claus we decided to forgo waiting in the long line outside in the cold, promising that we will stop by and see Santa another time.

Decorating the gingerbread cookie with Daddy.

SNOW!

(although it DOES snow in AL, this was man-made... )

STILL it was fun to see Charlotte's excitement and scrunched up nose as the snowflakes landed on her nose and eyelashes!

Gingerbread Houses

2010-12-17T19:20:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we made gingerbread houses.

We let Charlotte stay up past her bedtime to help.

Our friends, Jeremiah and Nicole, made one too - Jeremiah wants you to notice the "tire swing" made out of a LifeSaver and Twizzler Pull-N-Peel... good work!

Daniel went for a more dramatic theme...

As for myself, I am a fan of the traditional style...

Christmas Tree

2010-12-08T11:33:00.000-08:00

We went to get our Christmas tree this weekend! We found this local vendor just down the street from us.

Charlotte liked this baby tree.

I think this little display of yard decorations looks like it belongs in a fairytale.

Decorating...

(I love her sweet pudgy little hands!)

Salt Dough Christmas Ornaments

2010-12-07T13:29:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I decided to make salt dough Christmas ornaments with Charlotte. I found a recipe online and this is how they turned out!

I am still planning on painting them (I will post the picture later).

This was the process.

Charlotte wanted to taste the dough...

She is thinking about it...

Blehk!

Thanksgiving

2010-12-03T13:22:00.000-08:00

This was our first Thanksgiving in our new home!

Going around the table from left to right: Jacob, my Dad, Andy, Wyatt, Sarah, Daniel's Dad and Mom, Garrett, and my Mom. We had a full table (and even fuller tummies!).

I made my very first turkey...

(Thanks for the help, Mom!)

Charlotte knows that a turkey says, "gobble, gobble!"

Then we enjoyed some after dinner reading...

If you are wondering how we spent our morning.... we were NOT slaving away in the kitchen.

No, we were enjoying some unusually warm weather!

Playing tennis....

Jumping....

Driving....

Posing...

Climbing...

Sliding...

Swinging....

I am so thankful for my dear husband and darling daughter. I LOVE being a mom. I am thankful I can stay home with her and be there to watch her grow and develop. I am thankful for the wonderful family I was born to and the lovely family I married into. I am thankful for our beautiful new home, good health, and good food. We have been richly blessed.

Duck Pond

2010-12-03T13:06:00.000-08:00

We have been enjoying the most beautiful fall weather. Here we are in mid November and it is sunny, cool, and the autumn colors have finally burst.

We went to the duck pond in downtown HSV on Saturday and enjoyed feeding the birds and the fishes.

(Baby C - 16 months)

Check out those curls!

Check out the huge koi! The white one is almost as long as that goose!

Charlotte didn't full grasp that we were there to feed the birds and fish. However, every piece of stale bread we tore of for her to throw she immediately gobbled it up herself. She doesn't even usually like bread!

Mommy and Me

2010-11-15T12:46:00.001-08:00

Charlotte - age 15 1/2 months.

This girl LOVES to read. If you ask her if she would like to go read, she will vigorously nod her head and run to grab you a book. Then, with book in hand, and standing at your feet, she will reach up and say, "Read it." Clear as day.

Peek-a-boo!

(These were all taken by my Mom while I was visiting my folks in Atlanta.)

Fast Forward

2010-11-11T09:49:00.000-08:00

So... I haven't blogged any since my first post (which was a year and a half ago). I am not going to apologize or pretend that anyone has been anxiously awaiting my next post. Also, I am not going to make any promises. I find blogging to be a bit stressful and with my first post I agonized over what to say (even still, I want to edit what I wrote). That being said I will try not to edit myself as much (easier said than done). The main reason I am doing this is to catalog the things we have been up to for my daughter, close friends, and family. So rather than going back in time and trying to update everything that has happened since my last post I am going to have you fast forward to present-day.

This last weekend I rowed in Chattanooga, TN at the Head of the Hooch regatta with the Rocket City Rowing Club. The last time I rowed was in high school (10 years ago) in Connecticut. I am thrilled to be involved in the sport again.

I rowed on a women's 8+ ...

And a women's 4+...

I joined RCRC back in August and I practice with them on Saturday and Sunday mornings at sunrise.

Thanks to Mom and Dad for waking up SUPER early and meeting me in Nooga to help watch Baby C since Hubby was traveling that weekend on business.

Baby C - age 15 1/2 months

The Beginning...

2009-04-17T13:15:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time there was a Norwegian Viking who thought she had everything but the truth was she had not yet found her one true love.

Meanwhile, in a land far, far away, there lived a young redneck who was making plans for his own future and, like the Viking, he had not found his one true love.

Years passed by and eventually the Viking princess and the redneck found themselves attending the same university.

More years went by until eventually they happened to be enrolled in the same class. The hands of the gods must have been at work to help these two meet because under normal circumstances the two should have never been in the same class. The redneck was actually much further along in his schooling than she - he was going to be a doctor. Nevertheless, as fate would have it, the two found themselves in the same class. They began discussing literature and music and found that some how, some way, a Viking and a redneck actually had a lot in common.

He wooed and courted her and after a time the two found themselves madly in love. Not only were they in love but they had both found exactly what they had been missing their whole lives.

He proposed to her and she happily said, “Yes.” After the preparations had been made they were married and they lived happily ever after.

The Beginning…