Doctor, Doctor. Give Me the News!

After an hour wait, we finally headed back to see the doctor.

It was a looong hour in that waiting room!

Charlotte was weighed, measured, examined and NOT poked!!

No immunizations this visit but both girls DID get the flu shot...or shall I say the nose drip?!

No shot. Just some fluid sprayed up their nose.

Both were hesitant. Both were brave.

And believe it or not, Grace was EXTREMELY chatty with the doctor.

Excuse me doctor.

Charlotte is two. And she likes babies.

We had pink and black cupcakes.

That's a 'stefoscope'.

My heart is right here. (Points to her shoulder)

This is her bebo (belly button).

QUITE chatty which is not characteristic of Grace - or hasn't been. Maybe she's turning a leaf and discovering her inner social butteryfly?

We actually got out of the doctor's office with no tears and no {major} tantrums.

For my memory.

34.5" tall

26.5 lbs

49 1/4 cm head circumference

Healthy and happy!

And in the Blink of an Eye...

She's two!

Talking. Independent. Loves to sing.

Still uses a binky and requests bubbas.

Swims like a mermaid under the water.

Takes a solid two hour nap every afternoon and wakes at 7 am on the dot.

Cries when we drop off Grace at school. 

Not because she misses Grace but because she wants to go to school too.

Loves baby dolls and animals - particularly dogs and cats. 

Has the funniest facial expression and definitely works the "puppy dog eyes"!

She is now wearing clothes that Grace wore when Charlotte was born.

A clear indication that time is definitely not standing still.

Most days I can't believe she is only two. She acts much older.

On the other hand, it's hard to believe that two years can go by that fast!!

I tried to get a few pics of Charlotte by her tree but she wouldn't cooperate.

Might I add stubborn to her list of traits above?

 

We made cupcakes for her birthday treat. She specifically requested sprinkles!

Don't tell Court, but I let Charlotte lick the batter!

She loved it. And wanted more. 

Naturally, I obliged to the birthday girl's wants and wishes!

Charlotte's request for dinner was pasta so we had a quiet little dinner at home.

Then we hit the lights, lit the candles and sang happy birthday!

Charlotte was ecstatic and managed to blow out her candles by herself!

I can't believe I didn't get any pictures!

Then, it was gift time!

I was super excited to find hot air balloon wrapping paper as Charlotte's birthday party is a hot air balloon theme!

(More on the party and theme later!)

Grace couldn't resist helping open the gift.

But once it was unwrapped, Charlotte knew just what to do!

This year I decided to make a gift for Charlotte. 

I found a pattern for a dollhouse tote. Inside the house, lives a little girl who loves to sleep and dress in pretty clothes.

What little girl wouldn't love something like this, right?

The patterns for the dollhouse and doll can be found here!

If you get a chance, you should check out her blog. She takes THE most beautiful pictures!

A few pictures of how it turned out!

I made only a couple of changes to the pattern.

I put on a velcro closure instead of a ribbon so that Charlotte wouldn't constantly be asking me to tie the house closed.

And I also put velcro on the backs of some of the clothes - instead of snaps - so that Charlotte would be able to do it herself!

Charlotte got right to work "dressing" her "baby!"

When Charlotte woke up this morning, I found her playing with her doll house in her bed. 

It was a hit!

Thank God! It took me FOREVER to make!

Happy Birthday Sweet Charlotte!

Love,

Mommy

Happy Birthday Charlotte!

A time honored tradition....

Local News Today Birthdays - NBC Right Now/KNDO/KNDU Tri-Cities, Yakima, WA |

Bill's Berry Farm: Take One

I don't know what the weather has been like in your neck of the woods but ours has been ideal.

Cool and crisp in the mornings.

90's by late afternoon.

Followed by cool, crisp evenings.

Fall at perfection!

(Speaking of fall...can you believe it is Autumn?!! I think in the 34 years I've been on this Earth, this is the first time ever that I am not excited to leave the blazing, hot summer behind us. I blame this entirely at being able to tire the girls out every afternoon in the pool. Not sure what we I'm going to do once swimming weather is officially over. I usually can't wait for fall - it's my favorite time of the year - but this year, everything has just gone by so fast. I feel like I just got used to our summer routine and BOOM, we are starting the Christmas countdown!! 92 days by the way! If I thought summer went by fast, welcome to the fastest, there-isn't-enough-time-to-get-anything-done-but-you-have-to anyway time of year!)

To kick off fall, we visited Bill's Berry Farm yesterday. I take the girls every year.

For a trip down memory lane visit 2011 and 2010. 

But because I know you are too lazy to click on the links, humor me for a minute.

Grace and Charlotte - 2010

Charlotte wasn't even a month old!

Both girls last year...

and here they are in 2012!

Bill's Berry Farm is our local pumpkin patch/family fun place.

They offer hay rides, pony rides, train rides, cider making, berry and apple picking - anything farm related all through the harvest season! They even sell Christmas trees.

While they offer all these activities, they are especially known for their homemade doughnuts...at least in my house!

While we normally go to Bill's late in October, we have quite the lineup of activities in the next few weeks, so I thought we'd go a bit early this year. You know, to take in the doughnuts fresh air!

So off we went!

Seeing these pumpkins got me excited to decorate for fall. 

I love knobby pumpkins!

The doughnuts weren't ready when we arrived, so we killed time.

Just as I thought, they are growing like weeds!

Funny. Charlotte wouldn't use a binky the first year of her life. The second year has been dramatically different. 

We noted the first signs of fall and what's that? Rain drops you say?

Impossible. It's supposed to be 80 something degrees today!

Finally! 

Seconds after this pictures, the sky burst open.

 

And we ran - doughnuts and all - to the safety of the car!

So this visit was a bust in the pony and train riding department.

But our doughnut timing was perfect!

Luckily, Grace gets to go on a field trip with her class in a few weeks so there will be more to come from Bill's Berry Farm!

One of These "Kids" Just Doesn't Belong Here

Court called me into Grace's room the other night.

When I walked in, this is all I saw.

Grace's MO.

Lots of blankets followed by a ridiculous amount of stuff animals, toys and books piled high wide.

To the point you don't think she'll be able to find a spot for herself to sleep.

I fought this battle - tried to get all the toys and animals out of her bed (figured the books can stay...yay reading!) - but clearly I lost.

(At this point in the game, she could be sleeping in a tank full of sharks and as long 

as she sleeps through the night and wakes up alive, I am pretty much cool with it.)

I digress. 

Court kept giving me a big, goofy grin so I figured there must be an owl loose in the house...again.

He told me to look closer. So I did. 

Apparently, she makes room for real animals too! 

Lucky Pup IS lucky pup! 

Ooo That Smell...Can't You Smell That Smell?

All summer my car has been a bit smelly.

Smelly to the point of embarrassing.

I've cleaned it.

I've taken it to the car wash.

Yet the smell lingered. 

Charlotte likes to spray her bottles everywhere so I assumed it was sour milk hidden in the crooks and crannies of the car seat.

Almost.

Today, I cleaned the car. It was the same ole same ole.

Spend an hour cleaning it while the girls sit up front pretending to drive taking breaks only to dig through my change drawer. I think they are the only two humans on the planet who squeal at the sight of a penny.

Just as I announced I was all done, I discovered -out of no where - rocks right where I had just vacuumed!!

I *wonder* how they got there.

(Seriously, this is why I never clean as often and as well as I should. It's pointless. As soon as one mess is addressed, a hundred others have sprouted.)

As I climbed all over the car, on my hands and knees, 

I came across the culprit. 

A bottle.

Under Grace's car seat.

UUUUGGGHHHHH!

Now you might be asking:

"Now Katie, that bottle looks pretty obvious to me! How could you have missed it? I mean, it is yellow and it clearly stands out against the cave-like interior of your car?"

Good question. 

While it looks obvious in this picture, I assure you it wasn't.

I was down on my stomach pointing my camera up to get an angle where you could see the bottle under the seat. In the routine entry and exits of the car, you'd never see it.

Only if you were on the ground looking up and call me crazy but that isn't part

of our routine.

But there she is.

Curdled, rotting milk in all her glory.

A good way to end summer, no?

"A" is for Awesome

I was in charge of snack today for Grace's class.

I went with an "A" theme because the kids are studying the letter "A" this week.

Animal crackers, apples and apple juice...not very original.

But I just couldn't resist after winning these little boxes from Piggy Bank Parties.

I mean, it was like it was meant to be...

I win the favor boxes.

 I'm assigned snack duty during the week the kids are studying the letter "A" and look what letter is on the box?!?!

Totally cute, right?!

After school, I asked Grace how snack time went.

What'd you have for snack time today?

I don't know.

Did you have apple juice?

Yeah.

Did you have animal crackers? 

Yeah.

Did you have apples?

Yeah.

Mmm. That sounds like a good snack. Did you eat it all up?

Yeah...no. I didn't eat the animal crackers. They were gross.

Apparently, "A" is for awesome. 

{sigh}

Grace's First Day of Preschool

With Grace's first day of preschool upon us, I couldn't resist making a 

special "first day" outfit.

This is what I came up with.

She added pink sparkle shoes for good measure.

  

It was a great first day!

September 11, 2012

September 11. It conjures up a lot of emotions and images. At least, it has since 2011.

Before that, it was just my dad's birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!! A day we celebrated him and ate his favorite, strawberry shortcake. MMMMM, so good!

And now, it will forever be Grace's very first day of preschool. We made little gifts for her teachers. Fresh apples from the farm!

Grace woke up FULL of excitement this morning and couldn't wait to get to school. She carefully packed her special goodies in her back pack - including her first homework assignment.

She painted and glittered her paper. She told her teachers that her name was Grace, that she was 3, her favorite color was blue (news to me!) and that her favorite food was "brown and black!" (AKA peanut butter and nutella on toast!)

Grace posed for some first day of school pictures and then it was time to go. I planned for some extra time for her and I to hang out - just the two of us - over pumpkin bread and chocolate milk (all after a BIG breakfast of pancakes, scrambled eggs and strawberries) before class.

We talked through the drop-off and pick-up procedures and what might happen after I left. Bottom line - it was going to be fun and Mom would be there when school was over. She seemed ok with everything. Before I knew it, we were at the doorway of the school, we hugged good bye and was back in my empty car - amazed at how quickly it has all gone by. From morning sickness, to newborn, to toddling big sister, to school...

Grace, I'll be thinking about you every minute while you are in school.

Yeah. I miss you too when you are gone Mommy. 

Love you Gracie girl. We are SO proud of you!

Off to pick you up....

Can't wait to hear all about your first day!

Move Over Michael Phelps

We officially have a swimmer!

Meet the Teacher {2012}

Today was "Meet the Teacher" day at Grace's new school.

And a certain someone was SUPER excited!

She picked out her outfit all by herself.

And made sure she had on her pink sparkle shoes...with socks!

I'll explain the "blister" incident that led to Grace wearing socks with ALL shoes in another post soon!

Even though she didn't need to bring her new backpack, she wanted to practice hanging it up in her very own cubby!

She even packed it with two little pink bunnies and her current favorite toy, Bun-Bun The Bunny!

I'll have to get a picture of Bun-Bun.

Another certain someone wasn't so sure about this whole school thing.

Nonetheless, she packed her bag too.

I think this picture is the one that will be burned into my mind. 

Her backpack bigger than her, the excitement she couldn't contain as she sprinted to the car - anxious to  get to school.

The mandatory picture outside the school.

Finding her name tag.

Discovering just some of the many treasures that await!

Charlotte joined us and SHE.LOVED.SCHOOL!

As the kids settled into the classroom and discovered toys and books to play with, the parents were to escape to another classroom to get the 411 on policies and procedures.

Grace was engrossed in a doll house and Charlotte a puzzle.

I called to Charlotte to come with me and she just kept waving and saying, "Bye Bye!"

She definitely had NO problem with me leaving.

The teachers told me she was just fine to stay with the "big" kids so she played while I learned about sick days and school calendars.

A fun thing I had planned in October already has to be cancelled because of a school commitment.

And so it begins...so it begins.