O Christmas Trees, O Christmas Trees ...

December 13, 2009

Well, the first Christmas Season is here and it's our first in the new house as parents! We know Charlie doesn't know what's going on and can't wait until the years she does - but for this year, we've put up a couple of trees and she enjoys looking at all the lights on them.

For the past 10 Christmases, Aaron and I have always put up our mini-tree. This year, we've passed that one down to Charlotte and set it up in her room with what else but pink bulbs!!


Since we've passed down our mini tree, we went out to purchase our first real tree!! We weren't sure if we would end up with one since we couldn't find a tree stand - they were sold out EVERYWHERE we went in search of one. I thought it was odd considering most people shouldn't have to buy a new stand every year. We gave up on Saturday and headed out again on Sunday, determined to find one. We ended up at Agway, who had stands and then hit the road for the tree. Charlotte was sleeping, so I stayed in the car and trusted Aaron to do a good job in choosing. After the tree was tied onto the Pilot, we dropped it at home and once again headed out for lights and ornaments. We went with red, white and snowflakes and are still in search for a topper. I'd say we did pretty good for first-timers!

We're still finishing up some projects around the house - so next year, the photos will be a bit more "complete". We're excited to head to Vermont for Charlotte's first Christmas and know that each year it will only get better!

Thanksgiving 2009

November 26, 2009

Another Thanksgiving has come and gone and Aaron and I have so much to be thankful for this past year. We have finally settled into New Hampshire in our new home, with our new baby. The house is still a work in progress, but we're getting there. And we have been so lucky with Charlotte - she is a very sweet, beautiful and healthy baby and we couldn't have asked for more.

We headed up to Vermont bright and early on Wednesday - we left after Charlie's morning feeding. She was up at 4:45am, I fed her while Aaron packed the car, and we were on the road at 5:45!! Doing it this way was great - Charlotte slept the entire way up there and didn't wake up until we pulled into Nanny & Papa's driveway!

Wednesday night, we hit up Shawn & Kristy's Annual Thanksgiving Eve party. It was great as always and we all had some good laughs. This year, Kristy did not try to kill me with her cocktails!! :) I had a hard time being "away" from Charlie all evening as Nanny and Papa stayed home with her. But she was a good girl and sang herself to sleep for them and stayed asleep the whole time we were gone.

For Charlotte's first Thanksgiving, she was thankful for some 'firsts' but not for others. She did not enjoy her first bath in Nanny's kitchen sink - she definitely prefers her pretty pink tub at home!
After her bath, we got her gussied up in a cute little dress from Selena that she hadn't worn yet. Nanny decided it was perfect for a mini photo-session - very cute pictures:

She DID enjoy her own Thanksgiving feast - her first try at rice cereal!!! She was wondering what the heck we were doing lifting a spoon to her mouth, and it took her a little time to realize what she was supposed to do, but she got it and enjoyed eating like a big girl. She got so excited at one point, that she kicked the bowl right out of Nanny's hands!!

Charlotte has become very excited to see Daddy every morning and evening (I think she gets sick of Mommy all day). They've bonded well with their Saturday morning errand-runs together. She is quickly becoming a "Daddy's Girl" and is very thankful for him!!

And what is Thanksgiving without the Black Friday that follows?! My mom, Shawn, Kristy and Shawn are always the first ones up to stand in the cold for the stores to open. But first, they need to come up with the game plan and scope out the best deals. Free after rebate ... after rebate ... (*apply the dance here*).

The whole family was here - all 19 of us!! - and it was as hectic as always, but we all enjoy the time together. (The group shot will be revealed on Mom & Dad's Christmas cards).

Christmas, here we come ...

Charlie's Big Weekend

November 7, 2009

This past weekend was a busy one, but a good one - shopping season has arrived! It started on Friday when Selena and Shelley stopped in on their way into NH and MA for their shopping weekend. We spent some time with them here at the house and a good amount of time at Target. After we left them, Nanny and Aunt Jane arrived for their tax-free shopping weekend.

Saturday morning, the day started like any normal Saturday - Charlie went on her coffee run with Daddy ... it's after this that her day became something she did not expect! We headed into nashua with Nanny and Jane with a goal to do some shopping and be home by 6pm - (this is when Charlotte lets us know she wants to be home and getting ready for bed). When we got to the mall, we saw that Santa was already visiting from the North Pole - so we decided to beat the lines and have Charlie give him a little visit. I told her NOT to ask for a baby brother or sister! :) She did great and Santa enjoyed holding her. He even gave her some hugs and said "I can hold her for a few more minutes" when Nanny went to take her back - and there was a line! We did get some pictures - since the next few years may be the screaming photos with him.



After Santa, we all split to do some shopping on our own. As I strolled Charlie by the Piercing Pagoda, a thought popped into my head - maybe I should get her ears pierced and surprise Aaron. I went back and forth over this through lunch and I got nervous every time I thought about it. Aunt Jane was good at lightly pushing me to do it, and Mom was excited but didn't want to be anywhere near there when we had it done. We watched another baby cry through her piercings and I figured I should just get it over with. Charlotte did a great job and did cause a little scene in the middle of the mall with her wail after the first ear. But the girl was good and got her other ear done during the crying. And just like that, it was done. Charlotte cried for a couple of minutes before she turned them into her fake feel-bad-for-me cries. She looks so cute and Aaron was surprised and loves them too.

Here's a good shot of how proud Charlie is of her new bling:

And she sure knows she's cute!!

Halloween!

October 31, 2009

This year, we were going to stay in NH to hand out candy and meet more neighbors. We got our pumpkins for the walkway, the big pumpkin to carve, bought all kinds of candy ... and then decided to head to Vermont to see family since it had been a while and Charlie is growing so fast.

She had a long day getting in and out of her costume for the carseat and visiting relatives, but I think she enjoyed seeing people other than Mommy and Daddy for a change!

So here it is, the Charlie costume debut:

Charlotte as Charlotte! (with Wilbur)

She was Charlotte, I was Charlotte's web

Walking around the corner to trick-or-treat at Uncle Spuds and Ashleys ...

she had no idea what was going on and why we were walking the rain!

It's a Great Pumpkin Charlie Mac!

October 17, 2009

Now that the apples have been picked, baked and eaten - it's time for pumpkins!! We set off to Charmingfare Farm just down the road to get Charlie her first pumpkins. She's too young for all the fun fall activities they have there (jumping house, petting zoo, horse rides, etc.) but we wanted to start the pumpkin tradition early for her. It was another beautiful crisp fall day and she enjoyed spending another day outside -- we're glad we went yesterday because it's snowing as I type now!

We picked her one big pumpkin that we're going to carve for Halloween and 4 smaller pumpkins to paint for our front walk. We want to let our neighbors know that we're fun - and not just those hermits who are always inside working on their house!

We can't wait for Halloween and to share Charlotte's costume with everyone!!

Another Room Almost Done!

I am excited because I was able to actually decorate a room this week! I pulled out some paint and dug out some frames/pictures from the garage and got to work in the Master. I was so determined to surprise Aaron after he spent two days in Maine - whenever Charlotte's eyes closed, I got to work! It's not quite done - we still need to add some molding around my headboard project and may try to paint our furniture black ... but I wanted to share the update.

Here's the empty before pics with the current after pics:

Autumn 2009

October is here and flying by. We celebrated our 2nd Wedding Anniversary on the 12th and agreed that our gift to each other had been given 10 weeks earlier. What better gift than Charlotte and just spending time together with her?

Charlotte is now 10 weeks old and is changing so much. She no longer pulls her hair when she's mad, but there's a list of new things we laugh about.

We are lucky that she has been sleeping from around 9 each night to 6 in the morning, we'll take it (for now)!! But it's the night routine we love - I fill her belly nice and full and bring her up to our room (yes, our room) where I turn on her ceiling projector from Mimi. She smiles very sweetly at the fish swimming on the ceiling and then looks over and smiles at our ceiling fan!! I sway her to sleep - where she can stare between the fish and the fan - and she's out with a smile.

She is a pro at her monkey play mat now and not only accidentally hits the toys, but can grab and feel them now. But nothing beats her excitement when I lean over the top of it and she sees me among the toys.

We've gotten some giggles a couple of times and boy have I tried hard to get more. They're the cutest.

She still won't take a bottle; no longer enjoys her bath (this makes me sad); watches football games with Daddy ... even if SU is losing!; loves watching the trees and lights go by when we're in the car; is still trying to learn to breathe in the crisp fall wind; and could beat any grown man in a farting contest!! lol She's a character.

Here are a couple of new pics:

I washed all of her 6 month clothes - put one outfit on, and it fits!! She's growing too fast!!!!

Her eyes are still a beautiful blue!

I have some photos of her in her Halloween costume ... I am trying to keep it a surprise for now and will post the pics on Halloween!!