Monday, May 21, 2012

Hello Again!!

Lately I have been trying to put up a post at the beginning of each month but I am a little late this time.  We have a lot going on in the next few weeks and I already have a lot to post so I decided I'd better get a post done before I have too much more to add to it.  In just a few weeks Charlize will be a year old (I know it went by fast) so check back soon and I should have some pictures of her enjoying her first cake!!

Since there is so much to share, I decided to just go from the beginning of April right on through with a little picture slide show.  Enjoy!

Colt and Adaline's wedding on April 14th
Columbia River Temple:








Everyone enjoying family being in town:











Hayden, Jocelyn and Charlize enjoying the balloons
 at the open house:








Charlize got her first pair of shoes:
Charlize got little pink jelly shoes to match her cousin.
It took her a few days to get used to them but now she loves wearing them.
In fact, the other day she was at Brenda's house and I said, "Ok, it's time to go."  Charlize grabbed her shoes and handed them to Brenda so she could put them on!





Our little family just enjoying time together:










Charlize enjoys going for walks, 
but it has taken her some time to like the grass:




We have been working on getting Charlize to go up and down the two steps in our house:





Charlize still spends lots of time eating:
She still loves bread, avocados and bananas and has found a new favorite--meatballs.



She also got her hands on some corn tortillas.
She might have enjoyed tearing them apart more than eating them:





On April 26th Nick and I celebrated our fourth anniversary.
 It was a quiet, simple weekend but it was great just to be together.  Nick also surprised me with an ipad!


In May we celebrated Nick's 26th birthday:




We had dinner at the Wrights and later with the Warrens.  I was also sneaky enough to throw a surprise birthday dinner for Nick at our house on his birthday but unfortunately I didn't take any pictures.
But, I did get some pictures of Charlize enjoying the left-over balloons:






Funny Story:
Brenda wanted to help me keep the party a secret so she asked Nick if he wanted to go to his favorite restaurant, Greek Island, on his birthday.  When Nick pulled up to the house that evening and saw all our friends in the backyard, his first thought was, "Don't they know we're going to Greek Island tonight?"
I guess I really surprised him!
Thank you everyone for helping me put this together!!


Also in May, Nick got our garden started & it is looking great:









Yep, she sure is cute!


We found these ducks in our front yard that night and Charlize had fun watching them.


Nick started playing city league softball:






I had never seen him play before but he is pretty good and really enjoys doing it.  Charlize and I have fun going to watch him play each week.


Charlize is getting around:
In the middle of April Charlize learned to maneuver herself to get from laying down to sitting.  She also started trying to crawl on all fours. She has recently figured it out and is now crawling 100% of the time . . . except when she is "jogging":



Just a few weeks ago Charlize started to pull 
herself up to a standing position. 
 At first it made me nervous but she is strong enough to do it and she can keep her balance.
Her favorite places are the entertainment center, chairs, the stairs, the bathtub, and the dishwasher:



Last week we had fun moving Colt and Adaline
 into their first apartment:











Their place is really cute and we are so excited for them!

There have actually been a lot of changes:
Colt has started his new job with Genie. Luke and Jamie have made the move to the east coast so Luke can do summer sales.  Samantha is back home for a little while until she moves back east to start her new job and Quentin will be home from his mission in just a couple of weeks!

We were able to spend a little time with Luke and Jamie before they took off.  Here is Jamie and Charlize helping me in Primary:





We also celebrated my first official Mother's Day!
 Last year was just a tease because I was only pregnant so it was fun to have a real Mother's Day.  We were able to have the Wright's over for dinner and then my parents joined us for dessert.  It was perfect.

Nick also surprised me, AGAIN, and got me a new camera/video recorder.
He has really outdone himself lately!

Since we are talking about mothers, I thought I would post a video that I saw on TV.  I guess it is like a commercial but it really has a good message in it and I get goosebumps every time I watch it.



Thank you Leigh Anne and Brenda for being such great moms!


Now, as always, I have to end with my usual bragging.
As a said before, Charlize is almost a year old and even though I am a little sad that she is growing up, it is so neat to see her change and grow.

Her first tooth FINALLY broke through the gums on May 9th.  It is on the bottom left side.  I know there are a lot more following close behind but she is doing pretty good. The cutest part is that her tongue is always sticking out because she likes feeling her tooth!



She is getting into a lot more things now that she is crawling but her favorite thing is shoes.  We can't leave any shoes out or she'll find them and chew on them like a little puppy.  I think she crawls around the house just looking for them.





Charlize's new sounds:
Charlize has finally figured out that it is fun to make the ohh sound when we tap on her mouth.  She has also recently starting making the little snorting sound that I used to make when I was little.  So cute!!!



Best of all, she is letting her little personality show.

She loves to walk, talk, sing, and dance--sounds like a girl!  Charlize is just a little jibber jabber; she always has something to say and it is so cute to watch her work through different sounds with her mouth.  When she is not talking, she is singing; she especially loves to sing in the car.

But the best thing is watching her dance, and she'll dance to anything-- the radio, music playing on her toys, music in commercials and my singing.  Just the other day she started to dance to the swooshing rhythm of the washing machine and the water draining out of the tub!  She is so cute!!



We are headed to Utah in a few days and then when we return we celebrate Quentin coming home and Charlize's first birthday, so check back soon!  Until then, we love you all and hope things are well with you and your family!