Happy Thanksgiving/Paci Update

We successfully got rid of the paci with no trouble at all. It was amazing! Giving it to a baby was the best idea because she totally understood where it went and why. For a couple of nights she would lay in her crib and cry that Baby Tanner has her paci but other than that she was cured. Even with her paci she would sometimes cry before going to sleep so it was nothing new. I can't believe it was that easy. I guess you either have to get rid of it when they are still babies or when they are so old they understand. (I tried to take it away at 12 months old and she started hyperventilating she was crying so hard. It was so sad.) I definitely feel a sense of relief now...I don't have to hide it from the doctor, I don't have to worry about not having one when we are out, I don't have to glare at strangers who give me that "You're kid is way to old for a paci LOOK" and I don't have to go on any more paci hunts! I feel so freeeeee!



Charlie was sick and very grumpy on Thanksgiving so we don't have any pictures of her. Even though she was a bit grumpy we still had a very nice Thanksgiving.

These are the 2 things I am most thankful for this Thanksgiving...

*My family - I have the most wonderful little girl who melts my heart everyday and I have the most wonderful husband who makes me smile and feel so loved. I also have 2 awesome dogs who brighten every day as well with their goofy ways.

*My job - I have the most amazing class of first graders who love to learn. I drive to work every day with a smile on my face excited to teach them to read and I leave work every day wondering how I got this lucky!

I'm sure these would be the 2 most thankful things Charlie would be thankful for this Thanksgiving if she could tell me...

*The rain - She LOVES her princess umbrella and rain boots!

*Smokey and the Bandit - She sits on them, rides them, puts chapstick on them, tells them to go away (just like I do), hugs them, kisses them, snuggles with them, takes naps on their bed with them, etc. The girl loves her dogs so much!

I'm sure these would be the 2 most thankful things Jimmy would be thankful for this Thanksgiving if he blogged...

*Fantasy Football - Jimmy has turned into a jock! He loves his fantasy football team, roots for his players by yelling at the tv and has had a lot of luck on his side!

*Charlie - He loves that Charlie has become such a daddy's girl because they spend so much time together while I am working hard! She has turned him into her real life prince!

P.S. I'm sure he is thankful for me too!

A Day with Princesses

I think Charlie really thinks the princesses are at Disneyland just waiting there for her. She was on a mission to see a castle, a pony, a princess and a prince. We discovered a whole princess land today. We found 4 princesses, listened to Cinderella tell her story and danced with Sleeping Beauty. When she visited with the princesses she hugged them and had conversations with the princesses like she really knew them and the princesses acted the same way. It is so sweet to see her so smittened!
She grabbed this princess and made her dance with her the whole time! See you soon princesses!

Our Little Girl

Here are some cute pics of Charlie. Jenn's friend took them while she was watching her one day. We are so lucky and thankful to have so many people offering to take her picture!

Bye Bye Paci!

Today was the day to ditch the paci! For weeks now we have been discussing with Charlie that pacis are for babies and she is a big girl. Our friends who live in Long Beach just had a baby so we decided Charlie could give them to the new baby. We let Charlie have one more nice long nap with her paci and when she woke up she put them all in a baggie for the baby. She carried around the baggie saying "Baby Tanner, pacis, night night" meaning Baby Tanner needs the pacis so she can go to sleep. We weren't sure how it was going to go but we were committed.

She walked into their house, walked right up to Tanner and gave her the baggie of pacis. Then she went to find Taylor, who is 2, to play with. After playing for a few hours and watching Tanner suck on her paci, we gave Tanner and Taylor some hugs and said goodbye. On the way home Charlie asked for her paci a couple of times, but we explained to her that she gave them to Tanner. The look on her face was very funny...a look of confusion! When we got home it was time for bed. Charlie asked for it one time while in her crib. After explaining again that she gave them to Tanner she said, "Yea!" Then she cried "Mama" on and off for 45 minutes while she was playing with Ariel, looking at her new princess blanket, reading a dog and bunny book and playing with her feet in her crib. I was watching her in the video monitor. Love that thing! I don't want to jinx myself but tonight went very well. I guess I was prepared for the worst! Stay tuned for tomorrow at nap time!

A Camping We Will Go...

Charlie loves all her cousins so much... Madison

Olivia

Penelope

Five little girls are watching one tiny DVD player...Livi, Isa, Mad, Charlie and Penny!

The Flores family decided it would be a great idea to go camping in November. Grandpa Jim has a membership to Mountain Lakes located by Lytle Creek (about an hour away). You can go fishing, hiking, play on the playground and have the whole camping experience in a nice park area. The great thing about this place is that you can also rent a cabin. Jim rented us a cabin and the Beym family decided to bring their tents to camp in front of it. It was all a great idea until the storm of the century hit Orange County. We decided to go on the camping adventure anyway to see what would happen. When we arrived the rain decided to stop so we did have a great time taking a walk to the playground, hanging by the lake and making smores at night. As everyone settled in for the night (inside the cabin of course) we opted to go home to our nice and cozy home! Now that is what I call a great camping trip!

Happy Birthday Kyle

It just amazes me what daddies always end up doing for their little girls...Jimmy, you are the most amazing daddy out there! We love you lots!

That poor horse! I sure hope it got lots of snacks when it got home...

Kyle had his first birthday party today. It was a farm theme...so cute! Everything was so perfect except for the rain storm that decided to hit Orange County today. Charlie still had a great time playing with the blocks, coloring a cow page, eating a pig cupcake and riding on a real pony. The rain didn't stop Charlie from enjoying herself. She kept saying Yee Haw and Giddy Up all day long. I think she wished she had one in her backyard. If it was up to Charlie I'm sure we would have a whole zoo in our yard. She is a real animal lover. Thanks for inviting us Kyle!

Our New Hobbie

In the beginning of summer we got a bike seat for Charlie so we could go bike riding together. I'm pretty sure it was Jimmy's father's day present. It was a fun summer riding it around. Every time Charlie sees the bike now she wants her helmet and says bike ride. We ride all over the place. We ride to the park, at the beach, to the Flutag, to dinner, etc. I think Jimmy and Charlie go for a bike ride at least once a day when I am at work. Tonight we went to the Mexican place by our house on our bikes. We had a great little adventure until our bike lock decided to lock itself forever! We finally got it cut off with support from Nicole and a construction man in the parking lot who had a truck full of tools. (At first the guy thought Jimmy wanted to steal a bike until he saw his family sitting on the bench next to the bikes!) After many thank yous we were on our way home. Along the way we looked down to see Charlie had fallen asleep. So sweet! What a wonderful life she has!

P.S. We are getting rid of the paci very soon!

Acoustic Kid

In the summer we were asked by one of Jimmy's firefighter friends if we could bring Charlie to their photo shoot. We decided it would be a great opportunity to get some cute pictures of Charlotte so we said yes. We met at a beach in Long Beach in the early morning in August I think. Charlie didn't mind running around with the other kids for the first hour. After the sixth clothing change and hour of picture taking she was over it. Fruit snacks and yogurt covered pretzels helped for another hour or so. I think she did really well considering she doesn't like to change her clothes and she doesn't like to take pictures! There is a sneak peak of the pictures on the website now. Go to http://www.acoustickid.com/ and click on Spring 2011. Scroll down to view the spring lineguide. Then you can click on the belly picture and view many pages of Charlie in their latest clothing styles. I am one proud Mama! I think she is so beautiful!

Happy Birthday Adelyn!

Charlie was so excited when she woke. Today we celebrated Adelyn's 3rd birthday with her at a Jessie themed Pump It Up party. That place is Charlotte's dream come true! She thinks all parties include jumping, cupcakes and singing. (Well, ice cream too but she was happy with cupcakes!) We all had a great time jumping and sliding. It was a great party for the kids and adults too. I had fun sliding!

Jimmy had a fun time sliding!

Grandpa had a fun time sliding!

And so did Grandma! I think I even heard a Jessie "Yee Haw!" come out of her...

Charlie needed help climbing up the slide but would go down all by herself. She is so brave!

Most of the party kids are here. If you notice it took about 4 hands to keep Charlie there.

She sat at the kid table and ate pizza with all the big kids...so sad! Where did my baby go?

A perfect end to an amazing party!

We had lots and lots of fun. Thanks Adelyn for turning 3!

P.S. I'm going to have to steal a picture of the birthday girl off of Nicole's blog and thanks for the cowboy hat! She hasn't put it down all night!

Pluto is Still #1

Charlotte is very into getting autographs at Disneyland now. Of course, she still loves Pluto the most. As for other Disney interests...she loves princesses now. Ariel and Cinderella are her favorite now. She loves watching Jungle Book because of the boy, bear, snake, elephants and monkeys. She seems to like Buzz the most in Toy Story now. I love that she loves a bit of everything!

All Aboard!

Charlie and I went to a birthday party for Jonas today at Goathill Junction. What an amazing little place. It is a little railroad club for grandpas in Costa Mesa. The trains are 1/8 the size of a real railroad train. The grandpas loved taking all the kids and adults around and around. They would even stop to let the kids switch the tracks. Charlie loved taking one ride around and then enjoyed playing with all the Thomas engines and tracks. Happy Birthday Jonas!