Tea for Two

Jenny and Jim came into town last weekend for a "Tea for Two" at Anya and Pops house. We had a great time eating delicious scones and sandwiches and drinking tea with our dear friends and family. Because I was not supposed to engage in too much activity, I was spoiled just hanging out on the couch...so nice! Jenny also came over and helped me re-organize the kids entire closet...what a blessing! Here are some shots from the day:

Anya and her girls

With Katie (GodMamma) and honorary Grandma Marilyn

Aunt Jan, Anya, Aunt Mana, Aunt Janet and Aunt Patty (or as Charlee calls her, Nae Nae)

Charlee getting a finger-full of frosting :)

Auntie Christy, Auntie Amy, Katie and Marilyn

Our dear friends Virginia and Jeane with Anya

The Marshall Fam

Charlee was not too thrilled about taking a family pic...she is so much like Norm!

Anya had everyone decorate a burp cloth or a onesie...so cute!

Julia, Loli, Cheryl, Katie and Marilyn

The preggers!Kay Kay and Auntie Jacque and Aunt JanetAt the end of the afternoon the girls had fun playing with water with Anya and Pops :)

Fun Festivities!

Our little baby boy was showered with love when Grandma Sally threw a shower lunch for us. It was so wonderful to spend some time with everyone and we were spoiled with some amazing things for our little man...thank you everyone!!

Like Mamma, Like Daugher...mmmmm

Auntie Sarah and Uncle Michael came to visit from Colorado for the weekend and spoiled Charlee rotten. Here are Grandpa Jack and Rosie who came down from LA for the visit!

Charlee being Charlee

Such a great helper

Charlee and Carter were best buds and took turns pushing each other around in the Princess Cozy Coupe.Auntie Rach, Carter and Uncle Eric!

~37 Weeks~

With a great sigh of relief we made it to 37 weeks! I had my appointment on Friday and am now 2cm dilated and 90% effaced. We are busy getting ready and enjoying our last few moments as a family of three. Charlee is more and more adorable each day and also seems to be nearing her second birthday with full force. She is a girl who knows what she wants and is not afraid to go and get it! She definitely keeps us on our toes but we would not change it for the world. Some fun things she loves to do right now are baby her baby doll, "read" through our Pixar DVD collection and always pick The Incredibles, eat cinnamon toast like it is going out of style, "fix" her hair by putting water on it, and talk up a storm. She is saying one to three word phrases at a time and seems to love when we understand her. We are wondering how she will adjust to her little brother but one thing is for sure, she will give him TONS of kisses :)

~21 Months~

We had our second photo shoot with Candice just before Christmas and she caught some incredible shots. Our baby girl can now say three colors: purple, pink and blue. She is so inquisitive and active and has taken to giving huge hugs. We just adore our Charlee Marie.

She thinks the baby is my belly button and tries to feed it snacks :)

Almost there!

We are almost ready for lift off! I will be 36 weeks on Saturday and had a pretty crazy dr. appt this morning. I am 1cm dilated, 80% effaced and minus 1 station so it could be any day. We are praying that he stays in until at least next weekend so we can make it to 37 weeks. Our little man will be here before we know it. Tomorrow is my last day of work so please pray that I get at least a week off! xoxo

~Christmas~

We had an absolute blast this Christmas. We hosted the dinner again this year and were so thrilled with the group we had to share this holiday with. Norm and Anya were in charge of the turkey and we put it in a Williams Sonoma Apples and Spices brine for 24 hours before we cooked it. It was seriously the most amazing turkey we have ever had! Being 8 months pregnant during the festivities made it harder for me but thanks to all of the love and helping hands we made it through.
Anya and Norm with the turkey...mighty proud!

Uncles John and Brian joined us this year and brought Charlee a rockin' drum set. It was not long till she was knocking out tunes to beat the band!

Our dear friends the Balli's joined us again this year with their adorable son Daghan. He spent some quality time with Charlee's trike.

Charlee and some of the bags her gifts came in...she uses them as purses.

Me and my baby

Anya spending time with our little man who will most certainly be at Christmas dinner next year!

Grandma, Papo and Great Grandma Shirley brought Charlee all kinds of stuff and it provided for hours of entertainment. Grandma brought Charlee a baby doll which she is obsessed with...pics to follow in a future post.
Toward the end of the night, Charlee got a bit tuckered out

The Koppe's were amazing! They came during the day and helped decorate and set up tables and spent a ton of the night playing with Charlee. Charlee was getting sleepy and just wanted to snuggle with them. If you look close you can see the end of her baby dolls bottle. She carried that thing everywhere!

Christmas Morning 2009

Anya and Pops came over for Christmas morning opening of presents and pancakes. Charlee was THRILLED with her new tricycle that Norm picked out, fell in love with her Elmo stocking from Anya and Pops and watched as Daddy went crazy over his new iPhone...quite a successful Christmas morning. We topped it off with a video chat with the Marshalls. We wished they were here in person but at least we got to see them on the computer! Christmas morning was also very busy because Anya had to help us dress and stuff the turkey. Pics in the next post :)

Christmas Eve 2009

We spent Christmas Eve at Anya and Pops house and had a delicious Chicken and Dumplings dinner topped off with pumpkin pie. Charlee loved the sweets!!