A Visit From the Westinghouse Family!!

Steph, Corry and their 3 girls came to visit and meet Charlotte a couple weekends back. As always, we had a great visit with them. All the kids play so well together and Alli ad TJ absolutely loved following Carly around. Alli was treating her like she was her little pet. Thankfully, Carly is a super sweet laid back little girl and was putting up with it. Alli and TJ thought she was so cute and kept talking about how lucky Autumn and Shelby are because their little sister walks. Ha!! I assured them their little sister will be crawling and walking soon enough! Let's not rush it please!!

Stephanie has some great pics from the weekend too. To see them, visit her blog.

I loved this pic of almost all the girls (Carly was done with pictures at this point - we had already taken quite a few)
All the kids together looking so cute. TJ is just a little outnumbered, but he handles it well!

I loved the way Carly was checking Charlotte out.

Charlotte Mae and Carly June

Carly was very interested in that little baby. These girls are going to be great friends- I told Steph they have too. They don't have a choice!

More of Charlotte...

1 month pic

This girl LOVES her bath. That is one thing we know will always calm her down during her colicky spells in the evening.

Alli taking a bath with Charlotte. She likes to wash Charlotte's hair while I wash her hair.

This frog towel was one of the best purchases I have made for her. And it's one of those mommy inventions that I'm wondering why I didn't have the idea for. I've always placed a washcloth on top of my babies' bellies while bathing them to keep them warm and cozy. Why couldn't I have gone one step further and made a little froggy body cloth to market to other moms?

Snuggling with big bro

First smiles!! Love her dimples!

Cousins Maddy and Lainey came to visit.

They couldn't wait to do silly faces. Even Charlotte participated. (ok I know it looks like she's getting completely squashed, but she really wasn't)

Cousin Lainey is a natural.

Aunt April loving on Charlotte

Hangin' with Daddy on the couch- such a big girl!

Alli can not get enough of Charlotte. She is absolutely in love with her and is constantly planting kisses on her cheeks (even when unwelcome).

Mommy's big helpers

Practicing her head lifts!

Meeting Pawpaw for the first time.

Grandma came and helped out for a week which was super nice.

Snoozing

The kids being silly mimicking Charlotte.

Charlotte got to visit with and be loved on by Aunt Marcie for a couple of days too!

More love from big sister.

Many more new Charlotte pics and updates coming soon!

Future Republican?

Alli's homework tonight (her words in blue):

Imagine you are going to interview the president.
Think about what you would ask the president?
Then imagine how the president might answer.
The first question has been provided for you.

Interviewer: What do you like about being the president?

Answer: I can make better laws than Obomu.

Interviewer: Can you pant the White Hows pink?

Answer: no!

So I do plan on letting her turn it in as is (even though I really want to correct her on the fact that Obama IS the president so technically she would be interviewing him). But I almost feel like I need to attach a sticky note that says she was not prompted in any way to answer like that. I was actually a little surprised when I came to check her work. I didn't realize that she even knew or had much exposure to our political beliefs or would care at all. Just proves how much they are listening. I can't help but wonder what the teacher is going to think or what her political beliefs are. Will she be offended? Will she laugh? I'll probably never know.

I just had to share though. And I really like the fact that she moved right on to the color of the White House. So funny!

Back at the Family Ranch!

The last time we were at the ranch together as a family was in early November. Dwaine and the kids have been, but I took a little break from the ranch for obvious reasons. So we decided a night at the ranch as a family would be a good way to celebrate Dwaine's birthday. I was a little hesitant not knowing how the trip would go with a newborn in tow, but we ended up having a great time!

Welcome to our home away from home Charlotte!

So far I think she likes it. She really does enjoy being outside- she's a Dement!

A family hike. The kids wanted to keep going but it was getting close to dark and I wasn't sure how much longer Charlotte was going to keep sleeping in her sling. We decided a backpack style carrier will be a must as she gets a little bigger.

As we came back down the hill and saw this, we thought it would make a great Jeep ad.

You don't have to choose between a family mobile and rough terrain vehicle- you can have both!

At the dig site. TJ having fun helping dad.

This girl's not afraid to get dirty. After she was done digging, she kept herself busy making dirt balls and watching them explode when she chucked them at the ground.

And this is how Charlotte spent the afternoon in the back of the Jeep!

Alli is 7!!!

Make that Allison. She has informed us that she doesn't like to be called "Alli" and wants to be Allison. Really? Already? We pretty much still call her Alli most of the time- habits are hard to break (especially when you don't want to).

Anyway, Allison decided she wanted a gymnastics party, so that's what we did...

Posing with all her friends

Daddy with his big kids! Charlotte slept in Grandma's arms pretty much the whole time. Thank you Grandma!!!

Playing on the bars with her friends.

My big girl- still can't believe she is 7

She wanted bake pops instead of a cake. That was a fun little adventure that was not quite as easy as I had planned, but they turned out good.

Looking forward to another fun year with my sweet, silly, smart, fun, kind-hearted girl. Watching her grow has been such a joy and lately I have been most impressed with what an amazing big sister she is and how excited she is to have a baby sister. She loves to tell everyone about the time she changed Charlotte's diaper with no help except TJ holding her legs. She often says that Charlotte made her dream come true- she is absolutely in love with her! And she and TJ are still as close as ever- they happily keep each other entertained while I'm busy with Charlotte. That has been such a blessing.

Happy Birthday to my first baby girl, Allison Jean!!! We love you!