Hide-And-Seek

Charlotte loves, loves, loves playing hide-and-seek.  We play it at least 10 times a day if not more.  At home she hides in the same three or four spots.  She giggles the whole time you are "trying" to find her.  Outside she tries to be more "creative" with her hiding spots....

"I am going to put my hat over my face...  

...and hide behind this street sign pole.  Mom will never find me!" :-)

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Whatever Daddy does, Charlotte has to do too! :-)

Risk anyone?

I love playing games and I love that Henry is starting to really like playing games too!  There are a couple of games that are labeled "Daddy Games" because they are my least favorite games to play.  Luckily those games are Daddy's favorite games so they are reserved for just he and Henry to play.  Risk is one of those games.  Ugh, a favorite game amongst all of the men in my family but not one that I understand at all.  Candy Land is more my speed!  ;-) 

Daddy is beyond thrilled that he now has a Risk playmate!  ;-)

Charlotte's Birthday Celebration at School :-)

On Tuesday after her birthday, Charlotte had a birthday celebration at preschool!  Charlotte wore the birthday hat, her class sang "Happy Birthday!", and she blew out the candles on her "cake"!  I brought in birthday cake Oreos and princess napkins for all of her friends.  

"Happy Birthday to ME!" 

Charlotte's Birthday :-)

Charlotte's actual birthday was on a Monday so no school but she did have her 3-year well visit at the pediatrician.  She did wonderful, happy as usual.  And the pediatrician confirmed our thinking that she is perfect! ;-)  Luckily for the Birthday Girl, there were no immunizations at this visit.  Woohoo!  

Her stats - 

Height - 3 ft, 2.75 inches (87th percentile)

Weight - 36 lb, 6.4 ounces (91st percentile)

(Surprisingly, she is bigger, both height and weight, than Henry was at this age.)

Our birthday girl, making even the doctor's gown look cute...  

After the pediatrician's appointment, I took the birthday girl to Chick-Fil-A!  

"My favorite!" :-)

Charlotte turns THREE! :-)

On Sunday, January 26th we celebrated our big girl turning THREE!  Her actual birthday was the next day but we wanted to have a whole day devoted just to her.  :-)  

We started with a breakfast that the birthday princess chose - Krispy Kreme donuts and chocolate milk!  

Charlotte chose Doc McStuffins as her theme.  Pink and purple (her favorite colors) were everywhere and a special Doc McStuffins shirt to wear!  

"Time to open presents!" 

Charlotte showing off some of her birthday presents - a "smartphone", a Sofia the First bicycle with a doll carrier, and Funshine Bear as her passenger!

No, texting while bicycling Birthday Girl!

And here she is modeling some more - Funshine Bear, a Hello Kitty outfit, and a princess crown!

After breakfast and presents, we took the train uptown for bowling and lunch at Moe's - Charlotte's choices! :-)

And the birthday princess bowls a strike!  ;-)

Seriously though, these two fantastic people came in third and fourth place.  We couldn't let the Birthday Girl lose on her birthday, right Henry?! ;-)

After a quick rest once we got home, it was time to blow out the candles on her Doc McStuffins cake!

Make a great big wish Birthday Girl! :-) 

Charlotte, three years ago you made Henry a big brother and us a family of four.  We cannot imagine our life without your beautiful smile, your infectious optimism, and your personality that lights up a room.  We love you infinity Beautiful Girl.  :-)  

Winter Storm Pax - Tuesday, 2/11

So out of the blue, Winter Storm Pax developed and was headed our way!  (Side note - I had no idea they named winter storms!) Now if you have lived in the South long enough you know that when the weathermen call for a lot of snow, you usually get nothing, but if the weathermen don't mention snow at all, you get a blizzard.  The weathermen were calling for up to a foot of snow from Winter Storm Pax so we were really prepared for a dusting of snow on the grass.  ;-)

The system ahead of Pax arrived the morning of Tuesday, 2/11. Schools let out two hours early that day. We got about 1 - 1-1/2 inches of snow.  

Charlotte was ready with a snowball for Henry when he got off of the bus! She didn't actually hit him with it though.  She got so excited when the bus pulled up that she threw it on the ground and ran towards him! ;-)  

Henry immediately got off of the bus and started working on building a snowman with our neighbor Caroline! We were honestly not sure how much more snow we were going to get so we wanted to take advantage of it while we could! 

Winter Storm Pax - Wednesday, 2/12

We woke up the next morning and more snow was falling!  The kids were anxious to get outside to play so we were bundled up and out by 9a!  :-)

Yes, Henry is wearing chemistry goggles.  He was actually incredibly smart because the snow/sleet that was falling was coming down hard and really hurt our faces!  Everyone that passed by commented on his awesome goggles!  And the sword is to fend off snow monsters I suppose!  :-)

By that afternoon we had gotten 5-6 inches of snow and it was still coming down!

Trey had to go into work every day, of course, but we were lucky that he was able to safely get home early to play in the snow with us!  

In our neighborhood there is a major hill that was the sledding spot for all of the neighborhood kids (and adults too)! Unfortunately the snow was really powdery and not very slick so the sledding was not great at first.  Once some tracks were made the sledding got a lot better!  

Henry and Trey spent hours sledding outside with one of Henry's school friends and his dad!  :-)       

For some reason Charlotte was not a huge fan of sledding.  In some ways she is becoming less of a daredevil and much more cautious. She also really did not like the snow hitting her face. She was a trooper though and liked watching all over the other kids on the hill!  ;-)

She also did not mind getting rides on the sled from Daddy!  ;-)

"Okay, enough snow fun! Let's head in for some hot chocolate!"

Winter Storm Pax - Thursday, 2/13

Thursday morning we woke up to sleet and then another couple of inches of snow! This was by far the most snow the kids had ever seen and the most snow the city had seen in over 10 years! 

By this point the kids were not begging to go outside but had to be coaxed a little bit.  Neither enjoyed the long process of putting on many, many layers to keep warm and dry.  With no snow gear we had to improvise quite a bit!  Once outside, we had lots of fun though!     

Charlotte stood in the same spot for long portions of time.  She found it hard to walk in the deeper snow so she just seemed to enjoy watching the other kids play.  ;-)

Henry, on the other hand, was one busy, very cool kid!  :-)  

We really enjoyed playing with our neighbors and friends, Caroline and Will!  

Will and Charlotte walking around taking it all in!  The snow was up to their knees in some parts!  

This snow was much better snow for snowball fights, building a snowman, 

and snow angels!

By Friday, the kids were completely done with the snow. Charlotte and I took a short walk just to get outside but by this point the snow was really slushy and wet and not so fun to play in.   

The kids had half day of school on Tuesday and missed school completely on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.  We are making up one of the days on another teacher workday in March and then two of the days we are making up over Spring Break!  :-( 

It was such a cool event for all of us to experience and certainly not one that happens very often in the South.  We had hours and hours of fun outside and lots of memories made but probably won't be too sad to see it all melt.  It definitely gives us a better appreciation of what all of our family and friends in the North experience for months and months!  :-)

A Real-Life Princess Story

We struggle with getting Charlotte to stay at the dinner table until everyone else is finished.  She usually takes a few bites, hops up, and wants to go back to playing.  So last night I asked her to tell me a story because she loves talking!  ;-) She said, "I am a princess and I live in a castle.  I have two shoes but then a lose one."  We were all thinking she was talking about Cinderella at this point.  So I ask if the prince brings her her lost shoe.  And she says, "No prince.  My daddy."  ;-) 

This princess loves her Daddy!  :-)

January Snowfall

At the end of January, we got some snow!  Pretty typical amount for us - 1-1/2 - 2 inches.  Unfortunately it was powdery and not packing snow so we weren't able to build a snowman.  Sad for Charlotte because that is all she wanted to do!

All bundled up but Charlotte insisted on wearing her Hello Kitty skirt!  ;-)

The neighbors across the street have a steep yard and driveway, perfect for sledding!

"Ready, set, go, Henry, Will and Caroline!"

Henry probably went up and down the hill at least 100 times! :-)

"Weeeeee!"

Charlotte was not a fan of sledding down the hill but she loved when I pulled the sled around the yard!

We assumed this would probably be the only snow we had this winter so we were just thankful to be outside enjoying it while it lasted! Little did we know there was a lot more coming just around the corner!  ;-) 

We had an early dismissal and two missed days of school during this snow event.  This was the same storm that disabled Atlanta so I think the city of Charlotte was being extra cautious! Unfortunately we have to make those two days up on President's Day and the day afterwards (which was initially a teacher workday).  :-( 

A Busy Saturday

Last Saturday was a busy one!  The morning started off with a Lowe's workshop where the kids built love note holders!  

Henry was not thrilled with this project because he is in the stage where anything associated with love and Valentine's Day is yuck!  He made the best of it though and made his love note holder for me and even left a sweet message!  :-)    

After Henry's basketball game Charlotte had a birthday party at the YMCA for one of her school friends.  No party is complete without party hats and Mary Wynne!  :-)

"Happy Birthday Noah!"

While Charlotte and I were at the birthday party, Henry and Trey went to see "The Lego Movie" in 3D!  Henry is rocking those 3D glasses!  :-)

Saturday was busy and filled with lots of fun with friends! Sunday was quiet and filled with lots of cuddles and relaxation! ;-)

Basketball Trophy Presentation ;-)

Henry's last basketball game was this past Saturday.  :-(  It was a wonderful season and he really enjoyed it!  He had two great friends from preschool on his team plus several of the other boys he knew from t-ball or school.  And once again Henry got really lucky with his coach.  The dad of one of Henry's close friends coached their team and he really did an amazing job with the kids.  He was so encouraging and made sure everyone was having fun but he also managed to teach them about the game.   

Before the game, the Blue Strikers all got together for donuts and a trophy presentation!    

The Blue Strikers' cheerleaders, Mary Wynne and Charlotte joined in on the donuts too!  :-)

Henry, we could not be prouder of you!  We loved every minute of watching you having fun on the court.  You are such a wonderful teammate and a good sport.  You are always encouraging others and your positive attitude is infectious.  We love you Buddy! :-)  

Super Bowl Sunday

We invited some friends over for Super Bowl Sunday for pizza and fun and hopefully an exciting game!  

Henry was pumped up with his Cam Newton jersey on and black marker lines on his face!  Charlotte was not so pumped up.  She slept through most of the first quarter even with kids and adults playing around her!  ;-)

Being the amazing Susie Homemaker that I am (haha!), I even decided to make football-themed brownies! Peyton Manning was the lucky one and got his number on the helmets.  ;-)  

It was an extremely disappointing Super Bowl game to say the least but we had a wonderful evening catching up with friends. We are already ready for the next football season!  :-) 

A Weekend With Grandaddy

Trey's dad, Grandaddy came for a weekend visit a couple of weeks ago!  I don't know who got more attention, the kids or Grandaddy but they all had a wonderful time together.  :-) Unfortunately Trey discovered at the last minute that he had to take call but luckily he was able to join us for parts of the weekend.  

Henry was so excited that Grandaddy got to see him in action at one of his basketball games!  Henry even got the game ball for playing such a great game!  :-)

The weather was beautiful so we were able to play outside on Saturday afternoon.  We took a long walk where Charlotte first learned to pedal her big girl bike!  And the kids had lots of fun digging in the dirt and searching for worms with Grandaddy.  

"Look Mom!  You want to hold him?!"  Um, no thanks Sweet Girl!  ;-)

Grandaddy treated us to a delicious lunch and breakfast out. He let the kids choose where so Moe's and Krispy Kreme it was! ;-)

Thank you Grandaddy for taking the weekend to spend with us! We enjoyed every minute of our time together and we look forward to the next visit!  :-)