Party Girl

Tis the season for Christmas parties. Here is a picture from pre-Polar Express night at school (parents night out). Also - relaxing before the neighborhood party last weekend. She is quite the social butterfly these days.

Latest Stats...

We went to our new "Hickory Doctor" this morning for Charlotte's 18 month appointment. 18 months!!! Holy cow... time flies when you are having fun! Doc said everything looked great, Charlotte showed her animal sound making ability as well as how she can skip! The waiting room is a lot more fun than our previous doctors (who we loved and miss so much!) because it has a ramp, Disney Channel, and fish tanks!! Charlotte would press her nose to the glass and say. "Ish Ish Ish!". Very sanitary, I am sure. So, needless to say, I had a hard time getting her to leave the waiting room and go back for her appointment! But, she did great and we don't go back until she turns 2! By the way... I will officially start saying she is 1 and a half now. No more of this "counting months" stuff. ;-)

Here are her latest stats:
29 lbs
33.5 inches tall

After the appointment I changed her into her PJs because today is "Polar Express Day" at school. The kids get to play in their jammies all day long! Then - as a special treat tonight, the school's Christmas gift to the parents is a free "Parents Night Out"! We will take Charlotte back to school tonight around 7 where they will be watching a movie with cookies and hot chocolate! Wes and I will be finishing up our Christmas shopping and possibly having an adult dinner! Such a treat for everyone involved!

We have a Christmas party to attend this weekend and some present wrapping is on the agenda as well. I can't believe Christmas is next week!! Geez... where did 2008 go???

Have a great week/weekend...

Wow! Kinda snuck up on me!

Well the holiday season is upon us hardcore! I wasn't quite ready. However, things are coming along nicely in the Christmas planning. We are almost done shopping! And its only the 16th! I am typically a Christmas Eve shopper...

Charlotte is such a joy these days! She is learning a lot and discovering new things every day. She loves to tell you animal sounds and point out body parts (nose and belly button are her fav's). As for her creative side... she loves to color and read (aka look and point at books)! She is always dancing and singing - the girl's got rhythm! I guess I didn't realize how "girly" she really is until she recently starting skipping! So cute! She is extremely vocal... some of her favorite phrases are, "Hey Doggie", "All Done", "Thank You", "Uh Oh" and "I dunno" (said while shrugging shoulders holding hands up).

I think Christmas is going to be a blast this year with her. She is excited to play and will be tuckered out by the end of that long weekend, I am sure! I wanted to post some recent pictures to show you how she is growing everyday! Enjoy!

Happy Holidays to everyone in blog land...

yummm, corn.

color color color (as you can see - mommy and daddy color quite a bit too)

reading Skippy John Jones Colors

silent night

Around the house...

Helping decorate the tree

rockin' in her chair to Blue's Clues.

the life of a blog star

giving thanks.

We had a great Thanksgiving! Busy, but great! We were able to spend time with MM's and Wes's family - and since we have typically had a rule that we don't travel on Thanksgiving, it was nice to be closer to some family to visit with this year. We still missed Charleston and our fried turkey in the driveway - but this year was nice.

Charlotte on the other hand didn't care a bit where she was or who she was visiting with... as long as there was food!! We discovered the girl LOVES Thanksgiving food! She always had a piece of stuffing in one hand and her fork in the other, as to not waste any time! She was also introduced to Mama Maggie's chocolate chip dessert (a family favorite)... a member of the clean plate club all weekend! Now - on to the next holiday!
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a handful of the Sticklen cousins... Matthew, James, Rebecca, & Elizabeth (who had just had her wisdom teeth out!)

The Jackson cousins - Nick, Alex, and Luke after and evening of Wii!

yummmmm. Chocolate Chips...

mommy's lil' pool shark.

proof of a good time... asleep with shoe and sock off.

What's for dinner?

Charlotte still tries to figure out how to get the (child-proofed) cabinets open...

Sometime she gets upset at Mommy if she can't get in...

But I still find sweet gifts in the cabinets she can access.

Way to go Elizabeth!

This weekend we participated in a fundraiser put on by Wes's cousin Elizabeth. This was her high school senior project and it was to raise money and awareness of Hydrocephalus. We had a great time. Charlotte ran around the entire time and ate a lot! Hot dogs and chili... some of our favorites! She also found a new appreciation for cornbread! All three of us even participated in a cake walk! We are so proud of Elizabeth and were so glad to participate!

Morning Giggles

Someone wants to be just like their daddy...

Fruit Loop Breath

In the mornings Charlotte tends to be a little on the silly side. Especially school mornings. Since she eats breakfast at school during the week - we don't have a sit down breakfast time - but I will slip her some fruit loops to hold her over until we get there. I don't know if the fruit loops are what causes the silliness or if its the excitement of going to school, but I try to take advantage of it when I can by capturing a photo here and there. I like to call this morning time, "the loopies".

Happy Halloween - 2008

Another Halloween has come and gone -- and we had just as much fun as we always do! The Jackson Group hosts a Halloween trick or treat at the office so we attended that first, and then we went uptown on the square for the "Candy Crawl". This was put on by the businesses on the square and great for the smaller children (who really can't even say, 'Trick or Treat'!). Then off to the house to greet our own trick or treaters! Charlotte was a peacock this year. A very cute peacock if I do say so. We love making her costumes each year! Here are a few pics from the afternoon...