Charlie = 18 months

Had Charlie's 18 month check on Jan 12th.

Charlie's 18 month stats:

Weight: 27lbs (65%)

Height: 32 3/4in (60%)

Head: 19.5in (93%)

We've had a lot of changes in the last 6 months. Charlie now has 10 teeth (4 front teeth on both top and bottom and two molars on the top), he is running all over the place, and he his talking a ton. Seems like a new word every day. Off the top of my head, some of the words he is saying are: mama, dada, Ella, Gigi, Poppa, Nanny, yes, no, up, down, please, thank you, open, close, uh oh, doggie, baby, ball, football, boat, snack, nigh night. Plus he does tons of animal sounds- woof, meow, grr, roar, heehaw, etc.

He still has quite the temper when he doesn't get what he wants, but it seems to be getting better as he learns more words and can actually TELL us what he wants. :)

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

We took the family up to Copper Mountain for the New Years weekend to do some skiing and get away with our friends for the weekend.

The girls ready for a day of skiing with the Dads.

Ella on the magic carpet.

Happy New Year! We celebrated outside our condo with poppers and horns for the kids.

I think the baby doll must have partied a little too hard!

Charlie sledding.

Tired kiddos after two days of skiing.

Christmas 2011

Merry Christmas! Ours was VERY merry! We had my Mom and Dad and brother in town for our 1st ever Christmas in our own home since Mark and I have been married!

We started off the holidays with church on Christmas Eve and then a yummy lobster dinner!

Cheers!

Christmas wasn't the same without my sister Patti and her family, so we skyped them in to say hello!

So excited to open one gift on Christmas eve.

Ella helping Charlie open his gift from his godmother, my Aunt Jenny.

Ella picked a gift from my cousins Tonya and Sean to open on Xmas eve.

Dress up clothes!

The kids peeking down the stairs on Christmas morning...

did Santa come?

Ella with her pink Barbie "slug-bug"

And a Sleeping Beauty vanity table

Charlie with one of many trucks he received for Christmas.

Finally some boy toys!

Granddaddy was in charge of opening and assembling the toys.

Gigi and Granddaddy gave Ella a whole collection of princess Barbies! Wow!

Ella with all her new barbies. She couldn't be more excited.

Charlie with another truck!

Cookie Party @ The Barretts

Mark, my Dad and my brother flew into town on Dec 22nd and we took the whole family to our neighbors that evening for the Barrett's annual cookie party.

It's basically just an excuse to eat icing...

...and make a big mess in Stephanie's kitchen.

Gingerbread House with Gigi

On December 17th, Dad headed to KC for the Chiefs v Packers football game with my Dad and brother, so my mom flew in town to keep us company until Dad, Granddaddy and Uncle Tom joined us to celebrate Christmas.

We had a lot of fun hanging out with Gigi until the men came in town. We sang a lot of Christmas carols, drove around Denver looking at lights (including a light display that was set to music!) and even got a babysitter one day so we could see a movie and have lunch.

Heres a pic of the gingerbread house that Gigi helped Ella & Charlie make.

Winter Dance recital

Ella has been taking dance class after school on Thursday's and they had a little mini-recital for the parents on Dec 15th.

Ella was very excited to show off her dancing skills

Ella with her BFF Elouise and Elouise's big sisters Annalise and Josephine.

Ella and her friend Brooke with their dance teacher Ms. Kim.

Breakfast with Santa

In the past we have taken the family to Breakfast with Santa at the zoo, but this year we found out that Santa is no longer going to be stopping by the zoo before Christmas. So we decided to start a new family tradition. On Sunday, December 11th our family hosted a holiday breakfast potluck for some of our neighbors... and you will NEVER guess who showed up- SANTA!

Here is the big guy arriving at the house.

Charlie wasn't too thrilled with the idea of sitting on his lap.

Here's a group shot with all the kids.

And a Herb family picture.

The breakfast was a blast... the kids had fun, we had lots of yummy food and drinks (mimosas!) and, best of all, it was super easy for us parents. We hope Santa has enough time to stop by next year!

Elf on the Shelf

Mark and I didn't have an elf when we were growing up, but it seems like all the kids have them now. Our Elf on the Shelf joined our family last Christmas (2010) and Ella named him Frankie.

Anyway- Frankie has been showing up around our house doing silly things, but this was one of the mornings that Ella was most excited to find him...

(picture taken on Dec 10th 2011)

Even Charlie was into Frankie this year. Some mornings he would find him faster than Ella, i t was so cute to see him point and squeal with delight whenever he saw the elf.

Ella's Christmas Program @ School

The kids' school has a Christmas program every year but you have to be in the 3.5 year old class or older to participate, so this was Ella's first year. This year's program was on the evening of Wednesday, Dec 7th. It was so cute and she did a great job after practicing the songs for months in advance. (she is in the back row, red dress).

Singing with the kids.

And here she is after we got home. She looked so cute in her Christmas dress and was so excited for me to see her perform.

And then about 5 hours later she woke up with the stomach flu. Yuck! Maybe it was all that candy from St. Nick??

St. Nicholas Day

We celebrate St. Nick's Day at our house.

A little background... St. Nicholas (not to be confused with Santa) is a Catholic saint who went around putting treats in kids shoes. Not sure exactly how it evolved into the stockings... but its a tradition passed down from my Mom's side (Ruzicka) that we have decided to continue with our kids. St. Nick's feast day is every year on December 6th.

On the morning of St. Nicholas Day, the kids woke up to see their stockings waiting for them at the kitchen table. Ella was super excited and Charlie was just happy because he is always happy in the mornings!

And here's all their loot! Candy, fruit, xmas shirts and much much more. St. Nick even brought a Xmas tablecloth for Mom. Yay!