Christmas Day!

I should have known this was going to be a special Christmas for me as well as for our family, but nothing prepared me for the overwhelming joy I felt on Christmas morning. Seeing Charlie's face when she saw all the goodies Santa had

left for her was so special. Seeing her running over to touch and hug the toys she had recieved was pure happiness. I can't wait until she can comprehend what the Christmas season is all about.

I can't wait to teach her about the special feeling that "giving" gives us. I can't wait to see her pick out a gift for her Daddy and see his expression when he opens it.

We are so blessed to have our wonderful family and wonderful friends to share the holiday season with. We hope that everyone, had a wonderful holiday, and here is to 2010!

Kyri

Happy Happy Holidays!

Well, after two posts with my child crying I wanted to post a picture of her as joyful as old Saint Nick. She is such a happy girl, and I was so pleased when I tried to get her to pose by our Christmas tree for pictures this year. She was such a sweet little trooper! Jeff has taught her to smile, when he asks her "Can I see your teeth?" Everytime she sees a picture of Santa now, she says "Ho,Ho,Ho!" - So cute!

Thanksgiving Day Fun!

Thanksgiving Lunch + No nap + Sreaming baby at family portrait = MAD DADDY

Mean Ole Santa!

SO, Charlie and I went to the mall and there was Santa and NO LINE to see him. I thought - perfect! I will get her all dressed up this weekend, and Jeff and I can get her picture with Santa done a little bit early, to avoid all the long lines. The weekend came, and we got her dressed up and headed out to the mall. As soon as Jeff sat her on Santa's lap, she had a fit, poor thing.

I learned my lesson though... I really should have prepared her for Santa and his huge mane, beard and devilish smile. We thought we had scarred her for life, because after that day, every time she caught a glimpse of a Santa, or if we even mentioned his name she would start crying. We have since bought a rudolph book, and there is a picture of Santa in the book, and she now will point to him without melting down. Next year, we will need to find a new strategy, although I am sure as soon as she gets to the age where she knows Santa brings toys, she will be more than happy to tell him what she wants, although I am hoping she will also abide by the "naughty or nice" rules as well! Ha!

HO! HO! HO! MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Since this was our first "official" halloween, we decided to go trick or treating as a bumble bee. I tried all week to get her to at least say "Treat" so when we got up to our neighbors doors, she could demonstrate some sort of Halloween mantra, but I never was successful.

We put Charlie in her costume and went outside to find tons of witches and space crusaders running around our front lawn (I guess the kids on our street congregate at our next door neighbors house) Charlie immediately joined in the fun and took off playing with the other kids. I was really impressed to see that her pumpkin I gave her to collect candy in, never hit the ground. She carried that thing everywhere, and wouldn't let go of it! What a good girl!

We ended up hitting a few houses on our street, and she got a few yummy treats to bring home. When we got back home, she had a blast taking each piece of candy out of her bag, then putting them all back in her bag. Back and forth, back and forth! I don't think she knew there were things to eat inside those wrappers. Hey, whatever makes you happy!!

We had so much fun together trick or treating! These new experiences are such a joy.

The Great Pumpkin!

The weather is getting to be really nice outside (this is my favorite time of the year) and we have gone to a few pumpkin patches to celebrate fall. Here, Charlie is at the Arboretum sitting in their pumpkin patch. We met a few friends there one morning, and Charlie just had a blast walking around watching all of the other kids play. She just loves being around others her size.

Last weekend, we went out to Bill Bates Ranch to visit their pumpkin patch, with Nana and Poppy, Aunt Traci and cousins Kylie and Riley. We also went on our first hay ride! Charlie loved picking the hay out of the bales and throwing it on the floor of the wagon. Then we went around looking at pumpkins, and ate a few hotdogs. They had bounce houses out there for the bigger kids and a petting zoo. It was fun!

Here is Charlie and Daddy on the hayride.
Whee Daddy! Lets go to another pumpkin patch soon! Now we have to get ready for Halloween, and it is just a few weeks away! Charlie is going as a bumble bee, and I can not wait to get her into that costume! She is going to be too cute! I think we might walk around to a few houses over here, and then maybe hand out candy to the other kids. Can't wait!

Strawberry Shortcake Party!

Charlie had her first birthday party on Saturday, September 5th. We had all the Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins over to cook out and swim and help us celebrate little Charlie's first milestone. For her big birthday mommy and daddy got her a big girl chair (seen here to the left), some clothes and a ladybug pillow to roll around with. We had a Strawberry Shortcake theme with a strawberry shortcake cup cake cake, some balloons and our very own strawberry outfit! Everytime she sees her shiny strawberry shortcake balloon now she points and says "cake!"
Here she is taking her first bite of her strawberry shortcake cupcake. She wasn't too happy about the frosting getting on her hands, and needless to say we had green poopie diapers the next couple of days, but I think the sugar made her VERY happy, and energetic - she never stopped going until after her bedtime that night!!
Here she and her cousin Kylie are playing with her toys. What a joy to be able to spend time with our cousins that day!

I somehow wish that this would be a moment she would remember forever, but as all kids - I don't remember much when I was that age! Hopefully I documented it well enough, and I know this will be a day I will always remember. Mommy can "refresh" her memory when she is older!!

Happy Birthday Charlie Shay!!

To celebrate Charlie's first birthday, Jeff took off on Friday and we all went to the Dallas World Aquarium. We weren't sure if she would be interested, or even notice the animals but when we got there she was loving the birds and monkeys and even looked excited to be seeing the animals. I was loving it! She would point and laugh at things and stare with amazement. I was so happy to see her taking it all in!

We walked through the rain forest and she loved pointing at the plants, even trying to take a leaf with us here and there. Here is a picture of us at the entrance near the waterfall. I love that smile!

Here Charlie is with Daddy laughing and clapping at something she saw that tickled her. Some of the time I caught her staring at other kids there. Maybe she thought they were part of the displays?? Daddy and I took turns carrying her around so she could get a good look at the animals, but she isn't a 10 pounder anymore and we had to keep shifting her back and forth frequently! One year olds are heavy! At least I got a good workout!

Well Charlie Shay, I hope you had a great day at the World Aquarium! On our way out we stopped in the gift shop and she found a little stuffed penguin, which is now named Penny. By the look on her face I think she really had a good time, but I know she is totally excited about her Strawberry Shortcake party that we had the next day....... more to come!

Walk This Way

You've seen her crawl. You've seen her pull up. Now you can see Charlie walk! The girl who loves to perform has given us yet another glimpse of her ever-growing repertoire. She's been working on this little number for a week or so and seems to be getting the hang of it quite nicely. Watch her as she walks to the chair all the way from the gate at the end of the room. That's over 10 steps to you and me! I'd say she deserves a round of applause, folks.

Say Cheese!

For Charlie's first birthday coming up, we decided it would be a good time to go and get her picture taken by a real live professional photographer (at the mall). As luck would have it, she suspected something was up and deliberately refused a nap that afternoon. This led Mommy and Daddy to fear the worst and that our time in front of the camera would not be a happy moment. But things turned out better than expected and Charlie Shay was a perfect little ham for that camera. This was mostly due to the fact that the photographer lady knew exactly how to make Charlie giggle and smile at just the right times. Here is one of our favorites.

Me Like Bananas!

Charlie Shay loves bananas. I decided it was probably time to start feeding her more of a solid fare, when everytime I put the pureed food to her mouth she just shoved it away - only choosing to eat her "puffs" that she can feed to herself. So reluctantly, I chopped up a banana, and put a few small pieces on her tray and held my breathe that she wouldn't choke and make me do the "whack on the back" manuever. I laughed when I realized how slippery bananas are, and everytime she would get one in her hand, I would shove her hand in her mouth hoping that little sucker would hit the mark. She ended up loving it, and we didn't have any choking episodes, Thank goodness! I thought the sticker that says "Place Sticker on Forehead and Smile" was the perfect way to commemorate the event!

Little Swimmer Girl

Charlie Shay loves to go swimming. We have taken her out in the pool a few dozen times this summer. She loves sitting on the shallow step, splashing around and patting the water. It is so darn hot here in Texas, that is the only outdoor activity we can do without sweating like crazy. Here she was out in the water with her Daddy, and striking a pose for the camera! Can we strike a pose or what??

She is just the cutest thing! What a Ham!

Jumping makes me sleepy

Some people might say I have too many toys but what can i say? I LOVE TOYS!!

We are getting to be such a big girl!!
Just in the last month, Charlie has learned to wave, sit up, crawl, pull up to standing, clap her hands, give you 5, AND to feed herself small bits of "puffs". I am so amazed at how fast they learn things!!! And, I must add - say "Momma"!!! I am SOOO happy to hear those words!
Of course, I do find puffs on the floor, in her shirt, in her diaper, etc. But hey, at least 50% of them are hitting the mark! We ended up taking the plunge and creating a "play room" out of our dining room. It works very well, and she LOVES it! I am happy that she loves it, but am reluctantly happy too that my house has finally become "kid friendly"! ;) That is the interior designer talking in me. Here is a clip of her crawling debut!

We took our first vacation with Gammie and Gramps to Port Aransas in late April.

Port Aransas is on the Texas Coast. We had never been there before, and we really enjoyed the beach and the resort hotel we stayed at - Port Royal. The hotel had 4 pools that all interconnected and a huge slide at the end of one of the pools. It was still a little cold, and the water was pretty cool, but Jeff got in with Charlie for her swimming pool debut. We also went down to the beach and she got to see the ocean for the first time and feed the seagulls. This picture was taken from our balcony - just beautiful!

One day while we were there, Jeff and Dad went to play golf at the nearby golf course. Another day we did a tour of the USS Lexington aircraft carrier. The carrier tour was really fun and interesting! We had Charlie strapped in her baby carrier attached to Jeff and she loved looking out at everything.

Here is a picture of Jeff and Charlie in the hotel pool. Trust me, the ocean at the coast of Texas is a murky brown! Nothing that nice! Ha!

Then, another day we went to the Texas World Aquarium there in Port Aransas. We got to look at all kinds of fish, and animals and birds. Charlie loved the bird show! It is so funny seeing her reactions to things now. She had the funniest expressions.

We really did enjoy our time there and it was a much needed break for everyone. We all got to relax and eat yummy seafood! A few of the places we went to for dinner were - Moby Dick's, Virginia's, and the hotel restaurant.

If you ever have a short weekend to go and do something fun, and you live in the Dallas area - I would really try to get down to Corpus Christie and the Port Aransas area. It is a great place for a Family vacation.

So, now we can cross off the list - "seeing the
Ocean for the first time" for little Charlie. We have so much we want to do! She is so fun and she is such a sweet little girl. She has a great little spunky personality and I hope that never changes.

This summer is going to be so much fun - getting out and experiencing different things. We have really been stuck inside since she was born - over the winter, and so now we are going to take full advantage of the nice weather - that is, before it gets to hot - here in Texas. Right now the weather is perfect - mid 80's to low 90's. But I am sure it won't stay that way for long.


I would also like to apologize for not blogging on a regular basis. "I know, Charlie, you must be suprized at me!" Shame, Shame on Mommy! It is on the top of my priority list to blog every Sunday night. Charlie is doing so many fun things now, that we want everyone to be proud of how well we are learning, and at what a big girl we are getting to be!

We are 9 months old now and our first Birthday is right around the corner. Good grief how time flys! We have two teeth, we are sleeping in our own room, we know how to wave and say "da da", and we can crawl now (What a big Girl!)

We also give people the finger. "What?" you say, "Give people the finger?" Yes, give people the finger. I will leave this topic for another blog!

It is really pretty funny! Talk to ya'll next time.

Easter weekend we took the grandparents to the Arboretum in our easter finest, to get some pictures of Charlie Shay with all of the blooming flowers. She also brought along her bunny ears, in true Easter fashion. Isn't she the cutest?? What fun it was! I decided to get us a season pass so we can go sometimes during the week to see what all they have going on out there. They have some great programs for older kids, and I just found out they are adding 7 acres for a huge Childrens Learning Garden. They will have 15 indoor/outdoor areas and over 150 interactive exhibits for kids. We can't wait until we get bigger. Now, we're just to little!

Charlie has also been enjoying some play dates with many of our little friends. We go to the park, or to the zoo, or just over to friends houses, or they come over to our house. Charlie is quite the social butterfly! She is getting to interact with alot of kids her age and older and she just has a blast being around the other children.

Now that the weather is getting warmer here in Texas, every afternoon I strap Charlie into her little red stroller and we take Rascal on a walk. She LOVES kicking her feet and laughing histerically at Rascal while he trots beside us. She loves her red stroller because she is big enough to sit facing out and she loves to look at the houses and flowers as we go by. I can't wait until it gets really hot and we can go swimming. She is going to love it!!

Kiss Me - I'm Irish!

Happy St. Patty's Day! We were still recovering from our colds and still a little congested and sniffling, but Charlie and I made it out to see Gammie and Gramps for lunch at Purdy's anyway. We made it back home to see Daddy, and to get a St. Paddy's Day kiss.

I am 1/2 Irish (Mc Manus and Baitinger were my Grandmothers) 1/4 German (Kessel) and 1/4 Italian (Mom's side of the family -Galderise). When I ask Jeff about his background he can only tell me that he is American - go figure! So, I guess that makes Charlie 2/5 Irish, 1/5 Italian 1/5 German, and 1/5 good ole American. GOOD GRIEF!!!

I guess we all must have a little Irish in us!!! ;)

Charlie Shay Takes A Bite

Well, we've hit yet another milestone in the life of young Charlie Shay! Watch her go as she snarfs down her first spoonful of rice cereal. Next around the corner will be a big helping of peas and bananas, although that won't be for another couple of weeks.

We decided it was time to let Charlie ingest something other than milk, as she has developed a little habit of staring at us when we are eating our food. So without further ado... May we present... the one and only... Charlie Shay!

The Great Jumparoo

Charlie looooves her Jumparoo. If you don't know what a Jumparoo is, it's basically a contraption with a seat suspended by elastic bands that you can sit your little one in and they can bounce up and down at will. Here is a look into Charlie's first few bounces as she was getting the hang of it. Now, she's a pro and just about jumps through the roof.

The Great Giggle Monster

Well, we finally got our little princess to bust a giggle. Kyri was the lucky one to find a sure fire way to make Charlie belly laugh. Unfortunately the camera was in the other room so we didn't capture the really good one. We did, however, manage to snag a clip of her somewhat amused so I guess that will have to do for now. Actually, I think she was just humoring her daddy. Capturing the great Giggle Monster on film is extremely difficult, a lot like capturing the Loch Ness monster or Saskwatch in their natural habitat.

Christmas 2008

Christmas this year, of course, was wonderful! Charlie, Jeff and I made the rounds to see family and friends. Being at home and having our first Christmas with our beautiful daughter was so much fun and I look forward to the years to come. We got her a jumperoo, and she is already loving it. Of course, we have to put a small box under her feet so she can push off of something - she is still too small for her feet to reach the floor.

We are finally getting settled again, now in the new year. I can't wait to see the months go by and to see how Charlie grows. I love seeing the new things she does every day. We finally got our so-serious baby to laugh, and it was the best feeling in the world to hear her squeal with delight. Although, I have never acted so silly in my life - but it was worth it. Please don't ask me to do this in front of you. Ask Jeff, to make her laugh - he is REALLY funny and makes me belly laugh too! We will try to get a video of it and post it next!!

I hope everyone had a great Holiday and a Wonderful New Year!