Christmas Day!

Christmas morning had finally arrived and it was even better than I had imagined! I "slept in" until almost 6AM and Mom & Dad were both there to greet me in my room. When we walked into the living room, I noticed that our stockings were now sitting on the hearth of the fireplace...and now they were FILLED with goodies. We all opened our stockings together and were happy with our toys, chocolates, socks, etc.

After breakfast (yes...we had to eat our breakfast first) we moved to the floor next to the tree to open our presents. Here I am opening my very first one!!!

Some presents were from Santa (thank you, thank you, thank you!!!), some were from Mommy and Daddy and some were from me. Everyone took turns and helped each other with wrapping paper and opening boxes...here I am helping daddy with his present.

And now it's my turn! I really enjoyed opening all my presents and received so many great things: Play Doh, legos, books, clothes, a new baby, a baby bed, assorted bath toys, coloring and sticker books. I must have been a very, very good girl this year! :o)

Now that we've opened all our presents, showered and got dressed, I'm enjoying some time with my new coloring and sticker book! It has been a great Christmas and I am such a lucky girl. Thanks to mommy, daddy, Bucky, G and Santa for such a wonderful Christmas. Love to All, Charlotte xoxoxoxo

Twas the Night Before Christmas...

After much anticipation, Christmas Eve had finally arrived...and no one was more excited than me! Following a delicious dinner, lovingly prepared by mommy, I participated in the tradition of opening one present...and it was PJ'S!!!

I immediately put on my PJ's and prepared for the next task at hand: writing a note to Santa and putting out our cookies and milk. Mommy visited our favorite bakery and purchased a few special cookies (we'll bake for you next year Santa... we promise!!!), which looked so yummy I just had to have one. And, of course, mommy obliged. :)

We decided that the best place to leave our cookies, milk and note (on our special mat for the occasion...big thanks to the Neill Family for the start of a great tradition!!) was right in front of the fireplace where Santa was sure to find them. And then it was off to bed for me!!!

I'm not sure where these next photos came from...perhaps Santa's reindeer are adept at taking pictures. Hmmmmm.... Anyhow, we really enjoyed seeing these photos of our tree and all the presents that Santa delivered.

Merry Christmas to All...and to all, a Good Night! Love, Charlotte

Trimming the Tree

Here are a couple of shots of us trimming our beautiful Christmas tree. While daddy hangs his selection on the tree, I am perusing the available options...

OK...found one! I think it will look perfect right here. We trimmed our tree last Sunday in preparation for dinner with the Bombacks and Neills, who came to our house in the evening to celebrate the holidays. We all had so much fun!

Though much of the evening was spent running, jumping and frolicking in the house, we did manage to relax for a few moments; Mia and I are here on the couch watching Dora!! What a great way to start the week before Christmas. Love, Charlotte

I love SNOW!!!

I was so very excited to play in the snow and keep daddy company while he shoveled out our driveway. I play out here all day!! Love, Charlotte

Oh, Christmas Tree!

We've just arrived at Maple Row Tree Farm for the annual chopping of our tree...and I'm so excited. It is COOOOOOOLLLLLLDDD out but we've decided to brave the frigid temperatures with the hopes of finding a great tree. Daddy and I are stopping quickly here to say hello the Pete and Mike, the resident bulls.

And now that we've found our tree, it's daddy's job to chop it down!!

Success! And don't worry, daddy only let me hold the saw for a minute...

Warming up by the fire after wandering the farm in the freezing cold!

And sharing a little hot chocolate with mommy....YUM!!! Now it's time to take our tree home to decorate. So excited! Love, Charlotte xoxoxo

Last day of school...for 2009!

On the last day of school in 2009, we celebrated the holiday season by inviting our mommies to our classroom for songs, snacks and presents. Though mom tried her best, I was much more interested in cookies than fruit. YUMMY!!

Miss Gail handing out presents to Nikita, Ethan and Alex...the teachers gave each of us a present. So thoughtful!

Carline and Gail taking a break from the chaos to have a snack!

Bella and Julianna getting in the groove!

Miss Jeanne taking a few snaps while Alexandra and Nikita enjoy their snacks.

"Hi, Mommy!"

Alex shaking his Jingle Bells.

Nikita figuring out what to do next...so much fun taking place in the classroom. Though everyone is ready for break (especially the teachers, I'm sure!), it was a bit bittersweet to know that I will not see my school friends for a couple of weeks. I hope everyone at school - and their families - enjoys a safe, happy and healthy holiday season. I cannot WAIT to get back to school in 2010! Love, Charlotte

Hangin' with Sadie

Last Sunday we headed out bright and early...destination? The Garden State, to visit my friend Sadie and her mom and dad. We had a really yummy brunch (bagels, pastries, fruit salad, etc.) and got to play. Sadie and I are posing on the couch with Santa...just chilling out!

Trae, Chris and Daddy are engrossed in conversation (while Mommy snaps the photo). We don't get to see our NJ friends often so it tried to make the most of our time together. Hope to see Sadie and her family again very soon. Love, Charlotte xoxo

Playgroup Holiday Party

Party, party, party! Mommy and I went to Playtime Village in Monroe today for a holiday gathering with my playgroup pals. Ella, Aidan K, Aidan C, Chandler, Scarlett, Hayley, Kate, Olivia, Baby Nate, Baby Sophia and their mommies and daddies got together for snacks, playtime and even a Secret Santa gift exchange. Here are the "Aidans" taking a break from playing to enjoy a snack.

Here's a shot of Chandler behind the wheel... and always smiling!

And Olivia is enjoying her role as Bus Driver...beep, beep, beep!!

Everyone received a gift from their Secret Santa and here is Hayley opening her present. I wonder what's inside?...

Posing in my new comfy jacket...a great gift from my Secret Santa, Hayley. We had such a nice time and it was so great to see all my friends; with school schedules, new siblings and activities, we haven't seen much of each other this fall so it was so nice to have the chance to get together for the holidays. To check out all my party photos, click HERE! Happy Holidays to all my friends! Love, Charlotte xoxoxo

Daddy's Work Party!!!

The party season is in full swing and we had a great time at daddy's work party on Thursday. I got to dress up in my new party dress, tights, mary jane's and matching hair clip...it was all very exciting. Here I am having a bite to eat...yummy!!

Luke and I are decorating cookies with frosting that was just like paint...so cool!!! And I even got to take my cookies home to enjoy later.

Fun with Arts and Crafts! I made a necklace, colored and stamped and played with stickers: boy, they thought of everything!!

Mommy was happy to have snapped this photo because we think that this is as close as we are going to get to Santa this year. Prior to the party, I was very excited to see Santa and told mommy that I would be happy to sit on his lap. Once we arrived, I quickly changed my mind (a girl has a right!) and preferred to view Santa from afar. My reaction reaffirmed mommy's belief that I'm not quite ready for the third dimension when it comes to my favorite characters. Oh well, there's always next year...

Since we didn't get a family shot with Santa, mommy wanted to be sure that I got to sit on somebody's lap for a photo - and daddy was more than happy to stand in. We had a really nice time, saw many friends and we're happy to celebrate the season. Ho, ho, ho! Love, Charlotte

Can you believe it is almost December?

And we're still swinging!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving 2009! We had a fantastic day - and an especially fantastic meal - at my house this year. Mommy cooked all morning and into the afternoon...we enjoyed the fruits of her labors around 2PM. Here I am smiling with the chef, who is sitting down for the first time all day. It was nice to have our family together and to enjoy such a nice meal.

Cheers, daddy! I have been practicing my "cheers" skills and am always at the ready with my cup, which, in this case, was my special occasion cup that I use on holidays (with matching dish).

I think I was most enthusiastic about eating the rolls (go figure...and mommy didn't even make those...the only thing on the table that mommy didn't make).

A sampling of all the goodies: homemade turkey, gravy ("maybe the best ever," said mommy), cornbread-sausage stuffing, garlicky brussel sprouts, mashed potatoes, cranberry-orange sauce and the aforementioned rolls. For dessert, our friends JT, Rocky, Irene and Greg came over and we ate AGAIN, though this time we enjoyed lots of PIE! Mommy made a homemade sweet potato pie (daddy was happy) and we also had apple and pecan pie, along with whipped cream (I got to help make it with the mixer) and ice cream. By the end of the day, we were all quite full and ready for bed...but who wouldn't be? And today, we can do it all over again if we want: there are enough leftovers for an army. Happy Thanksgiving to all! Love, Charlotte

Outdoor Playgroup

In keeping with the unusual weather we've experienced for most of 2009, November has turned out to be unusually warm and sunny, with many sunny days reaching 60 degrees! This past Monday was a great example of that: our playgroup got together at a local park to enjoy these last Indian Summer days. And even the babies were out to enjoy the terrific weather: here are baby Nate and his mom.

There was much sliding to be had, as this playground was well equipped with a number of slides. Susanna is showing off her skills in the "big girl" curly slide...she's a pro!

Emily and I are giving our tandem sliding skills a try on this side-by-side slide...I really liked this one!

Caroline is enjoying a few peaceful moments in the sun...and where WAS that sun for most of the summer? :)

When we first arrived at the playground I wasn't entirely certain that I would be able to climb this ladder, though it didn't take long before I was up at the top....and then back down again. I really love playgrounds and love spending time outdoors. We all had such a wonderful time and hope that, perhaps, December will give us one more chance to play together outdoors. You just never know!!! Love, Charlotte

A Visit with Ted and Joanna

Once more we are a tad behind in the blogging department...so mom and I are going to try to get caught up this weekend. A couple of weeks ago Auntie Laura's mom and stepdad, Joanna and Ted, made a visit to my house. They had driven to Washington D.C. for a wedding and stopped here for lunch and play on their way home. It was a really nice visit!

Joanna is watching as Ted attempts to perform a magic trick for me...very impressive!

This trick involved the napkin above, a wooden egg and using the napkin to make the egg disappear! I'm not sure how he did it but it was very cool and I was impressed. Thanks for stopping by, Ted and Joanna...and hope to see you again very soon! Love, Charlotte