Happy Birthday Hayley!

Our final birthday celebration of the summer commenced last week with a luau at Hayley's house - Happy Birthday, Hayley and Welcome to the Club!!! Hayley's mom had lots of outdoor activities planned...including swimming!

Here are Mia and Hayley enjoying a spin in Hayley's birthday wagon...so cool!

And here we have the birthday girl lounging in the pool.

Chandler seems to be very focused on something, though I'm not quite sure what it is... he did have lots of fun at the party, though. And as an added bonus, we all spent some time with his Poppy and Gigi, who were here visiting from Tennessee.

Miss Olivia is hamming it up...so cute! Olivia came to the party with new baby brother Nate and even the babies seemed to have a good time hanging out and partying with the big kids. I do not have a photo of all of us eating cake at this party... I think you can use your imagination (or take a look back over numerous earlier posts). I can't believe that all my friends are TWO! It has been a great summer...and soon we'll be off to school! Love, Charlotte

Happy Birthday MOMMY!!!

We celebrated a very, very special birthday this weekend - it was my mommy's birthday on Friday and the family went into New York City to celebrate in style. Here are a couple of photos of Mommy and me together...we spent many hours roaming the city and enjoying the sights. I had my very first trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and enjoyed many taxi rides, even wearing my very own seatbelt like a big girl. We had some nice meals and took advantage of every opportunity to show mommy how much we appreciate and love her. I was on my very best behavior, sleeping well in my "hotel bed" (crib) and riding patiently in the stroller for many hours. We returned home today and Mommy spent the afternoon relaxing while Daddy and I played and went swimming together at our beach. I hope you had a great birthday, Mommy. I love you so much! xoxoxo, Charlotte Ryan

Who's Birthday is it today? Char Char's Birthday!!!

Well, my big day finally arrived...I am TWO YEARS OLD!!! Daddy took the day off from work on Monday and we assembled once more at our beach to celebrate my birthday. Mommy had been preparing me for many days so that I was ready to answer the question, "Who's Birthday is it today?" "Char Char's Birthday!!!" Here is a photo of me, Chandler and Mia hitching a ride in the wagon over to the beach. It was a really, really hot and humid day so we were happy we didn't have to walk!!

My obsession with Baby Hunter continues...here I am sitting in his stroller, making sure that he isn't overheating during the party. He's still too small to play in the sand and water but was well-behaved in his stroller.

Annie and Aidan are enjoying a little shade. We were fortunate to have a couple of tents to provide a little shade during the party. It really was warm and I was happy to spend most of my time at the water's edge.

Mia and Aidan are doing a little digging with the sand toys. Everyone was so nice to bring toys to share with our friends.

Here are my new friends Grace, Cambell and Hadley...so happy they were able to come to my birthday party!

Here I am offering up a big hug to Chan Chan...the poor kid never gets a break. :) We had so much fun hanging out at the water's edge. And thanks, Kendy, for taking such great photos.

The water was really the best place to be at my party. I had SO much fun going out to the dock with my dad, jumping off into the water with the big kids.

We were so excited that Aunt Susan, Carsten and Natasha were able to make it to my party. They just returned from their annual summer vacation in Denmark and so we hadn't seen them for awhile. I'm not sure what Aunt Susan is pointing at here but she looks like she sees something interesting.

I am one happy girl...what a great Birthday. I am so fortunate to have so many wonderful friends and, especially, my mom and dad who love me so much. And I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the birth of Mia's new baby brother, Jonah Max, who was born on Monday and is doing great. Congratulations to the Bomback Family and I am so excited that Jonah and I will share a birthday!!! Thanks to everyone for making my birthday so special. Love, Charlotte x0x0

Aidan's 2nd Birthday

Well, my friends and I have certainly had our fill of cake this summer...but we still great each cake-eating opportunity with the same enthusiasm. Last Thursday was no different: the gang assembled at the Kavanaugh Home to celebrate Aidan's 2nd Birthday!!

Here's the birthday boy enjoying a snack...goldfish, I think. Sadly, the day was not without incident: Aidan and I both wanted a pair of scissors (silly mommy for putting them down within our reach!) and the result was Aidan's finger getting snipped. Thankfully, it is much better now!!

Aidan hamming it up with Olivia...

Chandler looking very sweet...I wonder what he's thinking??!?

Mia saying "hello!" We were all very happy to have the chance to celebrate Aidan's big day...so much fun!

Pool Date

Earlier this week my mom's friend Diane invited us over to her house for snacks and a swim. She also took these wonderful shots of me enjoying the afternoon.

Standing under the outdoor pool shower!! Brrrrrrrrr.....it was cold, though.

Taking time out for snacks: fresh fruit, olives and cheese, chips and guacamole...what could be better?

Trying on my mom's sunglasses!

OK, I think I'm ready to dry off! We had so much fun and hope that we'll be invited back one day soon. Love, Charlotte

Almost Two-Year Check Up

This week I had my 2 year appointment with Dr. Marks and thought I would give an update. I hadn't seen Dr. Marks in awhile so mom was a bit nervous about how I would react...I did really well! For the first time, I was weighed on the "big girl" scale (no more baby scale for me) and was measured up standing up against the wall (no more drawing lines on a piece of paper while I squirmed). The results? I measured 36 and 1/4 inches tall - off the Girls Chart as usual for my age...and actually that is 60th percentile for a 3 year-old) and weighed 31 pounds (90th percentile)...so exciting! If my Nonna is right, I will be 6 feet and 1/2 inch tall when I am fully grown... well, we should find out in about 16 years! Dr. Marks was so happy with my progress and development thus far...and the best news of all? NO SHOTS!!!! I did have to have my finger pricked so that they could test the hemoglobin in my blood but I was so brave and didn't even flinch. I did, however, become very agitated when I had to give Zoey back to Nurse Carol at the end of the visit. Well, that's the news from my check-up...we are all so excited that I will be turning two in just a few days. Stay tuned for more pix! Love, Charlotte

Seymours Take Manhattan!

After the birthday parties were over (well, for this weekend, anyhow!) Dad, Mom and I jumped on the boat and headed for Manhattan. Dad took Monday off so we left Sunday morning (early!!) for the city...as you might notice from the shot above, we didn't have the best weather but the scenery more than made up for it. Here is daddy driving our boat past the Statue of Liberty...so AWESOME!!

We docked the boat in Liberty State Park at Liberty Landing Marina... great location and a fantastic view of lower Manhattan. By chance, the All Points West festival was going on that weekend and we were able to check it out by walking along the boardwalk adjacent to the festival. And later in the evening. Mom and Dad listened to Coldplay playing live...and the didn't even have to leave the boat!

Here I am with daddy on our walk...check out that view in the background. Earlier in the day we took a ferry into Manhattan for a little shopping and lunch, which was a great way to spend the rainy party of the day.

Now it's mommy's turn to pose with me. If I seem a little distracted it is because daddy was so wonderful and bought me a new doll, which has not left my side since we bought it on Sunday. So mommy is holding onto her here and I'm just making sure that she is OK.

This was really the highlight of our weekend: up close and personal with Lady Liberty. We pulled the boat up really, really close to the statue and took some fantastic photos. For more of our photos from the weekend, check out our online gallery. Thanks so much Mom and Dad for a wonderful weekend!! I hope I was a good girl on the boat. Love, Charlotte

Another friend turns TWO!

Following Olivia's Party in the morning, mommy and I headed to Ridgefield in the afternoon to celebrate my friend Ava's 2nd Birthday. Ava's mom and my mom used to work together and Ava and I were both born in August 2007. We don't get to see each other very often but it was so nice to catch up! Here are the kids (minus Ian, Ava's older brother) enjoying a delicious pasta dinner!

Ava's so excited to be eating her pasta...it was really yummy and all the kids loved it!

Can you believe these cupcakes that Ava's mom made? The were decorated with sunflowers (oreo cookies rimmed with yellow frosting), lady bugs (decorated red M&M's) and worms (well, I wasn't interested in the gummy worms but Ava's brother Ian was definitely excited). I really enjoyed my cupcake and Ava's mommy even gave us a few to take home with us. YAY, cupcakes!!!

Happy Birthday AVA!!! I wish we could see each other more often but I was so happy to be invited to your house to celebrate the Big Day. Hope to see you again soon... our mom's promise that we will get together once more before the summer is over. Love, Charlotte

More birthday fun!!

The birthday fun continued this weekend with TWO birthday parties in one day (Saturday). The first was for Olivia and it was held at a farm in her home town. We were able to play outside, see the animals and go on a horse-drawn cart ride... it was such a great time! And of course, all my best pals were there. Here's Chandler navigating the teeter-totter.

Mia and I are hanging out in the playhouse...loads of fun. I'm not quite sure about this scarf on my head but mom thought it was in the spirit of the day and I certainly did get a lot of compliments on it.

Here's Hayley undergoing a 2 year-old favorite activity in the world: the application of sunblock. We enjoyed a lovely ride through Orange on a cart drawn by two, beautiful horses. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

All of Olivia's guests are enjoying the ride!!!

And here's the birthday girl!! She was very happy to have all her friends and family with her to celebrate her big day. Everyone had so much fun at the party and the weather was absolutely perfect. Thanks so very much to Olivia, new brother Nate and O's mommy and daddy for such a great party! Can't wait for next year... OK, let's not get ahead of ourselves. Love, Charlotte

Happy, happy Birthday, sweet Mia!!

Last Friday we had the pleasure of celebrating Mia's second birthday a little early...Mia is expecting a new brother or sister any day now and her mom and dad (and all of us, of course) wanted her to have her special day before Baby Bomback arrived. Sadly my mom was not able to get any good photos but we do have this fun video that captures the spirit of the afternoon.

Happy Birthday, Mia!! xoxoxo