Daddy's Girl

Charlotte most definitely has her Daddy figured out. She loves crawling up into his lap, but does not understand the sensitive nature of the lap area. Tonight, Charlotte had crawled up in his lap several times, only to stay for a few seconds each time and was very squirmy while up there. Jared's patience was running a little low with that game by the hundredth time of climbing up and squirming around, so he just put her down on the floor and told her that was enough. Charlotte, knowing her Daddy quite well, crawled back up into his lap, put her finger to her mouth and said "Hmmm..." She was playing a favorite game of hers and Jared's where he would say, "Hmmm... where could I tickle you..." then pick a spot, count to three and tickle her there. It didn't take long for her to pick up on it and mimic him, which always makes us laugh hysterically. So when she sensed that Daddy was aggravated, she whipped out the big guns of cuteness and quickly got herself back into his good graces.

Our New House

After much prayer and consideration, we have decided that we are going to be moving. We're really excited about it. What's even more exciting is that we're going to build the next house we move into! The home we're in now just won't be big enough for the 5 kids we want to have and things are going to be getting tight.

The first step is to get the house plans ready. Check! Over the past couple months (or years, really), we've been talking about what we'd change about this house or what we'd like to have in our new house. So we made a list. And we searched through some plans. Southern Living has a great tool for searching house plans. We found one that we loved the layout of. After about a thousand modifications (add some bay windows; extend the countertops; pocket doors on the closets in the master suite; moving the closets in two of the bedrooms to the other sides of the rooms so that we can have a hallway in that space to lead into an added on bonus room, extra bedroom and bathroom), we are ready to send the plans to an architect to get blueprinted (is that a real word? I know my friend, Stephanie, with her fancy architect degree will be laughing at me for that one).

We're really happy and excited about the new house. Now all that's left to do is wait. For about another eight to ten years. Because that's when this "new house" will come into fruition. We love the house we're in now, but do realize that it will get tight with a big family. And we have so many specifications for our next house that we've decided building would be easier than searching high and low for the house that has all of the criteria we would like: his and her closets; sink separate from the rest of the master room (right now our sink area is open to the rest of the room, like it is in some hotels); grassy lot, with trees for privacy, but not so many that it causes a mosquito problem like we have here; detached garage with a covered walkway to the house; inside laundry room; front porch (one that's actually usable- ours now is too narrow to do anything with); open floor plan; fireplace; and ideally on lot with a long driveway, with plenty of room for parking, and not on a main road. We have just a few specifications :) We're a realtor's and contractor's worst night mare!

So, we just wanted to go ahead and let everyone know that in another eight to ten years, we will be moving. Go ahead and put it on your calendars, 'cause you're all going to be invited to the housewarming party!

Home Sweet Home (in 10 years)

SL #1649

"Naght-Naght"

Jared and Charlotte both love her bedtime routine. Jared reads her a story, Charlotte listens and cuddles, they pray, he lays her down and she drifts off into Dreamland. Tonight, Charlotte wanted to get to Dreamland a little quicker than what Jared realized. He was reading a story to her- not a particularly long one- and halfway through, she started waving to him and telling him "Naght-Naght" (she's so Southern:). He kept reading, but she kept waving, telling him "Naght-Naght" and eventually just tried to close the book, insisting that she was, in fact, ready for bed. :)

**I have been trying for a couple days to get a video to load and it is just not cooperating. I'm not sure what the problem is, but I'll keep trying over the weekend. If anyone has any trouble-shooting tips they'd like to share, I'd appreciate it!**

James (and Chad and Amber:) came for an afternoon visit last weekend, and he and Charlotte had a great time playing together. After James showed off how he has mastered the skill of walking, he and Charlotte went out to play in the pool (while the moms watched the babies and the dads fished).


Before James and crew arrived, Charlotte got herself comfortable between two footstools and fell asleep.


For once, we weren't actually wanting her to sleep though, because we were expecting them to arrive any minute. Thus began the process of waking her up...


And a couple of Charlotte from this week...

I gave her some pigtails for the first time- she was not so much a fan of them, nor was she a fan of sitting still so I could get a picture

Last night while watching Jeopardy, she plopped herself down on the floor, kicked her leg up and got herself comfortable

Eet Free Chikin!

Chick-Fil-A had their annual "Dress Like A Cow - Get Free Food" day. I don't know if that's exactly what it's called, but that's how this fantastic day works. Jared said he would not partake of such festivities, but Charlotte and I are not above making fools of ourselves.

Does it get any cuter than this? I propose that it cannot.

(I dressed up as well, but I do not make as cute of a cow as Charlotte, so you will just have to your imagination as to how goofy I looked.)

And here are a couple pictures from yesterday...

"I'm safe here, Mom."
Get it? Safe! 'Cause she's on a safe! :) hahaha

She was not so amused when I took the time to get the camera and take a picture when she got stuck on the piano bench.

How To Charm A Lady

This article is on the last page of this month's Southern Living, and it just made me swoon. It's for reasons like this, especially #2 and #3, that I just love living in the South. (Click on the image to enlarge.)

Charlotte's New Pool

I bought a little pool for Charlotte from Wal-Mart, and she has had a blast with it so far. It took a while to get it blown up though. Apparently, there are two plugs... and if one of them is not closed while you're pumping air into the other one, the air will go right out. Luckily, Jared is super smart and has a Master's degree so he figured it out for me :)

Having fun in the pool before it even had water in it

After the initial excitement and spinning around in circles in the water, she spent most of the time hopping falling from one side to the other.

She approves of her new toy. Not a bad deal for $20!

Independence Day!

We have really enjoyed our long 4th of July weekend! Jared got off from work early on Thursday and had Friday off so we had lots of time to spend together. We went into Keystone on Saturday for the parade and crafts fair, and afterwards went out to Lake Swan Camp to have lunch and play soccer (Jared did the playing of the soccer-- I went across the street where Shannon was partying it up with some Tisdales and hung with them for a while). We then went to visit with our friend, Mel, who is recovering from major neck surgery and ate dinner with her and some of the Rollins family who were around. We didn't stay in Keystone to see the fireworks because we were tired and ready to get back home. But on the drive back to Jax, we ended up seeing several different fireworks displays. It was especially neat driving across the Buchman Bridge- there were cars parked along the bridge for over a mile, all the way up to the top of it, with their hazards on. There was a huge display going on to the right (South) and three different ones going on towards downtown (North). Right along the Buchman Bridge may be the best spot for watching fireworks in town!

Charlotte's first parade! She was not at all wild about the sirens from the fire trucks, as you can see, but she tolerated them (with a look of scorn on her face).


"Daddy! They give you candy just for being cute! This place is amazing!"


Her first lollipop!


Jared's cousin, James, was down visiting from TN. It was his first time meeting Charlotte, but they were great friends from the start :)


When Charlotte saw James sit on the curb, she decided she'd go have a seat right beside him. And, in the cutest fashion, wave to the people in the parade who were waving to her.


"Oooh!" after hearing a canon go off


After the parade, we ran into Jeff & Tessa and Jason & Leslie with their little ones. Their girls, Hannah and Isablla, are best friends and were so sweet to Charlotte. They seemed to realize that she was smaller and younger than they were and held her hand as they walked around. Hannah saw Charlotte's birthmark and was very concerned about her boo-boo. I'm sure Jeff's mack-daddy camera got better shots than our tiny one did, but when your subjects are as cute as these girls, there's no such thing as a bad picture. It was just the pefect Kodak (or Sony or Canon) moment with the three of them holding hands in their patriotic outfits!



I think most people who read our blog also stalk me on facebook so they already know, but just in case you've missed the announcement, we are having another baby GIRL! I had a sonogram on Thursday and we got to see our healthy little princess squirming around and shaking with the hiccups. She has a strong heartbeat and looks perfectly healthy. We are so excited! Jared is especially happy that all of the clothes in the attic will be able to be used again. Charlotte's due date was only a few days before Baby Girl Rollins's, so the seasonal clothes will be pefect! Much to Jared's disappointment, however, this does not mean that no new clothes will be bought :) The sonogram video is pretty long, but I will try to get that uploaded in the next day or two. For now, here are some belly pictures...
(17 weeks)


And just a sweet one of Charlotte kissing on her Daddy this afternoon. (Yes, she wore the same dress two days in a row. No one who saw her yesterday was going to see her today, and it's one that is seasonal and only appropriate for a couple weekends out of the year. Plus I made it and wanted to show it off because it looks so dadgum adorable on her. This morning, when we were so exhausted but were dragging ourselves to church, Jared asked me, "Let's be honest: If you didn't have that dress to show off, would we be going this morning?")