Friday, November 6, 2009

We're Off to see the Wizard, the Wonderful Wizard of Oz!

I hate to say it. I think Charley's favorite holiday is officially Halloween. That is until Santa brings her lots of presents. Then, Halloween will be a thing of the past. As many of you already know, Charley loves to sing and dance. That is old news. Well, Charley's new favorite movie is none other than The Wizard of Oz. It is so cute to watch her sing and dance as she pretends she is Dorothy. So, who better to be for Halloween than the beloved Dorothy Gail. My mother-in-law was kind of enough to make Charley's Dorothy costume and it was so cute. Charley is still enjoying playing dress-up in it everyday.

This was the first year that we actually let Charley trick-or-treat at houses. Boy did she love it. After each house she would loudly state, "I want to go to another house." After a bucket full of candy Ryan and I decided it was time to call it quits for the night. Charley was even beginning to complain that her candy bucket was to heavy. Ha!

I do love this time of year. The holidays, the crisp mornings, the smell of firewood burning. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful life!

Halloween 2009

Sunday, September 27, 2009

My 30th Birthday!!

A couple of weeks ago I celebrated turning 30! I had been looking forward to turning 30 for quite awhile. After having cancer, every birthday is a milestone and you can't wait to celebrate another year. I'm sure that all cancer survivors would agree with me. I wanted to spend my 30th birthday with my closest friends and that's exactly what I did. Hilary A. and Kevin, Hilary O. and Tyler, and Ryan and I all started our night down at Maria's. It is my absolute favorite place for Mexican food....and margaritas. After a wonderful meal, we all headed to Ernie Biggs Piano Bar. It was a lot of fun with a lot of memories. I'll leave it at that! Finally, we ended our night at the Mud Lounge. I really couldn't have asked for a better birthday. Ryan and I have the best friends and to spend it with them was perfect!

It was also so nice to spend time with my family. My mom's birthday is less than a week after mine and for us to celebrate together is always wonderful. Thank you mom and dad for always being there.

Now to brag on my family a bit......Ryan has been so wonderful to me over the past years. We actually started dating when I was 15 and have officially been together for 15 years! I just want to thank you for being the best husband and father. Thank you for always providing for our family. Charley and you have an indescribable bond and she and I are truly blessed. I LOVE you so much and look forward to celebrating many more birthdays together!!!

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Summer is Over and the School Year has Begun!

Can you say slacker???? I have really let the blog go this summer. Perhaps it is because last summer I was robbed of time with my family and was just beginning my battle against breast cancer. So, when this summer rolled around, I took advantage of it. Although our summer didn't involve any glamorous trips or vacations, it was still wonderful. Charley turned 3 this summer which is so hard to believe. My baby is longer a baby. At 3 years old is she even considered a toddler anymore? I think she is slowly crossing over to officially being my big girl. Despite how time is flying by, I have to admit that I absolutely LOVE this age. Charley is such a firecracker......which might not be such a good thing at times! She now officially roles her eyes and just the other day I said something to her and she looked at me and said, "Whatever." I literally stopped in my tracks. Did my 3 year old seriously just look at me and say "Whatever?" She obviously gets this from Ryan. I would never roll my eyes or say whatever. (wink, wink)

As much fun as summer was and as busy as were, I was somewhat relieved when it was time for preschool to start again. The only bad thing about school starting is that the time seems to go by even faster and because of that I know summer will be just around the corner which means Charley will be turning 4. Could someone please freeze time for just awhile???

Yesterday was the first day of school for Charley and she was so excited. I remember last year she was so reluctant for me to leave her there and clung to my neck out of desperation for me to save her. Unfortunately that was not the case this year. When I Ryan and I dropped off at her class yesterday she took off her back-pack, turned to us, and said, "I need a hug." After hugs and kisses she was off and there was no turning back. No more separation anxiety. Charley is a social butterfly. Although I miss the days that Charley was fearful to be left in an unfamiliar location, I am so proud to be raising an independent, strong-willed child. I know these are attributes which will benefit her greatly as she gets older. Here are some pictures of Charley's first day of school:






With school starting, I thought this would be a good time to also enroll Charley into some sort of extracurricular activity. She LOVES music and LOVES to dance so I knew she needed something where she could be wild and move around. So, I decided we would try a free class of both dance and gymnastics and then choose from one of the two. Yesterday, Charley had Hip Hop. Yes, I said Hip Hop. It was her and two other boys, both of which were older than her by one, if not two years. My little Charley looked like a twig out there and although she was pretty good at the stretches they did at the beginning, Charley is so not ready for Hip Hop. Besides being so completely distracted because Ryan and I were there....although we did try to hide....she had no clue what was going on. At one point I heard her yell out, "My favorite color is yellow." What??? I ended up pulling Charley out of the class before it ever ended. Perhaps if there was a class called Free Style, Charley would do much better. Today we give our free gymnastics class a try. I really hope that today is more successful than yesterday! I'll keep you posted!

Monday, July 6, 2009

4th of July Celebration

Since the 4th of July is 5 days after Charley's birthday, it makes for a very busy week. It also makes for a lot of fun. This year we went to I Love America (ILA) that is hosted by the church we attend, James River Assembly. It is a MAJOR production and this year around 120,000 people attended. The weather was absolutely beautiful, so Ryan, Charley, and myself ventured out to ILA around 1:00 pm. I was a little worried about getting out there so early only because the fireworks didn't start until 9:20. However, Charley did GREAT! She had a wonderful time being pulled around in the wagon, eating snow cones and corn dogs, and just hanging out with her mom and dad. I know one of these days being around Ryan and I will be the last place she wants to be.

The fireworks display was spectacular and Charley didn't even flinch despite them being extremely big and loud. We ended up getting home around midnight and by that time Charley was pretty much comatose. We made wonderful memories that Ryan and I will cherish for lifetime.

4th of July 2009

Happy 3rd Birthday Charley!

I can't believe that my baby girl is 3 years old. It is so hard to believe that just three years ago I was at home with a newborn and now my baby has blossomed into a beautiful little girl. Ryan and I are so blessed by Charley each and every day. She is so full of life and has the BIGGEST personality. There isn't a day that goes by where she doesn't make me smile or laugh hysterically. She truly is such an angel. For her third birthday we went with the Disney Princess theme. What I love the most is that Charley truly believes that she is a princess........why would she think any differently!? Her birthday was at Wacky World which is a giant indoor inflatable jumpy place. This is one of Charley's favorite places and to have all of her friends there made it extra special. The kids jumped, and jumped, and jumped until they were all pretty much a sweaty, sticky, mess.....just in time for pizza! We had lots of yummy pizza and the most WONDERFUL cake EVER from Stacey's Sweets. I have used Stacey on several occasions and her cakes are to die for! Along with a BEAUTIFUL princess cake, she made princess crown sugar cookies for Charley's friends to take home. The cookies are AMAZING and just as good as the cakes. I would HIGHLY recommend her for all your celebrations!

After pizza and cake Charley went on to opening her presents. She got so many wonderful presents including cute dress up princess outfits, an outdoor sandbox, some crafts, and a baby doll with all the cutes accessories. It was such a wonderful day. On Charley's second birthday I had just been diagnosed with breast cancer a few weeks earlier and wasn't sure what the future held. Knowing that I had beaten cancer and was able to celebrate her birthday in full force this year was a wonderful feeling. I am looking forward to MANY more birthdays together as a family.

Happy Birthday Baby Girl! You are AMAZING! We Love You!

Charley's 3rd Birthday