Week 10 (Day 64 to 70)

 Day 64

You can't really tell but Charlotte is wearing heels.  I despise heels and this girl wears them all of the time!

 Day 65

First trip to the dentist!  She did great.  For the first visit, the dentist just counted her teeth and took a couple Xrays and then showered her with stickers and trinkets and a stuffed bear.  How could she not have a positive experience with all that stuff?! :)

 Day 66

First day of swim lessons for Cole.   For the lesson he was on the other side of the pool and it was dark out so no good pics from this session, I suspect!  He loves swimming lessons (and swimming in general) and as the local swim team got ready for practice after his lesson, I wondered if someday he would want to do that.  We'll see.  He's in Level III now and that entails swimming the length of the Olympic size pool several times with the breast stroke.  Tough for the first day but by the second class his endurance was already up.  

 Day 67

Beauty of sunsets literally make me gasp.

Taken with my IPhone

Day 68

First day of Charlotte's swim lessons.  She is definitely hesitant with going under. She'll do it once during class and then won't do it again.  I have to keep reminding myself that it wasn't until Cole was just shy of 5 years old that he really wanted to go under and then was swimming like a fish.  Charlotte will get there too. :)

Day 70

This was certainly a week of firsts! This was Charlotte's first time at a hair salon to get her hair cut. I have trimmed it several times but it needed a good even trim.  We definitely didn't take too much off of the length though.  Gotta love that long hair.

Week 9 (Days 57 to 63)

Day 57 

We celebrated Grandpa's, Jay's, and Kerry's birthday (all within a week of one another).  I LOVE my Mom's homemade cake and frosting. It's amazing.  :)

Day 58: missed (I hope I'm not starting a trend of missing Mondays)

Day 59

Cole made up a simple yet very fun game that Charlotte gets a huge kick out of.  He found a plastic tomato from the kids' kitchen set and a small pan.  You have to throw the tomato in the pan and he has  prizes lined up (random toys from around the room) that you can get with each time you get it in the  pan. Charlotte thinks it is just hilarious.

Day 60

First blizzard of the season. We had just gotten home and it was getting dark but I let Charlotte romp around the front yard before dinner. The girl was beyond ecstatic to skip through the snow. She made me follow her to make trails and paths.  (Cole was exhausted from a day at a bouncy place with friends and chose to stay inside.)  

Day 61

We took the kids to see Peter Pan at the Manchester Palace Theater.  It was put on by a kids theater group ranging from 8 to 18 years old.  The talent was pretty amazing and  Cole and Charlotte were on the edge of their seats the whole time. They loved it. I did too.  

Day 62

Yay for sledding at Mack's again!  We had a blast.

Day 63
Snowflakes on my nose and eyelashes....and hair and lips. :)

Week 8 (Days 50 to 56)

Day 50 

Brendan and I spent a night away in Portsmouth at the Wentworth by the Sea.  LOVE!  Before we checked out in the morning Brendan encouraged me to walk around the grounds to take some photos. I love this man and how much he supports my hobby!  This photo was one of my favorites with the color of the life preserver and the glimmer of the water. By the way, on my way back to the hotel, I spotted a man down on one knee proposing to his girlfriend. I heard her cry and I just wanted to break out in smiles for them. :)

Day 51: missed

 Day 52

Charlotte loves her long hair. She often hangs her head back and says "Look Mommy, my hair touches my butt!"  Some days I want to cut it short when it gets too crazy but I love how long it is too.

Day 53

The kids often argue over if I put them to bed. Brendan and I alternate putting each child to bed but sometimes they just both want me to put them to bed.  Mommy is just mommy, you know? They love Brendan just as much but there is nothing like mommy-snuggles. :)   Every now and then I put them both to bed and we lay in Cole's bed singing songs and resting until I get up and put Charlotte in her bed.

Day 54

Cole's reading has really grown by leaps and bounds in the past two months.  It's pretty amazing to see. He still prefers to be read to but it isn't a struggle to get him to read to us any more.

Day 55

We played the Kinect Dance when we had friends over for dinner that night.  Charlotte loves to dance and this game is no exception.  Her favorites are "I whip my hair" by Willow Smith and "Somebody to Love" by Justin Beiber.  She follows the moves really well!

Day 56

Some days Charlotte doesn't love to smile for the camera.

And some days Cole does. 

Week 7 (Days 43 to 49)

Day 43

Well, I am two weeks behind on posting so these Valentine's Day cards seem like eons ago!

The kids and I had a lot of fun making these and they really were super easy to make! The longest part about it was breaking all of those crayons into small bits!

Not sure we'll do handmade cards every year but this year sure was a hit.

 Day 44

Loving kisses.  Brendan had a headache that evening and Charlotte was rubbing his head and then giving him kisses.  So very sweet.

 Day 45

Valentine's Day!

We sometimes get into fights, we sometimes get frustrated with one another, but at the end of the day we sure do love one another a whole bunch!

 Day 46

Taken just before I went to bed.

I was consumed with The Maze Runner series for the past two weeks. It's a similar genre to The Hunger Games.  Both are incredibly good.  Was sad when the trilogy ended. I so dislike when good stories end!

 Day 47

Story before bed.

 Day 48

I've yet to understand why Cole takes one sock off every single night.  He does it without really noticing and then walks around like that.  So funny.

 Day 49

Last day of basketball.  Cole has really enjoyed it.

Week 6 (Days 36 to 42)

  Day 36

Two for the price of one for day 36!  The photo of the boys absolutely cracks me up.  Cameron was the only one that didn't know everyone at the Super Bowl party but the moment he pulled out the DS all boys were immediately attracted like a magnet to the living room.  I came down the stairs to this scene where two boys had scrambled on top just to get a better view.  They were all watching intently and all offering commentary on the game.  They only played for about 20 minutes but it was funny.  

Of course the girls could care less about electronics. Give them paper, glitter, stickers, and markers and they'll be entertained for a long time!  This, I can understand!

Alas, day 37 was missed.  I had work all day and went straight to a school Board meeting.  I got into bed, realized I hadn't taken a photo and decided to sleep instead of find something to take a photo of. :) Strike One!  I am hoping to minimize these strikes this year, much less than last year, but I am also realistic.  

 Day 38

Cole drew a self portrait in art last week. He was pretty proud of it!

 Day 39

The start of our homemade Valentine's Day card project! 

 Day 40

Sometimes making dinner after a long day is just not what we want to do. So, we make breakfast instead. :)  A big favorite are homemade pancakes...I use the recipe that my Mom always used growing up. I can't imagine ever making them from a box.  This is definitely something that my Mom passed to me....making anything from scratch. It's just so much better...tasting and better for  you!   Charlotte loves to help me in the kitchen, especially the mixing part!

 Day 41

This was taken at about 10:30 at night.  It was Friday night, I had just come back from a get together at girlfriend's house and there wasn't much to take a photo of. When in doubt, take a photo of a wine bottle (one of my favs!- the wine not the photo!)

Day 42

I found a heart in our backyard!
Or a bug-eyed alien.
You choose the perspective. :)

Week 5 (Days 29 to 35)

 Day 29

Half of our front yard was still covered in snow a week ago. Now of course that snow is gone but for one glorious afternoon Charlotte rolled around in that beautiful frozen stuff.  There was a lot of taste testing going on too. :)

 Day 30

Last Monday I went over to Robyn's to watch The Help.  I had finished the book over Christmas break and was eager to watch the movie.  Of course the book was better but the women who portrayed the characters were fabulous and the ending although the same as the book, I thought did a nicer job of tying it up for the viewer.  "You is kind. You is smart. You is important."  I hope my children always believe these words too!  

 Day 31

A hit for a couple days was having dance parties with one person holding a flashlight as the spotlight.  Capturing that is tough as with any low light the person needs to hold still.  There was none of that during the dancing!

 Day 32

I usually love winter skies. They are brilliant and gorgeous. This winter has been lack luster for the most part.  I guess I need to get up earlier to view it!
(iPhone photo)

 Day 33

I picked up a couple decorations for the super bowl party.  Cole loved the blow up helmet.

 Day 34

Friday night fun.  Why is Sam under the table?  :)

(iPhone photo with low light)

Day 35

Charlotte and I had a fabulous girl afternoon.  She got her nails painted a beautiful shade of sparkly purple at a salon. I wanted to get mine done too but the  place was too crazy busy.  Charlotte got a new summer dress and we both got  some make up done at the Clinque counter.  Mimi  applied some shiny lip gloss to Charlotte's lips which she was just ecstatic about.  It's so fun to be sparkly and girly sometimes!   

(iPhone photo)

Week 4 (Days 22 through 28)

 Day 22

Sledding with friends. Weeeeee!!

 Day 23

Choosing a paint color.  I am looking to spruce up the kitchen.  Charlotte wants me to paint it yellow and Cole wants me to paint it orange.  I am partial to more neutral colors and so yellow it is.  Look for the walls to be painted by the next millennium...that's how long it usually takes me to get my butt moving!

 Day 24

Charlotte was super excited to show me that she can now reach the sink (*almost*) without a step stool.  Ignore our hideous bathroom. This is our master bath and it is just sad.  I need it to be a spa retreat! haha- someday!

 Day 25

Charlotte newest obsession is playing with her Barbies in the sink.  She washes their hair  and scrubs them down.  She asks to do it all of the time!

 Day 26

I love winter nights.  During the summer we go outside after dinner and that is fun too but Cole would rather play with the Rogers' than his Mom and Dad usually.  Sniff, sniff!  On winter nights we stay inside and play board games, read stories, and goof around. This particular night there was a lot of tickling!

 Day 27

Every Friday night we alternate with some friends for hosting dinner. The three families take a main course, or an app, or dessert. This night it was my turn for dessert (obviously) and I made cheesecake stuffed strawberries.  SO yummy.  The cookies were *gasp* store-bought because I was running late.  The Friday night dinners are something we all look forward to all week!

Day 28

My favorite picture from the week.

We have moved around our living room a bit and the back wall/window is open.  I love that there are window seats on the big windows.  I looked over and Cole had sat down with a book.  I wanted to capture it- ran to get my camera- adjusted settings, snapped, and then the moment was over as he then proceeded to move to the floor instead.  I recently read a blog post about capturing the little moments before they are gone and this is exactly what I wanted to do here. 

Week 3 (Days 16 through 21)

Day 16

Birthday!  This silly girl thought it would be hilarious to go back and forth behind the chair while I was asking to take a photo of her.  This one of her laughing and her hair flying ended up being my favorite.

 Day 17

Last Tuesday Charlotte and I stayed home with Cole.  He was not feeling so great and I am thankful this year my company has a childcare leave policy where I don't have to use vacation days to stay home with a sick child.  Cole ended up sleeping past 9am that morning and Charlotte and I played in the living room until he woke up.  This scene shows so much about Charlotte right now.  Multiple hair bows/barrettes, coloring her new wooden doll set with great care, and her dress up dolls in the corner.  Also the new baby doll bottle she received as a gift has turned into a combo baby bottle/shampoo container her Barbies.  

Day 18

Well, I thought Cole was well enough to go back to school but by 11am I got a call from the nurse saying that Cole was not doing well and was coughing a lot.  So I picked him up from school and we went home to rest on the couch for awhile. After two hours he seemed to be back to normal Cole and as I was done with sitting in a house full of germs, we went outside. :)  The kids had a lot of fun stopping through the hard snow and sliding down the hill on their bellies.

Day 19

Sometimes the simple things are the perfect capture for my day.  Charlotte climbed to her chair for breakfast but not before placing her high heeled dress up shoes very carefully next to her chair.  

Day 20

One of the kids at Cole's after school program brought in a fun craft.  Cole made this beautiful crown and was so pleased to give it to me afterwards.  It was very sweet.

Day 21

Pinewood Derby day for Boy Scouts.  More to come on the family blog but suffice it to say, Cole was very proud of the work that he and Brendan did on their car.