First Trip to the Zoo

Today, my brother Kyle & I took Charlotte to the zoo in Sanford. The day was far from what I pictured in my mind for Charlotte's first Zoo adventure. It seriously felt like we were in a sauna! I know we live in Florida & it is the hottest part of the year but WOW! I think the animals must have been feeling the same way which must be why we only saw a few of them in our lightning fast 1 hour trip around the zoo.

Unfortunately we only have about 2 pictures with animals in them. The best up close & personal interaction we had was with the llama, pictured below. Charlotte was dressed for the occasion in her little shorts with animals all over them & a lovely floral hat to block the sunshine from her fair skin.

Here is the little lady

Uncle Kyle & Charlotte

the llama....this picture makes me laugh : )

The best part of the zoo was the splash park we enjoyed before leaving. I was shocked at how much fun Charlotte had. She was by far the littlest kiddo there! She is getting pretty steady on two feet & did some speedy walking while chasing after the shooting water.


Here she is staring at the large bucket of water that dumped over periodically. She kept going towards it even though it would have knocked her off her little feet. I had to rescue her multiple times & ended up almost as wet as her : ) I will make sure not to wear white capris next time I have the possibility of getting soaked : )

Final conclusion: Let's just say that I am glad we did not buy an annual pass to the zoo. I think the saying is right, everything is bigger & better in Texas : ) We look forward to a visit to either the Houston, Ft. Worth or Dallas Zoo sometime during the cool season!

Who Loves Charlotte?

One last package arrived in the mail this week concluding the birthday gifts. My creative mother, who I have mentioned before, out did herself once again!

Check this out.....it is the "Who Love's Charlotte Game" packaged in a Hello Kitty tin, just perfect for Char to drag all over the house !

open the lid......

and....Who Loves Charlotte?


This has been the most favorite thing to play with since it's arrival earlier this week

Take note of who she is staring at.....Uncle Kyle has been the number one reciever of attention & kisses. It is hilarious! She opens the tin, pulls them out one by one throwing them over her shoulder....she then locates Uncle Kyle's card & carries him with her every where she goes. It is perfect timing because we are picking him up from the airport within the hour...I wonder if she will recognize him? There is going to be some trouble around here if she starts kissing Uncle Kyle on the cheek after refusing her Daddy for some time now : )

Anyone see any resemblance between Kitty & Char?

Thanks Mom! You are so creative & thoughtful! We love you!

Betty Homemaker

This is my very first attempt at breadmaking....I thought I would share the process in photos

My mom had a sourdough starter she received early in the year and has kept it going for about 6 months. She has made countless loaves of bread and the most delicious cinnamon rolls EVER! When I visited Houston in April, we tried to figure out a way to get a starter back to Orlando for me to use.

Our solution:

• My mom brought it from Houston to Dallas the weekend we visited for Charlotte's Birthday Party
• My mother in law took care of it, fed it, gave it some love & then transported it via car from Dallas to Orlando a couple weeks ago

I know it sounds like alot of work for a starter I could probably figure out how to make but oh well! It was great to get it! Thanks Mom & Jeannine!

First evening with all my ingredients

The next morning after mixing in rest of ingredients & kneading

The dough in the above photo grew large enough to divide into these three loaf pans

The next morning after letting it rise

and ta-da! Three delicious loaves of bread!

The bread was pretty yummy, not as good as the ones my mom has made but she assured me that each time gets better & better!

Final thoughts....watching the bread rise and rise and rise reminded me of when I was pregnant with Charlotte. Just when I thought I couldn't get any bigger, I did!

Celebrating Jenny & Baby Karis

Today was a wonderful day! We were blessed with the opportunity to celebrate the upcoming arrival of my first niece, Karis Ann Valentine. She is expected to make her debut in about 4 weeks. The beautiful mommy to be pictured below is my sister-in-law Jenny. She is a special woman, a sweet friend, loving wife and soon to be, an excellent mother. I love her so much & am thankful that the Lord chose her to be my sister in law.

Aunt Jenny & Aunt Lala

Joy, Traci, Jenny, me & Christine

It has pretty much been craft central at my house over the past month preparing for Charlotte's birthday & then Jenny's shower. Anyone that knows me is well aware of my love for creativity : ) Here are some snippets of craftiness.....

First, a charm.....this is a copy cat act from a shower that was thrown for me. We had 9 different charms tied to various gifts. Each charm had a coordinating card with scripture and a prayer. As Jenny opened gifts, she would announce what the charm was & then the guest with the matching card would read it aloud. It turned out very sweet. One thing I loved when it was done for me was hearing Charlotte's name spoken in prayer by others & recognizing some key things to be praying for her little life. It was special to share these same things with Jenny & Karis.

the train charm

the coordinating card

So, I am kind of hooked on the banner making, Baby Karis now has one to put in her special box : )

my rendition of a diaper cupcake

the outfit I made for sweet Karis

Oh how I wish I could take credit for this absolutely adorable cake! Joy, my friend that made Charlotte's birthday cake....who always goes above & beyond made this one. I love the heart on the belly. Nice work, as usual Joy!

It was a sweet day in every way... & yes I wanted that to rhyme. I love you Jenny & cannot wait to meet my precious little niece. It was a privilege to celebrate with you today : )

Fun in the Sun

Robby's Mom & Dad celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary in May. They decided to include us in the celebration vacation : ) We joined them for the end of their stay at Daytona Beach & enjoyed some fun in the sunshine! We spent time relaxing, swimming, eating, walking, playing Phase 10 & watching Charlotte entertain us.

Char with Aunt Jenny playing copy cat with Uncle Steve

Me & little bit enjoying our own personal pool with an ocean view

Steve, Jenny, Rob & me after dinner out

Charlotte & Grammy


Snuggled close to mommy ...I love those lips!


our morning walk on the beach

The last day, Robby, Steve & Bob went to The Daytona Experience. They took a tour, got to ride in a simulator race car & learned all kinds of crazy facts. One being that there have been 18 babies born at the race track since it opened. Robby said he remembered that one just for me : )

Here they are at Victory Lane

Thank you Bob & Jeannnine for treating us to such a special time as a family. We love spending time with you & look forward to many more trips together. Next year will be very fun with Charlotte & her cousin Karis who is expected to arrive next month!! Yipeeeee!!

One Year Old

This has been a big week for posting : ) I couldn't have left anything out though so I hope you have enjoyed it! We had Charlotte's one year appointment this morning at the pediatrician's office & had a wonderful report.

Here we are at the doctor visit.....Charlotte kept pulling the stethoscope off then placing it back on her chest over her heart. Maybe she will be a nurse someday like her mommy : )

MY GROWING GIRL
Weight- 21 lbs 5oz -5oth percentile
Height- 29.5 inches- 50th percentile
Head-75th percentile

A glimpse of my little one year olds doings throughout the day:

• Taking about 7-10 steps in a row
• Blabbing alot, it frequently sounds like she says "huh?" or "eh?" looking at you with a questioning face : )
• Eats like a HORSE! She still eats pretty much everything we place in front of her
• She is very ticklish under her chin and has the cutest giggle
• Waves at every person leaving out of Orlando International Airport from our yard & sometimes even waves at the ceiling while inside if she hears a plane
• Does sign language for "all done" at the end of meals & bath time
• Today while we were out, we saw a statue of a dog and she started doing the sign for "Dog" without any prompting
• You can ask "Charlotte, where is your head?" & she touches her head
• Loves dancing, bouncing up & down with a little head banging
• Rarely cries, she is so easy going!
• Very observant of everyone & everything & is a little timid when in a new situation
• Puts toys inside of other toys
• Puts all of her toys back in a bin when we sing the "clean up" song
• Loves the ABC song
• Her favorite book right now is "Pat the Bunny," Her favorite page is a toss up between playing peek a boo with Paul or putting her finger in mummy's ring : )
• This girlie LOVES her puppies! When I was putting Bella up last night I found a toy that Charlotte was trying to share with Bella in the cage. She is getting good at passing their bone back to them when she picks it up. She likes to lean against Bella (the more calm dog) & Charlotte is the only person in the house that Bennett will let touch his paws : )
• She sleeps 12 hours at night with 2 naps during the day
• She eats 3 meals & a snack each day

Here is my sleeping beauty today finishing up her morning nap

This will be the last time to say it....I can't believe she is one, and I can't believe how much I love her!

the end of the birthday celebrations

Well well, I do believe the birthday celebrations have officially come to an end. Here is the recap of celebration #2 & #3.

We had a party at our home over the weekend & enjoyed some time with our Life Group from CCC & a few other families. Thanks for joining us & making Charlotte feel so special! The birthday girl was decked out head to toe once again & looked as cute as a bug...no pun intended : )

The amazing cakes my sweet & talented friend Joy made for us. She made the smash cake to match the invitation....so creative!

For as much as this girl likes to eat, this was her reaction to the cake. She was only quiet if she was licking it off Joy's finger haha!

Newest addition to the lady bug outfit, adorable bloomers! Thanks Edie, you are so very thoughtful : )

Bubbles are soooooo fun!


New pool, new suit, tu-tu cute!

Birthday Celebration #3 was on her actual birthday. Robby's parents are in town & spoiled us with a delicious lasagna dinner....thanks Big Bob! Uncle Steve & Aunt Jenny spent the afternoon & evening with us as well.

We were desiring to buy the same type gift for Charlotte each year of her life & decided to make that a book. Robby, the avid reader of the family is officially in charge of selecting the books for her. He ordered the book without even telling me what it was & I had a good laugh when it arrived in the mail.....it is called "The Church History ABC's." The book shares the story of 26 different people that made contributions to the christian church, matching the letters of the alphabet of course. Definitely plenty of things for the whole family to learn, even if is slightly more intense reading than "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" : )

We also got her a baby doll named Libby. She is pretty adorable although Charlotte's initial reaction was to avoid making eye contact with her at all costs. Char was dodging her as Robby tried to get her to give Libby a hug. She was much happier when pushing Libby in her new stroller from Uncle Steve & Aunt Jenny....picture below.

Charlotte & her book

Charlotte taking Libby for a rough ride around the living room...good thing that stroller has a seatbelt!

What a fabulous few weeks of celebrating Baby Charlotte's first birthday! I still can't believe I have a one year old : ) We go to the doctor on Thursday & I will update you all with the stats!

Happy First Birthday Charlotte Grace!

My dear Charlotte Grace-

Tonight I rocked you, I sang to you "Goodnight & God bless my little one" while you hummed your own little tune along with me, I kissed you on your precious little nose, laid you in your crib and smiled as you waved at me while I lingered a bit longer than usual before walking out of your room knowing tomorrow, you would be one year old.

I love you, you must know this because I tell you all the time. I remember July 13th, 2009 so clearly. I remember feeling such peace in my heart throughout the day as we awaited your arrival. After 12 hours of labor including 3 intense hours of pushing, you were born. The clock read 9:49 pm, the moment that changed our lives forever. You were so beautiful Charlotte. Your cry was the sweetest sound we had ever heard, something we longed to hear for so long. We finally had you in our arms, you were ours!

This year has been filled with much rejoicing in our home & we are so thankful for what the Lord has done. Here is a portion of a poem your daddy wrote for me on our anniversary last year. It shares a bit of our journey to welcoming you into our life. ...


Together, we made it
closer we grew
as husband and wife
His word proving true

Though sometimes we doubted
that God really heard
our prayers for new life
but true to His Word

His timing was perfect
we just didn't know
we'd move far from home
to a land with no snow

To see Him work wonders
and fashion with might
in a womb they said "barren"
but God took delight

In creating a baby
who looks just like you,
He made you a Mommy
all the while He knew

The time and the place
He would give you this gift
to first lay you low
then your countenance to lift

His power, amazing
creating time & space
yet delicately forming
little Charlotte Grace

Our marriage is stronger
though baring the scars
of testing with fire
His delight is now ours

Happy Birthday Charlotte Grace! I love you so very much & look forward to as many years as the Lord sees fit in allowing us to care for you.

Love- your Mommy

Remembering your arrival.....

Welcoming Charlotte from Lauren Valentine on Vimeo.

Jackpot on the birthday gift!

Uncle Scott, my brother got Charlotte a super fun birthday gift....check out how much she loves it! We have about 9 minutes of video of her going back & forth, I selected a smaller clip for your enjoyment : )

Family Photo Shoot

My sweet friend Brooke that captured the birthday bash in pictures also spolied us with our own little session the next morning. We met her at her in law's house & took advantage of the great outdoors of Texas : ) Thanks again Brooke, you did an amazing job! Here are some of the favorites....