Visit with Papa and Grandma- May 2012

Me and the rents

Dad, Alexis and I in downtown Scottsdale

In May, we had a wonderful visit from my parents!!! It was too long since the last time we have seen them so we were definitely due to get together.
The first day they were here we hung out at the house and Grandma offered to make a meal that we had missed. So we picked Italian greens and beans and Chicken Marsala...mmmm it was DELISH! We also went swimming in the pool and caught up on each others lives.
Another night while they were in town we took a trip to downtown Scottsdale, and ate at the Tortilla Factory. We also took them to Macayos- they wanted Mexican food while they were in town and Macayos is one of our favorites! We miss them so much and it really stinks we all live so far away:(

At the Tortilla Factory

Charlotte and Papa

Had a great visit and can't wait to see them again soon!!

Charlotte's 8 & 9 month Pics

These are a tad late but tomorrow she will be 10 months so I figured I should post these now!

8 months 

9 months

Charlotte actually took her first steps a few days ago on August 1st!!! Since than she keeps on trying and can stand on her own for longer periods of time. She is a very determined little baby.

Summer is coming to an end

   This summer has really flown by for us. We kept very busy and did a lot of fun things together. Luckily, Thomas got to take off from work for two weeks which was AWESOME!        
   One of the things we did during his vacation was went camping. Now this was Alexis' and Charlotte's very first camping trip. It has also been years since I have gone as well, more than 10. Although, Thomas went a few years ago. So any who I was a little leary of how this was all going to play out seeing as Im not too much of an outdoor girl! We ended up going with some very good friends of ours who also have little ones, so it was nice knowing they would understand if the baby got fussy or what not. We ended up staying a Friday thru Monday and it all worked out very well. Everyone  just helped each other out which was great! Alexis ended up bringing her friend Morganne, that lives down the street. I figured she would be kind of bored with little babies and all. My most favorite part of camping I would have to say is the S'mores and to sit by the fire and just relax. The girls enjoyed the hike to the nearby creek. Thomas' liked the fish hatchery we got to visit that was also near our campground. Here are some pics of our camping trip!

Of course he had to make a face to ruin the pic!

All of us

The night of the rain!

The creek

Charlotte, Finn and Brayden

Morganne and Alexis

With this Arizona heat we pretty much lived in our pool this summer. We also got to enjoy the nearby aquatic center which has a large pool, water slides, lazy river and tons of fun stuff for the kiddos! 
Now  only a week left before Alexis starts school and enters the fourth grade! I still can't believe it! Just yesterday she was had her pre school graduation. 
One good thing about the summer ending is we are all looking forward to cooler temps! I am also looking forward to the winter when Flagstaff has snow so we can take little miss Charlotte to see it!  

Visit with G-Pa

 Grandpa came to visit us in March and we had such a wonderful time with him! Although, we had gone to the Grand Canyon a week prior while my brother was here we thought we would take Dad since he had never been. It was beautiful the first time, but this time there was snow!!! It was very chilly too...but we all know I LOVE the cold so it was PERFECT!

Alexis loves her G-Pa!

 Also while Dad was here we went to Dave and Busters and played games and ate. Alexis loves going here, one of her favorite places besides the normal Chuckie Cheese or Peter Piper Pizza.

It was also nice just hanging out at the house and catching up. We wish we weren't so far away from our families :(

We surprised Grandpa with this  canvas we made with the girls hand prints! He absolutely loved it!!! Came out really cute too.

I am 7 months old!

Love this face! She is getting big way too fast. 
So whats new this month?

Let me tell you, she is all over the place! She just started crawling!!!! The last few weeks she has been trying very hard. She would also roll multiple times if she wanted to be near us or play with a certain toy, it was hilarious. She is also trying to go from a crawling position to a sitting position and very close. We also may have to put the crib mattress down  soon because shes trying to grab things and stand.

Her favorite food is still sweet potatoes and she loves bananas too. We are working on a sippy cup which she loves doing on her own.

 Here is Alexis and her best friend Jordan at Field Day! Her class was the red team and although they didnt make first place, they got an award for having great team work.

This was her favorite relay- the tug of war. It was very cute to watch!


Alexis' last day is May 24th, so a few more weeks than summer vacation!!

Grand Canyon Trip

                                           Love this pic of the two of them!

                Alexis loved it here. She wanted to go hiking but with a 5 month old
                                        that was not gonna work!

Had to post these wonderful pics of our day trip to the Grand Canyon! We went in March and it was absolutely breathtaking. My brother was in town and his first time here as well.

Wordless Wednesday

Last 3 months

4 months

5 months

6 months

It's been awhile...

Well it has been awhile since I have been on here and so much has changed in our lives, I'm not really sure where to start... I will start with things that you may have missed:

Alexis is now in 3rd grade and doing very well. She is in her last quarter and so far has been on honor roll all year! I am so proud of her! Shes always been a smart little cookie though. 

This was also Alexis' first year of Cheer leading. She enjoyed it a lot and the first competition her team made first place! 
Her dance was to Justin Biebers- Somebody to Love.
Another big event was a school talent show that Alexis performed in. She sang the song "Rolling in the Deep," by Adele. Oh my gosh she was absolutely AMAZING!!!! Her Uncle RJ was also here visiting so he also got to see the little superstar.

In February 2011, we received some exciting news that, WERE HAVING A BABY!

Charlotte's 3D Ultrasound

We were very psyched and we both were hoping for a girl, especially Alexis. There were a few names I liked, Adrianna, Emma, Isabella but Michael and I both agreed on the name Charlotte Anna. Love the name Charlotte and its not very common because I hate common names, and the Anna is my grandmothers name. Alexis' middle name is also Anna as well. 

The pregnancy went okay, towards the end I was very uncomfortable and pretty much lived in my bathtub. I worked full time up until a few weeks before I delivered because work was too strenuous and I could barely move around without getting short of breath. I also experienced a lot of Braxton hicks contractions which I didn't get with Alexis. Not fun!

I ended up being induced, which I would never do again, just because we have no family here and we had to schedule it for when my grandma was here to stay with Alexis. 
We went in about 1:00am on October 6th and I was started on Pitocin, things were moving along pretty well and I was already contracting on my own. A couple hours later I started shaking really bad and I was freezing, the nurse thought I was nervous and I told her I was completely okay. My labor and delivery with Alexis was a breeze so I was not anxious at all during the labor. I also had an epidural and did not feel a thing. That part was hard for Michael and it killed him that he had to sit in front of me and couldn't see them administer the needle. The whole time he kept saying he was sorry that I had to go thru this.  Next thing I knew 4 nurses came in and flipped me on my side because apparently Charlotte's blood pressure was dropping. I then of course was getting nervous and the whole time Michael was right by my side. Things then went back to normal and about 7am I felt a lot of pressure. When the nurse came back to check on me, we found out that my water had broke and baby was on her way! The nurses phoned the Dr and said he was on his way. 
I remember looking at the time at 8:15 and they told me to start pushing and to breathe. I pretty much laughed the entire time because I could not feel anything besides a little pressure.



 At exactly 8:19am our little angel was born weighing 8lbs and 20 inches long. She was so beautiful. Shortly after, my grandma and Alexis came up to the hospital to meet Charlotte. Alexis was so excited and did not want to put her down. Holly and Tommy also were there and Holly was very supportive throughout my labor and delivery. My grandma was here for 2 weeks and helped around the house and cooked meals which was absolutely wonderful, because those first few weeks are rough!

 Michael had off from work the first 4 weeks so that he was here with the baby and I. I'm very glad he could get this time off to bond with the baby and of course help me with her feedings. We usually took turns during her night feedings so it was nice to have him around. I am so glad she sleeps thru the night now!

As far as Michael and I, we tied the knot August 8, 2011! Happiest day of my life! I couldn't ask for a better husband and best friend.



Okay so it is now April 20, 2012 and Charlotte is now 6 months and getting so big! She is trying to crawl and moving around a lot more. Guess I should baby proof the house now! 
As far as Miss Alexis she only has a few more weeks of school.  This week she had her Aims testing, which is an Arizona state test to monitor the students progress. She is very sociable and has made many new friends at her new school. 

Well its midnight here and I'm trying to cram everything in this one post and getting very sleepy. I'm sure I rambled on and there's probably a few things I have missed. So for now, Goodnight!

Halloween 2010

Alexis- Second Grade

Alexis is doing really well this year, as always. She likes reading chapter books and really enjoys the Junie B. Jones series. Also she likes Diary of a Wimpy kid. She doesn't like doing homework so much, but what kid does. Can't believe this December my little girl is going to be 8 years old, where has the time gone?! We are looking forward to Grama T. coming in a few weeks! We have not seen her in over a year:( Nothing really new here, Miley is getting huge and we also got 2 kittens for Alexis and she named them Alice, and Bella (Twilight) and the dog thinks there her toys, its pretty funny. Alexis also met a couple of new friends in our neighborhood and likes playing barbies with them and we go swimming in their pool as well. Oh yeah her new word for barbies is "barbs." Her favorite colors are still pink and purple and she likes orange. She is still very picky on what she eats, still loves her chicken fingers. Lately she has not been a fan for spaghetti sauce though which I hope that passes since she has Italian in her for god sakes! Other things she likes to do is play school, she sets up her stuffies and reads to them. Also makes me play store with her and her fake money. Thats about it, still the same sweet little Alexis with a dash of strong will :)


We are going to do some Halloween festivities this weekend so I will be posting some more pics! Alexis has decided to be Tinkerbell this year for Halloween! She wants me to dress up with her so I am gonna have to think about this one haha! Enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday

Visit with Mima- July 2010