Shamu's Home

Today we went with our friends to Sea World! Lisa, Maisie's Mom, graciously got us in with her super cool Sea World pass! We met our friends Anna and Lily there too!And another with Shamu saying Hello!
Charlotte was happy just chillin in her stroller with her snacks!
We made our way to the Shamu show and had a snack while we waited!
Of course she wanted to run through the bleachers and swing through the bars... mean Momma wouldn't let her though and she wasn't too happy!
After watching Shamu, which she clapped throughout, we made our way to the Sesame Street play area. Charlotte wanted to go check out Elmo and Ernie, but once we got there she was a big scaredy cat!
She loved the idea of the tunnel...
...but refused to go through it. I don't know what is her deal lately!
Her favorite thing of the day though was running, (and I mean moving as fast as her little legs would go) all throughout the park. She was ridiculous!
Of course I chased after her...

She found the rides and wanted to get on, so she found the path for the line herself and walked until we hit people, then much to her disappointment, she got scooped up and carried away!She was determined to get on the ride. She tried to squeeze through the gap in the bars to get in line!
All that running makes a girl tired! Sitting down for a break is always good complete with scrunchy face.
We had a great day! Thanks Lisa for inviting us!

Gymnastics!

Today we tried out a Gymnastics class with Abby and Lilly! Charlotte was fascinated with the balance beams, but didn't want to walk on them. She was content hanging on them and walking around them.The girls were very cute doing the obstacle course. Lilly has done the class before, and has a big brother, so she knew exactly what to do! Charlotte was a bit hesitant but I think she had fun for her first class!
Following Lilly is always a good option!
The big hit of the day was surprisingly the part I thought Charlotte would hate! The marshmallow pit! It is a big pit full of foam blocks!



You should have seen Mama trying to get out of the marshmallow pit...

Keepin Busy!

We have been trying to keep ourselves busy! Charlotte has been waking up around 8-8:30 so I have been trying to only give her one nap a day, which means she needs to stay busy in the mornings so she doesn't melt! Today I was trying to clean the kitchen and make lunch so I brought the rice box inside for Charlotte to play with. I sort of negated my cleaning because we ended up with rice everywhere, but it was easy enough to sweep up!

She has gotten really good at pouring!

We got new toddler crayons and Charlotte colored a picture when she got bored with the rice!
After that she loaded the dishwasher!
She was very proud of herself!What a great job!
Lisa, Joli and Markus came over for lunch after Joli's swimming lessons. It was the first time Markus was at our house! Baylie met him for the first time... she immediately went into Mommy mode when he started to cry!
Charlotte was happy to see everyone!

She stood watch over Markus while we had lunch, but was quickly redirected when she tried to tip the seat over. Guess she isn't quite ready for her own brother or sister!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day Chris! We love you more than you know! We wish we could be with you today. Maybe next year we can have our first Father's day as a family!

Here are some favorite photo's from the last year!

You are one for tradition. You went out on Christmas eve to the bookstore to get "Twas the night before Christmas" so we could read it to Charlotte on her first Christmas. Even though she had no idea what you were reading, it was important to you.
You bring out the silly side in us all!

You took Charlotte sledding for the first time, and clearly you enjoyed yourself.
...and played in the snow! Maybe next year she will be big enough for a snowball fight with you!
We always miss you when you are gone on trips, and love it when you come home! It's so sweet to see how much Charlotte missed you!You come with us to the Zoo, and you protect Charlotte from the scary Hippopotamus!
You love to travel, if only we could do it more often. We saw the Hoover Dam, and you carry Charlotte on your back and don't mind one bit!
You always want to spend lots of time with us when you are home, and don't mind if you are surrounded by girls!
You teach Charlotte all the good tricks!
You even came with us to Stroller Strides, even though you were the only dad amongst a ton of mom's and babies... and you had fun and didn't complain. (too much!)
You embrace my crazy ideas, like setting up a photo shop in the backyard to take messy birthday pictures. You really were just trying to steal some cake!

Another crazy idea... making a water table in your free time!

I am so glad you were home to get to see Charlotte walk for the first time. I swear she waited for you!
It is clear how much you love your daughter... (and me too!) and we love you very much!You put together lots of things... including the tanker tricycle. Just for the record, I know you tried to ride it :)

You would rather hang out with us over most things, even like going to places like Summers Past, even with four women, and four babies, have a blast, entertain the kids, and announce upon arrival that you just "love it here".

Unfortunately we don't share the same love of the beach/ocean, but we try to put up with it for you!

I know I give you a hard time for things like putting the wrong lids on the sippy cups, or putting Charlotte in mismatched pajamas, but I really appreciate that you do those things.
Thanks for always doing the dishes, and laundry, and giving baths, and reading "The Going to Bed Book" every night before bedtime. (To Charlotte of course!). It's clear how much she enjoys doing those things!
It's no wonder Charlotte loves to give you kisses!
Thanks for being such a great husband and a wonderful father. We know you don't like to be away from us and we don't like to be away from you, but we appreciate what you do to keep us safe. We love you!

Happy Father's Day also to the other father's in our lives! We love you too!