Soccer Tots

This post is also from a couple weeks ago. It was our last soccer class. Charlotte actually did really well. She loves playing with the cones.I think her favorite part is still the balloons!
She still tried to escape every chance she got.

The hula hoops are another big favorite.
She likes to carry them on her arm like the kids do in gymnastics.

She usually lasts a little while before frowning and running to the lobby to play with the gumball machine.

Grandpa came to see what was going on and Charlotte pretended she was being sweet and holding his hand...
...but then she started taking him for a walk... outside the field.
She wanted to go back to the gumballs!

She found the Christmas tree and took the ornaments off of it. Luckily they were shatterproof!
She went back in to the field to do parachute and to get her stamp.
She did a great job!

Gymnastics!

These pictures are from the beginning of the month, but I wanted to put them up! We have since finished gymnastics and I think we will take a break until we get home and start up Gymboree again. Charlotte was not really a fan of gymnastics. She hated the trampoline, hated doing anything without me and frowned and pouted most of the class. Needless to say it was more work for me than it was worth carrying around a toddler who doesn't want to do anything. I'm glad we tried though and we went to all our classes anyway. I guess being a gymnast isn't in her future!!!

Christmas Card

So I never got around to mailing out Christmas cards this year. With all the chaos of not being in our own home and running here and there, I just never printed them and mailed them, although I did make them! So here is a blog Christmas card. I hope everyone had a great holiday!

The celebrations continue...

Charlotte took a nap on Christmas day from 10:30-12 and then was up again. Despite my best efforts to get her to lay down again, she didn't and so we made a deal that she had to be a nice girl and wear her pretty outfit and let me put a headband in her hair or she needed to lay back down. She agreed and after playing in the tub for a bit we put some Moroccan Oil in her hair, blowed it dry and got her dressed!We were still opening presents well into the evening.
Charlotte is so so so good about throwing out her trash. I have to admit, she is better than I am. Yesterday she saw a wrapper I had left on the table, she picked it up (without being asked) and brought it to the garbage. I think her Daddy is sending her subliminal messages to help Mama not be a slob!
Charlotte opened her counting bears and thought they were the greatest present ever. We started by sorting colors, which she surprisingly did pretty well at, but then she decided she wanted to mix them all up and pour them from cup to cup. Later it led to stacking the cups like a tower. Definitely one of the best presents!
She opened more movies too. Same as with books, I get sick of watching the same thing over and over, and I can't wait until she is big enough to watch Disney movies! She was excited to get a new Laurie Berkner Band DVD! Her exclamations of "OOOOOOOOUUUUU" are just the cutest!
I tried really hard to get Charlotte to actually pose for a picture for me. First she screamed at me, then she just wouldn't even get back on the stool, and then I bribed her with the promise of a lollipop after we were done. She got right on the stool, but refused to smile. Oh well, I tried.
She showed me how much she didn't like me taking her picture by giving me dirty looks.
Grandma and Grandpa came over with Aunt Karen, Uncle Rodney, Kelly and Karen's parents Kay and Andy. They all came up from Long Island for Christmas! It was so nice to see them! Charlotte immediately started dragging people around the house.
While we were waiting for dinner Kelly, Karen and I played with the cameras and took some photos! They came out pretty good!

As much as Grandma hates having her picture taken, when she is outnumbered she has to go along with it. She is the reason we (Kelly, Charlotte and I) are all so spoiled. She will admit it too!
Charlotte didn't want to sit in her chair for dinner, she wanted to be on the bench between everyone causing all sorts of nonsense, and of course everyone turns into pudding when Charlotte want's something. Mom and Uncle Rodney were caught in the middle of kisses and hugs and she was so funny putting her arms around both of them and pulling them and chatting!
It was a wonderful Christmas!

Christmas Morning

Charlotte was up at 6:15 Christmas morning. Not because she knew it was Christmas, it just so happened she opened her bedroom door and started calling "MAMA" before the sun was even up. Since Grandma and Grandpa weren't coming until 8, I did all that I could to keep her upstairs and not see the tree and the packages under it. We didn't put anything under the tree until Santa came, so it was a huge surprise to her!

Mimi finally brought Charlotte downstairs.
She immediately ran to Grandma and Grandpa and showed her the movies that she carried down from upstairs, completely disregarding the tree and all the presents.
She was a little confused at first. (Notice the Christmas Jammies. Charlotte went to bed in them, but then when she snuck out of bed to have dessert Christmas eve, she got them covered in Tiramisu, so I changed her, washed the PJ's after she went to bed, and promptly put them on her in the morning!)

But as soon as she spotted Olivia under the tree she dug right in!
One of Charlotte's favorite shows and books is Olivia, and she got not one but two stuffed Olivia's. (A baby and a big one!) She was so pleased. She also got a lot of baking and dolly stuff!
She loves going into and under things so she really enjoyed her tent. She brought all her toys in with her!
Mimi got Charlotte a jellycat piggy and she was so happy!
Grandma thought she should have a tea set, and so Santa brought one! Charlotte loves it. She is already having tea parties with Grandma, Grandpa and I, and she can't wait to have a tea party with Joli when we get back! I have a feeling Joli won't really appreciate Charlotte's lack of tea etiquette though, nor will she find playing without any real tea very exciting! Charlotte will practice her pouring so she can use real tea when we get home!
We got Maggie pretty dress up beads for her birthday in October and Charlotte loved them, and spots them all the time when we are in Target so Santa brought her her very own set!
Charlotte did a great job of delivering presents to Grandpa, Grandma and Mimi. She even used her fire truck to help her get around!
Of course she didn't want to go in her tent by herself, what fun would that be? So she brought Grandma in with her!
Chris and I got Charlotte the most amazing book called "Wherever you are my love will find you", by Nancy Tillman. It is awesome and the perfect book for having a Daddy overseas.
Santa also brought some more chunky puzzles which are a huge favorite! It amazes me to watch the creativity bloom in Charlotte. Once she mastered the puzzle, she now uses the pieces as toys, and instead of laying them flat, I caught her standing them all up in the holes, but in all the right places!
Charlotte wanted one of her new diapers for her babies on her piggy.
Mimi, Grandma and Grandpa all got some new pictures of Charlotte. She liked to see herself in them!
Santa brought Mama some new workout clothes! Charlotte thought they were hers and deserved a ride on her truck!
Santa brought a Little People garage, but he forgot to assemble it for her, so she had to wait until later, but she enjoyed playing with the cars!
Charlotte got lots of new books too, although this is also a present for Mama since I am the one reading them over and over, it is nice to have a large selection.

A little elf took the picture frame from Grandma and Grandpa's that had all newborn pictures of Charlotte in it, and replaced them with all updated ones! Charlotte pointed out herself.
What would Christmas be with out new Barney movies?!
I think her favorite toy is her lacing beads that Santa brought. I wasn't sure if she would be able to do them but she picked it up right away and in the last few days it has kept her attention playing quietly for a good long time!All the commotion made a tired little girl even more tired and she decided to rest in the middle of all the loot!

She remained there until Daddy called and wanted to skype! Then she literally jumped up and ran around so excited until we got connected. She gave Daddy lots of kisses and then he had breakfast with us! We hadn't seen him on the computer in about a month, but he found a place that he could connect so it was a special treat to see him! That was definitely the best part of the morning!