the LaGore family....

the simple joys....

2011-03-25T11:47:00.000-07:00

A recent Sunday afternoon was spent enjoying all the wonderful things about spring including pretty new flowers in pretty new yellow pots

cute little dirty boy faces

the view of our new pool and dreaming of lazy summer days and, wait, what's that in the background.....

why, yes, that would be my daughter. playing in the sprinkler. in a long-sleeve dress. and tights. and cowboy boots.

a perfect Sunday aftenoon. i love this girl. enough said.

the bolt party......

2011-03-14T10:29:00.000-07:00

Around here, we love the movie Bolt. Love it. If you have never seen it, I highly recommend it. It is just the cutest thing. And it was recently on tv. And the girl declared that we were having a bolt party that night while we watched it. So we did.

Curled up with Miss Two to watch the movie.

Excited about our night.

Our guest of honor

Practicing our "Super Bark"

Mmmmm.....paw print cupcakes

the suitcase.....

2011-02-28T10:32:00.000-08:00

A few nights ago Bennett broke something off the desk chair in our front living room. It is not actually broken but the piece did come off. Shortly afterward, Charleigh came to find me in the other room to let me know what her brother had done.

Like any good mother I told her that Bennett would of course have to move out of our home. I mean, really, we had no other options.

"Okay," she said. And that was that. She went back into the other room and told brother of his fate.

A short time later he was crying and when I mentioned that I didn't know why, Charleigh's reply?

"Maybe he's sad that he has to move out. I even got his suitcase ready."

And she had. And placed it right by the front door.

She had packed it quite well too. The contents? A diaper, socks, pajamas, a sweatshirt, a beanie, jeans, and a shirt.

As you can see, Bennett was very concerned by the threat of being sent to live elsewhere.

Curious about where he was going? To TeeTee's (my cousin's) of course.

"But only for one day to think about what he did."

the birth story: part three......

2010-08-03T15:25:00.000-07:00

So there I was. Walking down the little hallway to the operating room to meet my second child. It had been such a whirlwind of a morning that I was still trying to process that it was all really happening. They had Josh wait outside while I was prepped. I entered the room and remember thinking that it looked and felt very different from my experience with Charleigh. That feeling was most likely because with her I was already exhaused, medicated, and laying on a gurney when I was brought in there.

One of my nurses was an awesome girl by the name of Jane (I think.). She was a Cal State student so even though she was "working", she spent most of the time just taking care of me. After we got in the room they had me get up onto the table. Nurses were running around like crazy everywhere and it suddenly seemed so overwhelming. Then it started. The panic. I just felt like I could not do this. No surgery, no needles, no cutting, none of it. I wanted out of there. Now.

But that was not an option. At this point, Jane stepped in and was amazing. She held my hands and asked me nonsense and unimportant questions which really helped me relax. The epidural was placed (much better and easier than I remember with Charleigh). Once it began to take effect I was laid back on the table. My arms were placed on the boards, and I remember asking the anesthesiologist if I could have something for nausea because with Charleigh I puked right after she was delivered. It was not a pleasant experience while laid out flat and unable to move. She told me that she had already given me something for it as well as something for my blood pressure. I laid there while they placed the heartrate monitors, blood pressure cuff, and did lots of other fun stuff. At one point, I asked the anesthesiologist why the baby's heartrate sounded so fast. She pointed out that that was MY heartrate, not the baby's. Oops. Right about the time that panic started to set in, Josh was allowed into the room. This did wonders to calm me down.

The time had really come. We were really going to meet our baby.

Dr. C came in and got started. I was so much more numb this time around. I really felt nothing until that moment when you feel that big tug when I knew they had pulled the baby out. Throughout the pregnancy I had been begging Josh to look over the curtain the moment the baby was delivered. I just felt that it would be so exciting for him to really see if it was a boy or a girl and what it looked like fresh out of the womb. He adamantly refused because he gets kind of queasy and was worried that it would be too gory for him. I also secretly hoped to be allowed a quick glimpse of Cereal prior to him/her being wiped off and wrapped up. The second request I mentioned to Dr. C and she had previously instructed the OR staff to lower the curtain for me.

Back to the delivery. As soon as I felt that big motion that I knew was baby being pulled out, I heard Dr. C say, "Okay Daddy, look at this! What is it?" Without any hesitation whatsoever, Josh stood up and looked over the curtain. He then looked down at me and with the most amazing sound of awe in his voice he said the most beautiful words, "It's a boy honey. We have a son." I could hear the full squealing coming from my son and then the curtain was dropped. There, right in front of me was this purple, slimy, screaming baby. It was one of the most amazing moments of my life. The staff asked us if he had a name. To which we replied yes. It's Bennett.

Bennett Michael LaGore. How sweet a moment it was. We finally knew who this child was.

This sweet little surprise. This wiggleworm that played all hours of the night inside me. Cereal. This baby that Charleigh was already so in love with. Our second child. Our son. He was here. He had a name.

As with my daughter, I started to cry. Filled with such awe that God had given me the chance to be part of this miracle. The day had been so chaotic and unexpected. But those moments right before he was born and just after were so peaceful and terrific.

It was everything I could have hoped for.

He is everything I could have hoped for.

And so much more.

the birth story: part two....

2010-06-08T12:05:00.000-07:00

Let's see....now where were we?

Oh yes, I survived the "day o' contractions" and was finally pain free. That lasted a glorious 48 hours, but alas, those darn things started right back up. By now, I had been given the "you're pregnant. It's part of the deal" speech and so I didn't really think much of them. They were uncomfortable, but bearable. Life continued on like normal for the rest of the week. Until.

Friday, April 16.

4:30 a.m. - I wake up and take my mom to work. Josh's car needs some repairs and so we are sharing a vehicle for the week. I need the truck to go to my dr's appointment so she is now at work without a vehicle.

8:00 a.m. - I drag myself and Charleigh out of bed. I had showered the night before because I had gone to a get together at my MOPS Mentor Mom's house. As a result, I threw my hair up in a ponytail, applied ZERO makeup, threw on some clothes, got Charleigh dressed and headed out to my weekly checkup appointment. No bags, no pictures, no nothing.

9:30 a.m. - I get a call from my girlfriend wanting to know if I would still like her to watch Charleigh while I go to my appointment. I tell her "no thanks, we'll be fine." It's just an in and out thing after all.

9:45 a.m. - We are called back for my appointment. My OB asks me if I have still been having contractions. To which I answer "Sure, but whatever. I can handle it." She checks me out and declares that the baby's head is much lower than it was the previous week, but there is no effacement or dilation. She then listens to the heartbeat. I notice that it sounds a little slower than usual and also that the doctor has kind of a funny look on her face. After putting the doppler away she turns to talk to me. It goes like this:

Dr. C: Well, Carrie, you're scheduled for your c-section on Tuesday. But we may be able to move it up at this point.

Me: Ehh, I'm okay with Tuesday. I'm handling the contractions okay and I just want to do what you think is best.

Dr. C: Perhaps we should think about going ahead with the delivery.

Me: When would we do it?

Dr. C: Today, silly. Go ahead and get dressed and let me see if they can fit you into the schedule.

(Insert me beginning to panic a little here. Deliver? This afternoon? I have so much to do still.)

10:15 a.m.- I head into Dr. C's office (with Charleigh) to find out what the plan is. She informs me that we are a go for delivery today. I calmly ask her what time we are looking at, to which she replies, "12:30" Oh my. Heart racing. Full blown panic. As I sit there in shock she asked me if my husband was nearby. Uh, no. He works in Elk Hills. 45 minutes away. "Call him" she tells me. I nod but don't move. "Now" she says.

10:20 a.m. - Josh gets the phone call all expectant dads dread. "Honey, come home now. Put down whatever you are doing and get here. My c-section is in 2 hours." My mom gets the next phone call. Except hers includes the words "Find a ride to the hospital. Now!" My dad's response? "I'm in Buttonwillow and covered in grease from a repair." My in-law's? They were almost 200 miles away on their way out of town. Awesome.

10:40 a.m. - My mom arrives at the hospital. Charleigh informs her that it is time for us to go pick up the baby. She spoke of it like we had ordered our dinner and it was time to get it. Don't we all wish? As my mom and I are deciding that she will go drop Charleigh off at Susie's house, my girfriend calls back. She asks if I need anything. Yeah, please come get my kid. And because she's amazing, she does.

11:00-11:30 a.m. - I was told to go to registration because apparently I had not registered correctly. When I get there, they are busy and so I sit. And wait. And wait. And wait. Meanwhile, my doctor's office calls and tells me to go straight to the birth center because they need to get me started. The registration people (rudely) inform me that is not an option. I have to register. While waiting, we hear the woman at the front desk arguing on the phone with someone who is clearly requesting that they send me upstairs. But alas, no can do. When I am finally called back, the girl checking me in is slower than molasses. I simultaneously answer questions, field about 10 phone calls, and send out a few texts to friends. Finally, I am headed upstairs.

11:35 a.m. - I arrive at the birthing center, only to be greeted by my doctor in the hallway. "Where have you been?" she asks. Grrr.... And then, because she's great, she eats a cookie in front of me. I was soo hungry at this point. My crepe from 7:30 the night before was really not cutting it anymore. When I give her a (jokingly) bad time about eating in front of me she replied, "I need to keep my energy up for surgery." I love her. Seriously.

11:40 a.m. - I am brought into my room and change into my gown. Looking at the clock, I call Josh and tell him not to hurry too much because there is no way that I will be prepped and ready to go in 45 minutes. Ha.

11:45 a.m. - 12:32 p.m. - Chaos reigns. IVs are flying, meds are going in, and the questions. Oh, the questions. At one point, I had two nurses and the anesthesiologist all asking me questions at once. I thought my head would explode. I was hooked up to the monitors where we found out that I was having regular contractions every 5 minutes. Um, yeah. I did have the same anesthesiologist I had with Charleigh and she agreed immediately when I asked if I could have an epidural rather than the spinal block. One weight from my shoulders. At some point Dr. C peeked her head in and asked them to move it along. Josh arrived some time in there. I was prepped. Josh was dressed in his scrubs. The phone rang constantly. Mine, Josh's and my mom's. The flurry of activity made the whole thing seem so surreal.

12:32 p.m. - I am walking down the hallway to the OR. It all just got a whole lot more real.........

in the meantime.....

2010-05-25T08:22:00.000-07:00

Here are a few of the beautiful maternity photos taken for us by the always lovely and talented Lorie Chambless......

the birth story: part one....

2010-05-21T14:31:00.000-07:00

In my mind, to truly appreciate Cereal's entrance into the world, we need to start back at Easter, April 4th.

After having spent the previous day on my feet way too much, I woke up Sunday morning having some mad Braxton-Hicks contractions. As in, while standing in church, my thoughts were "We might be having a baby today." Thankfully, by the time we went home and I was able to get off my feet for awhile the contractions went away. So, woohoo, no early baby.

However, the remainder of that week was full of a much larger number of contractions with an increasing intensity unlike what had been going on up until that point. Things began to reach a boiling point around Thursday afternoon. Previously, sitting down would make the pains stop. Not anymore. So, Josh and I made a last minute trip to JoAnn's to buy fabric for Charleigh's big sister shirt so that we could make it that night in case something were to happen. (There are priorities, right?)

Friday morning, April 9th, 5:00 a.m. - The contractions are pretty rough now. I convince my dad and Josh to install the car seat just in case. You know, 'cause it's not like I won't spend at least 48 hours in the hospital post c-section or anything. It needed to be done right then. Oh, pregnancy brain, how I miss thee. But I digress.

I have an appointment scheduled for 2:00 that afternoon for my weekly checkup. The plan is to simply wait and get checked out then. By about 7:45, I am on the phone with my mom telling her that I am going to try and get in sooner. The contractions aren't stopping and I decided that I didn't want to be trying to get help at 5:00 on a Friday afternoon. When the doctor's office opens at 8, I call and tell them what is going on. I am told to just come on in and they will see me.
Wanting to be prepared, I jump into the shower with Charleigh and proceed to get ready. Showering with a 3 year old during contractions proved to be much more difficult than I thought. But we made it through and I got ready. I mean, completely ready. Hair, makeup, cute outfit, the whole shebang. If I am going to meet my child today, I want to be prepared.

See? I even stopped for a picture. It was all very methodical and organized.

I also arrange for Charleigh to head to my friend Susie's house (with all her stuff) and my mom comes home from work to go with me to the doctor. By the time we drop the munchkin off and arrive at the office, the contractions are still about 8-10 minutes apart. Mind you, however, I'm not supposed to really go into labor with the placenta previa and all.

When I arrive, there are two other women in the waiting room, also in labor. Wild morning in the office to say the least. When I'm called back and get to see the doctor, she quickly assesses me and declares that I am going to be sent to the birthing center so they can stop my labor.

Huh? What? I'm past the 37 week mark. Isn't it all good from here?

Her exact words to me were, "I'm not ready for this baby to come yet."

I was crushed to say the least. Actually, near hysterics upset would be a much more accurate description. I don't consider myself to be a baby about pain, but I was seriously hurting that day. So, sobbing all the way, I went over and checked into the birthing center.

The next eight hours consisted of fluids, anti-nausea meds, and eventually turbuteline to make the (regular and totally real) contractions stop. It was a long and awful day. The meds made my heart race and made me feel really jumpy. Not fun at all. My doctor was great though. She came to see my twice while I was there and was very thorough in making sure I understood what they were doing and why.

When my body had finally calmed down and I could see through a clear head, I completely agreed with their decision. I was basically told that although the books say 37 weeks is "full-term" there is still a risk for lung maturity problems, especially if it was a boy. So, I was glad that they were being careful with my child's health. I realized once I felt better, that I wasn't so much upset in the beginning about not giving birth that day as I was scared that they were going to send me home feeling as bad as I did when I came in.

Thankfully, I walked out the door that evening pain free. And after hearing from my doctor that "you're pregnant and these contractions are just a part of the deal. You will probably remain quite uncomfortable until delivery" I became determined. Okay, I could do this. Just 11 days to go and it would all be over. I would be holding my child and everything would be great.

This is how I approached the following week. Little did I know how much it would affect what would eventually become Cereal's real birthday........

a very special welcome......

2010-04-22T06:42:00.000-07:00

Bennett Michael LaGore

April 16, 2010 1:18pm

7 lbs. 2 oz., 18 3/4 inches

Mommy's first chance to give him kisses

The very proud (and smitten) Daddy

*more details to follow on the wild day that was his birthday........

signs of (new) life.....

2010-04-13T08:07:00.000-07:00

It's beginning

to look
a lot
like
a baby
is really
going to be here....eeek!!

finally finished......

2010-04-06T07:27:00.000-07:00

I did it. I finally completed Charleigh's quilt for the top of her bed. And it only took approximately 16 months. I have a bit of a procrastination problem. But it's done now. And it looks good if I do say so myself. I plan to use these same fabrics for the crib bedding also. But don't worry, I am going to leave that job up to Natasha so that it will actually be completed while Cereal is still using the crib......

what's up with cereal.....

2010-03-04T11:55:00.000-08:00

Wow. I can hardly believe that I have already reached 32 weeks in this pregnancy. I was determined to document it along the way, but that seriously has not happened. In an effort to record at least some information so I don't forget later, here are some facts on Cereal......

Around the time my nephew was born in Nov. 2008, we started asking Charleigh from time to time if she wanted a brother or sister and what she would name it. Her answer always? "Cereal." And so, Cereal we have it. (At least until it's born)
We opted not to find out the gender this time. I thought it would feel so frustrating. I was wrong. I absolutely love the suspense and surprise! Josh not so much.
When asked if we know if it's a boy or a girl, Charleigh's response has become "No, only Jesus knows." Love it!
The nausea was not nearly as bad this time as the first time around. Also, thanks to a nasty stomach virus, I got ahold of Zofran early and have been able to use that as needed.
Because getting pregnant came as a surprise, I think that I took quite awhile to really let it sink in and enjoy it. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, I think. Thankfully, I finally calmed down and have definitely had a good time.
Started feeling movements around 17 weeks. Way earlier than with Charleigh. Turns out that is because this one is way more active than her.
Carried Charleigh on my back the entire time. Cereal has been much more forward. As a result, I've had hardly none of the back problems I had with her. Yea!!
Another effect of this has been seeing Cereal move from the outside. Didn't have hardly any of that the first time. This time? We were watching Cereal move a remote on my belly at night around the 22 week mark. And Josh has finally been able to understand the "alien in the stomach" comments.
Highlight of most months has been getting to watch Charleigh's face light up at the doctor's office when we get to hear the baby's "heartbeep".
My doctor was awesome about supporting the idea of me trying a VBAC. And that lasted approximately 3 weeks until we discovered that I have a complete placenta previa. Yeah, so much for that. Scheduled C-section here we come.

Sorry for some of the boring info. Mostly for my own recollection. But I'm sure it'll be nice to remember these before my crazy brain forgets everything. In general, this pregnancy could be summed up in saying that nearly everything has been different than it was with Charleigh. This leads me to believe that either A) it's a boy or B) it will be a very different girl than the one I have now.

I guess we'll just have to find out in about 7 weeks. Woohoo!!

family photos.....

2010-02-08T08:28:00.001-08:00

Shortly before Christmas we had family photos taken with the always amazing Lorie Chambless. Here are a few of my favorites.....

still alive....

2010-02-02T09:08:00.000-08:00

Amazing, I know. A new post from me. It's only been, what, 5 months? Time goes by too fast. And this is really just a short note saying that actual post will be coming soon.

*I'm going with the theory that by putting this out there, it will force me to do a real update in the next couple of days. Good luck to me! *

the plan....

2009-08-30T13:41:00.001-07:00

I have a plan. Around our house it is known as The Plan. The MOPS Steering Committee knows it as my Plan for World Domination. It actually isn't anything near that exciting.

The Plan actually started back at the end of April. I made an appointment with my OB, Dr. C, to discuss the idea of having another child. We know that we're ready and wanted to know what our options through her office would be, or if we would have to go back to the fertility guy from before.

She then proceeded to give me a much needed verbal butt-kicking. She told me that she would be happy to help us and that we should be able to do everything that we did with Charleigh right in her office. However, she was not willing to give us any assistance until I had done some work on my part. And so, per her instructions and my own needs, The Plan was born.

What exactly does The Plan entail?

-come back to her office in approximately 6 months at X weight.

-take my Metformin regularly so that it can do what it needs to do for my PCOS symptoms

-take Topamax for migraines as prescribed earlier in the year

-chart, chart, chart......monthly patterns, body temperature, the tides of the ocean...okay, not really the tides, but it feels like it sometimes.

-have bloodwork checked every couple of months to make sure that my hormone levels are getting back to where they should be

And so I left the office with The Plan. And I have gotten to work diligently since that day. Progress so far has been great. I have dropped almost 50 pounds, not missed a single dose of medicine since April, charted religiously and completed necessary bloodwork.

There has however been one minor hiccup in completing The Plan as asked.

And with the hiccup, the following verse just keeps echoing in my mind.

"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." Proverbs 19:21

santa monica.....

2009-08-27T12:18:00.000-07:00

Nana was recently sent to Houston for a business trip and we decided to turn the trip to the airport into a day at the beach. Charleigh is such a natural beach girl. She has no fear of the water and just generally enjoys everything. It really makes traveling with her so much fun.

Riding the "alligator" with Nana

Enjoying with water with Daddy

Getting ready to ride the ferris wheel on the boardwalk with Daddy and Miss Two.
On the carousel at the boardwalk.

While at the beach, Josh made the observation that Miss Two has been wearing pajamas for the last year since we got her while at Disneyland. So, on the way home we stopped and gave Miss Two a much needed bath and she got a new outfit.

dance class......

2009-07-21T09:25:00.000-07:00

For her birthday in May, we suggested to Josh's parents that we would like to enroll Charleigh in some dance classes. They thought it was a great idea and so that was her birthday present from Mamaw and Papa. At the beginning of July she started in her very first tap/ballet combo class. She is loving it so far. Isn't she just the cutest little ballerina ever?

i was warned......

2009-06-08T11:14:00.000-07:00

....by Lorie that my new 50 mm lens might make me want to cry tears of joy.

It totally does.

UPDATED*Maybe it is just my small computer monitor, but why do my pics look so terrible. This picture on my normal programs really is super crisp and clear is the water and colors look RIDICULOUS! Any advice? How do you guys get your pictures so much bigger on blogger?*

true fashion plate.....

2009-06-03T09:22:00.000-07:00

The hat is from Disneyland.

The short set is a birthday gift from TeeTee.

As is the Superman cape.

The roller skates were a birthday gift from Mom and Dad.

Together, they make the ultimate "around the house" ensemble.

the story of charleigh - part 6.....

2009-05-07T14:39:00.000-07:00

Around 4 o'clock Sunday afternoon the official decision was made to perform a c-section. Josh was suited up in his scrubs and I had all of the other fun prep work. I was so excited. I could hardly believe in that in just a few short minutes I would get to meet my daughter for the first time. I know that for many women the prospect or reality of a c-section is heartbreaking. This just really was not the case for me. I have often told people that I truly didn't care if they took her out of my nose, I just wanted my baby. We had experienced the heartbreak of loss. We had gone through the months of hoping for that positive pregnancy test only to face a negative over and over. Our hearts' sole desire was to be parents. The birth was simply a means to an end in our book. Who cares how she got here? She was going to finally be here!!

Then word came that they had to perform a truly emergency c-section and so I had been pushed back a little. No problem. I've waited 2 1/2 years for this moment. What's one more hour? I was finally wheeled back into the operating room. I really did not know what to expect and being in the throes of labor, I didn't really think about it too much. It was so surreal to think about what they were doing. Charleigh was honestly still kicking and moving about even while they were opening me up. Dr. L even said "I think you made too good a home for her in there."

I soon heard Dr. L inform us that it was as he expected. She was "sunny side up". As in, I could have labored for a full 24 hours, dilated to 10 and this is still where we would have ended up. My kid was not going anywhere. I can actually recall my nurse putting her hand underneath me and pushing upwards while they pulled to get Charleigh unstuck.

Then I heard it.

The most beautiful sound ever.

One totally ticked off kid. And I mean TICKED OFF.

And then the tears started. I simply cried and cried and I remember looking at Josh and saying, "She's here. I can't believe she's really here."

When they brought her around for us to see, the first thing I thought was, "Wow. She has my hands." See, my hands look just like my mom's and hers look just like my grandma's. And without a doubt, at first sight, my child has the exact same hands. It's funny how that was the first thing I noticed.

She was then off with the nurse and Josh to head to the nursery while I was all stitched up. That was when more unpleasant bodily things began happening, but again, I really did not care. She was here. That was enough.

The next time I was able to see her, I was in recovery and they wheeled her in. I was shaking uncontrollably (and freaking my mom out) and I remember asking how big she was. When you were almost a 9 pounder and your husband was essentially 11 pounds, there is great fear over the size of your child. The response? 7 lbs. 3 oz. What? That's it? Oh well.

Shortly thereafter I was moved into a post-op room (read: a room about the size of a jail cell). Josh was given the duty of pushing the bassinet behind my bed. Words on a blog cannot do it justice but just imagine a grown man, a proud new daddy wheeling this cart at speeds I am not even sure could be described as moving. He was going that slow. It was by far a top 10 moment of hilarity in my life.

The next two days in the hospital flew by in a blur of visitors, pain, and getting to love on my little girl. And soon enough, we were on our way home to start our life as a family.

So often I encounter women who ask me if I am sad that I had to have her by c-section. My honest answer? Not a bit. Because I know. I know that there are worse outcomes than a healthy baby. Because really, it all boils down to the fact that when all was said and done, the miscarriage, the doctor's appointments, the shots, the million ultrasounds, the surgery, led me to one place. Getting to meet this beautiful face. And that made it all totally worth it.

And while it seems like only yesterday that this story began, here we are today.

Can you believe it? My baby is 3! And more fun each and every day......

the story of charleigh - part 5.......

2009-05-07T07:22:00.001-07:00

O-kay. So my plan for the hospital did not work out as planned. Once admitted I was started on an antibiotic for the strep B as well as the general i.v. stuff. All those videos in birthing class telling you to shower or bathe at the hospital and all the walking around? Right. I was strapped to my bed as soon as we arrived and every time I tried to get up for more than a minute I had a nurse in there telling me that my monitors weren't picking up and to get back in bed. Argh. We were told that they wanted 2 rounds of antibiotics in before any steps were taken to further labor along. Because, really, I wasn't exactly laboring all that much. Stupid plan.

The night was pretty much more of the same. Pitocin was started around 2 in the morning, followed by them breaking my water around 4 in the morning. And, oh yes, Josh was asleep during both of those things. Asleep on the chair next to my bed. Around 6 or 7, my mom showed up and since nothing was really happening at that time, I encouraged Josh to go home and take a shower and get something to eat so that he would be ready for all of the excitement ahead. Before you go judging that thought, please know that I was only 3 cm and could still sleep through the contractions. And did I mention that we weren't planning on staying at the hospital? Josh had on non-matching pajama like clothing if I remember correctly. The trip home was worth it.

Shortly after he left, things definitely got a little more exciting. I pretty much started throwing up about every 5 minutes. I really just assumed that this was a normal part of labor and no biggie. However, please refer to part 3 of this story to remember the control issue that had started with pregnancy. Add to that the contractions that were happening every 2-3 minutes. Yes, my friends, it was not a pretty picture. One that I am actually thankful that my husband did not have to witness. After this went on for about an hour and half a nurse happened to walk in during the middle of it. She was great. She wanted to know why we hadn't called for some anti-nausea meds and I told her that I thought labor was supposed to be rough and that this was just part of it. Apparently, while in a hospital, labor doesn't have to be that bad. She came back seconds later with Reglan (sp.) and within a few minutes it all stopped.

Around 9 the doctor was in to check me and I literally almost crawled up the bed because it hurt so bad. He then went out into the hallway with the nurse. When they came back in, the nurse informed me that he wanted them to start my epidural. I was pretty surprised. I was still handling the pain fine and while I figured that I would get one at some point, I knew it was pretty early in the process to start it already. I was only 4 cm at that time. Charleigh was apparently wedged in and stuck so tightly that he could not get the internal monitors on her and it was becoming difficult to track her. Josh returned around this time and did get to enjoy the process that was the epidural. I was nervous because I had heard so many stories about women where it didn't take or only half their body was numb and everything else. Mine rocked. Totally rocked. About 15 minutes after it was in, it was like pure bliss. I felt fine and relaxed. Dr. L came back in and placed the internal monitors, but it was clearly a difficult task. He then pulled the nurse and my mom out into the hallway. I later found out that at this point he informed them that he was almost certain our day would end with a c-section delivery. But no told me this until after she was born. He kind of figured that even at full dilation she was wedged too much to come out on her own.

After this I remember feeling like we all just hung out until about 3 that afternoon. I had quite a few visitors during that time including my aunt and cousin. She had brought my newly married cousin down and was hoping to show her how hard labor was. I and my epidural were not exactly a good teaching case. She should have been there earlier. Anyway. So around 3, the nurse and the doctor were back in there giving us the plan. Charleigh was doing well, but I was making no progress. My contractions were coming one on top of the other and were practically off the chart in strength and I was still only 4 cm. Not to mention that Charleigh wasn't moving anywhere. He told us that he could leave me laboring until closer to the 24 hour mark, but that he didn't believe I was ever going to dilate and he didn't see any reason to leave me laying in bed laboring for no reason.

So, the decision was made, c-section here we come.................

the story of charleigh - part 4.......

2009-05-06T17:51:00.000-07:00

We were well on our way to having a baby.

Get pregnant. Check.

Find out gender. Check.

Name baby. Ummm.........

Now if we had been having a boy, we had a name all picked out. As in, we would have called him by name during the ultrasound. A girl name? Not going so well. We figured that we didn't have anything to worry about seeing as how there had only been one girl born in his family in about 3 generations. We were positive that it would be a boy. The joke was clearly on us.

Things would have been simple if we had even been in the same name ballpark. But, no, we weren't even in the same city. For my toss outs of "I like boy names. How about Tyler, Ryan, Mac, etc.?" Josh would respond with "What about Lacey, Emma, Miriam, or Rachel?" If you have met me before, you are probably clear on the fact that I do not birth children with names like that. Add in the fact that before we were even officially engaged I had informed Josh that if we ever had a daughter I wanted to name her Charlie. (the current spelling came later.) He had always hated it with a passion. Still did in fact. So finally one weekend I kidnapped him, er, I mean, suggested that we go out of town. Once I had him trapped in the car I laid out all my reasons for going with my chosen name of Charlie. Including but not limited to the fact that he could barely remember the names he "loved" 10 minutes after suggesting them and I had been hanging onto this one for 6 years. He caved because he is great like that. Shortly after informing my folks that we had in fact settled on the name, my mom suggested that we at least use an alternate spelling so that in her future people who saw her name would know it wasn't a boy. And so, Charleigh it was.

The next couple months flew by in a blur. I had been taken off work in January due to some back problems I was experiencing. By problems, I mean that back pain which resulted in 2 to 3 hours of sleep a night does not a productive or healthy person make. Anywho, as reluctant as I was to leave work, I really did enjoy the time of "rest" leading up to her birth.

My due date was May 15th and like any good pregnant girl I really hoped that she would grace us with her presence before that time if possible. :) I really had no Braxton-Hicks or contractions of any type that I can remember. The morning of May 6th, I took part in a yard sale in a school parking lot and then spent the rest of the afternoon shopping with my mom. I clearly remember that we were walking around in Michaels and I had stopped and was rubbing my belly. The following conversation then ensued:

Mom: What's wrong?

Me: Nothing, why?

Mom: Why are you doing that?

Me: I don't know. Every few minutes my stomach gets this really tight feeling and if I just stop and rub it a little the feeling goes away after a minute.

Mom: Uh, how long has this been going on?

Me: I don't know. Since this morning sometime.

Mom: Is it possible that those are contractions? (said with extreme sarcasm)

Duh. I didn't even realize what was going on. Once I was aware of what was happening, I realized that they were actually happening quite frequently. Later that night, Josh and I went to my folks for dinner and were hanging out on the patio. I got this really genius (read: colossally stupid) idea at that point. My friend Krista who had given birth a month earlier had told me that if you are near labor and go in to the hospital they would strip your membranes and that would get things moving along. Perfect. We made a plan to go down there as close to 10 as possible so that it would be late, but not so late that we would have to use the emergency room entrance. I figured that we would go in, they would check me, declare that I was having some false labor, strip my membranes and we would be back in a day or two to have a baby.

So we left the house around 9:30 to head to the hospital to check my "labor". As in, we didn't even take my bag because we knew that I wasn't really in labor. Upon arriving we were taken to a room where a very nice male nurse checked everything out, hooked me up to a monitor and promised to be back in a few minutes. About 45 minutes went by and he walks back into the room. Carrying an iv bag. And saying crazy stuff like, "Well, Mrs. LaGore, you are being admitted."

Uh, what???????

the story of charleigh - part 3......

2009-05-05T08:12:00.000-07:00

The 10 day mark for my bloodtest fell on a Sunday, which also happened to be Labor Day weekend. So of course the lab was closed on Monday also. Grrr... Tuesday finally rolled around and we did the obligatory blood draw, followed by a phone call from Dr. A's office late in the afternoon saying "Yes, you are pregnant!" Woohoo! (Kinda saw that coming seeing as how this is Charleigh's story, huh?)

From there, it was another blood draw Friday to make sure levels were rising, then an ultrasound to check progress at 5, 6, 7, 8, and 10 weeks. My appointments were always on Friday and every week I would get so nervous all over again that something might be going wrong. But every week upon arriving at the office I got to see the beautiful progress of our little baby. I had been alone when I went to the doctor and learned of my miscarriage, so I never went alone to these appointments. One week I even took my aunt along because no one else was available. That was the first week that we could see the heartbeat. I remember sitting in the room and both of us being in tears. It was so overwhelmingly amazing to see this little thing that was only a couple centimeters big and there it was. A heart. Beating away. It was breathtaking.

At the end of my first trimester I was transferred over to my regular OB for the remainder of the pregnancy. From then on, everything was pretty much smooth sailing. The morning sickness had been pretty rough (read: Getting sick at work 4-5 times a day, which usually required a change of clothes each time due to a um, control issue while getting sick.) but it tapered off completely around 14 weeks. Honestly, I didn't even care when I was sick. I was just so happy to finally be experiencing a healthy pregnancy that nothing mattered.

We scheduled an ultrasound with Baby Sightings the day before Thanksgiving to find out the gender. Almost immediately upon starting the tech said, "There it is. The (insert girly part word that I don't really want to type on my blog)." Josh was like, "Huh? What's that?" So I had to educate him. "That means it's a girl!!" Later that evening while driving to the mountains Josh turned to me and said, "You know what this means right? We have to pay for a wedding." Such a guy.

Now if we could only agree on a name.......

the story of charleigh - part 2.....

2009-05-04T07:32:00.000-07:00

In June of 2004, we were ready to start trying to get pregnant again. This turned out to be easier said than done. To keep the graphic nature of this content to a minimum, let's just say that all "systems" were clearly not functioning properly. Calls in to the doctor to find out what was going on always resulted in "Just get back on birth control and it should be fine." But really? What woman who is trying to get pregnant wants to hear that type of advice? That is like the antithesis of your current goals. So, I rebelled. I did not take the meds and things only got worse.

January 2005 rolled around and things were still a mess. I had taken a two month assignment in Florida for work and about six weeks into it I sorta had a major breakdown. This was most likely a result of the 14-hour day/7 days a week work combined with the improperly functioning systems that had left me SEVERLY anemic. Thankfully Josh was there with me and we were able to get sent back home on medical leave in a very short amount of time.

Only days after arriving in California my mom and I were headed to Santa Barbara for a full workup at the Sansum Clinic. It was three days of craziness. Basically, I started at an Internal Medicine doctor and was then referred out to a specialist for any possible issue that I had going on. For me, that equaled an Endocrinologist, Neurologist, Obgyn, not to mention multiple ultrasounds, and more lab work and more blood taken than I knew was possible. You know it's bad when the same nurse in the lab recognizes you because it's the THIRD time you've seen her that day! It was totally worth it though because I was able to leave there with a plan. That's really all I wanted. To know that we were actually heading in the right direction.

When I got back to town, I was referred to a fertility doctor here in town that we shall call Dr. A. He was great! I first saw him in early May and then spent the rest of the summer undergoing various tests and procedures. Again, I will spare you the graphic details but I can tell you that they were NOT fun and some quite painful. But at summer's end, we knew we were hopefully getting close. Following a round of Clomid and Metformin combo, Dr. A told us that we had about a 20-25% chance of conceiving on our own so he recommended an IUI just so that we didn't waste our time and the good egg that we finally had. Talk about being sure of your conception date! So on August 25, 2005 "all the guests made it to the party" (the doc's words, not mine) and I figured that now we just waited the 10 days for the blood test. Yeah, right. The next words from the nurse?

"Has anyone explained to you how to do the shots yet?"

Excuse me? Shots? NO ONE mentioned shots!

And so the lesson on heparin shots began. The daily med list heading home?

-heparing shots (twice daily)
-progesterone (ahem, not in pill form, twice daily)
-prenatal vitamins
-steroids (10 day prescription to boost system before heparin kicks in but with a warning that it increases cleft palette chances to like 15%)
-Metformin (three times daily)
-iron (twice daily for anemia)

You know those women (some of you included) who get that moment of "Oh my, I'm late. I wonder if I'm pregnant. " Then comes the home test and the phone call/announcement to husband and friends and family. Yeah, not us. But that's okay. Because we were still reaching the same goal. A baby. And now we were less than two weeks away from knowing if that goal was actually happening......

100 and a story.....

2009-05-03T13:56:00.001-07:00

I am really bad at this blogging thing. Actually, I have been intending to post for the last two weeks, but something keeps stopping me. See, this is my 100th post. I knew that it was going to be the 100th post and I kept wanting it to be really spectacular or witty or exciting. It is probably going to prove to be none of the above. Instead, I think that I will take advantage of Charleigh's upcoming 3rd (oh my gosh, my baby is 3) birthday to write out her birth story. I have never done this and since I really super duper lame on my blog for her first year of life, now is as good as ever.

Charleigh - Part 1

The story of Charleigh really started 5 years ago. Josh and I had talked about waiting until we had been married for 2 or 3 years before starting the baby thing. Also, my mother had lots of trouble with fertility and I anticipated the possibility that I would have similar problems. Lo and behold, we were shocked beyond belief when I came up accidentally pregnant in early 2004 after only 8 months of marriage. We were a little unsure of a baby that soon, but were also ecstatic because it seemed that the fertility issue wasn't the problem we expected after all.

However, in late April 2004, our dreams for that child were shattered. Everything seemed to be going well and I was finally getting over some serious morning sickness issues. I went in for a routine appointment at 15 weeks and found out that the baby had stopped developing around the 7-8 week mark but my body had never miscarried it. Josh and I were devastated. We had come to love the idea of becoming parents and as soon as the doctors gave the go ahead we started trying to get pregnant again. Little did we know that things were not going to be anywhere near as simple as we planned......

(and because I hate to post without a photo here is the munchkin geared up and ready for the March of Dimes walk.........)

it's okay to be jealous.....

2009-04-06T14:53:00.000-07:00

I went into Strawberry Patches today looking for a fabric that may or may not exist. You know how it is, I can picture it in my head but don't know if I'll ever actually find it. Anywho, the lady asked what I was looking for and after telling her she informed me that while they didn't have what I described, she did have a BRAND NEW fabric that just came in that I might be interested in. Then she brought out this.....

"Do you like it?" she asked.

Are you kidding me? I think I just fell in love. And, oh, how much did I want? Um, would the entire bolt be too much?? Yeah, probably. Let's just start with a little.

Then, while paying, I told her that I had some girlfriends who would probably love this stuff and the first question out of her mouth?

"Would that by any chance be Davi?"

Hmmm..........

my first attempt.....

2009-03-16T07:57:00.000-07:00

Shortly after Christmas I received a call from my cousin. She had a friend from work who is getting married and wanted a few pictures of her and her soon-to-be husband for their wedding. She mentioned to the girl that I had recently gotten a new camera and might be interested. I told her that I'd love the chance to try it and so, my first attempt at a real photo session was born.

We met up on Saturday and right away they were both really nice. I had been so nervous all day that at one point I really thought I might throw up. But I didn't. And after a rocky start, we all sort of got into the swing of things. Here are some of my faves....

bathtime rituals....

2009-03-03T06:39:00.001-08:00

During her bath, Charleigh loves to line as many of her toys up along the edge of the bathtub as possible. We are almost out of space to fit them. Then, if you're lucky, on some nights, when her bath is over she will pick them up one by one, hug them, and tell them by name, "I'll miss you (fill in name here)".......

heard 'round here....

2009-02-26T14:43:00.001-08:00

Kids say the darndest things, right?

Today, I heard this,

"Mommy! Mommy! My Jesus says watch out for the spyster (spider?)!"

and

(conversation between 2 Little People dolls)

#1: Oh, you like this carpet?
#2: Yes, I love this carpet.
#1: Aww, how nice of you.

Oh, this girl.....

hume lake....

2009-02-26T09:22:00.001-08:00

A couple weeks ago we were blessed with the chance to spend the weekend at the Moore's cabin at Hume Lake. We were sort of invited/invited ourselves but it was completely worth it. It was Charleigh's first snow experience and she had a wonderful time. The Cove family was wonderful company and the kids got along really well. I really enjoyed myself, even with the infamous snowball incident that started the trip. Just kidding. It really was great to spend time with friends in such a beautiful environment.....

starving kid....

2009-02-24T08:49:00.000-08:00

Let's flashback a bit. On New Year's Eve we had plans for a game night at some friends' house. Charleigh was going to spend the night with Josh's parents and on our way to dinner we called to check on her. The progress report? She has thrown up six times.

Six times??? Are you serious?

So, scratch our plans. Let's go get the baby. And yes, she was quite sick. You know the one. The stomach bug that allows your child to reject any and all food she may try to eat. That was Wednesday night. She ate really nothing on Thursday and as of Friday morning she was still not keeping anything down.

But she was asking for food.

My mom and I felt sorry for her so we made her some toast Friday afternoon. Literally one piece of bread with spray butter on it. So pathetic. Even more pathetic? These pictures where she is actually licking the plate trying to get the last morsels of crumbs and butter overspray. Poor starving child.......

a visit from granny....

2009-02-23T07:36:00.000-08:00

Some of Josh's family from up north recently came to visit. It was so much fun to see everyone. We haven't seen them since Charleigh was like 3 months old. His grandma stayed down here for about a week and then his aunt, uncle, and cousin's family were here for the weekend. We always have such a good time with them. We played lots of zilch. Talked a bunch. Ate a whole bunch. Hopefully we won't go as long between visits this time....

JoAnne, Boston, Aunt Shirley.....everytime she kissed him,

he would automatically close his one eye.....it was terribly adorable

the grandkids...well, the ones present anyway

Josh's cousin Joey, his wife Karen, and their daughter Sabrina

I love that Charleigh got to spend this time with Grandma.

Watching Josh with his grandma made me love him even more....

spontaneous....

2009-01-26T11:21:00.000-08:00

Last weekend following another awesome sermon at The Bridge (sidenote, but worth mentioning), we called up Brent and Lanelle and suggested a last minute trip to Disneyland. Being the great friends that they are they said, "Sure, why not?" Gotta love the annual passes! So we loaded up, picked them up from their driveway at 11:30, grabbed Subway, and hit the road. It was short, crazy, and so much fun. Josh and Charleigh got some good daddy-daughter time and I got to practice my tourist routine with the new Rebel. We were home around midnight and only poor Josh had to report to work the next day, but even he says it was worth it............

please be praying for....

2009-01-21T07:38:00.000-08:00

Olivia Trammel

Olivia was born Monday night to some friends of ours and it turns out that she is very sick. There were no indicators prior to birth that anything was wrong, but when she was born they discovered that she has 2 holes in her heart as well as a defective valve. Her parents have been told that at the very least she will need surgery for the valve. The doctors told them that Olivia needs to be seen by a heart specialist from L.A., but that he won't be back up here for 2 weeks! So they are now faced with the possible choice of driving their sick newborn to try and be seen sooner. Please be praying both for Olivia's health and for her mom and dad as they are faced with the heartbreak and decisions during this time.

no more pictures....

2009-01-15T20:13:00.000-08:00

I know that she is growing up. Really I do. But I don't think that it really registers until I see the change in photos. The last time I checked she was still my baby, but then I insert my camera chip and this little girl, this child, appears before me. So, of course, the only logical thing to do is to stop taking pictures. Then she stays my baby forever, right? Right?..............

countdown....

2009-01-15T20:10:00.000-08:00

As if I don't already feel lame for the fact that I post so infrequently, now y'all are using these timed sidebars. So each time I go to you page, there it is. Staring back at me. Judging me. Two days. Five days. One week. Two weeks. Two weeks since I last updated on my oh-so-exciting world. Where does time go? Add one more thing to the ever expanding list of things I need to do.

Correction. Blogging is definitely not a NEED to do activity. But I do enjoy it. And I enjoy what everyone else shares and feel the need to contribute to that.

The verdict. Post more. Not feel so guilty.

christmas 2008: part two.....

2008-12-29T21:51:00.001-08:00

It's that time of year again.

The Rosson Family Christmas party.

We were at my uncle Stan's this year in Madera. We had a small crowd but so much fun. We did the usual food thing, an ornament exchange, a "brag" time to catch up on each others' lives, and lots of general chatting.

Charleigh loved her Disney ornament....right up until my Aunt Melva stole it from her....

She had a great time playing with my cousin's daughter Katie.....
Tracy and Dalton admiring their ornaments......until Josh stole them..........

We're looking forward to next year......

busy little bee.....

2008-12-29T18:12:00.000-08:00

For Christmas this year, I've been sewing. A lot. See, we decided back around mid-summer that this year we would make "homemade" gifts. My mom and aunt thought this was a great idea. I was on board pretty much and my cousin Candice thought we had lost our minds. Well, Christmas arrived and guess who the two were to make their gifts? That's right. Candice and me. Well, technically my mom too, but I was kind of the ghost seamstress for her gifts.

Let's start with mine. I went for the Christmas quilt/blanket option........

my mom's.......

my aunt Sandy's.......

my cousin Candice's........

my mother-in-law Joanne's..........

(thank you Lorie/Colleen for the Yellow Brick Road pattern)

And now for my mom's gifts....aprons..........

Sandy's Four Corners Apron and Candice's retro apron........

my SIL Karrie's ruffle apron from Strawberry Patches, JoAnne with Four Corners and Cabria with another retro apron design.....

(95% of my fabric came from F&M....I love that place!)

And last but not least came a 9-square blanket for my newest nephew Gideon who is due to join us sometime in the middle of May.......

It was lots of work, but so worth it in the end. I love, love, love to give gifts and it was so fun to see how much everyone liked their stuff. I'd love to say that I get a break for awhile now, but that is totally not true. Next up.....Charleigh's blanket and curtains for her newly redecorated big girl room......

christmas 2008: part one.....

2008-12-27T20:22:00.000-08:00

Since I have been so lame about blogging lately, be prepared for LOTS of blogs in the coming weeks to get caught up. For now, let's start reviewing the wonderful Christmas we had. There was so much fun and festivities that it will definitely need to be a multiple parter, but first, for the fun new toy Mommy got..........

it was completely unexpected......

I cried like a baby when I opened it......

I am currently driving my family crazy with it........

any guesses?

I'll give you a hint........

Here's a picture from Christmas morning............

and here is one from Christmas evening............

Know what it is now??

That's right....I have joined the Digital SLR club! In a completely unexpected twist Christmas morning, my mom and dad gave me a beautiful Canon Rebel XS. It has barely left my hands since then. Granted 9 out of 10 pics are totally blurry and need to be deleted, I don't mind one bit. As a matter of fact, I tried to pull a Ralphie and sleep with it but Josh halted that idea. Oh well, it'll be there in the morning...........

now introducing.....

2008-12-02T08:24:00.000-08:00

Boston Scott Saunders
November 27 2008
7:34 a.m.
6lbs. 8oz, 20 in.

Our new nephew is here! Cabria (Josh's sister) was due on Monday the 24th and when we left town Wednesday with no baby here yet, we knew that little Boston would choose to come while we were gone. And he did! We woke up Thursday morning to find out that he had just gotten into the world about a half hour earlier. We decided that we did not want to miss seeing him so at 3:30 that afternoon we left Charleigh at the coast with my family and took off for Bakersfield. Talk about a whirlwind trip. We were back in Pismo at 8:45. But it was sooooooo worth it. There is nothing like a newborn in the hospital. Mom, Dad, and baby are doing great. Congratulations again, Larry and Cabria..............

witnessing a miracle.....

2008-10-29T11:29:00.000-07:00

There are no other words for it. For those who claim that miracles no longer happen, they need only be introduced to this family. I first found MckMama's blog through a prayer request on Angie Smith's blog in late July. At that time, MckMama was 23 weeks pregnant with her 4th child and had been hospitalized due to his severe tachycardia. Severe as in his heart was beating 300 times per minute. A couple of days prior to when I found her blog, she posted this about where their situation was:

"I am so sorry to have to tell you such awful news," the wonderful, kind perinatologist bent down, held my hand and put her other on my tummy. "I don't think your baby is going to make it. He is in heart failure and it's way too soon to take him out and give him a pacemaker. He would need to make it to 32 weeks and there is a 95% chance he will make it no where close to that point. I am so, so sorry to tell you this, but your sweet, sweet baby will probably be still born. I am so sorry."

Please pray for a miracle. Please pray for that 5% to belong to our baby. Be still and know that He is God.

Since that time, our entire family has followed Stellan's journey from what doctors deemed to be certain death, to what can only be described as divine healing from God. And today, after 14 weeks of ups and downs, we are among the many praising God for the following words:

Stellan
entered the world this sunny fall morning
at 10:19 am, CST
weighing 6 pounds, 10 ounces
and measuring 19 inches long

Details on exactly how Stellan is doing as well as photos of the sweet baby will be forthcoming. But, let's just say that Stellan got a 9 and a 9 on his APGARS and the NICU team has yet to find a single thing wrong with him...

Happy birthday, sweet Stellan. You are God's miracle to us and you are finally here!!!!

Please visit their family site to read more of this incredible story. For now, it's enough to just stop and give God all the honor and the glory for this great miracle He has done!!!

things that rock.....

2008-10-09T10:24:00.000-07:00

Anytime your 2 year old references Kilamanjaro Mountain, it's a good day.

More to come on Charleigh's verbal stylings......

babies, babies, everywhere.....

2008-09-23T10:03:00.000-07:00

I came on here to check up on all the blogs this morning and what do I find? Lots and lots of babies!

This girl and this girl are having them.

This girl just had hers.

This girl still hasn't had hers.

This girl's isn't doing as well as he has been.

It's so fun to read about all the new little lives that are on their way. It makes me miss this little face......

worn out......

2008-09-15T15:38:00.000-07:00

Life is so exhausting when you're 2.......

in trouble......

2008-09-15T14:54:00.000-07:00

I did something recently. Something for which I got into trouble with my family. Something I told no one about and therefore did not ask permission to do. Something I do not regret.....

Want to know what that something was?

I got a new kid. Didn't know that was possible? Oh yeah, it is. It was so simple too. All I did was take this little girl into the shop.......

and voila! I left just minutes later with a brand new kid. Just look!

We miss the old Charleigh, but just look how cute this new little girl is.....

you never know.....

2008-09-08T16:53:00.000-07:00

who might be watching the happenings in your backyard........

the aftermath......

2008-08-27T09:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went on the last summer hurrah Barbie had planned at Pump It Up. We have never been there before and truthfully, it was little overwhelming. Charleigh loved it, but having forgotten my camera, I have no pictorial evidence of that. All I have to offer is the photographic aftermath that was her run-in with a rude little boy who hooked her face (mostly her nose) and proceeded to basically throw her off the ladder. This resulted in lots of tears and a little bloodshed. Grrr.....

i won, i really won.....

2008-08-25T13:40:00.000-07:00

As a person who NEVER wins at anything, I was more than excited to find out that I won this girl's giveway. Who would have guessed? And all for throwin' up some embarrassing pics of my kiddo. Nice.

In other Thompson related news, we went to their house Saturday night for some dinner and racing fun. Along with the 4 of us, Kurt and Alisha came too. *Sidenote: I really like K&A. We first met them on 4th of July and they are great. They were so friendly even though they knew no one really and it was the same Saturday. I love when you meet people that make you feel comfortable when you first meet. * We have talked off and on about watching a race together and we finally pinned down a date for Bristol, baby! The company was good as was the racing. See Barbie's blog for a picture of our adorable kiddos enjoying watching the race, er, I mean, Barney together.

And note to Barbie:

While I concede that Denny will never be this pretty........

it has been a much needed upgrade from this......

to this........

bloopers.....

2008-08-18T14:38:00.000-07:00

Thanks Barbie for such a fun idea! Now I have a reason to actually use the random blooper pics I have stored all over my computer........

the goofy "cheese" face, I have hundreds like this.....
proof that potty training and photo shoots don't mix,

thank you Miss Lorie......
there are not even words...........

a good helper......

2008-08-15T08:34:00.000-07:00

My kid can be so funny sometimes. I know that sounds biased because I'm her mom, but I really think it's true. I present the following case as an example:

*a little back story to understand the rest*

Seeing as how we have a 2 year old around here, there are times that instructions by us are followed by "no" or silence and a frown from her. So, much of the time when I tell Charleigh to do something I will say, "Charleigh, you need to (fill in activity)" and then I say, "Yes, Mama." To which she repeats "Yes, Mama" and 99% of the time does what I've asked.

Monday night around bedtime we told her that it was time to pick up her toys. She proceeded to walk over to her Woody doll, bend down and say "Time to pick up toys! Okay? Yes,Mama" (to Woody) then answered herself "Yes, Mama"

The pictures are a little hard to see, but she then picked Woody up and used HIS hand to pick up each and every one of her toys. Every couple of minutes she would proudly exclaim "Woody's a helper!!"
I'm telling you, this kid is a crack up. It took about 4 times as long as usual to clean up the living room because Woody is not as good with the motor skills as Charleigh, but it definitely provided endless entertainment.
I just love this girl!

cousins.......

2008-08-12T15:01:00.000-07:00

...well, sorta. We recently stopped by Larry and Cabria's house to see their remodeling work and talk baby fabric. Our nephew is still "cooking" right now so Jake the dog is the only kid at the house. Charleigh loves Jake and spent much of the time laying on the floor like this just staring at each other. Every so often she would rub his nose and he would take his front paw and rub her arms. It was too adorable for words! The rest of the time she spent "sweeping" the floors.....

why we love davi......

2008-08-11T12:56:00.000-07:00

Two Words: Tea Staining

Thank you, Davi!

a night out......

2008-08-11T12:38:00.000-07:00

A few weeks back my awesome Mom surprised Josh and I with tickets to the Mercy Me concert. To be really honest, we were mostly looking forward seeing David Crowder Band, but were glad for the others also. So on that Tuesday night we left Charleigh at the house with some friends and headed out for date night.
As soon as we got there we ran into Barbie and Justin, as well as Julie. This was fun for so many reasons. First off, I have somewhat blog-stalked Brent and Julie for months now. I'm not really ashamed of that, I mean, we go to church together, I've just never met them. And now, a chance to meet. I'm always a little nervous when I meet new people, so I can't tell you how relieved I was when Barbie introduced us and Julie says "Oh yeah, you're Charleigh's parents. I look at your blog." Woohoo! Instant ice-breaker!
From there, it just got better. While visiting with some old friends, Barbie comes running up to me and asks if Josh and I might want to use some extra meet and greet passes that Brent had. Uh, do you really need to ask??? So we walked over, met Brent, thanked him for the hookup and met the bands. So much fun. And then we got to enjoy an amazing concert with two great couples. Thanks to both the Thompsons and the Laus for making it such a wonderful evening.........

with MercyMe

with David Crowder Band

her first wheels.....

2008-08-07T20:26:00.000-07:00

To be completely honest, we have had some major duct-tape days around our house this week. (for explanation see me or this girl) And just when it feels like Mama's head is going to explode, I come home from my nightly walk to see this................

and my heart melts completely. I guess we'll go ahead and put the duct-tape back on the shelf for now................

*Please excuse the squeaky wheel. This is the same trike I rode as a child.*

flagged.....

2008-08-02T07:40:00.000-07:00

A couple of days ago, I logged in to make a new post and found out that my account had been FLAGGED! It says that it was flagged by the system as being a "spam blog". Upon reading the error message I found out that it was most likely a false positive (duh!), but still. Errr. The best part was the the description of a spam blog says these types of blogs "can be recognized by their irrelevant, repetitive, or nonsensical text...." Ha! I know that I do not have the most intelligent or entertaining things to say, but that's a bit much, don't you think? :) Anywho, I had to submit an account review request and things are all fine now so hopefully I'll start posting some more regular and relevant items............

girls' weekend.......

2008-07-31T20:50:00.000-07:00

Well, not really. It was actually a MOPS Steering Team retreat, but it sure felt like a girls' weekend. After months of pestering, I mean, politely asking, I finally gave in to Rhonda and agreed to be part of the team. There was a planning weekend scheduled for mid-July and to be perfectly honest, I was kinda dreading it. I didn't know anyone going besides Rhonda and really didn't know what to expect. The day before we left I found out that my cautiously social friend was going with us which made me feel better, but still nervous. As it turns out, I had no need to be. All the girls there were AMAZING. We all just clicked so well. It felt like we had been friends for years instead of just meeting that weekend.

To top off the great time of fellowship and fun, we were able to plan out what I think is going to be a great year of MOPS. I joined mops for the 06-07 year, but was not wildly impressed so I ditched last year. This year however, after praying for God to bring some activites into my world to become involved, the doors to MOPS swung right open. *Apparently I forgot to put the "I'm not crazy about MOPS" stipulation into the prayers. But then again, God is pretty hilarious about that stuff.* So after (reluctantly) joining in, I am super jazzed about the coming year. I'd love for those of you in town to join us! If you're interested, let me know and I would gladly give you the info...........

such the fashion plate.....

2008-07-18T09:32:00.000-07:00

Let's hope these skills improve with age.

so long, Smoke....

2008-07-10T08:18:00.000-07:00

It was a sad day for the NASCAR fans in our family as we learned that Josh's driver Tony Stewart will be leaving Joe Gibbs Racing to co-own a smaller team. We're bummed because now we are left with tons of black and orange stuff that we won't need as well as our drivers will no longer be teammates. Now, as Josh says, we will have to be enemies. Oh well, the stable of drivers left at Gibbs isn't looking too bad.

We still have my driver........

this guy.....who is currently first in points for the series.....

and all signs point to this guy taking over Tony's spot....he's only 18 but is supposedly some kind of genius at racing....

Oh well, we'll see. For now, I guess it's just a good luck wish for Tony!!

fun with TeeTee.....

2008-07-10T07:39:00.001-07:00

Kids are funny sometimes. First, she named my aunt Beach. Then, she decided that my cousin Candice should be known as TeeTee (not sure how it would be spelled, but that's how it sounds). Anyways, these two are awfully fond of each other. While camping over Memorial Day they decided to have some fun with the camera.....

She thought she was pretty cool with her foot on the fire ring.
There were like 10 of these shots, check out the dirty kid!
This was just to show her super-cool butterfly.

a little late.....

2008-06-23T10:33:00.000-07:00

but worth the wait.. Happy Father's Day Josh!!

Charleigh and I discussed what we wanted to say to Daddy on here and couldn't agree how to narrow down all the great things about him, so we have opted to go for a little ego boost.

Can you spot the difference in these photos?

Father's Day 2007

Easter 2008

We love you and are so proud of you!!!!

remind me not to forget....

2008-06-23T09:56:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I find myself so wrapped up in all the difficulties of the 2 year old phase that I don't stop often enough to notice all the really great things. Here are some of the things I hope to look back on this time and remember..........

when the letter W was pronounced "buttaboo"

when a bird's nest in the front yard tree warranted 10 viewings a day

when I never knew what she would look like upon waking up in the morning (clothes on? off? inside out? backwards? bottoms on top? top on bottom? all of the above? )

when all 7 babies HAD to be in bed before going to sleep

when the arrival of Daddy/Nana/Papa at the end of the day was cause for screaming excitedly "Daddy/Nana/Papa's Home!!!!" and running in circles in the living room

when walking around with toy buckets on her head was among the top 5 favorite daily activites

when bathroom trips at restaurants could result in clapping for the stranger she could hear peeing or loudly proclaiming "Yucka Poo-Poo!" for the lady she heard doing...well, you know

when she so proudly announced "I Did It!" for all accomplishments

when counting consisted of "2,1,6" or "1,2,5" or my favorite "1,2,1,6"

when no matter how many times she'd driven Mama to the brink during the day all it took was one good grin and all was soon forgotten.........

why we love lorie chambless....

2008-06-03T10:30:00.001-07:00

we've been tagged.....

2008-06-03T09:48:00.001-07:00

Charleigh was tagged recently by her good friend Henry so here goes......

1. My name is Charleigh Anne. Charleigh (sounds like Charlie) was my mom's first choice and my dad's last. Mom had liked the name for years before I was around and they had fought over this since before they even got married. But Mom finally begged (and played the pregnancy crying card) and won. Dad's okay with it now. Anne is from Mom's favorite book of all time, Anne of Green Gables.

2. I love my family. The whole crazy bunch of them. I'm especially fond of my Papa Rosson. If he's home, I'm his shadow. When he gets home from work, I empty his ice chest and then we play on his motorcycle. I can't wait 'til I'm big enough to ride for real. He's also my safe place when Mom and Dad try to make me sleep at night. If I run to him, he'll protect me.

3. I recently turned 2 and I'm trying my hardest to prove to my parents that I'm 2. I figure that it's my job to pay my mom back. At least that's what Nana says. She says I'm too big for my britches. Does anyone know what that means? Just because I can turn off the TV when no one else knows how and run to put out the placemats for dinner as soon as I see the cutting board does not mean that I'm too smart for my own good.

4. In a dream world, I would watch Little Einsteins from the time I get up until bedtime again. It's my favorite. I sing the songs and do the dances, but my mom starts twitching sometimes when we watch it. She's probably just as excited as I am.

5. I am a great traveler. I love the car. Since Mom made me ride to Arizona at 3 months I figure I might as well cooperate if they're gonna drag me around so much. And I don't even require a DVD player.

6. I love people. I have yet to meet a stranger in this world. Mom and Dad have never left me crying anywhere. Church, babysitter, you name it, I'm glad to be there. I even tried to give a kiss to the cashier at Michael's once but Mom stopped me. She's such a killjoy sometimes.

7. I am talking A LOT these days. My folks kept wanting me to talk and now they keep asking each other why they ever taught me to, but hey, a girl's got stuff to say.

8. I am quite attached to James and Brooke Chambless. James is my favorite person to play with and when Brooke came along she got swept into the mix. Most days when I wake up I ask to go play with "JamesBrooke" during the first 3 or so minutes out of bed. And, yes, I say their names as if it was one word "JamesBrooke".

9. I am way spoiled by those who love me. You should see my toy collection. It all started when I was the first girl born in 25 years on Mom's side and 30 on Dad's. These people had lots of girl shopping desires stored up. And I love it. I love playing with each and every toy I get. Mom says I look like a pinball machine when I bounce from thing to thing, but there's a lot to do in each day. No time to slow down.

10. I sleep with LOTS of baby dolls. It used to be 5, but now it has worked its way up to 7. And they have to all be there or I keep asking for "more babies" until everyone makes it. I also maked Daddy give each baby a kiss when he puts me to bed at night. This takes a very long time but he does it every time because he loves me so much.

There it is, a little about me, now I tag my friends Steven, Kasey, and Finn.

my cup runneth over....

2008-05-30T14:02:00.000-07:00

It truly does. You see, a little over two years ago Josh and I were eagerly awaiting the arrival of our daughter and attending a church I had gone to for 16 years. However, things weren't going well and after much dragging of our feet we made the decision to find a new church. We chose to postpone looking until after the baby was born. It was an extremely hard step for me because so many people there were like my family. With all the good things though, there were some not so great also. There were very few young families like us and the ones that were there were not great examples for us on the marriage and parenting front. When we decided to find a new church home our list of what we were looking for included many things, one of which was the opportunity to meet families our own age and hopefully develop some good relationships there. Charleigh was born in early May, we took her to our church on Mother's Day and then never went back.

On Memorial Day weekend we were driving down Stockdale Highway discussing where we might want to visit the following day. A few months earlier we had gone to Laurelglen and Josh had really liked it. He suggested going there again. I suggested we try Grace Baptist where we also gone a few times before. It was around this time that we passed BCHS. We saw the sign for the Bridge and I commented, "Hey, that church is somehow connected to Laurelglen. Maybe we should go there. It's close to home and I would love to be part of a new and growing church." And so, Sunday morning we woke up and tried it. It was the first church we visited and the last. After that first Sunday I tried convincing Josh that we should try more than one place to see which one felt right. His response? "This one feels right. Why keep looking?"

We jumped in with both feet because we were so eager to meet others and get involved. According to one person (who shall remain nameless), it was as if we pretty much walked in and said "Hi, wanna be our friend?" This is somewhat true. It is now two years later and I cannot believe how much our life has changed. We have met such amazing people who we are getting to know better and better as time goes by. I have had the opportunity to meet women who actually take pride in their position as wives and moms while still being incredible individuals themselves. Additionally, Josh is also feeling comfortable with more of the guys which is such an answer to prayer in our household.

This brings me to the event that brought on this heartfelt expression of gratitude. Charleigh's birthday was a few weeks ago (obviously) and we planned a playdate at the park. My mom was able to have the day off and so I invited her to join us for the chance to see all the adorable kids at play. She later told me that she had prayed when we got there, "God, please let people come. Please don't let them stand her up." See, this was not an irrational fear. Something along this line had actually happened in our old world. And here is what happened this time............

And this isn't even all of you. All I can say is thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your openess to welcome our family. Thank you for your willingness to let the new girl in, even if she does have odd hair color choices. Our prayers have been answered to a greater degree than we ever imagined.

My cup really does runneth over.....

birthday in the park....

2008-05-19T08:56:00.001-07:00

At last, we have reached the final birthday post. I have always been accused of having 3 birthdays each year (generally, one with family, one with friends, and one with my parents/husband). Personally, I think everyone's just jealous because they wish that they had 3 birthdays. Anywho, I feel that it is my duty as a mom to teach my daughter at a young age to play the multiple birthday game. So far, we have been successful both years. This year's number three was a playdate at the park with friends from church. Final tally was something like 11 moms and 20 kiddos. So busy but so much fun!!

Steven walking Charleigh over to the cupcakes
Savannah was a big fan
Camden and Steven
All the kiddos.....the moms all laughed when I asked for a pic of all of them,

but kids will surprise you. They actually stayed right here while

we took pictures and even longer!

Jacob and Rachael
Finn and Calvin
Tess
Henry

*Sidenote*: I know that I'm somewhat biased, but I think we collectively have the cutest kids ever!

the morning after.....

2008-05-12T11:00:00.000-07:00

party time....

2008-05-12T10:46:00.000-07:00

Wow. I can't believe how time has flown by. Charleigh is already two. It seems as if I was just barely holding this tiny thing in my arms, wondering if I would get tired of her being around all the time and now we've already reached the 2 year mark. Monday night we had her birthday party with our family. Honestly, it felt like complete chaos but overall it was a very nice time. She received soooo many gifts and has bounced like a pinball machine playing with all of them since that night. I love that she is a kid who likes to play with her toys. Even that night, in the midst of the chaos, she loved each thing and was equally excited opening each gift. It's one of my favorite things about her. We had two cakes, one Rocket cake(mostly for looks) and a Costco cake for people to actually eat. Charleigh had a piece of the Rocket one and then proceeded to carry it out to the grass, then further out to sit on the curbing in the backyard. I can only guess that this comes from being instructed to eat on the curb at Coco's house. After the festivities were over, we finally got the munchkin to bed at 10:30, still crying that she "wanted to play."

checking out the Little Einsteins cake Mama made
this isn't even all of them.........
the birthday girl with her cake

woohoo! look who turned 2......

2008-05-07T17:43:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Charleigh Girl!!!!!

the littlest grammar nazi....

2008-04-30T16:48:00.000-07:00

For quite awhile now Charleigh has answered all questions with "Um...." Being the intelligent parents that we are, we deduced that this meant yes. We would keep guessing what she was saying and when we got it right, she would say , "Um...." So for the past few months most conversations went like this:

Me/Josh: "Charleigh, do you want (fill in blank e.g.: food, drink, milk, toys, play,etc.)?"

Charleigh: "Ummm......."

Me/Josh: "Yeah?"

Charleigh: "Yeah."

And so we would fulfill the request and life would go on. Until two days ago.......when this happened:

Me/Josh: "Charleigh, do you want (fill in blank again)?"

Charleigh: "Ummm......"

Me/Josh: "Yeah?"

Charleigh: "Yes."

Yes? When did she start using better grammar than us? And where did she learn this? Now, each time we give the "Yeah?", she says "Yes" as clear as day. I have this strong feeling that she is going to be smarter than us........

in other news......

2008-04-28T09:15:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the other recent going ons around here.... While watching James and Brooke one night, Josh attempted the ever popular double-horseback ride (don't be fooled by James' face....they loved it)
We are finally conquering the fear of the vaccum cleaner.
Quite the life, right? While in Newport, the queen managed to watch

Little Einsteins from this perch in my bed. The foot is truly my favorite part......
At night, it is a requirement to have all 5, yes that's right, 5 babies in bed with her. We often wonder how there is room for all of them. I recently got this rare glimpse into how the sharing actually goes on......

congrats, aunt Cabria.........

2008-04-28T09:07:00.000-07:00

Woo-hoo!! A few weeks ago we got some great news......Charleigh is getting another cousin!! Josh's sister Cabria and her husband announced that they are expecting a little one sometime in November. Currently there is only Charleigh and my nephew Samuel. This is their first baby and we are so excited for them. To be honest, I'm also selfishly excited because it's a new reason to make a super cute baby blanket for somebody!

march for babies......

2008-04-01T10:47:00.000-07:00

On April 26th, Josh and I and my mom will be participating in the March of Dimes March for Babies walk. We will be part of a team from my mom's work. The team name is Nabors for Misty and Alexia. While we believe strongly in the wonderful things that March of Dimes does for premature babies and their families, we have joined this walk in remembrance of Misty Rocha and her daughter Alexia. This is the team's second year of participating. Misty was a coworker of my mom's. She had the most amazing personality and a stronger faith than most people I've ever met. She was always ready with a smile and word of encouragement or a verse she'd read that she felt God wanted her to pass on to you. In the summer of 2006, Misty became pregnant with her second child, a daughter. In early fall the doctors informed her that the baby had severe deformities and wouldn't live past birth if it even survived long enough to be delivered. All of them told her to terminate the pregnancy at that time. Misty resolutely informed the doctors and all those around her that God had given her peace about it and that He would take care of her and her daughter and that they would be just fine. On January 4, 2007 she delivered Alexia Rocha who was stillborn at birth. Little did anyone know that a few short hours later, Misty would be gone also. While it is hard to understand why God would call a 21-year-old mother home so soon, we who know Misty is truly home see that she was right. God did take care of her and her daughter and they are just fine. For those of us who knew her, we wanted a way to do something in her memory. In comes the March of Dimes walk. Josh and I are looking to raise our sponsorship funds for the walk and we would love it any of you would like to contribute. Donations can be given to us personally or through my website http://www.marchforbabies.org/carrielagore

Thanks

easter with Mama's family....

2008-03-27T09:33:00.000-07:00

The day started with my famly. We had a yummy brunch that included a semi-competition of quiches between me and my mom (hers won). Charleigh is the only small child so she had to find something like 22 eggs all by herself. Task completed. She loves all the attention, being the first little girl born in our family in 25 years.....

Easter basket from Nana and Papa
checking out her loot
apparently the eggs are more interesting than

pictures with cousin Candice

munching a cupcake in her undies...

(this WT pic's for you Lorie.....)

a lady called Beach.....

2008-03-27T09:27:00.000-07:00

So, Beach the person (see previous beach post) is my daughter's name for my aunt Sandy. A few weeks ago as we pulled up in front of her house, Charleigh starts saying "Beach! Beach!" As best we can figure she got this name because my aunt's boyfriend would always tell the baby "Wanna go to the beach?" every time he saw her. We try to get her to say Aunt Sandy, but she'll just tell us "No, Beach!" Last weekend on our way to the real beach we got to about Taft and Charleigh starts crying hysterically for "Beach". Apparently, she was under the impression that we were going to Beach's house....so now we'll evidently be going to see Beach or going to see the ocean.......

one of those days.....

2008-03-26T13:58:00.000-07:00

...or more like, one of those weeks. I know that it sounds ridiculous, what with it having just been Easter which is one of my favorite days of the year and all, but for about a week now, I have totally been struggling. I feel as if I am in a funk and just can't seem to pull out. Someone advised me to try writing out my thoughts so that's what I'm doing. Hopefully it'll help clear my mind and not just sound like I'm whining. I don't really know what the problem is, it just seems to be there. Every time it seems to get better, another day comes that just seems to reinforce all my insecurities about myself. I was talking to a good friend a couple days ago and told her that I guess I always want to think that if I could only be this way or look that way or have this or do that, I wouldn't have all these awkward, geeky qualities. But I'm starting to think that's not true. I probably really know it's not true. The most frustrating part is that the voice inside telling me that these issues I have are just an exaggeration and so not logical just keeps getting drowned out by the one saying the opposite. I'm hoping that this beautiful spring weather and the adorable and semi-well potty-trained little girl I love so much will both be catalysts to bring me out of this, but for now please be praying for me ........

the beach.....

2008-03-26T09:12:00.000-07:00

don't you wish this physique warranted a bikini in your 20's also?

the Baywatch shot.....baby to the rescue!!
what is a day at the beach without ice cream?

Saturday morning, the three of us drove over to Pismo to spend the day at the beach. Not to be confused with Beach the person (post on this to come later). The weather was absolutely gorgeous and we had such a fun time. Our little munchkin had absolutely no fear of the water, unlike her daddy. As the waves would come in she tried pulling him farther into the water. Seeing as how it felt like melted ice water we figure that our child is going to be a bit of a fish this summer. And now for some shots of our bikini babe.......

egg hunt at the ericsson's.....

2008-03-26T09:04:00.000-07:00

Thursday night Charleigh had her first Easter egg hunt at the Ericsson's house. She picked up on it pretty quickly, but was easily distracted by toys and other kids. At least she had fun....

I love this picture! They look like they are

really having a conversation.

Please note that both Charleigh and Jacob walked past tons of eggs right in front of them in search of the eggs that were far away.
Who needs candy? Give this girl some goldfish and she is good to go!

daytrippin'.......

2008-02-27T11:23:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago Josh, Charleigh, Nana, Papa and I loaded up and took a trip to enjoy Santa Barbara for the day. The weather was gorgeous and we had so much fun. We started out at the zoo. Thus far, Charleigh has pretty much referred to all animals as "oof, oof" or dog as we recognize it. We figured we would be seeing lots of "dogs" that day. Kids can surprise you though. We had apparently forgotten that she also knew "baa" or sheep around Christmastime. And so, she proceeded to baa at all the animals, including the leopard and penguins. We then headed over to the beach where both my kids had a blast on the swings.

checking out "Bumbo" (elephant) with daddy
riding the train around the zoo
my other kid on the swings
the always popular pajama change

in the parking garage

she's a redneck woman.....

2008-02-13T11:00:00.000-08:00

While I am unashamed to be a NASCAR fan, there is something about these pictures that makes me laugh and cringe equally. It could be the mullet, the new "cheese" face she has started using, the ill-fitting shirt, all of the above, who knows...... All I know is that this is one outfit we won't be sportin' in public.......

gotta love the smile...
she could so pass for a boy......

little buckethead......

2008-02-13T10:55:00.000-08:00

One of Charleigh's recent favorite games was to put this bucket on her head and wander around the house, giggling the entire time. We, too, have had a blast watching her. She would always act so lost, but really seemed to be able to see out of the bottom. "Buckethead" was definitely a favorite around the house. I tried to take video, but the direction is wrong on my camera. However, I am sad to report that as of last night Buckethead is no more. She crashed into the end table and from what I'm told the bucket just kinda shattered. At least we have the photo memories.......

fun with daddy......

2008-02-13T10:52:00.000-08:00

I have discovered what these two like to do when Mama leaves the room........

there were about 15 pics like this on my camera...

my 2nd blanket...

2008-02-13T10:46:00.001-08:00

Woo-hoo! A new post and a new sewing project. I am on a roll. Actually, I completed the sewing almost a month ago, but that's okay. I made this baby blanket for my cousin Kasey and had been procastinating making it for over 2 months. Then my aunt called and said she had been admitted for labor and so I ran out to Strawberry Patches, bought the material, and had it finished around midnight that night. Only to find out the next day that it had been a false alarm which meant no baby....Oh well, at least the blanket was finished and ready.

Trying to choose square placement,

so much harder than I thought....

the finished product, you can't see it that well, but I used a teal edging and it looked so good next to the purple back. Thanks for the tip, Colleen!

sick kids.....

2008-01-08T10:13:00.000-08:00

And now, for a little honesty. Before I had Charleigh I used to sometimes wonder about those women who were always telling you that their kids were sick. I would think, "Sure, your kids have been sick 5 times in 2 months. Don't you think maybe you're being a little dramatic?" I now owe those people an apology. As the mother of a child who has some sort of sickness present almost continually since Thanksgiving, I am eating my own words. It started with your basic cold, then came the roseola, followed by what appeared to be another cold but turned out to be bronchitis, ear infection and so on resulting in 3 medications at once. I am just so ready to have my fun loving little girl back. It makes me so sad to see her not feeling well all the time, but I do confess that I love the cuddling she wants when sick. At least now we finally seem to be on the track to better health and let's hope it stays this way for awhile.......

I love this little face.....

kasey's shower

2008-01-08T10:03:00.000-08:00

This weekend we held my cousin Kasey's baby shower at my mom's house. It turned out really nice. I "borrowed" some cute ideas from past showers I've attended and also borrowed a bunch of my supplies. Everyone seemed to really enjoy it. We had a candy buffet set up which was a huge hit. She got tons of great stuff and now we're just waiting for little Kynslee to arrive.....

the candy buffet

what a cute card tree!
the mommy-to-be
the buggy was a huge hit

my first blanket.....

2008-01-08T09:55:00.000-08:00

trying to arrange the squares
my daughter was a big fan
the finished product

Feeling inspired by the creativity of all the moms I know, I decided to try to make a blanket for my sister-in-law for Christmas. Keep in mind that prior to this my only sewing experience is a half finished diapee and wipee. All in all, I think it turned out pretty well (thanks to lots of help from both my parents and Colleen)........

christmas highlights....

2008-01-08T09:38:00.001-08:00

christmas .....

2008-01-07T14:34:00.001-08:00

Christmas was so much fun this year. Charleigh got the hang of opening presents very quickly and she loved it! She gets excited about each things so that made it fun also. So far playing time has been divided pretty evenly among her gifts but she certainly does seem to love her Elmo from Aunt Sandy and her rocking horse from Uncle Jamie, Aunt Karrie, and Samuel.

rosson family christmas.....

2008-01-02T14:16:00.000-08:00

When my grandma Rosson passed away 13 years ago my grandpa decided to move back to Arkansas to be near his family. In an effort to keep up holiday family gatherings, the 7 kids in my dad's family (yes, 7) decided to rotate between each person's house each year. So, start with the oldest, then go to the next kid and so forth. With just a couple of exceptions, this has now gone on for over 10 years. The first or second Sunday in December we all get together. This year we happened to be at my cousin Karla's house. Not everyone was able to make it, but a good time was had nonetheless. My daughter had a blast with the houseful of people and when we got home that night she displayed her true Rosson side by discovering that she is a HUGE fan of the coconut balls which are a Christmas tradition.

hanging out with Avery
my aunt Kiley, cousin Dale, his wife Tracey and their kids
my Uncle Eddie, Aunt Debbie, cousins Kasey and Kayla and their men
Uncle Lonnie, Aunt Patty and their family
our family sans Josh who was still at home recovering

our little decorator.......

2008-01-02T14:10:00.000-08:00

Charleigh was a great help in decorating trees this year. She got to help both sets of grandparents and she did wonderful!

Hanging out with Aunt Cabria
Helping Daddy with the tree
Showing Papa exactly where the ornaments should go....

she was very insistent on their specific spots
All tired out from her hard work

sweet, sweet sushi......

2007-12-18T10:09:00.000-08:00

For the Rooke's Annual Holiday Cookie Bake-Off I opted to not actually bake anything at all. Instead, I entered this plate of candy sushi into the contest. Yes, it did win in the creativity category, but certainly not the taste. Looks good though....

it happened again....

2007-12-18T10:05:00.000-08:00

thanks Nana....

2007-12-18T10:02:00.000-08:00

My mom bought this Boo doll for Charleigh while we were at Disneyland. It has become her first real attachment toy. She sleeps with her and is now beginning to insist that Boo come with us anytime we leave the house....

thanksgiving....

2007-12-18T09:55:00.000-08:00

Opening this year's ornament from Mamaw and Papa
The 2007 personalized ornament
Assembling the trains with Samuel

Yes, I am aware that I am ridiculously far behind, but we are going to attempt to catch up and in chronological order. We spent Thanksgiving at Josh's folks house. Most of the day was spent playing Wii. We were excited for Charleigh to try her first Thanksgiving foods. We gave her a little of each to try and what did my child eat for her first real holiday meal? Olives and peas. A lot of them too. So much that we finally had to stop giving them to her so the rest of us could have some also. Oh well, it could be worse. She was also a fan of the pumpkin pie.....such a strange child.

disneyland highlight......

2007-11-12T10:05:00.000-08:00

Here is definitely one of the top three moments from our trip. I'm sure you will all agree with that.......

disneyland....

2007-11-12T09:54:00.001-08:00

This weekend we took Charleigh to Disneyland for the first time. Judging by the squeals of laughter as we rode down the escalator on our way to the tram, we figured she would be a big fan. And she was! We started the day at the teacups (Mommy's all time favorite). True to form as my daughter, she LOVED them. That definitely made my heart happy. From there, we enjoyed the rest of the park. Unlike her mom as a child, Charleigh was more than willing to sleep when tired so the day was much more pleasant with a rested child. Nothing scared her except for when the boats bumped together on Pirates. She did not enjoy that. All in all, it was such a wonderful trip and we can't wait to do it again!

Mommy and Charleigh on their favorite ride
Riding Dumbo with Daddy
Meeting Mickey for the first time with Nana
Enjoying the castle cookie she decorated with Papa's help
Watching the parade on Daddy's shoulders

i know it's mean.....

2007-11-06T10:33:00.000-08:00

....but what parent can really help themselves? last week Charleigh woke up after only 30 minutes of a nap seemingly wanting lunch. I obliged this request only to discover this scene about 3 minutes later. Like any good mother who discovers their child passed out in a strange place, my first thought was to grab the camera......

fun in the nursery.....

2007-11-06T10:29:00.000-08:00

I am currently doing childcare at our old church on Thursday mornings during their women's bible study. My so-called kids are just Charleigh and a 2-year-old boy named Jonny. It is so fun to watch them interact and play each week. I have recently decided that there are few things are cute as seeing a child sitting in those little plastic chairs in the nursery eating Cheerios....I just love it.

halloween night

2007-11-06T10:27:00.001-08:00

halloween night.....

2007-11-06T10:21:00.000-08:00

Halloween turned out to be a bit of a marathon for us. Hectic, but so much fun. We started by going to the homes of a couple family members. Not as much for candy as simply to share Charleigh's cuteness with them. Next we met up with the millions of parents and kiddies at the Goens' house. Everyone was too adorable for words and it was so fun to be included in the chaos. We opted not to go trick or treating since Charleigh didn't really need the candy anyways. So we left and picked up Papa (Nana had bible study and Daddy was sick) and went out to Daybreak's harvest festival to visit old friends. Charleigh had a blast playing a couple games and, after some initial coaxing, decided that she LOVES the bounce house......

halloween party.....

2007-11-06T10:13:00.000-08:00

Nana's adorable costume, complete with hoop skirt and bloomers
Playing the "lay down and go to sleep" game that Daddy taught her
Charleigh attempting to escape the family picture
This picture just cracks me up. She is actually looking for the little boy who is hiding under the table for hide-n-go-seek. He did not appreciate her giving away his spot. This reminds me of The Wizard of Oz.

We were lucky enough this year to enjoy Halloween in three separate events. The first was a party at Uncle Jamie and Aunt Karrie's house on the 20th, then came the Bridge trick or treating event in Carpinteria, and last, but not least, the big night itself. We had so much fun showing off our little clown in her adorable costume that Nana made for her. Lots of pics were taken, but I'll just share highlights. Here are some from the first party.......

our little pumpkin.....

2007-10-23T12:38:00.000-07:00

I think this pumpkin outweighed her, but she certainly tried.
Daddy and Charleigh looking for that perfect pumpkin.
The best one must have been the one in the middle.

Best route? Up and over all the rest.

Awww, I love this face.
Looking for a Charleigh-size pumpkin with Papa.

On Sunday afternoon the three of us along with Nana and Papa went out to the pumpkin patch. I was all set and ready for beautiful shots of my daughter among the fall colors, but mostly I came home with shots of her running. Here are some of the good ones though......