Turning Two

 

 

This picture pretty much sums up Charlotte.  She is on the go, has a mind of her own, and a smile on her sweet little face!  I snapped this pic in late November as we were heading to pick MJ up from preschool.  She is very adamant at times about the clothes she wants to wear, and she was insisting on putting this shirt on over her other shirt and sweatshirt.  I was in a rush to get her out of the house and loaded up in the van to go pick up MJ, so I just went with it.  In her hand she had a Dora Wii game that she was determined to not let go.  Sometimes you fight the battle and sometimes you just go with it, right?!  Picking up MJ doesn't required me getting her out of the car luckily.  ;)  She was proud of her wardrobe and Wii game as she paraded back in the house after preschool pick up. 

 

This sweet and determined little girl just turned TWO!  Seriously, where does the time go? Yep, it's so cliche, I know, but it really does seem like we were just pregnant with this little baby and finding out she'd be a GIRL!  I can't even begin to imagine life without her.  There aren't enough adjectives to describe her.  She's really such a wonderful mix of attributes....she has such a sweet and loving side and enjoys cuddles and kisses, she's a little comedian and cracks herself up, as well as us, on a daily basis.  She's fearless at times and makes me gasp with her daredevil antics, yet she's developed a bit more of a shy and reserved side lately as well.  She adores her brothers, comes running to mommy or daddy when we arrive home, and likes to play with other little ones.  On the flip side she can be very stubborn and strong willed.  She can be full of drama, especially in the mornings.  She warms up slow and is content lying in her bed for awhile and can be rather stand offish after first getting up. 

 

As a new two year-old, Charlee Noelle is talking up a storm.  She is using new words daily and even putting sentences together.  At least once a day it seems like Mat and I look at each other with that "Did she really just say what I think she said?!" look.  Yesterday it was "Twizzler".  Yep, she's my daughter for sure!  ;)  She now says "I love you" from time to time, she says sentences like "I see ...." , "I want...." or "Where's ....?"

 

Charlotte loves playing by herself, with MJ (whom she calls "J"), or with mommy or daddy.  She keeps up with the big kids by running, playing chase, wrestling, etc. She's recently enjoyed playing with babies and pretending to hug, rock, and feed them.  She enjoys looking at books or being read aloud to, although she doesn't typically sit still for more than a few pages before she's on to the next book.  She LOVES Dora...watching Dora the Explorer, looking at Dora books, eating with her Dora silverware, playing with Dora dolls..you name it!  If it's Dora, she loves it! 

 

She likes to run, kick, throw and dance!  I'm not sure if she'll be an athlete, a gymnast and dancer, or maybe all of the above.  She seems to like it all!  She amazes me how well she can run and kick balls and throw as well.  Turn on some music though and she's all giggles and booty shakin'. 

 

Charlotte continues to be a pretty good eater.  Vegetables are most challenging unless they're in a pureed form.  Some favorites include scrambled eggs, grilled cheese, breads, yogurt, applesauce, and all things sweet!  She drinks skim milk (likes to ask for chocolate milk) and water.  She's really thinned out and is rather tall and lean.  I'll be excited to see what her 2 year stats are at her well child check up. 

 

Charlotte's birthday is of course right before Christmas, so she was lucky enough to celebrate with family... 

 

 

 Her first celebration was at Mema and Papa's when we also celebrated Christmas.  She shared a birthday cake with Grandma Keyes, who has a birthday just a few days before Charlotte's.  Mema made them a yummy jello cake!  She also received some presents to open from Mema and Papa as well as Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Keyes. 

 

 

Could she be any cuter all dressed in her birthday outfit?

Her next birthday celebration was the day before her actual birthday.  We knew we'd be spending her actual birthday driving back to Dubuque, so we were sure to celebrate this sweet girl the day prior.  After lots of debating, I decided on taking her to Chuck E Cheese for the first time.  Honestly, it was kind of my last resort after some other ideas didn't seem to pan out too well, but I don't think it could have been any more perfect for her.  She LOVED it!  Big brother did too, of course! 

Time for games!  There were so many games that were perfect for MJ's age and many small rides, slides, and even a couple games that Charlotte enjoyed as well. 

 

Uncle Jeff and Charlotte checking it all out...

Both kids were a  bit stand offish of big Chuck behind us.  Ha!



Off with PopPop to play some games!

Wheeeee!

Ready, set, go!

Cheeeeese!  Happy to pose for a few pictures

He shoots, he scores!

Gigi, PopPop, and Uncle Jeff celebrating Charlotte with us

Singing to the birthday girl! 

Dora cupcakes of course!

Last year, this little girl turning 1 dove headfirst into her cake.  This year it was more like trying to shove the whole cupcake in her mouth!

Opening a couple presents...a Dora toothbrush from big brother MJ and a Dora doll and other Dora goodies from mommy and daddy

 After Chuck E Cheese, it was back to Gigi and PopPop's, change into pj's, and open presents from Gigi, PopPop, Uncle Jeff, and a mommy and daddy. She went to bed a tired and very happy little girl!

 

 

The next morning, I shot a quick video as I went in to greet Charlotte on the morning of her actual birthday. 

December 23, 2013.  Happy 2nd Birthday, Charlotte Noelle!

 

Luckily she didn't realize that she was spending her actual birthday riding in the car.  She was tired and it was a bit of a rough day for her.  We stopped for lunch at a Chick Fila on the way back to Dubuque, and she got bit pretty good by another child on the playground.  She was quite a little trooper and did pretty well most of the time in the car, but the last hour or so she'd had it.  I finally gave her he iPad in hopes that it would keep her calm.  Before I knew it, she was quiet, and this is what I saw...

Charlotte doesn't fall asleep in the car too easily unless she's REALLY tired! 

What a day!

We're so blessed by your life, Charlee, and love you SO much!

 

Just a couple little recent videos...

 

We just recently rented the Stuart Little movie.  If not familiar, this movie is about a family that adopts a mouse as their child.  The mouse is walking, talking, and human like in many ways.  For some reason Charlotte was just blown away by this mouse.  It was like she was in shock that a mouse was on the TV and she kept loudly exclaiming, "Mouse!!".  Maybe she's inherited her mommy's huge fear of mice!  I don't know where it came from honestly, but it was hilarious!  The next day she was carrying around the DVD case saying "Mouse!!" 

 

 

Little Miss showing off her her body part knowledge.  We have a similar video of MJ right when he turned 2 as well. 

 



Baby Besties

One of the highlights of our trip back home was getting to see my best friend Mindy and meet her son, Harper.  Harper was born in early August, and I've been dying to meet him!  Since I was so pregnant when he was born and then having my own baby, I hadn't made it to STL to meet him as soon as I'd liked, so I was anxious to get my hands on little Harper. 

 

Mindy and I have literally been friends since infancy.  Our moms became friends many years ago while at Cross Keys Church.  The story goes that Mindy's mom, Jackie, played the organ at church, and my mom played the piano at church.  They'd get together to practice and put Mindy and I together in our little seats.  We've been friends ever since!  We have so many memories together as little girls playing house (my fave) and Barbies (her fave), and now here we are getting to experience motherhood together.  It really has come full circle, and I am so grateful!  Mindy and I have always stayed connected and close, but we've went through periods in our life where we communicated less than others.  We'd been in different life stages for awhile, and although we supported and encouraged one another in our endeavors, we didn't necessarily have a lot in common.  It's really fun though to now be experiencing this life stage at the same time!  I really look forward to seeing Harper and Cooper grow up together as little friends and playmates.  I hope that they'll see what wonderful friends their mommies are, too! 

 

 

 

Harper at 4 months and Cooper at 2 months

 

 

MJ and Charlotte were also excited to see Miss Mindy!  Mindy came over to my parents house and spent the afternoon.  The kiddos were more than happy to love on her and give lots of cuddles.  

As if MJ isn't smitten enough with his own baby brother, having another baby boy around was even better!  He was really good with them and loved playing with them and singing to them as well.

Happy little baby boys...love them!  

Mmmm...those cheeks look yummy!



I'm so glad we shared this day together and made some special memories!

 

Over the River and Through the Woods

On December 14th, we loaded up for our first road trip to St. Louis as a family of five...also sporting our minivan.  Yep, we're officially not hip any longer.  Let me tell ya though, that thing was nice for being able to easily get to three kiddos, reach Cooper when he needed his pacifier AND most importantly fit all the stuff required for five people for over a week of traveling plus Christmas gifts!

 

St. Louis got hit with a pretty big snowfall the day we drove there.  This made for a gorgeous drive...

 

 

Our first point of arrival was Mema and Papa's house.  We had dinner there that first night in town and of course everyone was excited to love on the kids and Aunt Peggy and Uncle Leif were dying to meet Cooper (Aunt Peggy is quite the baby snuggler)...

After hanging out for awhile that evening, MJ and Charlotte had their first sleepover at Mema and Papa's house.  Mat and I, along with Cooper, stayed at a hotel in town.  It felt quite strange to just have one kiddo for the night.  I was thinking it might be a night of great sleep, but unfortunately Cooper didn't sleep all that well.  He had done such a great job in the car on the way there (slept most of the way), so I think it threw him off a bit.

That next day, we headed back over to Mark and Bobi's house and Grandma and Grandpa Keyes met us there as well.  We spent the afternoon having our first Christmas celebration!  The kids were beyond excited, and it was nice to have the special time with Mat's family.

 

After a wonderful afternoon of opening presents, a delicious meal, and spending time with family, we loaded ALL (the kids received so much stuff we had to mail it back home) the goodies up in the van, put three tired kiddos in their car seats, and headed for Columbia. 

They were passed out by the time we hit the highway!

 

We then spent one night in Columbia, Missouri with our good friends Jill and Daniel, and their two girls.  The guys went to a Mizzou basketball game while us girls hung out and played with the kids.

 

The next afternoon we headed to St. Louis to Gigi and PopPop's house where we'd spend the next several days seeing friends, spending time with family, and having another Christmas celebration. 

 

 

 

We were able to go see Aunt Kelly's new house in South St. Louis.  Her and Allison met Cooper for the first time, and they even asked Mat to be in their wedding this summer!  Of course the kids were spoiled with more presents and had a grand time playing at their house. 

 

 

The next night we went out to Wentzville's Party Play Center so the kids could get some wiggles out while we visited with some friends.  My best friend Meg and her family joined us as well as Becky Grover and her kiddos and Stephanie and her family.  December is such a busy time for everyone, so we were thankful we got to see a few friends there!

Santa even made an appearance! Stan Shelton loves to play Santa, and I was hoping he'd do so for our kiddos while we were home.  This seemed like the perfect opportunity.  He was so gracious to stop in and greet all the kids, provide candy canes and pose for pictures.

 

The last time I saw Stephanie was this summer, where we also met at the Play Center, but were comparing new baby bumps.  This time we swapped babies for some cuddles!  Her newest, Brayden is just a little over a week younger than Cooper. 

 

The next day we were able to get together with Grandma and Grandpa Immekus.  We met at Crest Bowl, where grandma bowls in a league.  She was sure excited to meet her newest great grandchild!

All of the other bowlers were quite smitten with the little ones.

After bowling it was off to Steak n Shake for some yummy lunch!  Why don't we have Steak n Shake in Dubuque??



After lunch, we headed back to my parents where we exchanged Christmas gifts and of course got in some baby snuggles!  Man, if we lived close to Grandma Immekus, I think we'd have a free babysitter any night we wanted!  ;) 

Jeff flew in that night.  The only time you can wake a sleeping baby at midnight is when he's meeting his uncle for the first time!  I hadn't seen my brother since March, so it was really great to be together for the holiday.  He is such an amazing uncle, and I love seeing him with our kids.  They certainly don't take it easy on him and he must be worn out by the time we leave! 

That Saturday, December 21st, we celebrated Christmas with my family.  Grandpa Great came over to join on the festivities, and we had a wonderful lunch, opened presents, and just spent time together. 

Getting ready for another one of Cooper's first celebrations...

 

 

MJ was chomping at the bit to open presents!  He and Charlotte helped me pass out gifts, and they were quite speedy openers!

Cooper sat in his rock and play the entire time we opened gifts.  He dozed off and on, but never made a peep.  He was an easy and amazing baby that night! 



 

It was a really special day and nice to just have the time to enjoy family and not rush off to be anywhere else.  I'm glad our time in St. Louis included special Christmas celebrations with each of our families.  Unfortunately, we missed the large Keyes gathering and Immekus gathering, so we did miss out on all the aunts, uncles, and cousins.  It just doesn't seem possible to fit it ALL in, and this year, we were really looking forward to being in our own home on Christmas morning, so we had to make some sacrifices.