Charlotte turns 3!!

How is it possible that another year has passed by? Three years ago today at 1:30 in the afternoon my second daughter, Charlotte Grace was born. She came into this world hollering and to this day she is the loudest child I've ever met. Her laugh is big and bold and completely contagious and she will surprise and delight you with some of the things that come out of her silly mouth.

Charlotte is my girly girl.....princess dresses and jewelery, tea parties and high heels. She loves all things pink, purple and girly. She fiercely loves her sisters and has decided that she wants to marry Maddie when she grows up. This year she went from being the youngest to being an older sister and the new role really suits her well. Charlotte is ridiculously outgoing and can make friends anywhere even with kids many years older than her!

This year has been a big one for us. Lot's of life changes, lot's of fun and lot's of firsts. Charlotte got a new baby sister, she started preschool for the first time, rode her first horse, got comfortable enough in water to play without a floatie. She learned how to draw happy faces, played in the snow, learned how to dribble a soccer ball, was a flower girl in her aunt's wedding and threw up from the flu for the first time. Charlotte went to Disneyland for the first time, learned how to ride a tricycle all by herself, got her first haircut and potty trained in a week!!

It amazes me how fast this little girl is growing up. She is a delight to be around and our house is a lot more joyous with her in it! I pray that this next year she continues to grow big and strong, that she stays healthy and that she continues to learn new and exciting things. Above all else I hope that she grows in love and becomes the girl that God intends for her to be. He has big plans for miss Charlotte! :o)

Here is an interview with our new 3 year old:

What's your name: "My name is Charlotte"

How old are you: "I'm 1, 2, 3....THREE" (shows 3 fingers)

Favorites:

Food: ice cream
Drink: apple juice
Toy: my turtle
Outside activity: swinging
Inside activity: get my pacis in my mouth
Treat: ice cream
Movie: little mermaid
Song: princess songs
TV show: backyardigans
Word: not anything
Animal: piggies are my favorite
Fruit: peaches
Outfit: jamas (pajamas)
Place: home
Book: dinosaurs
Shoes: pink shoes
Season: fall
Color: green and purple
Cartoon character: mickey mouse
Game: candy land
Candy: chocolate
Restaurant: Old MacDonalds
Vegetable: corn on the cobb

A glimpse at Charlotte's second year:

Charlotte turns 3 - flash slideshow maker

May: twice the speed of light

Phew.....it's been a long time since I've visited this space. Seriously, where did May go? How is it already the 20th?!? As always, we have been super busy. Soccer has ended for the season, preschool is coming to a close for the year, Charlotte is having a birthday soon, Eleanor cut 2 teeth and as always life has been a balancing act trying to keep up with everything.

I have also finally decided to start my own photography business! This has been something that I have been contemplating for a while now, and just decided to bite the bullet and give it a shot. Will I succeed? Hopefully! But I won't know for sure unless I try. So, there is a website being made as we speak, a company logo being created and talk of business cards! I have been on an emotional roller coaster the last couple weeks feeling both elated and totally not good enough to be a professional photographer. Hopefully the self doubt will fade with time. I'll try and be better at updating my blog and keeping everyone abreast of the situation!

Our landscaping in the front is looking great, our garden in the back is starting to look a bit out of control because we have been working on the front. We had 15 yards of mulch delivered a few days ago to put around the yard, but our manual labor (Dan) has been busy with lots of other things (like finishing his semester of school) and the mountain of mulch doesn't look much smaller yet. We have been harvesting many,many strawberries and our blackberries are coming in and look awesome! Charlotte's 3rd birthday is on May 23rd and we're having her party here at the house tomorrow.......which means that I have to keep this short and get to cleaning and cooking in preparation.

Here's a look at what we've been up to the last couple weeks.......

Blackberries

My special mother's day flowers

Got mulch??

Peaches

Peony

Raspberries (and a bee!)

Home grown

Ewwwwww

Garden happenings

Things are happening in our garden! We decided not to over do it this year.....for scaling back we sure have a lot growing! We got our fruit trees and bushes planted last year and this year we are already reaping the rewards, or at least patiently waiting to reap the rewards. The lettuce and spinach are out of control, I'm sure it will start bolting in the next few weeks but it is lovely while it lasts. I failed at winter veggies (broccoli, cauliflower & cabbage) again this year. I just get it in the ground way too late and by mid April the bugs have completely feasted on it. Next year I vow to do better and get them planted earlier!! This past weekend we planted squash, tomatoes, sweet potaotes and basil. I'll get beans in at some point in the near future, but other than that, I think we're done. No corn or melons this year. How does YOUR garden grow?

Raspberries

Wild strawberries

Cherry blossom

Lettuce

We have PEACHES!
Granted.....they are teeny! :o)

Strawberries

Blackberries
We are going to have a gazillion this year!

Raspberry bush

Blueberries

Dwarf roses

More peaches!!

Cherries

Tomatoes

Starting to get red

Blackberry bush

Japanese maple

Hydrangea
Our bushes are covered in flower buds!!

Apple
It's on the same scale as the peach.....tiny.

Spinach