One Year

I remembered to take a picture of Charlotte every month next to Pooh Bear for the entire year! I never did this with Gavin and I always wished I would have! It's fun to look at them all and compare.


We love this little girl so much! We pray that she will grow up to love Christ more than anything, serve Him with her whole being, and focus all her energy on bringing Him glory.





We just lov

A little help . . .

I am having a hard time deciding what Charlotte will wear in her One year pictures. I've never really had a dilema with Gavin. I just have so many cute outfits for Charlotte that I just can't decide! What's your vote?

#1 - Cream Gap Dress with Gold Threading, Gold buttons and Gold Shoes

#2 - Purple butterfly dress with striped tights and hot pink shoes

#3 - Grey Children's Place dress w/ pink flowers and pink shoes

#4 - Pink, Blue and brown dress with brown leggings and pink shoes

Animal Crossing

Do ya'll have a Wii? We do. We bought it two years ago. We played it quite a bit at first, as everyone does. Then once summer hit, we stopped playing it altogether. Ryan even contemplated selling it. I talked him out of it and told him that we would play again once winter hit. We didn't. It just sat there last winter, taking up space. Well, last mother's day Ryan bought me Mario Kart with TWO steering wheels. We started playing all the time. It's my favorite game. I'm not crazy about video games, but this game, I L.O.V.E. Ryan then bought me Tetris - my all time favorite game. When I was younger, my family used to fight over who got to play - my parents included. Then after the newness of those games wore off, we stopped playing it again.

This Christmas, we bought Gavin Animal Crossing City Folk. I am once again obsessed with the Wii. Gavin loves it, I love it. We play it almost every evening. I confess I've even played it by myself after everyone is in bed on a few occasions! It's just so fun and addicting. It's my guilty pleasure and what I like to do to unwind.

What is your favorite pass time these days?

Miserable weekend

What a miserable weekend the Dobbertin's had! I was home with Charlotte every minute. I was so bored. Ryan took Gavin to the Shedd Aquarium on Saturday morning and then to work with him. When they got home, Ryan said that Gavin wouldn't eat lunch and needed a nap. He fell asleep on the couch and woke up with a 102.2 fever! I thought he had what Charlotte had. Then, we woke up at 2:00 a.m. to "Mom! I threw up! (BLAGH!) MOM! I'm throwing up!" Ryan camped out on the couch with him for the rest of the night. I was up with Charlotte for a few hours in the early morning. Ryan let me nap the rest of the morning while he hung out with Gav and fed him toast for breakfast. He kept it down. Later we gave him some pretzels. He did not keep those down. Charlotte is doing much better. I had a hard time keeping up with her last night and all of her mischievous ventures. She is one crazy kid. Currently she is nosing through the trash can looking through the discarded newspaper . . .

We have a lot to do this week in preparation for our trip to Michigan,Charlotte's birthday party, and Ryan's trip to Costa Rica. On top of that, Ryan has to have a procedure done today to see what is wrong with him. They are thinking he has an ulcer. We have to pick him up downtown this afternoon once it is over. I'm exhausted already! I hope Charlotte kicks this nasty habit of waking up from 4-5:30. It's really cramping my style!

So tired and feeling yucky! She passed out here on Gavin's bean bag chair.

Poor Baby

I just got back from taking Charlotte to the doctor. She has been so sick. She was miserable last night. I couldn't get her to fall asleep. She was just laying in my arms crying with her eyes closed. It was so sad. I am glad I ended up taking her in - she had some fluid in her ears (not an infection, yet) and the doctor said she has Bronchiolitis and possibly Pneumonia. I just can't believe it. Gavin is 5 and has never had an antibiotic. Charlotte is not even one and she has to take one. That makes me sad. But, I just want her to get better! Looks like we'll be missing church this weekend and laying low! I hope you all have a healthy and great weekend. Live it up for me!

Swim Class

Gavin is a little timid in the water. He is scared he is going to drown or something. I signed him up for swim lessons at one of our parks and rec. centers. He was really nervous the first time we went. The second time, he was fine! The night after his third class he actually thanked God for swim class in his prayer! It is so fun to watch his progress. The class meets once a week and goes all the way through March. I can't wait to see how well he is doing by then!

Gavin on the "island"

The instructors name is Ed and one of the moms told me she thought he looked like Drew Peterson. I thought that was funny!

And here's Charlotte confined to the stroller. I wont let her out for fear she'll jump right in. This girl is afraid of NOTHING!

Day 3 and 4

Well these last two days have been kind of a bust. Charlotte threw a wrench into my productivity plans. She decided to come down with a very nasty cold. She's had a fever and has been so miserable. She's been up in the night a few times for the last few days! So, I've been letting Gavin watch cartoons, I barely get in the shower before 12:00, and Charlotte and I just snuggle our days away.

I have been able to get some things done b/d she's been sleeping so much.
* we've done Gavin's reading
* I organized the pantry (yeah!)
* I put the last coat of decoupage on Jayne's bow holder
* I vacuumed the living room and Charlotte's bedroom - that's as far as I got, though.
* I packaged up an etsy order
* we went to AWANA
* I had Gavin fill out some Valentines to work on his penmanship

That's about it. Like I said, we've been watching a lot of cartoons and are laying around quite a bit!

Back to the grind - day 2

Today was not quite as productive as yesterday. Still, I was up and showered by 8:00 again. I did some light cleaning this a.m. while the kids played. Gav and I did school during C's 1st nap. We made a paddle steamer - we are learning about steam powered machines. Gavin loved it and it was a fun craft for us. It was nice just crafting and talking about different steam machines and looking up how they work.

I had to wake C up from her nap b/c we had to go to Gavin's swim class.
After that, we ate lunch in the car on our way to the Library to renew my card. Apparently it's something you have to do every 2 years. I have never lived anywhere long enough to have to renew one before! We ran into one of Gavin's buddies from swim class, so we hung out there for awhile. Then we ran to the grocery store for a few odds and ends that I forgot this weekend. We headed home where Charlotte crashed and Gavin and I worked on reading. Much better today (thank you, Lord!)!

Once Ryan got home, I was able to work on my second project for this week. I messed it up royally and Ryan had to come to my rescue. He had to sand and repaint part of it. He even used my blow dryer to speed up the drying process so that I could redo the finishing touches. It's a bow holder for my niece, Jayne. It still needs one last coat of decoupage and I'd like to make a few more bows to hang on it. But, it is just about done! I hope she loves it! I had a blast making it.






After dinner we just all hung out. Gavin and I played Animal Crossing on the Wii. It's our new obsession. It's so much fun! Well, that was my day 2 of getting back on track and back to schedule. I can see why I needed that extended holiday. My life is exhausting!

My Deals

I know lots of you hit up old navy when they had 50% off their already clearance items. I remember doing this last year, too. I didn't get as much for Gavin last year, though. I have recently discovered the best old navy EVER! A few weeks ago I decided to drive a mile or so farther to a new Old Navy that I hadn't been to. It.Was.Huge. It was also very clean and well organized, not like the one we usually go to. Anyway, when I saw Kelly mention on Facebook that they were having their sale, I packed up the kiddos and off we went. I ended up spending $100 and got LOTS of great stuff. I was able to buy some baby gifts, some Christmas gifts for next year, school (sniff, sniff) clothes for Gavin for next year and so many cute outfits for Charlotte! I had a blast! I even scored a dress coat for myself for $20. It was originally $99.50.
I added up all of the original prices and it came to over $600. I think I got about 35 items all together.
I tried to get a good picture of my loot, but it was all spread out over my bed so I could show Ryan when he got home!

Help!

I need some help. We are having "mom's night" at AWANA and we would like to send each mom home with a favor. When it was Dad's night, we sent them home with a can of Dad's Root Beer. I am looking for something not too expensive (we have about 120 kids or so) but something that you would really appreciate. Got any ideas?

Back to the Grind

I started off my week with a bang! Actually, it all started last night. I decided to page through my Better Homes and Gardens magazine. Half of the magazine was about organizing!!! I looked at it for five minutes and was rearing to go after that. It was all the motivation I needed to get me out of my post holiday funk!

After everyone was in bed, I cleaned out the bathroom closet and reorganized everything in it. It was awesome! I threw away expired medicines, old curling irons that I haven't used since 1999, yucky nail polish and the list goes on and on. It felt great to get that accomplished.

I was still feelin' it this morning when I got up (despite a random 4 am wake up call from Charlotte). I was showered and ready to go by 8:00! I loaded up the kiddos and ran a few errands and was home by 10:00 to put Charlotte down for her 1st nap. Gavin and I dove right into school and had art class. We were learning to paint trees from different view points - up close, far away, aerial. He did awesome! I may have a little artist on my hands! After a little instruction, he went to town and busied himself with it for a good 1/2 hour.


While he was doing that, I started to work on one of my projects. I ended up finishing it! It's for Charlotte's 1st birthday party. I can't wait to see her in it!

I got the shirt for $4 at Khol's and the tutu was pretty inexpensive to make (thanks to a few trips to Joann's with a 40% off coupon).

During Charlotte's 2nd nap of the day, I was able to reorganize most of the kids toys and Gavin's art supplies. Everything had been in Charlotte's room and I could NEVER remember to get something out for Gavin before she went to bed.


We also did work on Gavin's reading. It was tough! He had such a bad attitude about it. We had to stop so many times to correct his behavior. It was so sad. I mostly was sad b/c I know that if I had just stuck with it, he wouldn't have been in a funk at all.





All in all a very productive day! I decided that since I got so much accomplished that I should add one more task to my week. I am going to organize my pantry one day. I may regret this later, but oh well. I hope to report more progress tomorrow. For tonight, I have one load of laundry to fold (did I mention I did two loads of laundry today?) and then I am going to bed!

Charlotte's Favorite Nook

This spot happens to be one of Charlotte's favorite spots. She goes back there several times a day. Doesn't she look so cute hanging out back there? The trouble is that it is a very naughty spot for her to be in! There is a shredder back there (that is always unplugged, but still) and the garbage can that holds lots of paper that she likes to eat. She also likes to spread the garbage around the house, as well. She is so determined to get back there and it drives me nuts! When Gavin was a baby, if you told him "no", he would listen. Not our Charlotte, she definitely has spirit and likes to do what she wants to do. We definitely have our work cut out for us with this one!

Vacation Mode

I am having the hardest time getting out of vacation mode since Christmas break. I just can't seem to get motivated. Most days I don't even get out of my sweats! Even cleaning my house (which I usually take joy in) doesn't seem to be appealing to me. I am way behind in Gavin's reading schedule. I've been letting him watch way too much t.v. and we've even neglected doing school. It has been taking me two weeks to get through one week of material with him. I know he is in the same rut that I am in. When we do do reading, it is a huge struggle to get him to focus. I have several projects piling up on me which is making it even harder to get motivated! I just need to power through and do what I need to do weather I feel like it or not! My goal this week is to complete TWO of my projects this week, do Gavin's reading every day, school at least four days and make a spreadsheet for children's ministry that I have been wanting to do. It seems like a lofty to-do list to add to the other every day tasks that I have, but I know I can do it! Help cheer me on and keep me accountable!

My girl

I can't believe my little girl is about to be ONE! That is crazy to me. I was so good at documenting all of Gavin's milestones, the big and the small (no matter how annoying it was to everyone else). Charlotte on the other hand seems to be passing them all so quickly I barely have time to capture half of them! I know I will forget all of these little things in the future, so I just have to write them down now!!

Some of her milestones -
waves bye-bye
signs "all done" when she is done eating
is walking - a little like Frankenstein, but still . . .
puts her hand to her ear when we say "hello" as if she is answering the phone
gives kisses - mostly to her baby doll, though
says mama and dada
still has NO TEETH!

some of her little quirks -
does not like to sit at the table but would rather eat grazing around the house
is ALWAYS messy - our little ragamuffin
doesn't so much like all the bows I force in her hair (too bad!)
does NOT like men (except daddy and her grandpas)
has no problem being thrown three feet into the air
loves to wrestle with her brother
is still "sensitive" to milk
loves to get a hold of my coffee and drink it - she gets SO MAD when I take it away
she could take or leave the passy but would wither up and die without her blankie!

I am sure I could go on and on here. But my little ragamuffin is pulling on my legs and smiling up at me ever so sweetly. I must go play with her and smooch on her before she passes some other crazy milestone!