The Cabin

We had the best time at the Coleman's cabin... so relaxing and the company was great. Praise the Lord for such great friends!

Highlights....

1. We saw the tiniest fawn ever. We think it was about a week old... Luke spotted it and it just laid down in fear.... just long enough to snap this pic. Then, we saw the fawn again staring eye to eye with a huge dog. As far as we know, the fawn survived... at least the night.

2. Great fellowship... the Coleman's are the greatest.

3. Charlotte Anne is our outdoor baby. The best was changing her super stinky diaper on a rock by the lake while Linda and Luke "tested" the new motor on the boat.

Naked, asleep... loving it.

Thanks Mimi...

So, my mom taught her to put her toes in her mouth. Now, she won't stop.

Peas!!

We finally survived the week of carrots... after 3 days of torture, we realized that if we mixed the carrots with the rice cereal, she loved it. Thanks goodness because we were close to given up our mission to make all of our own baby food.

However, peas.... that has been a whole new story. Charlotte Anne absolutely LOVES them!! We decided to go with sweet peas, but she gobbles them down and she has even started eating the carrot / rice cereal mix better. Tonight, with my mom's help, Charlotte Anne ate everything... a bowl of peas and a bowl of carrots in about 10 minutes.

We can't decide what to do next... probably sweet potatoes.... which are going to taste like cake and ice cream to our little monkey!

Mimi & Doc to Memphis

Mimi and Doc came to Memphis to keep Charlotte Anne while I went to Franklin, VA, for work. I came back and had a day to hang out with everyone. Charlotte Anne was such a show off... jumping like crazy in her bouncer. She started doing this on Monday (almost 5 1/2 months)... it is so cute because she gets super excited and can't stop jumping.

Carrots!

Seriously... I have to eat that???

We finally decided to try solid veggies... and we went with carrots as Charlotte Anne's first food. I felt inspired, so I decided that I am going to make all of her baby food myself. I'm not 100% sure if it will last, but I am trying my best!

I was so proud of my first bit of baby food... bright orange carrots. However, CA rejected them almost immediately. We started laughing so hard at the sad and discussed look on her face that we scared her and she didn't want to eat any more. But... we forced her to eat the entire bowl and by the end she was tolerating the carrots.

Day #2 was much better and she only spit out about half.... lets hope that it gets better and better because broccoli is next!!

Post feeding with an orange stained face!

Bath time!!

We started out the first 3 weeks of her life hating baths... but now, she absolutely LOVES them!! Thanks goodness because she has crazy clown hair after she sleeps... it looks like a reverse mohawk.

L was getting her ready for church this morning and she was smiling and laughing the entire time. Yea for such a sweet little girl!!

Bath time!! This was a super speedy bath because we were running late, but normally she likes to play in her little tub. She kids her feet and when the water splashes her, she laughs! A few days ago she started grabbing the soapy wash cloth and trying to eat it... and now this is an every bath event. :)

5 beautiful months!!

We can't believe our Charlie Bear is already 5 months old!!! We love her so much!!

Back to Front!!

Yea!!! Charlotte Anne flipped over!!! We had almost given up and then when we weren't expecting it, she did it!!! The only problem...now, she won't stop. This could make for an interesting bed time!

Tea Time

Every year Luke's mom hosts a tea for all of grandkids. This was my first year to make it to Bham for the event... so, Charlotte Anne and I got our hat together (with the help of Mimi) and went to the tea party! Charlotte Anne normally hates hats, but she knew she hate to pull it together to look the part of an English Rose! :)

Charlotte Anne, Aunt Brendt and Grandmother

Vacation

(Luke, his grandmother Kitty, sleeping Charlotte Anne)

We have been completely MIA in Memphis for the past 3 weeks... we left at the end of june and after 10 days of vacation, visiting family and work travel... I just got back. I think counted correctly and I have only spent 3 of the past 19 night at our house!! No wonder I am waking up at 6 am ready to go - my body has no idea where I am!!

However, I can't complain because we have had a ton of fun over the past few weeks (minus the work travel). North Carolina is one of L and my favorite places... the mountains, the cooler weather, the universities, the shopping and the overall plethora of outdoor activities. We love going every summer to Cashiers with L's family (Thanks, Kitty!), but this year with a new baby, we wanted to make the most of our 10 hour drive East! We added a couple of days on to our trip to Cashiers to see the Raleigh / Durham area and it was definitely worth it!!

What we loved...

1. We spent over 1/2 of each day outside. In Cashiers, we hiked, walked around and L played golf. In Durham we wandered for hours around the city and the college campuses. I forget how much I am stuck in side working a desk job. I think there are days in Memphis that I don't spend more than 30 minutes outside... however long it takes to walk to my car in the morning and back to the car in the afternoon. That is just sad.

2. The shopping was so much fun! We hit outlet malls and boutiques and loved it. The stuff was so unique and cute that even L was loving looking around. Plus, we got him the same exact shoes that we got last year at James Davis for $175 at the outlet for $88. We were tempted to buy every pair they had in his size!

3. Duke. Why didn't anyone tell me that this was the prettiest school on Earth?? Not that I could have gotten in, but I surely would have tried. We said we wouldn't live vicariously through Charlotte Anne... but if she has the best of L and my brain - she is going to Duke. :)