Through the Eyes of a Child

Growing up my brother and I were 9 years apart in age so when we would take trips to the zoo I really did not enjoy it, but now that has come full circle. I LOVE to take my kids to experience new things and I LOVE to watch them when they see something new and exciting. This was the case this week when we went to the zoo. Seth has gotten to a point where he rushes through many of the exhibits so I have to call him back and make sure he has seen everything well. Leah is another story. She is so focused and you can tell that she is really taking it all in. I love to watch her!

This lion was right up to the glass so not only were the kids amazed, but the adults were too!
Leah and Marianna are 6 weeks apart in age, but in this picture, Leah looks much younger. I love that I captured them holding hands.

Seth and Lucy have been friends since they were only 4 months old. Look at them now!

I love that I was able to spend a day with my two favorite kids in the whole world.

I can't believe that in only one more year these four four year olds will be in school. Time has truly flown by.

Leah was amazed by the penguins. She watched in amazement as they swam and dove into the water.

Check out Seth's super sized smile!

This tiger really does look real.

Don't you wonder what she is thinking about?

Marianna is such a smiley girl!

I had the most amazing day with my kids. They were awesome all day long and I can't wait for summer vacation to spend every day with them just like this!

Blessings

I have so many blessings it is hard to keep track, but on this particular Mother's Day I felt extra blessed to be surrounded by the most special people. Roland invited all the Mom's and Grandma's to come over for dinner. He prepped and cooked and even cleaned up. It was the most amazing feeling to have to do NOTHING! I could seriously get used to it.

Uncle J was still recovering from his surgery so he laid low and relaxed a bit.
Some of the special Mom's in our life, pretty important ones!

Leah thought is was hilarious that she could make sounds on this toy. She is learning so much everyday.

Seth's stinky toes!

My favorite girl in the world!

One of Grandma's girls!

My favorite boy in the world!

I love this headband to death and try to get her to wear it whenever she will let me.

Roland's homemade chocolate covered strawberries for dessert!

I think that Seth ate about 6 or more!

Thank you to my wonderful husband for making Mother's Day truly special. I better get prepping for Father's Day now.

Thank you also for my wonderful mother, grandmother, step-mother and mother-in-law. You are all very special to me!

Watch Out!

I officially have my own set of golf clubs courtesy of my wonderful family for Mother's Day!

I can't wait for the weather to warm up so that I can get out and practice!

Garage Sale '10 Take 1

Kristen and I decided to have a joint garage sale this year and since she was only going to be home this past weekend we had to have it rain or shine and unfortunately it was RAIN and lots of it. On top of the rain it was also COLD! It was fine though because we had some die hard garage salers who battled my long driveway and came anyhow. Kristen and I also got rid of some of our larger items and lots of our baby clothes. I decided to open it back up this coming Saturday thought and try to sell the remainder of it at a reduced rate. I want the garage cleared!

Combining two households junk filled the garage to the brim!
We smiled through the cold!

Thank you to my mom for bringing up DD breakfast too!

Thank You Dinner

We are truly lucky to have so many special people in our lives and Kristen's parents are two of them. They are always sending us treats and food from PA which we always enjoy so as a thank you we had them for dinner on Friday night and we were able to spoil them for a change.

Leah knows Mr. Smith pretty well now so there is no shyness!
Lindsey was tired so she took a nap in Leah's crib and I think it agreed with her.

So innocent!

Status Report:

Justin's surgery went very well and the doc said he felt it went better than he had planned. So Justin is home, resting and recovering. The kids and I are going to bring him some sweet treats later this afternoon! Happy Weekend to you all!

Good luck to my little brother AKA Uncle J today as he undergoes hernia surgery!

We love you and I will bring you a special treat this afternoon!

Prayers Answered

Thank you so very much for the many of you who texted, emailed, called or left me comments regarding my mom. The outcome was exactly as we had hoped upon the completion of her procedure yesterday so we are all breathing a sigh of relief and I'd like to thank you all so very very much for your prayers and words of encouragement! I am truly blessed!

Thank You Aunt Laurie!

Seth and Leah have adopted Kristen's sister Laurie as their Aunt Laurie and she spoils them just as if they were her blood. It seems that more and more gifties have been arriving for Seth and Leah lately and we want you to know that we truly appreciate your thoughtfulness and we love all the clothes you have been buying the kids. Somehow, we will repay you!

This is how I found Seth last night when I went in to check on him.

This morning he tells me "I took a really good nap Mommy, I was really tired!"

Leah has started to love sitting on your lap and reading/looking at books. It might only be for a few seconds at a time, but we will take it when we can. Lap time is the BEST!

Could all of you dedicated bloggie readers please say a little prayer for my Mom tomorrow? She is having a small procedure done and we would all like for her to be given a clean bill of health. Thank you so very much!

The Case of the Missing Snacks

Exhibit A :

The snack cupboard is open and the highchair has been moved. This is becoming a major problem in the Charlton house as sticky fingers seem to think they need snacks all the time.

Who could the culprit be???Exhibit B:

CAUGHT RED HANDED! The Charlton Snack Thief!

Looks like a lock might need to be placed on the snack cupboard because we have a freakishly strong 14 month old who can push obstacles out of her way in the search for food!

Safe From the Sun

Leah, my Mom and I went to the Park on Sunday afternoon to support a friend and her family in the Safe From the Sun Walk. It is a walk to benefit Melanoma research and it was Leah's first walk! She toddled all around and brought smiles to many peoples faces. We were very worried that we would get poured on, but the rain held off and the walk was a success!

There was a great turn out and we were so happy to be a part of it for my friend Sue!

Hanging Out

Saturday night we did something that we have been saying we'd do for months and finally coordinated schedules and made it happen. We had our friends The Marks over for dinner. Seth was super excited and a little too eager to be friends so hopefully the kids aren't scared away. He followed Mallory around like she was a giant bag of candy. He was in love!
Last week when we went to The Castana's we played some card games and Seth really enjoyed it so when we went to Target this weekend we picked up Handy Manny UNO. The kids did a really good job playing it!

I was impressed with Colden's card skills; he is only 3!

After dinner in true Charlton fashion Seth had to break out Just Dance. The kids had never played it and really had a lot of fun!

Mallory made the funniest dancing faces, it was priceless.

Last, but not least we had dessert. Mike made the most amazing raspberry chocolate cheesecake. It was delicious! They even left it for us and we have been fighting over it all weekend. I have to hurry home today and eat the last piece! The kids enjoyed the cookies Nicole made too! Leah was covered from head to toe!

Picnic on the Battlefield

Saturday was the first day in a long time that it just felt great to be alive! The weather was fantastic and we had to break out the shorts and the white pasty legs, but we did it with pride! Roland and Rod went on a Poker Run with the four wheelers so the moms and kids went on a picnic in Sackets. I really wanted to head down to Sackets to check out our letterbox and see how it held up over the winter. It needs a new ziploc bag, but the contents are safe and sound inside and many people have found it so we are super happy!
I brought plenty of balls and toys so that the kids could run and kick and enjoy the big open area.

Sophia didn't quite understand the whole "letterbox" idea, but I tried to explain it to her and show her what was inside.

I still look at Leah with amazement that she is running around the battlefield this year. Last year she was just a sleepy blob!

We all tried to play soccer and I say try loosely as the kiddos had a hard time not picking the ball up.

It is so interesting to see the starts of kicking and passing.

Maya is such a peanut and she has a little peanut kick too!

Then, they tried to climb the monument and chase each other around it.

It was a fantastic morning with fantastic friends. Thanks for hanging out with us!