Birthday Month

For our family, we have 2 favorite months.... December and March!

December because of Charlotte's birthday, Christmas and our wedding anniversary. 

And March because of Justin's and my birthday. 

Charlotte loves to celebrate any and all birthdays! She is a born party planner and constantly planning imaginary birthday parties and tea parties, but loves it even more when it's a "real" birthday. 

She talked about Justin's birthday ALL DAY! When she woke up in the morning, she wished him a wonderful day and then once she got to school, she couldn't wait to tell sus maestras (her teachers) that it was Daddy's birthday! They were so impressed by her excitement that they helped her make him a birthday card. 

She wasn't liking my current options of wrapping paper so she chose to design her own..

Also, in her planning mode, told me that we were to make a cake. And not just any cake... a chocolate cake! 

We used this recipe from the Pioneer Woman and decorated our hearts out!

36 candles to be exact...

Happy Birthday Justin! oxox

For my birthday, I got to spend an afternoon at the nail salon with my best girlfriend.

She even got a "big girl" pedicure for this special day. 

And she loved getting to plan another party just 2 days after daddy's. 

What fun March is!!

4th Birthday

Charlotte Rose is 4. 

In 4 years, we have had more joy than we knew was even possible. She has brighten our lives in countless ways - one of God's angels on earth. 

I love hearing her talk and the creative way she says things. I also really enjoy watching the interactions of her and her friends. I could sit for hours listening to their sweet conversations. Imagination play is real big for them now. She comes home from school and reports who was the "mommy" and who were the "kiddos"of the day. One cute friend of hers, Charlotte N., calls her "honey" and "sweetie" and our Charlotte thinks that is so funny - she laughs every time she tells us. 

I've also heard Charlotte playing in her room with her babies, telling them that a sitter is coming tonight because "Mommy has a meeting".... I laugh because obviously  that is what I've said a few times when I've gone out to dinner with friends. 

The night before Charlotte's birthday, while she was asleep, we blew up 30 balloons to put in her room and made a streamer banner for her to walk through when she got out of bed. 

When she woke up I think she was a little shocked and called from the top of the stairs, "mommy... did you do this?" We have an Elf on the Shelf and though "Polly's" craziest stunt is hanging upside down, I think Charlotte was making sure we did this and not her. 

Happy Birthday! 

Her birthday breakfast was mini waffles with nutella and sprinkles on top.  

I was scheduled to take snacks to her school for the week, so I played off her birthday breakfast. Instead, for the "peanut-free" rule, I used the amazingly fabulous spread that my sweet friend Heidi gave us -- Biscoff Spread. It's a yummy yummy spread that is cookie based --WARNING!! CAN BE DANGEROUS  on the ol' waist line.

Charlotte's Latest Favorites

• Favorite food: sushi and chocolate
• Favorite sport to play: soccer
• Favorite color: pink and purple
• Favorite toy: my stuffed animals
• Favorite song: Jesus Loves Me
• Favorite book: All my new birthday books
• Favorite television show: My Little Pony and Strawberry Shortcake
• Favorite DVD: Alice in Wonderland
• Favorite activity: Arts & Crafts
• Best Friend: Callie (our dog) and Spencer Carter
• What I want to be when I grow up: A dentist
• I love: my dog, my dad, my mom, playing piano and guitar

Charlotte decided early on that she wanted to have a pajama party. She wanted to have her girl friends over for the evening for lots of fun, laughter and pizza!

We found a cute idea on pinterest and decided that was what we wanted for a party craft and favor.

No-Sew Fleece Pillows

They should have been "no-sew", but just like the pinterest idea, we also wanted to up the ante and make them extra cute. Thankfully we have a very sweet Grammie that offered to help sew the girls initial onto the front, but when she graciously agreed, I failed to mention that there would 19 girls at the party....

Yes -- 19 adorable, energetic 4 year old girls!

And, call me crazy, but I put on the invites that the parents could drop the girls off if they'd like. I thought, since it was close to Christmas, they could have 2 hours to do some shopping. I think the parents enjoyed it and I know the girls did. They felt so big being dropped off.

We had Tangled playing as the girls came in and played a game of "musical pillows" - a twist from musical chairs and freeze dance. 

All of these girls are so precious! Charlotte is blessed to have so many sweet friends.

And then had story time -

sweet C.C. imitating story time

Birthday Surprise!

Our sweet Charlotte recently turned 4!

For the past 2 years, Justin and I've been contemplating getting her something to play with in our backyard. We thought A LOT about a swing set and were astounded at how much the wooden play sets cost. I'm talking jaw-dropping prices! I even searched Craig's List and sent Justin on multiple trips to houses to view used ones. He always came back empty handed. It just never felt right. 

We have a few friends that have swing sets in their backyards and Charlotte loves playing on them when she visits and we have a great park that is just a walk away. So, that led us thinking to getting something different. Something that's just as fun but different than what other friends have. 

And, that led to a PLAYHOUSE! 

With just a few google searches, we found a local guy - David Verrret - Backyard Mansions. He builds them as a hobby and has built many for local charities including Dallas CASA. 

He came over one Saturday to meet with us and we immediately knew he was our guy. Not only were we all on the same page and equally excited, he has 4 kids who all attended or are attending Texas Tech! Got to love a Raider fan!

We told our parents about our plan for her and they graciously offered to contribute to the playhouse! A lovely surprise for us and very special for Charlotte to have such loving and generous grandparents. 

Because this is David's hobby, he builds when he's not at work -- evenings and weekends. It takes him about 6 weeks to complete a house. He starts in his workshop and completely builds the structure, interior included - minus the flooring. We got to pick the design of the house, paint colors, and he even matched our house's window trim to the playhouse so that it would have just that little something extra. 

Once finished in his shop, he has a special way of disassembling it and loading in a moving truck for delivery. He started on the Friday morning before her birthday and ended mid day Saturday. 

Since this was a surprise for Charlotte - we didn't want her to see anything, so I asked her teachers if she could attend school that day. They graciously agreed and she had a blast. Friday is always our day to stay at home in the mornings relax a bit from the week but this Friday, we were out early! I took her to get donuts and then off to school. She was very happy to go to school because they study science that day and she got to make quartz crystals -- We maybe should attend on Fridays more often!

Below are pictures of the building process and Charlotte's first time to play in the finished house. 

Us with David Verret

our girl's 1st time in her house

"someone's at the door"

"please come in"

Gram and Pater wanted to get her something for the house, so we found this darling couch that is the perfect addition.