Charlotte's First Boyfriend

Charlotte may be starting with the boys a bit early, but I guess she's in a position that most girls only dream to be in. At a baby play group we go to every Sunday morning (church is on Friday here and Sunday's are our Monday), she is the only girl out of four babies. She has the pick of the litter, and she's chosen Cade as her "favorite". He's a fine choice, but we'll be supervising her dates with Cade until she's at least 18. ;-) When they're together, they like to hold hands, smile at each other, and "talk" to each other in the form of coos. It's absolutely adorable. I didn't get great pictures this morning, and I'm sorry for that. I meant to bring my camera and totally forgot, so the camera on my cell had to suffice for today. Maybe I'll get better pics next week!

3 Months

Charlotte turned three months old on the 6th. I wasn't able to take her 3 month picture until tonight. Things have been C-R-A-Z-Y around here! Chris has been working long hours, I've been busy taking care of Charlotte, cleaning the house, and socializing with new friends. The only time I've had to sit and be still is during my devotional and prayer time - until tonight. Chris is working late and so I'm enjoying some much desired down time! After writing this, I'm going to do one of my all-time favorite pastimes that I never get enough time to do: read.

Charlotte is growing strong. We'll find out how long she is and how much she weighs at her upcoming doctor's appointment. She's sort of in between sizes. She's outgrown many of her 6 month outfits, but she's also too big for some of her 9 month clothing. She still smiles almost all the time but she's learned how to let us know when she's tired. When she gets a little fussy, into the crib she goes! She takes 3, 1-hour naps per day, but on the days we're out and about, I can tell it gets to her. Since she wakes up fairly easily with loud noises, she doesn't usually nap well if we're not at home. I went to an American Women's Assocation meeting today, and she fell asleep in my arms fairly early on, but then it was time for a presentation by a lady who runs a gym here. She thought it would be a good idea to get all of the women on their feet to do some "aerobics". On a side note, I've never seen such weak aerobics in my life. It was more like swaying. Anyway, they blared the music during this little swaying session, and it woke Charlotte up. To make up for it, she slept for over 2 hours when we got home! :-)

2010

Happy New Year! I cannot wait to see what God has in store for 2010. 2009 was an amazing and hectic year. I truly grew closer to God this year than I have in previous years, we moved from Nigeria to Bahrain, we went on an amazing road trip through Canada and the east coast, I got to spend 7 months in the states, we had two new nieces added to our family, and the most special aspect of 2009 was welcoming our daughter, Charlotte, into the world. God is good (and I would still say that even if 2009 was a rotten year)!

We spent New Years at home with our new friends, Mark and Rebecca. By the time midnight rolled around, we were so tired that we groggily said "Happy New Year" and went to bed. Ha! I felt so old. I remember the days that I used to stay up ALL NIGHT and thought it was the coolest thing ever. I also remember how excited I got when we started counting down at 11:59 and 50 seconds. My heart would start beating fast and I'd get those excited butterflies in my stomach. My how things change.

I'm excited to see what 2010 has in store. I know of one thing it will bring so far. I'm going to start selling jewelry through a Christian-owned company! It's a direct sales business, and I know there's quite a stigma that can go along with that. To be honest, I have bad feelings towards the direct sales market even though I'm about to enter into it! It's usually over flooded with sales people, and there can be too much pressure to buy from family or friends who are either hosting a show or selling the product. I am by no means a salesperson, but upon seeking counsel, my opinion was changed enough that I was willing to consider it. Chris and I have been prayerful about this for the past few weeks and believe it's where God is leading us.

Happy New Year, everyone! If we make any resolutions, may the first be that we grow closer to God this year than we did the last!