happy birthday charlie!

our little boy turned 2 yrs. old today. we are having his big party this coming saturday, but here are some pictures to show how much he has grown since his birthday last year.

in a pool of presents at 1st b-day party.

in his new swing may 25, 2008

same swing, same boy may 25, 2009




the birthday boy rocking in daddy's rocking chair

a lot has been going on lately so we'll do a "catch up" post later this week.

piper is here!!

we arrived at the hospital a little before 8 a.m. monday morning, april 13.

then, we found out our little girl had flipped and was heads up - leading to an unexpected c-section. christi was a trooper and did great. piper arrived at 2:41 p.m. monday, april 13th.
7lbs. 15 oz. and 20.5 inches long. plenty of hair with a distinct reddish tint...

charlie really likes his new sisiter- they should be close, as they will be less than 2 yrs. apart. charlie doesn't turn 2 until the end of may!
he always greets her with a very bright "h-i-i-i-i, pipe-urrrr!!!"
then he usually follows it with "luv ooo, pipe - urrrr"

strawberry blonde...

a proud big brother...

sleeping sweetly (we'll see how long that lasts...)

The grand tour!

So, I finally took pictures of our house so I could post for those of you who haven't been able to visit. (Yet!) I had company last weekend, so it was very clean and it seemed like a good time! The pics are on here in no particular order and since I can never get them to show up the way I want them, you get a random tour of the house!

First off...this is Charlie's room:

The other side of Charlie's room:

Piper's room:

Surprise...the other side of Piper's room:

Guest bathroom:

You got it, the other side:

Master bathroom (too small for an "other side" picture!):

Master bedroom (Nothing too exciting on the other side!):

Guest Bedroom (For those of you who WILL come visit us!):

"Office" area of the "big room" (as named by Charlie):

Shot from the end of the living/ "big" room down the hallway/into the guestroom:

Living room/"Big room":

Dining area:

And finally...my very green kitchen!:

We love our house! It has been such a blessing to us and fits our little (but growing) family very well! Come visit anytime! (Just call first!!) :)

Wow...I'm so behind...this could be long!

Here's our little man just being himself...the life of the party! This was an old lampshade that I was going to throw away, but why do that before you can get the best use out of it?!?

Charlie's really been into the movie Toy Story lately, so I guess he's got cowboys on the mind. Doesn't he make a cute one? (Hat, Boots, and Horse courtesy of Pawpaw and Gran)

Oh, and if you didn't know, cowboys also make very good gymnasts. My cowboy can stand on his head!! (Yeah, just check out that belly in the background!! Huge!)

Who needs pants out on the open range?

Charlie and I discovered a new game to play in his room...

Which one's Charlie?!?

This is how I happened upon my little guy the other day...doing the itsy bitsy spider in momma's laundry basket!

Charlie loves to take his socks off and check between each of his toes for a "piece" (of toe jam or sock fuzz)!! The only thing is, his toes are so ticklish, he can hardly stand to do it!

Here, he decided to try on Daddy's shoes and socks. He's got a way to go before he can fill those shoes!

Charlie has also become a little apple lover lately. Here, I'd given him a red one that he decided he didn't like (I tried it because it was smaller) so I gave him a "pink" one. Then he decided that he wanted them both! I really wouldn't mind this at all except that after a couple of bites, he usually decides he just wants to chew a bite up for a while and then spit it out in momma's hand...gross!

Charlie's grandparents got him a computer. He loves it! He can identify most of his letters in one game, tell which item is the biggest in another, and then another favorite is one where he gets the monkey on the screen to play some music! He works really hard and then just dances and smiles!!

Charlie is getting to be such a big boy! He is getting really good with a fork. Here, he's using one of his own, but most of the time, he asks for momma's, meaning he wants to use a big metal fork like I do. He still does pretty well with that too.

This has been classic Charlie for a while now. Every now and then, he decides he's tired of using his hands or a utensil to eat with and he will just go for it with his face. We call him our little puppy! Here, he dropped a raisin on the ground and decided to eat it up instead of picking it up! Who knows?!?

I hope that is a good update! I'll try not to wait as long between posts from now on...although with Piper so close, you may have to cut me some slack! We'll be sure to post quickly when she arrives though so you can share in our joy! I'll see if I can't get at least one or two more in before she gets here so you can see her nursery and maybe some pics of a shower the ladies at church gave me.

****Update****

Please Pray for "Pawpaw" (Stephen's Dad)- he was just diagnosed with inoperable lymphoma. He will begin treatment soon. So far he and Gran (Stephen's Mom) are positive (as are the doctors) that the tumor will respond favorably to chemo.

Keep a countin' down!!

Oh my goodness...do you see that countdown to Piper on the side?!?! 37 days! I am sooooo ready to be able to bend over, and sit normally, and sleep on my stomach, and just not be huge again!!!

Sorry, no pictures or really anything of much importance this time. I just am really ready to not be pregnant anymore and to have our little girl here with us! I'll do better next time and try to get some new pictures up here.

blast from the past...

spring 2004


before piper was on the way...
before charlie was making us laugh...
before she knew he was going to be a preacher...
before *he* knew he was going to be a preacher...
before the wedding...
before "the ring"...
(right after "the haircut")

has it really only been 5 yrs ?

Okay...here's the belly! (And some Charlie!)

Charlie first! Somehow, Tom & Jerry remains an enthralling program for Charlie! Probably because we let him watch it much less than he used to (we've become very good at diverting his attention when he asks for it)! It's not cruel, it's just saving the sanity of his parents!

Charlie loves a good after-dinner Nilla Wafer!

Now this is a style he came up with on his own...who knows?!?

He enjoys our local newspaper these days.

Okay, so here it is. People have been asking for recent preggy pics and these are at 30 weeks. And yes...it is getting heavy!

catching up...

catching up a bit...here are some pictures from the holidays. christi will post some from the move and the new house/church soon i'm sure...but here are some charlie pics so the hate mail can stop...

charlie giving daddy a god luck kiss before his orange belt test...

helping pack for the move..


one of his favorite christmas presents, a curious george, or "doooo" as charlie calls him. they are inseparable.

charlie and "dooo" watching tom and jerry, another favorite.

he likes to hide in brenda's pantry, and who can get mad when you open the door and see this?