Happy Birthday Charlie!!!

Our sweet Charlie girl turned 1 on June 10th!

I kept wanting to double check all the calendars because it just doesn't seem like it could have possibly been a year already!

On the day of her actual birthday, we took donuts to her class.

I think they liked them!

That night we went out to dinner - again, I think she liked it!

Her birthday party had a Hawaiian luau theme.

We were so busy rushing around the day of the party that I didn't get very many photos unfortunately.

We had about 40 people at our house on a hot summer day, and our AC went out!

Luckily, they sent someone to fix it quickly.

Charlie had lots of friends and family come celebrate with her, and everyone had a great time swimming and playing.

The birthday girl took a little mid party nap, and when she woke up we let her have a go at her cupcake.

She wasn't really sure what to think about it but she did her best to smear icing all over the place!

It was a truly great day and we were so thankful for everyone who came to celebrate and who  brought Charlie gifts.

This past year has been challenging in many ways, with two small kids so close together and working full time. People have asked us how we do it, and there really isn't an answer to that - we don't have time to think about it, we just do it!

We call it survival mode.

But I can say without a doubt that I would not change one single thing about our lives right now.

Charlie has been the perfect addition to our family and I can't imagine life without her in it.

Her birthday was bitter sweet for me as a mom, because she is the last baby in our family, and I know how fast they grow and change during their 2nd year.

I look at Emily  now and she seems so grown, and she was a baby just a minute ago!

But at the same we are looking forward to all the fun we are going to have with these girls as they grow.

It is still surreal to us that we went from no babies, to a family of four in under two years.

We thank our lucky stars for these amazing children!