Month 11

Charlie's 11th month was another busy one for the Smith Family!

First we headed to Kentucky to see cousin Ryah take her first Communion.

Well, when I say "see" her take Communion I really mean "hang out in the glassed in family room in the back of the church and then go sit in the car when the girls get restless" but close enough!

Ryah is growing in to such a special  young lady and we were once again grateful that they are in Kentucky now and close enough for us to be able to participate in each other's important milestones.

We also went to a cookout while we were there and Charlie got some good cuddle time in with her Titi 'Chelle.

Our next journey was to Atlanta for sometime with Titi Katie, Uncle Ty Ty and Anna Kaffrine.

Here Emily is repeating "Hi Anna Kaffrine, I am your cousin" over and over.

Charlie looks thrilled.

On the way home, we stopped at Mickey D's to eat and Emily had her first experience with a Play Place. She loved it!

She looked so little to me climbing in that big thing all by herself but she wasn't scared at all.

Everytime she would get to the top, she would run to the windows and scream "Hi Mommy!!" as loud as she could.

Not embarrassing at all...

Back at home we did fun things like 11 month photo shoots....

spaghettio picnics in the living room...

cruising around town like famous people hiding from the paparazzi....

And napping on our high chairs.

Some of us, who shall not be named, also learned how to stand up in our cribs, but did not learn how to sit back down. Therefore others of us would have to listen to some of us cry until someone went in and sat them down.

We also took advantage of some of the warm days to sit outside and shout at each other.

And then apologize for shouting.

The Scarbroughs came to visit us and brought this gorgeous hair bow that Charlie was excited to model.

I don't usually put bows on the girls, but she truly seemed to think she was looking fine with this one on!

She also gave us her best super model pose in the window. 

Look at those rolls!

We took the girls to eat at Mommy and Daddy's favorite old post-hangover lunch spot, SATCO.

And then we had the first get together of all of our girls!

Getting a pic together was challenging but we gave it our best shot...

Next month Charlie will be one! ahhhh!!!!

Month 10

Let's all grab a slice of cold pizza for breakfast and talk about the 10th month of Charlie's life!

In April, we all welcomed a new family member, and the girls got another cousin to love on.

My cousin Abby had her first baby, Claudia - another sweet baby girl for our crazy crew!

Abby is not only my cousin but one of my dearest friends, and I know we are all excited to have all the little Hartman girls growing up together.

Charlie celebrated her first Easter in April.

Katie, Tyler and Anna Katherine were in town that weekend so they all got to open their Easter baskets together.

Charlie really liked the tissue paper!

The girls got matching swimsuits and Emily wanted to put her's on right away while she hunted for eggs.

It was rainy and cold that day so we hunted in the playroom.

We also went to Paul and Leslie's farm for Easter weekend. 

Emily would trust Paul to the ends of the earth with most things, but she doesn't look too sure about this whole "take a picture with Gunner" idea.

She did enjoy "driving" the tractor though!

Here are the girls having an impromptu drumming session.

And here is Charlie's precious-as-always photo session!

Charlie had lots of changes this month - she got her first two teeth, she learned to crawl, and she started eating school lunches!

She's growing so fast! 

Month 9

Blah Blah Blah, I am late posting...we have moved past that by now, right?!

Good - so let's get to showing Charlie's 9th month of life!

In late February, Nashville had a heck of a snow storm that basically shut the city down, and closed day care for an entire week. A few days at home were fun, but then Mikey had to go home to Utah for an previously planned trip to see his Dad, and it was just me and the girls at home for the rest of the week!

Not gonna lie, we were going a little stir crazy!

We painted alot.

We trashed the house.

And Charlie napped alot!

I love when she naps on me! It happens less and less now a days, but it is so precious to me when I can catch her.

Desperate times call for desperate measures...

the tube didn't hold her nearly as long as I hoped it would though.

We were all very happy when Daddy came home!

The snow was mostly gone by then so we went to the mall and Emily took her first carousel ride.

Charlie became some what mobile this month. She did lots of barrel rolling around the room, and she learned to scoot herself backwards.

She didn't pull up all the way yet, but she is starting to realize there are fun things to be messed with above ground level!

She still puts everything in her mouth, and this foam lady bug is a favorite chew toy.

And speaking of things to be messed with...

Big sister's toys are just so tempting!

She is keeping Emily on her toes for sure!

And finally, the 9 month photo shoot.

Emily wants no part of these any more so the best we can hope for is a shot of the back of her head as she runs away.

Charlie, however, is always happy to oblige!

She continues to be an absolute delight to have around. At her nine month appointment, she weighed right at 20 lbs. She's a sturdy gal, for sure!

She doesn't have any teeth yet, and is still slowly getting in to baby food.

She sleeps all night, but still wakes up very early.

She loves to see her Big Sis and claps and laughs whenever she is around.

Emily is also a joy to be around, and so very smart. She is definitely two and we have our moments when she tries our patience, but we know it is just a phase.

It almost seems pointless to list Emily's "milestones" now, because it seems like there isn't anything she can't do at this point!

We have full on conversations, she knows all the words to her favorites songs and books, and she has very strong likes and dislikes.

She has no desire to potty train at all yet. She gets it, and she knows she will get a treat if she goes, but she just doesn't care. 

She still loves to watch Mickey Mouse, and Tarzan (she calls it "monkey movie").

She is an ok eater at this point - some nights she clears her plate, some nights she has a piece of bread and that's it. We are doing pretty well at saying "here is your meal, you can eat it or not, but you won't get anything else". It's hard, but we are trying!

Another amazing month with the best girls in the world!