Happy Birthday, Catherine!!

Tomorrow (the 19th-which has already come in the UAE) is Catherine's 25th birthday and she's halfway around the world in the United Arab Emirates. I miss celebrating this big birthday with her!

I love Cat for so many reasons- she is kind, generous, talented, smart, willing to serve, and beautiful inside and out. Here are some other reasons why I love my Catherine:

1-She's my only sister (Maid of honor at my wedding, 2006)

2-She's a great spouse and she and Richard are some of our best friends (Sara's wedding, 2007)

3- She's my first choice of companion when I want to do something fun (Rascal Flatts concert, 2007)

4- She moves fun places and lets me come visit (Philadelphia, 2006)


5- She likes to make things fun (dressed up for the Summer Olympics in Beijing, 2008)


6- She travels across the world to be there for me- she came from Philly to be at our temple sealing and from the Middle East when the baby was born (John and Barb's sealing, 2007)


7- She knows how to party (Halloween, 2005)

8- She's a good sister (Steve and Kerry's wedding; 2000)

9- She loves to learn new things about different cultures (Back to Bethlehem primary activity, 2007)

10- She persevered until she graduated from the U of U (Utah vs. BYU game, 2008)

11- She makes the most delicious and beautiful chocolate cakes (Kerry's bday, 2008)

12- She has many talents, including making jewelry, that she shares with others (ward girls' camp, 2008)

13- She's fashionable (Cinco de Mayo, 2008)

14- She loves her in-laws (welcome home lunch at Cafe Rio with Ethingtons, 2007)

15- She's not afraid to dress like a Newsie (2007)
16- She will be an amazing mom one day (with Lily, 2006)

17- She's a good friend (Christine and Catherine, 1985 (?))

18- She's silly (2008)

19- She can always make me laugh (2006)

20- She's comfortable in any group (celebrating Christmas with MY in-laws, 2008)


21- She's adventurous! (the day she left for the United Arab Emirates, New Year's Eve, 2008)


22- She looks good as a blonde or brunette (2009)

23- She was the best aunt and sister ever when Charlie was born! (2009)

24- She helped me while I was learning to be a mom (Easter 2009)



25- She's my best friend (Philadelphia, 2007)



I love you, Cat! If you have the pleasure of knowing Catherine, leave a birthday message for her in the comments!

Baby James!

Did you hear the news? Charlie has a new cousin! James Bailey, born May 11th to Mark and Chelsea. John and I went to meet him at the hospital and Charlie met him for the first time a few days later. He's a big baby-over 8 pounds- but compared to Charlie, he seems so tiny! We couldn't help compare the two- right now there's a big difference, but eventually, 7 weeks will seem like nothing!

Baby James, just a few hours old

Baby Cousins!

Baby Charlie-7 weeks

First Mother's Day

We celebrated Mother's Day on Saturday with my family. We went to breakfast at Village Inn so none of the moms would have to cook. Charlie was so good at the restaurant; true, he was being held the whole time by Kerry or Steve or Grandma, but he never made a peep! Lily and Sam were really good, too, and I got the biggest kick out of reading the cards they made for me. (Although Kerry's from Lily was the all-time funniest- Kerry, you should post it on your blog!!)





We gave Grandma Bev flowers for the yard and help planting them. I made these silhouettes for Kerry of Sam and Lily and Grandma Bev bought the frames. I'm excited to make one of Charlie, too.



On Sunday, we went to church (our first time attending all three hours!) and then to dinner at Grandma and Grandpa T's. It was an exciting day- we were expecting a phone call from Sam (who's on a mission in Louisiana) and we were waiting to hear news from Mark and Chelsea who were in labor at the hospital!! We were rooting for a birth on Sunday- Mother's Day and Mark's birthday! It was so fun to talk to Sam on the phone and to honor the mothers in our lives.

My son and his mother

Grandma Sue getting some smiles out of Charlie

My handsome boy with his BIG blue eyes

While we were waiting for dinner, we gave Charlie some "tummy time." As I watched in amazement, he pushed himself halfway up! He's only 7 weeks old!!

Charlie hanging out in the beautiful wicker bassinet that Kate refinished.

Charlie Smling-6.5 weeks

The price you have to pay for seeing this darling boy's smile is listening to my baby talk...

Baby Charlie- 6 weeks

Baby Charlie- 5.5 weeks

Things I want to remember about this rock star:

-He doesn't care for the binkie. It takes a lot of patient coaxing to get him to take it and if you rush the process he gags on it. Once he gets going, it sometimes makes him sleepy but to get really comfortable enough to go to sleep he has to spit it out.

-He weighs 13 pounds! He has grown out of a lot of his 0-3 month outfits and fits into a lot of his 3-6 month clothes.

-Yesterday during sacrament meeting I gave him a bottle and he was sucking and smacking so loudly that people were turning around to look at us. Oh well, it's better than a screaming, hungry baby!

-He's still so strong! He has been holding his head up since he was born and his head, neck, torso, arms and legs are getting even stronger!

-He loves having a bath, looking at bright lights, and sucking on his hands (when he can free them from his swaddle!)

-He's starting to get on a pretty regular schedule and he has two variations of it- one is the sleep for six hours at night variation and the other is... not.

-When he wakes up in the morning he's so happy and smiley. He will smile when I talk to him and is beginning to smile for Grandma Bev and Daddy, too.

My attempts at catching the smile (holding the camera still in one hand is hard...)

I love this little guy!

Charlie- Five Weeks

Charlie-Four Weeks

Happy Birthday, Lily!

It's Lily's 3rd birthday today! She's grown up so much this past year and with Charlie around, she's no longer the baby of the family. She's very sweet to him and always asks about "Baby Charlie." I love her little voice- she's become quite a great talker and has the funniest high voice. She loves Tinkerbell and princesses and riding her bike. She loves to color (sometimes on paper, but mostly on herself) and last time she was here, she colored six cards and then walked around passing them out to everyone (including Charlie). I love this girl! Happy Birthday, Lily!

Big Guy Charlie

This little boy slept for six hours last night! We had a few hard(er) nights where Charlie would only sleep for two or three hours at a time. But then we had a great night like last night and my hope has been restored. (I think he's such a good sleeper because he's a big baby. He's five and half weeks old and weighs 13 pounds!)

No matter what kind of night we have, I wake up to a happy, smiling boy and that makes it all worth it. I'm still trying to catch a smile on camera, but trust me, it is intentional and DARLING.