Pictures from Spring Launch

Here are a few pictures from my time at "Spring Launch"! It is a one day training for Pampered Chef consultants to get some motivation in their personal business. We get to see the new catalog, here tips from top consultants and also hear great business testimonials. I went last year and had a really great time! This year was even better. I'm so excited about all the new products and changes coming up!



It was held at the Charlotte Convention Center.  I have no idea how many consultants were there. The room was packed!


My sweet neighbor Laura.  She and I rode together from FV early saturday morning.  So glad I didn't have to make this day trip by myself.!


A group shot of everyone in our team!

Weekend at MeMa and PaPa's house

We traveled to FV this past weekend for a quick visit! I actually had a Pampered Chef training in Charlotte on Saturday (more on that in a moment) so it was a tiny bit closer to leave from their house then from ours.


Cora was super excited to get to spend the weekend with her grandparents. In fact, that Friday morning she helped me pack! Her idea of helping was throwing all of her clothes in the suitcase! I guess she was planning on staying a while.



MeMa so happy to see her girls!


Making cookies with Papa!


Helping decorate..


She put 1 pink sprinkle on all the cookies, kind of funny!

Thanks for the fun weekend MeMa and PaPa Bell!  Cora is already asking to visit again!!

Something new for Charlotte

After a little break, I'm finally getting back into the swing of things with my Pampered Chef business!  I actually had a party last night!  It was great to get out of the house and have some adult time!  The only thing about my evening out was that I was going to miss Charlotte's last feeding.  Enter the bottle!  Sweet hubby captured her reaction to this new thing.  Let's just say she wasn't too thrilled with it! 



Sweet baby!



What is this?



Just because I'm drinking it does not mean I like it!



Oh and here is a pic of Cora!  Showing that she ate everything except her green beans!

Date Night In...

Earlier this week my husband asked if we had plans for the upcoming weekend, meaning tonight.  I told him, "No... Why, whats up?" and he said the sweetest words possible.  "I think we should have a candle lit dinner after we put the girls to bed. Oh and I'll cook."  Hearing these words just made my day and made me smile all the way until today.  Now these last few days and weeks have been hard.  Charlotte hasn't been sleeping very well and I've been feeling under the weather and some of my daily tasks were just starting to pile up and make me overwhelmed.  So knowing my sweet husband wanted to treat me to a dinner to reassure me that I'm loved and valued was just what this weary soul needed!



Our fabulous dinner!

William picked up the main dish from "Fresh Market" - Portabello mushroom stuffed with this lobster, crab, cheese goodness.  Then he made steam carrots in a brown sugar glaze and wilted baby spinach.  I know, skills right?!



Our dessert

This was so yummy!  Chocolate covered strawberries and this Chocolate layered cake (also from Fresh Market).  Oh my.  I love sweets so this was just heavenly!



I failed to include a photograph of the tulips he also bought for me.  They were beautiful!  After our wonderful, child free, candle lit dinner, we watched the movie "Courageous" and that was just so encouraging to watch. It's about this group of father's who don't want to be just "good enough", they want to go above and beyond to be the leaders for their family.  They desire to be godly husbands for their wives, they strive to be examples for their children, and they desire above all else to be examples of Jesus Christ to all. It's just one of those movies that you really want to stand up and cheer at the end.  I'm so thankful for my "courageous" husband and all that he does for us. 

William - Thanks for the wonderful date night in!!  Looking forward to our next one!

Belle's night out!

William took Cora to the movies for a special treat- to see "Beauty and the Beast" in 3D!  I stayed back with Charlotte and let them have some bonding time, plus I got to spend some quality time with Charlotte.  (side note, my quality time was cleaning the floor after she threw up and then giving her a bath.. I'm thinking Williams time was a little better!)

It took some talking into but she finally decided to wear her "Belle" dress up outfit.  She did NOT want to wear it at first.  We had to make some major deals to get her in it.  So worth it for how cute they look!



William wore yellow to match!



It was pretty cold out so a coat was a must!



Eating her popcorn, while holding her hair brush!  William said she really liked the popcorn! Oh and she got a little scared when Gaston was chasing Beast so she crawled into his lap at that part and stayed there the rest of the movie.






Showing me her 3D glasses.  Super cool.



Glasses shot!  Love these two.


William loves his Cora.  I know he will enjoy taking both of his girls out, once Charlotte gets a little older!

Charlotte Month 1

Another catch up post, but thought you would enjoy seeing Charlotte's pictures from her first month! These are different memories and milestones that we've gotten to watch as Charlotte has grown and developed.  Again, we've loved having this sweet girl join our family! 


At 3 days!


Cora asks to hold Charlotte pretty regularly!  Loved seeing Cora's reaction to her!








At 6 days!

 
Getting her nails done!


At 10 days!


Snuggling with mommy!


At 12 days!


Pretty dress!

At 2 weeks!

My first bath experience! (okay, please don't judge us for not bathing her for 2 weeks.)  Charlotte really liked the water.  She was very calm and quiet.  Just taking it all in. 




If she has a funny look on her face, it's because she had a major spit up right after this picture was taken.  We had to put her back in the tub to get her cleaned up again!  Not sure what happened there!

 
My two little pumpkins!






In her ECU wear for homecoming, doing a little tummy time!







Her thoughtful pose!







Cora wishing her a good morning!

At 3 weeks


Her funny face!

At 4 weeks!  1 month old!



1 month stats:

Weight: 9 lbs 13 oz
Height: 21 1/4 inches
Head circumference: 14 1/2 inches

Newborn pics

Beautiful pictures William took of Charlotte!


Charlotte at 5 days old, date taken 10/18/11

The Last Potty Present

We took Cora to her favorite toy store to pick out her last potty present!  She has done so well this weekend, even staying dry during nap and night time.  I'm so proud of her!  Of course, I know we still have a lot left to learn but I feel like she got the idea and it has "clicked" with her! 

Checking out a new ride... unfortunately, this was not in our potty present budget!


She decided on a "Belle" dress up outfit and hair brush set!



Looking so beautiful!



Oh we spoil her! We got her McDonald's for dinner too!

Meeting Charlotte

To catch up a little bit, here are some pictures of family and friends meeting Charlotte! Also, you can see how much Charlotte has changed from 1 week to 9 weeks!

Pictures from Oct. 19th - Dec. 17th.
Charlotte Age, 1 week - 9 weeks

Great Grandma Bell


Mema and Papa Bell


Mema and Aunt Kat Kat


Aunt Heather


Bryce, Laura and Ben


Aunt Jennifer


Great Aunt Rocky





Carla


Amy


Uncle Eric


Chad and Erica





Papa Phillips





Sarah Kate and Lynn


Emma and Lynn


Daniel and Michelle


Great Uncle Berry


Great Aunt Diane


Uncle Cory


Uncle Kevin