Almost there...

We have almost made it. Charlotte's birthday is just about a week away, and we are all excited. The preparations for her party are in full force (thanks to my amazing aunt and uncle), and Charlotte has seemed to have gotten the memo that her big day is coming.



In honor of her birthday, she has decided to get in a few more milestones before the big day. First, we are well on our way to hands and knees crawling; she now starts each motion with two or three slides before retreating to her belly crawling.



She is highly motivated by a few things; her siblings, the iPad, and food topping the list. Goldfish anyone?



"Yes! I got it!"



With a bit of help from my sister...



"Yum!"



Charlotte has also become very fond of the game "so big," and I am excited to report she is now an active participant. It took a few months of me looking like a fool, jumping and clapping and waving my arms around, but my girl got it. And it is so. dang. cute.







My little dare devil is also trying really hard to pull herself up on whatever she can find (these days it seems like boxes and bins are the objects of choice; who needs fancy toys?!?). I am afraid she is going to smack her head when I am not looking (especially when she tries on the fireplace), but she is quickly gaining strength and confidence, and I love that she is highly motivated to do it. She has had repeated success getting to her knees, and a few times I have found her perfect "plank" position. (Pictures to come....).

Also a new favorite game is for one of us to hold out our two index fingers, and she quickly scoots over, sits,  grabs on and with a bit of help pulls up. After a few seconds, she sits back down, and reaches out to repeat the fun game....over, and over, and over again. All with a huge "I'm so proud of myself" grin.

Finally, I love that for the past few weeks, whenever I walk into the room, her arms immediately reach for me. My older two always seem to prefer mom and dad equally; I have never had a momma's girl...I gotta tell you, I am kind of enjoying it.

I will leave you with a few final pictures. The first, to show how Charlotte grins from ear to ear every time she sees the camera, even if it isn't aimed at her... (notice the almost empty house? our move is in full force!)




And because I love these three more than anything in this world, here is a little glimpse of what makes me smile everyday.







Happy almost mid-week everyone!