Visiting family and friends

We've been spending quite a bit of time lately trying to visit with our family and friends- near and far. Last week we went to Utah so Charlotte could meet everyone there.

Plane tickets have been SOOO expensive lately, so we ended up flying out of Reagan instead of BWI. It was a really long trip with a layover in Denver each way. Charlotte was a good traveler- for a toddler. She pointed out every plane she saw... in this picture she set up her pony to show him the planes too. We flew on Frontier- they have animals on the tails and wings of their planes- our first plane had a cougar on it and every time Charlotte looked out the window she'd point and say "meow." That got pretty old after 4 hours. ;)

Charlotte has so many people who love her! Here she is with her great great aunt Elizabeth. That's part of where Charlotte got her middle name. (It is also my mom's middle name.)

Charlotte worked on this puzzle with Daddy while visiting great grandma Nichols. Charlotte loved all of the socializing- but she did not like all of the riding in the car!

This is a view from the Alpine Loop. It's a scenic drive between Provo and Alpine that goes behind Mt. Timpanogos. Rob and I had both kinda forgotten how gorgeous Utah's mountains are. Charlotte would point out the window and describe the features for us, "rock. tree. rock. water." Oh yeah, she's an observant one!

Rob took this picture near the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon north of Salt Lake City. It had been snowing and the clouds were still really low, although this was in the afternoon.

Well, I will post more pictures from our trip when I get them from friends. Our camera batteries died after the first day or so and we kept forgetting to pick up some new ones!

Also, I had a check-up today and our baby boy is doing very well. :) He loves to kick the microphone when they listen to his heartbeat. According to our baby widget to the right of this post we have 99 days to go! Woo-hoo!!

Journey to World's End

As promised, here is a little recap of our weekend camping at World's End State Park in PA.


We had a beautiful drive north on PA-15... for a long time we were right next to the Susquehanna River and got to see some Amish buggies, a man plowing with a team of horses, and gorgeous handmade quilts for sale. We got to World's End and set up camp. The sites were pretty small, but also very wooded and felt secluded- which we liked. :) Also, the bathrooms and showers were clean and had hot water- way to go PA State Parks!

Charlotte couldn't get enough of collecting gravel. She was pretty much filthy all weekend. She also thinks that cousin Connor is the most fascinating person. If he was doing it, then it must be cool.

Just down the hill from our campsites was the Loyalsock Creek. The water was cold, but kids never care, do they?

On Saturday we went hiking. We hiked up the Canyon Vista trail (and I mean UP) to a beautiful scenic overlook and a massive rock garden. This is Rob, Charlotte, and I with Mark and Connor in the back there.

One of many break times. Leah and Connor were both good hikers, but the trail was harder than we had imagined it would be... we headed out around 10 am and thought we'd be out about 2 hours and it was more like 5 or 6!! Leah (a girl after my own heart) and I both had our cranky moments toward the end of the afternoon.

This is the view from the top. I have photos that my grandparents took from this same spot and my mom remembers coming here with her father when he was a travelling salesman. I believe they drove to the top though!

I've decided to call this picture "pregnant lady on the rocks."

Charlotte had a nice comfy ride for the hike (and Rob got a serious workout) but even she was pretty tired of hiking by this point on the way back down.

Allen and Robin joined us on Saturday afternoon.

And of course there were hot dogs and s'mores by the campfire and telling of stories and singing of songs. When we got back home on Sunday, Charlotte didn't want to come back in the house! I think she's a fan of this whole camping thing. ;)

Thank you Pam for the photos- although I've noticed that you're not IN any of the ones you sent me. hmmm.

a Memorial Day to remember

We had a great time visiting with friends and family last weekend! Friday through Sunday we went camping at World's End State Park in PA. We had pretty chilly weather (it was like 36 degrees the first night) but loved the time outdoors. Charlotte loved it- especially the abundance of sticks and rocks. I coped alright for a pregnant lady... but I didn't take a single picture!! My sister Pam took about 300 though- so as soon as she sends me a few of those, I will blog about it in more detail.

Then we spent a little time working in the yard-

Charlotte would like to point out how big her strawberry plants have gotten, and Rob and I have been pleased with how the flower beds have filled in more this year. the azaleas are new this year, and we hope they'll grow nice and big over the coming years.

Then we went to the Spiveys for a picnic on Monday. Lindsay pointed out that this was our third Memorial Day spent together! It's a little tradition we really enjoy. :) Our good friends the Hancocks were there as well. Charlotte loved playing with her buddies Josh and William. The fellas made awesome ribs on the grill, and the girls enjoyed chit-chatting about pregnancy- all 3 of us mommies are due within 5 weeks of each other! Lindsay has several more pictures and info about the day posted on her blog here.

This is just a bonus picture for Charlotte's fans of her doing one of her favorite things- "running fast!" She goes to the end of the walkway by the car and stretches (like her Daddy taught her) and then I say, "ready, set, go" and she runs as fast as she can (while giggling) to the house.

She cracks me up. :)

it's a boy!

Just a little update- in case you haven't already heard- we found out on Monday that we are having a baby BOY! :) We are very excited to KNOW. I've already started going through Charlotte's baby clothes to see what we can use. There's quite a bit more yellow and green stuff than I remembered. ;)

blah - g

I've been having a fight with blogger.

For some reason I had a really nasty time uploading photos for that last post. I had to do them one at a time, and even that didn't work after a while. Then our computer got an ugly virus. (Unrelated incidents).

BUT now we have a lovely new Toshiba laptop and I am trying to get back in blogging mode. :) Sorry for the extended absence! Here are a few more photos from our time in Georgia, and just a couple since then too.

Rob's mom made a fabulous black forest chocolate cake for Rob's birthday-- and Rachel's birthday too. ;) Johnny 5, Savannah, and Lizzy couldn't wait to eat it all up.

Rob's dad read many, many books with Joseph, Charlotte, and Elanor... even while being a jungle gym for Johnny 5. Rob introduced Becky to the game Peggle on msn game zone while we were there (here she is playing it in the background.) She and Rob (and also John) played a lot of Peggle.

Charlotte wants to do everything just like her Daddy. This was on the shuttle at BWI on the way back to our car. Also, yesterday she was "running fast" on our sidewalk and had to take a break to "stretch"-- just like Rob. It's kinda hilarious the things that she says and does lately. :)

Charlotte watering her strawberry plants. Maybe we'll actually get to eat some of the berries this year, if we can keep the rabbits away from them.

These are the beautiful yellow flowers that Charlotte picks for me-- just about every day.

I am a lucky mom. :)

Once and future traveler

We just returned from a very nice visit with the Anderson clan in Georgia! Charlotte had a great time playing with her cousins and a bunch of us enjoyed visiting the Yellow River Game Ranch. They have a lot of "rescued" animals there that you can see, and most of which you can touch and/or feed. Charlotte loved it. Rob and I felt kinda sad for some of the animals. Overall it was fun though. :)


Here are a whole mess of pictures from our visit. First, from the Game Ranch, or petting zoo type place... they have a lot of "rescued" animals that you can look at and most you are allowed to feed- except for like the coyotes, and cougar, etc.

Okay Yogi, good thing Ranger Smith isn't around.

Feeding this little fella was more Charlotte's style.

Aunt Becky got attacked by a giant and seemingly harmless pot bellied pig. It was pretty funny. ;)

A close up of the culprit.

We thought he was immobile before the "attack" happened.

blog spam part 2

This is Charlotte in her Easter dress (reading Rob's Economist.) She loves the Milo & Otis movie that she got from the Easter Bunny- and of course all of the M&Ms and jelly beans. The Spivey family came over for dinner and we all had a great time- as usual. :)

"Cool" is how Charlotte describes these glasses.

Just bumming around the house.

Last weekend Charlotte also went to birthday celebrations for 2 of her friends! Max turned 2 and Quincy turned 1. I didn't have my camera with me but you can click on their names to check out photos on their blogs.

Yay! I'm all caught up now!

blog spam part 1

Okay, I have been a major slacker about blogging lately, so I'm afraid this post is going to be a mish-mash of Charlotte's latest activities. Here we go...

A couple of weeks ago, Charlotte decided that she wants to sit at the table and feed herself.

Here she is eating Tikka Masala... I still can't get over how many different things she likes to eat!

We also went to Westminster's community Easter egg hunt on the day before Easter. It was so cold!! It even snowed a little bit. Charlotte loved the 4-H petting zoo- especially this day old calf.

The eggs were not particularly hard to find in the one year old section.

Charlotte was so happy with her eggs- and that was before she found out they had stickers and candy in them. :)

my Rob

Lindsay tagged me to write about my Rob. :)

What's his name? Robert Nichols.

How long have you been married? 2 1/2 years in April (on Rob's birthday.)

How long did you date? umm... 1 month and 1 day until we were officially engaged. :)

How old is he? 31 and 11.5/12ths.

Who eats more? Usually Rob, but a pregnant woman is an interesting thing.

Who is taller? Rob is 6' 6"... I am not taller than that!

Who said 'I love you' first? Rob told me on our first date, "I think I'm falling in love with you." It took me a date or two to catch up. I don't remember who actually said 'I love you' first, but by then the feeling was definitely mutual.

Who does the laundry? Mostly I do, because I'm home.

Who does the dishes? Again, mostly I do because I'm here but Rob usually does on the weekends to give me a break.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Currently, I do, but we've gone back and forth depending on where the door is... so I can get up during the night without killing myself.

Who cooks dinner? Usually I do, but 'curry night' is all Rob.

Who sings better? Rob has a beautiful voice and I wish that I could get him to sing more often!

Who drives when you are together? Usually Rob.

Who is more stubborn? Oh, we're pretty evenly matched on stubbornness... luckily, we usually see eye to eye on things or we decide who the issue is more important to.

Who is smarter? Rob is definitely smarter than I am in bookish areas, but maybe I make up for it a little in 'mechanical' abilities. At least I can say now that I have finally beat him fair and square at Scrabble!

Who kissed who first? Umm... we were both participants. :)

Who asked who out first? Rob was in Iceland and I was in Utah on seperate vacations. When Rob got home he called me in Utah and asked if he could pick me up at the airport and said, "I think we need to date. How do you feel about that?" I felt pretty good about it.

Who proposed? Rob did. We picked out the ring together and he had it for like a week!!! Everywhere we went, I thought 'is he going to propose now? here?' Anyway, when he finally did it was at Bombay Peacock and it was perfect.

Who is more sensitive? Hmm that's a tough one... HA! I am, by about a mile.

Who has more friends? We don't have a ton of friends that we hang out with, but I keep in touch with more of my old roommates and friends for sure.

Who has more siblings? Rob is the oldest of 7.

Who wears the pants in the family? We both wear pants, but sometimes I wear skirts. hee hee Okay... I think we try to make decisions together.

What is your favorite thing about him? Wow, there really are many... I love that Rob and I are both 'serious,' but when we are together we are completely silly. I love how he tells stories with 83 tangents. I love his brown eyes and how he laughs at my dumb jokes. Hmmm, I have to go kiss him now. ;)

So now I want to see answers from Brandy V., Kristen J., and Becca A. Or anyone else that wants to.

family photos

We went and had a few VERY quick family photos taken at Sears over the weekend (it was warm in there and Charlotte wasn't too patient with the process.). Here are our favorites...

It's nice to finally have a couple of pictures with Charlotte really smiling.

Who knew, all we needed was a feather duster??

a little news item

Well, I was waiting on some more pictures from Pam and Melissa to post from the weekend- but I've been getting phone calls about the NEWS I mentioned and even Rob has been asking me, "So, when are you going to tell them?" So I guess I won't make people wait any longer....

Charlotte is going to be a big sister!!! :)

We are going to have another baby in September of this year. (I am currently 11 weeks pregnant.) So far, everything looks great! I haven't had any morning sickness... I've just been really, really tired. But even that is starting to let up now.

Rob is making sure I eat brussel sprouts, and spinach, and many other green things in addition to the grilled cheese sandwiches, toast, and ice cream that I've been craving. We are very excited to welcome a new little person to our family! ;)

PS- Yesterday was my 30th birthday! I had an awesome day... Rob stayed home and we worked on house projects and he made a yummy curry for dinner and I got beautiful roses and Edy's chocolate fudge brownie ice cream. :) Thank you Rob!!!

Bubbles the portly pooch

In Pennsylvania this past weekend, Charlotte enjoyed the novelty of feeding a dog. Bubbles Haydt is a very sweet cocker spaniel who loves to cuddle and loves to eat (she is not very bright, but I guess you can't be everything.)

Anyway, here is Charlotte feeding Bubbles pretzels. Also in the video are my sisters- Pam and Melissa, my brother Daniel handing her the pretzels, my Dad and his wife Linda sitting at the counter, and briefly my brother-in-law Mark coming in from the left. We are an easily amused bunch. ;)

Stay tuned...

More pictures and news from the weekend will be coming soon.

she ain't just whistlin' Dixie

We have been so busy this past week with snow days and elections and work... Also, Charlotte has SO MANY teeth coming in that it is crazy (- at least 6 are breaking through right now.) And she is crazy! And she is making me crazy!!! ;)

Anyway, Charlotte did learn one really cool new thing this past week- check it out.

Wow! She can really whistle. :)

I didn't learn to whistle until high school (my sister told me not to admit that, but whatever.) And my mom STILL doesn't know how to whistle... so clearly these are Charlotte's Daddy's genes at work- or Charlotte is just WAY more clever than I was. Either way, way to go Peanut!

(Oh, and she's getting irritated at the end of the video because she is used to seeing the "picture" on the camera right after I take it and she doesn't understand that video is a little different.)

Party time at Polar Palace

Charlotte had a great time playing at Polar Palace today. She is still really little for most of the stuff there- but that didn't stop her one bit! She was totally fearless playing with the "big kids."

Hey, are you here for Nicholas' birthday party too?!?

Daddy took Charlotte through the maze-like inflatable land and then down the big slide. This other little boy was trying very hard to be helpful, and I was trying to videotape it, but I was cracking up and finally decided I better rescue Charlotte before he pulled her back in to the maze.

(Sorry the video is sideways- I keep forgetting I can't turn the camera!)

Since Rob had to recover from vertigo after taking Charlotte through there once, Alora was nice enough to bring Charlotte down a few more times. Charlotte loved every minute of it!

Mommy went with Charlotte through the "Playtona" speedway. According to Rob, anything even remotely Nascar related is definitely my department. ;)

BTW- this is our 100th post since we began our blog back in September 2006!!! Woo-hoo!!!

In memory of President Hinckley

President Gordon B. Hinckley passed away yesterday evening at the age of 97. He was the Prophet and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for the past 13 years- since Rob and I were in high school.

I will personally always remember President Hinckley's warmth and humor, as I'm sure many others will as well. We had many opportunities to hear him speak in our years at BYU, and he always conveyed his great love for both the Savior and the restoration of the Gospel.

We will miss our prophet dear, but at the same time we are sure of the joyful reunion he must be having with his dear wife Marjorie, and we are secure in the knowledge that the Church will move on as it always has.

President Hinckley's words to the hymn "My Redeemer Lives" express his unfailing faith in Jesus Christ.

I know that my Redeemer lives,
Triumphant Savior, Son of God,
Victorious over pain and death,
My King, my Leader, and my Lord.

He lives, my one sure rock of faith,
The one bright hope of men on earth,
The beacon to a better way,
The light beyond the veil of death.

Oh, give me thy sweet Spirit still,
The peace that comes alone from thee,
The faith to walk the lonely road
That leads to thine eternity.

15 months, snow days, and a biker dude?

First off, Charlotte had her 15 month check-up on Tuesday! She is now 21 lbs. 2 oz (25th %) and 31 inches long (75th %). So she is still our long skinny Peanut.

Also this past week we have had some very cold snowy days. Charlotte tested out the sled in the living room with her polar bear (a good choice for an advisor on all things snowy I suppose.)


And then we got all bundled up and went out to play. :)

She didn't like that at all! She only wanted to stay on the part of the walkway that I had shoveled and watch the snow fall from the sky. It was like it was some sort of magic substance that she didn't dare to actually touch.


Finally, on Sunday we visited Joshie and his parents and had a nice dinner and watched football. Charlotte and Josh played very nicely together- but Josh kept wanting to kiss Charlotte and she wasn't really happy about that. It was adorable though! He'd kiss her hand, or her head, or wherever he could get a hold of her. LOL You can see how stoked she was about all of his advances. ;) They did have a good time playing together though- Thanks Spiveys for a fun evening!

Snowfort

Charlotte would like to introduce you to her most favorite companion.

This is "Snowfort."

Snowfort is a polar bear that Rob received as a Christmas gift at a work holiday party when Charlotte was just 2 months old. Charlotte loves Snowfort SOOOO much, that no matter how much I wash his face, his nose is still all gray from her sucking on it and giving him kisses. She sleeps with him almost every night and would take him everywhere with her (if we'd let her.)

Now we seek out books at the library that feature polar bears. Our favorite so far is A Splendid Friend, Indeed. We also love finding the polar bears on each page of the book about Noah's Ark that Aunt Elizabeth sent for Christmas. We also like the Little Polar Bear books by Hans de Beer.

Oh there are so many polar bears in children's picture books!

Best buds.

Portrait of the artist as a young girl

The artist at work.

Charlotte is definitely a lefty. I'm glad she enjoys coloring with the crayons she got for Christmas. She also likes painting with the Crayola toddler paints- but BOY is that a messy experience! So we've only done that twice so far. ;)

Here is Charlotte's first drawing that she did "all by herself."

And here is her first painting that we did together on Christmas day.