Lucky Number 6

Both girls turned 6 on September 7!  Charlotte turned 6 years old and Naomi had her first half birthday.  It was so fun as we anticipated this day and it finally came.  I am going to basically do two posts in one.

Charlotte:

I don't even know where to start with her.  She is so funny, but also opinionated.  She acts like she is so old, but is so young.  I can see her "only child" for so long shining through, thinking that her opinion matters and that she can be apart of adult conversations.  Umm, no.  We have to remind her she isn't the parent.  But she is a great big sister and is the only one that can really make Naomi belly laugh.  It is the cutest thing ever!!  Every day she runs  home from the bus stop and wants to see the baby.  She tells me almost every day she "almost cried because she missed us."   Charlotte finally started kindergarten.  I say "finally" because she has done preschool for three years and missed the cut off by one week.  So many of her friends are already in first grade.  Even kids in her primary class who birthdays are two weeks before hers.  So weird how this cutoff works.  It wasn't like that when I was a kid, but whatever.  She loves school, not the waking up part (6:30 am).  Her teacher is fabulous and she already has made a couple great friends.  I went to eat lunch with her on her birthday (above photo) and it was so fun.  She wants me to come back like every day.  I do want to go back once a month and just have it be a special day for her to look forward to.   We are trying to help Charlotte find a sport/hobby she enjoys.  She has played soccer this past year and hated it.  She isn't much of a runner.  She also got a bike for Christmas, but hasn't really got the hang of it.  She rides it but doesn't keep going fast and will just coast.  Then she gets confused when she has stopped. Haha.  We had her do a couple Cheerleading camps and she loved it. I just need to find a good gym that is close to us.  Right now she is in Tennis lessons and goes twice a week.  She likes it so far!  I would love for her to really stick with Tennis and you know, get a scholarship to college? haha.  SHe got a scooter for her birthday and is obsessed with it.  She rides it everywhere because "it can get her there faster."  Yes, even from the stairs to the kitchen.   Some other things she loves doing is #1 playing with the neighbor kids.  It is the highlight of her day.  She loves going to the movies.  She loves having a babysitter.  She loves playing with other kids of all ages.  She loves having one on one time with me and Josh.  She really just likes attention.  We have tried really hard at being aware of her needs during this past year and all the transitions of her little life.   I love my spunky little six year old and cannot wait to see what she accomplishes and learns this coming year.  

Naomi:

Charlotte and Naomi both 6 months old.  They look so different!

What a joy to our family Naomi has been.  There were so many days where I thought we would only have one child.  I was really okay with the idea, but not okay with the fact Charlotte wouldn't have a sibling.  Now that I see them together, my life is absolutely complete.  Naomi... - holds her head up more and working on not being such a bobble-head - has just started to roll over but gets stuck and can't roll back - sleeps at least 10 hours every night - falls asleep anywhere and everywhere - only cries if she is hungry or wants me to hold her - loves to cuddle and be held ALL THE TIME - doesn't like the vacuum (another thing that makes her cry) - loves to be outside - hates her car seat and arches her back each time I put her in it  - loves the bath and swimming- she even falls asleep in the swimming pool- a little water baby - does great in the movie theaters (I don't even know how many movies she's already slept through)
For her 6 month checkup, the pediatrician did all her stats according to a true six-month old, not adjusted age.  She is 85% for length!!  She's going to be our tall baby girl.  I can't wait to see her and Charlotte tower over their dad.  He is going to love it too! Naomi is such a special part of our family.  The excitement of her has not died at all.  We are all very smitten by her and think she is just the greatest little thing.  

Welcome to Miami

When Josh told me he had Monday and Tuesday off before 4th of July, I immediately suggested we go down to Miami! We’ve been wanting to visit the beach sometime this year and visit my brother and his wife. Josh didn’t hesitate and we quickly planned our trip down. We left late afternoon Friday and drove through the night. Josh was quite the trooper. It was a LONG drive. 12 hours to be exact. But it was definitely worth it. Saturday morning, we waited for Courtney to get back from work and we headed straight to the beach. Oh it was so wonderful!! And not near as crowded as I had imagined. I didn’t take any pictures, but just enjoyed time in the hot sun, warm ocean water and soaking in this new city we had never been to. After a few hours at South Beach, we headed to Wynwood for late lunch/early dinner. We ate at this really great Mexican place called, Taco Stand. Wow! It was delicious. We walked around Wynwood Walls and looked at all the art. We headed home later and swam in their pool for a bit and were absolutely exhausted that night.

The next day, we went to church with them. Their ward is in Spanish and English. It was such a different experience for our family. Michael and Courtney both speak Spanish and are great assets to their ward. It was Fast Sunday and their Bishop bore a very powerful testimony. He talked about having uncomfortable situations during this earthly life. How those experiences that we always don’t feel super confident in or unfamiliar or uncomfortable are the ones that makes us grow and reach out to others. Later I learned that him and his family are from Utah and he came home one day and told his wife that their life is too easy and they need a challenge. They moved to Miami and I can only guess how that was one of those uncomfortable situations he had been talking about. It reminded me of when Josh came home and through out the idea of moving to North Carolina. We have become a better and stronger couple and family because of that single decision. It wasn’t easy, but I have learned so much from our new life in the South.

My Grandma made this Americana dress for my Molly doll over 20 years ago.  Now Charlotte is putting her Bitty Baby in it!

After church, we ate a great dinner Courtney made for us. Then we went and walked around Michael’s campus. He just graduated with his Masters of Taxation from University of Miami. It is a beautiful campus. So tropical!! We saw lots of different animals while walking around, but luckily, no gators!! Michael also drove us around some nice communities close to campus. It was cool to explore a little bit.  When we came back, Courtney and Charlotte made us homemade ice cream.  It was so yummy.  Something we will have to try at home!!

Monday came and we were on our own. We went into downtown Miami. We started our day at the Bayside Market, which overlooks the bay (and where the cruise ships dock). We ate lunch at Hard Rock Cafe (which was pretty disappointing), walked around and then took the free metro, a monorail, around downtown. It was a good way to get around and just sight see. We made it back to Michael and Courtney’s right as Courtney got home. We had planned to go to BJ’s for dinner (a family favorite). So while we waited for dinner to happen, we went over to Petland and played with puppies. Haha. Dinner was so good, of course, and we couldn’t leave without getting a trio of Pizookies for us all to sample. The restaurant was attached to a really cool outdoor mall, so we tried to walk off a little of dinner.

Tuesday was another beach day. We basically repeated Saturday, beach and Taco Stand, and also visited a very popular and amazing reviewed donut shop, “The Salty Donut.” We took those home and they were heaven. We went home and took a rest before going out to the Miami Marlins baseball game that night! Whenever Michael visits us, we always go to a baseball game, so we kept the tradition going, this time, us visiting him! It was a cool stadium, having a retractable roof. The roof was open, for some crazy reason, and we were sweating our brains out. Haha. Naomi was wide awake the entire time and didn’t make a peep. She was perfect!!

The entire time we were in Miami I kept saying that I felt like I was in a different country or Hawaii. It was unlike any continental U.S. city I have been to. I went to Hawaii when I was 19 and it reminded me a lot of there. But then we would hear so many different languages as we were walking around. It was an extremely diverse city, which I love. It was very tropical and green EVERYWHERE! I told Josh I don’t have to travel anywhere now, that I got my tropical, beach fix. So if anyone needs a vacation but doesn’t want to fly, just drive down South! It will seriously satisfy you!! A huge thank you to Michael and Courtney for hosting us and being so gracious to letting us stay with them.  It was a lot of fun!!