Fun at the Fair

Fri, 3 Sep 2010 21:46:58 -0500

We took Charlie to the county fair tonight and had a blast! We went through all of the livestock barns when we first got there. He said that he like the roosters, cows and piggies the best. We met up with the Price family and Charlie and Emma rode several rides. He went on the ferris wheel, the carousel, a kiddy roller coaster and the teacups. We of course had to finish the night with a funnel cake and lemonade. On the way back to the car we had to walk through several barns and tell the animals night-night. Charlie said that he was ready to go home and get in his piggy bed. So cute!

The Summer Wind Down

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 20:46:48 -0500

It seems like Summer is rapidly coming to an end and this pregnant sales rep could not be happier. I always look so forward to Summer but my nausea and fatigue paired with getting in and out of my car 100 times a day is just not meshing well with me. Here’s hoping we will see some cooler weather soon!

Charlie has been our Head Water Boy and has been helping keep our new shrubs alive. He has just grown so much over the past few months and has turned into a little boy. He started a new preschool class today and they said that he did awesome. He is in an “older two” class. I honestly don’t understand where the time goes. I was thinking the other day that when the new baby is his age, Charlie will be starting kindergarten!

I have also officially entered my second trimester this week. A lot of websites that I read say that it starts at 14 weeks and I hit that milestone this week. Speaking of where has the time gone! This pregnancy is going by at light speed compared to the first time around. Charlie is starting to understand more about the baby as well. We were putting him to bed the other night and told him that we were all going to sleep and he asked if the baby in my tummy was going to sleep in his little bed too. Too Cute!

35 Years!!

Sun, 8 Aug 2010 14:14:02 -0500

Mark, Charlie and I and Auntie and Uncle hosted a 35th wedding anniversary party for Poppy and Mimi at our house last night. We had cocktails and hors d’oeuvres and invited all of their friends. It was such a fun party and really enjoyed seeing everyone. Of course the main topic of the evening was the addition of two more babies! Everyone couldn’t believe it. It was also so special to honor our parents. They have been together since they were teenagers and they got married when my Mom was 18 and my Dad was 20! They truly are a great example of how a marriage and a life long partnership should be. They aways make time for each other and never sweat the small stuff. Happy 35th Poppy and Mimi! We love you very much!

More exciting news!!!

Tue, 3 Aug 2010 22:24:32 -0500

My Sister and Jared (Auntie and Uncle) are having a baby too! The even crazier part is that I am due Feb. 17 and she is due Feb. 18! It is going to be like Father of the Bride II except this time with two sisters. We are seeing the same doctor too. My sister and I have always led a very parallel life so this didn’t totally surprise us. We both took tests on the same day and of course told our parents that night. We had them over for a BBQ and Sarah and Jared gave Mom a sunglass case and told her to open it and there was a positive test inside. We had wrapped up a small frame that Charlie had and put a picture of a baby in it and gave it to my Mom to open. She was in such utter shock that she sat down on Charlie’s picnic table that was soaking wet and didn’t even care. My Dad of course was thrilled too and I think that I saw him get a little teary eyed. We are so happy for Sarah and Jared. My Sister has wanted to be a mom since she was a little girl. She always had all of the baby dolls, strollers, bottles, etc. and I had the Smurfs and Alf!

Charlie’s BIG Announcement!!!

Mon, 2 Aug 2010 13:35:46 -0500

Charlie’s a Big Brother in Training!!!
Our little cupid is due to arrive February 17! This week marks the 12th week and we went and heard the heartbeat this morning. He said that everything sounded great!

Charlie is starting to understand the whole thing a little better. A few weeks ago we asked him if he wanted a baby brother or sister and he said that he wanted a submarine. In the past week though he said that he wants a baby brother and is going to name him George (after Curious George of course). I have been off and on nauseated and pretty tired. The 100 degree heat index has not been helping! I was very nauseated with Charlie during the first few weeks but realized that my prenatal vitamins were causing it. I started on prescription vitamins as soon as I found out this time.

We have also been very busy moving things around in the house. We moved my office into part of the playroom, moved Charlie into my old office and now have a blank slate for the nursery. The nursery is across the hall from our bedroom so it will work out perfectly for the baby. We had Charlie’s room painted a fun blue color and outfitted it with all Dr. Seuss stuff. Charlie and the baby will have a jack-and-jill bathroom that will connect their rooms. We think that it will be a great set-up for them to grow up in.

On the Charlie front, we have been busy working on potty training. He starting showing an interest in it about a week or two ago. He goes on the potty about 3 times a day. When he gets up, some in the evening and before his bath. He is about to move up a class at his preschool and they really work on potty training in that room. I think that he will really get the hang of it when they work on it at his school as well as at home. He is really doing a good job with it. He lets us know when he wants to go and after he goes, he gets to pick an item out of his treat jar. I plan to have him potty trained, moved into a big boy bed and be done with the bedtime pacifier by the baby’s arrival. Then, we should be fresh to start all over again with a new little one.

Our next few weeks are going to be busy. My Sister and I are throwing a party for our parent’s 35th wedding anniversary and then I have to go to Las Vegas for a week for work. It has been funny with this pregnancy how fast time has already gone by. When you have a wild man to chase around and work full-time you kind of lose sight of the pregnancy. It is crazy to think in 8 weeks we will find out what it is! Please pray that our little baby stays healthy and happy in my “tummy” as Charlie says! We can’t wait for our little bundle of joy to arrive! For now, I’ll leave you with some more pics of our little honey...

Big Bertha

Sat, 24 Jul 2010 21:10:49 -0500

We headed out to the lake with Poppy and Mimi again this afternoon. Mark luckily did well with his lake water allergy the last time we went so we decided to go again. Poppy and Mimi have a big inner tub named “Big Bertha” that Charlie was dying to try. He played on it for awhile and then wanted a ride. He had a blast! He rode it twice around the lake with Daddy. He was waving and smiling the whole time.

Swim Ranch

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 20:40:45 -0500

Charlie had his first swimming lesson of the season on Saturday at the Swim Ranch. It is so crazy what a difference a year makes. Last year, he would be okay part of the time but we always took his paci along just in case. This year, he was the star student. He had a smile on his face the whole time and did everything that they told him to do. I was watching the one year olds and couldn’t believe how fast a year has gone by! Mark got in with him on Saturday because I battled a horrible cold all last week. I can’t wait to get in with him next Saturday!

White Water!

Thu, 8 Jul 2010 20:58:56 -0500

Mark, Mimi, Pops and I loaded little man up in the car on Tuesday and headed to White Water. It was Charlie’s first time to go to a water park and I think that he had the time of his life. He loves anything involved with water so he was in heaven there. Plus, he is exactly 3 feet tall so he was able to ride some of the bigger rides with us. He went non-stop all day and Poppy kept asking when he was going to run out of gas. We got back to the car around 5:00 and he passed out as soon as we put him in his car seat.

Charlie’s first trip to the lake

Fri, 2 Jul 2010 21:46:11 -0500

We took Charlie to the lake this afternoon for his first boat ride. Mark is allergic to lake water if he goes under the water. He gets flu-like symptoms for a week from it so we usually stick by the pool. My parents have a little ski boat that they have had for 33 years and have been really wanting to take Charlie out on it. He had the best time! Poppy drove us all around the lake, we ate dinner and even did a little swimming. It was such a lovely evening. I took some pics with our iphone so they are not the best quality but still pretty cute! Here’s hoping Mark doesn’t wake up deathly ill tomorrow.

Happy Daddy’s Day!

Sun, 20 Jun 2010 21:03:49 -0500

We had a fabulous day celebrating Mark and Poppy. We swam all day and had a cook-out tonight. Charlie really enjoyed helping Mark and Poppy open presents. When we carried them all outside, Charlie looked up and said, “For me?”.
I am so lucky to have them both in my life. Mark is truly the best Daddy to Charlie and Poppy has always been the perfect example of what a Father should be like. Happy Father’s Day!!!

A monkey in a tree!

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 20:52:42 -0500

Last weekend we took Charlie to the Farmer’s Market after we had his two year portraits. He saw a bigger kid climbing a tree on the square and insisted that he sit in one too. What a silly! We have been up to absolutely nothing and all of my pics on this post were taken with an iphone. We have just been really settling into our new house, grilling and cooking a lot at home and sitting by the pool all weekend long (oh yeah, and working too). Ahhhh...how I love summer!

Mr. Charlie Green Thumb

Tue, 8 Jun 2010 17:40:00 -0500

Charlie loves helping Poppy with his garden. Last year Poppy had this neat little garden with raised beds, aisles and lots of weed mat. This year he decided to do a “poor man’s garden” and just put some plants out. Everything is growing so much better this year. I guess that garden plants don’t care about a fancy environment.

The end of Charlie’s first “school” year

Wed, 2 Jun 2010 20:58:54 -0500

Charlie had his last day at his part-time preschool today. Talk about time flying by! He is going to start at another preschool this summer and go full-time. Mimi is not going to know what to do with herself! I am sure that her summer days will be spent resting by the pool and she sure needs it after helping us little man for over two years. It truly takes a village to raise a little one and I don’t know what we would’ve done without her these first two years! Thanks Mimi!!

We have officially kicked off summer around the Hall House. Our summer will hopefully be filled with lots of this...

Congrats to Sarah and Jared!!!

Wed, 26 May 2010 20:55:42 -0500

Charlie’s Auntie and Uncle won the Great TCBY Giveaway today. They won a national competition for their own franchise. It is a prize worth $312,000!!! To read their story head over to: sarahjaredgreer.blogspot.com/

and you can also see their entry video on:
www.tcby.com

My poor Sister was out of town for a work meeting and missed the big announcement and all the press stuff but I am sure that there will be plenty of events with it in the near future! The President of TCBY came in and awarded it to Jared on the 6:00 morning news. They had two press conferences in Fayetteville and he did a ton of interviews. Their story is even suppose to air on one of the national news shows. We are so proud of them and are so excited!!! We can’t wait for their store to open this Fall!

In Charlie news, I had some random pics on my iphone that were too funny. Enjoy!

Let pool season begin!

Sat, 22 May 2010 21:16:25 -0500

We look forward to Poppy and Mimi opening their pool all winter long and today was the day! Charlie had a blast today! He is not afraid of the water one bit and even went off the diving board with some assistance. We could not believe how big he looked at the pool today compared to last summer.

Sprinkler Time!

Tue, 18 May 2010 21:03:09 -0500

Auntie wanted Charlie to come over tonight to grill-out with her and Uncle so Mark and I decided to have a date night. They decided to get the sprinkler out too! He didn’t really like it last summer but boy how that has changed! I borrowed her camera so I could post the pics that she took. Adorable!

Bahama Mama!!

Mon, 10 May 2010 21:18:30 -0500

Mark and I just got back from our trip to Nassau. Talk about paradise! Mark took me there for an early 30th birthday trip and we had THE best time! We sat on the beach all day, and ate (a lot) and of course had several cocktails too. It was a really fun getaway but we were thrilled to get home to our little man. Pops and Mimi took great care of the little man and I think that they were sad to see him go home on Sunday.

A birthday and some randoms

Mon, 3 May 2010 20:52:09 -0500

It is Auntie Sarah’s 27th birthday today!!! Happy birthday!!! Charlie sure does love his Auntie. She likes to come and kidnap him and take him on little outings. On their last adventure, they did some shopping and had a pizza night. He came home with a new pair of water shoes, a hot pink piggy bank that was wearing sunglasses and a big lime green dice. Hilarious!

I also had a bunch of random pics from our camera and iphone that I wanted to post. Enjoy!

Safari!

Sun, 25 Apr 2010 15:25:32 -0500

Poppy, Mimi, Meaw (Charlie’s Great Grandma) and Mark and I took Charlie out to Gentry today to the Wild, Wilderness Safari. He had the time of his life! We went on the drive-through part first and then did the petting zoo. We then had to finish things off with a camel and pony ride!

2 year check-up and an anniversary!

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 16:07:31 -0500

We had Charlie’s two year checkup this morning. He weighed in at 29 pounds (60th percentile), was 34 inches tall (65 percentile) and I can’t remember what his head circumference was but it was in the 75th percentile. He said that he looks great! He talked Dr. Payton’s ear off and was entertaining as usual. The one thing that made me very sad was that he used the big scale and not the baby scale anymore! We officially have a little boy and not a baby!

Hot dog, hot dog, hot diggity dog!

Sat, 17 Apr 2010 21:33:31 -0500

We had Charlie’s second, 2nd birthday party at our house today. Can you guess the theme?? I asked him several weeks ago what kind of party he wanted and he looked at me like duh! and said Mickey Mouse! Although the weather was yucky we still had a great time. Poppy and Mimi bought him a bouncy house for his birthday so we put it in the garage and it worked out great! We had a bunch of yummy food and cake. We had such a fun time with everyone!

Birthday Party #1

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 22:18:17 -0500

We had a great weekend in Central Arkansas. We had a big family party in Malvern on Charlie’s birthday. One of his favorite characters is Curious George so that is what Mark’s Mom planned his party around. He loved it! He ran around with all of his second cousins (there are 11 of them!) and had a blast.

Mark and I went to Auntie’s best friend’s wedding on Saturday night and had a lovely time!

We are getting excited about Charlie’s party at our house this weekend. When we left the party on Saturday, Charlie said that he wanted to go back and blow out more candles. I told him to wait a few more days and he would be able to do it all again!

Birthday Week Fun!

Thu, 8 Apr 2010 21:21:38 -0500

As long as I can remember, we have celebrated birthday week in my family. We basically just have fun, eat out and eat a bunch of sweets during the week leading up to our birthdays. Of course we are continuing on the tradition with Charlie man! His 2nd birthday is on Saturday and we have had to do a little rearranging of his party this year. Auntie’s best friend is actually getting married in Hot Springs on Charlie’s birthday and she is the Matron of Honor in the wedding. We are going to go down to Malvern this weekend and have a party with Mark’s family and then go to the wedding Saturday night. We are going to have his other party at home the following weekend. He is so excited about his birthday and upcoming parties. He told me today, “you know that I have a birthday coming up!”. He talks like an adult and it is hilarious. He asked me earlier in the week if we were going to have a Christmas tree at his party and that he wanted a seahorse cake. Don’t ask me where he got those ideas from!

I won’t be able to post any pics on his actual birthday because there is limited internet access in Malvern so I will post them when we get home. We have two busy weekends ahead of us and I absolutely can’t believe that our little baby boy is going to be TWO!

-Jess

Easter Blessings

Sun, 4 Apr 2010 22:01:53 -0500

Happy Easter everyone! We had fun dyeing Easter eggs this week and getting ready for Easter. Today we enjoyed seeing what the Easter Bunny left for Charlie, went to church, did the church egg hunt, had an Easter dinner at Poppy and Mimi’s house and had another egg hunt. It was such a fun day and I think that Charlie has consumed about 5 pounds of candy!

Charlie’s Big Backyard

Wed, 31 Mar 2010 21:14:07 -0500

One of the big selling points of our new house was the size of the backyard. We knew that Charlie would love it! That proved to be correct tonight!