11 Months

In a few weeks we will celebrate Charly's first birthday. We haven't even written about her 11 month accomplishments like we usually do each month! We're falling behind! So, here's some things we've noticed about Charly lately . . .

She's innocent, careful, and wants to do no harm. We see it in the way she slowly lowers herself back to her butt after walking and in the way she lightly pets Elliot, not wanting to pull her tail too hard.

She's playful, tough, and hilarious. She loves her toys, her Cabbage Patch Doll, her bathtime, and screaming. She jabbers all the time and knows when she's making us laugh.

She's finicky. She loves to be pampered. She is perfectly able to pick up her sippy cup and drink from it herself (we've seen her do it) but she insists on us holding it so her hands can be free. She is perfectly able to pick up food herself and put it in her mouth, but she'd much rather us do it for her, like servants feeding grapes to a princess! Are we spoiling her?

She's determined. When she wants something, she gets it. She finds a way. She whines, grunts, points, furrows her brow (this is new), you name it, she does it!

She has such a personality and we swear, it develops more and more everyday. There's times we worry that she's beginning to act like a little princess, but then she'll want things rough and tough and make us think we're raising a tomboy instead. With Charly, you never know what you're going to get and that is her personality.

She's a handful, that's for sure, and our lives don't seem to get any less busier. School days and week nights fly by. We barely get home from school, entertain her, make something for ourselves to eat, and before we know it, it's eight o'clock! Between following Charly up stairs, making sure she doesn't eat the various cords plugged in around the house, and overseeing her nightly forays inside the dishwasher, we're exhausted by the time she finally falls asleep.

But it's definitely a content type of exhausted. It's hard to imagine what we were doing a year ago today. Probably watching Modern Family while we should have been nesting.

We can't wait to celebrate her one-year!

Little Girl Walking

Monday, Kelli and I got the day off for Martin Luther King day. Of course we welcome any day off from school, but this day was made extra special when Charly decided to take not one, not two, not three or four, but five consecutive steps on her own! She quickly fell on her butt and giggled like crazy.

Noooooooo!

"I hate the Jets!!!"

Go Pats!

Beat the Jets!!!

Baby, It's Cold Outside

Our Christmas theme this year was change.

Christmas Eve was spent with the Hennings during the day instead of night, to allow plenty of time for our growing families to make it home and in bed by a reasonable hour of the night.

Christmas morning, Kelli and I woke up in our own bed, under our own roof, for the first time ever as a couple!

Santa visited our home.

Christmas morning was not spent at the Henrichs household in Allison. Instead of rushing through a morning of coffee, eggbake, and presents to get to Grandma and Grandpa's, we took our time in the morning, made it to Grandma and Grandpa's for lunch, and waited until the day after Christmas to get together as a family.

The biggest change of course, was celebrating Christmas this year lugging our little one around!

Our highlight reel . . .

Aunt Jodi and Uncle Blaine let Charly open a present the night before Christmas Eve. She was way too slow tearing off the paper and pleaded for help! It was a cool Fisher Price kitchen, and she plays with it everyday.

Just as the nephews began to open presents Christmas Eve morning, and we couldn't wait to see how Charly would respond to the craziness, she fell asleep and missed the whole darn thing!

Aunt Megan made Charly a sweet stocking hat.

The Henning acreage looked like a scene out of a Christmas postcard. We had to get out and play in the snow (for a whole five minutes).

From Grandpa and Grandma Henning, Charly got a Radio Flyer wagon. It's a staple first gift in the family. She thought it was a daybed.

Our family's first Christmas Eve.

On last season's Christmas episode of our favorite television show Modern Family, Ed O'Neill's character Jay buys Christmas pajamas for everyone in his family: children, in-laws, and, grandchildren. They are to be opened on Christmas Eve and worn that night. We thought the idea was so dorky (yet fun), we wanted to start the tradition as well. So, here we are on Christmas morning, in our flannel pajamas! Ridicule away . . .

Charly caught on pretty quickly to the whole gift-opening thing. One of her favorite gifts: her very own first Cabbage Patch doll. Except she was a little confused. "Why is that baby trapped in a box Mommy?"

She loves her new blocks and thinks she's big stuff in her very own chair!

Kelli couldn't resist dressing her up on Christmas.

Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Hoodjer spoiled Charly and Cruz with their very own rocking horses. It was quite the surprise.

"Cousin Charly, why are all these people staring at us? I'm scared."

"I don't know Cousin Cruz. Maybe it's your argyle sweater onesie?"

Great-Grandma Hoodjer gave Charly her first piano lesson. She was somewhat of a prodigy. Just ask Grandpa Curt.

On the third day of Christmas . . . even more presents! This girl was a little spoiled.

Halfway through her presents and she crashed on her new Pillow Pet. I wonder if they make those for adults . . .

Christmas is exhausting!

We hear ya girl! This year, Christmas was a three-day marathon for us. Driving to Allison. Back to Cedar Falls. Then back to Allison. And back to Cedar Falls. Finally, back to Allison then back to Cedar Falls. But it was great to spend so much quality time with our families and fun to see Charly experience the Spirit of the Season for the first time.