Charli Suttyn: 6 Months

*You are a big growler these days and sound like a sweet little lion cub. :) It's not usually because you're upset, just a way of expressing yourself. Ha! We usually hear you during nursing, playtime, and sometimes just to get our attention. 

*You are reaching and grabbing for everything!  So much so, that you have flipped yourself right out of your bumbo reaching for stuff! Thankfully you were NOT hurt, but you gave Pamaw quite the scare!

 *With all that reaching for things, you like to stick it all in your mouth.  You've been chewing and chopping on everything you can get your hands on....especially Sophie and your butterfly.

*You are still as smiley as ever!

*You are sitting up so great now!  You think you're big stuff and your face is always so cute once you realize that you're sitting on your own.

*You DO NOT like baby food or rice.  I have tried and tried and tried to no avail!  So we're on to whole foods.  The first bit of food you ever had was peas and you loved them (just like your momma)!  I'm so thankful to find you like something other than milk!

*You say "da da da da da dahh" all the time!  Your daddy is pretty proud of this big milestone that you've recently accomplished and likes to rub it in constantly.  I'm still waiting for my big moment!

*We've been catching you with your feet in your mouth recently and you love your new trick!  And your toes, by the way, are super cute. 

*You have found your tongue!  It is so sweet how you are constantly sticking it out and rolling it around your mouth, all the while with your big grin on. :)

Charli, you are seriously sooo precious!  We love watching you grow and explore and can't wait to see the milestones you will surpass next!  

Merry Christmas! (Late)

Hope you and yours had a fabulous Christmas! We have been busy cleaning up the craziness that ensued after the many presents that the kiddos received! Whew! But....most important of all, we've been trying to soak up this wonderful time of year when we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. May the rest of your holidays be merry!

Our Crazy Class Party!

A group shot of the girls

Now for the boys

This picture of Ryan cracks me up.  I feel like it's the start of a Saturday Night Live skit.

Meredith was so happy to get the tin man!

And someone was clearing out their pumping supplies

MJ in the house!

Andrea sporting the nice hat/wig combo that she acquired!

This looks like an old home movie....like the Griswald crew trying to figure out an antique thermometer. :)

Brandi was lucky enough to get the track suit this year.  It keeps making it's way back!

I can't even explain the laughs that went on between the three of us girls.  My stomach was seriously hurting by the end and I'm sure Whitney and Heather had been hit, slapped, and pushed more than they appreciated (I tend get kind of aggressive when I think something's funny)!   

Curtis and Mel rocked their $2 thrift store finds

We have such a fun group of peeps!

How about this Rene sized sweater and my Clydesdale husband?

One more awesome sweater

The night couldn't have been better.  Jason and I have been teaching in the preschool area at church and sometimes feel a little disconnected to our class because we're not in there as much as usual, so our Christmas party came at just the right moment.  It was so fun to spend some uninterrupted time with our friends, enjoy life, and embrace this wonderful Christmas season!   

 

Santa and Ansley's Christmas Program

"Who is this Santa guy, mommy?"

This was Ansley's question a few weeks ago.  I looked at her kind of surprised.  I guess she temporarily forgot about last year when she wanted to just look at him from a distance?? Who knows. Anyways, after giving her some information on Santa, she had decided she'd like to talk to him.  I was hoping she'd be interested.  We were going to have 2 opportunities to see Santa....Downtown and at Healthpoint Plaza.  

Here was our Downtown pic.  It's a picture of a picture, so it looks pretty cruddy.  Also, I somehow missed the one of Brynn with the girls. :/

Ansley told Santa she wanted a Princess Castle for Christmas.  It was so sweet.

On another day, we went to Healthpoint with our new outfits from Aunt Soni.  How precious is this?!

And then...Charli grabbed his beard AND refused to LET GO!  Santa was NOT amused.

Other than the beard mishap, both girls did well.  However, Ansley didn't think it was necessary to tell him what she wanted again.  Alrighty!

Then, we had Ansley's Footprints Christmas music program at Lynwood.  Heather did the music this year and it was so precious.  This was Ansley's face when they first got out there.  She looked a little timid and then as you can see....livened up!

The little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head

The itsy bitsy baby...in the manger lay!

After the program, she wanted to show us all her twirls

She is still singing her songs!

Charli enjoyed seeing her big sis on stage!

Afterwards, we had a happy birthday, Jesus party and then the kiddos ran around together like hoodlums. :)

It's so fun to see the progression into big kid activities and we're trying to soak up every minute of it because we know this time won't last long.  I love the fact that she loves baby Jesus and music.  Bonus!  

Update on Our BIG girl, Ansley.

I feel like a lot of posts have been about Charli recently because she's the newbie to the family and all, but Ansley has been absolutely JUST AS precious the past year and I don't think I've spent enough time documenting what she's been up to.  So....here it goes.

*She loves to snuggle.  It's on her top 10 list of things to do and we LOVE it.  In the morning, she asks for 2 things....milk and the "T.D." (T.V.) on.  I know that snuggling is a given in this situation and I couldn't be happier about that.  Jason gets his snuggles in at night right before bed and usually he extends her bedtime if she agrees to snuggle.  Weak!  She has daddy wrapped around that little finger already!

*She has a thing about tooting.  When she toots, she says...."Don't tell Jesus I tooted." We die every time!  Also, she's very adamant about Jason tooting. Without fail she says, "I don't wuv Daddy when he toots".  True story.  Daddy gets a little upset about this.  Ha! AND we must always leave the bathroom when she's doing a #2 ("tan you go out, pwease").  I know this is more than you bargained for, but I want to remember these things forever!

*She has the most beautiful hair!  I know I'm VERY partial, but we cannot go anywhere without SOMEONE commenting on her golden, curly locks.  She must love them too.  She insists on her hair being down every day (I usually try to do it half up, so it's out of the way somewhat) and HATES it when I pull it all the way up.  Her teacher, Mrs. Chasity tells me often how she loves to wash her hands at the sink....smile...wash her hands...fluff her hair...wash her hands.....fluff her hair....and sing.  We are in big trouble.

*Speaking of singing....she loves to belt it out.  Most songs are ones she's learned in the car when Jason and I are listening and practicing our church cds, but others are from school, church, etc.  Our latest video is of her directing us (Jason, me, my mom and dad) as she sings a song that Heather and I sang at church.  She usually knows every word and when she doesn't, she continues on as if she does. 

*She is really into dancing right now.  Twirling is her new thing...hands cupped above her head, arms circled above...ballerina style.  It melts our hearts.  Her twirls get bigger and faster depending on the skirt that she gets to fling around....the bigger the skirt, the better...according to Ansley.  Usually there's also lots of singing involved with her interpretive dances too. She does have some moves, but we're trying to ignore that fact so we don't end up with heart palpitations. :)
     
*She loves all things, princesses.  She could spend hours playing with them and is already dreaming up her next birthday party celebration AND which princess theme we will be going with.

*She does spirals (a skating move I showed her when she was just a little thing) ALL the time.  She's never been able to get her leg straight completely, but she's getting so close and she always asks me to check her latest leg extension.  "Mommy wook at my spiral today".  It cracks me up.

*She LOVES Charli.  And I mean LOVES HER.  I can only pray that her gentleness, patience, excitement, love, pride in her continues, because the bond that has grown between them is beyond words.  It almost brings me to tears to see their sweet little interactions together.  Ansley calls Charli..."sugarbabe" and "Char" most of the time, but others come out from time to time too.  It's seriously too much for my heart to handle.

*She always wants us to pray with her before bed.  We started this when she was just an itty bitty baby and we love to see how her prayer life has grown since then.  She always wants to pray for others and loves for us to pray for her and Charli.  Usually when we start praying for her she stands up, throws every possible body part around us, and just squeezes.  I will never forget these sweet embraces for as long as I live and I will never forget those tender moments when she says...."I love you sooo much, Mommy".  No matter what the circumstances of the day have been...she never fails to do this.  And that's why I love this job.

*She is quite the teacher.  She loves to read to "the class" aka, me (like a teacher), talk with inflection (like a teacher), and discipline (like a teacher).  She's clearly surrounded by lots of teachers (Pamaw, Aunt Whitney, and Aunt Laura.  Not to mention, her school and church teachers).  She also loves to explain that "the bible is a very special book.  It's God's True Word".  That it is, Ansley.  That it is.  And then my heart exploded.

*She is a touch accident prone.  I hate to even list this, but it's true.  The girl can get herself into a pickle in no time flat.  She usually has an array of bumps, bruises, and boo boo's, but is quick to keep on going with a kiss and a strawberry shortcake band-aid.  She is a tough one most of the time and likes it when we show her how to "shake it off".

*She loves to play outside....the cabin, her play-set, underneath our weeping cherry tree....the list goes on.  Most of all, I love that she's content in almost any situation.    

Bottom line....Ansley is one of a kind.  She is precious, unique, full of spunk, smart, witty, all rolled into a cute little package.  We love you so much, Ansley Harper!                    

The Jackson High School Madrigal Feast was last Thursday night and several of our couple friends joined us for the evening (R &W, Mark and Heather, Kurt and Ashley, and Levi and Grace).  We went to support Jason's twin cousins, Mollie and Zach (aka Wadi and Zeke). Mollie had the honor of singing at the head table this year and Zach helped bring humor to the whole evening.  The singing was beautiful and it was so nice to have our friends to hang out with too.        

These guards stood watch over our table for a bit and we decided to get a picture with them.  This picture almost makes me pee my pants because Mark almost cut Heather right out of the it entirely.  Cracks me up!

Here's Mollie singing at the head table

Zach stood behind our table for most of the singing (when he wasn't the dragon).

Part of our group

It was another fun year at the Madrigal Feast. So sad that it's Mollie and Zach's last year, but even crazier that Ansley and Charli, Brynn, and the Mayhew kiddos will probably be in it one of these days! :(

The Road to Bethlehem

Last weekend we traveled to the little town of Delta for a walk-thru nativity called, The Road to Bethlehem.  We brought Ansley and my cousin, Chiara last year for the first time and they both loved it, so we thought it needed to be on our must-do Christmas list from there on out.  This year was no different, except that little Jansen came along this time and Charli was here to join in on the action too.  When you arrive, you are greeted by some ladies that hand you some coins for the marketplace and an angel ornament to take home with you.  While we waited, we sang along with a small band that played Christmas hymns to pass the time.  Ansley loved this part.      

So did Charli :)

Jansen wasn't really into getting his picture made, as you can see, but I wanted to get one of him anyway.

Ansley talked the whole night about seeing baby Jesus and then when we finally got to see him, she was indifferent.  Ha! Regardless, he was the star of the night!  

Ansley was quick to point out the 3 crosses that stood right outside of the exit, so we decided to take a quick family picture in front of them.

It was great to give Ansley a visual of what it was like when Jesus came to this Earth.  She really enjoyed it.  She was able to buy little things in the marketplace, see camels and other livestock while going through, and eat some chili and cookies afterwards.  She loved it, especially since Jansen was along. :)

Charli's first Parade of Lights

We went to the Christmas Parade of Lights a couple of Sundays ago (naptime almost made us miss the whole thing).  Oops....but we made it!  Ansley was so excited to get some candy and Charli was happy to see all the twinkling lights :).  Afterwards, we headed over to Whit's, mom and dad's house for some yummy chili and Harry & David dip.  Woo hoo!  We love this time of year and the festivities that go along with it! 

Charli looking cute in her crazy cyclops-looking hat at her first Parade of Lights (well, really it's her 2nd, she was tucked away in my belly last year). :)  

Tonight, we're headed downtown to see Santa Clause with the girls and Brynn (while Ryan and Whit go to a work Christmas party). It should be quite entertaining!

Charli's Baby Dedication

We dedicated our sweet little Charli on October 21st at our church.  It was a great day and we feel so incredibly blessed to be a part of an amazing church family and friends.  Charli was so good and just sucked on her little fingers for most of the presentation.  :) We didn't get any great pics, but I'm thankful for the ones we have to document the occasion.  Our main purpose in dedicating Charli was to publicly testify that we will raise her in a Christian home and teach her to love the Lord.  We hope that she will one day abide and embrace Him!  There were several families dedicating their children that day, it was so neat to see the stage packed!     

Afterwards, we went to Watami to eat for lunch.  Love that place!

Our chef :)

This girl loves the soup and rice!

A family picture outside our house under Ansley's favorite tree.

Daddy and Charli loving on each other

This girl can SMILE!

My mom and dad with the girls.  Hate that we didn't get one with Pamaw and Pappaw. :(

This was the picture in the bulletin.  Love that smile!

It was a great day and we pray that one day Charli will accept Christ as her personal savior so that she can know and love Him just as we do!