Some things are innate

Each day as Charlotte gets older I love watching little bits of personality come out. It's so funny to see the things that she does naturally on her own. Some of the innate characteristics/behaviors I find so endearing, others...mmmmm....not so much.

The following are examples of behaviors Charlotte has totally picked up on her own. She hasn't picked up these behaviors by Mike or mine example, and we didn't teach her these behaviors either.

1. Charlotte loves necklaces. She loves taking them off and on, wearing them around her neck, sucking on them, shaking them in the air, she can't get enough. Now friends, I NEVER wear necklaces. I'm not a big jewelry person AT ALL. Sure once in awhile I'll wear some Pretty Little Me earrings, but besides my wedding ring and a ring from one of my dearest friends, that's about all the jewelry I wear. She totally picked up on this habit on her own, she certainly didn't get it from me and she certainly didn't get it from her dad!

Endearing? Yes!

I don't want her too prissy but I do love the idea of her being a girly girl.

2. Charlotte is like any one year old. She's super curious and likes to test the boundaries. One day I had to tell her no, and remove her from the situation. I pick the girl up and she BITES ME. HARD!!!! I was shocked, hurt and pissed. Where did she get this behavior from? It seriously was just a natural instinct for her to bite. Luckily after a very firm no and some tears we haven't had a biting experience since. Please cross your fingers she doesn't bite again. I don't want to have a biter.

Can you see the teeth marks? This picture doesn't do justice to the horrific bite.

Endearing? NOT SO MUCH

3. I really don't like to carry a purse, even a diaper bag. I wear jackets specially so I can put the necessities in my pockets. Charlotte on the other hand loves purses and bags. She is constantly trying to wear them on her shoulder and carry them around. Such a girl.

Notice she is wearing a necklace in the pictures. Looks good with her Christmas pajamas right?

Yes, Charlotte still wears her Christmas pj's even if it almost April.

Endearing? Yes.

4. We got a baby for Charlotte for Christmas. (Stop what you are thinking, it's not for her to practice holding a baby for a baby brother or sister arriving soon. Not even CLOSE my friends. We just thought it would be sweet to get her one.) She loves that baby. She takes it everywhere. She gives it loves and kisses and I think it's so sweet. We haven't been around any babies, she doesn't see me hold one and take it everywhere, she just does it on her own. I love this new little behavior she has adopted. ONE day, later than sooner, Charlotte will be a great older sister.

Endearing? Yes and yes.

5. Charlotte has recently discovered noses. If she is sitting on your lap she will grab your nose and repeat the word nose over and over. She points to the baby's nose, the dog's nose, my nose, and her own nose. Well the other day as I'm cooking dinner, (Mike is gone so I stick her in her high chair with Baby Einstein on the lap top, so I can at least get one thing done without her pulling on my leg begging for me to hold her. Seriously dinner time is the hardest time of day! Anyone agree?) I look over and Charlotte has her finger IN her nose, still repeating the word nose over and over. Oh dear. Really? Not loving the idea of a nose picker.

Endearing? No.

Gross. Yes.

6. Charlotte just knows if she gets hurt or is sad she needs her mommy. Even if Mike is around, and something goes wrong, 99% of the time she comes to me. Kids just love their mommies.

Endearing? Yes.

Charlotte is not a natural snuggler.

She never has been.

So to get a hug from her is such a treat, even if it means she is sad.

Love this crazy pickle. She is a hand full and one stubborn girl, but man I love her spunky personality. I'll take a spit fire over a dud any day.

Love Affair

Charlotte is sleeping and I should be doing a million other things, but truth be told I've missed blogging, and I have to tell you about something.

For the past two weeks Mike has been working the overnight shift at the hospital. It's been pretty brutal for him. He would leave for work at 6:15 p.m. and come home the following morning about 7:30 a.m. head to our basement to sleep until about 5:00 p.m. and repeat the process all over again. It was a long couple of weeks. Poor Mike was always tired and Charlotte and I sure missed having our husband/dad around.

If you know me at all you know I hate being at home at night by myself. I don't sleep well. My mind lets unrealistic thoughts creep in which lead to nightmares, and movies going on my lap top nonstop through the night. This is the third time he has done this rotation and it's always a bummer to go through.

I'll tell you what made the evenings more bearable this time around on this rotation, my current love affair with Kristin Armstrong's book, Mile Markers The 26.2 Most Important Reasons Why Women Run. Once Charlotte was in bed and Mike had left for work, I'd cuddle up with this book and read until my heart's content.

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I LOVE THIS BOOK

I can't think of anything better than a book about running. Reading and running, two of my greatest passions, what could be better?

I don't usually get into these types of books, but I haven't been able to put this one down. Kristin so eloquently says exactly how I feel about running, mothering, discipline, relationships, and life in general. Mike makes fun of me for how much I love this book, but really Kristin says it perfectly, and nails it over and over again.

Let me share some of this goodness,

page 88 "We can't do anything well, not one single remarkable thing, without reaching far enough beyond ourselves that we are bound to fail from time to time."

page 251 "I train because I want to be someone better than I would be if I didn't train."

page 241 "My own talents and reserves often feel like a drought, insufficient for the harvest. And yet somehow God carries me beyond my expected yield."

page 81 "When it comes down to it, determination has a greater impact than giftedness"

page 69 "When we run we are showing our children, teaching without words, that we value ourselves, our hearts, our fitness, our health, our friendships, our clarity, and our balance."

Don't you love those? I could go on and on, but really you should just go buy it yourself. Whether you are a runner, or wanting to be one, buy this book. It will get you out there, help you to love it and see the good in becoming a runner.

Now Mike would really make fun of me for this one, but I ran a race over the weekend in St. George and I swear reading this book helped me get a new PR (personal record) in the 10k distance. When I hit another uphill in the last mile, I'll be honest, I wanted to slow down, I wanted to walk but I thought of what Kristin Armstrong said about facing hard spots in a race/life, "When you reach your limit, your wall, the end of yourself---what happens next? What do you find there? Release? Relief? Grace? Do you have a breakdown or do you break it down? Do you make a plan or an excuse? What gives-the terrain, your goal or you?....That's when you find out what you are really up against and, in that same sweet moment, what you are really made of."

Ok it's not like I was running a marathon, not even a half marathon but I was pushing myself harder than I have in a long time and I could feel I was losing steam, but thinking of these words helped me push through to the end. It made me question What am I really made of? How am I going to react when I reach my limit? Fo me, I want to keep going whether that's just in a 10k or surviving being a single mom for a month while Mike is spending endless nights and days at the hospital.

Seriously go get this book. I've already sent it to one of my sisters, who wants to start running,and she has loved it as well. And once you've read it call me and we'll talk all about it.

PS Lance Armstrong seriously blew it when he lost Kristin. What a loser.

California

After being in Las Vegas for a couple of days (see the post below) we headed to San Diego to spend a few days with Mike's parents who were vacationing in Pacific Beach.

The first day we got there was mid 60's and sunny. We headed straight to the beach for Charlotte's first experience with the ocean.

She loved it.

In fact she cried when we took her out of the water.

My babies. I love them.

Charlotte laughing at her grandma and snuggling Mike.

Walking along the beach. Thanks Steve for carrying ALL of our stuff.

Uh yeah that was the sunset the first night we were there. Not bad eh?

We had to take Charlotte to see the seals in La Jolla.

I don't know if Charlotte enjoyed the seals or sea gulls more.

Either way she was one happy girl seeing so many animals.

Our little family at the fancy Hotel del Coronado.

Out of all the things we did and saw by far the favorite was seeing Charlotte with her grandparents. (It had been a few weeks since she had seen them because they had been on vacation) Charlotte loved having her grandparents undivided attention and Steve and Carol, as always were so playful and fun with Charlotte. Thank you Steve and Carol for letting us come crash your vacation and for spoiling our little Charlotte.

Other highlights of our vacation:

** Going out to dinner with our friends the Foulgers. They were so kind to take time out of their very busy schedules to have dinner with Mike and I and one ornery baby.

**Going for walks along the beach with our little family

**Going out to dinner with the Circuit cousins.

**Eating breakfast at Konos. To die for my friends.

**Vacation Mike, vacation Mike, vacation Mike.

We had an excellent vacation.

Coming back from our trip was pretty hard as you know, but we are once again healthy and back to our routine.

Mike is super busy with his current rotation and Charlotte as always, is keeping me on my toes.

Things are good,I really can't complain, but...

I may or may not be already counting down to Mike's next week of vacation.

Las Vegas

Mike had a week of vacation in February and we decided to take full advantage of his week off and go on a week long vacation.

Vacation Mike was in full force, you know how I feel about vacation Mike.

We started our vacation by heading to Las Vegas for a couple of days. Mike's sister Jamie and her family so graciously allowed us to stay in their home for a couple of days. We loved seeing them and spending time with the Ericksons.

Mike surprised me for Valentine's day and got us tickets to see The Lion King. Jamie was so kind to watch Charlotte so we could have a night to ourselves. I'll be honest, it was the perfect way to spend Valentine's Day.

The show was incredible. INCREDIBLE. Music was fabulous, costumes were so creative and the entire production was unlike anything I had ever seen. Put it on your list of shows to see.

Other than our big night out, we kept our time in Las Vegas pretty low key. All we wanted to do was kick it with the Ericksons and we did. Charlotte seriously loved being around her cousins, Aunt Jamie and Uncle Paul.

Jamie's kids were so good with Charlotte. They totally entertained her and let her follow them around. We sure wish Katie lived close by, because she is the best baby sitter.

Ethan who is in fifth grade was absolutely darling with Charlotte. He read her stories, played peek a boo, and tag with her. Adam who is in second grade was quite patient with Charlotte. She often wanted to play with his toys and he was very good about reminding her nicely they were his toys. Quote of the week was by Adam, you Walkers will appreciate this, "I just kinda think babies are annoying, but she's cute." Sums up Adam perfectly.

The weather was warm and the sun shone the whole time while we were there. It was the perfect beginning to our vacation.
Thank you Ericksons for being such great hosts! You were so good to us. We love you guys.

Table Manners

I know I still need to post about our vacation. I just haven't had the energy to do a long post. Hopefully soon.

For now this post will have to do.

So we just started introducing eating off plates to Charlotte, as in today. (No idea when you start introducing this kind of thing, so I thought today is just as good as any.) She was doing well eating off her plate, enjoying her green beans and quesadilla when I looked over and saw Charlotte full on licking her plate. Yes licking her plate.

Yes I snapped a picture with my phone. I couldn't resist. This was too funny.

Please note, it's not like Mike or I do this.

Really I've never licked a plate, well at least not in front of Charlotte, and not for a long time.

It must be some innate desire that comes when the food your mom makes is sooooo good.

Haha, not really. Green beans? Quesadilla? Not that appetizing.

So now we will work on eating off plates AND keeping the plate on our tray rather than licking it.