We’re sitting here on a Sunday night in our living room with decaf coffees in hand, catching up on missed shows on the DVR.  The dog is snuggled up by my legs and the warm glow of the laptop reflects our warm, happy glow.  I keep looking up and Greyson and we smile.  We just spent the weekend celebrating Charlotte’s 2nd birthday.  We were so busy I failed at my goal of posting every day in November for NaBloPoMo.  Oh well.  I don’t care.  We had that much fun.  

The fabulous Brooke from Brooke Wolfe Photography took pictures at the party.  I will post them soon!  Check out her site and like her on Facebook.  She is a doll, I love her!  The photos in the post are Instagram pics for now.  

I didn’t write this on Charlotte’s actual birthday, November 2nd, so I’m writing it now.  

Dear Charlotte,

You woke up the morning of your 2nd birthday grinning and giggling in your crib.  Daddy and I came upstairs to greet you together.  I was able to take the day off and Daddy took a half-day.  For a week you have been practicing.  You say, “Happy Birfday Chalatte!”  Even when we discussed what you would say on Halloween when you went to neighbors’ doors you said, “Happy Birfday Chalatte!”  We laughed and taught you how to say “Trick-or-Treat!”  We ask you how old you are and you say, “Two!”  We are not certain you’re a genius, but we think you’re pretty close anyway.

We came downstairs and you saw your tricycle.  You knew exactly what to do.  You hopped right out of Daddy’s arms and went straight for your trike.  You said, “Abby hat!” When you saw your helmet.  After breakfast when you got back on your tricycle you asked for your “hemet!”  You had your tricycle for all of 10 minutes before you flipped forward over the handlebars.  Fortunately you had your “Abby hemet” on and only cried a little after the initial scary “boom.”   You got up, and got right back on.  That is you in a nutshell, Charlotte, determined.

I spent the whole day soaking you up and taking in your “twoness”.  You are at an age where I’m amazed by everything you do and everything you’re learning.  Some time in the past year our little baby grew into a little person.  You have thoughts, feelings, ideas, opinions, and wants.  You repeat and remember things.  Your speech has exploded in recent months.  You can name your friends in your class.  Your teachers say you are excellent with your artwork, songs, and flashcards.  The other day you remembered your friend Jackson’s name starts with “J”.

Your list of loves is long.  You love coloring with your crayons, stickers, blocks, your baby dolls, your new Little People farm and truck, and you LOVE books.  You want us to read to you constantly.  When we’re not reading to you, you flip through books yourself.  We hear you point to pictures and “read.”  Sesame Street is still your favorite and captures your imagination.  The gang on Sesame Street are all your buddies.  You call them by name and run to any image of them you see.

We haven’t had your 2-year-old well appointment yet, but I think you’re about 23 lbs.  You are small compared to your friends, but you are mighty.  You still fit comfortably in your size 18 mo. clothes.  Anything 24mos. or 2T is too big.  There are even some old 12 mos. sizes you can squeak by wearing.  You are Little Miss Tiny Feet with your size 5 shoes.  You have a great appetite.  You love bananas, eggs, tomatoes, apples, yogurt, cheese, and pizza the most.  Lately you have wanted to drink without a lid like a “big kid.”  You love your daily gummy vitamin and you make me brush my teeth along with you every night.  Your hair is thick and falls in curly waves.  It is light brown with slight blond highlights.  Everyone who sees you comments on your big blue eyes.

You have quite the personality.  You are fearless.  I have seen you attempt to hang off playground equipment and dive head first into a bouncy castle full of kids twice your size.  You love your friends in your class, but do have a tendency to boss them around a bit.  You are headstrong and defend yourself with a hair pull or a hit.  We have been putting you in Time-Out for that behavior and you are getting better.  There are many times, though, that you hurry to comfort a crying friend in your class or give your teachers a high-five.

We are so proud of you!  You make our world so much better and we love watching the person you are becoming.  I’m so excited for the next year and all that being 2 brings.

I love you, my darling, darling girl.

Love,

Mama

Happy National Blog Posting Month! Better known as NaBloPoMo. Yep, I’m trying to write a post every day of November this year. Hmmm. We’ll see how it goes. I did about 25 of 30 days for NaBloPoMo ’11. I’m feeling even better for ’12.

Wish me luck. We have a big two days with Charlotte’s birthday tomorrow and party on Saturday. For today, just enjoy a glimpse of our Halloween.

Leave a comment with a link to shots of your costumed kiddos! There is nothing better than cute kids in costumes. Happy November!

(Sorry these didn’t post the first time.  Oh, and she was a cupcake.  Some people couldn’t tell.)

We’re kind of a big deal in the local toddler birthday party circuit lately.  (I hope you read that sentence in Ron Burgandy’s voice.)  It  seems like every weekend we’re at some preschool hot spot or in a suburban backyard sipping juice boxes.  That’s just how we roll.  Don’t hate.  Mama’s gotta get her cupcake fix.

We’re in full-tilt party planning mode as Charlotte’s 2nd birthday is Friday and her party is Saturday.  I’ll let you in on a secret.  I love it.  I stayed up well past midnight Saturday night cutting out “2’s” and “C’s” for her Sesame Street soiree.  Oh, how our weekend “partying” has changed!

I’ve noticed something about the last five parties for 2 and 3 year-olds that we have attended.  At every one of these shindigs, the Birthday Girl or Boy did not open their gifts in front of their guests.  These were parties both in homes and at local attractions.  Granted, there were a couple of parties we had to leave early.  They may have opened presents after we left, I dunno.  We hung around late at the party for the son of our very close friends.  Most people had gone when I asked if  he could open his gift from us because I knew the parents would get a kick out of the present we found for him.  Other than that, I didn’t even know if the child got their gift until the Thank You note.  (Which annoys me by-the-way.  I’m not a fan of the Thank You note.  I personally think it’s unnecessary and I feel silly when I get one.  I’m not giving you a gift to get a note about it.  I also procrastinate when writing them.  I know!  I know!  Call Miss Manners!  I’m an outrageous faux pas!)  

Anyway, I got to thinking about Charlotte’s 1st birthday party.  Did I commit a major kid party no-no last year when my then one-year-old opened her stack of presents in front of everyone?  Did I bore my guests to tears and come across as an attention seeking moron mom?

I personally like seeing the child open their gifts.  They get to tear paper to reveal some noisy, blinking nonsense.  It’s cute.  Who doesn’t like seeing a kid get a present?  I considered having Charlotte just open friend gifts at the party and save family presents for later.

What is the etiquette these days?  Is there a rule, or is it decided on a party-by-party basis?  What have you done in the past?  What have you experienced at other parties?  Should I have her open her gifts in front of the group, or wait until later?

I’m excited to hear your take on this.  Thanks!

(Oh, and I did write Thank You notes and I will again this year too.  Relax.)

All week long I’ve been remembering things to write about and snapping a quick cell phone pic when I had a free second.  Let me tell you.  That was rare my friends.  I had been looking forward to writing every day this week and linking up with Melissa at Adventuroo for her annual “Week In My Life.”

But, during this week. That wasn’t going to happen.  I was extremely busy at work and out-of-town for two days.  So, I’m just doing a recap of the week.  Here is this crazy week in my life.  Well, what I can remember, anyway.

Monday:

I didn’t know this was the week until I read a post from Erin about it.  Oops.  I didn’t record much this day.

8:30am-  I was really psyched to get into work to talk to people about the real-life soap opera that is our local school board.  I covered this cluster as a news reporter.   My jaw dropped into my coffee Sunday morning when I read a breaking newspaper article about board members running for statewide office who supposedly had an illicit affair.  Ah politics!  It’s dirty and totally irresistible.

6:00pm- I got to play with my girl because Lord knows I wouldn’t be able to later in the week.  I had to take a picture of this smile in mismatched pajamas pushing Cookie Monster in the doll stroller.

Tuesday:

7:30am- I needed to be at work at 7:30am and got stuck at the train tracks.  Not for a train.  For maintainance.  Really?!  Ya’ll couldn’t handle that at 3:00am? You had to wait until I was rushing into work.  Thanks for nothing.  (Side note:  I still lift my feet when I go over the tracks.  Please tell me you know what I’m talking about.)

9:00am- I got to take some cool photos for clients at work.  I loved the setup we had and the chance to stretch my photographic abilities.  Some of the guys in this particular office rushed in about this time and said, “Did you see LeBron?!?”  Now, as far as I know there is only one LeBron in the world.  If there are more, I don’t know who they are.  I looked down to the street from the office window and saw the reflection of the Miami Heat’s bus in the window of the Marriott.  Some people had waited to see LeBron James and company exit the hotel before heading to our local arena.  They had an exhibition game that night.

12:00pm- I grabbed a quick bite with a coworker before spotting an old family friend to chat with. I got a parking ticket.  Little did I know, this would be just the first time I would curse the City of Raleigh’s parking enforcers this week.

5:30pm-After meetings back at the office all afternoon I got to go pick up Charlotte.  She did not care that I was there and was engrossed in a book about a duck and a goose.  I had to bribe her with a pumpkin visit to even get her to come home with me.  She happily greeted the pumpkins at the front of her school.

Wednesday:

6:30am- Let the madness begin!  My coworker, Jen and I headed 1 1/2 hours out-of-town Greensboro for a meeting.  I love her and love working with her.  Thank goodness, because we spent loads of time together this week.  We may or may not have grabbed a quick bite at the IHOP on the way out-of-town and I may or may not have ordered the Pumpkin Pancakes.  Holla!

4:00pm-  Okay, here’s where things get interesting, well, annoying.  I arrived at a huge work event in downtown Raleigh.  I unloaded equipment from my car and went to move my car to our designated parking area.  I turned on one busy street.  Bam!  Battery died in my Jeep.  I frantically coasted into a parking spot on the street.  I tried to crank my engine, but it sounded like someone had put nail polish remover in my gas tank.  Shoot me.

To make things even better, some lady with City of Raleigh parking informed me that I was 6″ over the line, and thus not actually in a spot.  One of her coworkers with a ticket printer made me put money in a meter before the woman informed me I had to move by 6:00pm, or the city would tow me.  Oh, did I not mention that my portion of this company event started at 5:30pm sharp?!?  Thankfully a coworker suggested the ladies in my office wear flats as I rushed down the street, frantically searching my wallet for my AAA card.  Naturally it was stuck between my Dunkin Donuts coffee card and library card.

I informed my very understanding coworkers of my predicament before hopping in the AAA car with Robert.  I apologized for eating my boxed dinner in his car, but I was starving and I knew it was the only time I could eat anything.  We drove down the block to my stranded Jeep.  Robert saved my ass and I would have kissed him if I weren’t a married woman.  I had a corroded battery that he fixed by 5:15pm.  You’re my hero Robert!

8:00pm-  Greyson let Charlotte stay up a little late.  I made it home just in time for a story.  I had 10 precious minutes with her the entire day.  It hurt my heart to have such a brief time, but I soaked up every second.

Thursday:

5:30am-  I hit the road.  I had to drive 3 hours to Charlotte.  I sucked down some coffee and snacked on some dry Cheerios.  I seriously wish I had eaten more.

8:30am-  Meeting #1

11:00am- Meeting #2 after maneuvering through the world’s most annoying parking deck.  Jen and I carrying photo equipment through SUV’s squeezed into compact car parking spots was quite comical.  We got to eat around 1:00pm as I tried to call my sister.  I knew she worked in the building across the street and I would have loved to hug her.

3:00pm-  Meeting #3

4:00pm-  I got back on the road only to sit in terrible traffic!  I called Jen to complain because I knew she too was sitting in her car on I-85.  We decided we were true Raleigh girls who seriously needed to get out of the  Queen City.

7:30pm-  I got another 10 minutes with my child.  ::sigh::

9:30pm- As if Jen and I hadn’t seen enough of each other.  I texted her this pic of me to get her opinion about my outfit.  Girls.

Friday:

8:00am-  I made it!  Poor Greyson had to take Charlotte to school because I forgot I left the car seat at work since I had to load the Jeep with equipment.  I was at a client meeting for a video shoot from 8:00am-11 ish.

Noon-  Friday Mexican Lunch with coworkers!  Ole!

4:00pm-  The office closed early and I had some time to make up with my girl.  Ice cream date!

6:00pm-  The babysitter came.  I had a hot date at our favorite French restaurant.  Oui!

Saturday-  

10:00am- You remember that party I effed up last week?  Yeah, we got to go this week.  Beth Anne threw an adorable and creative construction themed party with Bojangles biscuits as “Bricks and Stone.”  My baby ate the bacon outta that thang like a boss!

Some time in the afternoon:  The Tar Heels won!  They beat NC State after a bit of a losing streak.  The final play was epic and made ESPN’s top play of the day.

9:00pm-  After a day of house showings I stayed up until 1:30am making decorations for Charlotte’s party this coming Saturday.  I think I have a party planning problem.

Sunday:

Happy Birthday Mama!  It’s my mom’s birthday.  We already celebrated my family’s October birthdays a few weeks ago.  It is also the 2nd anniversary of my due date.  

Have a great week, everyone!

Hello my dear readers!  I’ve missed you this week!  Please excuse my absence.  This has been the single busiest week I’ve had since starting my new job.  Things are busy, but good.  I have not even had time to eat, let alone blog or Tweet.  I appreciate your understanding.

I want to share this little nugget I’ve been enjoying lately.  When I catch it on TV I can’t stop smiling and giggling.  Everything about this reminds me of Charlotte and her epic, beautiful bed head.  I hope she, and all these baby girls feel this pretty their whole lives.  Enjoy!