It's A Family Party!!!

We were excited to have a party at Grandma and Grandpa Jackson's house. There were about 20 people at their house when it was all said and done!

Charlotte was all about the attention...and baby Lyla and Mac of course. She LOVES kids.

Mac was a little more active than her but that didn't stop her from trying get all up in there and play just as hard as him.

Aunt Barbara (Aunt Bobby) got to meet our little guy. And she got to snuggle him right to sleep...

Lyla was nice enough to share her Grandma Bobby with Sawyer.

Such a pretty girl! We loved that we finally got to meet her.

Naturally the boys were outside shooting at things... people... animals... birds... you know, why not???

Sawyer was hanging out with the boys for awhile... all dressed up and decked out in his party gear.

His bib I put him in said, "Am I really related to these people?"

Uncle Donnie shooting at Santa. Kidding. Just aiming at some feather friends.

Charlotte skipped her nap which is always a bad idea. BUT she is only around the family every once in awhile so we went with it. The no nap is starting to take it's toll on our popular little girl.

Aunt Valerie was able to come visit and finally meet Sawyer! She brought her two main men with her as well, Uncle David and Ryan. It was great to see them as well.

Charlotte got a treat. No wonder she took a nap after this. Kidding. She didn't get anything from it. It was empty.

So, Charlotte did not like Santa Clause in person. She would not sit on "Hoho's" lap or give him the time of day. HOWEVER, as soon as Uncle David walked into Grandma and Grandpa's house, she instantly was calling him "Hoho". She didn't let everyone hold her and she didn't necessarily give everyone the time of day. She did, however, let David hold her and hang out. And she kept wanting to know where"Hoho" was. So funny.

We enjoyed a delicious meal of lasagna and spaghetti. There were people everywhere!! The best way to have a family meal.

Naturally right before dinner Charlotte crawled up on my lap and wanted to go to sleep. She had reached to point of no return. So I got her to sleep and then I handed her over to Aunt Adrienne. She drooled all over Aunt Adrienne BUT she enjoyed her snuggles.

Sawyer had his own little "safe" area and was playing by Aunt Robin.

We had to end up waking Charlotte up and having her eat.

After she enjoyed some spaghetti, we got to bring out her birthday cake that Grandma and Grandpa got her.

She was so excited!!

Everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to her.

She was still half asleep and didn't quite know what to do.

Daddy was preparing her to blow out the candle. Check out Mac in the background... he was ready to help her blow if she needed help.

Getting ready to blow!!

Blowing.

Time to serve up some delicious cake!

Grandma and Grandpa Jackson got Charlotte her first scooter!!!!

The smile says it all.

A family shot!! (Thanks Cullen for taking this group shot!)

The only people we were missing were Valerie, David, and Ryan. They left before we thought to take this picture.

Aunt Ashley helping Charlotte roll on her scooter.

Adrienne was getting her snuggles with Sawyer in. This was before he cried for an hour.

I'm glad Cullen gets my sense of humor. This is his "I'm too cool for a picture" kind of face. Sweet Cullen. Feel free to use this as a profile picture on something :)

We had a fabulous time seeing everyone. That is one of the things that is not great about being so far from everyone... we only get to do this every once in awhile. But because we are far away and things like these are few and far between, it does make them that much more special. 

Thank you to everyone who came out to meet Sawyer and to celebrate Charlotte's birthday with us. She really loved her cake and all of her presents (naturally). We really did have a great time! 

Adrienne and I decided to become a bottle of liquor and get into the hot tub on the back porch for hours. Needless to say, the more we drank, the quicker time went! We hadn't seen each other in years and it was so great to be reunited :) We had a blast!!!! The hot tub was amazing and the perfect way to just relax...stress free. Alex took care of Sawyer and I slept with Charlotte in Amelia's room.

Thanks, Al, for the help. Momma needed a night off :) 

Life's A Beach

Mimi lives in Surfside Beach, SC. She lives in a community that is located across the street from the Atlanta Ocean. It's awesome. She has a golf cart (a new one) and to get to the beach, you just hop in and it's a short drive away. It is perfection.

Mom and I took Charlotte to the beach. We knew she would go nut over the water.

She was ready to go!

Love these tiny feet prints.

She was in love with it all.

I love the reflection.

A perfect profile.

So busy.

She fell on her booty. The water was definitely chilly.

This child loves the sand. She was so happy about it.

This is a bit blurry but I LOVE IT.

What a perfect day.

Our trip to the beach ended with Charlotte losing her balance when the water came up around her ankles. She fell on her booty and got scared and started crying. We loaded her up in the cart and headed back to Mimi's house. When we got back there, Sawyer was still sleeping and Mimi was relaxing in her chair. We hung out for a while longer then we got on the road back to Charleston. Charlotte was needing her afternoon nap. We really had a great time with Mimi. It was a terrific visit. 

When we got back to Charleston, I got the kiddos settled and I got ready. Niki picked me up and we met Leslie J, Diane, Callie and Jamie at Wild Wing. We had a delicious dinner then Callie, Leslie, and I stayed for drinks and dancing. We had a great time!!! It was so good to be back with my PJ dancing friends. We loved our night and it made me realize just how much I really miss them. They all looked beautiful, amazing, and happy :)  Thank you to Niki and Leslie for toting me around so I could leave my car at the hotel for my mom...in case of an emergency.

What a fabulous day!!!! One more day in Charleston...

A Visit to Mimi's House

On the morning of January 11, 2013, we got up and left the hotel by 9 am...and it was a pretty successful morning. Charlotte has a "thing" right now where she does not like to get ready, dressed, or have her hair done. Hates it. But she threw minimal fits this particular morning which puts everyone in a MUCH better mood.

We got to Mimi's house in Surfside Beach a bit after 11. She was ready and waiting (and had apparently gotten her days mixed up. She thought that the day before was actually Friday and the day we were coming.) We had prepared Charlotte to see "Dadda's Mimi" (she calls her Aunt Anne Marie "Meemee". So she is "Aunt Meemee" or "Momma's Meemee".)

Charlotte went right to Mimi. She was so excited that we were going to open presents with Mimi...since we weren't able to be back in SC during the month of December. 

Charlotte was so proud of the calendar Momma had made for Mimi. She loved looking at the pictures in it.

Sawyer was so happy to be hanging out and rolling around on a blanket instead of sitting in his carseat.

Charlotte LOVED the pictures and took so much pride in pointing out the people she knew.

Charlotte and Sawyer LOVED their presents from Mimi. They got so many fabulous treasures... clothes, rubber ducks, shoes, a bible... 

Love this picture!

Sawyer was in great spirits.

We got loaded back up in the car and headed out to lunch. We took Mimi out. I know that she loves to get out of the house and the very last thing I wanted her to do was have to make us a meal. (She always makes a delicious 8 course meal.) We took her to Texas Roadhouse. Charlotte loved it...and the cinnamon/sugar butter. Big fan!!!

We then headed back to her house to hang out. 

This was not even planned!!! Hilarious.

We were so thankful Gigi was able to come with us to SC. Without her we couldn't have made this trip.

Charlotte was too funny with Mimi. At the restaurant, she helped her walk in and out of the restaurant. She was even helping her with her cane. When we got back to the house, Charlotte was out on the porch yelling "Dadda's Mimi!!"

Charlotte had a blast with Mimi. We ended up heading down to the beach and Sawyer took a nap on the couch with Mimi. 

Life's a beach...