Barnyard Bash

Last year it was a Hawaiian Luau, this year it was a Barnyard Bash! After discovering Etsy and all the amazing stuff that people can create, I was able to get some really cute invitations and decorations. A little online searching and I came up with some cute cupcake and cake ideas too!

Charlotte was a little overwhelmed with the crowd of people at first, and was very clingy to Mommy, but quickly adjusted once some of her buddies arrived. Overall she had a fun time at her big birthday party!

Some pictures of the decorations and sweet treats -




The birthday girl -








Having fun with the guests!



After the excitement died down a bit and most of the guests had left, we decided to open presents! Charlotte got some really fun stuff, no duplicates which is always amazing, and has been having a great time playing with her gifts ever since.







We were all exhausted after the big event, and thankfully Charlotte took a nice long nap! Happy Birthday to our sweet (still little) girl! :)

Charlotte is 2!

May 13th, 2010...Charlotte Olivia Gould is now 2 years old! Where the heck did the time go?! I am convinced that it was only a few months ago that we were celebrating her 1st birthday. My baby is growing up too fast :(

Charlotte's actual birthday was on a Thursday, so we celebrated by opening up some presents before our yummy cinnamon roll breakfast.



We had a pretty normal day after that, besides a meeting that I had to go to for MOPS, but then celebrated with Grandma with "dinner" and ice cream at Friendly's. As soon as we walked in the door of the restaurant, Charlotte was basically begging for ice cream. It doesn't help that there are pictures of it ALL OVER the restaurant. So, she ate a few pickle slices, drank her milk, and scoffed at the rest of her meal - a yummy (in the opinion of most) grilled cheese. On any other day, I would have refused her ice cream because she didn't eat her dinner, but how could I do such a thing on her birthday?! Especially since I knew full well that this was going to happen since she has become a much pickier eater in recent weeks. Anyway, the wait staff came out and did their little song and dance and presented Charlotte with her conehead sundae. She thoroughly enjoyed it!

Big Truck Days

Our good friend Brayden and his Mommy Julie gave us the idea to attend the Town of Herndon's Big Truck Days! The department of public works puts on this week long event so kids can get an up close and personal look at all the big trucks and other equipment that they use. Not to mention police cars and motorcycles, real working traffic lights, and CONES! Woo hoo! I wasn't sure what Charlotte would think since she isn't too interested in trucks, at least not as much as her Cousin Gabriel, but she had a fun time.

Ok, so i'm WAY behind...

Instead of trying to backtrack and write a bunch of blog posts about separate events that I may or may not remember specific details of, I've decided just to post some cute pics from the past month or so that I haven't been keeping up with on here! Then, I will try my best to get back to regular posting.

Random assortment...



Easter 2010



Frying Pan Farm

Dinosaur Park

Another nice day = another trip to the park! This time we ventured a little farther out to Ashburn (Dinosaur) Park in, you guessed it, Ashburn! Julie and Brayden were also at the park with us. This park is rather large - 4 different play structures with various slides, climbing walls, tunnels and other activities. Plus, there were swings and other climbing and ride-on things.

When we first arrived at the park, a class full of students from the nearby elementary school were at the playground working on a project. Once they left it was a little quieter and easier for the little ones to walk around the playground and play on the structures safely. As most trips to the park end with these two little buddies, Charlotte and Brayden made a nice collection of sticks, acorns and mulch on the bench!



After we left the park, we headed to Brambleton so I could take a look at the specialty toy store there. It is called 'Go Bananas' and they have a lot of great stuff - crafts, educational toys and brands that you won't find at toys r us or target...our usual stops. Charlotte had fun playing with the train table they had set up, as well as the mini baby grand piano!



We managed to get the two kiddos out of the toy store without much fighting, then grabbed a quick lunch at California Tortilla. It was a close call, but we made it all the way home without Charlotte falling asleep and I was able to get her down for a good nap at home! It was a busy, productive and fun morning out with our friends!

Music, Friendly's and Backyard Fun

Wednesday mornings we go to music class with our friends Julie, Brayden, Dona and Patrick, plus several other kids and their moms too! Charlotte has been a bit cautious of the teacher over the first few classes, but is slowly warming up to him. On this particular day we had a substitute teacher, a female, whom Charlotte seemed to warm up to really quickly. She is the director of the local program and was really on the ball. Ok...so she was kinda weird. She had her young son with her, who I later found out was 2.5 years old (this will mean more later). When class started, her son was laying in her lap acting kinda whiny. The teacher proceeds to tell us that "he usually nurses throughout class." Um, what?! So, she lifts up her shirt and he goes to town. So that was a little weird. Even weirder...her doing clapping and other various hand motions to the music while this was happening. Weirder still...her PLAYING THE FLUTE while this was going on. Anyways, I have no problem with nursing obviously, but it was just really odd in this scenario.

Moving on to more normal and exciting activities! After music class, Patrick and Dona joined us for a stroll (and a few purchases) at Kohl's. Then, we headed over to Friendly's for lunch and the inevitable ice cream treat. We had a fun time at lunch, and the kids really enjoyed their ice cream!



We made it home without falling asleep, and Charlotte took a great nap. After she woke up we wandered into the backyard to play with the small slide we have.

Steve's Birthday

Steve turned the big 3-2 this year and we had a fun filled weekend of activities to celebrate! On Saturday night we had a fiesta and invited some of our friends over. Charlotte enjoyed playing outside while we hung out on the deck in the beautiful weather. She got to eat her dinner outside on the deck and really enjoyed that! Hopefully we'll be able to do that more often in the Spring and Summer.

Sunday afternoon we had yet another birthday get together. This time, we had our family over for a pizza party! Charlotte loved playing with her cousins Madeline and Gabriel. It was another nice day so we were able to get outside. The kids ate outdoors and played with bubbles on the deck.

It was a great weekend of celebration for Steve/Daddy!