Quiet Book

 Over Christmas break I started a quiet book with my sister Melissa. It was something I have been wanting to do for a long time and decided to finally do it. We went to Wal-Mart one night (about an hour away) and bought all the materials and then after the kids were in bed each night we would work on it. My Mom helped me a lot with some of the ideas and putting things together. It was really fun to make and not as hard as I thought it would be. I got most of these page ideas from Pinterest so it was pretty easy to follow what someone else had done. I am definitely NOT my mother's daughter in the fact that I don't mind a little character/flaws throughout, so don't look too hard because there are definitely some minor errors on each page.. but it's for an 18 month old who won't care or notice! It's a pretty big book! I hope it will fit in my bag to church! I made each page from felt and then put it together with 3 metal rings. Spencer helped me punch each page with a metal circle to fit the rings into. I sewed the pages together so you couldn't see all my stitchings on the back of each page. Most everything is made of felt, which is really easy to work with and cut!

10-12 month video

Here is the last video of Charley's first year! This one covers 10-12 months. I had so much footage and pictures that I have been having to do a few months at a time!

Mini Photo-shoot with Tiffany

 My cousin Tiffany Parrish is an amazing photographer! She has taught me a lot about photography and helped me get started in my own business. She is just about the sweetest person I know too! I really hope I can be as kind, loving and forgiving as her. When we were in Washington, we did a mini-photoshoot with my sisters and our kids. It was so fun to see her set-up and learn more from her! She took some really cute pictures of the kids too!

Dancing Charley! 

Cute baby JD! 

Charley- 18 months

 Today Charley turns 18 months! Spencer and I have always said that we have LOVED every stage and it is so true. There is something new each month and I swear she learns something different everyday. It has been so fun to watch Charley grow and learn. This age is certainly a steep rise in learning and knowledge. She is learning new words and understanding more and more. This seems to have it's pro's and con's. She says "peesh" (please) to EVERYTHING now which I can usually find out what she wants, but sometimes don't know what she is asking for. This is also hard because I want her to say please but then about 50 times a day she will open the fridge and say "peeesh" as she points to yogurt, cheese, snacks and fruit snacks. I give in more than I should because it's so dang cute to hear her say please and that she has learned to say it!

Yesterday we were at the Children's Museum and Charley saw a boy eating a bag of chips. She walked right up to up and said "peesh, peeesh" while rubbing her belly (the ASL sign for please). The boy looked at her like "no way!" and walked away. Charley was heart-broken and so we went to find a snack for her. It was pretty cute that she asked him though!

Charley is also so aware of other's around her. She will go up to strangers and hand them their water-bottle, purse or whatever is sitting right next to them. She wants to make sure they are actually holding it in their hand since it is theres. Today at reading time at the library she took a doll sitting next to a little girl and I was about to tell her to give it back, but she had taken it to give to her to hold instead of sit right next to her. She is also aware of other kids' adults looking after them. If another kid takes something from Charley, she will look at the caretaker/adult of that child like "are you going to do something?" She has done this multiple times because she is used to me doing it to her with other kids.

A week ago Charley passed out and it was the scariest thing ever! She has done this thing for months now that if she gets hurt and starts to cry too hard, she will take a huge breath and it will TAKE FOREVER for her to let it out. A few times she has gone limp and blue in the face but has finally taken that breath/scream while crying. I always tell Spencer she is going to pass out because it takes her so long to take that breath and he always says, "she will pass out before she dies..." Well this last time she really did pass out! She went limp and didn't take that breath that she normally does and went unconscious. I handed her to Spencer and he put his mouth over hers and blew air into her. Right away she sat up, took a huge breath and started crying. It was pretty scary, but I looked it up afterward and it's actually very common in kids. It's called a "breath-spell" and a lot of kids do it (sometimes multiple times a day) when they start crying. Luckily she only does it when she gets hurt and not when she's mad or angry. I guess she will grow out of it? :)

Likes: her friends James, Violet and Greyson, helping mom sew, getting into every cupboard in the house, going to the Children's Museum, BOOKS, singing songs, listening to Pandora Toddler station, watching home videos on Mom's phone, watching Elmo (lelma), seeing a dog, going on the train, seeing firetrucks and police cars, working out with Dad, getting the mail, she is really good at taking a "last bite" for dinner when I ask her to, bath-time, dancing to music, her milk (mi), as of now she says no for yes until we say "say Yes" and then you say "shhhh" (for yes). Whenever she sees a baby, she puts her finger to her mouth and says "sh" to be quiet.

Dislikes: being in the stroller while mom runs around the park (too bad kid), after bath time being cold (get it from her mama), having Mom or Dad brush her teeth, Dad brushing her hair (he is working on this little girl stuff).

Favorite Food: banana, avocado, grated cheese, frozen berries, craisens, nuts, yogurt
Favorite Book: ahh too many.. but she likes the two her Grandma's gave her for Christmas (one that makes animal sounds and a peekaboo Christmas book).
Favorite Toy: her baby doll and stroller
Favorite thing to do: go see dad at his desk, get into the cupboard with baggies and containers of sugar and flour
Favorite song: Elmo's song and ABC's
Favorite word: "peesh", "baby"
Sleep: 7:30pm-7am with a nap from noon-1:30pm
Words: about 20

We love this girl so much! 

Grandpa's funeral

We were planning on flying to Washington on the 17th, but ended up doing a little detour and stopping in Utah for a few days for my Grandpa Bradshaw's funeral. It actually worked out really well being able to see Spencer's family for Christmas and all of my Dad's side of the family at my Grandpa's viewing and funeral. It was a great weekend being in Utah and remembering and celebrating the life my Grandpa lived. He was such a great man and it really showed in the stories that were told and memories shared by family members. I took a lot of photos at the funeral to share with family members but also wanted to post a few here to remember too.

 While we were in Utah, we were also able to spend some time with Spencer's parents, go to the Curiosity Museum, see the Temple Square lights and eat at Chuck-O-Rama in honor of my Grandpa (his favorite). 

One of my favorite pictures with my Grandpa

Charley loved this washer and dryer at the Curiosity Museum! 

Such a beautiful song sung at my Grandpa's Funeral, "Come Thou Fount"

Charley loved playing in Grandma Ellingson's cupboards! She would take everything out and crawl inside. She also loved her toy closet downstairs and playing with all the new toys! 

Pregnant sisters both due in May!