Trying to be more crafty

As most of you know my mom made many blankets and burp clothes for Olivia. I did not make anything for that poor baby. I have started to try to be more crafty and artsy for Olivia and now Kylee. I made Olivia a new bow holder since she has so many bows on her other how holder. I am attempting (with A LOT of my moms help) to make Kylee's bed spread and bumper pads. We are also getting ready to paint her room and put up the chair railing. We are hoping to get Olivia moved into a big girl bed by the time baby girl gets here even though she will be in our room for the first few months. Gay left a day bed with one of Chris' cousins and they told us about it at Christmas and we are going to pick it up Friday for Olivia. I am hoping it is an easy transititon but we shall see.

 Our Christmas was such a blessing. We were able to spend time with all of our families and get to visit as much as we could while taking turns chasing Olivia around. She is such a busy bee! I am definetly ready for the day that we can sit as a family at someone else's house and eat dinner together. I feel so blessed to have a wonderful husband and beautiful daughter and one on the way. We are a very lucky family and God has given us so much to be thankful for.

I registered for the hospital the other day. It felt very surreal since I feel like we just found out we were expecting again. I go back for my first 3 week appointment January 11th and get to do the much dreaded glucose test. It is hard to believe that Kylee could be here in about 10-11 weeks if she comes early like Olivia. I have pulled some of the newborn clothes out and of course 3 months as well because we all know our babies are not small. I wonder if Kylee will look like me or Chris. Don't worry, I am not getting my hopes up that she will look like me ;)  I am just looking forward to meeting her and Olivia realizing that she is a big sister. Right now, she thinks there is a baby in her belly as well. Yes, it is cute but I would like for her to realize there is going to be a change before it happens. We shall see.....

Kylee Update 25 weeks and 4 days

Time has passed so quickly this pregnancy. I will be 26 weeks this Friday and will be starting my 3 weeks appointments. Kylee is doing great and today her heart rate was 153 beats per minute. She was moving all around while the nurse was trying to find her heartbeat. Chris and I are wondering if Kylee is going to be as busy as Olivia is. If so, we will have 2 wild monkeys running around and one tired momma next year. But all well worth it to have 2 beautiful girls. I have my glucose test January 11th and my doctor made sure to tell me no bread or pasta! Thanks, I realized that after I had to take the 3 hour glucose test with Olivia. I learned my lesson for sure and will be eating chicken and salad for 2-3 days before the test.

Christmas is rapidly approaching and I am not at all ready! I never realized it would be hard to plan a birthday party and Christmas shop at the same time. I need to get used to it!! Olivia is getting to know who Santa is but not quite sure what he does. It is so much fun getting to do Christmas things with her. I am hoping next year we will get to make a gingerbread house. We have Skinner Christmas this Thursday, Charbonneau Christmas Friday and then Christmas day with my family. It will be a busy but fun 3 days. Chris is taking next week off and Olivia and I are excited to spend the week with him before I go back on the 3rd. It will be our rest and relaxing week before we get back to the grind.

We want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy 2011! May God bless you and your families!

Olivia's 2nd Birthday




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Olivia on her moonwalk. Having a great time!!!

  
 

Yo Gabba Gabba cupcakes. YUM YUM!!!

We celebrated Olivia's 2nd birthday Saturday and she had a great time! We rented a moonwalk and I think the only time she wasn't jumping in it was nap time and when we had cake and opened presents. She is so very blessed to have such wonderful family and friends to help celebrate her birthday. Chris and I bought her a kitchen and she was so excited to play with it. Now, we just have to find a place for the kitchen and all the food!

Today is her actual birthday and it is still so hard for me to believe she is already 2! I can remember the day she was born like yesterday. It was the best day of our lives and we feel so lucky and blessed to have her. It has been so much fun watching her grow and change and create her own personality. Olivia is so much fun to be around and always puts a smile on our face!

We love you baby girl! Happy 2nd birthday to our very special Olivia tootie!

Christmas Tree Farm and Santa

Today we went to cut down our family Christmas tree. Olivia  had a great time running around and running in between the trees trying to hide from me. I think she knows I do not run as fast as I used too. Santa was at the Christmas tree farm so I asked her if she wanted to see Santa. We walked up to him and then she got a little nervous but she didn't cry. I am a very proud mommy! I know all of my Santa pictures I am screaming in them. Olivia loves seeing Santa real or pretend. Santa came to visit our neighborhood yesterday on a fire truck and was very excited to see him. She waved to him and continued to yell "Santa, Santa". She then would say to us, "loud". CUTE! Everyone asks me if she is ready for her birthday and I think that she is more excited about Santa Claus this year. Maybe next year she will understand a little more the difference between her birthday and Christmas.

A few of Olivia's 2 Year pictures

I had to share these great pictures that we had taken over the Thanksgiving break. Kelly Garvey is an amazing photographer and very creative. She is located off 529 and hwy 6 and came to our neighborhood to take her pictures. I would HIGHLY reccomend her to take your family pictures!!!! Hope to post more once I get our CD she is sending. Happy early Birthday baby girl! Mommy and Daddy love you!!!

Olivia {Child Photographer Tomball. TX}


Chris & Lindsay - I loved meeting you guys & Olivia. You were so much fun! Olivia is precious & I can tell she will be a wonderful big sister the way she carries that baby doll around with her! I am so happy for you guys - you have exciting times ahead with a 2 year birthday approaching & a new baby coming! I cannot wait to see you guys again in February! Thanks for choosing me to photograph sweet Olivia!

Baby Kylee Update

So, after spending over an hour in the car and waiting 40 minutes(due to running late because of our lovely Houston traffic) I finally was able to see Dr. Gunn. She was very happy to tell me that Kylee looks PERFECT! I was so excited to hear her say that and it made me feel more at ease. All my bloodwork was normal as well and she said this was a perfect pregnancy. Always good to hear after feeling so sick for 3 months. But, of course it is well worth feeling sick! Kylee is moving around a lot more and I can really feel her now. I am wondering if she is going to be as busy as Olivia was and of course still is. I will be one tired momma if I have two busy bees running around. Chris and I are trying to decide on how to decorate her room. It was easy for Olivia's room because when we moved her room matched her bedding. I said we were meant to be in this house! But, Kylee's room is a very light blue and since she is a girl that is a no go. Need to get on the ball since I am already 21 weeks.

Now for Olivia, I can't believe that my baby girl is going to be 2 in less than a month. She is growing up too fast and I am not liking it! Chris and I are both off this week for Thanksgiving and we are enjoying every minute with her and I think she is really loving her daddy time. We had her 2 year pictures taken Sunday morning and they few that she sent turned out beautiful. I can't wait to share them with everyone!!!

We hope all of our friends and family have a very Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy every minute of your family time! I know I am very thankful for our growing family!!

She has a name!

Chris and I came home from a celebratory dinner at my parents Tuesday and got to the web to look for a baby girl name. Neither one of us really thought about names before because we did not want to get hooked on a name and it be the opposite sex. SO, after about 30 mintues and looking at different ways to spell the name we now know her name will be Kylee Ann Charbonneau! I am so excited that both of our girls will share both grandmother's middle names. Olivia share's Gay's middle name, Annell and Kylee will share my mom's middle name Ann. I was very surprised at how quickly Chris and I came up with her name but we agreed so quickly. It is funny how hard picking out your second child's name can be. We knew before we found out Olivia was a girl that would be her name. Needless to say, we are excited to have a name and not have to call her baby anymore!

Baby Charb #2

We found out today that our newest additon to the Charbonneau family is a GIRL!! My early prediction of a boy was wrong and the past couple of weeks I have been feeling it might be a girl. She is measuring at about 10 inches 8 ounces and her heart rate was at 130. She is going to be a modest one or at least she was today. I had to get up and move around, roll over to each side and she finally cooperated. Chris and I started to worry we wouldn't find out. The radiologist said the heart looks great and she is growing as she is supposed to be. It is always good to hear good news like that! I have my next monthly appointment on the 23rd and we will see how we are progressing. Now the name game begins. We hadn't picked out any names because we did not want to be set on one name and then it be the opposite gender. So, now it begins. We had Olivia's name picked out and that was our only choice. Hoping it comes to us fast so we can start calling her by her name and not what Chris calls her....."Jane Doe".

Flutters

I remember everyone asking if I felt Olivia moving. My mom always said it is just little flutters but I never knew what she meant and never knew if I felt her move until the night of IKE. Now with this one I can tell when he or she is moving and it is such an amazing feeling. I forgot what it was like to feel a baby move in your belly. I am now 16 weeks and it feels like after the LONG first trimester the weeks are starting to go by a little faster. I have a doctors appoitment Tuesday for my monthly check up. I am excited to hear the hear beat again. Chris and I go November 2nd to find out the baby's gender. I thought it was a boy due to all the opposite pregnancy symptoms I had with Olivia but now I am not so sure. A friend at work did the Chinese calendar and it said girl and my mom and I tried the pencil test again and it said girl. I am not sure I will believe either one since they both said boy with Olivia but we shall see in a few weeks.

I am excited to  be making Olivia's halloween costume this year. It isn't anything extravigent but I have made it all by myself...well with a little help with the sewing maching from my mom. But, other than that it has been all me. I am very proud of myself and I know she will look super cute no matter what! We are planning on going to the Pumpkin Patch at the Old Time Christmas tree farm with our neighbors and the Lakewood United Methodist patch with our good friends the Tannehills in the next weekend or two. I can't believe the holidays are coming so quickly as well as Olivia's 2nd birthday! Our baby girl is growing up too fast but we have enjoyed every minute of it!!!

Baby Charbonneau #2

Here is our second blessing! I am now measuring at almost 13 weeks. My due date was April 6th until Tuesday when the radiologist asked if the first was okay. I said, "sure". I mean what else would I say??? We will find out the gender November 2nd and Chris is looking forward to being able to see the baby on the screen instead of just the picture. My OB was very excited to see the results of my scan. Which made me feel so much more relaxed as well. I was not worried but it is always reassuring to hear great news from a professional. She asked my how I had been feeling and I said sick! This pregnancy has been totally opposite from Olivia. I am finally starting to feel better which is so nice since I am back at work and just want to play with my little tootie when I get home. She has been so great! Olivia will be a great big sister and such a big helper! She does such a great job helping Kelly with the little one's at her house.I don't think that she realizes yet but we try to tell her that there is a baby in mommy's tummy. I will do my best to keep everyone posted on our progress.

Olivia's little pool

I had to post a picture of Olivia sitting in the dogs water bowl. We were swimming at my parents and she got tired of wearing her floaties and ear plugs and decided to get out. All of the sudden Chris moves the water bowl and Olivia walked right up and sat down. I love this picture and the funny thing is that I took this with my dads iphone. She is such a cutie if I do say so myself!

Bad Blogger

Well, I am back at work and needless to say things are crazy. This year is much better than last but I have 24 kindergartners that keep me very busy. We are hoping to add another teacher to help our class size but our school as a whole has high numbers. Olivia is doing great being back at Kelly's and is enjoying her friends. She is such a happy girl and growing so fast. She is already in 3T clothes and I wonder when all of these growth spurts will slow down for a little while. She is starting to talk more and more each day and has started trying to copy me when I sing her a song. It is super cute of course! I can't believe she is already 20 months and will be 21 months in a few weeks. Time is going by so quickly it is a little sad. We enjoy spending time together as a family on the weekends and are looking forward to our 3 day weekend.

The week before I went back to work Chris took 2 days off and we had a mini stay-cation. Friday we went to the Little Gym which we all had a great time. Saturday and Sunday we hung out and realaxed by the pool and played at home. Monday, was the best day! We went to the Downtown Aquarium and had a blast! Olivia loved all the fish and especially loved petting the baby sharks and sting rays. I am hoping I will get the pictures posted this weekend.

We also celebrated my dads anniversary of opening Allstate Contracting. We had a room at Perry's and it was nice to celebrate a huge accomplishment. I am very proud of him and my brother as well who is now working with my dad.

Needless to say we have been busy and when we are not we are just relaxing! I am sad that summer is over but I look forward to the next where Olivia and I can have fun all over again.

Ruckus Room

Here are a few pictures from the Ruckus Room. Olivia had a great time jumping and playing!

Technology challenged!

So, I have been trying to figure out how to attach a slideshow of all of Olivia's pictures and I am having a hard time. I am usually pretty good at figuring this stuff out but not this time. I even asked my good friend Jenni Stehling, who gave me the idea, and still can't get it. So I am giving you an update without pictures for now. Olivia and I have been enjoying are last few weeks together. This week we went to the Ruckus Room which is just a place full of big jumping things. She and Heidi had a great time jumping and of course snacking. We also went to Toddler Time at the library and she is starting to remember the songs and will do the actions with the teacher. Olivia and I are excited to have Chris home for 4 days! He is taking 2 days off to hang out and we have a lot of fun things planned. Friday we have the little gym, Saturday is Heidi's 2nd birthday party, Sunday we swim and Monday we are going to the Aquarium. This will be the first time for Olivia and I think I am the most excited about it!! I go back to work the 16th and I am not ready at all. This summer has gone by way too fast.

I am hoping to figure out what is going on with the slide show and be able to attach our Ruckus room pictures soon.

Olivia is 18 months

Here is Olivia Annell at 18months old. The picture on the left is me. Olivia is wearing my outfit when I was her age that my Gramma Bletsch bought me. The picture in the middle is one of Chris' father's day gifts that I surprised him with. I took Olivia for her check up this morning and found out why I have had to buy her 2T clothes! She is 34 inches tall and weighs 30 pounds 10 ounces. She is in the 97 percentile for height and weight of course. Her tubes are still in and the doctor said they look good. I was a little worried since she has been in the water so much. Chris and I are very careful about her getting her ears wet. She was such a big girl when getting her shot. She did not cry at all!! I was so proud of her! We cannot believe she is already a year and a half. Time has gone by so quickly and we have loved every second of it. We have to say that we have a little swimmer in the family. Olivia is a fish! She loves the water whether we are in the pool, bathtub or her new water table. We bought her some floaties and now she is free to dog paddle around the pool with all the dogs. She is talking up a storm and is really learning a lot of words. We love listening to her stories even if we do not understand everything she is saying. Olivia is now taking one nap a day which is usually 2 1/2 to 3 hours long. Depending on when she wakes up from her nap she goes to be around 7:30 or 8:00. That way Chris can spend some extra time with her since he does not get to work from home anymore. We are so lucky to have such a sweet little girl. God has blessed us with the most wonderful daughter!

Happy Father's Day Weekend!

Happy Father's Day!

According to Chris he had an entire weekend for Father's day. So, Olivia and I gave him one. Friday, we went to the water pad in The Woodlands. Olivia had a lot of fun playing with the fountains and running around in the grassy area. Saturday we went to my parents and went swimming. I bought Olivia some floaties and well, Brutis ate them. So, my mom bought her some new ones and she does great with them. She dog paddles and swims on her own around the pool. It is funny to watch all of the dogs swim around her. Sunday we took Bill to lunch and then went back to my parents for some more swimming. Needless to say, Olivia was exhausted Sunday night! Olivia and I surprised Chris for Father's day with some pictures of the two of us. Of course, they are not uploading to this page so I will have to add them later. We all had a wonderful weekend and Chris was ready to start the week off on the right foot at his new job!

Olivia, Heidi and the box!

So, I had a box with some of Olivia's baby clothes. I have vowed to organize now that I am on vacation and started with packing her clothes up. After I unpacked this box I sat it down and forgot to put it away. When Olivia woke up she "found" the box, aka her new toy. Tuesday it rained all day and we were stuck inside. The box gave her instant pleasure for about an hour. Thursday, we had Jennie and Heidi Tannehill over and we had a great time. The girls colored with the sidewalk chalk, played with playdough, had a snack and then they found the box. It was so cute! Olivia hopped in the box and looked at Heidi like, "come on friend" Heidi jumped in. Heidi is about 4 months older than Olivia and they get a long so well as well as the parents. We had a great time!

On a side note, Jennie is potty training Heidi and she is doing great! She went on the potty twice while she was playing at our house. Now, Olivia is trying to go on the potty. Today, she walked up to the bathroom door, looked at Chris and I and said "poo poo". SO CUTE! So, I took off her diaper and sat her on the potty. She did not go, of course but did get some toilet paper to wipe her bottom. She then ran to the hall bathroom and as I am trying to chase her down and put her diaper back on and she stood at the door and went potty on the floor. I felt so bad for her because I could tell she wanted to go. I guess we will keep trying and see what happens. I myself am not ready to potty train my baby! That means that she is growing up and I am not ready for that! Selfish I know but true. Our little tootie will be 18 months on the 20th. How the time passes so quickly!

More to come soon! I hope I can figure out the slideshow thing by then!

Picture updates

* Click on the picture and it will open a window with the slideshow. I will keep practicing!

Here are a few pictures from the last few weeks. Things in our household have been crazy but exciting. Chris was offered a job at Direct Energy the other day and will be leaving Continental Airlines. Of course, we are all excited about this new opportunity and he is very excited to be starting a new job that is very similar to his job at Continental. It will be sad of course to have to pay for our tickets now we are SO happy to not have to move to Chicago! Chris will be starting his new job at Direct Energy June 21.

I am officially on summer vacation and I am so very excited! Olivia and I have big plans to hang out and spend time with our friends. We are also planning a family trip to Disney World in early August. This will be the second time for Olivia to be on an airplane and definetly not the last. She is growing up so fast and Chris and I are enjoying every minute of it. She loves, loves, loves the water!! She is for sure a water baby! Olivia does not have any fear of the water and loves playing with the dogs in the pool.

I am hoping that my slide show has attached correctly and you can see a few pictures of her in the pool. I have a video also but I am still trying to figure out how to attach it on the blog.

Little Fishy

We have a new swimmer in the family. Olivia and I started mommy and me classes last week and she is doing great! She was a little hesitant the first few minutes but then she really enjoyed it. My mom came with me and took a video that I am hoping to get some pictures from. Last week we went together and she was ready to go. We did an activity where we had to practice paddling and then do a football hold and have her practice. She was like a fish! She put her face in and kicked those legs like she was on a mission. I guess that is what happens when you have 2 parents that were swimmers. Olivia is getting to be a pro at getting out of the pool and jumping in to me. I can't wait for her to get into the pool this summer. We received our pool tags for the neighborhood pool so once it gets a little warmer we will be taking family trips to the pool as well as going to the grandparents houses to swim.

I want to wish all the mom's a happy mothers day! I feel so blessed to have a great mom who has always been there for not only me but Chris and Olivia as well. I hope that I can be as wonderful as my mom has been. Olivia has brought so much joy and happiness to my life and I feel so lucky to have been blessed with her. God truely gave us a miricle when we found out I was pregnant. She makes us smile everyday and always bring joy to our lives.

Here is a picture of us from last year. I found these on our little camera when I was downloading the 400 pictures we had on there. Yes, I am very bad about not taking them off the camera! I am trying to be better about that.

Happy Mother's day to those who are mothers and those who are soon to be moms. It has been the most rewarding experience I have ever had! I can't imagine my life without Olivia! Chris and Olivia have made these past 2 mother's days the best ever!

TNT they are dynomite!

Today Tommy and Taryn competed in the CB&I triathlon in The Woodlands. They had to swim in the lake, ride a bike, and then run. They both did a great job and Tommy won second place in his age group and I am pretty sure Taryn placed as well I just do not remember. Needless to say they both did wonderful and we were excited to cheer them on. My dad sponsered them and we all had matching shirts as seen in the picture. Taryn's dad and brother are on the left and my dad's secretary, Paulette and her husband are on the right. Olivia was there clapping and cheering everyone on. We are very proud of our TNT!!! Way to go guys!

Our trip to the Zoo

Last Saturday we decided to take another try at going to the zoo. Since our last trip did not go the way we planned(we tried going the first day of Spring Break.) Chris and I decided when Olivia woke up from her second nap we would just go and see what happened. We made it smoothly and had a great time. Olivia loved the giraffe's! I took her to see the elephants across the way and she turned to look back at the giraffe's again. It was very cute! Here is a picture we had someone take of us. We all had a great time and it was the perfect weather as well. Olivia was able to see her brick that Auntie Em bought her but we did not get another picture due to people being pushy.

Bluebonnets

This was our first year to see the bluebonnets since Olivia was too little last year. We went to the Woodlands since it was a lot closer than driving to Brenham to take a few pictures. She was not in a very photogenic mood that day but we did get a few good ones. Friday we went to the Sam Houston Race Track for a cook off my dad, brother and uncle were in. The Tannehills joined us and the girls had a good time. Here are a few pictures from the cook off and bluebonnets.

Happy Easter

Today has been a fun filled day of celebration, family and food. We went to church this morning and Olivia did great. Chris only had to take her out to walk one time. We then came home so she could take a short nap and then we were off to the Charbonneau Family Easter and then the Skinner side. Olivia had a great time. She is always shy at first and then she slowly gets into the swing of things and becomes more social. She enjoyed playing ball and blowing bubbles and then she hunted eggs with her cousin Mackenzie. She also received a lot of goodies from everyone. She is very blessed!

I forgot to post our good news Wednesday but Olivia's tubes are placed perfectly and she is doing great! I was a little worried when she woke up and had a runny nose and cough but the ENT said it was just a sinus infection and no medication was needed. Chris and I are so happy that Olivia is healthy and happy. She is talking so much more and her favorite word is "NO"! That is her response to almost everything. She is trying to say more words such as, yogurt, grapes, Buster, bubbles. She already says momma, all done, hi, baby. Chris and I can't believe she is growing up so fast. She has such a happy, friendly personality and is very social. We are so blessed!

Olivia and the Easter Bunny

Olivia and I were invited by a friend Meagan, who does my hair and also knew Gay to visit her neighborhood Easter egg hunt. I was so excited because they were going to have the Easter bunny and live baby bunnies as well. Olivia was a big girl and sat with the Easter bunny without crying. She loved sitting with the little bunnies as well. I told Meagan that we were coming every year from now on. Olivia was not a big fan of the egg hunting but, we will work on that. Here are a few pictures of Olivia and the bunny. 

15 Months already!

Today was Olivia's 15 month check up. In one year she grew 10 inches and today when they measured her she has grown 3 more inches since December. She is now 33 1/2 inches The doctor did assure me that her growth would decrease but at this point I am not sure. She weighed in at 25 pounds and 4 ounces which was surprising to me since she eats non stop.

Since her surgery a week ago Olivia has been talking so much more and understanding what we are saying. It is such an improvement from before. I was very hesitant at first but I think that it truely helped her.

This was my first week back after Spring Break and I was not ready. We had such a great break relaxing and hanging out. Chris was off most of the week so we all had lots of family time together.

Our Little Patient

Today was Olivia's surgery. We had to be at the surgical center at 6:30 which was early for all of us. Her surgery was at 8:00 a.m. and it took about 30 minutes. The doctor came and spoke with us after the procedure and said that she had fluid in both ears and her adnoids were swollen. So it was a good thing she had the surgery otherwise we would have been back at the doctors with another ear infection. When they finally let us back to see her Olivia was not happy. We could hear her all the way down the hall. I felt so bad for her that we were not there when she woke up. She took a few little naps and had some jello but was not satisfied until she had some bread. She is doing great and we are hoping this solves her infections. Thank you for all of the thoughts and prayers. Olivia is such a trooper and was almost back to her normal happy self by this afternoon. Now we are going to enjoy the rest of our Spring Break being healthy!!

Starting Over

I know it has been very long since I have posted anything to this blog but I have decided to start again. I have been inspired by my other friends blogs and I want to share info about our family without having to send out emails all the time. So, I am still learning and I am hoping I can catch on quick!

As most of you know, Olivia is just like her daddy. Starting at a month old she started getting ear infections and at 14 months our doctor told us it is time to visit an ENT. She has been sick on and off since I have scheduled her surgery and today she had a fever. Chris and I are both hoping that she feels better tomorrow and we can still proceed but we are going to check to make sure she is 100% before she does the procedure.

I am hoping to post some pictures of Olivia as well. Especially since the ones I have on here now are of her in the womb.

Olivia is such a blessing to our life and brings us joy everyday. She has just learned the word no and tells me no quite often. It is very hard not to laugh but it is super cute. She loves playing outstide and watching Chris and Buster play in the backyard.

I hope to keep up with this blog as much as possible!!