the big 3-0

it happened.
a new decade.

and fly boy truly outdid himself this year.

he woke me up (before charley got up) with his traditional, delicious breakfast in bed.

we went to dinner to my favorite restaurant in town with my brother and sister-in-law.
jess even made me a cake...yellow with chocolate frosting, my favorite!

since our birthdays are only 2 months apart, we decided to take a mini vacation to celebrate both of us turning 30.  just for the weekend, we went to a nearby beach, stayed in a fantastic hotel, and really had a perfect weekend.

only being an hour away, we took our time saturday morning getting packed, but were still able to spend several hours at the beach and pool in the afternoon.  the hotel had a wonderful restaurant, so we didn't have to travel far, just took the elevator down to the 1st floor.   and charley was a doll.

i couldn't have asked for a better birthday.
i would say i'm not sure how i am going to top it for fly boy's upcoming birthday, but i have a few tricks up my sleeve as well.  ;)

charlotte 7 months

hello october!
(and my apologies for the lack of posts in the last month.)

our baby girl is seven months old.

not a whole lot has changed in the last month, except...
- she has one bottom tooth and a second bottom tooth coming in. (and boy is it sharp!)
- charley has learned to click her tongue and loves to click anytime she is hungry.
- we've started with baby food...charley loves every fruit she has tried (bananas, pears, peaches, mangos, apples, etc.) she does not like rice cereal. oh, and charley LOVES water.

i can't get enough of her.  we truly are blessed with a sweetheart.
i actually miss her when she goes down for a nap or to bed.  it's ridiculous.
she's a much lighter sleeper than she used to be, so i know that if i even open her door, she will more than likely wake up and want to cuddle.  there may have been a few nights while fly boy was out of town last week that i purposely went in to "check on her." i was then rewarded with an extra 30 minutes of mommy-daughter time when she surprisingly woke up.

she's not the biggest fan of looking at me while i'm taking pictures, but why would you want to look at a big goofy lens when there is a world of details (and a funny golden retriever) to watch?  :)

enjoy!

charlotte 6 months

6 months.

my infant has officially grown into a baby.

a rolling like it's her job, babbling a storm, sitting up on her own baby.

• personality - charley has started to show her short temper.  she is still 90% a very sweet baby...it's the 10% when she is not happy, she will let you know it.  i have no idea where she can get her impatience from...certainly it must be from her father...
• moving - this girl can roll with the best of them.  she has can pretty much get wherever she wants by rolling.  gone are the days where i could put her in one place, leave the room, and come back to her in the same spot.
• clothes - right on track in mostly 6 month clothes and a few 6-9 months.
• daily schedule - she still sleeps well at night.  the naps during the day seem to chance on a daily basis.  sometimes i think she is moving towards two naps a day, sometimes she clearly needs three.  
• fly boy - still a daddy's girl in every way, shape and form. 

enjoy!

charley's first bananas

charley is 6 months today.
we gave her a bowl of bananas for her half birthday.
she was not pleased.

we will try again tomorrow.

what's in a name

this story has been 85 years in the making.

85 years ago, my grandmother, caryl lee was born.
57 years ago, my mother, candace lee was born.
29 years ago i, caryn lee, was born.
5 months ago, my daughter, charlotte lee was born.

four generations of "c lee"s.

growing up, i hated my name.
i hated having a name that was so similar to my mom's.
i hated that "carey" was not a normal nickname for "caryn."
i hated that my grandfather could never get my name right on the first try, calling me "caryl lee, canda,  no, carey."
i didn't get it.
i didn't get the weight that it carried.  the legacy.  the love that was shown in choosing my name.

it wasn't until college that i started to fall in love with my name.  and love being a "c lee."
it was also in college that i decided i wanted to name my daughter a "c lee' name.

i had a few names in mind, but always came back to charlotte.
after fly boy and i got married, i told him the "c lee' names i had picked out for our first daughter.  i told him he could pick from my list of pre-approved names.  luckily he loved "charlotte" as much as i did.  i think we had her named picked out on the honeymoon.

my great-grandmother had no idea when she chose the name for her second daughter, it would be the beginning of a legacy it has become.  but i am thankful for her, for the way she raised my grandmother, and in turn for the way my grandmother raised my mom.

the bar has been set high for me.  for the way i raise my daughter.  to know the line of women she comes from.  strong women.  to know what she has inherited; the things she should cherish, and the things to set aside.

it was almost a year ago we found out that we were having a girl.
it was only a few hours after we found out i told my mom i wanted to get pictures of the four generations.
the talented rebecca ondrey came over to my parents house last month to get the pictures.  i couldn't be more excited for the way they came out.
enjoy!

four generations.

charley's great-grandmother, grandmother, godmother and mother.

mother-daughter

sweet moments with her meme.

the sister i have always wanted, and now have thanks to my brother picking an amazing wife.

godmother and god-daughter

i can't get enough of this smile and her laugh.