Because I can't wait

We went to Kansas City this past weekend and while we were there we had our amazing photographer friend Meredith take Charlotte's one year photos. The CD of the images is on its way (thank you, Meredith!) but here is a sneak peak to the pictures she posted on her blog. They are super cute and I love them with all my heart! Thank you, thank you, thank you, Meredith!

Water baby!

On Friday our neighbors invited us over for a swim and BBQ. It was a great chance to introduce our bath-loving baby to the pool. She loved it! I can't wait to take her to Florida now!

We are the luckiest parents

I've said many times that we can take Charlotte anywhere. She is extremely adaptable and does well at restaurants, ballgames, stores, really anywhere in public. It is wonderful. But we put her to the test tonight.

My parents have season tickets to the Muny (an outdoor theatre) and gave us four tickets for tonight's performance of 42nd Street, one of my favorites. We weren't able to find anyone to come with us, so my parents came, and as a result, we lost the last potential babysitters on our list. (What was the deal with this weekend? Everyone had plans!) My mom said we should just take Charlotte with us, so we did. I was a little worried most of the day since the show was so late and would put Charlotte out well past her bedtime. Would she melt down? Make a lot of noise? Force us to run for the exits to prevent other audience members from giving us "the look"?

It is my pleasure to announce that the answer to all of the above question is an absolutely emphatic NO! She was an angel. She watched the dance numbers. She was quiet. She danced for the people behind us (such a ham). She made goofy faces at the people around us. She was a dream. She passed out during "Broadway Lullaby" (fitting, right?) and did so without so much as a whimper. That's my girl! She loved the show and the night turned out pretty darn nice, so it was a lovely family night at the Muny. I'm so glad we can do these things with her.

I know we won't be able to do some of these things when she's a bit older, but it is so nice to have a baby that doesn't have problems in strange places or with strange people. She is the most wonderful baby on the planet. I am so in love with my little broadway baby. :)

Day 6: The Long Road Home

We left early Tuesday morning to head all the way back to St. Louis. It took us around 19 hours. Needless to say, it wasn't the most fun 19 hours of my life, but Charlotte was amazing. She made the trip a whole lot easier than I expected. She is the best little girl! I didn't take many pictures because lets face it, one of the worst parts about vacationing is coming home, particularly when I knew I had to be at work the next morning. Yes, you read that right. We rolled into our driveway at 5:00 AM and I went to work 3 hours later. Yuck. But we've all since recovered, Charlotte is back on schedule and we now have a ton of wonderful new Colorado memories. Next stop: Destin, FL!


We did have to make one stop in the middle of Kansas for a photoshoot with the windfarms. I'm not nearly the nerd Matthew is, but I have to admit, the sight was pretty impressive. And the pictures are cute. :)

PROGRESS

Day 5: Last Day in the Mountains

We went on another hike today, though this one was planned out a little better. Matthew, Charlotte, Tom, Edie and I, hiked up to Fern Falls with the rest of the group, but turned around and headed back once we got there. The rest of the crew hiked the rest of the way up the mountain to Fern lake to do some "fishing", though I don't believe any fish were actually caught. Charlotte was perfect again and really seemed to enjoy watching the trail and the scenery around her. It was so fun watching her drink it all in. I love being able to see these things again for the first time. Being a parent is awesome.

A goofy family photo, but at least it proves I was there!

Uncle Andy fishing at the Pool

Asleep at the Falls

Such an adoring face- raise your hand if you think this girl loves her daddy

To finish the evening off, we had dinner at the historic Stanley Hotel in Estes. The hotel was pretty sweet, and the food was nice, but expensive. It was neat to see the view from the front porch after dinner; Charlotte got a kick out of the mountain breeze in her hair. After dinner we headed back to the condo for a lovely strawberry shortcake-scone dessert that Linda made and conversation about everyone's favorite parts of the trip. It was a lovely evening.

Day 4: A little break

We didn't do a whole lot this day. Kevin, Phil, Andrew and I hit the golf course. It was a lot of fun. I hadn't been on a course in over two years, so it was nice to swing a club again. My game has seen better days, but I didn't suck nearly as much as I thought I would. At least I came in under 50 for 9 holes. :)

Charlotte spent most of the day playing with Grandma and Grandpa. They took her to a playground and walked around the complex with her while Matthew took a nap. A looooooong nap. He was still asleep when we got back from the course. We went into town for lunch, did a little shopping, and then came back up and just chilled. Kevin and Cindy hosted a happy hour and then grilled a fabulous dinner. After dinner we played Taboo. Lots of fun, even though Charlotte decided to wake up after dinner and throw an enormous fit. I missed dessert, but I was able to get her calmed down and back in bed in time for the games. It got pretty competitive and I refused to leave until my team won a round, but it was so much fun. Family games are the best.

There weren't a lot of pictures taken today, but I did snap a few while we were in the heat of Taboo battle.

Day 3: Charlotte's First Mountain

I was really excited to take Charlotte to the mountains. Her Grandpa Drury grew up in Denver, so mountain blood runs through her veins! She did a great job; I was super impressed. She loved the backpack and spent the entire day in the backpack without so much as a peep! Thank you to Grandpa Freeman and Grandma Edie for the hiking backpack- it was awesome.

As an additional note, our "acclimation" hike was, well, a little insane. It involved climbing up a mountain and then back down to get to Cub Lake. To get back to the cars, we would have had to climb all the way back up and down again. Needless to say, there wasn't a lot of eagerness in the group to climb back up, particularly with Charlotte. So our manly men Matthew and Phil climbed up the mountain and picked the rest of us up at another trail head. We took a slightly longer, but really easy hike to the trail head and just as we got there, the cars pulled up. A wonderful sight!

Charlotte needed to refuel.

Uncle Andy took over the baby carrier for the rest of the hike. He said he wanted the exercise; boy, did he get it!

Don't worry, Uncle Andy. I'll make sure your hat doesn't go anywhere.

See that lake all the way at the bottom? That's where we were headed.

Getting closer...

We made it to Cub Lake!

Charlotte decided to carry the hiking poles for the last leg of the hike.

The end of the trail. Yay!

After we got back, some members of the hiking party relaxed in the hot tub while others just crashed. We all met up again for a great dinner followed by a rousing game of Apples to Apples. So fun. I love playing games with the Freeman/Johnston/Miller group!