My Beautiful Angel!

I know I am being "one of those" parents that cannot stop staring at their baby and talking about how beautiful and perfect they are! I cannot help it! Charlotte brings SO much joy to not only my life but so many others around her! In fact the other day at church a member of our ward came up to Chris and I and told us about how Charlotte has brought such a light and joy to the ward. She said that countless testimonies were strengthened from this experience of ours. I could not agree more! I have always had a testimony of my Savior and that our Father in Heaven knows and loves each and everyone of us, but to be able to have this tender mercy and experience has brought so much more understanding and meaning of the gospel. I am so thankful for my daughter and the example she has already set for so many including myself! 

Enjoy some more pictures! I cannot believe how much she is growing up!

Charlotte's First Thanksgiving Photo Shoot!!

Thankful....

I am so thankful every year for the opportunity to spend Thanksgiving with my family and loved ones but this year brings such a special and most precious gift that we are so truly thankful for. I never thought at the beginning of this year that my life would take so many different twists and turns and lead me to where I am today. In fact, I was honestly dreading another holiday season without being able to have a little one of my own to share this most magical and special time with. Now that we have been so blessed to have Charlotte come into our lives I wake up every single day with such a feeling of peace and love, and feel as though my life holds so much more purpose and meaning. I am overwhelmed with the love I feel for this little one of ours. We have met so many wonderful people through this incredible adoption process! We have witnessed countless times the Lords' hand in all of this! I wish there were words to describe my gratitude for her beautiful and most selfless birth mother and the gift she has given us. We love her and tell Charlotte every single day how much she is loved by her. We are so thankful, so truly thankful for our precious miracle that has brought such an incredible sense of joy and happiness! 

We wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving!!!!

3 weeks old!!! Where does the time go?

I cannot believe that our little Charlie bear is 3 weeks old today! Every Tuesday Chris and I sing happy birthday to her! Every single day I say to her, "I cannot believe how old you are getting!" I wish she would stay younger longer! She no longer fits in some of her newborn onesies and it breaks my heart but at the same time I am so excited to see her grow and see her little personality develop with each passing day! Here are some of Charlotte's little quirks that make us belly laugh every time!


- She makes a TON of noise when she is awake and when she is asleep! She is so noisy at night that Chris and I can hardly sleep because we are laughing at all her funny noises. (grunts, laughs, sighs, etc) I have a feeling she is going to be a real talker and will not be afraid to let us know what her opinion is!
- She is an eating machine and boy oh boy she will go from 0 to 60 in a matter of seconds if she does not get her food when she is ready! (She calms right down when she starts eating)
- She loves to look around! She is already holding her head up on her own (she was able to do that since the day she was born) She loves to look out at the world and take it all in!
- She is so happy! Everywhere we go people cannot believe how happy she is! 
- She LOVES her bath time!!! She just sits in her little tub and kicks her little legs around and coo's at me! 
- She has about a million different expressions and can do them all in a matter of a minute even in her sleep!!
- She loves to cuddle and be held which is a good thing because she is literally NEVER gets put down. Even at night, mommy cannot resist sitting out on the couch with her all night long! 




We love our little Charlotte so much! I have to pinch myself everyday to make sure I am not dreaming!!! I cannot believe she is here! I have dreamed, prayed and wished for her for so long! She is our miracle! 

Charlotte's Photo Shoot

Just a few pictures from one of Charlotte's many photo shoots! Enjoy!!

 Charlotte with her Aunt Shannon

 Happy in her Grandma's Arms

 Moses is enamored with her already! 

 Her many many different expressions! 

Introducing...Charlotte Kennedy Monahan!!!

I cannot believe she is here and already almost 2 weeks old! Where does the time go?! I just sit and stare at her and I swear I watch her growing before my eyes. I think I cry at least once a day now because I just love her so much! Chris and I went to bed Halloween night talking about how we felt ready for Charlotte to come into the world and the last few details we needed to take care of before her grand entrance. Not 5 hours later at 3:15am we were awoken by a call that Charlotte was on her way! All of the sudden I never felt so unprepared in my whole life! The blessings that followed to get us to her so quickly were all from our Heavenly Father! We were able to get from San Diego to Oklahoma City in just a matter of hours and only 30 minutes after our beautiful baby girl was born! She was born at 1:37pm on November 1st 2011 weighing in at 7 pounds 5 oz. and 19 inches long! SHE IS PERFECT!!!! I fell in love the moment I saw her! Her face looked so very familiar to me like I have known her my entire life! Every single second since that day has been utter bliss! Words do not begin to express our deepest gratitude for not only for Charlotte but for her incredible and most selfless birth mom who we love and adore for the gift she has given us! We are so eternally grateful! 

Home sickness...

My wonderful mother in law Andrea took me to Palm Springs with her and my two dear sister in laws to enjoy a girls get-away before my sweet baby girl is born. We had a wonderful drive out here singing, talking, laughing, and reminiscing on funny stories. We got to enjoy the beautiful sunny 80 degree weather, sit by the pool and read. I was out under the stars tonight looking up at the moon and felt such an ache in my heart of homesickness I never had before. I was missing my sweet husband and little Charlotte. Chris and I have been on many many trips without one another but it felt so different this time. Chris is my best friend and I have missed him many times before. This time feels like there is such a large hole missing in my heart. Since the moment Chris and I knew we were going to become parents, I felt a piece of my heart go to our sweet baby girl who is not born yet. Maybe that is why the ache was so strong this time since I am missing more of my heart! I cannot wait to be held in my best friends arms again, to look at him and tell him how much I love him. I cannot wait to hold my baby girl in my arms and tell her how much I love and adore her. My sweet eternal family, although we are all apart tonight, I have never felt so close to you both. Sweet dreams and good night! 

Sailing the open sea...

I always knew Chris was adventurous before we got married. I just did not know the extent of it until afterwards! I never thought I would be able to just head out on our sailboat on a fall Saturday afternoon! 

This was my first time out and certainly not my last! 

It was so amazing! (and cold) We even saw a pod of about 50 dolphins swim right up to our sailboat!!

Charlotte's Baby Shower

I have been to many baby showers before in my life but when I went to my own it felt so strange and yet so natural. I was completely overwhelmed (I cried a few times) with the love that so MANY people "showered" baby Charlotte with and she is not even here yet!!! 

The outfits alone were just too precious not to share! 

And I thought I loved Target before...

Dear Target,

Why do you make such adorable baby outfits? EVERY time I am there in the baby section I find myself thinking, "Gosh, why do they not make this is my size?" or "I really wish I could find a sweater like this!" I have always loved Target for their reasonably priced and very cute adult clothes but now that I have my baby Charlotte coming... all I can say is thank goodness I am about to have a baby girl so at least one of us can enjoy items like this!!!

Happy Birthday Chelsea!!

Today my best friend turns 28. A few weeks ago I sat down with her and her family and we watched some family videos that had recently been converted to DVD. One particular segment became my favorite and is pertinent for this special day. The video is of Chelsea's 2nd birthday party, I will do my best to describe the scene.... It begins with her frantically ripping her presents open, once open she looks at them, says "wow!" (even if she doesn't know what it is!), shows it to her mom (who has the camera), and then throws it to the side to grab another. The best part is that as she opens her wrapped presents she keeps all of her new presents in the corner of her eye. If anyone even gets within one foot of them she abandons her present opening to hover over the pile of gifts and yell "Mine!" The climax of the video is when her Grandma attempts to hand Chelsea a new wrapped present. Chelsea, still riled up like a dog protecting its food, rips the present out of her Grandma's hands and yells, with fists shaking, "MINE!!!!!" Then, as if scripted, she looks over to the camera and gives it a cold, hard stare as it pans out.....
So here is to you Chelsea! You are my best friend, my lover, my strength. I thank Heavenly Father everyday for the gift that you are to me. I love you with all my heart and so look forward to celebrating many more birthdays with you. So enjoy your day, rip open those presents, and don't worry... I will make sure no one touches them!

I love you!!!

Chris

Insomnia...

I keep on hearing people say to me that I really need to enjoy these last few weeks of sleep and I wish with all my heart that I could! Problem is I cannot sleep at night now! I wake up every couple of hours (even from the deepest sleep)! I am not sure if it is from the excitement and anticipation or mother nature preparing me for the lack of sleep about to come! My mind just starts racing with so many many thoughts that I teased my own mom about when I was growing up. My brothers and I would constantly tease her about how much she worried about us all. My baby girl is not even born yet and I am already worried about her all the time! I guess I am not much different from my mom in that aspect and I could not be more proud of it! So bring on the insomnia!

Baby Stuff...

We have been overwhelmed with the outpouring of love and support we have been given since we found out the exciting news that we are having a baby girl. Between 3 baby showers, grandparents (o.k. more like grandmothers...), family, and friends we have received TONS of stuff. We are so grateful. Of course it helps that we are having a girl. Everyone wants a chance at buying an adorable outfit for her.

Adorable!

We are pretty much ready for baby at this point.. all furniture, etc. is set up and we are counting down the days till she comes. WE ARE SOOO EXCITED!!!Here are just a few pictures - we'll post more when we have some time....

Baby Bassinet 

Lots of Hand Knit Hats and Quilts! 

Just one of the very FULL drawers.

 
Diaper Cake from the Baby Shower

 Just a few of her dresses and shoes...a girl can never have too many shoes!