Seven Months!

Our little Charlotte is 7 months old! I can hardly believe it. She is interacting so much and down to two naps a day, so we have a pretty noisy house most of the time. Jackson likes to give her big hugs all the time, and most of the time she likes them. She has also taken up growling which is hilarious! I think it is her way of trying to scare Jackson away. :) Her blonde hair is coming in thicker by the day and it won't be long before I can get some pig tails going (my favorite hair style as a child). She is getting a little attached to Mommy, but in general she will go to anyone. And we have seen a little bit of pre-crawling moves, so I am preparing myself to have two crazy kiddos "exploring" my house soon!

A little evening walk. They like riding together.

Sunday dress. Miss animated.

Charlotte LOVES pumpkins!

Brandon is in London and Brussels this week with his MBA program, so I am pulling out all the stops to entertain the kiddos. We went to the zoo yesterday morning, and Jackson set the record for fastest child to get from one exhibit to another. He checks out each animal, but his interest lasts about 3 seconds before he wants to see the next one. I got a workout keeping up with him. The one big exception was the Lion which decided to do some roaring when we passed by. Jackson was fascinated by that and has been roaring ever sense. Between that and Charlotte growling, I feel like I am living with two baby lion cubs. :)

Big fish!

We have had some serious adventures this week, but we are missing B bigtime! He is walking all over London at the moment and going to see Les Mis tonight...lucky duck. :)

Our Third Anniversary!

Brandon and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary last week! It has been a crazy three years so far, and I can say for sure, there has never been a dull moment! Love you B!

A little picture of our life after 3 years of marriage...

...who is crazier the kids or the parents

poor Brandon doesn't stand a chance, he is simply outnumbered!

Mommy's sweet baby girl

Big brother

Lifting that head to see what is happening

Miss Charlotte is 6 months old (actually almost 7), and is growing fast. She had her check up last week and is weighing 16 1/2 pounds now! She is in the 40th percentile for weight and 80th percentile for height...I guess she may get some of her mama's height after all! She is teething and hating it, but other than that, we couldn't ask for a happier more friendly little lady. And she and Jackson are playing together much more, so finally this having kids 19 months apart thing is paying off!!

We went to Austin on Friday to spend a few days and go to Erin's baby shower. A cold front blew in that day, so it was pretty chilly at my mom's place. Of course that didn't bother Jackson in the least. He wanted his boots on within about 3 minutes of arrival and was on this bike, "off roading" for the next two hours.

Jackson - Chicken stand off...who will budge first?

Charlotte elected to cuddle with mommy on the porch swing.

Saturday morning, Nini put Jackson in "big boy underwear" and of course he wanted the boots too. Yes, he did wear this all morning and loved every minute of it.

And he requested a picture of his hands....nasty dirty!

First, we Chase the chickens...

then we herd them with our trusty steed!

We went to Fonda San Miguel in Austin on Saturday night for a late Anniversary dinner. It was great food and atmosphere. Nice to have a dinner alone every once in a while. Three years down and many more to come!

Notre Dame

Last weekend we were able to fulfill one of Brandon's childhood dreams: visiting the ND campus and going to a football game in the Irish stadium. It was an amazing experience to say the least. We flew into Chicago on Friday morning with Charlotte, Justin picked us up, and we headed to South Bend. What a cute town and beautiful campus! Tricia and Justin did a great job giving us the Irish experience from touring the campus on Friday to attending all of the pre-game events on Saturday, to visiting their church on Sunday. We also were able to eat at some great restaurants like the legendary pizza place "Rocco's" and walked around downtown South Bend where the College Football Hall of Fame is located. It was simply a wonderful weekend.

Justin and Tricia have the cutest house too. I kept telling Brandon that he was pretty much looking at how I would decorate our first house! Sure am glad he liked it. And of course he made himself at home because every morning we would wake up to music coming from the kitchen and the smell of Brandon making coffee and breakfast! I think the cool weather and close proximity to Notre Dame put some serious spring in his step. And to top it all off, the Irish were victorious over Michigan State 33-30! Go Irish! And all credit goes to Charlotte who gave high fives to all the players as they walked to the stadium. She did really well on the trip and pretty much made it seem like we were not traveling with a child. Such a sweet little lady. We are missing ND already and wishing we lived closer to the Duntons because they pretty much rock!

First stop on our campus tour was the stadium of course

The view from the tunnel

Two very happy men

Charlotte's first visit to ND

Back through the tunnel

A little bit of history

Touchdown Jesus

The Golden Dome

Game day, walking through the tailgating scene

Charlotte cruised around in the stroller soaking it all up

Gearing up for kickoff

The game day buzz was in full swing.

I wanted Brandon to wear one of these wigs, but oh well, at least someone did!

Waiting for the players to walk from the pre-game Mass to the stadium

Where is Charlotte? Somewhere under that hat?

There she is and she loves Tricia!

Of course we need a little bagpipe and kilt action

Charlotte had her arm out ready for the players to walk by

Here they come...

No one skipped Charlotte!

Heading over to hear the band play and grab a burger

Brandon introducing Charlotte to the Irish fight song!

At the "Concert on the Steps" where the band
plays their half-time field show before the game.

The girls getting ready to hand Charlotte off to her babysitter
while the guys followed the band into the stadium.

The Irish Guard who "protect the band" were pretty intense. They are all about 6'3" and very serious.

The national anthem and raising of the flag.
Everything was steeped in tradition.

The band forms an N and a D that the players run through as the enter the field

Here come the Irish!

The view from our seats was really good. Tricia and I sat together which was really fun and I think we were yelling just as loud as anyone!

Touchdown!

Pumping people in the students' section after the TD

rushing the field after the Irish victory!

Can you find Brandon and Justin in the students section?

The playing of the Alma Mader

Victory is Sweet!

post game pic...we are so happy the Irish won!
Especially because our husbands are in a great mood!

They survived the Students' section!

Knute and the College Football Hall of Fame

Note Brandon's Le Peep cup...delish!

The boys checking out some football history

Brandon and Charlotte chillin' in the Dunton's living room.

Hmmm...

Goodbye Notre Dame!

It was a wonderful trip and since Jackson didn't come along this time, Tricia and I have already decided that Justin and Brandon will have to make a pilgrimage back to ND for a game with their sons someday!