The Evolution of Mini-B

Charlotte is already 1 month old! How time flies, especially while taking care of 3 children 4 and under. Whoa. Life is busy, but really good. We are all adjusting to having another member of the family. She brings us all such joy. It's so fun to see newborns change in these first months. It's literally like you can sit and watch them grow. I know it has been SO long since I've put new photos up of Charlotte. We are having a few technical difficulties with downloading photos. I promise I am on it.

Charlotte has earned herself a few cutie nicknames. Hannah calls her "Little Little Charli" (pronounced Sharlee). The folks at Brent's work have dubbed her "Mini-B" because of her striking resemblance to her Daddy. And, Stevie, our housemate has nicknamed her "Brentina." We've had such fun nicknaming all of our kids. Hannah's nicknames were "Hannakin Skywalker," "Hannah Rannah Rex," "Hannah Banana," and "Sweet Pea." Mia is "Mia Sophia," "Mini Me," "Missi Moo," and "Screecher Creature."

Going Blonde

Every so often Brent gets the itch to go blonde. I decided to jump on the bandwagon and try it out myself. What do you think?

Happy 1st Birthday, Mia!

Mia turned 1 on November 20! She brings me so many smiles every day. I'm so glad I'm your mom, Mia!



Surprisingly, Mia was only slightly impressed with the wedge of cake we put in front of her. She ate a little bit, played with the ice cream (that was cool because it was so cold), ate some fruit and then was ready to get out of her high chair. Guess she likes fruit better than cake. Hope that lasts...



Hannah picked out Mia's balloon bouquet.



Thanks SO much for the great pictures Sarah!

Ho Ho Ho

Mia Claus is coming to town.

Charlotte Roslyn Frost

We welcomed our sweet little baby girl Charlotte on Saturday, November 8 at 11:17 AM. She weighed 7 lbs. 15 oz. and was 19 1/2 inches long. She has blue eyes and a full head of straight black hair. Hannah and Mia both had dark brown eyes from the beginning. I think she got Brent's eyes and that they will lighten up to his gorgeous blue over the next few months. Brent isn't convinced. We'll see!! We'll have fun bantering about who's right in the mean time. In any case, she is the spitting image of Brent, only with darker hair. She even has his two-toned eyebrows and the same cowlick right above her forehead.





Needless to say after my last post, I was THRILLED to go into labor 3 days early. It was a fast delivery. I started having contractions at 4 AM Saturday morning, we arrived at the hospital at 8 AM and she was born 3 hours later. She is so sweet and has a good disposition. We are enjoying her so much. Hannah is so happy to have her newest little sister home. She just wants to love on her all the time. She made a "Welcome Home Charlotte" artwork display on the front door. Hannah is very thoughtful and cute that way. Mia doesn't seem to notice the difference much, although when Charlotte is awake more in a couple of weeks, I have a feeling that story will change. We are in store for an adventure, and we are so grateful for the crazy road ahead!!



When Hannah and Mia came to the hospital to meet Charlotte, Hannah held Charlotte (with Dad's help) and looked her over. Her first comment was, "Daddy, does she know how cute she is?" Adorable! Hannah has since found all sorts of ways Charlotte is cute. She enjoys her little baby sounds, all the faces she makes, how she looks when she sleeps, and, of course, her cute outfits.

Labor O Labor - Wherefore art thou Labor?

I feel the need to vent and whine. Although I am only 5 days away from my due date (November 11), and the doctor has scheduled me for an induction on that day if I don't have Charlotte before then, I am jumping-out-of-my-skin ready to birth this child!!!! It has truly been a miracle and a privilege to be able to carry 2 babies in the last 2 years, but I have never been SO anxious to deliver. To add insult to injury I thought I was in labor on Tuesday morning. My contractions were regular and about 5 minutes apart. They weren't exceptionally strong (should've been my first clue), but they were consistent and had been for a good portion of the night, too. My wonderful visiting teachers took our girls and Brent and I headed to Labor & Delivery. I settled into the not-so-comfy hospital bed, got hooked up to the moniters, answered the bazillion questions posed by our very nice nurse, and promptly stopped having contractions. Our nurse tried to be kind when she said, "We're really not registering any contractions....Are you feeling them more in your back now?" Nope. They were gone. We stayed a few hours so that they could monitor Charlotte's heartbeat and see if my mysterious contractions would return, but in the end they gingerly told me they would be sending me home. That's when the crying started. It was a combination of deep disappointment and embarrassment at having come in when I really wasn't in true labor. Kind of silly to be embarrassed - I have since talked with many women who have had the same experience. Better safe than sorry, right? But, oh how sorry I was that I would have to keep waiting to have my baby.
I will keep you all updated and try not to whine too much until the blessed day arrives.

Halloween Part II

Needless to say, Hannah had a FABULOUS time on Halloween. She got to dress up and party with her friends at preschool! Then, there was trick-or-treating...it was a rainy evening, but none of us minded - especially not Mia who hung out in the stroller devouring her first lollipop. She was snug as a bug! I was hoping the walk around the neighborhood might put me into labor. No such luck. I'll write more about that later.

Here's Hannah in her Snow White costume for school.



And in her unicorn costume for trick-or-treating.



And little miss Mia as a ladybug.



Come on, Mom!! Let's go!!! "I need to go get all the candy that has been waiting for me!" - Hannah

Halloween Part I

We are in full-swing Halloween mania at our house. Halloween is Hannah's favorite holiday. Well, it's tied with Christmas, but still, this girl is SERIOUS about Halloween. It's really fun to look forward to it with her. We count down the days every day.

Mondays are show-and-tell at preschool. Today Hannah wore her new Halloween shirt and headband. She was a walking show-and-tell item. She showed the other kids how the pumpkin on her shirt lights up when she moves and displayed the ultra-cuteness of her headband.




Tonight we had a Halloween-themed Family Home Evening. Both Brent and Hannah carved their very first jack-o-lantern! They were naturals. It came out kinda spooky, which Hannah loved.

Seasons

Two Sundays ago we got our first snowstorm of the season. Hannah had a blast! Her favorite part was eating the snow. We haven't had any snow since, but the leaves are changing and it is glorious outside. All of the colors are so beautiful. I get happy just driving around taking it all in.






I've been reflecting on this season of my life - how blessed I feel, how it can be possible for me to experience both exhaustion and renewal simultaneously, the changes I'm experiencing as I prepare to have Charlotte, the many different opportunities I have to show love and to be loved. I've realized some of the people I have admired most in my life have been the ones who have developed the gift of embracing whatever season of life they are in. Thank you to those of you who read this who have been examples to me of this gift.

Mia is Walking!

Mia decided early that she needed to keep up with her older sister. She took her first step at 9 1/2 months and is now 10 1/2 months and walking like a pro. It is so cute how she toddles around the house! I don't ever get bored of watching her wide-stanced stepping. Every day it still makes me smile. She is perfecting other talents as well, such as screaming like a banshee for no apparent reason and clapping, swaying, and bouncing to the beat when she hears music. She also makes a face that renders her the spitting image of Popeye (minus the pipe and spinach - she does not do green veggies).

Baby Charlotte

I had my 34 week ultrasound this week. Charlotte is looking good and measuring big! I don't have big babies, so I'm a little nervous! Only 6 more weeks till my due date!

Yee Haw!!

Yesterday was Western Day at Hannah's preschool. The kids dressed up and put on an adorable program with cowboy songs and square dancing.

Our Little Vampire

Those of you who know about my obsession with the "Twilight" series will find this post especially amusing. It seems our little one is going about getting her teeth in a unique way. Instead of getting her top middle teeth first, Mia has just one big fang on the top. Brent attributes this to all of the hours I spent reading "Twilight," "New Moon" and "Eclipse" while I was pregnant with Mia. He's so funny.

One of My Favorites

I just learned something about one of my favorite quotations of all time. It is often erroneously credited to Nelson Mandela when actually it was penned by Marianne Williamson in her book: A Return To Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles. Nelson Mandela quoted Williamson in his 1994 Inaugural Address, and that's where the confusion about the quote's true author began:

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most firghtens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

Just What I Needed

A friend posted this quote on her blog a few days ago. It was exactly what I needed to read right at that moment - a gentle reminder about embracing opportunities with joy, even when the future is full of unknowns (as it always is):

"God expects you to have enough faith and determination and enough trust in Him to keep moving, keep living, keep rejoicing. In fact, He expects you not simply to face the future; He expects you to embrace and shape the future -- to love it, rejoice in it, and delight in your opportunities. God is eagerly waiting for the chance to answer your prayers and fulfill your dreams, just as He always has. But He can't if you don't pray, and He can't if you don't dream. In short, He can't if you don't believe." -Jeffrey R. Holland

The Many Faces of Hannah and Mia

"Mommy, Mia and Charlotte will ALWAYS be my sisters." This sentence has become one of Hannah's favorite conversation-starters lately. She is so pleased with this new truth she has begun to understand. She is also pleased that no matter how old Mia and Charlotte get, she will always be the oldest. Hannah is learning that no matter what happens in this life, her sisters will be hers forever and ever.

It is an awesome adventure being a mom to two individuals who are so totally different from each other. And, I'm sure that Charlotte will add even more variety to our little family. I love being their mom. It is a dream come true for me. Despite all I still have to learn, I'm enjoying the journey.

Mia is easygoing, but not afraid to voice her opinions (loudly), and so fun to be with. She loves new jokes and silly sounds and new people to smile at. Her favorite place to be is in Mommy's arms. Her least favorite place is in her high chair. She sings already and thinks it's funny when Mommy raises her voice. She thinks any tidbit she finds on the floor (edible or inedible) is fair game for snacking, and she especially loves eating the carpet fuzz that she pulls off of our area rug. Oh, and she's a stealthy grabber. Her methods are polished. She will smile sweetly or look disinterested while using her split-second grabber reflexes to snatch the very thing you just told her she's not supposed to chew on. And, when there's not something around to drool on, her fingers always do the trick.





In addition to being adorably cute, Mia has always been fashion conscious. What can we say, she's a trendsetter!







Our always exuberant Hannah makes sure there is never a dull moment at our house. She has twice the energy of any large metropolis's power grid and curiosity in spades. She amazes us every day with her questions, her insight, her desire to do what is right. She is a ray of sunshine. We love to watch her grow.







Hannah has been trying out some new looks lately. I especially like the silicone-oven-mitts-for-shoes look.







Hannah and Mia adore each other. It's so neat to watch them interact and crack each other up. They are excited every morning to see each other when they wake up. They play well together (for the most part) and Hannah is very conscious of Mia's safety. I hope this closeness will thrive as they get older despite fighting over clothes, make-up, bathroom time and generally getting on each other's nerves.

Ahoy, me Hearties!

Halloween came early at our house this year. Brent gave a presentation at a BYU interpreter conference last week. The theme was "Pirates!" Hannah and Mia got into the spirit!