MORE Snow and SO MUCH catching up

It's March and I just think it's wrong for it to snow in March!!  I think everyone is ready for Spring this year.  So, I'm home for another snow day and *gasp* I would rather be at work!  What's wrong with me?!  That makes me sound so old and lame, right?

I guess I should just make the most of my day off and get caught up on my blog with possibly the longest blog post.  Bare with me but I promise for an update and lots of Charlie pictures.  :-)  I'm not sure where to start but I had a long blog hiatus due to several things going on (see below).  Also, our laptop may be on its last leg and a little on the fritz which made it hard to get my pictures uploaded but I finally have them on the computer.  It's amazing that a computer doesn't like milk being spilled on it!  Who knew!?!

I'm not sure where to start but I'll try to catch you up.  First off, the biggest news that we have is that OUR HOUSE IS FOR SALE.  (Feel free to stop on by and check out our pictures and virtual tour.)  We started thinking seriously about it towards the end of January and then spent about a month or less getting it ready and then it went on the market on February 21st.  I thought it was super fast, considering we were really busy over that time and managed to do a good job, keeping a balance so that Charlie was not phased by anything going on.  Unfortunately, it has meant some changes for Charlie and he's done very well handling them.  We are all so fortunate to have support from our family and a very special big thanks to Grammie and Papa for allowing us to house the train table with them for a little while.  Most of the work was clearing out but by the time it went to the market, I was exhausted.  We went ahead and cleaned out the attic over a weekend, which now I appreciate that it's done but what a chore!  Thanks to Papa and Grammie for keeping Charlie for us during that time.  It's amazing how much stuff junk you can accumulate. Matt isn't a stuff person.  He doesn't have many wants or needs which means most of the stuff junk was mine.  It was pretty freeing to clear so much out.

So, we don't exactly have anywhere to go yet but we are hoping to upgrade and plan to move out of the city to the 'burbs.  Matt and I have very mixed emotions about moving.  We love this house so very much!  If you know anyone looking in the Richmond area, I just happen to know of the perfect house in the near West End (which is an awesome location to U of R, the city, lots of shopping, dining, Monument Avenue and lots more)!!!

Over the last month, we have celebrated many birthdays.  First off, we celebrated Wally's 8th birthday.

I remember the days of just Wally and I in Alabama; he was such a skinny pup.  He and I used to run together in Alabama and he was my little side kick.  Matt won him over the very first time by bringing him a toy the first time he met him.  Wally loves us all but there are no doubts that Matt is his favorite.  If Matt isn't home, Wally waits for him to return.  We were a little concerned at how Wally would adjust when Charlie was born and he is such a loving dog and I think he does a pretty good job putting up with Charlie

and Charlie  LOVES Wally.  First thing in the morning, Wally runs into Charlie's room to check on him.  Wally had a good year but we are realizing he is getting a little older.  We had a couple of emergency vet appointments this year but luckily, he is fine. His birthday party, complete with singing,

  cake,

birthday hats, and presents

was a perfect excuse to celebrate our wonderful dog.

We also celebrated Matt's birthday.

We had a birthday party with his parents and then another one at our house on his birthday.

We celebrated Madeline turning 3.  

Madeline is the daughter of my best friend at work, Christie.  She had a party of Romp & Roll and Charlie had a blast!

 

Madeline's cake was Clifford the Big Red Dog.

Isn't this cake awesome?

Finally, Pops and Mim had birthdays.  Charlie made them both cards and we had a nice lunch yesterday.  He and Wally went to stay with them 

 

with big plans to have a birthday party at their house.  

We also had some fun over the last month doing some activities on the weekends.  Lyndsay and I took Hailey and Charlie to a fun party/event that the local hospital threw in honor of opening their Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.  It was so much fun and perfect for our children.  They had bears that they gave out and we took them through stations in order to get a full check-up.  We checked their vitals, height, weight, got a xray of their chest, and even did some therapy with them. The very first step was to name the bear and Charlie named it "Splat the Cat", which is after his new favorite book from Aunt Margaret.  Charlie and Hailey had such a good time and spent the most time in the moon bounce but the highlight was that he got to have his face painted like Spiderman!  

 

This weekend, we went to the "Greatest Show on Earth"....i.e. the Circus.  

We all thought the elephants were the best part.

I'm not sure I would call it the "Greatest Show on Earth" BUT Charlie thought it was awesome and hearing him laugh and watching him enjoy it was so much fun for Matt and I.

 

As you can see, we have been busy.  As for other things, Charlie is having so much fun at school these days and is a little sponge.  He is able to recognize well over half of the alphabet and likes to point out the letters while we read his books.  He only knows uppercase letters right now and he knows several of his numbers.  He loves to mimic whatever we do.  He's had a lot of fun playing with his razor in the bath tub.  

 

And just in case I haven't included enough of Charlie, here's just a few more random pics/video:

 

Despite the cold weather and snow we've had, we did manage to have a couple of warm weekends and got to enjoy the a little warmer temperatures.  

 

Here's to hoping Mother Nature gets the memo that it's time to start moving forward to warmer days and bring on Spring days!  Also, I'm hoping to do a much better at keeping the blog updated but for now, I guess I better enjoy my alone snow day!