Dear Santa

Dear Santa,

I know that I haven't actually spoken to you this year. I don't really know why I won't sit on your lap - maybe it's the long beard.

Anyway, I just wanted you to know that I've tried really hard to be a good girl this year. If you get a chance and are flying around my neighborhood, I'd be very happy if you dropped by my house and left me a few gifts.

In case you do drop in, I left some chocolate chip cookies that I made for you. I also made some chicken and stars soup for your reindeer to help warm them up on this cold December night. I hope you all enjoy the goodies!

Have a safe trip, Santa.

Love,

Charlotte

Nuttin' For Christmas

The title, of course, is not referring to me. I have been a VERY good girl this year, so I'm sure Santa will be stopping by with lots of presents for me. The title refers to a Christmas song that I've been listening to almost as much as the Disney version of "Deck the Halls."

Mommy decided that since she has to listen to this song 20 times a day, she might as well share it with everyone else. Enjoy!!

Clarice

Meet my new favorite holiday obsession - Clarice the reindeer!! Yesterday Mommy bought me a Clarice doll, and today at Santa's Workshop I went to visit the big Clarice statue. I told Mommy that I want to change my name vote for my little sister from DeeDee to Clarice!!

Even with my friend Clarice by my side (cousin Drew, too!), I still wouldn't go near the big guy to tell him what I want for Christmas. Good thing he has email!!

Fa La La La La

Do you need some holiday spirit? I, Charlotte the Dancing Fairy Elf, can help you! Just come to my house. We play "Deck the Halls" nonstop! If that doesn't get you in the holiday spirit, nothing will...

I only stop dancing to check up on my little sister!

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

To work off the ridiculous amounts of food that I ate this weekend, I decided to help decorate our Christmas tree. I managed to break out of my turkey coma, slap on my reindeer antlers and get to work.

Choosing the first ornament to put on the tree is a very important task. This year I decided to go with the beautiful Tinkerbell ornament that Nana just bought for me!

After taking approximately four minutes to choose the perfect branch, my tongue helped me to hang Tinkerbell very carefully. You did know that you have to stick out your tongue when hanging an ornament, right? It helps with balance.







Minutes to choose the perfect first ornament: 6

Minutes to find the perfect branch for the perfect first ornament: 4

Minutes spent admiring the perfect ornament on the perfect branch: endless

Why do I have to be so yittle? Someday I'll be able to reach the higher branches!















I found the very first ornament I received when I was just a yittle baby!! I am going to have to buy a matching one for my sister next year!

This was me two years ago helping to decorate the tree. I haven't aged at all, have I?!


I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving!

The Name Game!!

Now that we know that I'm going to have a baby sister, it's time to come up with a name! Instead of surprising everyone with a name that only Mommy and Daddy knew at her birth, Daddy decided to make a game of it!

Daddy wants you all to take the survey in the sidebar on the right side of my blog. Once you submit your favorite name for my sister, you must then refer to her by that name until she arrives. Mommy, Daddy and I will then choose her name from that list, so choose carefully (that means no "Orlanda" suggestions, Uncle Mar!!) Mommy, Daddy and I will also submit our suggestions, but that doesn't necessarily mean that her name will be one of those. I included two photos of my li'l sis to help inspire you!

RULES:

1. You may submit only ONE name!

2. You may not repeat a name on the list - if you do, it will be deleted! Check the link provided in the sidebar BEFORE you submit so that you know you aren't repeating.

3. You must refer to my sister by your suggestion until she is born.

4. Submit only serious suggestions!!

***the link with all of the votes updates every 5 minutes, so if your vote doesn't show up right away, don't panic!! :)

Have fun!!

PS - Check out my Santa picture below!

Strength In Numbers

I love Santa. I really do. I just don't want to sit on his lap, make eye contact with him, or tell him what I want for Christmas. I can send him my list on email.

Mommy really wanted me to talk to him this year. Sorry, Mommy, not happening.

My BFF Avery, my future husband Evan, and my newest friend Madelyn went to talk to him yesterday at the King of Prussia Mall, so I VERY reluctantly decided I'd pose for a photo with all of them.

This was as far away as I could get from him and still be in the photo. Are you happy, Mommy??? Now, off to write my email...

Princess' Night Out

It felt like Christmas morning last Saturday when Mommy told me that we were going to Hershey to see Disney on Ice. Even better, she said we were going with my good friend Genna and her mommy. I was SO excited that I could barely make it through dancey dance class in the morning.

After nap, we drove out to Genna's house and got ready for our princess' night out. I became Sleeping Beauty and Genna turned into Snow White. We couldn't have a princess' night out without looking the part!!


After a yummy dinner at Red Robin, we arrived at the arena and walked around the Princess Pre Show. We saw all of the Disney Princess' beautiful gowns. If only I were a little taller I could have tried on some of them (when the guards weren't looking at least!)

After the pre show, Mommy found out that Penn State had lost to Iowa with one second left in the game. I could tell that Mommy was crushed, but she put on a brave face and took us to our seats.


I tried to console Mommy by showing her how excited I was for the show. Do you think this face made her feel better?!












As the lights went down, I forgot all about Mommy's disappointment and couldn't concentrate on anything but the beautiful show in front of me!!


As I watched everyone from Cars, The Lion King, The Little Mermaid and Tinkerbell (my new favorite!) glide across the ice, I didn't even realize that I had eaten half of Genna's popcorn. It was the first time that I'd had popcorn - I just couldn't help myself!!








I was so cute during the show that Mommy couldn't help buy buy me a special new Tinkerbell cup and an Ariel magic wand. Not only did I get to see great figure skating, but I received some great new toys, too!


As the Tinkerbell set came to a close, I realized that I have a new favorite Disney Princess. She is just so cute and fun!



What a great show!!!!


Mommy was so impressed by the show that she (almost) forgot about the Penn State loss!










Genna and I had a BLAST on our princess' night out - let's do it again soon!!



During my night out, I was thinking of my friend Alyssa, who is not feeling well right now. I hope you are better VERY soon, Ally. We're all thinking of you!!! :)

Rock Obama!!

On Tuesday, November 4th, Mommy let me go with her to the voting booth to cast her ballot for Barack Obama (or as I like to call him, "Rock" Obama!) We were both so excited when he won (Daddy is another story...!) We were just as excited for Auntie Tara, since she worked so hard in southern Virginia to help get him elected. Virginia looks good in blue :)

I haven't been able to see Auntie Tara in MONTHS, but I understand that she had a very important job to do. We are so proud of what she has accomplished!!


Auntie Tara's mom wanted to put together a care package to get her through the LOOONG election day, so I got to work on my Obama art. I wanted to do my part to help Auntie Tara get through the day.



When we went to Mama and Papa Gibson's house to deliver our care package items, I of course had to stop and visit my favorite kitty - 21 year old Patches. She gets my vote as the cutest kitty in the world!!

I can't wait to see you, Auntie Tara!! Tell Rock Obama it's MY turn to have you now!!

IT'S A...

I am so happy!! The very nice ultrasound tech said that the baby looked perfect. We got some great photos that we'll share once we get them scanned into the computer. It was hard to get good shots because the baby was SO squirmy. More details later...!!!

A Halloween Message from Charlotteberry Shortcake

I, Charlotteberry Shortcake, would like to wish you all a berry cool Halloween!!

I would also like to share with you some photos from Halloween Past. I've had some pretty fun costumes, except for my first one when Mommy used some crazy creative juices to stick a pumpkin hat on my head and call it a costume...I hope my little brother or sister gets a better first Halloween outfit!!

Speaking of my little brother or sister, we'll find out which one I get on Monday morning. If you haven't visited our online baby pool - do it soon! We'll be revealing the big news next week :)


Halloween 2007

Not even the real Dee Dee Doodle herself looks this real. I scared myself with the authenticity!!










Halloween 2006

I really loved being a ladybug, but the hood was a bit much...



Halloween 2005

Seriously, Mommy and Daddy - this was the best you could do?!?

I wonder what I'll be next year...?!

The Power of the Penn State Pumpkin

I knew there was something special in the air yesterday...

My mommy doesn't have ANY crafty bones in her body. She is seriously craft challenged, so when my friends Avery and Evan came over to watch the Penn State game with us and Mommy surprised us with a package from Michael's, I knew it was going to be a great day.

Mommy bought us all craft pumpkins. She gave us lots of stuff to decorate and create our very own Penn State pumpkins.


We laid out the supplies and got to work. We knew that these pumpkins could be a good omen for the outcome of the game. If we made good pumpkins, then Penn State would have a chance of FINALLY beating the Buckeyes in the Horseshoe.


Avery took the challenge of creating a superb Penn State pumpkin very seriously. What Penn State pumpkin doesn't have great blue hair?!

Evan was equally serious about the task - he actually got more paint on the pumpkin than on himself!!


The Ohio State players have those silly Buckeye stickers that they put on their helmets for good plays - I decided my pumpkin needed some sparkle blue stars to represent all the good plays that were to come to Penn State that night.


We were quite proud of our creations. Since Mommy had stepped out of the box and came up with the idea to make our pumpkins, I started to get a good feeling that Penn State would step out of its box and defeat the Buckeyes on their home turf. The pumpkins HAD to be a good omen!!


We knew we'd need a lot of energy to cheer on our Nittany Lions, so we loaded up on a yummy dinner.


My future husband and I decided a little karaoke was necessary to pass the time while we anxiously awaited kick off.


One last dance before our pre-game warm up. Big Jim brought some Penn State music, and we paraded around the family room waving our pom poms and getting pumped up!














Mommy has a new night game ritual of enjoying a frozen mocha Coffeez right before kick off - she says they help her stay awake for the whole game. When nobody is looking, she sneaks me a sip!! Sorry, Emmet, no Coffeez for pugs!

It was FINALLY game time, so we positioned our pumpkins in a place where they could 'watch over' our Penn State players and send them good luck vibes.

Looks like the gang is ready!!

We needed a picture with Daddy, too, so Amy took this shot.

After the pumpkin creating, dinner, pre-game warm up and Coffeez, the game began. Even though I didn't get to see the whole game, I knew it must have been good when I started to hear hooting and hollering from downstairs. I woke up to the great news that my beloved Nittany Lions went to the Horseshoe and DEFEATED Ohio State. The pumpkins worked!!

Stay tuned for more pictures of our weekend - a day after our wonderful win, we decided to celebrate with our friends by doing something Mommy has NEVER done before, even though she grew up in Lancaster...

The Curse Is Broken!!!

Last weekend, Mommy, Daddy and their Penn State friends took an RV up to the big Homecoming game against Michigan. When Mommy returned on Sunday with a big smile on her face, I knew that Penn State had FINALLY defeated Michigan!! Mommy and Daddy said that while it was really cold, they had a blast with their friends. Then Daddy said that I am never allowed to set foot in the RV park at Penn State until I am a grown up. I wonder why...


Since this is my blog, I had to put a photo of me in the post. This is me acting as Mommy's sous chef while she baked some yummy Penn State whoopie pies for the tailgate. Mommy's normally not a very good baker, but I gave her some pointers while we worked.

Don't they look so good that you just want to scream, "Whooooopieeeeee!!!!"

My Fair Lady

A few weeks ago, my cousin Drew Higgins attempted to turn me into a "Fair Lady." I told him repeatedly that I was Princess Charlotte Doolittle. I wasn't sure how much fun a princess could possibly have at a fair, but I gave Drew the benefit of the doubt and joined him at the famous Lampeter Fair.



Mr. Higgins took my hand and off we stomped through the parking lot towards the fairground. I'll be honest - the smell in the air startled me. Mr. Higgins explained that it was pure, unfiltered Lancaster County air.


I soon discovered what Mr. Higgins meant by unfiltered. As cute as these cows were, they certainly didn't smell like anything in my princess castle. Being the princess that I was, though, I smiled for some papparazzi photos.


Mr. Higgins was disappointed that we wouldn't be able to see the pig catching contest (to take place the next night when the weather was supposed to be very rainy), but he showed me these fabulous pigs as they slept. They didn't smell like roses, either, but they were very cute!!


As we admired more of the farm animals, I learned quickly to ignore the smell and enjoy their cuteness. Being around all of these animals at the fair is lots of fun!


After eating a yummy fair dinner and walking through some tents, we came upon the tractors. One wouldn't normally think of a tractor as a mode of transportation for a princess, but since my daddy, the king, designs tractors, I had to test these out to see if they were worthy of my princess hiney.

Turns out they were! This one was designed very well, King Daddy!!


Look, King Daddy! Here's another one of your tractors. This one isn't nearly as big as the ones that you actually design, but it still looked huge to this princess and her fair teacher!!

Thank you so much Drew Higgins, Aunt Amy and Uncle Darin for inviting me to the fair and trying to turn me into a Fair Lady. I had a blast, and this princess will go to a fair anytime with you!!

Rock the Vote!

OK, people! It IS election season, so why are so few of you voting in our online baby poll?! It's even easier than voting for our next president - all you have to do is go to the link on the right hand side of this blog, predict if my new sibling will be a boy or a girl, when he/she will be born, and how big he/she will be - all from the comfort of your own home :)

Mommy is even trying to think of a prize for the winner...stay tuned!

I know it's been awhile since I've posted - I wanted the news that I am going to be the BEST big sister EVER to sink in. Now that the baby is out of the bag, I'll be back to posting regularly. Coming soon - photos from our trip to the Lampeter Fair, our trip back to the Buckeye State, and a Barbie that just won't stop singing...see you soon!!!