Oktoberfest

Did you know Cincinnati has one of the largest Oktoberfests outside of Germany? Well apparently it does and we were not about to miss out on this big event. 

Some of Cincinnati's downtown streets are closed off for this big event and filled with musicians, food and clothing vendors. I couldn't believe how many people were there and what a big event this actually was! 

Classy, I know. You have to admit it's a pretty hilarious picture. 

One of the fine foods we ate that day. Don't judge me. It really was one amazing funnel cake.

Love my babies. 

Some people dress up for the event. I'm not sure you can see this picture too well, but here we have a guy with a large, stuffed beer hat. Classy. I haven't seen so much alcohol in one place. These people take Oktoberfest seriously. 

Mike was the mandatory brat. It was excellent and tasted just like the ones we ate while in Germany years ago.

It's been so fun discovering a new city. Mike and I have been surprised with how much there is to do here in Cincinnati! Although downtown is nothing compared to Chicago's downtown, let's be honest it's hard to be Chicago but there seems to be something going on at least once a month and so far it's the events have been great! Cheers to at least three more years of fun memories in Cincinnati.

PS If you are needed a good Germany fix come to Cincinnati in October. That's a HINT for you Steve and Carol. You must come next year to Oktoberfest with us next year!! 

Emily came to visit!

The first weekend of October my little sister Emily came to visit and it was pure heaven! We love having visitors. Charlotte was so excited to see her aunt Emmy. Charlotte and Emily were two peas in a pod. And I of course loved having my sister around to hang out with, get make-up and hair styling tips, laugh and watch conference with. It was of course too short of a trip but we treasured every minute we got to spend with her. 

One of the places we took Emily to was a large pumpkin patch. It was a cold morning but a huge hit with everyone. 

I love how much they love each other. 

I was shocked this picture turned out as well as it did, especially with it being with an iphone and taken by some random guy. Well done random guy! 

"Watching" conference together. Charlotte was Emily's little side kick. 

Charlotte getting ready for her hair cut by Emily. One of the perks of her being in town was both Charlotte and I got a much needed haircut. Thanks Emily. It felt so good and our hair turned out fantastic! 

At the pumpkin patch. Love and miss this girl so so so so much. 

Out on a walk in our neighborhood. It's so fun to show people where we live and have them get a feel of what a great place Cincinnati is. 

Two of my favorite people at once. We loved late  night (and by late I mean 11:00 p.m., I am pregnant remember) hanging out. We laughed a lot when Emily was in town. She is so clever and witty and always has both Mike and I rolling on the ground laughing. 

Thanks again Emily for coming to visit. We ALL loved having you come. You were a great help with Charlotte and I hadn't laughed that hard in a long time!! 

Summer Olympics

I don't know about you but one of the highlights of the summer was watching the Olympic games. There's nothing like seeing people work so hard and achieve their dreams of competing in the Olympics. We couldn't get enough. A few friends and I planned an Olympic party for our kids and it was a hit. Love my new friends and the fun activities we do together. 

Charlotte and the Olympic torch made by yours truly. :)

Javelin throwing

Olympic torch relay

Not sure what to call this event but kids were given squirt bottles and had to squirt the ball out of the circle. 

Eating like Olympic champions! 

For Steph

This is for you Ms. Stephanie, who needs to get instagram ASAP. I realized you haven't seen the baby's room and I know you are dying to see it. ;)

It seemed to take us forever to finally put it together, but it is done and I love it! I couldn't be happier with the small, cozy space.  

Sorry the photos are not great. They were taken with my phone and the lighting in the room is horrible! 

Bed skirt, closet curtain and mobile were made by yours truly.  I also painted the bedskirt, bumper ties, and closet curtain. Even though it took me forever, it was really fun to make so much of it. 

Last night we finally went to Target and bought most of the baby essentials, wipes, diapers, gas drops, saline nose spray, nursing necessities etc. It feels so good to have a little organization in my life. FINALLY! I still want this baby to stay put for another week or two, but if she decides to make her debut early she will have a nice place to come home to! 

                              36 weeks with Baby Walker           36 weeks with Charlotte

Well the countdown is on.
I think I'm about the same size. Sitting low and pointy just like I was with Charlotte. I'm feeling huge and feel like NOTHING fits. I'm so sick of my clothes but refuse to buy anything new since I'm so close to having this baby. 
If she hasn't arrived yet, Baby Sister is scheduled to come December 3rd, 6:30 a.m.!!!
I can't believe she'll be here in three and a half weeks. I'm so ready to be done pregnant but I'll be honest I'm quite nervous about transitioning to two kids, and the sleep deprivation. 
My goal was to make it to 36 weeks with my running and I did it! And although I still feel good and could run, I'm having a hard time staying motivated to run. I've started walking and kept up my spinning and I'm sure I'll run a few more times before this babus comes, I just haven't been able to bring myself to do it this week. Ugh.
I'm heartburn free as long as I'm taking my prilosec consistently. This is a good and bad thing. I love not having heart burn but it also means I eat whatever I want. Not good. Where is my self control this pregnancy? Out the window, I tell ya!
Baby girl is measuring right on track and has a good solid heart beat. Hooray! I'm just beginning to dilate and I'm about 50% effaced. So some progress is being made with all the Braxton Hicks I'm feeling. 
Still undecided on a name. We have a couple we like and we'll just wait until we see baby girl to make the final decision. I felt so strongly that Charlotte was Charlotte, even though we had a couple of other names we were considering during pregnancy. I haven't felt that way with this baby. I'm hoping when she arrives, we'll just know and it will fit her perfectly. Wishful thinking? Probably. 
More than anything we are excited to meet this little baby. Charlotte at this point seems excited and ready to be a helper. We'll see how that goes when she realizes, mom can't be at her demand every second. We are thrilled both my mom and mother in law are coming to help! I know that will be a huge stress relief for all of us! 
Let's just get this babus here and let the fun begin right?

Summer photo dump

More catching up to do. The following are a bunch of pictures taken over the summer in our new home. It was a great, great summer. We were sad to have our summer end but it's been a fantastic fall thus far! 

We have a swing set in our backyard and Charlotte is in heaven playing on it! We spent at least an hour most days outside playing on the swing set. 

Future Olympian anyone?

One very hot, humid morning Charlotte wanted to take a few toys on a walk but refused to wear any other shoe beside her pink, snow boots. Just looking at his picture makes me sweat. And yes, she is still in pajamas in this picture. It was only 9:00 a.m., at least it was lunch time right?

We still take "Normal Baby" most places we go. Charlotte also loves to pretend to be a doctor like her dad. I think it's sweet. I will say she definitely does have her dad's good memory. Maybe  she will be a doctor someday. ;)

We were sad to not have access to Grandma and Grandpa's pool this summer so we had to make due. One day it was so hot and both Charlotte and I were bored so I filled up her mini pool with water and bubbles. I have to say this one of my better ideas. She loved it and it entertained her for quite some time! We'll be doing this again next summer. 

Seeing the Red's Stadium downtown. 

My little bug is getting so big. 

One rainy day I took Charlotte to Recreation Outlet. Recreation Outlet is a store that sells playground sets, trampolines, sports equipment etc. Tues, Wed, Thursday mornings from about 9-11 they have free play where you can play on their equipment for free!!!! Charlotte was in HEAVEN! We will be doing this again and again especially during winter. 

We spent many a days joining our friends at their townhouse complex swimming pool. And of course we couldn't go swimming without our heart sunglasses that we got for free at the local library. Too bad they broke the first day we got them. Charlotte still talks about it. 

The Cincinnati Zoo is top notch. We love this place and it's so nice having a pass! We can go and spend as much time or as little time there and get our money's worth. The zoo has a fantastic petting zoo where kids can go brush the animals fur, feed them and pet the animals. Charlotte loves it. We went a number of times over the summer and it never got old. 

Charlotte helping her dad mow the lawn. 

Since someone was so distraught over her heart sunglasses breaking, I caved and bought her some real sunglasses at Gap kids. I'll be honest, she looks so darling in them. Charlotte loves wearing them in the car when we are out and about and luckily they are still in tact and haven't broken yet! Charlotte also loves listening to her "phone", aka my ipod. I'll be honest, I was getting so sick of listening to Lion King EVERY, EVERY time we got in the car, I finally decided to download it onto my ipod so Charlotte could listen to it in the car. Now everyone wins in the car! 

Another, hot humid morning, both Charlotte and I were bored and getting ansy. I was looking through my pinterest boards and saw the idea for Charlotte to "wash" one of her cars. Genuis. I grabbed the sidewalk chalk and let the girl go to town getting her car dirty. She used chalk, mud, leaves, you name it to dirty up her little firetruck. Then I gave Charlotte a spray bottle and let her "wash" her car. She loved it and actually did a pretty good job cleaning it up. Another pinterest win!  

We bought Charlotte a Strider bike over the summer. Not sure I'm sold on this bike yet. I think it will be next summer by the time Charlotte is really comfortable in it, but she was excited about it and is beginning to get the idea of balance. How cute does she look in that helmet? So darling. 

Another pinterest win, shooting marbles down a pool noodle. Charlotte and I sat on her bunk bed and put marbles in her pool noodle trying to get them to drop into different bowls. It was a little tricker than I thought it would be, but this was another great activity that Charlotte really enjoyed that we could do together. Perfect for those little fingers. 

Charlotte's grandma Carol made her day when she sent her a package of princess necessities. As soon as we opened the package Charlotte could not wait to put on the princess attire. She looks like true royalty in that get up if you ask me. 

More pictures playing on the swing set. 

One the side of the swing set in a mini climbing wall. I'm proud to say Charlotte can climb up the wall all by herself. She is one brave, strong cookie. 

Anderson Days Carnival. I love/hate carnivals. They are so fun, and entertaining but money suckers. Everything is such a rip off and so dang expensive. We were suckers and told Charlotte she could choose one ride to go on. Even though the ride probably lasted less than 30 seconds, Charlotte loved it and it was worth the money to have her and Mike go on it. 

So as you can see it was an excellent summer. Cincinnati has so many fun things to offer. It's a very family friendly city, which we have loved. I'm already excited for next summer, now knowing all of the fun things we can do!

Saying goodbye

Back tracking again....

It was so hard saying goodbye to friends and family before we left. We loved our four years in Utah and were so sad to leave everyone behind. We tried to make the most out of the crazy, busy month before we left. It was such a whirlwind trying to squeeze in so many last get togethers but I'm so glad we did! 

Saying goodbye to my sweet Grandma Rada. She is 90 and looking great! 

Last family dinner at Grandma Wynn's house. 

Charlotte just getting dirty playing in the mud and sand with the boys. Love that my bug is willing to get a little dirty! 

Hanging out on the lawn with cousins. I love my cousins so much. We had a great time sitting around, laughing and talking. 

Lunch with Grandma Wynn and more cousins.

I love my Grandma Wynn so much. If there is anyone I could be like on this earth it would be my Grandma Wynn. You will not find a nicer, more charitable, quick witted woman on this earth. She took a bunch of us girl cousins out to lunch before my cousin Camille left for her mission and before I left for Cincinnati. Love all these women! 

 One of my friends from HS husband's (did that make any sense?) opened a restaurant in Provo and I thought it would be fun to go try his food with all my girls before I left. The food was amazing and I love spending time with my girls. There haven't been too many girls I have met since that I have felt so comfortable and so at home with as these girls. I miss seeing them often and getting together for dinner. 

PS You must go try Cubby's!! It's so good and worth the drive to Provo! 

We had a BBQ at our house with my family before we left. So great to hang out, laugh and eat good food. I miss being so close to family. 

 My parents. True gems.

Mom and sisters. We of course miss Mandy so much. No family get together is ever the same without her. 

No party or family gathering is complete with a homemade sign made by one of us. It's the small details of a party that matter. ;)

Hanging out with the Walkers. Charlotte loves her Walker cousins so much. Swimming with them was the best. Her cousins are always so good to play with her and include her in all they do. She still talks about swimming with her cousins. 

 Little hot tubbing with the boys. What could be better?

 Riding the law mower with Papa Steve. 

Love that Papa Steve. 

Emily was so kind to take Charlotte for a day so my mom and I could pack my house! It was so helpful of Emily to spend time with Charlotte. I know they both loved their day of fun together, however I was not too thrilled with how they spent their time. ....

Sure looks like it was a good read though. I guess I can't complain, she is "reading" and I was able to get a ton done that day! 

Saying goodbye to our sweet, little home. So many great memories there. We were so lucky to sell that house. Makes me sad to know we will never be going back and living there again but I'm glad the home went to a nice family. 

And then there was this goodbye the morning we left. I'm not even going to go there with this post. Sad, sad, sad goodbye. 

Saying goodbye to all of our loved ones was tough, but we've loved our adventures here in Cincinnati so far. We've felt so at home and so loved by all we've met. Although we truly are enjoying our time here in Cincinnati, I'm excited to visit Utah next summer. ;)