Happy Father's Day!

So Mark didn't want me to make a fuss about Father's Day...but we all know I'm going to do what I want anyway :) I have watched Mark with Josh, Zak and Lindsay for years and always knew he was a great father. He is the most loving person I have ever known. However, I get to now watch him with Charlie and get to know him all over again as a husband and as a father.

Being the biggest kid at heart, he was meant to be a dad. Playing, singing, and loving is what his heart was made for. All his kids are lucky to have him in their lives and one of the best parts about adding Charlie to our family is how much closer it has made us all.

I just wanted to say thank you for being the wonderful dad and the soulmate that you are. We all love you with all our hearts!

PS. For those that don't know, Mark is a big Dallas Cowboys fan, especially for Tony Romo. So here is Charlie in her Romo jersey just for daddy.

Summer's Here!

Summer is officially here! We couldn't resist Charlie in her cowgirl's hat!

There is a new look for the blog in honor of summer. I'm going to try to change the blog's theme as the season's progress. The bumblebee outfit is adorable on her and she didn't mind the antenna's although you can tell from her 'Grumpy Bee' pic that she had had enough for one day.

First Environmental Portrait!

Mark and I needed a new head shot so the family piled into the car for a portrait adventure....on the hottest and most humid day of the summer thus far :( Thankfully Sister Lindsay came along to help, otherwise Mark and I would have been running back and forth to the camera in between the timer going off...sooo not good in the hot weather. Lindsay, having stuck it out through enough of these as a kid, new exactly what to do. She is quite good behind the camera.

Anyway mission accomplished. We got our updated P.R. shots done and Charlie got a few portraits in her new sundress from Aunt Jeanene. Her first of probably a million environmental portrait sessions. To be politically correct nowadays, can this technically be called an organic session? Just asking...

PS. She just had her last checkup and weighed in at 20.3 lbs and 28.16 inches. Hard to believe she is growing up so quickly!

Charlie's First Wedding!

Charlie got to participate in her first wedding this past weekend and also take her first Garber family photo with all her great aunts, uncles and cousins. Between the Garbers and the Gilmans, both families have been going up to Lake Erie for years and it was fun to be able to continue the tradition with Charlie. She even got to stick her toes in the sand at the water's edge. She didn't fuss any, although she was perplexed at the new texture under her feet.

Thank you to brothers Josh and Zak and sister Lindsay for helping to watch Charlie while Mark and I were photographing the wedding. A special thank you to LaDawn for her help as well. It was a beautiful weekend and we were so happy to be able to share in Amy and Travis' special day!

Six Months Old!

It absolutely amazes us how she if growing and developing so rapidly. Everyday brings about some new trick. My favorite as of late is how she sucks her thumb through her pacifier. Her pacifier has a hollow center, which she stick her thumb in so that she can suck on her pacifier and thumb at the same time. She is multitasking already!

Charlie is also getting more and more vocal each day. I love to hear her babble away and the absolute best is when she gets a case of the giggles. I don't think there is a better sound in the whole world than a child laughing.

I'm not much of a girlie-girl myself, but somehow I think Charlie is adorable in her girlie outfits. Her tutu and leg warmers crack me up!

Tutu Cute!

Something just for fun :)

Thank You Aunt Jessie!

Charlie's Aunt Jessica (Jennifer's sister) just got back from a 38 day field research trip on a boat in the North Atlantic and Artic Ocean for N.O.A.A. She brought Charlie this cute hat back from Iceland so we had to show it off!