A Purposeful Peek

Charlotte Ann, Our big TWO Year Old...you have brought more joy and laughter into our lives these past two years than we could have ever imagined! You are passionate, kind, hilarious, brilliant, and you carry the meaning of your name, "freedom" so well! There is no way to fully describe how much you've grown and changed this summer, but here are a few highlights: - You can identify every U.S. President's picture, thanks to a deck of cards at Mimi and Didi's house that you have become obsessed with! - Your most common phrase these days is, "Do it myself," or simply "I do it, do it, do it!!!"  - You can jump off the side of the swimming pool (with floaties) into the water "by myself," while instructing momma and daddy to back away. - You already proudly claim the role of "Big Sister" and love telling people about your "Baby Sisser in Momma's belly" Those are only a few examples of your ...

What do the following events have in common? Franklin D. Roosevelt established the March of Dimes. The first ski lift in the U.S. opened in Vermont. Adolf Hitler took direct control of the German military. Oil was discovered in Saudi Arabia. Synthetic yarn was officially named "nylon." The tape recorder and ball point pen were invented. The year was 1938. What else happened that year? 1938 was the last year that the U.S. passed a federal law regulating the cosmetic industry. Now, I don't know about you, but as someone who works in a highly regulated healthcare industry, this fact is absolutely appalling to me.  I am very familiar with the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938 and thankful that it was implemented. However, let me just say that if we still regulated drugs only under laws that were last passed in 1938 (including this one)...well...I can't even tell you how scary that would be! Current buzzwords such as organic and all-natural mak...

Around here, we love finding a reason to celebrate!  Only two years ago, we were celebrating news of our baby girl at our March Maternity Madness gender reveal party, and so we wanted to carry on the tradition of a themed party to announce the gender of our newest little Peek.  With June being one of the hottest months in Oklahoma, it only seemed fitting to have a party that involved ice cream (okay, so maybe this momma's cravings also had something to do with that idea ;) A Friday evening ice cream social was a sweet and simple way to gather some local friends at our home as we announced the big news. Our theme, "Sweet Scoop of Joy: Girl or Boy?" was carried out by our friend/nanny/party planner extraordinaire Tiffany, who decked the house with ice cream cone balloons, stacking "scoops" for guests to cast their gender votes, and an all-you-can-eat ice cream sundae buffet.     Friends arrived and made their guesses while piling pi...

Oh sweet Charlotte, How can I even begin to sum up the last three months of your life? Your personality and imagination continue to blossom, and you are beginning to taste the freedom of independence as you enter the "do it myself" stage. It is such a joy to see you embrace who you are becoming...a little strong-willed, joyful, humorous blend of both your parents ; ) Personality in full bloom  You LOVE learning. You continue to choose books over toys any day, and you ask to read the same book "again" until you literally have it memorized.  Now, we can ask you to "read" to us, and you pretty accurately tell us the story by narrating the pictures and imitating the version we always tell (in your own simple words). You love singing the alphabet and have a recent obsession with identifying letters on street signs, labels, and any other item with a word on it. You love the letter "double" (W) the most and excitedly point it out wherever ...

After a week of typical Oklahoma spring weather (read: consecutive evenings spent feeding your toddler dinner in a closet to the tune of tornado sirens blaring in the background), let's just say that our garden was loving the saturated soil from the torrential rainstorms that had recently blown through.   Our squash and okra plants had at least doubled in size, and our strawberries were growing wild.  The field in which I decided to park my new SUV at Saturday's local arts festival, however, was not so cooperative... Have you ever made a decision and immediately wished you could take it back? For example, when you look around to see other vehicles parked in a seemingly well-drained field, and then suddenly feel your own tires slowing into a sludge of muck? Yup. Well, that was me. I was stuck. Really stuck. But, there was nothing I could do, and my tiny blonde passenger wasn't much for helping dig me out of the mud... so, we went on to the festival and enjoyed the sunny ...

Wednesday, April 19, 1995.  I remember it so clearly... You never forget the first time your world stands still. I was sitting in Mrs. Roth's 4th grade class, learning all the things 4th graders learn, when I suddenly was made aware of something 4th graders should never have to learn.  A solemn announcement to our class revealed that something very bad had happened in Oklahoma City, about 60 miles from my small rural hometown. An explosion had happened at a building downtown - the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building- and many people had died. My 4th grade mind could barely comprehend this news as I later stood on the playground, watching helicopters fly overhead, likely heading to the scene of the tragedy.  Our recess was cut short, and my young mind was spinning.  How could something like this happen? Why did innocent people die? Did I know anyone who was there?  Who caused this terrible thing? Was I safe, or could something like this happen in my own town? ...

Paper lanterns are part of ancient Asian traditions that are thought to date back as far as 230 BC.  To this day, they are used in religious and cultural festivals and holidays around the world, usually symbolic of some type of celebration.  In their simplest form, they are a light/candle inside of a paper bag, set on display for only a short time before they burn out.  But there are more intricate paper lanterns - sky lanterns - that inflate when lit, rise rapidly into the air, and float into the sky for miles and miles. They give off a glow that can be seen by anyone who happens to look up and behold the light that illuminates the night sky. Last week, I got to release my first sky lantern with my first best friend, the person who knows me most deeply (besides my husband), the person who I have shared every season of life most closely with. My sister.  It was a bittersweet celebration and a symbolic farewell... After nearly seven years of preparat...

Char-char, No, that is not a nickname that your daddy and I came up with; it is your very own invention and the way you most commonly refer to yourself with a proud smile on your face.  We still prefer to call you Charlotte or Charli, but in the end you will ultimately decide what you want to be called anyway!  We just hope you don't take a page out of your aunt's playbook and insist on changing the spelling of your name (to something like "Charlytte") while in high school ; ) Gone are the days of monthly blog updates from your first year of life; at the pace you are moving now, we are doing well to document your quarterly developments... and what a fast-paced quarter these last three months have been! You can now kick a soccer ball while running full speed ahead, jump with both feet lifted off the ground, and you have figured out how to climb out of the crib (!) These are the days when we are most proud and yet sometimes overwhelmed [in the best way...