Christmas 09

Christmas 2009 was wonderful here in Arizona. Yia Yia came to visit on Christmas Eve and we ordered Chinese takeout - a Uhl family tradition. We made and set out cookies and milk, Jack made sure the fireplace was open so Santa could get in easily, and the children went to bed after a family reading of the Christmas story from the Bible. Christmas morning Jack was up early but stayed in his room until the adults woke up - so proud of him! We opened gifts and then Dick and Susan came over for coffee cake. The kids spent the rest of the day playing with all of their new toys. It was a relaxing and peaceful Christmas at home. Love, The Uhls!

From Christmas 2009

From Christmas 2009

Charlotte's 2nd Birthday

Our little sweetheart Charlotte turned 2 on December 17th. We had a great 3-day celebration. On Wednesday Jack, Charlotte, and I met Rich for lunch, then went on the carousel. Charlotte loved it and wanted to keep riding. It was adorable.

From Charlotte's 2nd Birthday

On Thursday she got to open her gift from us - a baby set which she has been playing with every day since then. I love watching her pretend to be a mom, she's so girly!

From Charlotte's 2nd Birthday

Saturday, Dick and Susan came over with a chocolate cake and another present for Charlotte (and one for Jack, too). I'm so proud of my daughter, she's everything a mother could ever want. I'm so honored to be here to watch her grow. What a sweet girl.

From Charlotte's 2nd Birthday

Christmas Festival

Here we are posing for a picture with Santa at the Carefree Christmas Festival on Friday night. Just like the last few years, the kids are deathly afraid of Santa. I wonder when that will change? Notice how Charlotte is clinging to me, trying to hold on for dear life, afraid that I'll put her on Santa's lap! Someone convinced Jack to give a big "thumbs up" which distracted him from the fact that he was, in fact, sitting on Santa's leg. The funniest part, to me, is that Santa himself is also giving the "thumbs up."

From Carefree Festival

After our picture with Santa, we enjoyed the rest of the festivities, including a giant (man-made) snow slide, marshmallow roasting complete with Carefree's finest firefighters, and two giant bounce houses. Merry Christmas!

Baby Micah

I can't believe it took me this long to post a picture of my incredibly precious new nephew Micah Edward Iguchi!

He is the most adorable, handsome, cute, sweet, cuddly little guy! Doesn't he look like he is even smiling in this photo? Carolyn and Daniel are baby-making geniuses!

Mom's Visit

We had such a great visit with my mom! She was here from Nov 1 - 6. It was so much fun to spend time together. She slept in Jack's room and he took the play room floor. She went with us to Jack's school, to the park, the Children's Museum, Bible study, running errands, and shopping! I love my mom so much, and it was so nice to have her here all to myself. We spent most of the time hanging out and talking, which is what we do best. She babysat one night so Rich and I could go out for dinner which was so wonderful. The rest of the evenings, after the kids would go to bed we would stay up laughing and watching crazy movies. Here we are one morning after we dropped Jack off at school, having coffee at Starbuck's.

Award

Thursday was an exciting day for Jack. He won the Star Student award at school! He got to take the prize, a brown bear, for the week. We are very proud of our star!

Halloween 09

Halloween was fun this year because Jack was old enough to understand the goal of getting candy, and Charlotte loved dressing up. Jack was supposed to be Batman this year, but we could not find a costume in his size. Rich bought him an Ob-Wan Kenobi (from the Star Wars movie) costume, but Jack refused to wear it. In the end, he wore a Cars Lightening McQueen shirt and hat, and went as the pit crew. Charlotte loved her costume - she was a lady bug with wings, a tu tu, and a wand. They walked to a few houses for trick-or-treating and then we went to our friends, Merry and Eric's, house for dinner.

Jack's 4th Birthday

Jack's fourth birthday was so much fun. He was looking forward to it for months! On his birthday, we had a party at our house. Jack helped make the chocolate cake and pizza for the party. Here he is enjoying the icing from the cake!


He received lots of cool gifts, including an EzyRoller from Grammy and Grandpap,


A scooter from Susan and Chief,


And a box of books from Yia Yia.


It was a fantastic day. Here we are together right before Jack blew out his candles.


On Friday, he had a party at the park with his friends. Charlotte, Madilyn, Elle, Jillian, Kayl, Jackson, and Brooklyn were there to celebrate with him. Here he is hugging Kayl.

Well, I have kind of been waiting for this day, and of course, it came without warning when I was least expecting it. That's always the way it works, though, isn't it? During Charlotte's noon nap, while I was cleaning up, Jack secretly found the scissors, took them into my bathroom, and gave himself a hair cut. The worst part about it was, I didn't even notice until later that evening at the dinner table! I was staring at him, trying to figure out what was different, when I saw the giant gap on the middle of his forehead where hair was supposed to be. Yes, he took a big chunk out of the middle of his bangs. I asked, "Jack, did you cut your hair!?!?" He said, "yes, but don't worry, Mom, I threw it in the trash." He said he wanted it to look like Sawyer, a friend from preschool who has short, spiky hair. Before I thought about taking a picture, I tried my best to even out his hairline. Here's my result!

From Hair cut disaster

Father-Son Day

At La Tolteca, trying to figure out what to have for dessert.

Playing in the sandbox.

Tomorrow is Jack's fourth birthday! Today Rich took him out for a special father-son day. They went to the Children's Museum together and then they are going to lunch at Rich's favorite Mexican place La Tolteca. I am so proud of my son, I can't believe he is already four years old! I love him so much, more than words can express.

Mid Quarter Report Card!

Jack got his first pre-school progress report today, and it was very positive - not surprising since he loves going to school:

"Jack is very enthusiastic about learning. He participates in class discussions and willingly embraces new activities. He is very interested in the 'discovery center.' He is always asking questions and eager to learn new things. He always has the most interesting things to add to our discussions. He is a joy to have in class."

So proud of him!

Jack's first day of school

Last Tuesday was Jack's first day of school. My little baby boy is growing up. He was SO excited. He has been looking forward to this for months. On Tuesday he woke up extra early, put on his uniform, and asked me when we were leaving for school. When we got there, he ran into the room and barely looked back at me. Every day since, he has enjoyed every minute of school.

Mission Beach/Bay 09

Well our trip to the beach was a blast. We all had a relaxing and peaceful vacation, spent every day on the sand, and just hung out together. Looking forward to making this an annual thing.

From Mission Beach 09

From Mission Beach 09

Charlotte can finally say "Grammy", and we tried to get her to call my dad "Grandpap" but she insisted on calling him either "Pap Pat" or "Grrrrr Pap Pap."

From Mission Beach 09

Jack was so into making sandcastles this year, but he kept going back to the beach to check on them, and was surprised when they weren't there the next day. He also made a lot of friends on the beach! Always the outgoing guy!

Road Trip 09 Part III

While we were at Sea World, Charlotte spent the day with Grammy and Grandpap on the beach. She was a perfect angel all day long, and even took her 2 hour nap on Grammy's lap at the beach!

Road Trip 09 Part II

After a fun visit at Yia Yia's, we arrived in San Diego on Saturday afternoon and met up with Grammy and Grandpap. We settled into our condo and spent the evening on the bay. On Tuesday, Rich and I took Jack to Sea World! He was so excited to see Shamu, and he loved all of the shows and rides.

Jack reading the map while riding on Rich's shoulders - watch out!

From Sea World 2009!

Jack's first time seeing "snow," an ice wall in the polar bear exhibit -

From Sea World 2009!

In the polar bear cave -

From Sea World 2009!

On the teacup ride -

From Sea World 2009!

Road Trip 09

From Yia Yia's House 2009

We left for our big road trip to California on Friday morning around 9AM. The kids were great in the car, and we arrived in Coto de Caza at Yia Yia's house around 5PM. Everyone had fun visiting and playing with all of Yia Yia's toys...and the next morning we visited her bookstore.

From Yia Yia's House 2009

July Fun

We have been trying to think of fun things to do inside this month, since the weather has been in the 115s lately. The kids are making their own fun, as usual. Here is Charlotte going through the cabinets...

From fun july

We went to the Children's Museum of Phoenix which was so much fun. I think I will get a membership so we can go a lot more...it was a blast and the kids didn't want to leave! We could have stayed all day!

Jack convinced me last night to bake cupcakes. Here are some shots of the chaos, I mean fun.

Charlotte putting on the oven mitts -

From fun july

Jack waiting for the cupcakes to cool -

From fun july

Icing them -

From fun july

And YUM -

From fun july

The End!

From fun july

I love my husband!

This is "our song." The song we danced to at our wedding - our first dance as husband and wife.

The Luckiest

I don't get many things right the first time
In fact, I am told that a lot
Now I know all the wrong turns, the stumbles and falls
Brought me here

And where was I before the day
That I first saw your lovely face?
Now I see it everyday
And I know

That I am
I am
I am
The luckiest

What if I'd been born fifty years before you
In a house on a street where you lived?
Maybe I'd be outside as you passed on your bike
Would I know?

And in a white sea of eyes
I see one pair that I recognize
And I know

That I am
I am
I am
The luckiest

I love you more than I have ever found a way to say to you

Next door there's an old man who lived to his nineties
And one day passed away in his sleep
And his wife; she stayed for a couple of days
And passed away

I'm sorry, I know that's a strange way to tell you that I know we belong
That I know

That I am
I am
I am
The luckiest

Charlotte 18 Months!

Charlotte had her 18 month checkup on Thursday. She got 2 shots and is 23 lbs (25-50%), 31.5 inches tall (50%), and her head is 19.5 inches (97%). Her language skills are increasing each day, she is making two and three word sentences, and doing great! She got stung by a bee for the first time last week, but she was fine after a few minutes. She loves the pool, her favorite foods are spaghetti, grilled cheese sandwiches, chicken nuggets, popsicles, and animal crackers, and she still follows Jack around like a shadow.

Slip N Slide

Jack got a new slip n slide this weekend, and we all had fun using it! Since it was in the 100s we were all trying to cool off, and this was perfect!

From July 2009

From July 2009

From July 2009

Charlotte preferred to watch from the patio.

From July 2009

Dress Up

Charlotte LOVES to play dress up. I find her trying on her brother's clothes, putting my pants on, or putting a towel around her as a "dress" all the time! It is so cute to watch her walk around the house proud of her costumes!

From July 2009

New Barstools

From July 2009

Finally somewhere to eat in the kitchen!

Oatmeal Bathtime

From July 2009

Jack and Charlotte's bath time. Jack is helping me rinse off his sister. By the way they are not that dirty - the bathwater has oatmeal in it to help Charlotte's eczema!

From July 2009

Overheard

Overheard today at the pool, a conversation among three-year-old boys about their dads. Here are Jack's comments:

Jack: My dad goes to work and collects golf balls for me.

Jack: My dad is farty!

Jack: My dad used to be a statue!

Charlotte's First Hair Cut

From Charlotte's First Haircut

My parents and I took Charlotte to the salon for her first hair cut. She was very good and sat on my lap while getting her new do. The stylist gave her bangs, trimmed the back, and gave her some layers.

From Charlotte's First Haircut

From Charlotte's First Haircut

Here are the men in the waiting room.

From Charlotte's First Haircut