Fairy Houses

Ulrike told us to stop by, she had gifts, so we took a little walk.  She and Chris were SO generous, thinking of each of us, including Scooter!  But Charley especially enjoyed her gift - so incredibly thoughtful!!!  She received a book I'd never heard of, called Fairy Houses - how glad I am Ulrike introduced us to this!!!  And along with it, a small jar filled with tiny fairy trinkets, to help us build our own fairy house!  She could hardly wait to get home and read the book, then immediately wanted to head outside and build her very own fairy house!

She really loved this tiny deer, however, and wanted to keep it for herself, rather than give it to the fairies.  ;)

The book, and fairy jar.

Building the house.

Putting a pile of rabbit fur in to make it nice and cozy.

She made a stone walkway so they can find the entrance.

Putting in the pretty shiny things.

Our fairy abode.

We kept some of the items in the jar, so we can periodically add to their house so they have surprises.  :)  So fun!

The Big Reveal

Charley was done - literally done - about 1/4 of the way through, and we had to prod her to finish opening gifts so we could get it over with - can you believe that?

She loved her bunny bank from Michael and Kelsey

She opened Reed's bank for him too!

Her own baby sling

Her spoils

Her new art desk

Friends and Fun

Once back from Vegas, Charley was happy to see the "Morses"!

 Paula came over bearing birthday gifts - a quilt she made!  And she stuffed the pockets with tiny toys - what a neat idea!

  Halloween Day - Trunk or Treat pics to follow!

And Grandma's gifts arrived - Charley loves the guitar!

  And she had to eat cheese and crackers on her tea set plates!  Thanks Grandma!

10-21-11

The big birthday party wasn't for another day, but we wanted to at least open C's gifts on her birthday.  So, when Daddy came home from work, we got busy!


We didn't really get Charley anything!  Between all the gifts our generous family and friends sent, plus the collection Mom kept from when I was little (plus some extras she's picked up along the way), along with some gifts she was given when she was younger that I held back for when she'd enjoy them more, she had quite a stash!


These items I wanted her to have - in my quest to make her love great apes as much as I do.  :)

And here are the items that either belonged to me, or came from a previous gift give, or I bought her on Craigslist earlier this year.

Susie came by on her big day to give her this horse and a book about finding a bird!  So perfect!

Grandma got her Corduroy - always one of my faves!

Pat and Sarah got her this adorable Under the Nile frog...

... and this awesome Haba stacking toy!  BIG MISTAKE, opening this one right away.  It quickly has become her FAVORITE, and we could get her to focus on nothing else for the rest of the night!!!

The Brewster's got her these adorable shoes!  (Notice she's still holding the stacking toy...)

 And made her this cool card!

The Cotten's got her this book - great bedtime story!

Uncle Michael got Charley this cool tugboat!!!

And Grandpa gave her money for her savings account!  One day she'll REALLY appreciate this!

Nana and Pops got her this Clifford dog...

... it's the first time I've ever had her kiss something when asked!

We had several books for her, and just let her dive in.

Doing what she usually does with books...   sigh.

Charley signing "more".  It's the only sign she's picked up, and she uses it for everything.  More what Charley?  Gifts???

Well, we didn't make it through all the gifts - it was quite overwhelming for little girl.  So we called it quits halfway through and went to take a bath with our new tugboat toy.  We'll have to finish the rest another day!

Have to make sure to brush those teeth!

 The next morning we dove back into her new toys.  She LOVES this puppy Grandma got her!

Playing Pat-a-Cake with it-

And we're back to the stacking toy.

Oh wait!  Look at this cool camera!  Thanks Grandma!