Charlotte's Crazy Summer!

Summer was full of action for all of us. I continued to work through June (end of one school year) and July (beginning of another school year), and finally went off track in August. During my six weeks off we redecorated Charlotte's room and condensed our "office" into a computer hutch in our bedroom. The end result is Charlotte has her very own room finally, and we can get on the computer now. Woo Hoo!

In addition to hanging around INSIDE the house--it was hot as hades out here--Charlotte found time to visit most members of her family. In June, we celebrated her one year birthday at Grandma Helen's and spent time with family and friends. Later that weekend, James' Uncle Nick, Aunt Anna and cousins Wendy and Paige visited from Michigan. It's always special to see them! In August, Grandma Linda was able to come for a week long visit. During her visit we decided to drive to San Diego and visit Grammy the Great and to meet Charlotte's sisters. I had met her sisters prior to her birth, but this was the first time that they had seen Charlotte. It was a very special afternoon for them and for us. A week later, we went to Palm Srpings for our annual week long vacation and we were joined by cousins Kerri and Clare. I believe they had fun playing with Charlotte and scrapbooking with me. And, last but not least we stopped by Aunt Katie and Uncle Brian's house on the return trip home from our vacation to BBQ and hang out.

Time flies--I have returned to my 5th grade class, the weather is getting colder, and we are planning for Halloween now. I hope to have some fun pictures of Charlotte in her costume soon!

Love the shades.

Cousin Wendy is right, the Winne the Pooh ride along is the greatest gift in the world for a toddler!

Exploring post it notes.

Dog days of summer.

Charlotte was very excited to stop at the petting zoo in San Juan Capistrano (on the way to San Diego).

Feeding the bunnies and goats with Grandma Linda.


Ni--ce goat. Ni--ce is one of Charlotte's first words.


Charlotte with her older sisiters Rachel and Vanessa.

With Grammy the Great!


In Palm Springs with Kerri and Clare.


Spending special time with Daddy...and a duck.

A Very Special Birthday and Mother's Day

Last year, my birthday fell on the Thursday before Mother's Day weekend. That evening I went out with a special friend to a Loreena McKennit concert (celtic-gypsy music, one of my fave's) and I proceeded to make it a three day weekend by taking the next day off of school. After doing whatever it is I did all day, I went out that evening with another special friend to scrap for several hours (another fave of mine). I didn't think the weekend could get much better, but it did!

Later that weekend we were approached by family members asking if we would be interested in persuing an interfamily adoption. James and I were totally taken by surprise, but after thinking about it we decided that it was a sign, a gift from above. The timing could not have been better. We had just finished all of our paperwork and chomping at the bit to be parents.

So, Mother's Day of 2007 we decided to persue an adoption. We didn't know when Charlotte would be due. We didn't know if she was a girl or not. We didn't know a lot of things, but over the following weeks we learned all about her and spent a lot of time talking with her birth mother, James' neice. She was born six weeks later and I have been a mom ever since (and James has been the most loving and involved father!)

That was Mother's Day last year. This year, my very first official Mother's Day was also my birthday. Last year was very special and I will never forget that weekend, but this year was even better! I got to share it with my husband and my daughter.

Please enjoy our pictures.

Checking out the goats in the petting zoo.

Charlotte and James pretending to be groundhogs.

She digs the giraffes.

Hangin' with Pops.

Happy girl.

A few days later, Charlotte got her first hair cut. As you can see, she thought it was total bull*&%t. I tried to comfort her, but between the cold water, the scissors, and Daddy snapping pictures, she was not a happy camper.

The new haircut in all it's glory.

Catching Up With Charlotte

Wow, it's been ages since we have posted anything new! It's about time for an update I would say. The last post I made was in April when I was still blissfully off-track and was a semi-stay-at-home-mom. I feel very fortunate to be able to be home for fourteen weeks a year and to spend it at home caring for Charlotte and spending time with the animals. They are still a huge part of our lives too, though the lack of Piper, Caesar, and Moo pictures might indicate the opposite. I better get right on that...

As for the updates, before I went back in April we had two very important events occur. First, Charlotte made her first trip to the zoo. We went on the spur of the moment and when we arrived we saw that the line was a mile long. James noticed that the members line had NO line and we decided to become members! It wound up being a good move--James and Charlotte have been back twice without me! Charlotte enjoyed riding around and checking out all the action. She seemed to notice the giraffes in particular, and James enjoyed the chimps. As one might expect.


The second important event came a few days later when my father arrived from Portland to meet Charlotte for the first time. It was very special to me on many levels. First, it was the first time I had seen my dad in over a year. Second, we got to visit some special places together--some of my dad's old haunts and some places we frequented when I was a kid. And last, because he met Charlotte and we were able to have quality family time.


They make a cute couple.

Original Daddy's girl.

First bowl fo Matzo ball soup at Canter's.

Adoption Finalized and Trip to Sacramento

On March 7, 2008 Charlotte officially became Charlotte Cameron Purse! James, Charlotte, James' mother Helen, and I headed down to the San Fernando Court House in the early afternoon for our court hearing. We weren't sure what to expect, but we had heard beforehand that judges like adoption hearings because they are generally a happy and positive court proceeding. Still not sure how it would all go, we waited quietly and reverently with our halos on for the judge. After a short wait, she entered the courtroom and came over to us to introduce herself. We then all sat at a confernce table and the proceedings began. As the judge narrated the proceeding for the court reporter, she made many references to "beautiful baby Charlotte", "handsome father James", and "beautiful mother Catherine." It was very sweet. We reviewed the paperwork, took an oath to be the best parents in the whole world (ha ha), and gladly signed on the dotted line to make Charlotte's adoption legal, final, and forever. Charlotte sat on James' lap drinking her bottle and James' mom snapped some pictures.

We literally raised our right hands as we swore that we were to be what they call in the adoption world, a "forever family."

Posing with the judge after the proceedings.

Happy.

A few weeks later we took a family weekend trip to Sacramento. James had been reading a book about the transcontinental raidroad and learned that Sacramento had a really fabulous train musuem. So, we looked into taking the train to the train musuem! I myself have always loved Sacramento (though I had only passed through driving on my way to or back from Portland), so I was excited about spending a few days there. We visited Old Town Sacramento, took a river boat, visited the railroad musuem, visited the state capital, walked all over the city, and ate at some great restaurants. Charlotte is a really easy baby when it comes to being out and about, and most of the time she was either taking it all in or asleep. Which is what a vacation is all about! Needless to say, we had a really, really good time.

Daddy gets a close up of Charlotte.

Sitting with Daddy on the train.

The capital building (I guess that's obvious).

Charlotte going "woo hoo" in the capital.

Just what it says.

Old Sacramento still has some of it's orginal buildings.

Riding the riverboat.

Dinnertime.

Strolling through the city.

She's a travelin' baby, made a lot of stops...

Hi everyone! There is a new glitch in the blog system. Our computer is in Charlotte's room, so when she's awake I cannot get on the computer. When she's asleep I cannot get on the computer. So, I have to wait until I have a free moment--such as now!

Christmas time was busy, but over the last two months we have been settling back into our routines. Both Charlotte and I had gotten way off track, namely with her sleep schedule. So after a few weeks of sleepless nights and begging God for mercy, we seem to be back on track! I worked for five weeks before I went on vacation mid-February. Since then, however I have been very busy! I decided to substitute several days to make some extra money for Charlotte and I to buy some new summer clothes. What about Daddy, you ask? He won't mind wearing last year's fashions. Shorts and T-shirts don't change much year to year! While I am on vacation we are also looking forward to taking a family train trip to Sacramento. We will catch the train in Bakersfield (shorter than taking from LA), and when we arrive we hope to visit their old town, the Railroad Museum, the zoo, and eat, eat, eat.

Speaking of traveling, Charlotte has been making the Grandma rounds. She recently went to visit Grandma Helen in Oxnard where she got lots of attention and went to the beach. The weekend after Valentine's Day, we all went to San Diego to visit my Grandma (Grammy the Great). On our way, we stopped in San Juan Capistrano to get a breath of fresh air. We happened to find the railroad station which is situated in a charming "old town" type of area. We walked, window shopped (OK, just me), and watched the train go by. We have included pictures of both trips below.

Charlotte at Grandma Helen's house eating a book. What else?

Sitting on the beach.

Thinking about things...

What's so funny, Charlotte?

San Juan Capistrano train station. Daddy loves trains. I think I can, I think I can.

The only thing Charlotte likes more than eating a book is eating a jar of vaseline.

Lunching with Daddy. Daddy isn't eating much.

Cutie.

Sitting next to Grammy the Great at lunch.

No tea for you yet!