I feel like I might ACTUALLY have a little moment to update the blog. It has been suffering dreadfully since Charlotte's birth,  my new found love for Facebook, and all of the guests we've had here this past month! It's been awesome, and BUSY!

Things here have been great though! Charlie is growing growing growing, and we are more in love with her every day - she's such a gift. Our world has been turned upside down, from lazy weekends and doing whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted - to taking turns wearing the sling with the baby in it when she's cranky, to learning to deal with a messy place, and unbrushed teeth at 1 PM ( that's me today  - HAH!! )  Sometimes I'd just rather play with her while she's up, and catch up when she's down....Such is life. It's such a blessed one!!

So, that's about all that I have time to update on - and since I know most of you like pictures most anyway - Here are some pictures of baby girl from this last month - January -, and all of the visitors that we've had too!

Charlotte's playtime -

Skinny little long girl. Precious, precious, precious!!

She likes Shrinky....he's still not quite sure what to think of her!

Milky little tongue! =)

Kicking like crazy!!

She loves ( and kind of resembles ) her little lamb-ie!

Just taken today....how cute!!!!

Charlotte's Bathtime

Momma LOVES giving Charlotte a bath!!

She has really been loving to look at her hands.

Charlotte's Grandma and Grandpa time -

Arriving to see their little sweetie!!

Grandpa got a good smile out of her!!!

So sleepy!

Grandma and Grandpa got to give her one of her first "real" baths -after her umbilical cord fell off.

Taking a walk with Grandma is the best!!

Charlotte's sleep time

Awwwwwwwwwwww!!!

The colic hold....when she was a cranky baby!

Another favorite place to fall asleep. Notice how NONE of these places are her bed....she ONLY likes to sleep there at night. Otherwise it's on mom, or dad, or her carseat.

Charlotte's Auntie Emily  and Cousin Ethan time -

Meeting her cousin for the first time.

Getting ready for church. All dressed up!

Aren't they adorable???

The sweetest picture yet!!

Ready to head to the BEACH!!

Whoo-whoo!!! 75 degrees and sunny - in January!!!

Our first day out on the beach.

Ethan, seriously - quit hogging all of the water!!!!

And they're off!

Charlotte and Ethan - new best buddies!!!

Charlotte's Mommy and Daddy time

Daddy icing his fractured foot.

Charlie and daddy fast asleep! Momma's favorite picture - ever!!

I'm happiest when I'm in my sling. I love to be close to momma, and I LOVE baby Gap!!

Daddy and baby Charlie walking towards home

Watching super bowl with dad - in my formula one t-shirt!!

Charlotte's Godmother / Auntie Ashley time

At the Academy of Science museum with Auntie Ash

Three fancy ladies!! All dressed up............

Snuggling with my god-mother!!!

Charlotte's Silly ( ie -my mom is crazy ) time

I am NOT HAPPY!!!

All my single ladies, wha-oh-oh-oh!! Charlie LOVES Beyonce!!

Don't mess with my weave! (Bwah-hah-haahhhh!! ) Auntie Ash, dad, and mom are M-E-A-N!! But this is hilarious!!!!

Okay all, baby girl is going to wake up soon - and be hungry ( I'm sure ). That and I probably should brush my teeth and get a few things done around here....My sister Alison, and her boyfriend Adam are coming for the weekend. Whoo-whoo!!!

Hope all is well, and sending all of my love!!!

XOXOX Megan

Blogs as I know them ( wordy, and hours worth of time spent putting them together ) are about to change. For starters, I literally CAN'T put my daughter down - one b/c she likes falling asleep on me, and then I can't set her down cause she's so cute and snuggly, and - two because if she's up then I want to be playing with her, and -three because we've had / and are going to continue to have lots of guests, and you can't just sit around and blog when you have guests here, right??

So, here come the first 2 weeks in pictures - and a few highlights ( there have been MANY!! )

Week One-

I already shared the birth, and hospital part of her life, so we'll move to when she got to come home, on Christmas Eve ( which was so special ) and wake up with her mommy, daddy, grandpa, grandma, and Auntie Erin on Christmas day.

Here's our TEENY little sweetie Christmas morning laying on her 3 month clothing new wardrobe from her daddy's Auntie Martha!! Can you believe how tiny she is?? Some babies are too big for this size when they're born!!

Laying on Grandma's lap with her new jeans, and Grandma loves (and spoils ) Me onesie!! Cute!

And with her Grandpa, Auntie Erin, and daddy Christmas night before bed. We had such a fun and relaxing Christmas day, opened gifts, ate lots of food, and mostly just spent time hanging out and staring at baby Charlotte!!

The cats are needier than ever - nothings changed there!! HAH!!

Auntie Erin loves her little green bean....

That week while they were here, we got out a bit - pediatrician appt, Target, Babies R Us, Starbucks run, a few lunches out - but mostly just stayed at home, watched movies, and spent time as a family - it was SO great!!!

We also started having our first guests - Charlotte has had SO many friends over to visit her - and some of the first ( they also brought CPK which was fantastic!! ) were Candace and Vitaly- Here they are with her...

Once again, she's swimming in her clothes - we had to go out and buy a whole bunch of new things once we realized how little she was!! =)

Charlotte had her first bath while Grandma and Grandpa were here too!!

She LOVES bath time!!! =)

We also had to get out and take a few walks - the weather was fantastic over Christmas time!! It was SO weird though not having snow!!!

Some clothes that actually fit, well kinda!! =)

Daddy and his little girl!!! The first of many walks together!!

Week Two-

Mommy's first day alone with her little girl ( daddy went into work for a little bit on Monday and Tuesday AM ) She loved looking at the floral arrangement that was sent to her at the hospital.

We also had to stop into daddy's work to show her off! Of course!!

And we had a lot of visitors come to see us, and bring us meals -

Lauren got to finally meet Baby Charlotte ( She's the little girl I nanny for )

And I love this one of Brett, and Lauren both checking her out ( and her umbilical cord - Ewww!! )

Levi, Missy and Annelise came over that night to bring us dinner - Levi was pretty excited!! =)

And here he is with his mommy!

And Annelise ran into Charlie's room and found Stitchy and one of Charlotte's binky's. That chick is such a binky stealer!! HAH!!

Also, Auntie Lisa came over and spent the better part of the afternoon with us. So helpful, and SO much fun catching up with her!!

And again, Shrinky needed EXTRA attention!!! Can you believe this guy?

This is typically how our nights ended the entire second week! I LOVE IT!!!

We also rang in the New Year with our little girl the second week.....

Here's our little family!!

Joshua singing to baby  Charlotte! He just LOVES her, it's so darling!!

And the family shot of the Parisians - ringing in the new year at our friend Sean and Dana's house with our new little bundle of joy!!!

Charlotte enjoyed playing a lot too!!! Here she is on her changing table with all of her toys!!

And her checking herself out in her mirror. What a pretty girl!!

One of my favorites - getting a bath, and again looking at that pretty girl in the mirror....

Daddy also did a lot of diaper changes ( we both did, but it's cutest when he does it! )

Awwwwwww..... So gentle, SO precious!!!

Jennie and Ian ( the other little boy I nanny for ) also had to come and meet the little sweetie!!

Nighty night sleepy head!!!

And that's her first few weeks! I should also share that I went back to the doctor ( she had gotten jaundiced in the hospital )and 3 days after being home she had gone back up to her birth weight - yeah!! We also had an appt the next week and she had gained almost a pound - 7 lbs and an inch. She's still tiny, but gaining slowly but surely!! Whoo-whoo!! She's amazing!!

Okay, well that's all the time I've got to put into this. I'm planning on sharing our maternity pics tomorrow or the next day as we just got those back, and they turned out phenomonal!! Seriously, we are SO excited and happy about them!!!

That's all friends and family,

All of my love,

Megan Brooke

Yes, it's true I feel like it wouldn't be a complete story if I didn't begin there. It was Sunday December 21st -Charlotte's due date, and what we hoped would be the day our little girl came into the world. Well, that day came, and then really, went. Brad and I went to church, Target, BB&Beyond, and Trader Joe's getting all of the essentials for our family ( the Parisians ) arrival the next day. Came home, and both of us crashed out, missing our friends EggNog Roca party - but feeling like we needed sleep nonetheless. I woke up, and immediately started cleaning like a crazy woman. Brad, being the fantastic husband that he is, sat me down and told me " Megan, chill. Let me just take care of things" ( yes, seriously he said that ) He put me into our bedroom, turned on the tv and told me to not come out. Next thing I know I walk into the living room to find him vaccuuming the curtains. WHAT?? Who is this guy? I didn't even recognize him!  We joked that Charlottes' arrival must be coming soon because he ( the husband ) was starting to nest......

So, since he wouldn't let me clean, I decided to put my "nesting" to use in another way - making a gingerbread house. I had never done it, and always had wanted to. Plus, I thought it would be something that Charlotte and I could do together in the future. I started the gingerbread house around 9 PM, obsessing over every detail, making sure the frosting was smooth in the right places, and thick in others, that the colors were coordinated, and evenly distributed, and basically that it was perfect. I finished it up ( once again, Brad told me multiple times - "Quit that thing, and go to bed already" ) right around 12:30 - took some pictures to post online, as I was quite proud of it, and went to bed.

Here is my little gingerbread house

From the side...........

And the back..............See what I mean about obsessing!!! LOL

So, headed to bed around 1 AM, laid down, and that's when the contractions started And man, did they start.

I woke Brad up around 2, telling him that I thought that this was it, that I was definitely in labor. We got out his iPhone ( he downloaded a contraction monitoring application  ) and started timing the contractions. We knew that when they were 5 minutes apart, lasting 1 minute, for an hour we were supposed to go to the hospital. Well, that hour from 2-3 AM they pretty much were just that, and things started getting progressively more  and more painful when I was contracting. We threw on the movie Love Actually, and I maybe actually watched about 1/2 of it, as the other I was on the chaise lounge, or swaying against the kitchen chairs, in PAIN! I kept thinking, gosh I must be a wimp to be in this much pain this early on - and got into the bath -  hoping I could stay home a little longer, and thinking I should maybe call our doula ( although I didn't want to wake her, with this labor JUST STARTING ) By 5 I thought I was dying, and was crawling down the hallway like an animal ( and sounding like one too ). I got dressed, Brad called the hospital to let them know we were coming, and I rocked back and forth through a contraction while Brad massaged my back. Well, that was the contraction that did it -  at 5:40 AM my water broke, and the pain became even more intense. We got into the car, and Brad drove like a maniac to the hospital. That car ride was SO not fun!! (LOL). There was one point where I thought I was going to have Charlotte in the car on the way there.

We got to the hospital, they put me in a wheelchair and pushed me up to labor/delivery. The nurse came in, I told her what was going on, and she said well it still is early, let me check you. Checked me, and said "My gosh honey your are fully effaced, and dilated to an 8"  Told another nurse to call our doctor STAT, cause this baby was coming soon. We checked into the hospital just after 6 AM, they offered me an epidural ( I really, really wanted to try to do it without ) but at that time  I strongly considered it, and told them I would let them know if things didn't progress quickly. Well, as favor had it they did. I continued to contract, continued to scream, and they had me wait to push for our doctor. I went from an 8 to a 10 in about an hour and a half. Doctor Joyce came in,.checked me and told them to get everyone in here, as I was going to have a baby. The nurse had me start pushing around 7:50, our doctor came back in ( and please moms don't hate me for this one ) I pushed through 4 contractions, and our little miracle came into this world at 8:15 AM on Monday December 22nd -weighing 6 lbs. 3 oz, and 19" long -  just hours after her due date.

It also wouldn't be right if I didn't share the reason why I was able to get through all of this and how I was able to have what I would consider ( for me ) my ideal birth - and that is my amazingly loving and supportive husband who encouraged me the whole way through. I knew that I could do it, (even when I thought I couldn't) because he was right there telling me that I could, and letting me know how strong he thought I was, and how proud of me he was. Just looking into his eyes gave me the strength I needed to push through the pain. I truly ( and now I'm crying ) couldn't be more blessed! He is just the BEST! And I am just the luckiest! He also had thought the whole time that he would be a "north daddy" - helping and encouraging, but not watching the actual birth. Well, it all just kind of happened so quickly that he ended up watching his daughter come into this world - amazing!!

They immediately put her on my chest, and she was just PERFECT! Beautiful in every way, and so very alert. We immediately made eye contact, and I immediatetly knew she was the spitting image of her dad ( something I could tell just by looking at the ultrasounds ) I was instantly in love with her, as was her dad. Brad said "Hello, baby doll,. hello my sweet girl" and she looked up to hear where his voice was coming from. She recognized him as her dad. It was an unforgetable moment!!

They had to take her from us ( after Brad cut the cord ) because, and I didn't realize at the time, but her cord was wrapped ( 3 times!!! ) around her neck, and they were worried that she was having trouble breathing. They brought her to the warming table, and had to put a little oxygen mask on her so that they could get her lungs cleared out and get her going a little bit. Brad stood there right by her side the whole time, and I couldn't stop staring at her, and at him - and of course bawling! I'm pretty sure I bawled for the entire first day ( happy tears of course )

They showed him how to change her diaper, bathe her, and take care of her umbilical cord, while Dr Joyce finished things with me ( I won't go into detail, but my umbilcal cord broke, and the rest of the delivery was excruciating, to say the least ) At least I had my little girl out, and could focus on her.

They brought her back to me, and Brad and I just stared, hugged, snuggled, kissed, and cuddled her for the rest of the day. It was honestly the best moment of my life. I had the man who I loved more than anyone else on this earth next to me, and the baby that we created together in my arms. Pure bliss!!

I could seriously go on and on and on for hours, but instead I'll share a good amount of pictures that we took while in the hospital......

Enjoy!!!

The very first picture that daddy took of her. Getting warmed up on the warmer.

Bright eyed little honey.

Little legs, and toes up against the glass

And she's exhausted! Time for her first nap! ( doesn't she look buff!! =) )

Checking out momma. Is that a little bit of a smile I see?

I couldn't be more in love. She's perfect in every way!

Natalie was the first one to come visit our little honey.

As was Missy, and little Luke ( Natalie's little guy ) in the background.

What a little sweetie....look at all that hair.

Grandma, and Grandpa Parisian getting their first look at their first grandbaby. They too were in LOVE!!

Daddy, and baby Scrunch-scrunch ( as we've affectionately dubbed her ) snuggled up in the middle of the night.

And a close up....Awwwwwww!!!!!

Day Two, some elves show up with an early Christmas present for our little honey.

And my girlfriend Teresa ( who herself is due any day ) came to visit us as well.

Mommy was like the papparazzi! I'm sure she'll start posing any day now. =)

More visitors.....Sean and Brad and little honey!

As well as Edna, and Dana ( Sean's wife ) Too much fun!!

Momma and little girl later that day. Snuggly snuggly!!

The board with her stats!!!

Day 3 - going home day! Erin just got in late the night before, and is getting a look at her little niece.

The Parisian girls!! Ready to bring Charlotte home............

Had to throw this one in...Check out the view from our room! NICE!

In her carseat ( tiny as can be ) headed home!!!

That's our story! We're home now ( I'll update on all of that later ) and doing fantastic! We honestly have an AMAZING baby - sleeps well, eats well, and poops and pees WAY too well (HAH!!!) I sometimes look at her, and with her demeanor think what did we do to deserve this amazing little treasure, but I know that God brought her into our lives, and gave her her temperment because that's how he made her. Thank you Jesus for this amazing gift! The best present we could possibly get!

All of our love family and friends!

And THANK-YOU ALL for your love, support, and prayers. It really means a lot to us.

XOXOO Megan, and Brad

Until our little bundle of joy is "due" to arrive..... I can NOT believe it! Wow, wow, wow!!

So, that has obviously been the main thing going on around here lately.  Continued preparation - lots of relaxing and making sure we're ready ( or as ready as we can be ) - and taking care of ourselves. We've needed it too, as we've both been having a few "final days of pregnancy" or in Brad's case "sympathy final days pregnant" issues, and I also somehow picked up a nasty chest cough this weekend. We layed really low over the weekend, sadly cancelling plans with friends, but it was much needed.

We kind of had a big weekend ( although it wasn't really the weekend ) anyway though - as Matt and Dasia came into town last Wednesday - Friday. We had a BLAST with them, and it was so much fun to have some couples time with some of our best friends before becoming parents.

 I picked them up Wednesday afternoon from SFO - we came home and snacked, and talked, and talked and talked until Brad came home from work. Talked some more, Brad and Matt oogled over Brad's new bike, Dasia and I decided to get looking "cute" for our night out, and we headed to Burlingame for dinner at Il Fornaio. It's one of our faves, and we were all craving Italian / comfort food - especially as the weather has been COLD lately!

Here are a few pictures of our night.........

BEST friends - Brad and Matt!!

And the two guys bonding over their mutual love of all things bike / cycling.

Dasia, Shrinky, and me - Our stoic Christmas family photo! I love this chick, cause she's silly and crazy like me! We really had a great time together! ( also, Shrinky looks SO dang funny in this shot - like he's sleeping, or dead )

And a normal one too. Lovin' on baby Charlie!

And one more silly one of her spoon feeding Charlotte. Seriously, I think we may have driven the guys a little crazy. =)

We chilled out that night after dinner at home and once again more talking! The next day, Brad had to get up and go to work and the three of us decided to head out for the day and do some exploring, and fun stuff! We started by having breakfast, and sweets ( we did a lot of eating while they were here, and had a LOT of desserts - Dasia, while small, can put the smack down on some desserts! HAH! ) at our favorite place - Pamplemousse! It was amazing!! And then headed north across the bridge into Sausalito for the day to do some shopping, lunch and just hanging around that adorable town.

Here are Matt and Dasia at Horizons (which sits right over the bay ) for lunch. Check out one of Matt's purchases, his sweet new hat!

After lunch, buying some gifts, and seeing all of Sausalito, it was back across the bridge and a stop off at Golden Gate Park. We decided to hit the Japanese tea gardens, since most of the other museums would be closing before long, and had some tea, got some great pictures and walked around the gardens.

Our three little tea pots

A shot of Matt, and me having tea and snacks.

And one of the three of us. Sadly it was starting to get dark, so the shots didn't come out quite as good as I'd  hoped.

Dasia, and buddah! HAH!

A sweet one of Matt

And one last one ( before my battery died ) of the happy couple!! Newlyweds for 9 months now. How cute are they?

It was a great day with friends. We arrived home, and after much debate ( ok, really not much at all - we were all kinda tired, and feeling like doing a whole lotta' nothing ) we decided to stay local, and have a really relaxing evening. We did dinner at Chevy's on the water in Foster City, and then came home to more talking, attempts at a game night ( which the boys vetoed ), eating of popcorn from a tin, and then lots of watching old music videos on OnDemand which was a total blast!

Dasia, and Matt- it was SO much fun having you, and you're welcome to stay with us ANYTIME you'd like!!

So that was that.....I woke up Friday morning with NO voice ( too much talking ) and dropped Matt and Dasia off at the airport, then we had a doctors appt right after - and nothing much has changed. Still dilated to 1, baby's still way low, and no predictions as to any day now, or a week or so out. I came home after and crashed, hard! Woke up with still no voice, and had to cancel plans for a game night with friends. Bummer! Brad and I stayed in -got pizza, and watched movies instead.

Saturday, woke up with the cough - Brad and I made it out for a little while to hit Target, and BJ's for lunch, and then home for more sleeping, relaxing, and movies. It was really nice to have a weekend just us ( especially as those are numbered, and don't happen all that often to begin with )

Sunday, got up for early church - saw our little sunday school class ( which was SO cool ) and watched the kids sing in front of church - darling!!, went to a breastfeeding class in the afternoon - my husband is a saint, seriously. and then home for more down time.

And that's about all I've got! I'm headed to a friends house tomorrow ( I'm I'm feeling well ) for Christmas cookie baking / decorating, I have dinner with girlfriends, and a Christmas dessert party Wednesday night, and then Baby Charlotte can come any time after ( or really before, I just want that chick out!! HAH! ) that!!

Okay, LOVE to you all!!!

Thanks for keeping up with us......

XOOXOX Megan

Ahhh, it's been a little crazy around here - I PROMISE that I will write a blog entry within the next day or so, and fill you all in on what's been happenin'! The good, the bad, and the ugly ( yup, there's been a little ugly!  ).....

Honestly though, things are great! Update soon to come!!

XOXO Megan