The Hall's Year In Review: 2013 Edition:

As we ring in this New Year
And we reflect on what has been
Let us continue to count our blessings
And start fresh once again!

***

As I sit here and type and reflect on all that our year has given us, I feel overwhelmed with how truly blessed we have been!

This year was a celebration of so many firsts with our sweet Charli:
Celebrating Charli's First Valentine's Day with a Party
Visiting Napa for the first time
Celebrating Charli's First St. Patrick's Day with a few Parties
Charli learning how to crawl
Charli making so many of her very first Friends
Celebrating Charli's First Easter
Celebrating Charli's First Memorial Day
Learning how to Walk
Celebrating Charli's First 4th of July
Celebrating Charli's very First Birthday

Some other highlights from our year include:

Starting this Blog

Vacationing to San Diego: Where Charli visited Sea World and the Zoo for the first time

Steven turning 33

Celebrating our Second Wedding Anniversary

A trip to Yosemite National Park

Visiting Sacramento and seeing the homes we both lived in when we were little

Vacationing in Gig Harbor

Charli meeting some of her Great Grandparents for the first time

Celebrating my very first Mother's Day

Saying goodbye to Monterey, CA  which was our very first Home as a family of 3

Steven Graduating with his Masters Degree from The Naval Postgraduate School

Celebrating Steven's first Father's Day

Celebrating my 10 Year Reunion

Moving into our Charleston home

Turning 28

Already having so many friends and family visiting us here in Charleston

Hootie Concert with my mom

Weaning Charli from breastfeeding at 14 months

Mumford and Sons Concert and my first weekend away from Charli and Steven

Finally taking our Honeymoon to Jamaica

And so many other little moments and memories scattered in between!

We of course have our ups and downs, our good times and bad, and still cope with my Illness day in and day out. But that is what makes it life!
Thank you 2013, for giving us all that you did, and for truly making it such a great year!

As wonderful as 2013 was to us, I cannot wait to see what 2014 has in store for our little family!

***

My goals and resolutions as we enter the New Year, is what I already strive to do with every new day...
And that is to better myself as a wife, a mother, a friend, and to be a better person!

I hope everyone has a blessed and Happy New Year! 

Here's to 2014!!! 

"Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us. Cheers to a New Year and another chance for us to get it right"

- Oprah Winfrey

Happy Birthday Bailey Boo:

I can't believe our Bailey Boo is already 5 years old. 

She is growing up so fast. 

I remember like it was just yesterday that I first brought her home   ...

(I brought her home on Valentine's Day!)

This morning we woke up and sang Happy Birthday to Bailey and Charli thought it was the funniest thing! Charli has also started calling Bailey 'Blaily Boo'!

Bailey got to open up a couple of presents this morning and got a very yummy treat for breakfast! 

Perfect Birthday morning for our Birthday Girl!

And a Birthday would not be a Birthday in our house without a photo shoot!

The Birthday Girl:

Happy Birthday Bailey!

We Love You!

Charli in Charleston: Charli's Charleston Christmas:

From Charli's Chair:

Mommy & Daddy said, 'It's the most wonderful time of the year'

***

I had so much fun this Christmas!
We did so many fun things to celebrate and I even learned how to say Jesus!

Christmas morning seemed like any other morning to me... I slept in, Mommy and Daddy came and got me, and we walked downstairs to have breakfast...

But when we got to the bottom of the stairs, Mommy, Daddy, and Uncle Amia all had big smiles on their faces and were starring at me saying 'Merry Christmas'. I looked to our Christmas tree and saw all sorts of things sitting underneath. I was very confused as to what was going on but mommy and daddy told me it was OK, and that Santa had come!

It was very overwhelming and I was still very sleepy, but as soon as mommy and daddy sat down on the floor with me and showed me all of these new fun things that were mine I started to warm up to the idea and loved playing with all of my new toys!

We then did our last piece of the Advent Calendar, which was baby Jesus.
We even sang Happy Birthday to Jesus!
And then sat down and had a very yummy Christmas breakfast
(mommy said it is the same Christmas breakfast she had every year growing up)!

I had a very Merry Second Christmas!

***

A few of the fun things I got for Christmas were:

My Wagon:

 My Bike:

My Doll House:

My Choo Choo Train:

My seat for Daddy's Bike:

(and my new helmet!)

Crayons for my Bathtub:

My very own stool that my mommy made for my bathroom:

Now I can stand all by myself and brush my teeth! 

And so many other fun things like clothes, books, puzzles, a dump truck, and a baby stroller!

Thank you so much for all of my wonderful gifts I received, but my most favorite thing this Christmas was spending it with my family and puppies. I am so happy that my Nana, Papa, and Uncle Amia could be here for my second Christmas. 

Family truly is the greatest gift! 

Mommy & Daddy were right...

'It is the most wonderful time of the year'

I hope everyone else was able to spend Christmas with their loved ones and hope it was just as magical and wonderful as ours!

***

Until my next adventure...

Thanks for stopping by!

xoxo charli

Christmas Day 2013:

Christmas morning we were up before Charli (clearly we were more excited than she).
After Charli woke up we couldn't wait to take her downstairs to show her all of the goodies that had been left...

 m                

I had this huge vision of what I thought she would do Christmas morning and how excited I knew she would be. 

I was wrong...

She was in complete shock, confused, and wanted nothing to do with the presents...

 I am glad it only lasted a few minutes though... 

After she woke up a little more and then realized all of these fun things were for her, she was all about it and was in to everything!!

It was also a certain little puppy's First Christmas!!

Merry Christmas Hachi!

And of  course Daddy and Charli had to take their new gift (bike seat for Charli) for a test run...

In their Christmas jammies and all! 

And then the aftermath of it all...

We had the perfect Christmas morning and I am the luckiest girl in the world to have these two as my own!

We then sat with anticipation as we waited for my mom and dad to get here! 

We were so excited that they were able to make the trip up on Christmas day to be here with us! 

Then it was on to...

Opening of more Christmas presents...

(Thank you Uncle Darren for Charli's new favorite book! haha!)

 (Seriously loving my new sled from my Momma!!)

Playing of board games and card games...

Wagon time with Nana and Bailey...

(And why yes, Nana knows how to multitask... Wine and Wagon!!)

 Pushing her new baby on her trike...

(With helmet on and all... Safety first!)

 Then sitting down to a perfect Christmas Dinner...

I could not have asked for a better Christmas with my family! 

We are truly blessed to be living so close to family and are able to spend these very special holiday's and occasions together... Making memories... Because that is what it's all about! 

We ended our Christmas day with lots of spiked eggnogs and hot cocoa's, playing board games, card games, and watching Christmas movies! 

Thank you Mom, Dad, and Amia for making the trip up here and spending Charli's second Christmas with us! 

We love you all! 

I hope everyone had just as amazing of a Christmas as we did!