It's been a pretty quiet summer here at the Marshall houshold. With all the big changes that have taken place this summer (moving, having a baby...) we haven't done too much other than hanging out and adjusting to our new life. We haven't taken any family vacations or made it to the beach together once (so sad!). But, we have tried to make the most of our days together at home.
We have continued to have Family Movie Night every Saturday night and Family Game Night every Sunday night. The kids really look forward to these weekly events and enjoy picking out movies and games for us.
We all love having backyard picnic lunches...
Little Miss Sunshine even enjoys them too :)
Emma, Abby & Nate all love to "play" with Charlotte. They all do such a good job at entertaining her and loving on her. It's fun to watch them all get to know each other.
And Charlotte is not the only one who gets entertainment. Abby found a creative way to help her big sister pass the time while Emma was doing the dishes. Abby danced and sang songs from the sun porch window while Emma tried to guess what song she was singing. Too cute! Although this made the process of getting the dishes done much longer than it needed to be...it's all good...the girls had fun and I didn't have to wash the dishes!!
We even manged to have plenty of fun on a rainy day! These two had a blast splashing in the puddles and running through the rain drops! They were a muddy mess when it was over but it was totally worth it :)
Morning storytimes with Charlotte are so sweet :)
The biggest adventure we have had so far is going to a local park that has a great track that is perfect for the kiddos to roller blade. They LOVE going there and could stay all day racing each other around and around the track! Nathan has really improved his skills and is quite impressive. He certainly holds his own trying to keep up with his sisters.
Abby and Emma are constantly competeting for who has completed the most laps around the track and who has the fastest time. Abby sure does bring out the competitive side of Emma :)
So, that's been our quiet summer. As much as I have missed spending our summer going here, there & everywhere (especially the beach...have I mentioned that yet??) like in years past, it has been nice to spend simple, quiet days at home with my family. I have enjoyed our lazy summer mornings, our backyard fun, and not having strict bedtimes. It's hard to believe that this coming week is our last week of summer vacation with the kids!! Before we know it they will be going back to school!
All of her Grandma's love her and she loves them...
Her Aunties love her too...
She is the cutest little sister...
And Mommy's little shopper!
And, of course, she is Daddy's littlest princess :)
It's hard to believe how fast our summer went by! Before we knew it, it was the first day of school! It's even harder to believe that we have a 5th grader, a 2nd grader...
...and a kindergartner!!!
So far, the kids are all enjoying school and we are hoping that doesn't change. They all have wonderful teachers and we are looking forward to a great school year!
And just recently, Jake and I took little Miss Charlotte on her first adventure to Massachusetts! She got to meet lots of family members for the first time. One very special person we were all anxious to meet is her new cousin, Holden. Charlotte and Holden are just four weeks apart!
And as always, we are very busy with being super cute :)
Well, I guess you'll say
My girl :)
Emma, Abby & Nate were happy to see Grammie too! It didn't take long for the kids to have Grammie sitting in the playroom doing crafts with them :)
Smiles :)
Speaking of smiles...Grammie got the first real smile from Charlotte! It was super cute but I was too slow with my camera an missed it!
We had a fun weekend with Grammie! It was nice having her here with us. She got to spend lots of on-on-one time with Charlotte and we are looking forward to her visiting again...hopefully soon! :)
We all love having backyard picnic lunches...
Little Miss Sunshine even enjoys them too :)
Emma, Abby & Nate all love to "play" with Charlotte. They all do such a good job at entertaining her and loving on her. It's fun to watch them all get to know each other.
And Charlotte is not the only one who gets entertainment. Abby found a creative way to help her big sister pass the time while Emma was doing the dishes. Abby danced and sang songs from the sun porch window while Emma tried to guess what song she was singing. Too cute! Although this made the process of getting the dishes done much longer than it needed to be...it's all good...the girls had fun and I didn't have to wash the dishes!!
We even manged to have plenty of fun on a rainy day! These two had a blast splashing in the puddles and running through the rain drops! They were a muddy mess when it was over but it was totally worth it :)
Morning storytimes with Charlotte are so sweet :)
The biggest adventure we have had so far is going to a local park that has a great track that is perfect for the kiddos to roller blade. They LOVE going there and could stay all day racing each other around and around the track! Nathan has really improved his skills and is quite impressive. He certainly holds his own trying to keep up with his sisters.
Abby and Emma are constantly competeting for who has completed the most laps around the track and who has the fastest time. Abby sure does bring out the competitive side of Emma :)
So, that's been our quiet summer. As much as I have missed spending our summer going here, there & everywhere (especially the beach...have I mentioned that yet??) like in years past, it has been nice to spend simple, quiet days at home with my family. I have enjoyed our lazy summer mornings, our backyard fun, and not having strict bedtimes. It's hard to believe that this coming week is our last week of summer vacation with the kids!! Before we know it they will be going back to school!
On Wednesday, Charlotte had her one week check-up. She now weighs 7lbs 14oz and measured in at 19 3/4 inches!! She is healthy and thriving and "just perfect" as the doctor said :)
Keep up the good work Charlotte Jean!
Proud Papa...
Leaving the hospital...
We had quite the welcome waiting for us at home! Our neighbor, Tina, and Nana helped the kids decorate our porch with lots of decorations welcoming Miss Charlotte Jean. It was such a nice surprise!
Nathan could hardly wait for us to get inside and settled so he could get his hands on his baby sister :)
And Abigail is already accessorizing her little sister! Check out the blue & green anklet she made for Charlotte.
Emma is such a natural. She is so calm and at ease with her sister. I know that Charlotte is just going to adore her.
All our munchkins :)
It was a good first afternoon/evening home. Charlotte enjoyed some awake time with Nana...
She tried out some of her new baby gear. I think this Cuddle Cove Cradle is going to be one of her favorites (and mine!)...
And was surrounded by lots and lots of love, of course... 
Charlotte even had her first visitors come to see her. Amy, Rob, Charis and Sophie all came over to meet her...
Such an eventful first day home!!!
