From the time Gene and I met, we'd casually talked about what we would name our children. We weren't sure if we'd ever have kids, but we always talked about it. It would be kind of funny sometimes because Gene would come up with the craziest ideas that no child could ever possibly escape the torture from his/her classmates with the choices he picked. I had my favorite for a long time until someone else recently took the name that I had fallen in love with and I was devastated. Long story short, I just couldn't think of that name the same. So, we threw out several more possibilities once we officially found out the sex of our baby. There were several names I loved, but Gene didn't like and vise versa. So, we narrowed it down to a few names we could somewhat agree on: Margaret, Sophie, Olivia and Charlotte. I just couldn't stop thinking about the name Charlotte. I don't know any Charlottes and I wanted something traditional, but also unique. Late one night in England, walking back to Gene's aunt's house at 1 in the morning after walking and touring London allll day long, she decided to kick me REALLY hard (probably to tell me to take it easy so she could get some sleep) and I screamed out, "OMG, Charlotte!!" Gene looks over at me and says, "Sooo. . . I guess we've decided on a name." I hesitated to tell anyone because I thought what if I change my mind or what if the ultrasound was wrong and we're really having a boy. I just wanted to be 100% sure. But the more I say it the more I love it. So, yes. . . we've finally decided. Her name will be Charlotte Louise Folger. Louise after my Granny. She may not be able to meet our little lady bug in person, but I'm sure she's watching over her in spirit. : )
Gosh, it seems like yesterday that I posted the 7 month belly shot. Time has certainly flown by for me. I almost don't want it to end! Things have been really great with no new uncomfortable symptoms. Occasionally, I feel like my stomach is stretching and if it were to stretch any further it would explode. My sweet baby moves around alot during the day, but loves to sleep at night. Either that or she's letting me sleep because she hasn't woken me up once. I'm still not sure if she's turned (with her head down) or not because I'll feel her strong kicks on my bladder. Unless she's got super strong arms because there have been some close calls and I've had to run to the bathroom to pee. My bladder is definitely not as strong as it was! lol! Sleeping has been a bit of an issue though. I can't get comfortable and sometimes I wake myself up b/c my left or right side, depending on which side I've fallen asleep on, will get really numb and start to hurt. If I sleep on my left side, Gene says I snore - right in his ear. Poor guy hasn't had a good nights sleep since January. Well, I haven't slept through the whole night either since I have to get up a couple of times to use the bathroom. I guess it's just prepping us for those sleepless nights with our baby. Luckily, I'm able to take 12 weeks off from work (due to FMLA) so I'm not as worried about getting too much sleep at first. I'll sleep when I can and by the time I go back to work, she'll be 3 months old and we'll have a well developed schedule. Knowing that I have that much time to bond with her and get adjusted to a new baby, I'm VERY relieved - to say the least. In a perfect world, I'd be a stay at home mom, but I know there are lots of benefits of sending a child to a daycare, plus the current economical situation doesn't really support a one person income. I think between the two of us, this baby will know that it's loved to the core regardless if I stay at home or go back to work. ; )
.jpg)
We knew the time would come when we needed a family car. My truck just wasn't car seat friendly with the bench front seat and fold out seats in the back. And let's not mention the 2 Camaros Gene has parked in the garage. With those bucket seats, I was not warming up to the idea of driving them. We also knew having a baby was a big expense, so buying another vehicle and having another payment wasn't the least bit appealing, but something had to be done before September. So, we got an offer from GM that we couldn't refuse and found something that was within our price range and had everything in a car we were looking for. I'm very pleased!! It's a 2009 Pontiac Vibe GT. Has a sun roof, partial leather and a stick which made it even more affordable and has plenty of room for a car seat and stroller. We're ready for ya baby girl!!!
King's College Founded by Henry VI in 1441
Front view of the college
Inside view - I couldn't resist! From the architectural aspect this was pretty incredible!!
The London Eye
Big Ben
Tower of London
Stonehenge
Tower Bridge
And the family
When we have another chance, I'm definitely going back. And maybe to live. . . . . . .
; )
