Lunching with the Vandy Aunties

After we got Charlie cleaned up, we zoomed up to Nashvegas to see the aforementioned Vandy Aunties (my former co-workers Kathryn, Angela, and Lillian). After a yummy lunch at the local Thai restaurant, we headed back to the office for a quick diaper change before the journey back. Whenever we visit, we end up doing this deed on the floor of poor Kathryn's office. This time was no different.

Once Charlie was all changed, she entertained Kathryn with a little of her dancing.

Charlie loves her Vandy Auntie Kathryn!

Vandy Auntie Angela gave Charlie many kisses.

Primping

Before we could head to Vanderbilt for lunch with the Vandy Aunties, we needed to get Charlie Jo cleaned up. Let's just say there was a blowout during the night, and not the kind that happens when the guy at Qdoba wraps your burrito too tight and the tortilla splits open. Anyway, a bath was called for.

Chillin' in the bathrobe while we waited for the bathtub to fill up...

Do we have enough toys?

Still waiting for that darn bathtub to fill up. Wait - what do you mean I have to take the robe off now??

All clean now and warm in my fluffy towel.

Dressed in my romper (a gift from Vandy Auntie Kathryn) and ready to roll!

Charlie as Godzilla

Note to Charlie's grandmothers: it looks like Charlie may be developing into quite the little destructive baby. Knowing that her Grandpa Spike was banned from his Grandmother June's house for his destructive tendencies, I wouldn't be surprised if that's where little Charlie gets it from.

Charlotte's future Duke classmate is born

Just got word that Charlotte's future classmate at Duke University has been born. Our friends Alan & Liz welcomed baby Andrew yesterday evening, and I have already declared that Andrew and Charlotte will be good buds in the class of 2030 at Duke. Corey, of course, is positive that Charlotte will be rooming at Michigan State with our friends Dave & Ana's baby (due to arrive soon!), but I have a good feeling about Charlotte as a little Blue Devil. We'll see! Charlotte, just please promise me you won't go to the University of North Carolina or the University of Michigan. That's all we ask.

Each day just gets grosser and grosser around here

Several gross things happened yesterday:

- Charlotte kicked off the day by doing something in the bathtub that one should NEVER do. For the sake of propriety (hey, I can sometimes be proper), all I will say is that it necessitated me scooping a substance out of the bathtub, draining the bathtub, scrubbing the bathtub, rebathing the baby, and doing a load of laundry.

- Charlotte leaned over my shoulder while I was walking around and spit up right on Connie's head. Connie slunk away and kept her distance the rest of the day, but Duke immediately ran over and licked up the splatters that landed on the floor.

- Corey and I were playing with Charlotte on the floor. I handed Charlotte to Corey and she immediately spit up all over his shirt. Corey declared that I done him wrong by purposefully handing him a "loaded baby" and proceeded to wipe the spit-up on my cheek. Duke was then invited over to help clean me up, which he happily did of course.

- I woke up in the middle of the night because Charlotte was doing her usual "I'm sort of awake but not really but I'm going to grunt a little to make you wake up enough to have to figure out which one it is" noises. While I tried to decipher the sounds from the monitor, I heard a distinct sound. Again, for the sake of propriety I won't name it, but I will say that I then got up to change what I knew would be a VERY full diaper. The amazing part is that Charlotte never fully woke up during the diaper change and I was able to lay her right back down in her crib where she zonked right back out. The moral of the story is that sometimes those monitors let you hear a little TOO much, youknowwhatImeanIthinkyoudo?

Today, we're striving for a gross-free day and are failing. Duke has already seized a couple of opportunities to supplement his diet and I have twice had to comb dried dogspit out of Charlotte's hair. Maybe we need another bath tonight. Wish me luck.

Peekaboo!

Guten Tag!

Corey gave the Marshalls and the Ballentines (and me!) a German lesson on Sunday night in preparation for the arrival of the Marshalls' German exchange student. We started out with a little background on German facts and politics. Next, we moved on to basic vocabulary such as hello and goodbye. After that, it quickly degenerated into learning how to say "please bring me another beer", "hey y'all, watch this", and "sorry I puked in your driveway". Corey even had to call his cousin, Erin, who lived in Germany for a while, to help out with those sentences.

To accompany our German lesson, Corey served pretzels and German beer.

Corey used a big poster board to illustrate the vocabulary lesson, but it didn't seem to help Ronnie much.

Corey even dug out his old German textbook to show us photos of what German kids looked like (circa 1985, I think). He threw baggies of gummi bears at us if we got questions right.

Jean entertained Charlotte.

Last night at Trivia, I quizzed David on how to say a few words, and he remembered a lot. Too bad our Trivia team is on a huge losing streak right now and totally bombed on the final question (we blanked on what F.L.O.T.U.S. might stand for). Oh well. At least we will have a new German team member coming to help us out. Steffen might have known what the only landlocked nation in southeast Asia was (Laos). That might be the first question I ask him when I meet him this weekend, actually.

Backpacking across Tennessee

We're really not going to backpack across Tennessee, but it looks like we're ready to do it! Our buddies, the Hancocks, lent us their backpack baby carrier and Corey tried it out for the first time this weekend. I didn't really get a good shot of the whole getup, but don't Corey and Piggle look cute?

Steamy Tennessee & live music

Today was so steamy and humid that Charlotte and I only ventured out for the bare minimum necessity - lunch at Blue Coast Burrito. Otherwise, we hunkered down in the air conditioning to wait for Corey to get home from work (yes he had to work on a Saturday).

Once it started to cool off, we and a bunch of other groupies went to see our favorite local artist (our neighbor, Alicia) perform at a coffee shop. It was Charlie Jo's first time listening to live music, and she was an ANGEL! She gazed at Alicia singing for several songs, and then zonked out for the last 20 minutes or so. Charlie wore her new black "Crawl the Line - Johnny Cash" onesie, which was a gift from Brad & Amanda. We stupidly only managed to get one cellphone photo of Charlie in the audience and got none of the terrific performance.

A few years ago, my mom got all of our old 8-millimeter home movies digitized and sent them to us on DVD. I popped them in to see how my sister and I compared to Charlie as babies. The movies are priceless. The best part is Erin and me learning to roller skate on concrete (and wearing short little dresses) while my mom, grandmother Meem and Aunt Janet watch. How we survived to adulthood without massive scars is a mystery to me. It's really sweet to watch my dad play with us because it reminds me so much of Corey with Charlotte. If Corey is half as much fun as a dad to Charlotte as my own father was to us, Charlotte will have a great childhood.

Here are some pictures of the weekend so far . . .

The battle rages on

The battle for cutest Evans grandbaby rages on between Charlotte and Lincoln the Corgi. Witness the latest salvo:

How is this even possible?

How could ONE BABY create this much laundry in just a little over one week? I mean, SERIOUSLY!?!?!?!

Just some funny photos

I took these photos of Miss Piggle and her Daddy on Monday night after Trivia. I love the long-sleeved onesie she's wearing, which was a gift from Auntie Ernie. It's just so much fun to take pictures of such a sweet subject.

Niki & Erin at 4 months

My mom scanned in this picture of Erin and me at four months old. Think we look like Charlie Jo? And no, I have no idea who is who in this photo.

Erin & Niki:

Charlie Jo:

Such a big girl

Charlie looks like such a big girl in her cute pink overalls (a gift from Sue & Greg Lowe). Yesterday, she started pushing up onto straight arms when I put her on her tummy (a precursor to learning to crawl), and she has been getting up on her knees a little (though not both of those things at the same time) during tummy time as well. Yikes! Time to get some of the breakables up off of the floor. We're slowly weaning her off of swaddling at night, which makes me sad because I love her all wrapped up like a burrito. Yes, I do like Mexican food.

I put her down to sleep a little after 10 pm last night, and she's just now starting to wake up in her crib. I'm watching her on the monitor, which is so much fun to do. It's like a reality show with a supercute star. Not much action though, usually. Anyway, she has slept nearly 11 hours, which is a record! Go Charlie Jo!!

Today, Charlie and I have to go get the Mazda's oil changed and tires rotated, PLUS shop for a new washing machine. Fun times ahead!

Center Hill Lake fun with Michiganders

Our buddies came down from Michigan for the weekend to meet Charlie Jo and to spend a day on the lake with us. We got together with other mutual friends from Michigan and headed out to Center Hill Lake. All eight adults, four kids and tons of stuff packed onto the pontoon and set sail on Center Hill Lake. Or puttered out with a motor. Whatever. We had a great time and spent most of the day marinating in the warm water.

For Charlie Jo, this was the outfit of choice. It was a steamy, steamy day.


It was Charlie's first time in Center Hill Lake. She liked to lick the inflatable baby seat.


I won't tell you how long it took me to squeeze that ring over my hips.


Charlie loved sleeping on the boat.


But she loved chewing on her toes even more.

Lunch at Monell's

Today, Alicia, Faith Carol, Charlotte and I headed to downtown Franklin for lunch at Monell's. They have great family-style-sit-at-a-long-table-with-strangers dining and very yummy southern food. The fried chicken was to die for. The best part is the restaurant is located in the old jail!


Pretty building, huh? The front part was the living quarters for the sheriff and his family.

The cashier took us for a tour of the upstairs. He is standing on the trap door that used to drop out beneath the criminals being hanged!



This is the dungeon. Looks like they forgot to let one of the prisoners out before they turned it into a restaurant.



There's still bars on the windows in the back.



After lunch, we walked across the street to a custom cookie cafe, where they will make cookies to order with your choice of mix-ins. You can even have a Bake Your Own Cookie birthday party. Fun! We didn't get any cookies, but Charlie had a good time being carried around by Faith Carol.



But then Faith Carol bored her to sleep.

Goofing around with a new program

I just made this using Smilebox.com software, which I read about in a magazine. It looks like a lot of fun!

Make a Smilebox free ecard

Another successful munch 'n' crunch

Our second meal went even better than the first, despite than my failure to remember to procure a bib before starting. Hey - I'm not an expert mom yet!

Charlotte and I joined family friend Rich last night for trivia. Despite being tied for first place coming into the final question, we lost because we failed to know that New Hampshire borders the Atlantic Ocean (for only a total of 13 miles!). Of course, Alicia knew the answer, but because she ditched us to have a birthday dinner with her husband (what kind of priorities are those?) she wasn't such a big help. Oh well. Happy birthday to both Alicia and my Grandma Jane yesterday!

Today we don't have any big plans, but I think I may try something new -- clothes shopping for myself with Charlotte in tow. Unfortunately, my slow & steady weight loss (yea breastfeeding!) has resulted in a serious lack of shorts that don't sag lower on my hips than a 13-year-old wannabe gangster's do. We are hosting some very special guests this weekend (our buddies Brad and Amanda, aka "Bramanda") and I gots to look good. We'll see how that goes.

Here's some shots of lil' sassy in her high chair for her second meal:

Videos of the messy first meal

Adventures in solid food

We tried rice cereal for the first time this evening. It was cut down very thin with water, so it looked a lot like runny grits. Corey said it tasted about as bland as it looked, but I didn't try any. Here's some shots of the big girl eating her solid food!








Oh my, what a mess!

Cruisin'

We took a walk yesterday morning with Charlie in the stroller. As it was a sunny day, we deemed it necessary to outfit Charlie with sunglasses. Doesn't she look fabulous?

Swimming at a birthday party

Charlotte attended a birthday party for her buddy, Annabelle (who was turning 2), yesterday. It was a luau pool party! Charlie "swam" around in a little baby pool and made some new friends. She met another 4-month-old, and we were struck by how much bigger, more alert, and more physically active Charlie was than that little guy. She's by no means a little genius, but she's doing pretty well for her age. We think she had a good time watching all of the other little kids run around. Happy birthday, Annabelle!

Growing up fast

Little Piggle is officially four months old as of yesterday! Today, we went to see the pediatrician (whom we love) for the four-month check-up. Charlie was measured at 25 3/4 inches, which puts her in the 90th - 95th percentile in height! She weighed in at 15 pounds, 3 ounces, which is in the 75th to 90th percentile for weight. Since she has been finishing eating quicker and quicker these days, I was worried she hadn't been eating enough. Apparently, I was wrong to worry. The doctor explained that Charlie is just getting more efficient at nursing and is clearly eating very well.

Charlie was deemed to have hit all of the developmental milestones considered to be precursors to starting solid food, so the doctor gave the green light for slowly introducing rice cereal once we're comfortable with starting it. How fun! I ran right out and bought some rice cereal, but I think we may wait to have the first solid food meal until later this weekend. Charlie had four more vaccines today (three shots and one orally given) and I want to make sure she's over their effects (last time she was very sleepy all the next day) before we start.

Other than peeing all over the exam table, Charlie was a perfect angel during the appointment. She did cry a little during the shots, but she calmed right down when I picked her up. She's been a little sleepy this afternoon, but she's lying on the floor on her play mat right now and wiggling around as per normal. The doctor and nurse were very impressed with her physical development. They were also glad to hear that Charlie started laughing last night! Corey and I were pretty excited as well, because laughing is one of our favorite things to do. Now that she has started to soothe herself with thumb-sucking, she's starting to seem like a little person rather than just an infant!

Cutest baby competition

Uh oh - looks like there's another new "baby" in the family to compete with Charlotte for the title of cutest Evans kid. Check out Jordan & Jessica's new Corgi, named "Lincoln":






What a sweetie!! He's the same age as Charlotte, but is just a little hairier. Probably better potty-trained, too.

Charlie's "firsts" in Michigan

First nap on the couch in the sitting room where her daddy spent many many hours while at home from college and law school.

First walk down bumpy Cobb Creek Road in NanaB's Jeep Wrangler stroller.

First time in a high chair while the adults ate.

First visit to the Rochester Farmer's Market (though she snoozed right through it).

First meal in the formal dining room with the family.

First "zerbert" on her tummy from Great Aunt Lisa.

First time watching Daddy make a fool of himself. Well, not really the first time ever, but the first time in Michigan.

First experience with airline cutbacks -- knuckle sandwiches were the only thing on the menu on the flight home.

Hanging out with Daddy's family

Charlie had a very special trip to Michigan, because she got to hang out with lots of fun relatives!

Great Aunt Martha and cousin Katie

Great Grandpa and Great Granny Taylor

Great Grandfather Stringer

Great Uncle Dave, cousin Ellie, and Great Aunt Lisa

NanaB and Granddad

Cousin Erin

Great Uncle Doug

The trip in fashion

For many reasons, it seemed like we spent the entire trip to Michigan changing Charlotte in and out of different outfits. Here is a sampling of her fashion choices in Michigan:













And that doesn't include jammies and maybe one or two other outfits that somehow escaped the camera!

Were we there three weeks? Nope - just 4 days!

And we're back!

Charlie Jo and I just dropped Corey off at work and made it back down to Franklin. We had a great flight home after a super fun trip! Now we need a little naptime to make up for getting up at 3:00 a.m. CST. Here's a preview of the fun 4th of July photos to come.

Charlie is in Michigan!

Just got the call from Niki - Charlie, for the first time, is in Michigan! Yaaaaay!

Niki's new cousin!

My Aunt Toni, Uncle Eric, and cousin Emma welcomed a new member to their family this week! Audrey Therese was born on June 30 at 12:41 pm, weighing 6 pounds, 10 ounces and measuring 19 3/4 inches long. It seems so funny to be getting a new cousin when I'm 31 years old, but that's what happens when your dad has a sister 16 years his junior, and she has children a little later in life. It's not every day that a great aunt and great uncle have a baby. Hee hee.

As you may recall, little Emma held Charlotte a bunch when we were all in Oregon for Jordan and Jessica's wedding. Looks like that was good practice, because she's holding Audrey like a pro!

Getting in the mood

I was in the grocery store doing a little shopping in preparation for leaving Corey home alone for two days (Charlotte and I are flying to Michigan for the holiday weekend a couple of days before Corey flies up to meet us on Saturday), and I thought I would get him some ice cream as a treat. We love the store-brand ice cream, and so I headed to that section. Lo and behold, I found a flavor featuring Mackinac fudge! [Mackinac is an island in Lake Huron which Corey's family has visited a number of times.] To get Corey in the mood for our trip to Michigan, I bought him a carton to enjoy while he's moping at home alone.

Haute couture

Our little fashion model is shown here in the latest in haute couture, provided to her by her doting Auntie Ernie. Well, maybe they're not so much couture as super cute outfits from Old Navy Baby, but who's counting? Check out our very own supermodel in her new duds:





The teal outfit has matching bloomers underneath. So stinkin' cute!!

Little Piggle

Piggle (as we have been calling Charlie lately for some unknown reason) is becoming a champion thumb-sucker. She is also mastering the art of getting her toes in her mouth. As if that weren't enough, she also gave herself a hickey on her forearm. So much excitement around here!

We have had a nice beginning to the week. We have run lots of errands (including getting Corey's car emissions tested and registration renewed - blech!), but we have also enjoyed a bunch of playtime. Miss Piggle is really getting good at grabbing her toys and waving them all around (in between chomping and sucking on them). This makes playtime a whole lot more interesting for me as I watch to see what she does and what types of toys she prefers. She still seems to enjoy bathtime as well, and that should get even more fun once she realizes how much fun it is to play in the bathtub. Corey and I laughed all through Piggle's bath last night as she chomped on a washcloth and kicked her feet in the water.

Here's the little Piggle on her play mat, bopping around with her toys.