My new favorite photos of Charlie the Monkey

Rolling her eyes at her goofy grandfather already

Last weekend, we took a whirlwind trip up to South Bend and back for Sonia's baptism at Notre Dame (when your parents have two degrees each from Notre Dame, that's where you're destined to be baptized!). We met up with all of the relatives in town for the festivities at a yummy Chinese restaurant. We tried to get a nice shot of Sonia with her Grandma Jo Jo and Grandpa Spike. I'm pretty sure my father was making his usual silly jokes, because Sonia is already rolling her eyes at him.



Here, she's saying "I know I'm not even five months old yet, but I've ALREADY heard that stupid saying 500 times..."



Later, Sonia pulled Grandma Jo Jo aside and asked how Jo Jo kept her sanity. Grandma Jo Jo just smiled and reminded Sonia that teaching eighth graders math toughened her up enough to handle just about anything.

CJ's pigtails memorialized in the comics

I'm pretty sure this is a reference to CJ's scrawny pigtails...

Connie!

One of Charlotte's favorite words right now is "Connie!" Not "Connie", but "CONNIE!". She is also showing an increased interest in hanging out with Connie on her dog bed, following Connie around the house, and tickling Connie. We're still nervous about Charlotte's interaction with Connie after our experience with our beloved Duke, but Connie seems to be handling the increased attention with stride. I have never seen an inkling of nervousness or aggression on Connie's part, but I'm still careful to monitor the toddler/canine interaction very closely.

So, while I thought it was very cute that Charlotte decided to pretend Connie was a pony, I still can't completely relax. I can't resist posting a photo of it, either.

Kissy kissy!

Charlie Jo and Zoey are big on kissing things right now, including each other. It's super cute, but until now they have resisted our efforts to get it on camera. After lunch on Monday, they both drug their booster seats over to the front door for a little pow-wow.



Then, CJ decided it was smooch time.



They both said "MWAH!" after the smooch and giggled like, well, little girls. They are the two cutest little monkeys on the planet.

Stringer Birthday Week

This week, the TN Stringers and the Twin City Sandersons surprised NanaB for her birthday with a weekend get-away to Center Hill Lake in Tennessee. We rented a cabin high above the lake, and spent the weekend playing with a certain toddler and a certain baby.


NanaB and Charlie spent time feeding their babies.



We all had lots of laughs this weekend.



For her birthday, the TN Stringers and the Twin City Sandersons each wrote a children’s book for NanaB. After opening them, NanaB read us the books.



The view from the cabin was spectacular.



GrandDad liked the view.



Yes, that is a trash can on the counter. Niki and I think this picture really shows how GrandDad and NanaB enjoyed watching the kids.



Alicia made a gorgeous cake for NanaB.



We drove around the lake, and NanaB attempted to draw Elmo for Charlie. Charlie was very critical of NanaB's artistic skill.



Quinn was ready for lunch at the Hurricane Dock Resort.



At the end of the day, Quinn was ready to snuggle with NanaB.



All of us at dinner.



We stopped at Ragland Recreation Area on our last day. Dr. Evil and Mini Me enjoyed themselves on the slide.



Charlie and I went down a long dock to the water.



After the Twin City Sandersons flew home to Minnesota, NanaB and GrandDad headed east to Fairfield Glade for the week. On the 17th, Niki and Charlie drove out to Fairfield to join them for a few days. They celebrated at the Custard Cabin.



The next morning, GrandDad and Charlie took a nap together. Sort of.



Charlie enjoyed this playground right by the condo.



I showed up later on the 18th. Charlie was happy to see me.



For some reason, Charlie eschewed the stairs and climbed up the tallest slide she could find instead.



GrandDad and I celebrated our birthdays together.



On the 19th, GrandDad’s birthday, GrandDad and NanaB pointed their little red convertible north to Detroit. Before leaving, they tried to take a TN Stringer family picture. Charlie got out in front.



Finally, a picture of NanaB, GrandDad, and Charlie.

Quick post

Over the past week we have done a lot of fun things with Charlotte's NanaB and Granddad in addition to her Aunt Stephanie, Uncle Don, and cousin Quinn. Before I find the energy to tell those stories, I have to do a quick post with these sweet photos I took with my cell phone. We were checking out a small lake and CJ seemed to be absorbing the somber mood of the weather. It was temporary though. Within minutes, she was swinging high on a swing set and squealing with delight as Granddad tickled her. It was nice while it lasted!

Arrington Vineyard with NanaB & Granddad

NanaB and Granddad (Corey's parents) arrived from Michigan this afternoon. We decided they needed just a little bit more time in the car, so we packed them back up and drove them out to Arrington Vineyard for a picnic complete with Bar-B-Cutie takeout. I know -- SO gourmet. CJ wore a new Michigan State top (a gift from NanaB & Granddad), which was appropriate since she recently started chanting "rah! rah! rah!" (from the MSU fight song) anytime anyone says the word "Michigan".

Charlie Jo danced up a storm.



And we all laughed at her.



CJ loved dancing like this with NanaB.



The Stringer girls!



NanaB tried to teach CJ to say "cheers" and clink glasses before taking a drink. All went well until CJ decided cheers would be much more fun if she thunked her sippy cup down inside NanaB's tumbler of wine.



After we got home and bathed CJ, we opened a present for Baby Peter from Great Granny and Great Grandpa Taylor. It was a gorgeous hand-sewn fleecy blanket (perfect for tummy time!) with dogs all over it. CJ pointed at a dog on it and declared "Connie!" We all laughed, so she proceeded to do it about 35 more times and laughed like a maniac whether we did or not. Nice to know the center-of-attention-seeking-behavior (where in the world did she learn THAT from I wonder?) is starting nice and early...

18-month check-up

Charlie Jo was a dancing and talking fool at her 18-month well-baby check-up (wow, that's a lot of hyphens) this morning. She told the nurse and the doctor all sorts of stories, complete with gestures, sound effects, and instant replays. It was a shame we couldn't understand 99% of it.

Anyway, CJ is now officially 23 1/2 pounds (though I would have guessed she was closer to 50 or 60 pounds) and 33 inches long. That puts her again in the 75th percentile for height and the 30th for weight. She must have been switched at birth -- I'm positive of that now. The doctor was tickled to hear CJ is saying more than 50 different words (the development checklist indicated she should be saying about 10-15 words by now) and then CJ proceeded to say about 20 of them during the course of the appointment. The doctor proclaimed CJ to be in terrific health and to be right on target emotionally and developmentally. What a relief to hear!

The doctor's stool was a big hit.



CJ kept trying to open the door for some reason. When she realized she wasn't quite tall enough to work the handle, she jabbed her index finger insistently at the door and shrieked "PEEZE! PEEZE!" I'm still not sure what that was all about, since she wasn't acting unhappy with being there. I guess the idea of exploring the rest of the doctor's office was too tempting to resist.



Man, that pretty baby in the mirror is HILARIOUS!

Cannonwood crime wave

Just as Niki and I were congratulating ourselves for feeding Charlie a corndog for lunch, and admiring how it could be both a toy and a meal -- she was alternating between munching on it and running around waving it -- our dog mugged her.

Connie got up and ambled casually over to Charlie. While Charlie was in mid-corndog-wave, Connie took the corndog from Charlie and settled down in the lawn to eat it. Charlie seemed ambivalent.

Niki and I were equally appalled and amused.

In addition, today, I had to use the phrase "Charlie, don't stick your brush in Connie's water bowl and lick it."

Sheesh.

FYI

FYI - Charlotte did NOT get her pick in the football picking game thing. Western Kentucky fell to UT 63-7. Better luck next week, Charlie Jo!

Piglet and her Grandpa Spike

I can't believe I never posted these photos. I think I may have been sent them during a busy weekend or something like that. Anyway, for Gradnpa Spike for Father's Day, Charlotte dragged him to the illustrious J.C. Penney's Portrait Studio (yes, it was just as classy as it sounds) to get some portraits taken. It was quite an experience -- CJ wasn't quite sure about the whole thing and the photographers were a little shrill and obnoxious. Somehow out of the whole debacle we got three terrific pictures. Such cuteness!

Charlotte's new career

To assist Corey is running a college football guessing game (I'm sure he'll laugh at me for that description, but it's a little different than a football pool because there's no monetary stakes), Charlotte has been enlisted to make weekly picks. The goal of this game is to pick an "underdog" (as determined by those people who set the odds for Vegas or something) to upset a "favorite" by winning that game. To make a long story short, Charlotte will be making her own picks to see if she can do any better than the other participants (who use logic, research, and gut feelings to make their picks).

Corey put the names of all of the colleges designated for this week as underdogs on little slips of paper and scattered them on the floor for Charlotte to peruse.



After careful consideration, Charlotte handed her selection to her daddy.



She apparently picked Western Kentucky, who is expected to lose to the University of Tennessee by 29.5 points. In order for Charlotte to get any points, Western Kentucky will have to beat the UT football powerhouse. I'm crossing my fingers for little CJ, but somehow I don't think she's going to get her pick this week. I could be wrong though...

More of Peter -- and timely this time!

Had another ultrasound with Peter this morning (I'm having a lot of them because they were concerned about the size of his kidneys, but it turns out the fears might have been for nothing!) and got this sweet profile shot.



I'm 25 weeks along, feeling good, and happy that all of my vitals and Peter's vitals look great! Charlie Jo and Corey came along to this appointment, and CJ told the ultrasound tech all about everything under the sun. It was pretty funny, actually. Oh, the doctor did say Peter is breech right now, but it's early enough that he could still turn. I'm not going to worry about it too much. My goal is to get a healthy baby, no matter how he comes out!