I love getting Charlotte up from her nap. When I hear her chatting with herself on the monitor, I run up and open the door with great expectations. Nine times out of ten, the first thing she says to me is hilarious. Well, to me anyway.
Today, she looked at me with a sly grin and said, "My foot has something in it. It makes music. It goes 'shake-a, shake-a, shake-a.'" She smiled and shook her foot at me.
If she doesn't tell me something goofy, all I have to do is ask her what she dreamed about. Then, she launches into one of her patented dramatic stories. I'm going to have to start writing them down.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Three random photos from my crappy cell phone
Yea! It's finally cool enough to play outside! And to wear long-sleeved onesies with jeans!
Going on a journey...
Yea! Publix got some new race car shopping carts! They have double-decker baskets and actually steer properly. Grocery shopping is no longer a harrowing, death-defying ordeal as Mommy knocks into display after display with the cart!
Going on a journey...
Yea! Publix got some new race car shopping carts! They have double-decker baskets and actually steer properly. Grocery shopping is no longer a harrowing, death-defying ordeal as Mommy knocks into display after display with the cart!
Strange little children
I put together a second carseat we bought to leave set up in Corey's car. Someday, it will be Petey's seat when he faces forward. Petey saw it when he got up from his nap and I put him in it just for fun.
He sat there for a good five minutes before he decided to get out.
Charlotte found a little padded part we didn't need and then decided it looked like a tennis racquet.
Watch out, Venus and Serena!
Petey and I worry about her sanity sometimes.
Game, set, MATCH!
He sat there for a good five minutes before he decided to get out.
Charlotte found a little padded part we didn't need and then decided it looked like a tennis racquet.
Watch out, Venus and Serena!
Petey and I worry about her sanity sometimes.
Game, set, MATCH!
Monday, September 27, 2010
Charlie Jo's bedtime ritual (in case you were curious)
Every night, we have the same bedtime ritual with Charlie Jo. First, one of us reads her three books. At some point during the reading, the other parent joins the ritual already in progress after putting Petey down in his crib. After the three books are done, we turn all the lights out and each person has to tell a story. Usually, Charlie Jo insists Mommy and Daddy tell their stories first.
The only problem with this is that at any point in the story, CJ reserves the right to hijack the story and take over the narrative. She makes no apologies and fails to ask for permission -- she simply talks over me or Corey and takes the story in a new direction.
Her stories are complete with plenty of action, copious dialogue, and emphatic gestures (usually using both arms and legs, despite the fact that there are three of us lying on a little twin bed). She even speaks with different voices for each character. Sometimes, the plot and/or dialogue contain snippets of whatever TV show she watched that day, but she doesn't acknowledge the plagiarism. The derivative nature of her stories does not detract from their entertainment value, however. We usually leave her room still giggling about what we heard.
After the stories have been told (sometimes with me being forced to declare "THE END" to cut off a marathon story told by CJ), we say a quick little prayer and sing:
We love you Charlie (and Elephant and Octopus and whatever other stuffed animal she dragged into bed that night),
Oh yes we do-ooh,
We love you Charlie (et al.),
And we'll be true-ooh.
When you're asleep at night,
We're blue.
Oh Charlie Jo (et al.),
We love you [smooch smooch smooch].
I make no apologies for the fib in the song. We are not blue while Charlie is asleep at night -- we're exhausted and grateful for a little peace and quiet. I will give credit to "Bye Bye Birdie" as the source for the tune of the song. Well, it's either that or from my mom's stories about how she and her buddies would sing it as "we love you Beatles" during the height of Beatle mania.
[So far, we haven't developed a complex nighttime ritual for Petey Pie. All he gets is being rocked in the glider with a bottle and an a capella rendition of the alma maters from Vanderbilt, Michigan State, Duke, and Placer High School (also known in our household collectively as "singing pregame"). Then we lay him in the crib and hope he doesn't scream for too long (he never does). He's still in the stage where reading books to him is nearly impossible because he attacks the book and shrieks with frustration if you hold it out of his reach. He hears me read to Charlie Jo before her nap and at various times during the day, but I'm woefully neglectful in my campaign to get him to be as avid of a reader as Charlie Jo. Poor Petey.]
The only problem with this is that at any point in the story, CJ reserves the right to hijack the story and take over the narrative. She makes no apologies and fails to ask for permission -- she simply talks over me or Corey and takes the story in a new direction.
Her stories are complete with plenty of action, copious dialogue, and emphatic gestures (usually using both arms and legs, despite the fact that there are three of us lying on a little twin bed). She even speaks with different voices for each character. Sometimes, the plot and/or dialogue contain snippets of whatever TV show she watched that day, but she doesn't acknowledge the plagiarism. The derivative nature of her stories does not detract from their entertainment value, however. We usually leave her room still giggling about what we heard.
After the stories have been told (sometimes with me being forced to declare "THE END" to cut off a marathon story told by CJ), we say a quick little prayer and sing:
We love you Charlie (and Elephant and Octopus and whatever other stuffed animal she dragged into bed that night),
Oh yes we do-ooh,
We love you Charlie (et al.),
And we'll be true-ooh.
When you're asleep at night,
We're blue.
Oh Charlie Jo (et al.),
We love you [smooch smooch smooch].
I make no apologies for the fib in the song. We are not blue while Charlie is asleep at night -- we're exhausted and grateful for a little peace and quiet. I will give credit to "Bye Bye Birdie" as the source for the tune of the song. Well, it's either that or from my mom's stories about how she and her buddies would sing it as "we love you Beatles" during the height of Beatle mania.
[So far, we haven't developed a complex nighttime ritual for Petey Pie. All he gets is being rocked in the glider with a bottle and an a capella rendition of the alma maters from Vanderbilt, Michigan State, Duke, and Placer High School (also known in our household collectively as "singing pregame"). Then we lay him in the crib and hope he doesn't scream for too long (he never does). He's still in the stage where reading books to him is nearly impossible because he attacks the book and shrieks with frustration if you hold it out of his reach. He hears me read to Charlie Jo before her nap and at various times during the day, but I'm woefully neglectful in my campaign to get him to be as avid of a reader as Charlie Jo. Poor Petey.]
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Spartan boys
Peter looks a little wiped out after cheering on the Spartans to victory over Northern Colorado yesterday.
It's hard work crawling around and bellowing while your daddy watches football.
It's hard work crawling around and bellowing while your daddy watches football.
All sorts of new fun games
Peter has decided to become a professional pain in the buttinsky lately. Yes, he is truly a happy, sweet little boy, but he is creating new games that will take him far as an obnoxious toddler. The first one is specifically aimed at his big sister.
A few times recently, we have let Peter down out of his highchair before the rest of us are done with dinner. He loves to crawl around with Connie the dog and play unmolested by his sister. Last night, poor Charlotte suddenly exclaimed, "Peter bit my toe!" The little knucklehead pulled up on CJ's chair and decided to try out his chompers on her tasty little piggies. When Corey and I had finished cracking up (yes we know this was not good parenting), we extricated Peter from beneath the table and tried to convince CJ that we did not approve of cannibalism at the kitchen table. Here is little Peter at it again this morning:
The other new game is something he must have learned from Cousin Quinn, because Charlotte certainly never did this. Peter loves to push the Pack 'n' Play (aka the toy prison) all around the room. I foresee drywall repair in our future.
A few times recently, we have let Peter down out of his highchair before the rest of us are done with dinner. He loves to crawl around with Connie the dog and play unmolested by his sister. Last night, poor Charlotte suddenly exclaimed, "Peter bit my toe!" The little knucklehead pulled up on CJ's chair and decided to try out his chompers on her tasty little piggies. When Corey and I had finished cracking up (yes we know this was not good parenting), we extricated Peter from beneath the table and tried to convince CJ that we did not approve of cannibalism at the kitchen table. Here is little Peter at it again this morning:
The other new game is something he must have learned from Cousin Quinn, because Charlotte certainly never did this. Peter loves to push the Pack 'n' Play (aka the toy prison) all around the room. I foresee drywall repair in our future.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Crazy Pete
Petey turns into a certifiable MANIAC whenever you put him in water. Tonight, it was the baby pool out on the back deck.
Is anyone else worried we may be raising a little demon? I love how unconcerned Charlie Jo looks. For her, it's just another day with a nutty younger brother.
Is anyone else worried we may be raising a little demon? I love how unconcerned Charlie Jo looks. For her, it's just another day with a nutty younger brother.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
At the car wash...
Charlie and Daddy decided to wash the "Blue Mustang Car."
Poor Peter felt left out.
So, Peter bear-crawled over.
He didn't come over to help, though. He came over to supervise.
"Hey, you missed a spot."
Charlie really enjoyed spraying the car off.
The Blue Mustang Car is now sparking clean!
Poor Peter felt left out.
So, Peter bear-crawled over.
He didn't come over to help, though. He came over to supervise.
"Hey, you missed a spot."
Charlie really enjoyed spraying the car off.
The Blue Mustang Car is now sparking clean!
Friday, September 17, 2010
Happy 35th Birthday, Corey!
You can never have too much Michigan State gear!
Charlotte tried out Daddy's new recorder and Peter made a beeline over like the Pied Piper was playing.
Charlotte helped her Daddy open every single present.
This turned out to be a very strange book.
I had to get Corey some Weebles after all the stories we heard about his mother carefully counting the Weebles after Corey and Stephanie went to bed each night.
Alicia really outdid herself when she made this cake!
I have seen wedding cakes that weren't this beautiful.
For some reason, Peter was belly laughing when Corey jumped up and down with him.
It's a requirement for every two-year-old to help her daddy blow out the candles on his birthday cake. No exceptions can be made.
Happy birthday, Corey! We love you!
Charlotte tried out Daddy's new recorder and Peter made a beeline over like the Pied Piper was playing.
Charlotte helped her Daddy open every single present.
This turned out to be a very strange book.
I had to get Corey some Weebles after all the stories we heard about his mother carefully counting the Weebles after Corey and Stephanie went to bed each night.
Alicia really outdid herself when she made this cake!
I have seen wedding cakes that weren't this beautiful.
For some reason, Peter was belly laughing when Corey jumped up and down with him.
It's a requirement for every two-year-old to help her daddy blow out the candles on his birthday cake. No exceptions can be made.
Happy birthday, Corey! We love you!
Bazinga!
My little Petey Pie may be a future Sheldon-style physicist. I swear he rolled around a little and squeaked "Bazinga!" a few times.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Glamour
Yesterday I painted Charlotte's toenails. I expected all sorts of admiration and gushing from her about how beautiful her toes were. Instead, the first thing she said was, "Mommy, I want my toenails back."
I have thus far avoided tackling the job of using polish remover on her because I want to enjoy her cute little pink toenails for another day or so. At the rate we're going though, it will all be chipped off by tonight. Hey, I may not be the world's best hairstylist, but I was hoping I could gain a little notoriety for my toddler toenail painting skills. Looks like I'm going to have to find a different model.
I have thus far avoided tackling the job of using polish remover on her because I want to enjoy her cute little pink toenails for another day or so. At the rate we're going though, it will all be chipped off by tonight. Hey, I may not be the world's best hairstylist, but I was hoping I could gain a little notoriety for my toddler toenail painting skills. Looks like I'm going to have to find a different model.
Peter takes grooming into his own hands
No longer satisfied with my lack of hairstyling ability (or the fact that a comb hasn't touched Peter's head since, oh, birth -- because he doesn't need it!), Peter has recently decided that his food makes an excellent substitute for the styling products I am denying him. Today at lunch, he tried cheese sauce and bananas. You may need to click on the photos to see them big enough to witness what little baby-fine hair he has all styled up like Albert Einstein.
It may come as no surprise to anyone who knows me well that I have discovered letting the food dry in his hair and then combing it out later actually works far better than trying to mop it off in the immediate aftermath of the event. It should not, however, come as a surprise that Peter is attempting to style his own hair. A quick review of the terrible hairdos I have given Charlotte must wait for another time, though.
It may come as no surprise to anyone who knows me well that I have discovered letting the food dry in his hair and then combing it out later actually works far better than trying to mop it off in the immediate aftermath of the event. It should not, however, come as a surprise that Peter is attempting to style his own hair. A quick review of the terrible hairdos I have given Charlotte must wait for another time, though.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Fun with laundry (aka who needs toys?)
Why do I even TRY sorting laundry with these two around?
Who's that hiding behind Daddy's gym shorts?
It's the Laundry Pile Destroyer! Notice her sidekick, the Laundry Pile Mangler, crawling around in the background.
She almost looks like she's helping in this picture, but...
...the armful she was holding ends up on top of her sidekick instead.
Whew - mangling piles of laundry is tiring work. The Landry Pile Mangler takes frequent little rests with his head on the nice stinky laundry.
Aaaaaand this is what my neat piles of color-sorted laundry looks like after the Destroyer and Mangler are through with their dastardly deeds.
Who's that hiding behind Daddy's gym shorts?
It's the Laundry Pile Destroyer! Notice her sidekick, the Laundry Pile Mangler, crawling around in the background.
She almost looks like she's helping in this picture, but...
...the armful she was holding ends up on top of her sidekick instead.
Whew - mangling piles of laundry is tiring work. The Landry Pile Mangler takes frequent little rests with his head on the nice stinky laundry.
Aaaaaand this is what my neat piles of color-sorted laundry looks like after the Destroyer and Mangler are through with their dastardly deeds.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Petey Pie at 9 months
Tank, aka Peter, weighs a whopping 20 pounds, 7 ounces! How on earth is that only the 50th percentile? His height (28 inches) is also the 50th percentile, but that seems a little more reasonable. He had a blast at the doctor's office, even when they did the pin prick to get some blood to test his iron. Unfortunately, it took a ridiculous amount of time to stop bleeding and we got it all over the place (including my clothes, his ear, his clothes, the exam table, the mirror above the exam table, the wall, his face, the diaper bag, the Kleenex box, the floor, and some other places I'm sure I'm forgetting). Otherwise, it was a great check-up with no shots. Dr. Hood said Peter looked "perfect". What more could a mother ask?
The handsome baby in the mirror is always a big hit.
Why do they even bother giving us a pad to put the kid on? He only stays there for 1.5 seconds and then the pad is trashed.
QUIT LICKING THE MIRROR!
What? It tastes good!
The handsome baby in the mirror is always a big hit.
Why do they even bother giving us a pad to put the kid on? He only stays there for 1.5 seconds and then the pad is trashed.
QUIT LICKING THE MIRROR!
What? It tastes good!
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Charlotte's dental adventure doesn't exactly go as planned...
Charlotte visited the dentist for the first time this morning. Although the hygienist and the dentist were each able to coax her to open her mouth just long enough for them to get a quick peek, there was no way in heck Charlotte was going to allow anyone to clean her teeth. I guess it's still a little too scary for a two-and-a-half-year-old!
The monkey was the only one who got his teeth cleaned today!
The monkey was the only one who got his teeth cleaned today!
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