Great Aunt Sibyl's dress

Now I'm remembering more things I had meant to post but neglected to during the first few weeks we had Charlie at home. We received one present in particular that totally choked me up as I opened it. Corey's Aunt Sibyl sent Charlotte this beautiful outfit:


With it was a note from Aunt Sibyl to Charlotte explaining that the outfit was made from the dress that Sibyl wore to Corey's parents' wedding. Isn't that the coolest thing ever? How neat to have saved that dress for all these years and to create something special for a grand niece. We can't wait for Charlotte to get big enough to wear it, hopefully on a trip out west to California to meet her Great Aunt Sibyl!

Next time we're up in Michigan, I'm going to try to find a photo of Sibyl in the original dress to duplicate for Charlotte's family photo album (which is where we put all the photos of her family members as infants).

Meem & Pop

That last post about the letter from Grandpa Stringer made me remember I had wanted to also share an e-mail my maternal grandma (whom we all call "Meem") sent a few days after Charlotte was born. I love hearing stories about how people cared for infants before the explosion of baby products hit the market and before entire libraries could be filled with all sorts of advice on how babies should be raised. As such, this e-mail totally cracked me up.

Hi Niki, Corey and Charlotte,

I just remembered what happened the first night we had your Mom home from the hospital. We lived in the apartment in my Mom and Dad's house on Walnut St. in Nappanee. We had your Mom in the little crib, about the size of a bassinet, right next to our bed. She woke up for the 2 a.m. feeding (I was breast feeding) but we didn't hear her quick enough. So my Mom came over and kidnapped her. The apartment was attached to their kitchen. She took her over on their side and fixed her a bottle!! Back then it was Carnation canned milk, Karo syrup and water. She hadn't had a bottle before!! If I remember right, Pop and I slept right on through until the next feeding???? Today that would be called child neglect, but it sure tickled my Mom.

Hope everything is going great.

Love, Meem

Ah, the days before Similac and Enfamil ruled the world and showered expectant and new parents with tons of baby formula samples. I came home from the hospital with an entire bag full of goodies from Similac, and both companies have been sending us samples since last fall (Duke actually ate half of one of the cans of powdered formula we received in the mail). Carnation canned milk, Karo syrup and water? Sounds like some sort of dessert! Hee hee. I talked to Meem about this story a few days after she sent it, and she claims her mother (for whom I was given the middle name, Irene) was hovering right outside their apartment just waiting for the baby to make a peep. Love it! Here are some photos of Meem and Pop from last Thanksgiving:

Letter from Charlie's Great Grandfather Stringer

Charlie received a very sweet letter from her Great Grandfather Stringer today. She hasn't gotten a chance to meet him yet, but we're heading up to Michigan in July and plan on seeing him then. Although he doesn't have his typewriter anymore, Charlie's Grandma B was kind enough to type the letter on his behalf and bring it back for him to sign. Corey remembers always receiving typed letters from Grandpa Stringer when he was a kid, which exemplifies Grandpa's overall elegantly formal approach to life. This is a man, after all, whose casual wear consists of a snappy sweater, a dress shirt, a tie, and slacks. He is a pretty neat guy. Here's what he wrote:

April 14, 2008

Dear Miss Stringer,

(From your great grandfather in Michigan)

Two things appear to me to be abundantly clear:

1. You very wisely chose a very good family for you to arrive in.
and
2. So far you have done a masterful job at keeping everyone else in the family right on their toes to see to it you receive all the attention you need at exactly the time you need and want it.

Take it from an old "Geezer" who has been around quite a while and knows a little about these things - I am convinced that you have your whole world right in the palm of your hand and without a doubt you are going to keep it right there.

Lots of love,
Great Grandfather George P. Stringer

I love that he included his middle initial. What a cutie. Here are some photos of Grandpa from last Christmas.

Let 'er rip!

These burping photos, taken by Grandma Jo, cracked up Grandma B. Charlie is such a little goofball when you're trying to get her to belch!

More gratuitous glamour shots of Charlie Jo

Hangin' out with Grandpa Spike.

Grandpa probably just told me a silly joke.

This bouncy seat is necessary to all dinner prep times!

Big foot!

Big yawn!!

Bath time!

I have so many photos I neglected to post in the hectic first month, so I'm making up for lost time. Here's a few of bath time while Grandma Jo and Grandpa Spike were visiting.Love my light-up ducky from Mom's co-worker, Mary Griffin!

My robe, a gift from friends Kevin and Amanda Lowe, is pretty cool, huh?

Not much hair to wash . . .

Washing off the milk crusties.

Naked baby!!!

Charlotte's First Earthquake!

I thought we had moved away from California? This morning, Charlie woke me up for her usual 5 am meal. We went downstairs to watch the news while she nursed, and we were shocked to discover that just 20 minutes earlier there was a 5.4 magnitude earthquake centered in southern Illinois. People in the Nashville area (not us though) felt it as well! Wowzers.

FYI - today is the 233rd anniversary of Paul Revere's ride. Just a little bit of trivia for you.

Slurpin' & Burpin'

Charlie never looks so cute as when you're trying to coax a burp out of her. I captured a few goofy looks the other night.

Arrrrgh! Wipe me booty!

First, we have a photo of Ms. Charlie Jo at her third Trivia Night. Team Big Love may not have won, but we had a decent showing after an extremely slow start. Most importantly, we did our first diaper change in public (well, we did it in the bathroom, but we chatted with strangers while we did it!).
Second, we have some photos of our baby pirate, snoozin' up a storm in the Pack 'n' Play and in my lap.

Avast ye, swabbies!

Triple threat

Oh my. Yesterday I experienced something that will go down in the record books as the wildest diaper change ever. Here's a run down of the events:

1. Charlie fusses, so I check to see if her diaper is dirty. Yes, it is, so I set her down on the changing table and get the dirty diaper off.
2. She spits up a bunch, all over her new "Baby Saurus" footie outfit.
3. While I'm getting that wiped up, she pees.
4. Before I get much further in cleaning up that mess, she screws up her little face and lets loose another big poop.
5. I get the changing pad out of the way so at least she doesn't kick around in the poo and pee too much, but then Charlie spits up AGAIN.
6. After I wipe her face off and get her cleaned off down south with a new diaper under her but not secured, Charlie takes another little poop.

That might push some weaker mortals over the edge. They might throw up their hands in disgust and run screaming from the house, letting the dogs raise Charlie instead. I was close to reaching that point, but then Charlie gave me a little sly smile and melted my heart. I got her cleaned up again, threw on another footie outfit (a green one that says "Little Lamb"), and treated myself to a fudgsicle. Whew.

Charlotte Videos

Thought we'd post some videos we've taken with the video camera in the past few weeks. The first one is fairly old - it is Grandma B playing with Charlotte.



The second one was taken three weekends ago - little Charlotte getting ready for a bath.



This one was taken a few weeks ago - Charlotte on her play mat on the kitchen table on a quiet evening.



Last week Charlotte and I were playing in her room on a play mat made by her Great-Granny Taylor. Here is a really quick roll - she is just over four weeks old!



Here is a longer video of a roll - don't be alarmed at the squirking - think of it as girls grunting while playing tennis - if you stick with it to the end, you can hear her cheering!



Yesterday, Charlotte and I played on her play mat on the floor- here is another roll!




Finally, little Charlotte rockin' and rollin' on the play mat on Saturday.

Auntie Ernie & Uncle Andrew

It just occurred to me that we never posted much about the Baby Boot Camp that we ran a few weeks back. Well, it wasn't so much as a boot camp as it was a visit by Charlotte's Auntie Ernie (aka my sister, Erin) and Uncle Andrew. Since they will be expecting a baby of their own in two short months (baby Zach is due June 14th), their visit was also a learning session about all sorts of things, like how to hold a newborn, how to change a diaper (Auntie Ernie changed a bunch!), bath time, meal time, etc.

I had hung out with Sara & Joe's little baby Annabelle when she was first born, but probably not enough to have learned all I should have before we had Charlie. I wish I had done a practice session with a newborn to prepare myself! Thank goodness all of Charlie's grandparents came out for the first few weeks to help teach us infant care. I can't imagine getting through March without them.

Anyway, since I neglected to take virtually any photos of Erin and Andrew with their new niece, I got these photos from my mom's picture share to post. Don't they already look like baby care pros? Zach's going to have much more experienced hands caring for him when he's born. You can check out their progress at their baby blog.

Hey! Who are you two people? You kind of look like my mom, actually...

Just had some dinner, and now it's time for burpy burpy!

Man - I haven't ever been this high off the ground. Are you the Jolly Green Giant?