Hefty hefty hefty!

Omigosh. Charlotte, my sweet little darling, weighed in at 10 pounds, 11 ounces this morning. This means she has gained over three pounds in six weeks. Holy moly!!!

Why do I even bother getting dressed?

Due to some prolific spitting up (take a wild guess as to the identity of the spitter-upper), I am now in my fourth outfit of the day and Charlie Jo is in her third. Maybe we should just go hang out naked in the bathtub for the rest of the day or invest in rubber clothing so we can hose ourselves off. My sister may have to abdicate her title (earned over 30 years ago) as the Spit-Up Queen. (I was the Spit-Up Princess.)

More Sunday photos and a fashion show

Not sure she likes the sun hat...


Dukie loves sunbathing.


Connie was pooped after romping around in the field.


Cranky, but pretty in her outfit from Aunt Steph & Uncle Don.


Deciding whether to fuss in her cute duds from Aunt Erin & Uncle Andrew. Don't do it!!

Gorgeous Sunny Sunday

Yesterday was so beautiful that we couldn't resist some time outside!

Here's a rare shot of Dukie. Apparently he's not as afraid of the camera when he's outdoors.


Charlie fits great in the Baby Bjorn.


Our neighbors Jay and Elan were out planting corn and other veggies.


We made quite a spectacle with all our gear.


Charlotte dined al fresco. Don't worry - we had her under the umbrella the whole time (except when we took this photo).

Flowers!

Charlotte's first trip to a nursery (one for plants - not kids!) was last Friday with our neighbor, Alicia. We tagged along to help Alicia pick out flowers for her yard. Charlotte, of course, slept through most of the trip, but she was widely admired by all the other shoppers.

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.