My cousin Jake

My cousin, Jake, is leaving today for Iraq. He's a firefighter with the Air Force, and we couldn't be prouder of him for that. We will be thinking of him often while he is overseas and we hope he returns home soon to his wife, Lauren, and daughters, Addie and Ella. Hopefully, their new black lab puppy, Callie, will be good company for the girls until Jake returns!

Happy birthday Uncle Jordan!

Today, Charlotte's Uncle Jordan (my little brother) turns a whopping 29 years old! Not only does he have a birthday today, but he is also getting married in a few short days to Jessica (soon to be known around here as Aunt Jessica). Wowza. That's a whole lot of excitement for one week.

Charlotte is very excited to be taking her first airplane ride on Thursday to Portland, Oregon for the wedding. She will have a chance to meet tons of my relatives and wear some pretty new dresses. Between the wedding photographer and my crazy picture taking, there are going to be lots of flashbulbs going off this weekend. We can't wait!

Here's little Charlie Jo wishing her Uncle Jordan a happy birthday (while wearing a sweet outfit her Grandma Jo gave her when she was still months and months away from birth).

Early Mother's Day breakfast at Loveless Cafe

Charlotte and I took Niki to the Loveless Cafe for an early Mother's Day breakfast. We figured that with a little baby, very early on Saturday morning would work a lot better than on a busy, busy Mother's Day.

Apparently, we were not allowed to park Charlotte here.

When we told Granddad Stringer that Charlie slept through breakfast, he texted back, saying: "For sure I would not sleep at Loveless!" Note the warning sticker on the high chair forbidding us from using it exactly as we were doing.

This picture is actually for Granddad Stringer. These are two of his favorites - Charlie and Loveless strawberry jam.

I'm smiling because I am about to put a yummy Loveless breakfast in my belly. Charlotte is not smiling, because, alas, she is not about to put a yummy breakfast in her belly.

I'm sorry, are we boring you?

Strangest walk ever

Last night we tried something new - taking the dogs for a walk with Charlotte in the Baby Bjorn carrier. All was going spectacularly well for a while. Charlie was wide awake and looking all around without making a peep (other than the occasional coo). It was a nice change from the stressful walks where she sits in the stroller and absolutely screams as we make our way around the neighborhood.

Anyway, once we reached the spot on our route that was farthest from home, we heard a sound like sprinklers starting up. A few moments later when the drops started hitting our heads, we realized it was raining. Whoops. It was pretty warm, but we still didn't want to get the baby wet. We turned toward home and started hustling. Corey took off his shirt and held it over Charlie's head. He looked like QUITE the redneck/hipster combo wearing a Baby Bjorn with no shirt on. We were lucky no one called the cops to report the fashion crime.

We arrived home with a relatively dry baby (at least on the outside!), but she had definitely had enough of the walk and was squalling. Corey is very glad I don't have photographic evidence of the event.

Morning has broken, I think

It's all rainy and icky looking outside, so I dressed Charlie in a cheery romper to combat the gloom. Charlie likes the outfit, don't you think? Poor Connie looks sad about the weather though.

Narcissus

At the doctor's appointment on Monday, Charlie stared and stared at herself in the mirror next to the exam table. I didn't get a picture of it, but I did get this camera phone shot of Charlie and her "twin".

The next day, Charlie Jo spent a good 45 minutes "talking" to the beautiful baby in the mirror above her attached to the play gym. She was convinced that she had made a spectacular new buddy. Here she is, deep in conversation.

Funny faces

Warning -- clicking on the following link will take you to a super long picture share of obnoxiously cute proportions. Click here at your own risk!

Glowing report

We had a check-up at the pediatrician's office and Charlie got a glowing report! She is 11 pounds, nine ounces and 23 inches long. She's in the 75th percentile for both weight and length.

She also got her first few shots. Yes, they made her a little mad, but we were able to soothe her pretty easily. She got some baby Tylenol, and now she seems to be okay.

Here are some photos of her from before the appointment. She's between sneezes in the last one.

Wiggle wiggle wiggle

What's more fun than a naked, smiling baby? A baby who uses her whole body to sneeze!!

Visit to Mommy's old office

After the jaunt to downtown to see Daddy, Charlie visited my old office at the law school. She loves hanging out with her Vandy Aunties -- Angela, Kathryn and Lillian. Charlie urped on both Angela AND Kathryn. Lillian wisely stayed out of the splash zone.

Visit to Daddy's office

Charlie visited her daddy's office for the first time today! She met lots of people and charmed them all. She was especially smiley for Corey's assistant, Susan (who gave Charlie the adorable embroidered yellow fleece blanket with "Charlotte JoAnn" and her birthdate embroidered on it).

Hmmm... I think a diaper change may be in order.
Just don't get any poop on important documents!
Showing her the sights from the 11th floor.
Next time she comes, I think Corey's going to make Charlie do a little legal research for him.