Al fresco birthday lunch

We had the perfect birthday picnic at the park courtesy of Joslyne and Zoey. They brought everything, including food, dessert AND entertainment -- a cool pinwheel and fun bubbles! First, we started with lunch. Charlotte basically ate off of Zoey's tray, because Zoey's food (which was exactly the same as Charlotte's) was apparently much tastier.



After lunch, we played in the grass. Our attempts at a "BFFs" photo failed miserably.



The boo boo on CJ's forehead is looking much better!



Just four ladies enjoying a beautiful early spring day.



The girls probably could have swung for hours if we kept pushing them.



I don't know -- do you think Zoey likes it? She looks a little ambivalent.



Zozo and CJ are going to have lots of fun days at the park this spring.



Thank you so much for such a wonderful birthday picnic! What a terrific way to turn one year old!!

SOOOOOO big!

How big is Charlotte? SOOOOOO big! (imagine me saying this in a sing-songy voice, and CJ flinging her arms up in the air and grinning)

Actually, she's not all that big -- pretty average to tell you the truth. We just came from her 12-month well baby check-up at the pediatrician's office and got the official stats. She weighs 21 pounds, 2 ounces (the 55th percentile) and is 30 inches long (the 75th percentile). Her head size has consistently been in the 75th percentile at every visit. Not bad, kid!

She got three immunization shots but didn't like them ONE BIT. It probably didn't help that we skipped the morning nap today, but the rest of the appointment went fine until that point. Charlotte was putting on a show for the doctor -- talking, waving her arms, bouncing around, pointing, and generally acting like a huge goofball. And then she did her evil dramatic chipmunk tantrum routine when the doctor had to take a tongue depressor away. You would have thought Dr. Hood ripped out one of her toenails. Oh my.

We got the green light to start the weaning process as well as giving her whole milk, honey, and every kind of table food other than nuts or shellfish. Considering she found a peanut on the floor in our neighbor's garage and chewed on it for a good five minutes (before we realized it and took it away!) without a bad reaction, I think we're okay. Dr. Hood just about choked when I told her that story. Whoops. Anyway, we will be heading to the store after lunch to get the milk and some more fig newtons (Charlotte's current favorite food).

Happy birthday, sweet girl

One year ago today, our little family grew by one. This year has been everything we ever hoped for and more.



Happy birthday, sweet girl. We love you more than you know.

More about all of today's birthday excitement later. We're pooped and need to go to bed!

Early birthday celebration at Pancho's Trivia Night

Charlie Jo has been going to Pancho's for Trivia Night every Monday since she was 3 weeks old. She went while she was in utero, too! Tonight was no exception. Here she is, about 4 milliseconds before throwing that chip on the ground.



In honor of her birthday tomorrow, we asked for the usual Pancho's birthday celebration -- lackluster funeral-like singing by the waiters ("Happy BIRTHday Panchita..."), free flan, and of course a photo op with the big obnoxious sombrero. Charlotte has seen it done many times, but wasn't so sure what was going on when it actually happened to her.



"Get this thing OFF me!"



I have no idea what Dawn was so excited about.



"Please help me Daddy!"



It doesn't look like it, but CJ was actually having a good time that night (even though the Marshalls had to miss it because Alicia thinks pneumonia is a good excuse for ditching the team).



I fed her some of the whipped cream off the top of the flan and she really liked it. Until she threw a fit and spat a bunch of it down her shirt, that is.



We won first place thanks to our knowledge of original Crayola crayon colors, the direction the jet stream runs, and the name of the talking dog in "Men In Black".

Tomorrow at 6:09 a.m., Charlotte JoAnn turns a whopping ONE YEAR OLD!

More fun times in the gymnasium

I wasn't going to post this because it has such terrible audio (complete with me screeching about Zoey walking), but it's too cute not to share. Charlotte is doing her patented "wave-your-arms-around-wildly-and-hop-forward-on-your-knees-while-making-monkey-sounds" move and Zoey is toddling about. At the end, you can see Charlotte the klepto snaking one of Zoey's toys from her stroller. Gotta love it. And I know I gotta stop taking these terrible videos on my cell phone. It's just too hard to resist.

Future power forward and center of the basketball team

Charlie Jo and her buddy, Zoey, got a hold of a basketball at the end of Stroller Strides (aka get-your-wiggly-kids-out-of-the-stroller-and-let-them-roam-free-in-the-big-empty-gym-while-the-moms-attempt-to-do-sit-ups-and-stretch-time). They were both beating on it happily and I attempted to capture the moment with the crappy camera on my phone. I know it's not a great photo, but you can tell they are both having an excellent time.



Too bad Joslyne has already decreed that Zoey will be a star soccer player and I have high hopes for Charlotte as a volleyball and/or softball player. I suppose it wouldn't break my heart too much if Charlotte showed aptitude for shooting hoops. Corey wants to buy her a Michigan State football outfit (complete with jersey, pants and helmet) for the fall, but I'm drawing the line there. Too many injuries in football, and I would like CJ to play a sport where I can actually tell which one she is on the field/court.

Daddy, are you SURE that thing is supposed to sound like that?

Corey introduced Charlotte to his old baritone horn -- the really old one he played when he was first learning.



Charlotte was a little skeptical. Perhaps worried. Okay, she was completely perplexed.

The look on her face was priceless though. ENHANCE!!



But then she decided it wasn't too bad and tried it out herself. Her technique wasn't terrible, considering she stuck the ENTIRE mouthpiece in her mouth. I'm still holding out hope that she will choose a nice woodwind though. Perhaps the clarinet like Auntie Ernie, Mommy, and Cousin Ellie?

Niki in prehistoric times

(I love this comic strip - "Close to Home" by John McPherson. I wonder if Uncle Jerry knows him...)

Project Runway, Season 2

My second attempt at a pillowcase dress went MUCH smoother than the first. This one is for Charlie Jo's BFF, Zoey. It's not hemmed yet because I want to try it on Zozo to get the length right. Otherwise, it's ready for a summer playdate in the sun!



I'm not quite ready to throw my hat in the ring for Project Runway, but I'm pretty darn pleased at my newfound ability to sew simple dresses for babies.

Time to buy some kid-friendly spoons?

Charlotte grabbed the spoon from me this morning, so I tried and experiment and held the yogurt cup out to her. Actually, it was smooshed-up peas mixed in cherry yogurt. The peasicles have been forsaken this week and she's gotta get her veggies somehow! Anyway, she seemed to understand the concept!



But then the concept seemed to slip out of -- and the yogurt slipped into -- her grasp.

Ohhhhhh Charlotte!

I looked over in the direction of some suspicious noises as I was preparing Charlotte's breakfast this morning and saw the following scene. Charlotte was down on all fours WITH HER ENTIRE HEAD IN THE DOG'S WATER BOWL. Well, she was sort of biting or sucking on the edge of the bowl, I guess. Luckily, it's a big bowl and there wasn't much more than an inch of water left after Connie's morning slurps.

I shouted "hey!" and she jumped. The bowl jerked a little when she jumped, which made the water slosh up and splash her in the face. She looked dazed and confused for a second, but then smiled and clapped when I started laughing. Oh Charlotte. We have a lot of work to do, including teaching you the word "yucky"...

Project Runway

I love the show "Project Runway" on Bravo. Even though I know NOTHING about fashion (as anyone who has observed my wardrobe knows), it's neat to see a reality show competition where they produce something I can see and evaluate on my own. (I also adore Top Chef, but until someone invents smellavision and tasteavision, not to mention expanding my palette beyond mac 'n' cheese, I can't truly evaluate what those crazy chefs are doing.)

The last time I sewed clothing was somwhere around age 11, when my mom finally decided it was time to teach Erin and me to sew. We made some cute crop tops, but nothing after that. Mom sewed me a couple of really cool dresses for dances in high school, but otherwise I am an off-the-rack kind of girl.

My buddy, Joslyne, and I were at a kids' clothes consignment sale last week and we saw something called a "pillowcase dress" that had clearly been handmade (beautifully, actually) but priced at $28. I got all indignant and mouthed off that I could sew that for a fraction of that price. A few days and a trip to the fabric store later, I sat down with my cheapie sewing machine (that has thus far seen combat sewing only some simple drapes and a bunch of aprons, which don't officially count as clothes) and tested the theory. As usual, I just sort of winged a pattern based on some hints from a few websites. It turns out pillowcase dresses were originally designed to be made from actual pillowcases (hence the name). After a few bumps in the road, I took Tim Gunn's advice to "make it work" and ended up with a simple little frock.

I still have yet to buy the ribbon to be used for the ties for the shoulders, so that's why it's tied together with white yarn. In the photos where CJ is wearing the dress, keep in mind that it wasn't hemmed yet (which is why I was having her model it) and that she is fully dressed underneath. Plus, she really needed a nap, as you can see. The last two photos are of a happier CJ in a birthday outfit from her Auntie Ernie. I couldn't wait for warmer weather to put it on CJ, so I stuck a long-sleeved onesie underneath.