Our cousin, Jordan, stayed with us for a few days after he finished up his junior year at Belmont University. Charlotte did her best to teach him all the tricks she knows. We're so proud of his new skills!
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Do Charlotte and Sonia look anything alike?
Since Erin and I are identical twins, it stands to reason that Charlotte and Sonia are kind of like half sisters, right? That's what Erin and I tell ourselves at least. What do you think? Here are some photos from each of their first days of life.
First, here is little Charlie Jo on March 10, 2008:
And here's Sonia on May 13, 2009:
First, here is little Charlie Jo on March 10, 2008:
And here's Sonia on May 13, 2009:
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Happy Birthday Sonia Marie Malahowski!
Erin and Andrew welcomed baby Sonia Marie Malahowski this morning at 8:47 am! How nice of her to be born on her Great Aunt Kim's birthday, huh? Sonia is 6 pounds, 4 ounces, and she is 17 1/2 inches long. Not bad for a baby born at 37 weeks! I'll put a link to their blog once they get it up and running later today (my parents are charged with posting duty while Erin and Sonia are in the hospital). I have seen a few photos, and Sonia looks darn cute.
Congratulations to Erin, Andrew and Sonia!! Can't wait to see what the cats (Margie & Bobo) think of the new addition. Sonia looks a little ticked off in this photo, but I bet those lights do seem a little bright to someone who has never been outside the womb!
Congratulations to Erin, Andrew and Sonia!! Can't wait to see what the cats (Margie & Bobo) think of the new addition. Sonia looks a little ticked off in this photo, but I bet those lights do seem a little bright to someone who has never been outside the womb!
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Mother's Day
On this Mother's Day - to JoAnn and Mom - thank you for shaping the people Niki and I have become. We love you!
And to Niki - Wow! You are incredible!
Today is Niki's second Mother's Day. What a great Mother she is! I feel very confident that Charlie is getting the best maternal parenting possible. Niki is equal parts practical and whimsical, and that does wonders for Charlie. Under Niki's watchful eye, Charlie is free to explore her world to the fullest extent possible, yet Niki does wonders in setting appropriate boundaries for her. As a result, Charlie is blossoming into a wonderful, caring, beautiful child.
There are not enough words, aren't enough pictures (each worth 1000 words), to express my gratitude and admiration for Niki and what she is doing for Charlie. I am proud, glad, and thankful that Niki is Charlie's mother.
Niki, thank you.
Corey
And to Niki - Wow! You are incredible!
Today is Niki's second Mother's Day. What a great Mother she is! I feel very confident that Charlie is getting the best maternal parenting possible. Niki is equal parts practical and whimsical, and that does wonders for Charlie. Under Niki's watchful eye, Charlie is free to explore her world to the fullest extent possible, yet Niki does wonders in setting appropriate boundaries for her. As a result, Charlie is blossoming into a wonderful, caring, beautiful child.
There are not enough words, aren't enough pictures (each worth 1000 words), to express my gratitude and admiration for Niki and what she is doing for Charlie. I am proud, glad, and thankful that Niki is Charlie's mother.
Niki, thank you.
Corey
Baptism . . . but no pictures of Quinn, for some reason . . .
Quinn was baptized today. Charlie was a little too loud to sit through the service, so she inspected the stained glass at the church.
What a beautiful church, and what a beautiful day.
The proud parents put on a very nice dinner afterwards.
Niki and I had a TN Stringer family picture taken.
And again . . .
Don enjoyed the day.
For Mother's Day, Granny was given a new insulated picnic basket and modeled it!
Grandpa modeled it, too!
Kayla was not amused.
GrandDad and Charlie read together.
By the end of the day, however, Charlie was locked and loaded.
What a beautiful church, and what a beautiful day.
The proud parents put on a very nice dinner afterwards.
Niki and I had a TN Stringer family picture taken.
And again . . .
Don enjoyed the day.
For Mother's Day, Granny was given a new insulated picnic basket and modeled it!
Grandpa modeled it, too!
Kayla was not amused.
GrandDad and Charlie read together.
By the end of the day, however, Charlie was locked and loaded.
More Minnesota fun
Charlotte tried to feed Quinn grapes. He declined the offer.
So she took a turn in the Bumbo instead. She is obsessed with trying to sit in the Bumbo, but can't quite figure out how to get in there by herself.
There have been lots of story times with NanaB.
I took Quinn for a spin in the Baby Bjorn.
Kayla kept a close eye on everything.
Great Grandpa Taylor gave CJ a little beer. Just a little bit though.
There was a wiffleball homerun derby.
Woo!
One ball split in half, so we let Charlie Jo play with it.
Daddy, Daddy! Look at the ball I have!
Kayla charged the plate. Unfortunately, she kept doing it WHILE the batter was hitting the ball.
Quinn is ready to join the Notre Dame offensive line. At least his legs are.
It's nice holding a baby who doesn't squirm away or try to stick her entire arm down your shirt.
Quinn's eyes are still blue!
Quinn showed Charlie how tummy time is done.
So she took a turn in the Bumbo instead. She is obsessed with trying to sit in the Bumbo, but can't quite figure out how to get in there by herself.
There have been lots of story times with NanaB.
I took Quinn for a spin in the Baby Bjorn.
Kayla kept a close eye on everything.
Great Grandpa Taylor gave CJ a little beer. Just a little bit though.
There was a wiffleball homerun derby.
Woo!
One ball split in half, so we let Charlie Jo play with it.
Daddy, Daddy! Look at the ball I have!
Kayla charged the plate. Unfortunately, she kept doing it WHILE the batter was hitting the ball.
Quinn is ready to join the Notre Dame offensive line. At least his legs are.
It's nice holding a baby who doesn't squirm away or try to stick her entire arm down your shirt.
Quinn's eyes are still blue!
Quinn showed Charlie how tummy time is done.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Ohhhhhh, Charlotte!
Really? Is it necessary to pick your cousin's nose? And why isn't your daddy stopping you?
Friday, May 8, 2009
ROAD TRIP!!!
Niki, Charlie, and I are in Minnesota for my nephew's baptism. We packed up our trusty station wagon on Thursday and struck out for our friends' place in Illinois.
On Friday, we left our friends and headed to my sister's place. We've been having a lot of fun with family. More later!
On Friday, we left our friends and headed to my sister's place. We've been having a lot of fun with family. More later!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
She does a mother proud
What are Charlie Jo's new favorite toys? Poker chips! Vegas, here we come!! We keep ours in a basket my Grandpa Chuck wove for me almost 20 years ago. The basket is especially handy for putting the poker chips into, and then, of course, dumping them back out again.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Evil geniuses?
I'm still laughing like an idiot after reading this post on Joslyne's blog.
We're in trouble when those two actually learn how to communicate with each other...
We're in trouble when those two actually learn how to communicate with each other...
Two interesting milestones
Lately, we have been hitting some interesting milestones. These are not milestones like walking, teething, etc. They're more like "wow! CJ is becoming a little person!" kind of milestones.
Sometime around Easter, CJ began bringing books to people, handing the story to her chosen reader, and then smacking herself on the chest as if to say "read to ME! ME!" It's very cute, and it works every time. No one can resist, even if he or she has read that same inane book (why does she ALWAYS want to read Giggles with Daddy???) to her 40 times already that afternoon.
The milestone event I was really impressed with happened yesterday while we were Skyping with NanaB. NanaB had just finished reading CJ a story (which CJ sat very still through and seemed to really enjoy), and CJ climbed down from her big blue chair and toddled away. She quickly returned with one of her favorite Sandra Boynton books (Moo, Baa, La La La) and held it up to NanaB's image on the computer and smacked herself in the chest with the free hand. That's when it finally hit us that she really is making a connection between the books NanaB reads to her and the books she has strewn about her own playroom! CJ then either figured out that she couldn't actually give the book to NanaB or decided that Mommy was the next best option since NanaB hadn't taken the book yet, so she handed it to me instead and climbed into my lap. As luck would have it, NanaB does have that identical book up in Michigan, so she ran and got it and read it to CJ while I helped CJ follow along with her own copy. It was ridiculously adorable.
The next milestone was goofier. The big joke on TV shows is the little kid getting a hold of the family telephone and somehow calling Japan. Well, CJ may not have been able to make an international call, but she did manage to somehow dial up Daddy at work by hitting one of the saved numbers (or, now that I think about it, probably by hitting "redial" since I most likely called Corey at work on that phone last). I hung up the phone when I realized what the little goofball was doing, but Corey called right back and asked if I had just called him. Busted by called ID! At least it wasn't Japan...
Sometime around Easter, CJ began bringing books to people, handing the story to her chosen reader, and then smacking herself on the chest as if to say "read to ME! ME!" It's very cute, and it works every time. No one can resist, even if he or she has read that same inane book (why does she ALWAYS want to read Giggles with Daddy???) to her 40 times already that afternoon.
The milestone event I was really impressed with happened yesterday while we were Skyping with NanaB. NanaB had just finished reading CJ a story (which CJ sat very still through and seemed to really enjoy), and CJ climbed down from her big blue chair and toddled away. She quickly returned with one of her favorite Sandra Boynton books (Moo, Baa, La La La) and held it up to NanaB's image on the computer and smacked herself in the chest with the free hand. That's when it finally hit us that she really is making a connection between the books NanaB reads to her and the books she has strewn about her own playroom! CJ then either figured out that she couldn't actually give the book to NanaB or decided that Mommy was the next best option since NanaB hadn't taken the book yet, so she handed it to me instead and climbed into my lap. As luck would have it, NanaB does have that identical book up in Michigan, so she ran and got it and read it to CJ while I helped CJ follow along with her own copy. It was ridiculously adorable.
The next milestone was goofier. The big joke on TV shows is the little kid getting a hold of the family telephone and somehow calling Japan. Well, CJ may not have been able to make an international call, but she did manage to somehow dial up Daddy at work by hitting one of the saved numbers (or, now that I think about it, probably by hitting "redial" since I most likely called Corey at work on that phone last). I hung up the phone when I realized what the little goofball was doing, but Corey called right back and asked if I had just called him. Busted by called ID! At least it wasn't Japan...
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)