13 weeks and blah blah blah

Today I am 13 weeks pregnant. According to the weekly pregnancy update e-mail I received, the baby in my belly is about the size of a medium shrimp (3 inches long and weighing about an ounce). Really? A shrimp? What happened to comparing the baby to nice piece of fruit or a tasty vegetable? Odd.

Anyway, luckily I am starting to feel an end to the nausea. I'm still tired all the time (I definitely look forward to Charlie Jo's naps much more than she does) but I'm hoping that will also wane over the next few weeks. This pregnancy has felt so different than the last one (which some people claim means I am having a boy this time), but Charlie Jo has kept me distracted from my misery with her goofy antics. She's really becoming quite a silly little girl.

We have two long weeks without Joslyne and Zoey to play with, but we're excited that Grandma Jo and my cousin Abbey will be coming for a visit a week from today. After that, Great Granny and Great Grandpa Taylor are scheduled to arrive. Soon after, we will be heading up to Ohio for a sailing weekend for NanaB and Granddad. Whew! We had better rest up!

Happy Berfday, Faith Carol

We partied like rock stars (or like nerdy Trivia Night devotees) at Pancho's tonight for Faith Carol's 16th birthday. Well, she had her real celebration in Atlanta backstage at the Paramore/No Doubt concert, but I'm sure the Pacho's dinner was MUCH more thrilling. Charlotte loved the awesome cake that FC's friend, Bethany, made.

NASCAR Race

This weekend, Corey got to go to his first NASCAR race. It was only the "Nationwide" series - not the big dog "Sprint Cup" series, but the cars still had 600+ horsepower. Here are some pictures . . .

Stack of Goodyear tires in the pits.



It's only racin' in the South if a Sundrop flag is flying!



Standing on the track before the race. This is the front straight, looking towards turn four.



Corey and a 600 hp Ford Fusion.



Here is a side profile of the Nationwide cars.



One of the teams was rooting for the Red Wings!



Fantastic moon in the sky over the track.



Had a few wrecks.



VROOOOMMMMM!



At the end of the race, Kyle Busch, the winner, performed the obligatory smoky burn-out for the crowd. Then, the punk smashed the trophy, a custom-painted Gibson guitar, rock-star style, right in front of the horrified artist. Hope that punk never wins another race.

Niki's Birthday Week

Niki's Birthday Week in Pictures:

Birthday lunch with the girls.



Birthday smooch!



The Stringer girls.




It was Niki's idea. Not mine.



What is wrong with this?

Things are Changing Rapidly

Charlie has figured out how to climb on the couch. Uh-oh.

More glamor shots of Baby Stringer

Yup - apparently we are having a Baby Voldemort from the looks of him/her.

Baby Stringer's small screen debut

Today I had an ultrasound to check for certain birth defects (they didn't find any) and got this nifty little video to take home. Watch Baby Stringer kick kick kick! I'm at 12 weeks as of today, and we should have the ultrasound to determine gender sometime in July.

The girls

Just a typical summer afternoon for BFFs Charlie Jo and Zozo. Despite the looks on their faces, they were having a terrific time.



Where'd that doggie go??

Me and my niece

Sonia is such a sweet little girl! I loved holding her.



Charlie Jo started to act a little jealous each time I did though. Just wait until December, kid.



I liked snoozing with Sosi.



But I think Sosi is happiest sleeping with Mommy!



We had such a terrific time in Illinois with Erin, Andrew, and Sosi. Thank you so much for letting us come visit!

CJ, meet Sonia. Sonia, meet CJ.

I just love these photos my sister took of our daughters meeting. "Our daughters" is such a strange thing to type. We both have DAUGHTERS. I still think of us as the daughters. Anyway, seeing our daughters meet (even though it was in the backseat of a sedan in an airport parking lot) was magical. CJ seemed thrilled with her cousin, until she caught sight of herself in the mirror, that is. After that, Sonia lost a little of her appeal. Sonia did open her eyes a little at first, but them she snoozed through the rest of the introduction. I guess both girls were just acting their ages, right?

The funny thing is, Corey was actually surprised by this.

Corey and Charlotte had a nice evening alone last Monday night while I went to Trivia. He had grand plans to make Charlie gazpacho (a cold soup made from raw vegetables). Good old Charlie Jo is not what you might call a big fan of vegetables. Not even close. So did she like the soup? Watch and find out!



At least it's fun to rub around on the tray of the highchair.

A demonstration

Charlotte would like us all to know the proper technique for exiting the play pool.







Got it??