CJ's first ice cream cone

Charlie Jo was so proud of her first ice cream cone! She slurped and slurped with gusto.



Want some, Poly?



She spilled some on her leg and then dipped her finger in it to make sure she got every last drop.



Thank you for my ice cream cone, Auntie LiLi!

What game is that supposed to be?

CJ and Zozo are just plain goofy.

Typical evening

Spaghetti is on the menu, so my clothes have been spirited away. There's still a few minutes before dinner, so I'm still wearing a tutu just for fun.



Gotta dance! I'll dance to any music.



What's that I see out the front door? All of the Marshalls and Ballentines having fun without me?



Awwwwwww... Wish I was out there with them.



I can still put on a show from behind glass though! I even clap for myself. Forget dinner - it's show time!

Disco party at the doctor's office

I took Charlie Jo Jo in for her 15-month well-baby appointment this morning and she obviously thought she was there to put on a dance exhibition for the nurse and the doctor. She showed off darn near all her tricks and danced up a storm on the exam table. She didn't flinch during the anemia test but the shots in her legs elicited some very bitter crying. She recovered fast though.

CJ now weighs 22 pounds (the 25th - 50th percentile) and measures 31 inches (the 75th percentile). She has consistently been in those percentiles at virtually all of her checkups. Boy, I sure wish I was in the 75th percentile for height and the 25th-50th for weight. I think I'm the opposite.

Other than recommending we start the vegetable-hater on a multi-vitamin, Dr. Hood had nothing but great things to say about CJ's overall health. We're going to try to cut down to one nap per day since CJ has been still so darn wide awake at 8:00 pm when we try to put her down each night, and we're going to try to sneak veggies and meat into every darn thing that kid actually WILL eat. Cross your fingers...

I'm just a DANCE machine!



Please please please stop licking the exam table, you nutburger.



Downward-facing dog!



Who IS that beautiful baby in the mirror?

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??