Deadbeat mommy blogger

We're all still alive - I promise! After a fun-filled weekend in Prescott, AZ for my Grandma Jane's surprise 80th birthday celebration, Charlotte and I have made our way successfully to Thousand Oaks, CA to stay with my mom and dad until the end of the month (and Corey is back in TN working).

I will post AZ pics in a bit because I'm too wiped out to do it tonight. I took my dad out for his birthday to see the new Harry Potter movie (loved it!) while Grandma Jo Jo wrangled the little one. We have been shopping, running around in sprinklers, watching the new french doors to the courtyard be installed, swinging at the playground, and practicing all of the animal movements in Eric Carle's From Head to Toe. Charlie Jo can do a mean buffalo.

Other highlights of our California trip have been playing with the dolls my sister and I got when we were only 4 or 5 years old and gawking in amazement when my mother pulled out all of my old baby teeth that she had squirreled away from her days as the Tooth Fairy. And she's NOT a hoarder! We're planning on visiting Corey's Aunt Sibyl, heading up to San Luis Obispo to see my aunt, uncle, and cousins, and hitting the beach in addition to some other things. More photos to come!

On the road again (or some other road trip cliche)

Because we seem to have a complete inability to sit still for very long, we are heading out for the next couple of weeks on another vacation. Well, poor Corey has to return on Monday, but Charlie Jo and I won't be home again until the very end of the month.

The BIG news is that we found out today the gender of the one we have thus referred to as "Baby Stringer." It's a boy! Unfortunately, we have yet to decide on a name, so for now he will have to be called "Baby Boy Stringer." Not much better, I know, but we're getting there. There are some good candidates, but no decision has been reached. We have 22 more weeks to ponder, but that time is going to fly right by!

Time to start planning Charlie Jo's move to her big girl bed in her new bedroom (the nursery is staying as is since it was intentionally decorated gender-neutrally). She won't make the physical move until probably November, but in the meantime we need to repaint and redecorate what until now was one of my favorite rooms. Though I will mourn the loss of my "California Room", I'm excited to design a fun room for CJ to enjoy and grown with!

Another useful new skill emerges.

Charlotte was playing with the home phone receiver yesterday afternoon, which is not all that unusual. I walked by her and thought I heard that voice that says "if you would like to make a call, please hang up and dial again" or whatever that is. I took the phone from her and hung it up. CJ threw a fit, of course, but got over it pretty fast.

A few moments later, the phone rang. I figured it was the pediatric dentist returning the message I left about making CJ's first dental appointment. NOPE. It was a 9-1-1 operator. Apparently, that voice I heard on the other line was the operator trying to figure out if CJ's "hah-low" and "mah-mah" babbles really meant anything or not. Somehow my 16-month-old called 9-1-1 just to chat.

I apologized profusely and promised never to let her play with the phone again. The operator verified my address and wished me luck. No police cruiser had to come out or anything. I glared at CJ but she just grinned and scampered away.

I'm still trying to figure out how she did it. There's no one-touch emergency call button like on some phones. I guess she just happened to press the right combination of numbers. Good job, Booger!

Time to call pest control...

... because look what little creatures are growing in our bath tub!!!




Scary, huh?

Actually, this was just step 1 in the great "Put Pigtails in Zozo's Hair" adventure. I am refraining from stealing Joslyne's thunder and thus will not post photos of the extremely cute results. The two girls had fun in the tub together and behaved very well throughout the fumbling beauty shop experiment. No lives were lost and there was very little actual screaming. All in all, it was a great success.

Last day in Michigan and the trip home

We spent the last day of our trip driving to the "thumb" of Michigan to bury Grandpa Stringer in the cemetery with his wife and other relatives. The thumb is full of beautiful farms that were homesteaded just a few generations ago. On the way home, we drove by the old Roth farm, where Grandpa Stringer's wife, Marjorie, grew up. Though it's still in the family, the fields are farmed by a company and a family rents the house and outbuildings.



After we got home from the "thumb", NanaB and Granddad watched Charlie Jo for us (feeding her dinner and putting her to bed!) while we met up with Corey's college roommate and his wife for dinner in downtown Detroit. The new riverwalk that was recently built is fun to walk along -- especially after you have just eaten your weight in lasagna and need a little break before getting back into the car. Trust me. Apparently Charlie Jo was a model toddler the whole evening. We're pretty sure NanaB and Granddad may have accidentally confused her with a kid from down the street, because I have never known CJ to eat lettuce or voluntarily lie down to have her diaper changed! Either that, or NanaB has some secrets she's not sharing about toddler-wrangling.

On our way home the next day, we stopped a lot to break up the nine-hour drive. At one rest stop, CJ was delighted to find little pine cones. She would like to share one with you.



We didn't see much of the elusive Sleeping Toddler and instead spent much more time with Whining Toddler (and Whining Pregnant Mommy, to tell you the truth), but here is one shot Corey caught of an elusive glimpse of the former.

Day 3 of Michigan trip

Dance Party U.S.A.

Charlie Jo Jo and her Aunt Stephanie had a wild dance party in Michigan. If you watch closely, you can actually SEE the little wheels turning in CJ's head...

In case you wondered if Don was really Quinn's dad... (vol. 2)

NOTE TO SELF: Do not expect any more Christmas or birthday presents from Don.

Day 2 of Michigan trip - Happy 4th of July!

Quinn can smile AND chomp on toys at the same time!



Tandem diaper change.



Swimming at the Brookwood pool was surreal for Corey & his sister, Stephanie. They swam in that pool as kids and never dreamed of taking their own kids there!



Quinn did not like the cold water. He would prefer a nice warm bath, thankyouverymuch.



All Charlie Jo wanted to do was snuggle with her Great Granny Taylor.



The cousins wore matching 4th of July outfits courtesy of NanaB and Granddad.



Bath time for Quinn! Notice how he looks much happier in this water.



Charlie Jo only requested that Granddad read this book to her about 847 times.



I had nothing to do with Charlie Jo in the fountain. That was ALL Corey.



CJ led an informal female conga line around the house after dinner.



NanaB and Granddad's newly-added family room worked great! We sure put it to good use on that trip.

It's never too late.

I have been delayed in posting photos from our recent trip to Michigan for the simple reason that I was not sure what to call it. A vacation? That doesn't seem appropriate for driving there to attend a viewing, funeral, and burial of a dearly departed relative. But we sure did have a lot of fun and see a ton of relatives. It's silly how I get hung up on little details like these, but sometimes it's enough to paralyze me and prevent me from posting. Instead of doing my blogging duty, we spent the last few days catching up with Joslyne and Zozo. More on those adventures later!

Anyway, the weekend in Michigan went how Grandpa Stringer probably would have wanted it (yes I know that sounds like SUCH a cliche) -- we all got together and enjoyed each other's company while remembering him. Here are some photos of the fun times we had on the first day we got there (since we arrived at 12:01 a.m., this is technically true):

Charlotte ran all over NanaB & Granddad's yard and made sure to explore every inch.



Then, she performed the time-honored tradition of helping the older generation figure out new technologies.



Corey picked up CJ's cousin Quinn, Aunt Stephanie, and Uncle Don from the airport (it was Quinn's first airplane ride!) and Quinn showed off how he is learning to sit on his own. Corey, ever the doting uncle, proclaimed that Quinn must have learned to sit from his dog, Kayla. Nice, Uncle CoCo.



Quinn took a turn in the Nakayoshi House once CJ finally vacated the premises.



We had a quick dinner...



... and then the relatives started showing up! First, Quinn got to meet his Great Aunt Sibyl.



Next, all of the Taylors from Pennsylvania, New York, and Washington D.C. arrived with Granny & Grandpa Taylor in tow.



Erin and Granny T. decided the babies shouldn't have all the fun in the Nakayoshi House.

New Skill

Charlie has a new skill. She can unscrew the tops from jars.

We are now out of tarragon.

Oddly enough, she did this while listening to Sabotage by the Beastie Boys.

This photo just says it all, doesn't it?