18-month check-up

Charlie Jo was a dancing and talking fool at her 18-month well-baby check-up (wow, that's a lot of hyphens) this morning. She told the nurse and the doctor all sorts of stories, complete with gestures, sound effects, and instant replays. It was a shame we couldn't understand 99% of it.

Anyway, CJ is now officially 23 1/2 pounds (though I would have guessed she was closer to 50 or 60 pounds) and 33 inches long. That puts her again in the 75th percentile for height and the 30th for weight. She must have been switched at birth -- I'm positive of that now. The doctor was tickled to hear CJ is saying more than 50 different words (the development checklist indicated she should be saying about 10-15 words by now) and then CJ proceeded to say about 20 of them during the course of the appointment. The doctor proclaimed CJ to be in terrific health and to be right on target emotionally and developmentally. What a relief to hear!

The doctor's stool was a big hit.



CJ kept trying to open the door for some reason. When she realized she wasn't quite tall enough to work the handle, she jabbed her index finger insistently at the door and shrieked "PEEZE! PEEZE!" I'm still not sure what that was all about, since she wasn't acting unhappy with being there. I guess the idea of exploring the rest of the doctor's office was too tempting to resist.



Man, that pretty baby in the mirror is HILARIOUS!

Cannonwood crime wave

Just as Niki and I were congratulating ourselves for feeding Charlie a corndog for lunch, and admiring how it could be both a toy and a meal -- she was alternating between munching on it and running around waving it -- our dog mugged her.

Connie got up and ambled casually over to Charlie. While Charlie was in mid-corndog-wave, Connie took the corndog from Charlie and settled down in the lawn to eat it. Charlie seemed ambivalent.

Niki and I were equally appalled and amused.

In addition, today, I had to use the phrase "Charlie, don't stick your brush in Connie's water bowl and lick it."

Sheesh.

FYI

FYI - Charlotte did NOT get her pick in the football picking game thing. Western Kentucky fell to UT 63-7. Better luck next week, Charlie Jo!

Piglet and her Grandpa Spike

I can't believe I never posted these photos. I think I may have been sent them during a busy weekend or something like that. Anyway, for Gradnpa Spike for Father's Day, Charlotte dragged him to the illustrious J.C. Penney's Portrait Studio (yes, it was just as classy as it sounds) to get some portraits taken. It was quite an experience -- CJ wasn't quite sure about the whole thing and the photographers were a little shrill and obnoxious. Somehow out of the whole debacle we got three terrific pictures. Such cuteness!

Charlotte's new career

To assist Corey is running a college football guessing game (I'm sure he'll laugh at me for that description, but it's a little different than a football pool because there's no monetary stakes), Charlotte has been enlisted to make weekly picks. The goal of this game is to pick an "underdog" (as determined by those people who set the odds for Vegas or something) to upset a "favorite" by winning that game. To make a long story short, Charlotte will be making her own picks to see if she can do any better than the other participants (who use logic, research, and gut feelings to make their picks).

Corey put the names of all of the colleges designated for this week as underdogs on little slips of paper and scattered them on the floor for Charlotte to peruse.



After careful consideration, Charlotte handed her selection to her daddy.



She apparently picked Western Kentucky, who is expected to lose to the University of Tennessee by 29.5 points. In order for Charlotte to get any points, Western Kentucky will have to beat the UT football powerhouse. I'm crossing my fingers for little CJ, but somehow I don't think she's going to get her pick this week. I could be wrong though...

More of Peter -- and timely this time!

Had another ultrasound with Peter this morning (I'm having a lot of them because they were concerned about the size of his kidneys, but it turns out the fears might have been for nothing!) and got this sweet profile shot.



I'm 25 weeks along, feeling good, and happy that all of my vitals and Peter's vitals look great! Charlie Jo and Corey came along to this appointment, and CJ told the ultrasound tech all about everything under the sun. It was pretty funny, actually. Oh, the doctor did say Peter is breech right now, but it's early enough that he could still turn. I'm not going to worry about it too much. My goal is to get a healthy baby, no matter how he comes out!

So old!

Doesn't Charlie Jo look so mature in this photo? (Click on it to make it bigger.) We were out with Joslyne and Zozo letting the dogs cavort in a neighborhood pond. The girls thought the crazy dogs were hilarious.

This season's must-have accessory.

Connie is modeling this season's must-have accessory - one half of a grilled cheese sandwich.

And she'll have fun fun fun 'til her Daddy takes the Mustang away...

Corey was trying to find something in the back of his car tonight. While he was digging through his briefcase, Charlotte shoved past him and climbed up into the driver's seat. She made her little "vroom vroom" noises and pretended to take the car out for a spin.



Drinking and driving at so young an age? Scandalous!



Then she found the change Corey keeps for parking meters. She snatched up a few quarters and scrambled out. I guess she got what she came for.

A glimpse into the future...

...when CJ and Zozo are sharing a cell at the nearby women's correctional facility?





Or make their living as cage dancers? Or are finally recognized as escaped monkeys from the zoo and put back where they belong?

Peter finally gets some love

Okay, I FINALLY scanned in the ultrasound photos I got of Peter a few weeks ago. I have been so lazy with him compared to the prenatal attention I showed his older sister. Sorry kid. Anyway, this first one is of Little PJ's profile (a shot I never got with Charlie Jo). Does he have my nose yet? Let's hope not...



This second one is just of his legs all stretched out straight (his feet are on the left and his little bum is on the far right -- the rest of the body was off screen). The ultrasound tech and I thought it was cute.

24 weeks

I am now 24 weeks pregnant and PJ is kicking up a storm! He's supposed to be about a foot long and weigh just over a pound. I'm feeling pretty good but am still tired. Thank goodness Charlie Jo has started taking longer naps in the afternoon -- usually an hour and a half, and sometimes as long as two hours! I might as well enjoy napping while she naps now. How often will it be that both baby PJ and Charlie Jo are asleep at the same time?

Charlie Jo has a baby brother doll that we have named "Peter", but sometimes we're not so sure she's getting the point. Yesterday, I caught her "talking" on the phone (as she loves to pretend to do), only she was using the baby brother doll as the phone. Oh my...