Charlotte's creation at "school"

CLEARLY, she is a prodigy.

First day of "school"

Ready to start my two hours a day, two days a week early childhood learning program! NanaB made me this cool bag to bring my change of clothes in and to bring home all my gorgeous artwork.



I thought it worked better as a hat though.



Come on, Mommy! Let's go already!!



Ready to head in and wreak havoc.



There were no tears when Mommy left me there. Should Mommy be offended or relieved? Just kidding. She said she is so proud of me! I'm going to have a lot of fun there.

The completed family tree

Okay, so it's not QUITE complete, because I still have yet to frame photos of Peter and Charlotte to put at the bottom on the trunk. But at least all of the ancestor photos are filled in!

Buddies to watch over little Peter and Charlotte

Some of our neighbors stopped by to bring a little gift to Peter. Someday, when Peter is a little older, I predict Sarah and Max will be good buddies to both Peter and Charlotte. Sarah was very interested in holding Peter and commented on everything he did. Max wanted to know what Peter ate and what he did all day. Don't they look like they're going to be great friends?

Great Grandpa Chuck

I finally got my hands on a photo of my Grandpa Chuck (my father's father) as a toddler. You may or may not know that we have a "family tree" painted on the wall of the nursery that features photos of Charlotte and Peter's direct ancestors hanging from the branches. Now all the frames are filled! I'll post a photo of the complete family tree later, but for now, here is Grandpa Chuck when he was probably about one year old or so. I'm guessing it was taken in Wyoming, where he lived when he was little.

Smack, smack

Peter's latest trick is to smack his lips like he's eating something delicious (when in reality all he's doing is chilling in his bouncy seat, batting away at the elephants and lion hanging from the cross bar). Charlotte and I think this is hilarious and imitate him whenever he does it. He doesn't seem to mind.

Madison and Charlotte on a sunny day

Upon seeing this photo of Charlotte and her supercute friend, Madison, Corey remarked first on how cool the tire was that they were swinging on -- not how adorable the girls were. You can take the boy out of Detroit, but you can't take the Detroit out of the boy.

The Sandersons head south

Peter's Uncle Don and Aunt Stephanie brought "Cousin Quinn" (as Charlotte loved to call him) down from Minnesota last weekend! They thought Peter was terrific.



Quinn wrestled with Peter's stuffed horse.



What's happening, Auntie Steph?



Bathtub full of cousins!!!



Quinn got his first haircut from a stylist who looked like she was straight out of "Steel Magnolias".



Big eyes!



Playing outside in the gorgeous weather was a big treat for Quinn, who has been cooped up inside all winter in Minnesota.



HAAAAAAAAAAAAY! Don't forget about meeeeeee!!!



We (and half the county) hit the playground to capitalize on the warm weather.



Quinn inspected the slide.



Too distracted by the yummy grass to smile for the camera.



Sunbathing!



Our little families are growing! We'll be one bigger in August when Quinn becomes a big brother.



Reading important books about Quinn and Corey's favorite topic: vehicles.



Peter partied a little too hard.



Quinn has a big crush on Faith Carol, who baby-sat the kids Friday night so the adults could have an evening out.



NanaB requested a photo of the boys, so we obliged!

Cooking with Quinn and Charlotte

The newest show on the Food Network is a big hit!

Learning to say "cheese" for the camera...

Fancy Nancy or a bag lady? YOU decide!

Charlotte loves her dress up box (which NanaB stocked with all sorts of goodies for Christmas), but her fashion sense is still a little questionable. For instance, was it necessary to wear BOTH skirts over her khakis?



Yes, CJ's superhero cape matches her purse, but did the Hawaiian lei push the outfit over the edge?



Nope. Looks perfect to me.

Peter and the Hoosiers

My mom's cousin Brian and his wife, Melanie, were in town from Indiana for the weekend to hang out with their son Jordan. They swung by this afternoon to meet Peter and we had a blast. Charlotte in particular was giddy with excitement and tore around the house like a whirling dervish for the first hour they were here.

Jordan picked out this cute sun hat for Charlie Jo, which she wore for over an hour. Even though CJ has only wanted to read to herself lately, she readily brought Melanie several books and snuggled up for story time.



Love the juxtaposition of the expressions on their faces...



Peter was a smiley guy while Brian held him.



But then Brian used Peter to demonstrate how they offer their dog up as hawk bait when the dog has been naughty.



Brian and Melanie will be back in May for Jordan's graduation from Belmont University. That is, unless I can convince the university not to graduate Jordan so he won't move away from us to Seattle. Wish me luck.