Footsies

One of the things I had forgotten about Charlotte as a baby was how she used to brace her little chubby feet up under the lip of the far side of her booster seat tray while she was eating.  It all came back to me once Peter started doing it, and I finally remembered to take a picture of it.  The sight of his chunky little Fred Flintstone feet wedged up there always makes me smile and causes an irresistible impulse to tickle the exposed soles.  (Yes, it's winter and snowing here, but I can't keep socks on this kid to save my life so I just don't bother if we're inside the house.)

More of the cutest playgroup on the planet

Our numbers have dwindled as families have moved away or started preschool, but the core group remains super cute and totally goofy.  After visiting a preschool today and realizing that the weekly playgroup days are probably numbered, I started getting all sentimental.  Wouldn't you get sentimental about these three monkeys?

I have no idea what they were looking at.  Their futures, perhaps?

Strangest grocery store ever

The same day Charlotte was playing with her Sequence game, Charlotte decided it was time to reopen her grocery store (featuring the play cash register she received from NanaB and GrandDad for Christmas).  She instructed me to go buy some "good food" for my "hungry kids".

She rung up my groceries by entering in to the register the number of each item.  She was methodical and very enthusiastic.

She put all my groceries into gift bags.  At least she didn't hassle me about bringing my own reusable bags.

CHEESE!

After my first trip to her store, she informed me that my kids had eaten all the food and that I needed to go and buy some more good food fast.  I jumped up and obliged.

Charlotte is one bossy store owner!  I would take my pretend business elsewhere, but Peter hasn't yet opened a competing establishment (unless you consider his complimentary toy-tasting services a business).

The board gamer

Charlotte LOVES board games.  She really has only just goofed around with the playing pieces and game boards, but she is fascinated by them.  She got two different games from Grandma JoJo and Grandpa Spike for Christmas, so when Peter took a nap yesterday I opened one up for her to explore.

She went nuts, because this super cute game combines three of her favorite things: animals, colored tokens, and cards.  I peeked at the rules, but decided it would be more fun for her just to play with the pieces that day.  For nearly an hour, she hunched over the board and shrieked with joy at each new card she drew.  She got up and danced around in between placing tokens on the board.  I think she may still be a few months away from really playing this game by the rules, but she sure had a terrific time with it.  Again this evening, she insisted on playing it.  Thank you so much, Grandma JoJo and Grandpa Spike!

And yes, Charlotte is wearing a shirt that says "Kyrene de la Mariposa Challengers", which was the elementary school my siblings and I attended in Arizona.  Corey found a cool site where you could get t-shirts printed for virtually any school in the nation.  He knew I had a soft spot in my heart for KDLM (we were among the first students to attend this brand new school and even contributed to the writing of the school song), so he got a shirt printed up for Charlotte for Christmas.  He's so good at picking presents!

Weird Science

Remember the 1985 movie "Weird Science"?  In it, there was a scene where the main characters had bras on their heads for some reason.

It's been a while since I saw the movie (nor do I have a desire to see it again anytime soon), but I had major deja vu when I was sorting laundry and my son toddled up to me like this:

I admit my memory of the movie's plot is fuzzy, but I sure hope I don't wake up tomorrow morning and find Kelly LeBrock downstairs.

Charlotte and her minions

When we began opening the presents Uncle Dave, Aunt Lisa, and Ellie sent Charlotte and Peter for Christmas, we had no idea that our peaceful little house was about to be transformed by the arrival of . . .

. . . an army of rubber duckies -- minions for Charlotte!

Charlotte divided them into squadrons to assist with taking over the world.

Squadron one -- CONFUSION! Squadron two -- DELAY!

They lined up, ready for battle.

Peter surrendered to them within minutes. The battle hadn't begun, actually. He's more of a cuddler than a fighter.

We are now under siege by the duckies. If anyone can send supplies through their blockade, we need chocolate and beer.

Bye bye, snowman

Charlotte was surprisingly upbeat when she got up from her nap and saw the remains of her beloved snowman.  I'm not sure if she really understands "where" the snowman went, because she is pretty sure he's going to come back to visit sometime soon.  The world must be a very confusing place when you're two and three-quarters years old.

New kids

After every haircut, I feel like I have two new kids . . .

. . . but then they act just like the same old goofballs.

When lunchtime goes bad...

Oh no!  Ravioli attacked my son!

And somebody taught my daughter to dip her baby carrots in peanut butter!

It's the end of days, people.  There's no other explanation.

Charlotte "makes" a new friend

While Peter napped this morning, Charlie Jo and I took the opportunity to get back out in the snow.  I put on the size 5/6 snow pants my cousin, Cady Lane, had handed down to Charlie and with the straps pulled tight and the legs rolled up, they sort of fit!

CJ wanted to make a snowman, so we whipped up a quick little one.  Thank goodness the snow packed super easily.  I'm not what you would call an expert snowman-maker.  I grabbed a couple of black olives for eyes and a baby carrot for a nose, which amused CJ to no end.  She especially loved dressing him/her up in a hat and scarf.  When I grabbed her a dry pair of mittens to swap for her wet ones, she insisted on donating her wet mittens to the snowman.

The final product:

Snowy day

School was called off for today (which really isn't such a big deal since CJ only goes for 2 hours a few days a week) due to snow.  After lunch, I finally worked up the nerve to dress the kids in some snow gear and haul them outside.  It might have had something to do with Faith Carol stopping by and helping me.  Connie dog came out too, but she got a little wild and knocked Charlie over a couple of times.  She may stay inside next time.

Charlie made a snow angel, of course.

Petey was a little reluctant to walk in the snow by himself -- probably because he has a hard enough time doing it easier surfaces.  He was happy to have a little help from Faithy.

He screamed like a stuck pig when his mitten fell off and his bare skin touched the cold snow.

Charlie, however, could have stayed outside in the snow all day if I let her.  I got tired of tucking her mittens into her sleeves every two minutes though.  Maybe I'll make her some elbow-length fleece mittens next time I get the sewing machine out.

Petey liked it once I got him on the driveway in the open spot where Corey's car had been parked all night.

Charlie made sure to find a stick (which she is trying to show us in the photo) like the boy in the "The Snowy Day" book so she could also smack a snow-covered tree (or bush).

Smack, smack.

See, Mom?  It's a lot easier to walk where there's no white stuff.

Now we're back inside warming up and watching Max & Ruby play in the snow on TV. That's my kind of snowy adventure -- short and followed by cuddle time on the couch.

Saturday Fun

Yesterday, Charlie and I went to the Nashville boat show. Here is Charlie at the helm of the a 46' Regal. She enjoyed checking out the helms of each boat we went on.

To Charlie's surprise and delight, some boats had "rooms."

And, not only were there rooms, but these rooms had kitchens "for me!"

Charlie and I looked a lot of high-end pontoon boats. These are sure different than the party barges that we rent each year. Wow. Charlie liked the view from this chair in the bow of a Crest pontoon boat.

The Marshalls invited us over for dinner. After dinner, we played with kids and dogs.

The Anatomy of a Take-Down:

1. Peter takes ball from Mr. Dan. Napoleon wants the ball.

2. Napoleon waits patiently for Peter to throw the ball.

3. Napoleon decides that Peter has taken too long in the pocket. "YOU'RE GOING DOWN, PIPSQUEAK"!

Peter was upset about being sacked by a dog closely resembling Snuggle the Fabric Softener Bear, so I demonstrated my sure-fire method for making him feel better . . . rub his head on something "fleecy." Works every time.
Yaaay! Mr. Dan rides!