Hangin' out before the wedding events

Before all of the wedding events, we met up with Charlotte's Grandma Jo, Grandpa Spike, Great(est) Aunt Janet, and Great Uncle Bart. There was a restaurant right next to the hotel, so we ate a few meals there together and hung out around the hotel.

Grandma Jo was glad to be reunited with her little pork chop! Charlie was wearing her adorable overalls given to her by cousins John and Susan Scott.

Greatest Aunt Janet (as she calls herself) changed several poopy diapers and was rewarded with one of Charlie's famous smiling and cooing sessions.

You tell her, Charlie Jo!

I think Aunt Janet was telling Charlie a silly story about when I was little. It probably involved poop somehow.

After a vicious debate about whether a man's socks should match his pants or his shoes, we ended up in Target (of course!) to purchase new socks for Uncle Bart's wedding outfit. For the record, you should match the socks to the pants and the shoes to the belt (according to Stacy and Clinton on "What Not to Wear"). At least, that's what we convinced Uncle Bart.

Back in action

We're back from our big trip to Oregon for my brother's wedding, and we have so much to post! Charlotte had her first plane rides (four different flights on four different planes!) and attended her first big family get together. She did remarkably well, and she's still too young for the change in pressure to affect her much. She was a good sport about getting her diaper changed (about 100 times, I think) and nursing at 35,000 feet in the air! Here's some shots of Charlie Jo in transit across the country.

I like flying fast!

Racing from one concourse to another at Midway Airport during a super short layover. People movers are fun!

Mommy and Daddy took turns holding me during the flights.

Getting sleepy...

Can you see the imprint of a button on my forehead from when I fell asleep in the Baby Bjorn carrier and rested my little head on Daddy's chest?

Our first Mother's Day

Our little family spent a wonderful first Mother's Day together yesterday. Even the normal weekend activities like grocery shopping and bathing Charlotte seemed special! We did take a special trip out to Arrington Vineyards with our good buds Alicia, Dan, Faith Carol and David for a little wine tasting. Kix Brooks was there again, and this time he pronounced Charlotte to be "bad news" (we assume because she will be such a heartbreaker). So that's Charlotte's new nickname -- "Bad News".

We had one moment of confusion and anxiety last night when we spotted a large, dark brown spot at the bottom of Charlotte's nightgown. After I pointed it out to Corey and we momentarily panicked, I sniffed it and determined that it was merely some chocolate sauce that had apparently spilled onto Charlotte as I ate my ice cream while holding her. Whoops. In our defense, it did look a little like dried blood or something else awful. After all, Alfred Hitchcock used chocolate syrup in "Psycho" to represent the blood in the famous shower murder scene. Guess I should be a little more careful with my desserts.

Here are some photos from our Mother's Day activities:

My cousin Jake

My cousin, Jake, is leaving today for Iraq. He's a firefighter with the Air Force, and we couldn't be prouder of him for that. We will be thinking of him often while he is overseas and we hope he returns home soon to his wife, Lauren, and daughters, Addie and Ella. Hopefully, their new black lab puppy, Callie, will be good company for the girls until Jake returns!

Happy birthday Uncle Jordan!

Today, Charlotte's Uncle Jordan (my little brother) turns a whopping 29 years old! Not only does he have a birthday today, but he is also getting married in a few short days to Jessica (soon to be known around here as Aunt Jessica). Wowza. That's a whole lot of excitement for one week.

Charlotte is very excited to be taking her first airplane ride on Thursday to Portland, Oregon for the wedding. She will have a chance to meet tons of my relatives and wear some pretty new dresses. Between the wedding photographer and my crazy picture taking, there are going to be lots of flashbulbs going off this weekend. We can't wait!

Here's little Charlie Jo wishing her Uncle Jordan a happy birthday (while wearing a sweet outfit her Grandma Jo gave her when she was still months and months away from birth).

Early Mother's Day breakfast at Loveless Cafe

Charlotte and I took Niki to the Loveless Cafe for an early Mother's Day breakfast. We figured that with a little baby, very early on Saturday morning would work a lot better than on a busy, busy Mother's Day.

Apparently, we were not allowed to park Charlotte here.

When we told Granddad Stringer that Charlie slept through breakfast, he texted back, saying: "For sure I would not sleep at Loveless!" Note the warning sticker on the high chair forbidding us from using it exactly as we were doing.

This picture is actually for Granddad Stringer. These are two of his favorites - Charlie and Loveless strawberry jam.

I'm smiling because I am about to put a yummy Loveless breakfast in my belly. Charlotte is not smiling, because, alas, she is not about to put a yummy breakfast in her belly.

I'm sorry, are we boring you?

Strangest walk ever

Last night we tried something new - taking the dogs for a walk with Charlotte in the Baby Bjorn carrier. All was going spectacularly well for a while. Charlie was wide awake and looking all around without making a peep (other than the occasional coo). It was a nice change from the stressful walks where she sits in the stroller and absolutely screams as we make our way around the neighborhood.

Anyway, once we reached the spot on our route that was farthest from home, we heard a sound like sprinklers starting up. A few moments later when the drops started hitting our heads, we realized it was raining. Whoops. It was pretty warm, but we still didn't want to get the baby wet. We turned toward home and started hustling. Corey took off his shirt and held it over Charlie's head. He looked like QUITE the redneck/hipster combo wearing a Baby Bjorn with no shirt on. We were lucky no one called the cops to report the fashion crime.

We arrived home with a relatively dry baby (at least on the outside!), but she had definitely had enough of the walk and was squalling. Corey is very glad I don't have photographic evidence of the event.

Morning has broken, I think

It's all rainy and icky looking outside, so I dressed Charlie in a cheery romper to combat the gloom. Charlie likes the outfit, don't you think? Poor Connie looks sad about the weather though.

Narcissus

At the doctor's appointment on Monday, Charlie stared and stared at herself in the mirror next to the exam table. I didn't get a picture of it, but I did get this camera phone shot of Charlie and her "twin".

The next day, Charlie Jo spent a good 45 minutes "talking" to the beautiful baby in the mirror above her attached to the play gym. She was convinced that she had made a spectacular new buddy. Here she is, deep in conversation.

Funny faces

Warning -- clicking on the following link will take you to a super long picture share of obnoxiously cute proportions. Click here at your own risk!

Glowing report

We had a check-up at the pediatrician's office and Charlie got a glowing report! She is 11 pounds, nine ounces and 23 inches long. She's in the 75th percentile for both weight and length.

She also got her first few shots. Yes, they made her a little mad, but we were able to soothe her pretty easily. She got some baby Tylenol, and now she seems to be okay.

Here are some photos of her from before the appointment. She's between sneezes in the last one.