The Addisons

photos galore

2012-01-02T09:06:00.004-05:00

http://gallery.evilgeni.us/v/trips/knoxville/Thanksgiving2011/ Thanksgiving 2011

http://gallery.evilgeni.us/v/Family/rd/ Roller Derby Fun

http://gallery.evilgeni.us/v/Family/2011Holiday/ Christmas 2011

Other news: We're expecting baby #2 on August 6th. :)

Hope everyone had a safe and fun holiday!

"Follow by Email"

2011-11-01T11:16:00.004-04:00

At the very bottom of this page there is a "Follow by Email" option now. This basically means that if you enter your email, you will start getting notifications whenever we update this website. Great for those of you who are constantly asking if I've updated the page recently. ;)

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T20:37:00.006-04:00

First we stopped by my grandparent's house where Charlotte got to see my dad (papaw) dressed up as a zombie. She thought it was great.

Then we went to our friend's house, The Ansells, and joined their family for Trick-or-Treating.

Charlotte did great following the other kids and saying "thank you" after receiving her treats.

Then things started to wind down, get dark, and Charlotte started to get very cranky. Thus ending our adventure in trick-or-treating. She did last an hour so that's something!

Click there for >> More Halloween Photos!!

In other news: Charlotte's crib has now been upgraded to a toddler bed! No more bars keeping her in. So far, so good. No sneaking out or unwanted house roaming upon waking up from naps/bedtime. We plan on heading down to TN for Thanksgiving this year and staying up in Indiana for Christmas. In the spring we're going to be visiting Australia! Excited about seeing family. Not so excited about the loooong plane trip with a toddler. ;) Now to get those passport photos taken...

Fall

2011-10-14T12:53:00.012-04:00

What better way to celebrate fall than by posting pictures from Fall's Park in Pendleton, IN?

Rest of the album.

Charlotte turned 2!

2011-08-29T21:34:00.005-04:00

We celebrated Charlotte's 2nd birthday first with family on her actual birth date and then with friends and family at a local state park 2 days later. Here are some photos from our family celebration:

Rest of this set: http://gallery.evilgeni.us/v/Family/CIA/year3/birthday/

The weather was beautiful for our Sunday event and we couldn't have asked for much more than that! Here are some photos from Sunday's event taken by a friend:

The playground was right next to our rented shelter and the kids spent a good hour playing on it. I think it was a huge hit!

I am pretty sure she stole that drink from Caleb since I never gave her a drink pouch. ;)

She got one of the largest slices and was in awe.

The rest of the Sunday set: http://gallery.evilgeni.us/v/Family/CIA/year3/ang2/ taken by our awesome friend Angela.

We have amazing friends and family and are truly thankful. Thanks to everyone who came and our wonderful family overseas!

Indianapolis Children's Museum

2011-08-15T15:12:00.007-04:00

As usual she enjoyed all things water related..

and flowers..

and slides!

piano

2011-08-12T16:30:00.002-04:00

Guess it's a good thing we kept the piano. She appears to have taken an interest in it.

talking

2011-08-10T17:15:00.004-04:00

Charlotte's talking a lot more. Some gibberish, some understandable - mostly all of it "toddlerese".

Have a picture. :)

..or two. She's currently getting over a double ear-infection. That's no fun for anyone involved.

E I E I O

2011-07-15T16:58:00.000-04:00

Education

2011-07-11T17:36:00.002-04:00

Anderson's education system is simply awful. I already have a good idea of what I want to do for Charlotte's primary education, but for preschool I have decided that I will "home school" her. I may do the same for Kindergarten as well since in Indiana Kindergarten is not required, but optional (this really bothers me). This is a huge decision, but I feel comfortable doing this.

Resourceful

2011-07-03T16:59:00.000-04:00

Waahahaha

2011-06-30T02:26:00.000-04:00

She is loud. Playing peek-a-boo. Warning, loud. I've warned you twice now!

The Dunes

2011-06-30T00:05:00.010-04:00

We took a day trip up north, about an hour from Chicago to the Indiana Dunes National Park. Lovely place with a great beach - even if it is on Lake Michigan. There are also some nice hiking trails but try telling that to a 22 month old. Anyway, here are a couple of photos and a link to the gallery:

I'm pretty sure she'd live in sand if I let her.

Oh, hello there!

Even Indiana has decent beaches. Who needs the coast?

Looking like a big kid. :(

Click here for the rest of the photos in the set.

In sort of remotely related news: this year we're having Charlotte's 2nd birthday party at a State Park here in town so that should be exciting!

Talent

2011-06-23T19:59:00.000-04:00

using the entertainment cabinets as a guiro

Look, an update!

2011-06-15T20:23:00.007-04:00

It's been over a month so I figured it was time for an update. A couple weeks ago we went down to TN. We had a great time, as always! We enjoyed a boat ride, the zoo, a museum,lots of delicious food, and wonderful hospitality (like usual!). Here are the pictures from our visit:

Knoxville Photos 2011

And some highlights:

At the Oak Ridge Children's Museum

Playing in the park

At the Knoxville Zoo (with a friendly baby camel!)

This resulted in a complete outfit change and a very angry Charlotte (because we had the NERVE to take her out of the water)

She also got to play in a lake for the first time which she really enjoyed. Not a whole lot more has happened. Her birthday's coming up soon, so that's something exciting to look forward to! Her favorite things right now are dinosaurs, cars, balls, and counting.

Happy Father's Day! (a few days early)

Being Charlotte

2011-05-06T18:21:00.000-04:00

Her 'alphabet' consists of "ee ah ee i" and sometimes an R is included and maybe a number or two.

The neighbor's dogs were out hence the barking and the howling early on.

As Promised

2011-04-25T10:30:00.004-04:00

Here's a link to the Easter photos:

http://gallery.evilgeni.us/v/Family/CIA/easter2011/

and a preview:

She actually did really well and managed to pick up a few Easter eggs on her own during the hunt. We decided to not do the fancy Easter dress during the get-together mostly due to the nasty weather, but we did manage to get photos of her in her dress at home!

More of those can be found in the above link, as well. Enjoy! Hope everyone had a good Easter weekend.

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T08:58:00.004-04:00

Charlotte got her first Easter basket this year and she was pretty "meh" about it at first:

.. but then she realized that there was FOOD inside!

Looking forward to seeing tons of family this afternoon for the annual Easter get-together. The weather is dreary but we'll make the most out of it. 8)

photo dump

2011-04-08T21:52:00.006-04:00

So, based on these photos Charlotte loves her pacifier, my iPhone, and the glider. :)

Art

2011-03-19T12:06:00.002-04:00

Here's an adorable drawing our friend Chris Ludden (of Giant Turtle) made of Charlotte. Enjoy!

inspired by this outfit:

Sailor Charlotte

2011-03-13T20:16:00.002-04:00

Every girl has to have a sailor dress. :)

Photo

2011-02-28T17:18:00.001-05:00

Just wanted to share!

Update

2011-02-27T12:08:00.003-05:00

It's been a while so I've decided to update. Things are going well. Matt's on a business trip all this week and life at home is simply uneventful. My point and shoot camera decided to become glitchy and die for the most part so I purchased a new one! This is why there's been a lack of photos. As always, any photos I take are still uploaded almost immediately to our online gallery at: http://gallery.evilgeni.us and if you're looking for Charlotte photos specifically, those can be found here (in order by month newer photos are at the bottom of the page): http://gallery.evilgeni.us/v/Family/CIA/

Here are some pictures taken within the last 2 weeks.

As you can tell not only does she still have her blue eyes, but her hair's still curly even as it grows out. :D

I take boring videos

2011-02-03T12:22:00.000-05:00

"mm!" homemade mashed sweet potatoes make a delicious lunch

huh

2011-01-29T17:27:00.004-05:00

You never know things until you try them, I guess! Yesterday Charlotte decided to prove me wrong when I mentioned that she couldn't feed herself with a spoon yet. Lo-and-behold, I set some yogurt in front of her and she was able to feed herself. A little messy, but I was rather surprised. She's also managed to point out, and name facial features (nose, hair, mouth, etc), take her own clothes off, jump, and spin. She also loves to point at things and say "what's that?" which I'll admit can get a bit annoying after some time ;) It's amazing how fast they pick these things up.

She's mighty proud.

Snow Days

2011-01-24T14:51:00.005-05:00

It's cold and it's wet outside so we decided to stay in for the day and have some finger painting fun!

Charlotte had a good time making a mess.

Double time.

The rest of the photo set.

Hair Cut

2011-01-14T14:38:00.001-05:00

Charlotte got her bangs trimmed. Now she looks like a sophisticated toddler.

.. or not.

Snow

2011-01-11T12:13:00.006-05:00

Charlotte played in the snow for the first time today, as it's really been the first substantial snow of the season. She mostly did this:

So, as you can guess she was not a fan. She's gonna have to get used to it eventually. I had the scene from A Christmas Story running through my mind the entire time. *click here* for more photos!

Here is also a not-so-great quality video of her walking around and falling into the snow: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J17Vmegwf0Q

At least she seems to be doing better in regards to teething. We got sleep last night. Yay!

no sleep

2011-01-10T12:21:00.003-05:00

Things have been rough for everyone in the Addison household, but especially Charlotte. Teething has been extra hard on her this go around. Poor kid.

It can't end fast enough. We'd all like to sleep again.

Christmas

2011-01-05T18:04:00.004-05:00

Here are some photos from our trip to TN (mostly from Christmas Day).

*click* Holiday 2010

Some photos from the album:

Everything has been pretty uneventful in the Addison household, which is always good. She's finally finishing up on her bottom two incisors for a total of 12 teeth!

pictures

2010-12-05T18:47:00.004-05:00

She really loves the toy her Uncle David got her.

Matt dressed her.

Giving the ol' stink eye.

Look what I can do

2010-12-01T19:57:00.006-05:00

Yup.

She climbs now

2010-11-29T18:26:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-26T01:05:00.005-05:00

Hope everyone had a safe and happy Thanksgiving. Charlotte loves sweet potatoes. Go figure. She was also attacked by the tickle monster..

.. but she didn't seem to care. :D

Holiday plans

2010-11-18T11:08:00.005-05:00

Thanksgiving this year will be spent with my grandparents and Christmas will be spent down in Tennessee. This will be the first year I won't have to work crazy retail hours! I can't believe Thanksgiving is next week, but I'm really looking forward to it as Charlotte will be able to enjoy the delicious food this year.

I've dabbled in cloth diapering Charlotte and I must say it's a lot easier and less intimidating than I thought it'd be. If we ever have another baby I'll probably go the cloth diaper route mostly because I've grown used to it and would like to see what type of money we'd be saving with it.

Oh, something else I'd like to mention - we're on a bit of a budget (especially with Christmas) as we've purchased a new car. Long story short: Focus was totaled (we were t-boned in an intersection by a Cadillac), everyone was fine, and we decided to get something newer and WITH A FULL WARRANTY. Matt really enjoys driving his new car and I'm enjoying driving the Honda which is getting up there with 180k miles. It's nice having cars that we don't have to worry about, finally!

2008 Mazda 3 S hatchback

I think that's about it as far as recent news goes. Charlotte still only has 6 teeth, but she's getting more vocal by the day. She especially enjoys talking to her books and food. :)

Halloween!

2010-11-01T15:15:00.005-04:00

We went to our friend's house in Fishers for some trick or treating fun! It was FREEZING, but that didn't stop the little ones from going door-to-door :)

Brave Octopus.

Chillin' with other kids waiting for the festivities to begin.

Carrying her bounty.

Winding down.

Enjoying the heat after a long night of gathering treats.

All-in-all we think she had fun, however we think it'll be a much more eventful holiday next year.

Petting Zoo

2010-10-31T11:59:00.007-04:00

Charlotte's first visit to a petting zoo! This particular one was in the Cincinnati Zoo.

riding in style

I think she thinks they're big cats, honestly.

Very aware of dada with the camera

climbing!

We had a fun time. More photos (mostly animal photos) can be found here: Cincinnati Zoo October 2010

Many thanks to the Stevens' for making this trip extra fun and ordering the tickets for us. :)

Trick or Treat! (at the local Mall)

2010-10-28T20:50:00.002-04:00

Charlotte wasn't really feeling it, unfortunately. I think she'll need another year to sorta care. :) We went with her cat costume as I didn't feel like wrestling a toddler into a Halloween costume in the mall and the octopus one requires more than just sliding some feet into holes. However, the cat costume is an 18 month costume and it's already too small. :( Ah well. Pictures!

Sampling her trick or treat bag.

Wanting freedom.

Not wanting to be held.

Not wanting to hold hands.

Not too thrilled about being in the stroller.

Feeling pretty good about leaving at this point! Picture with her friend Caleb.

Some drumming fun

2010-10-25T18:34:00.000-04:00

Halloween's Coming

2010-10-23T10:41:00.002-04:00

We had to try her outfit on her just to make sure it fit. It does! Here's hoping the weather stays nice.

Octocharlotte :) She loves wearing it and runs around like a crazy person.

Cat Interaction

2010-10-04T11:45:00.002-04:00

She's doing pretty well with animals now. :)

She loves Willow.

One Year Dr. Visit

2010-09-19T13:05:00.006-04:00

We finally had our 1 year checkup, a few weeks late. I think anymore this is just the norm. :) Here are her numbers:

Length (31.5") = above percentile 95
Weight (25.4lbs) = between percentile 90 and 95
Head Circumference (18") = between percentile 50 and 75

Her weight has slowed down dramatically due to being more mobile, but she's still growing like a weed. She weighed 23.11lbs at her 9m so she's only gained 1lb 7oz from her last appointment. She had 1 vaccination and will have her chickenpox vaccination in 3 more months. She had a bit of a reaction to the vaccination (lethargic, swelling/rash in the shot location, irritability), but she's doing a lot better now. I'm glad we waited on the other shot.

The job search for myself is still in the works. I will definitely let people know once I find something, though. ;) Still enjoying my time at home with her and really enjoying the time I get to spend with other moms/friends my age for playdates!

And of course, a picture!

Enjoying a vegetable chip. The sock's on her hand to avoid her picking off a bandaid from a cut. :)

Fun with words

2010-09-13T12:34:00.000-04:00

Update

2010-09-09T20:10:00.007-04:00

Not a whole lot has happened since the last post. Charlotte is walking around very well now and has started trying to run. She usually gets caught up and falls in the process. She's getting her 4th tooth, as well. She has her 1 year wellness visit on the 16th of this month - about a month late. We've decided to hold on her Chickenpox vaccination by a few months, but we do plan on getting it. Not that we have a choice in the matter. It's sort of mandated by the state of Indiana if we want to put her into daycare and school. :) Short of car woes that I won't get into nothing too eventful (barring Charlotte, that is) is going on in our lives. I guess this is a good thing, though.

She's started waving and saying "hi" and "bye". She also says a few other words and points at things occasionally looking at you for advice on what the particular item of interest might be. It's weird to think that we no longer have a baby, and instead a toddler that can walk around and communicate.

Charlotte's "Catwalk"

2010-08-26T21:07:00.000-04:00

This is how she adapted to crawling with a dress on. It's rather amusing. Especially now that she's decided it's a great way to get around.

mmm cake

2010-08-26T21:00:00.003-04:00

My grandparents came over tonight and we had a very low key celebration since they are unable to make it to the BBQ on Saturday. It was nice and of course there was cake!

More pictures can be found here: Charlotte's First Birthday [Photos]

Ahh! We have a toddler!

2010-08-26T08:19:00.002-04:00

Happy Birthday, Charlotte!

Practice Makes Perfect

2010-08-24T11:18:00.001-04:00

Now she can wear dresses without crawling on them. :D The crash sound halfway through is me running into one of her toys. :)

State Fair

2010-08-20T23:21:00.008-04:00

On Tuesday we went to the Indiana State Fair with The Luddens (Ginger, Chris, Marsha, and Vern). This was a first for Charlotte. I think she enjoyed it. Especially the poultry barn! I can summarize our trip with just a few photos so here ya go:

We had a really fun time! All photos can be found here. We aren't very adventurous and the most "bizarre" food we tried were the fried Wisconsin cheddar balls. It wasn't too bizarre if you eat fried mozzarella sticks at pubs. Was truly delicious though!

Walking

2010-08-19T16:46:00.000-04:00

The cause of some sleepless nights..

2010-08-18T14:34:00.006-04:00

.. have finally made their appearance! She actually has one on the bottom that just broke through, too. Needless to say she's been, uh.. fun. ;)

How do I walk?

2010-08-15T12:51:00.000-04:00

cell phone photos

2010-08-06T22:27:00.010-04:00

I'm really bad about uploading cell phone pictures and I take a ton. So, here are a few!

Hamming it up, as usual. 7/14

At the Hyatt hotel in Chicago 7/25

Teething on a lemon wedge (yuck!) 7/24

Wearing an alumni shirt from Memommy 7/19

Don't worry, I didn't send her out in public like this. Look, hair! :D 7/16

Car nap. 7/28

Riding her push and ride hippo which she has decided also makes a nice step stool. Yikes. 8/6

steps

2010-08-05T21:30:00.002-04:00

Charlotte took a few unassisted steps today and tonight. She may be walking before we know it. Or, if it's anything like her crawling - walking in a month or two ;)

Teeth!

2010-08-04T10:35:00.004-04:00

We have two top teeth coming in, finally! She won't let me near her mouth to look very often, but we're making progress. They have yet to fully break through, though.

She seems to be in better spirits than last week, too. We like our sleep.

She's also broadened her food choices and we've started introducing milk into her diet at mealtimes. Soon we'll have a toddler!

outgrowing favorites

2010-07-27T16:40:00.004-04:00

We're very quickly outgrowing the jumperoo so here are a series of pictures to show her enjoyment before she outgrows it. She really loves the thing!

Swim Time

2010-07-15T16:58:00.003-04:00

Charlotte went to a pool for the first time today - Fishers' YMCA outdoor swim area. She absolutely loved it. They have a nice progressive pool area (0'-3') for little ones like Charlotte and a fun splash park. It was a very fun playdate, indeed!

Babies love the magical disappearing water (re: water grates).

The rest of the photos can be found here: YMCA Fishers Splash Park Photos

Special thanks to our friends Nicole and Rob for the guest pass!

YouTube

2010-07-13T14:57:00.005-04:00

We post all of Charlotte's videos to our YouTube account. Check them out here: http://www.youtube.com/user/bamjirra. I've also added a link on the side bar to our link favorites.

Click on the little thumbnail image to view that particular video. Enjoy!

vacation

2010-07-12T23:17:00.004-04:00

As per recent tradition we ventured down to TN for the 4th of July. This year, Charlotte was able to enjoy the boat ride (before she fell asleep and after she was done being annoyed with her life jacket) and the fireworks! She seemed to enjoy the fireworks and wasn't bothered by the loud booms. Grandpa Terry did a good job of covering her ears just in case, though. :)

Ah yes, she was thrilled.

Still no teeth, but she's cruising around more and actually stood unassisted for a few seconds the other day. She has recently taken to bouncing in her crib:

Not saying it isn't provoked. Anyway! Here are a few more photos:

And one more video..

Dance dance!

milestones

2010-06-23T12:59:00.002-04:00

It's walker time!

9 months

2010-06-15T12:26:00.005-04:00

Charlotte had her 9 month wellness visit today. She's 30" (90th percentile) and 23lbs 11oz (99th percentile). I can't believe it's already been 9 and a half months! Here are some pictures from this weekend:

Playing with a friend's little girl:

"reading" - she loves anything involving animals:

and the aftermath of said weekend - just a little sun, although she doesn't seem too bothered by the sunburn:

identification

2010-06-09T09:46:00.008-04:00

I'm still wondering who she resembles the most. Having not had any close blood relations myself, short of my dad, I'm really curious about inherited features and whatnot. Charlotte still has those beautiful blue eyes and at this point they seem to be staying. I think she's leaning more towards Matt's side of the family. :)

Here are a couple of photos from the last week including today:

And of course the eyes with bonus silly face:

And a fun video of snack time:

Still no teeth, but teething! She's crawling and pulling up on things. We're heading down to TN during the July 4th weekend. I can't wait!

Crawling and hiccups oh my

2010-06-03T11:29:00.000-04:00

Charlotte has been crawling for a bit now, but I finally got around to taking a video. She's also started pulling herself up on things and we think she'll soon be sporting a tooth or four.

milestones

2010-05-29T08:20:00.008-04:00

She's finally crawling regularly. I think she's just more interested in standing, but if she has to get somewhere, she'll crawl. Here are a few fun pictures I took this morning:

Our Memorial Day weekend is pretty packed. Included are a gaming night, a day trip to Ohio, and a cookout. Oooh, aaahh! We're also planning a trip to the Indianapolis Zoo, again, on Tuesday.

standing

2010-05-24T11:11:00.002-04:00

Charlotte can stand with assistance, and if we hold her hands and pull she'll walk along. She is crawling a little more, but she's still not using it as her primary method of getting around. She sorta rolls around, crawls for a few seconds, stiffens her leg, tries to push herself to a standing position (she never does) and just sits back up on her bum. In a way it's pretty funny because it sort of resembles breakdancing.

Anyway! Here's a video of her standing. :)

silly baby

2010-05-17T11:24:00.005-04:00

When I woke up this morning and went to get the baby ready for the day, this is what I came across. She was sitting up and apparently eager to be changed:

Later in the morning she decided that she'd migrate to the one area where there wasn't a gate in the way:

Fun times.

Lady DaDa

2010-05-13T18:23:00.000-04:00

a new investment

2010-05-13T07:42:00.002-04:00

My car was finally kicking the bucket so Matt and I decided to get a newer vehicle. I found an '03 Ford Focus ZTW Wagon at a local Ford dealership online. We went up yesterday to take a look and came home with a new car! It's perfect for us. It's spacious, gets good mileage (30-34mpg highway), and it's even a little sporty - if a wagon can be considered sporty. Finally, room!

milestones

2010-05-08T13:34:00.003-04:00

Charlotte finally crawled a couple of days ago, but has only gone backwards since. She's a fast mover, though, and determined. Another milestone - she's learned her first 3 words: mama, dada (or da), and kitty cat (iddy tat). The "kitty cat" thing is proof that if you say something to them enough, they'll mimic you. I also thought it was a fluke but 3 different people have heard her say it on 3 separate occasions and I hear her say it often when I'm at home with her. I guess now's the time to really start watching what we say around her!

movement

2010-05-05T19:56:00.009-04:00

This is where Charlotte ended up after just a few minutes and she started in the middle of that pad where the "E" is:

She's not crawling yet, but she's moving backwards, and she's pretty fast! We're hoping to get a play yard soon. It's a fence that goes around the pad to contain the baby. An easier way of "baby-proofing" our house. :)

In other news we'd been wanting to purchase another couch for some time and someone I knew just happened to be selling theirs on Craigslist! It worked out pretty well:

It's a bit dark, but the couch on the left is the new one. Best $30 we've spent!

Another Video

2010-04-28T09:15:00.002-04:00

I actually took this on the same day as the other video, but forgot to post it!

Learning to crawl (slowly)

2010-04-26T14:16:00.001-04:00

Right now she gets the idea but then flops out and turns into a seal. She then proceeds to kick her little legs. Maybe we should look into swimming classes.

The Zoo!

2010-04-20T19:35:00.002-04:00

Here are pictures from our zoo visit. Charlotte had a blast!

http://gallery.evilgeni.us/v/Family/CIA/zoo/

Also pictured: Caleb and Lucy - our playdates. :)

whee

2010-04-19T16:04:00.004-04:00

No crawling, no teeth, no walking! Although, she's enjoying her walker and trying very hard to be more mobile in regards to crawling. We had a doctor checkup today from the cold she had 2 weeks ago and the news wasn't too good. She'd been raspy and coughing once she was over her initial cold/redness in the ear. The doctor took a look in her ear and it was "dull, red, and has fluid in it". So, she's currently on a stronger antibiotic than the amoxicillin that didn't work last time. She hasn't been cranky or really any fussier than normal due to this flare up, though. Even if she is it's hard to tell if it's from the ear issues, or from teething. :)

Tomorrow we're heading to the Indianapolis Zoo with some friends for a play date so that should be fun! I'm sure we'll have some pictures to share. Until then here's a picture of Charlotte enjoying some bath toys from Nana:

determination

2010-04-09T11:36:00.003-04:00

Moral of the story: babies don't really need toys.

playdate

2010-04-07T10:12:00.008-04:00

We had a playdate yesterday with Caleb and Mary Jaracz. This is the first time they've been able to really interact with one another!

It's really hard to get babies uninterested in the ground and interested in a camera. Most of the shots turned out like this:

Caleb apparently poses like this from time to time, it's cute!

"What, huh?"

Our first time in a park swing..

.. success!

Nasal Aspirator Giggle Monster

2010-04-03T11:17:00.002-04:00

Fun things to do with common objects: Nasal Aspirator Giggle Monster

Oh yea, we finally got a camcorder!

Family Heirloom

2010-03-27T17:11:00.006-04:00

During her visit in October Nana Grace brought us a cape from her sister Pam who received it when her daughter was born. Pam's little girls used it and now that they're all grown up, Charlotte gets to use it! Perfect for spring and special occasions. It's traveled a lot of miles to be with us here in Indiana. :)

razzes, mobility, etc

2010-03-23T14:18:00.004-04:00

Not surprisingly, if you put something just out of reach for a baby, they'll find a way to get it. For Charlotte this means if she's sitting up, she'll flop forward, reach, and lunge. Then she's on her belly and kinda struggling to get her legs under her to get somewhere. She's also discovered that razzing is fun - especially when there's food in her mouth.

Last night was her first encounter with real solid food. Some broccoli sprouts, peas, and a few grains of curried jasmine rice. She turned the high chair into a lovely canvas of food. One day she'll figure out that food goes in her mouth and toys do not. She sure does like to be fed like she's Cleopatra, though.

Finally, some exciting news: we have a camcorder coming tomorrow! Until then -

This is nap time .. yea, I don't know.

A crib!

Better late than never, I guess. Many thanks to a couple of my cousins who knitted the amazing blanket/pillow combo pictured. Unfortunately it's a little too delicate for baby usage right now.

Big Ol' Baby

2010-03-11T12:06:00.013-05:00

Charlotte had her 6 month wellness checkup and vaccinations today.

19lbs 13oz 28" long

Feeding is going great! We're consistently doing morning, afternoon, night for her "solids". She's also still sleeping in her own room with little to no issues. It's wonderful. Finally she's sitting up for long periods of time now! Soon she'll be crawling so I'm just going to savor her immobility for now. :)

She's still got the big blue eyes, too.

No teeth yet!

sleeping alone

2010-02-28T20:52:00.007-05:00

We've finally decided that it's time for Charlotte to be in her own room. We started last night and it went surprisingly well. She went down at around 8:30-9ish woke up at 1am for a feeding and was back down at 1:30am. She slept until 8:30am! We really LOVE the lullaby CD Nana Grace got for us. It's wonderful in helping soothe her to sleep - especially being in a different sleep environment. She also now has a security blanket as recommended by a friend. This too has helped a great deal.

Things are going well in the non-baby front. I finally received my severance paperwork from the company and sent it back signed the other day. As far as other job opportunities go, I've applied to a couple of places but I'm currently trying to enjoy my time spent at home with the baby. We're trying to get out every now and again for play dates, but since the weather's been cruddy it's hard to do so. Once it gets better, we'll be able to enjoy some time on walks and at the park.

Picture time!

In her new sleep quarters.

Being cute in general. It's going to be hard to say "no" to this little one.

6 months!

2010-02-25T20:38:00.016-05:00

AHH! Photo dump.

Thumb in pacifier in mouth = baby bliss apparently.

Playdate with Kiley & Anya.

What's up drooly pants?

Super fun new toy - she actually got it for Christmas but we're just now getting around to introducing her to it.

It's neat because she keeps herself entertained plus it's a great training tool for sitting up!

.. and it has a mirror.

Today was our first day of a normal eating schedule. By normal I mean breakfast/bottle/lunch (nap.. AWW YEA)/dinner/bottle. I could really grow to like this!

vacation

2010-02-15T17:47:00.003-05:00

Superbowl Sunday turned out to be viral Sunday with everyone in the house catching some sort of stomach "flu"-like bug. Our plans were to go ahead and travel down to TN on Monday, so we did. Apparently the bug wasn't completely out of our systems as Terry and Kathy ended up with the same bug 3 days after our arrival. We believe it all stemmed from an ER visit with the baby Friday morning. The baby was fine, just apparently really bad, scream worthy gas. Silly babies, why can't they communicate better?

Driving down to TN was not fun. We stopped. A lot. Needless to say, while it was nice to get away for a week, it was not under the most ideal of situations. Next time we go I'm determined to have us all healthy.

Charlotte has decided that she likes to roll around. The food thing is going well. We held back on solids last week simply because of the whole stomach bug thing, but we're back on again this week. Valentine's Day was unfun and we spent the entire day driving. I think I need a break from my break.

uh oh

2010-02-04T17:54:00.002-05:00

She's started sitting up .. !

Things are gonna start getting fun.

humor

2010-02-02T09:39:00.003-05:00

Nothing too new going on. We're heading to Tennessee next week for a much needed vacation/break and on Sunday having a low-key get together for the Superbowl (Go Colts!). I do have a couple of silly photos of the baby, though.

After 30 minutes of some obviously exhausting playtime.

This is her spoon.

pears

2010-01-25T14:04:00.003-05:00

yikes

2010-01-25T11:38:00.003-05:00

My store closes tomorrow. It's coming so fast! Weds-Fri will be spent doing administrative paperwork, boxing up anything left over, and shipping things out. I've got most of the paperwork together, at least.

We've been broadening Charlotte's food choices. She's now had: sweet peas, sweet potatoes, and pears mixed with oatmeal cereal. She really enjoyed the peas! The pears were a little sour so she wasn't so sure about them at first, but she ended up finishing most of the mix. We started her on the jarred veggies yesterday (1 2.5oz jar for lunch and 1 for dinner along with her usual formula) and she had the fruit/oatmeal mix this morning. No side effects from anything :)

Chicago and eating

2010-01-18T11:17:00.004-05:00

This past weekend we made a trip up to Chicago to visit a longtime friend. Most of our time was spent walking around the downtown area, shopping, and eating. Of course, as good Chicago tourists we hit up Gino's East. The downtown location was actually the first in the city so that was pretty neat. Charlotte did really well the whole trip. She was a bit fussy on the ride home, but that was to be expected. I wouldn't want to sit in a car seat for 8 hours (coming and going), either.

It was really cold, obviously. The "Windy City" indeed.

Thrilled to be on the [really comfortable] hotel bed.

At Gino's :)

Yesterday we met up with a few more friends in the Arlington Heights area. It was sort of a baby meet up and pretty fun. We picked up some goodies to take home from the Mitsuwa Marketplace. All-in-all we had a great time and I can't wait to head up there again!

We also started feeding her oatmeal cereal last week. She seems to enjoy it. We've fed it to her twice now.

Delicious.

thanks nana!

2010-01-14T10:11:00.003-05:00

While she was visiting from AU Nana Grace got us a wonderful highchair! Now, we're finally able to utilize it.

Soon, we'll be feeding from it. For now, it makes a nice baby holder for when mom needs to cook. She really enjoyed watching me. :) Thanks again, Jenny!

boing

2010-01-11T22:49:00.002-05:00

4 month wellness checkup

2010-01-11T10:48:00.004-05:00

Well, technically 4 month 2 week checkup. 17.4lbs 26" and the mark near her left shoulder is a birthmark :)

Dr. gave the ok to start on fruits/veggies and cereal soon. We'll take it slowly starting with a little bit of oatmeal cereal, eventually progressing to the veggies, and finally taking on the fruit.

recommendations

2010-01-07T12:48:00.008-05:00

When we were at our friend's place (the Jaraczs') we noticed how much their son Caleb loved the doorway jumper. We stuck Charlotte in it and she actually flopped around in it a bit. So that night I added it to our registry. Christmas came around and I recommended it as a gift idea from Kathy and Terry (uhm, I mean "Santa"). They picked it up and Charlotte absolutely loves it!

She's currently squealing in delight and jumping up and down. ;)

Celebrating the New Year

2010-01-02T21:58:00.005-05:00

Hope everyone had a safe and fun New Year celebration! Here are a few new photos to enjoy. Matt's working late tonight so Charlotte and I are having a girl's night in.

I guess I wore her out. Happy New Year!

Charlotte wants to move

2009-12-25T17:34:00.003-05:00

So, the baby's decided that she wants to become more mobile. I introduce the "Baby Push and Pull" - A fun Christmas event for everyone. She really enjoys pushing herself off Dad's hands and using her own hands to pull herself forward.

Happy Holidays!

2009-12-25T11:34:00.002-05:00

touchy feely

2009-12-19T17:23:00.004-05:00

We received this fun taggy felt hedgehog from a Secret Santa gift exchange. She really enjoys it as it has different textures, bright colors, and makes fun crinkly sounds. Here she is trying to figure out the easiest way to stick it into her mouth:

Aha!

Finally, I promise we're not being lazy about holiday cards this year. It's been very busy between the baby and work, for both of us, so we've decided to opt out on sending holiday cards. But, we wish friends and families the best for the holiday season!

tell me more

2009-12-13T19:14:00.002-05:00

Charlotte cooing at the camera. Don't know how to rotate, sorry!

gotta teach 'em young

2009-12-10T19:46:00.005-05:00

Not saying she's gonna start composing anything anytime soon, though.

Comparison

2009-12-09T12:05:00.006-05:00

uh oh

2009-12-07T23:08:00.001-05:00

Charlotte's started shoving things in her mouth - other than her fists. We were just talking about this with ours friends this past weekend!

Earlier she tried to chew on one of her shoes and the dangly bits on the blind cord.