When are you moving in?

Last week our little house was filled to the brim with visitors. My dad was here Monday and Tuesday, then my cousin Amanda and her daughter Sadie came on Wednesday night, Grandma Amy stopped by on her way through town on Thursday, Aunt Beth and my mom (and Luna) got in Friday night, and my cousin Mary arrived on Saturday!

Here we are – Aunt Beth and Sadie, Amanda, Mary, Me and Charlotte, Luna, and my mom!

I am so happy that Charlotte has a cousin close in age. I have a lot of cousins around my age, and I grew up very close to most of them, which pretty much made my childhood. Actually, it’s kind of making my adulthood, too.

One of the main reasons I sometimes struggle with living “out of town,” or away from family, is because I want Charlotte to be able to grow up living close to her relatives. I know that facebook and skype and cellphones all make living apart much easier these days, but it’s not the same as being able to walk to your grandma’s house…and your cousins’ house….and your other cousins’ house. I consider myself very lucky for having that experience, and while I don’t expect to live quite that close to my family, I’ll be happy if we’re close enough that we don’t have to make every trip an overnight!

And now for some sweet moments from our weekend…

Whoops! How’d that one get in there? 🙂

Of course, we had to put Charlotte and Sadie in the crib together….

…and the tub…

And, yeah, there is a video! (of course)

By the time everyone left late Sunday afternoon, the house felt eerily quiet. To all the other wordpress users out there – I have a drafted post on my dashboard that I never published written the day Amanda and Sadie left after their visit last year. It starts, “It’s quiet around here with Amanda and Sadie gone.” Yep, that again.

This better happen again next year!

A Lovely Long Weekend

Happy Labor Day!

We had a great weekend with Mom here. We did a little thrifting at one of our favorites, First Class Finds, and came home with a cool lamp that we didn’t need. We also went to a party at my co-worker/friend’s new house on Sunday night and stayed out a little too late (but really enjoyed doing so). And today, Chris and I laid around while Mom took Charlotte into town for lunch and diaper-time at the splash pad. Apparently, she was a total doll (obvi) and the subject of many random passerbys’ photo ops.

After an early release both Thursday and Friday, I’m sure this week will feel pretty long….I’m not complaining though – Friday always gets here soon enough!

My mom got some pictures of Charlotte playing in the fountains today on her phone. When she shares them, I’ll share them here!

 

Three Things

One:

Grandpa Ben (or Bubba, according to the little Miss), Grandma Chris, and Great-Grandma Pat came for a visit today! And to show her appreciation of their trip out, Charlotte showed off her very finest Stinker Skills. She wasn’t terrible the entire day, but she certainly had a few throw-yourself-on-the-floor-and-whine-for-no-reason moments. Perhaps all this attention is getting to her head.

Getting a family picture was next to impossible, but darn it, we tried! This is the best I got…

Well, everyone is smiling. I’d say that’s a success.

Both Charlotte and Grandpa are smiling AND looking at the camera at the same time. It’s a miracle!

Grandma Pat left us little caramel-y brownies, so we’ll be enjoying those for the next few days probably until tomorrow.

Two:

I learned how to knit!

Well….okay: I’m learning how to knit.  I’m making a blue scarf. I’ve had to start over once already, and I expect I’ll have to start over at least once more. That’s okay; I’m enjoying it, and it’s keeping my hands busy when I’m on the couch. (Knitting = Not scratching)

Our friends, Brian and Jaime, came over last night so that Jaime could teach me to knit and so Chris and Brian could geek out with their speaker obsession (It’s so cute.). As it turns out, the hardest part of knitting is knotting your yarn for the needle. Yes, really! There’s nothing like failing to make a slip knot at least fifty times to make you feel like a major idiot. Good thing Jaime is such a patient teacher.

Anyway, I’ll keep you posted on my future scarf’s progress. Some of you may be wondering who I plan to give it to when it’s finished…Well, that depends on how poorly it turns out! My guess is that it will go to my mom because she’ll like it no matter how ugly it is (like all my ceramics from college). Or I might decide to give up on it early, thus making it a miniature scarf for Charlotte (she also won’t care how bad it looks).

Three:

La Croix came out with a delightful new flavor: Peach-Pear. Do you see it in my picture above? I still think my favorite flavors are lime and pamplemousse (or pomp-lay-MOOSE, as Chris and I like to call it), but this is yummy, too. Go buy some!

 

Comedienne

We’ve been having a lot of fun around these parts. Amanda and I are taking every opportunity to make our young, innocent children do silly things. Earlier today, this happened:

The little bloodsucker.

 

This gift from Uncle JR for Charlotte’s first Christmas just keeps on giving. Charlotte hates this pacifier now (because of it’s shape not the frightening teeth), but a long time ago we got this unforgettable shot. Charlotte did not want Sadie to have to have this sucker in her mouth. So as soon as she was able, she pulled it out, walked out of the living room, through the kitchen, and into the family room where she placed it on the arm of her Adirondack chair. There, she must have thought, now Mommy and Aunt Amanda can’t make my baby Sadie use this dreadful thing.

It’s amazing how Charlotte knows just how to behave around Sadie. She gets in front of her face and shakes her head as if to say now aren’t you the cutest thing. During Sadie’s tummy time on the couch, Charlotte put her face up close, smiled and said, “Hiiiiii!” She hugs her and kisses her and wants to be near her all the time. The two of them together is just the sweetest thing.

Charlotte also happens to be getting funnier by the minute. She does this thing where she fake laughs to herself, out of the blue. She’s clearly imitating, but she doesn’t usually do it when we’re laughing too. It’s hilarious to be driving in the car and randomly here her ha-ha-ha from the back seat. She must tell very funny jokes to herself.

Oh, and when I tell her to smile, I might get this:

or this:

Um, okay.

 

It just depends.

Either way, she’s a pretty cool kid.

 

Posing Cousins

Charlotte is having so much fun with her favorite cousin, Sadie. She loves her boo-boo.

I could stare (and laugh) at the last picture all day. It doesn’t get any cuter than that!

 

Big Box Easter

After my cute preview picture earlier, how about a little chat about Charlotte’s second Easter?

We started out the weekend with a visit from both grandmas. Wow — Talk about lucky! If I had ever had both of my grandmas all to myself for a day, I’d have been doing cartwheels around the room.

Charlotte was spoiled (as usual) with Easter goodies, but more importantly, she got to spend some QT with her family. For living out of town, Charlotte (and Chris and I) really do get to see our families quite a bit. Even though I’d like to be closer, it’s nice having weekend visitors once or twice (or three times) a month.

On Thursday Charlotte came down with her first little virus. (Yes, her first time ever being sick besides a runny nose!) She had been acting fussy at night before bed since Tuesday, and by Thursday she was fussy and clingy all day. She would be laughing one minute, then instantly she would dissolve into tears. Luckily, she didn’t have a fever, but she did get a spotty viral rash on her torso, face, and upper legs. Chris and I took her to Quick Care that afternoon, and the doctor confirmed that she didn’t have strep throat (or anything else worrisome), wished us luck in dealing with a fussy baby, and sent us on our way. That night, she cried harder than she’s ever cried in her life. And I’m not exaggerating. She inconsolably screamed and writhed in our arms. Then, she’d stop and smile and play with an empty bottle before throwing it to the ground and screaming again. My poor baby. It was heartbreaking.

Fortunately, she wore herself out after about an hour of this (Tylenol may have helped), and she was much better in the morning. By Friday night, she was back to her happy, healthy self. The rash has mostly cleared up as well, though that can linger for up to a couple weeks afterward.

Oh my! Being sick is NO fun! (btw, this is not a sick-pic, but her face is appropriate, no?)

On Easter, we really meant to go to church, but it was nap time and nap time wins. Instead, we made an egg/spinach/rice/beans brunch, dressed Charlotte up in her Easter finest, let her play with the plastic eggs, then took a trip over to Menards. Oh, and we also cleaned both the house and the car. (Did you hear that, Mom? The car is clean!)

Side note: We clean our house thoroughly every week. (Usually.) How can everything get so dusty in seven days??? UGH. One day soon I’ll write a post about cleaning, since I feel like I spend a quarter of my life doing it. I’m sure every one of you reading this is on the edge of your seat now in anticipation.

Anyway…

It wasn’t a typical Easter Sunday, but it was still a good one. While I try not to wish time away, I am looking forward to next year when Charlotte will be able to enjoy an egg hunt!

Thank you to Grandmas Amy and Meg for visiting and being Charlotte’s official Easter Bunnies! We love you and can’t wait for your next trip!

Car keys in my Easter basket?! I think I'm going to like this Easter Bunny fella.