Behind the Scenes

This is from a couple days ago at aunt Jessie's house.  We were trying to set up the photo of all the babies.  It's no simple task to get all three babies to smile, or at least not cry, at the same time.

Swinging

Today in Music Class

Bubbe and Suze

Bubbe and Netta

Suze and Charlotte

Baby Baby Baby

Today we had lunch at aunt Jessie's.  All the babies were awake at the same time!  That's never happened before.  Look how much they've changed since the last photo.

Bailey, Charlotte, and Netta at 1 month

Netta, Charlotte, and Bailey at 3 1/2 months

Run, Daddy, Run!

Frozen Half Marathon, 2009

This is a really cool picture of Mike running the Frozen Half Marathon a couple years ago.  That year it was so cold that they shortened the race to a 1/4 marathon.  I like how his frozen breath is swirling around his head.   He is running it again tomorrow, but it will be in the 20's.  That's practically shorts weather!

My Real Live Doll

Baby girl clothes are sooooo irresistable!  We have plenty of clothes that were gifts or hand-me-downs, but I still want to buy an outfit for Charlotte once  in a while.   This is one of my current favorites - a dress over jeggings.  She's really working it.

Party Girl

We took Charlotte to a party on Saturday night.  Not just any party, but a Burns Supper to honor the Scottish poet, Robert Burns, Scotland's favorite son.  This is an annual event in my family, usually hosted by my step-mom or uncle Bob.  One of the rituals of the Burns Supper is the haggis parade, which this year came from a can (I don't know which is grosser, prepared haggis or haggis from a can).  Anyway, the haggis parade is led by a bagpiper.  I was wearing a drowsy Charlotte in my baby sling.  She was on her way to sleep so when the bagpipes headed my way, I scooted to the other side of the room.  But they followed me!  Ah!  Amazingly, Charlotte fell asleep and stayed asleep amidst the cacophany of bagpipes and people yelling at the sight of the canned haggis.  She was very cooperative. We could have stayed a lot later if only I had packed some diaper covers.

Um, Why is This Pillow Wearing a T Shirt?

Yesterday I was making the bed and I noticed something strange.

Mike said that after getting Charlotte to sleep, when he got in bed he was so tired he must have thought it was the pillow case.  He also thought that I must have bought new sheets since this "pillow case" felt different.

Sleep Smile

So Sweet

Charlotte and her aunt Beth

8

Last night Charlotte slept for 8 hours.  That means that I also slept for 8 hours.  Actually, I think I slept a little longer than Charlotte because I went to sleep while Mike was putting her to sleep.  I haven't slept that long since, oh, May 2010.  Needless to say, I feel pretty good today! 

Baby Music

My sister, Jessica, teaches Music Together so we signed up for her class.  It's music class for babies and families.  Last night was the first class and Charlotte had the highest adult:child ratio (4:1).   My sister is a fabulous teacher and the class was a lot of fun.

My sister, Jessica, showing us how to make music.

Here we are singing a song with some eggs that you shake.

We're singing to Charlotte and shaking our eggs at her.

Now Jessie is shaking her egg at Charlotte.

A quiet song at the end of the class.

Suze Visits

Mike's mom and sister drove from San Antonio to Minneapolis this weekend and finally got to meet Charlotte.  Suze is going to stay with us for a few weeks while I re-enter the working world.

Charlotte meets her Suze

Playdate

Today we went to visit aunt Jessica and the twins. Charlotte was having her first playdate but Bailey was asleep and Netta was crying before I could get a picture of them on the activity mat.

Conversation With Emily #902

State of the Household Address

As some of you may know, our annual ice dams created a problem for the first time since we've owned this house.  Water got into our walls and for nine days the stairs to both the basement and the second floor (a finished attic) were blocked by plastic curtains and machines (humidifiers, fans, and desiccants) the size of a trash bin.  There were two machines at the top and bottom of each stairway.  Our refigerator was blocked.  And it was as loud as flying in a prop plane, 24 hours a day, for nine days.

In the end, the professional wall dryers (i.e. Water Mitigation Specialist, as our friends at ServPro would call themselves) ended up doing something I could have done: punched big holes in our walls to dry them out.  So our life this last week has been a little chaotic.  Yesterday ServPro deemed our walls dry and we now have to get bids to repair our walls.

Needless to say, this weekend we have been using to slowly get our life back to normal.  Here is where we are at:

Me (sitting down on the couch next to Emily): What am I sitting on?

Emily: Random stuff.  Oooh a clipboard.

Smiley Morning

Funny Things That Happen When You're Tired

Last weekend, I was feeding Charlotte and something looked weird to me.  What is that thing poking out of her back?  I pushed on it and it felt exactly like a pacifier.  It was a pacifier!  It must have been on the changing pad and somehow when I was changing her I managed to get it inside her sleeper without realizing it.  No wonder we keep losing pacifiers everywhere.

3 Months

Charlotte is 3 months old today (6 weeks corrected).  She's been smiling for a few weeks and today she laughed!  Sometimes, she is kind enough to sleep through the night.  Other times, she won't sleep for more than 2 hours at a time.  She is definitely starting to show a more feisty side of her personality.  She is a happy baby most of the time, but when she is mad she goes from smiles to screaming in a flash!  I weighed her and measured her today: 11 pounds 12 ounces and 23 inches.

Slingers

Emily, Charlotte, Bailey, and Jessica

My aunt Nance took this picture on Christmas day.  My sister and I are sporting our baby slings that we bought on etsy.   A little while after this picture, Nance came in and said, "look what I have!"  And she was wearing Netta in a sling.