Catching up...

I admit, I'm a slacker. It's been way too long since my last post. Or...maybe not that much is happening. Well, let me catch you up.

This wasn't Charlotte's first Easter, but it was the first one where she's been able to take part in some of the activities. It was my mom's spring break, so she was able to spend a long weekend with us. We had an Easter egg hunt at our church. I was a little afraid of how this might go because, in the weeks leading up to Easter, Charlotte had been pointing at Easter Eggs and saying [or sometimes yelling], "Balls!!". Luckily, that was kept to a minimum at church.

After the Easter egg hunt, we went to the mall for the obligatory picture with the Easter Bunny, or as he's known to Charlotte, "that large furry thing that I like to look at from far away, but not so much close up" There are several parts in the video where, if you watch real closely, you can see small moments of panic. The real terror is not capture on video because I bailed on the video taping duties as soon as I saw her start to lose it. Let's face it, I'm not good at watching my daughter freak out. As you can see above, we did manage to snap one pic.

Like last year, we visited my cousin Sue for Easter Sunday. And, again, she fed us way better than we deserve. Other than a brief choking episode by Charlotte on the way down and a crying/screaming fit for the last 20 minutes of the ride back, it was well worth the trip. I can't thank Sue, and everyone who helps her, enough.

Charlotte is developing her own little personality. She has a fondness for the word "no". She likes to say it to the dog, her parents, a grilled cheese...it really doesn't matter. It's been a long winter, so she's been cooped up in the house for a long time. Let's face it, when there's 3 feet of snow in the yard and you're only 2 feet tall, playing in the yard isn't an option. So, when the weather warmed up, I decided we'd start taking more walks around the block, playing in the yard, going to parks.

The first time I had her in the yard, I set her down in the grass and she just stood there. She seemed afraid to move. I slowly came to realize that she was afraid of the grass. Granted, last summer when she was just learning to sit up/crawl, she wasn't a fan of the feeling of the grass, but I've heard that's fairly normal. However, this seemed to be more of an outright fear...not screaming in fear [ala the Easter Bunny], just kind of afraid to move fear. Nonetheless, we have been able to get her out more. A couple weeks ago we took her to "Kids Coulee", a giant playground/castle/jungle gym in one of our local parks. This was her first time on a big swing set. Yes, I shot video of it. Don't judge me.

Last weekend we payed a visit to my grandma Erickson [my mom's side]. While it's always nice to see her, Charlotte was more interested in her walker. The better photos are courtesy of my Uncle Gary.

Ok, maybe stuff has been happening. Apparently, I am a slacker.

It's a Girl!! Part Deux

Tonight, I picked Charlotte up from day care and they had her hair back in little tiny pony tails. That doesn't mean much to some people, but for a long time, she barely had hair. Unless she was wearing the brightest, pinkest outfit, people would say "What a cute little boy". Then again, when you dress her in a Packer sweatshirt like this, it doesn't help.

From Game Day

More recently, it's been too short to put in pony tails but too long to do anything else with. To top it all off, she's got her mother's curls in the back. If we're not careful, it could become a baby mullet [aka Infantulett]

Click on pic to view entire album

You have to really look for the pony tails, but they're there. There's a few other pics in the album of her playing in a basket. As you can tell, she's happier in some pics than others. At one point, she had her self stuck in, what appeared to be, a fairly painful position. You'll be impressed to know that I didn't try to get pics of that.

It's been a long couple weeks...

I've discussed this issue here and here, but day care is little more than a petri dish where I drop my kid off every day.

I kid. We're actually very happy with Charlotte's day care. However, she picks up these little bugs there that give her a little sniffle or a low grade fever. We also had the pleasure of a couple weeks where Charlotte didn't want to sleep by herself at night. So, what does a sick kid and a lack of sleep for Mommy and Daddy add up to? That's right. Both Mommy and Daddy were home sick on Tuesday. I can't speak for Kaye, but for about 24 hours, I felt like I was hit by a truck. At about 5 in the morning, I told Kaye I thought I had Lyme disease. I don't know why I picked Lyme disease. It made sense at the time.

That, along with a Packer loss in the playoffs [moment of silence] led to my inability to post for the last several weeks. So I shot a little video over the last couple days. The scene was shot while Kaye was at work the other day [I think...I'm really not sure]. Regardless, it's a little peak into what Charlotte and I do when no one else is around. The conversation is fascinating. She's learning a few words, primarily "more" and "ball". She doesn't have "mommy" or "daddy" down yet, but she definitely knows how to ask for more. Well, at least she has her priorities straight. You'll also notice she's learned a few other thing.

The last scene is for my sister. She and Dale gave Charlotte a Zebra for Christmas. She's been hounding me for several weeks to see Charlotte ride it. So I offer this video as proof. As I said, she's been a little under the weather, so she kept it to a slow trot.

One Year Pictures

It took two tries to get these pictures. Round one was an attempt to get pictures with her cousin, Matthew, as well as her 1 year pics. She was in no mood for this. We managed to get the picture with Matthew [even though it looks a little like a church directory picture]. We went back a week later and finally got her 1 year pictures done.


Christmas "Round One" pics & video coming soon

Charlotte's First Birthday

I was going to write a heartfelt post about how amazing the past year has been, but decided I'd just let it be what it is-a kid's first birthday. Unfortunately, the clowns, ponies, and carnie rides didn't show up. So we had lunch, cake, and presents.

We had lots of family around this weekend because of her B'day and Matthew's Graduation from UW-L [more on that in a post to follow]. Charlotte got plenty of cake, as you can see...plenty of presents, as you can see...and entirely too much attention. Between the attention and a few late night meals [and maybe some teething], she was awake every 30 minutes to an hour both nights. We're not the best at letting her cry it out anyway, but when you've got people staying at your house, it makes it even harder because you don't want them to have to endure it too.

Regardless, it's been a great year with her. She's taught me a lot about myself that I never knew. It's only been a year, but I don't remember what life was like without her, nor would I want to [or maybe I'm just blocking it out for the sake of my own sanity].

Finally got it on film

It took a while, but we finally got it on film. It's only a few steps, but you get the picture...


It took a few tries though

Walking update

The walking thing is coming along. This weekend she was witnessed taking 3 or 4 steps... on purpose, not just falling forward. Occasionally she forgets that she needs to use both feet to walk, so she just kind of spins in a circle. I tried to video tape it the other night but, of course, she decided she didn't feel like walking then. The weird thing is that she's taken a liking to jumping. Occasionally she'll get all worked up and both feet will leave the ground.

Seriously, though. Given the choice between taking 10 minutes to walk across the room or crawling in 1/100 the time [or having mom or dad carry you], you wouldn't bother with walking either.

Sooo close...

I wanted to post this earlier, but had some problems with the upload. The other day, I walked into Charlotte's daycare and saw this kid go running by. I peaked my head around the corner and discovered it was Charlotte. They have a push toy there that I've seen her use before, but apparently she's become fairly proficient. So, of course, we had to go get one for home. She has also been spotted taking 1 or 2 unassisted steps in the last couple days.

The last portion of the video is a little reminder that she is her father's daughter. Unfortunately, she's developing some of my eating habits. However, at the end, those are oranges Kaye's giving her. So, it isn't completely hopeless...yet.

Our first Halloween...

So, we were going to keep it pretty low key for Halloween, but since they were having a party at her daycare, we thought we'd at least Charlotte wear a costume. You know, just so she didn't feel left out.

I think she would have been fine with "left out".

It ain't pretty

but it's walking...sort of.

New pics, video...and look out, she's getting more mobile

So it's been a while since I posted last. I'd say we've been busy [and I think we have], but I'm hard pressed to make a list of stuff we've been doing that might have kept me from posting anything. I suppose between ramping up for start of the school year, which is our busiest time at work, and various other stuff, I guess I've neglected this form of communication.

We had some pics taken last week. Check them out.



I also shot some video today that isn't all that eventful.


It does, however, show that her crawling has improved immensely...and, God help us all, she's standing. Sometimes she's able to stand on her own without holding on to anything and some of those are incidents might even be on purpose. As you can see from the pictures, she's getting her teeth.

Update: Remember my plans for retirement? Well, one of my nephew's roommates works at a local Quillins grocery store and also knows the gentleman that I mentioned in that post. Want to guess how he knows him? That's right, he does the same stuff at Quillins...apparently for hours at a time. So, now I'm starting think he may be a slightly past "a little eclectic" and maybe a little closer to goofy. I must admit though, it doesn't make it less funny.

She's on the move...but we're not sure about her motivation.

For a couple weeks, Charlotte has been able to move around the room a little at a time, but it was more a product of changing positions. Look out!! She's learned to crawl. Granted, it's not the most coordinated crawl in the world, but she's moving.

Just a few notes on the video below:

• The warbling music in the background is not poor audio/video quality, nor has anyone slipped you some sort of psychedelic drugs. It's low batteries in a really loud toy.
• I thought I had better footage of her crawling, but apparently there were technical difficulties [ie the idiot holding the camera didn't push the "record" button"]. I'll put some better stuff up later. It's that important.
  
• Her original motivation for crawling was to get to the TV remote control. It's like she's obsessed with it. Fortunately, in this video, she's crawling toward a toy. There's still hope for her.

Grandma's first babysitting gig

We made the trip back to Waupaca for my class reunion this past weekend. At a picnic on Saturday, Charlotte got to meet some of my class mates. She likes to work a crowd, so she had a good time. She also got a tour of my old high school which has been renovated and is now the middle school. She was so impressed, she slept through 90% of it. Saturday night was my class reunion so she stayed home with Grandma. According to my mom, all went well. Mom got to soak up some more time with her favorite granddaughter.

Class reunions are always fun and interesting. This year it was on the Chief Waupaca. Being on a boat for 3 hours is great for those of us who grew up together. In fact, my theory has always been that it kind of forces people to mingle a little more than they might it were on land. There's not a lot of places to hide on that boat. However, Kaye said that by the end of the night you could pick out the significant others because they seemed to be checking their watches a lot more than everyone else. Regardless, we had a great time and got to see some friends that I haven't seen in 10 or 15 years.

Next up: Charlotte's first camping trip.

Fourth of July Weekend...

Grandma Michael came into town this past week for a little extended stay. She and I did the fireworks while Kaye and Charlotte stayed home. After our Airfest trauma, we decided that fireworks probably wasn't a good idea yet.

Since we skipped that trauma, we thought we'd throw Charlotte into her new pool, just to keep her on her toes. She didn't seem to enjoy it and she let all the neighbors know. I'm waiting for the visit from Child Protective Services on Monday.

Surprise Surprise Surprise

Charlotte had her 6 month visit to the doctor on Wednesday. She's over the 100th percentile in weight and around 95 in height. I know, I know, those numbers don't mean anything. Yea...if your kid isn't measuring up!! At this rate, we're pretty sure she's going to be around 9 feet tall.

Also, she's sitting up on her own. She doesn't roll over very often...mainly because she can "bridge" like a wrestler in order to see behind her. The last doctor that saw her for pink eye said it's a sign of advanced cognitive skills. I'm going to stick with that theory...because before she said that, I thought Charlotte was just lazy.

Who had "Bad Cold" in the pool?

I forgot to mention; After being sent home last monday with Pink Eye, Charlotte was sent home with a fever on Friday. A little Tylenol and all was well. Does this kid look sick to you?

First Father's Day

Click on the pics to see more of the album




We had our first Father's this Weekend. We spent Saturday night with Kaye's family...grilled out at our house and went to a Loggers Game. As I've mentioned before, she's a people watcher so she loved it, other than the 1 or 2 innings she slept through. Sunday morning we went to Old Country Buffet for breakfast. Only the best for daddy. Then, Charlotte and I spent most of the afternoon in a recliner napping the afternoon away.

The above pics were taken this afternoon after said nap.

The first of many gifts from daycare

Last weekend, Charlotte was coming down with a cold...or so we thought. She was congested and her eyes were "gunking up". Apparently, word went out at daycare that pink eye was going around. Unfortunately, it went out after we started. So, on Monday, I had to pick her up and have her checked out for pink eye. Sure enough, she's got her first of many communicable disease from daycare.

I'm taking bets on what the next one will be:

• Even odds- Bad Cold
• 6:1-Yet another Pink Eye
• 10:1-Impetigo
• 15:1-Lice [My personal favorite]
• 20:1-Chicken Pox
• 1500:1 Bird Flu

It's no "Gröt", but it will have to do

I just hope she steers clear of the almond when she starts eating that stuff [inside Swedish joke].

We paid a visit to my mom's last weekend. It's the first time I had been back since she was released from the hospital. All in all, she seems to be recovering quite well. She had a "little" landscaping that needed to be done. It turned into a two day project involving new trees, a small retaining wall, all new edging...and probably the coolest machine ever, a stump grinder. In reality, I'm just thankful no one lost a limb. It's not quite done yet, but should look nice when everything is in place.

This week, we're trying to start Charlotte on rice. She's been getting it in her formula at night for a while now, but now we've been trying to feed her with a spoon. I'll let you judge how well the first feeding went.


This week, Charlotte also started her new day care. She's getting adjusted to the change in scenery. Her sleep is a little off so she comes home and crashes. Not such a big deal, until she wakes up at 3:30 AM and wants to hang out. This day care came along at a fairly nice time, however. Her baby sitter [and old friend and coworker of mine, Sandy] is expecting a baby in August, so she probably didn't need the extra baby to carry around.

Who brings their 5 month old to an air show?

Me. That's who.

Before I continue this story, I should clearly state that I did bring ear plugs for Charlotte. Unfortunately, they didn't fit. Also, there were many other children her age there. So, I'm not the only crappy parent.

Overall, Charlotte really enjoyed Airfest. She's a people watcher and loves to show off for those around her. She's standing now [video later] so she can get up and enjoy the crowd. Until, the F-16 started it's show. Understandably, Charlotte was hysterical. The aforementioned ear plugs I brought didn't fit. A gentleman behind me offered me a pair that were smaller on one end, but by this time, Charlotte was so upset, she was having none of me trying to put them in. A well meaning woman in front of me motioned that I should try giving her a pacifier...because apparently she thought I hadn't already tried that. Eventually, we ducked behind a larger plane...not that it helped, but getting up and moving made her feel better. "Luckily", the F16 had mechanical problems and had to end it's show early. Needless to say, we didn't stick around for the Blue Angels. I'm not sure who was more traumatized, Charlotte or me...but I know who the people around me felt more sorry for.

What did I learn from this experience? First, if you insist upon bringing your 5 month old to an air show, get her a pair of those ear muff type ear protectors. It may not make it less scary when the ground shakes, but at least she'll be better protected. Second. No matter how loud a jet may be, people can still hear a screaming child above it all.