Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Brown-eyes on the Green

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Beauty of a day...beast of an aftermath



I was so excited to meet up with an old co-worker and lifelong pal at Ellison Park just over a week ago today. It was the first time I got to meet her twin (19 month old) boys, Aiden and Seth. They are such sweet little guys and enjoyed ambling around the park together with Charlie and Amelia.





We let the boys play for a while by the creek, throwing sticks in and watching them lilt underneath and away with the current. Twas all pleasant and peaceful until Charlie decided to toss in his sippy cup after the disappearing sticks. So...in a fateful move, I scampered down the bank and grabbed the cup. All was well and we bid our farewells. And then I began to itch. Turns out I was coming down with the worst case of poison ivy I've ever had and, Lord willing, will ever experience again. The day after it was uncomfortable, two days later it was unbearable and I ended up going to the emergency room when my eyes and throat started to swell. The worst day was Sunday (almost a week after our park trip) when I woke up with my eyes completely closed and the rash covering probably 50% of me! After two shots, two prescriptions of Prednizone, two doctor's visits, three tubes of Cortizone cream, 4 packets of Aveeno colloidal oatmeal bath and dozens of ice packs...I am starting to feel like myself again. How about Starbucks next time, Alenna?
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Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Little cub on the move and more messes


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books


Amelia has a couple new talents, one of which is growling. She'll imitate this sound pretty predictably whether it's a human growl, a noise on t.v., or one of Charlie's toys. She is so much fun these days (almost 9 months!) because she's so interactive. Just like her brother, she likes to dance and sing (see crazy moves below) and smile at anybody who looks her way. However, my rose-colored view of my little cherub could be strongly influenced by the fact that she is now sleeping through the night most nights. Finally! What a difference it makes to get 6-7 solid hours...now we wake up coherent instead of in our normal coffee-crazed coma.


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books


You'd think Amelia had some coffee too or maybe one of those funky looking Rock Star energy drinks. She's been scooting all over now for a few weeks. She gets up on her knees too and rocks, then lunges forward toward an object of interest. She even partially climbed up on to the open dishwasher door this morning which made me remember how Charlie found that door irresistible too. Every time it was open, he would motor over and climb in. Too bad that wasn't a bathing option...that sanitizer setting could really be good for our messy little guy.


Speaking of messes, here's the latest. It always seems to happen that, after a "good day" where I feel somewhat in control as a Mom, Charlie feels the need to humble me back to our normal state of chaos. We had gotten home from a picnic, had baths, and I was putting Amelia to bed. Charlie was downstairs (potential problem) and completely quiet (definite problem). As I was rocking Mia, the rascal appeared and had a suspicious sticky red substance smeared all over his hands and shirt. I quietly asked him to go into the bathroom and he did, after he gently placed both red hands on the cream colored bedspread in Mia's room--great, more laundry. I put Mia down and picked up Charlie to inspect him in the bathroom. As I suspected, it was lipstick. Due to Charlie's affinity for anything edible, I always try to keep my chapstick and lipstick out of his reach. Actually, come to think of it, I believe he has "eaten" all of my chapsticks so I no longer have any to hide. Anyway, I'm trying to scrub the lipstick off of him in the tub when he points to the stairs and says, "It's on the wall Mommy." My heart sank and I dodged off the check the damage. All I could think of when I saw the picture above was a low, scratchy voice repeating, "Red Rum...." Please try to ignore the stains next time you visit.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Happy Father's Day

Things are always a little bit better...



...just because you're around. We love you Dad!

-Charlie 2 yrs. old & Mia 8 months

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Tuesday, June 10, 2008



Charlie has developed a man's waist seemingly overnight. I swear he wore these shorts last summer and they fit him fine! Now, I seriously cannot find a pair of trunks that will stay up. I finally had him wear an old pair that's size 24 months, but they are so short that his Dad makes fun of him. I just hope he doesn't eventually do that slouchy thing with his pants like his Uncle Jon (he he)...



(These dang trunks are crampin my style)
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Mia hits the waves



You gotta love those $4 kiddie pools at Walmart. All three of us were in there yesterday. Amelia loves the water. She rolls around in it and splashes herself in the face--giggling all the while. Charlie gets mad though, because when Amelia's in the pool, he can't slide down his Little Tikes slide into the pool (his new fav). If he did perform this feat while Mia was in the pool, she would most likely be traumatized for life! He spends a lot of time saying, "Move, Move Mia!" Sharing is a hard lesson.




Here is Mia's 2nd of 3 bathing suits. It's a tankini. She's lucky it's cute for infant tummies to burst out of a suit! I kind of have an obsession with baby girl suits. They are so darn cute. I am trying to limit myself to 3. And yet, here's a line of reasoning for you --I figure that now is the time to have a selection because in 30 years or so, if she's like most women, she will have the darndest time trying to find one that looks good on her!

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Saturday, June 07, 2008

Memorial Day 08

Charlie and Mallory groovin' to the classy marching band tunes. Took me back to the days when I was a marcher myself (I know, I know...)--that purple and gold 100% polyester outfit was not designed for hot temperatures...or really for any type of public performance in the 21st century.




It was like the parade was custom-made for Charlie. Shined up diggers and loaders, does it get any better?


The best seat in the house for Mallory.




This photo may not look significant, but it is--very. Charlie is actually offering his most prized possession (other than his blanket and Chops that is) "Scoop" the digger to Mallory-hmm!


The cutest little flag bearer in town--Little Violet Downie.


Char and "big boy" Hayden pal-in' around in the yard.



Sweet little Tori Ferguson. Love that pony tail!


A Memorial Day picnic at my Uncle Bob's in East Aurora. They have a gorgeous house and property. Here's my beautiful cuz Arianne with our Gramps (he'll be 90 this year). Funny story. My cousins from DC aren't up very often so they were asking Grandpa the name of our baby (Amelia) when we were walking up. Grandpa paused and thought, then replied in all seriousness, "I think it's Ezekiel." Ha! His confusion actually has a little logic behind it. My cousin Manda had a boy "Malacai" a few months ago. Apparently Grandpa got his great grand babies and his bible prophets messed up...We can't be too hard on him since he has 7 kids, 39 grandkids, and 9 great grands to keep track of (oh and two more on the way). That count might need to be verified by the family historian (Aunt Lynnie).


Mia's getting to know her rellies, Etta and Heather.





Such a beautiful place for parties (hint, hint). We found out that Donna and Bill are engaged and planning to get married in the fall. Congrats!




Our sweet tart--mostly sweet.


Amelia's cousin and a favorite babysitter;)--Victoria.



Building blocks with Papa. Don't knock it over!!


Hey, Pops, where'd Charlie go? Nice, sturdy construction you've got going there.

The boys




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