she's 18 months already

Wow! A year-and-a-half, already? You mean, the next time I take 'official' photos (for two years), I'll have another baby in the house? It sure is turning out to be quite the year. I'm sure 2011 will have even MORE to offer.

So, Charlotte is 18 months old. Getting so big, smart, naughty and just plain adorable. She can say no (and does quite often), LOVES Nemo and Dory (the blue fish). Knows all 17 of her animals (and more!!) by recognition, name, say the name and sound. How many kids this age know what an ostrich is and can say the name! She says 74 words that we've kept track of. She's been sleeping really well, is only allowed to take two-hour naps, love jumping on the bed, books, reading to herself, Rufus (her tickle bunny), Griffin, running around the yard, playing in the dirt in mom's garden, swimming in the bathtub, grapes, noodles, bananas and sitting in dad's lap.

Here are some photos Mom took. Yes, she's in the dirndl again as it was way too cute not to photograph.

worth every penny

IMG_9990
Originally uploaded by [griff] [griff] 'n [chuck]

Charlotte in her dirndl after eating German Chocolate Cheesecake. Yes, this outfit was worth every penny. She's SOOOO cute. Oh my goodness.

i ♥ spaghetti

I'm not sure if it's the pregnancy or just a phase, but I can't seem to get enough spaghetti! I love it. The noodles, the sauce, the veggies, even a little italian sausage. It's soo yummy. I apologized to Kevin for eating it all the time and he said we didn't and gave me the go-ahead to make it more often. I really don't do anything special either. I've switched to Prego sauce awhile back and really find it to be quite tasty, not super salty and not too acidic. Put some parmesan cheese on top. Mmm....maybe this is why I've already gained five pounds. That and baby's daily craving for Slow Churned Ice Cream.

Baby update

It's been a good morning. Starting with 60 degree weather was definitely a kicker to it's wonderfulness. Charlotte, Griffin and I went for a nice walk/jog in the cool weather after breakfast. My doctor appointment for Baby was at 10am, or so I thought! We took our time, showed up a little early and the front desk said my appointment was at 9:10am. Opps! That's really not like me. I'm NEVER late, even with a kid and stroller!


Luckily there was a gap her schedule and I was in and out in no time. Baby's heartbeat is really strong, about 160 bpm. For those of you who don't know what that means, it's classified as a high heart rate. Heart rates are usually higher in girls, but I'm sure that's been proven wrong on many occasions. So, speculate away! (You can vote on the right side bar.)


I've gained five pounds so far. Yes, that's good. Although the first time around I was still at ZERO gained pounds at this point. I'll have to hang in there. On the same note, last week I pulled out my maternity clothes. Yikes! My growing belly feels so much better in them. It really has grown faster the second time around, but I was forewarned about that.


On a closing note, baby is growing beautifully and my other baby at home, who's not such a baby anymore, turns 1.5 years old next week. I think I might cry...yesterday I pulled her out of the car (she was at Grandma's all day) and I think she actually grew during the day. Oh my goodness.


Baby #2 has a lot to live up to...this one's pretty darn cute...

field of lavender quilt FINISHED!

Finally, my first queen sized quilt, finished! I've titled this "Field of Lavender" as the purples and greens remind me of a field of lavender. Most of the fabric is Basic Grey 'Eva' for Moda. The solid is a purple sheet from Target. The backing has a strip of pieced fabric and an additional choice from Joanne Fabric. (I save money where I can...) The binding is also pieced fabric and it's an all over stipple.

I am so please with how this turned out. In a few places, the tension on the backside, but I'll get that figured out with time. I have one matching throw pillow and need to make another one as well.

YES!!

Finally, baby #2 photo!

Poor second child...here's a photo finally! I can't believe I forgot to share it with you. I did, however, already buy a baby book and start a journal, so there. This photo is baby #2 at abour 7.5 weeks. At that point, we were unsure of the due date. Right now I am already 15 weeks. Yes, that's two weeks into the second trimester already!

Things are going great and I feel good. My energy is back and we are just cooking along here.

color wheel quilt - finished

I am in love with this quilt!! My stippling still needs a lot of work, but it really turned out good. I love all the colors in this one. The quilt fits a twin bed, sized around 77x99 (I think). Scrappy binding and strip down the back. The backing is a $3 sheet from Wal-Mart. Sometimes, cheap is good! This is the third quilt for the cabin bunk room right now. Probably Charlotte's bed...

(Note: To view the full photo, click on it, or visit the Flickr site)

ear infections are no fun

Seventeen months into this deal and I'm still learning the ropes. Hindsight....ah. Friday night I stayed at my mom's house. Charlotte had been irritable all day long, and really, all week long. I thought it was due to our long weekend of camping and traveling to Madison. Alas, it was not. She hadn't really eaten anything last week and would not nap or go to bed on Friday night and had a 100 degree fever on Thursday. Grandma decided that she had an ear infection. Of course, I listened, she's usually right about medical things.

Friday night we drove to Urgent Care at 8:45pm to get her looked at. The physician on call was mom's Internist, so the evening was actually enjoyable. Sure enough, an ear infection it was. A quick drive through Walgreens and we were on our way home. Charlotte fell asleep in my arms and slept through the night. She was also a good sleeper on Saturday and by Sunday, she was her chipper self again.

Looking back at last week and our camping trip....she's probably had an ear infection for a week!! Oh man....bad mommy. That's why she was screaming to sleep while we were camping and that's why she was really grumpy during swim lessons and was mad about going off the diving board. I feel terrible that I made her swim last week!

But, she's ok now and I've promised to do better and noticing these things much sooner.

video: going off the diving board!

video: going off the diving board!
Originally uploaded by [griff] [griff] 'n [chuck]

This might look really cruel to you, but I assure you this is the third time she's gone off the board. It was during the end of our second week of swim class. Her teacher is in the water to catch her. Today she was pretty grumpy and fought to go off. The other two days she was a pretty good sport. Wow, am I proud of her! What a sport!