In a word: HANDS! Charlie has discovered his hand. He can use them to play, to grab things, to take things, to use as a chew toy, and to use as instruments! In the last couple days, this has also moved to his toes. He rolls his little chubby feet in circles! It's adorable!
Charlie is a tummy sleeper who despises sleep. So we have to "trick" him into sleeping, by putting him in the swing or bouncer. He will fall asleep in both, but he's bound and determined to roll onto his tummy!
LOVIN' bath time and splashing!
He so badly wants to get moving! When being held, he will flex his legs, and he can stand (being held, of course) and hold his own weight (which is a lot!).
Carter was "hiding" because she didn't want to get sucked up by the vacuum! What an imagination!
Banana = delicious!
Carrots = even better!
While I was talking to Carter, quick, sneaky little Charlie grabbed my banana spoon ...
... and attempted to feed himself. He knew the spoon came to his mouth, but he couldn't get it there. He got his fist instead, which he enjoyed, and dropped the spoon.
Guess who got an adorable spring haircut?! What a doll!
THIS is why lunch takes an hour! Carter talks to Charlie, Charlie "talks" to Carter. These two are bonded, that's for sure!
Carter and Charlie were helping me with laundry. I put Charlie on Carter's bed, and she came to play with him. She had this purple shoelace, and she'd give it to Charlie. He would grab it and pull it away from her. She'd laugh and get it back, which made him giggle. They traded back and forth for quite some time!
Two of the sweetest, orneriest, goofiest and most lovable kids you'll ever meet!
... and a hopeful sign of spring! The snow is gone (except a pile in the backyard, but it had been six feet tall, it'll take a bit to melt!), and it's sunny and pretty outside again. There's hope that one day we'll be playing at the park and swimming at the pool again!
The Chalupa crew celebrate Grandma Linda's 59th birthday in true Chalupa-style: lots of friends and family, of food! The grandbabies all got to hang out and play, too!
Happy birthday weekend, Grandma! We hope you had a wonderful time, a perfect birthday, and many, many more to come!
Charlie (22 weeks) and cousin Owen (12 weeks), having fun together
Big ol' Charlie trying to eat itty-bitty Owen!
Pals! (seriously, how stinkin' CUTE are these two?!!)
Carter and Courtney, stealing flowers from the cake and being adorable!
Yes, Marissa was there, too, being sweet, snuggly and adorable. But I'm a bad aunt and didn't get them all together! Next time, promise!
Charlie is playing with intention, and he's using his fingers to pull and to grab. And, he's into chewing anything he can get into his chubby little mouth!
Pal'ing with Daddy
Carter & Daddy match today!
What a bunch of cutie-patooties!
LOVING the Jumping Johnny!
LOVE that we get all dressed up, even curling our hair, for daycare pictures ... then she's a total cheeser!!
Kelsey, Grant, Collin and Nora - the whole crew! - came up for a day at the science center. Other than dealing with St. Patrick's day parade madness, it was a wonderful day of smiles, adventures and science! Thanks for visiting, guys! Love ya!
Nora and Charlie, "sharing" the toy
The girl at the entryway was organizing a rocket display - Carter stomped the air bag and sent the rocket flying!
Master Bubble-Maker
Charlie liked all the sights and sounds, too
LOVE, love the pokey thing. She still remembers Daddy giving her a High 5 from last year!
The family may have expanded, but our traditional spring break trip to Minnesota has continued.
Charlie did great on his first big adventure. He didn't seem to mind the lengthy car ride at all! Carter had a blast, as always. She was brave and rode the kid's roller coaster (which she hated, but she gets credit for trying it!). Her favorite was the Backyardigan's swing ride. And, as always, the pool was a HIT!
Hey, guys! You have the wrong suits on!!
Smiling, happy babies!
Creepy faces
Tradition dictates there must be table-side guacamole
Ready to hit the pool with noodle in hand!!!
Sleepy baby did not go with us to the pool Friday night. He needed his beauty rest!
GOOD MORNING, Mall of America!
Lovin' Lego Land!
Carter loved the balloon ride!
THINK HAPPY!
Charlie didn't meet the minimum height requirement for anything but his stroller (DUH!), but he sure did enjoy taking it all in!
Hanging out while Andy and Carter ride the big swings
It's a BABY BUNNY!
Riding the Wonder Pets' Flyboat ...
Check out the face (under the hair!): priceless!
"Petting" butterflies at Butterfly Bay, easily the coolest part of the day!
Charlie thought it was pretty cool, too!
A blue butterfly even landed on Charlie's hand (that's the blur thing)
He liked it (or was thinking of eating them!)
A Carter-kiss for the butterflies!
Carter was able to hold still long enough to allow a butterfly to land on her shoulder.
Everyone! To the pool!
This kid is nutso over swimming!
This one ... not so much (yet!)
Splish splash!
In the end, Charlie started to warm up to the idea of being in the pool. I wouldn't say he loved it, but he didn't pout!
Carter, on the other hand, could swim all night long! She was "so tired" we had to "relax" pool side for a bit!
... good thing he isn't self-conscious yet!!! What a cute little chubby-fish!
Madi Anderson turns 8, and Carter wouldn't have spent the day any other way than celebrating with her BFF (and 15 other girls!!!). Janine, with the help of the wonderful women in her family, hosted a "spa party" for the girls. They all had a great time! Other than getting lost (I always end up lost!), it was a wonderful day! Happy birthday, Madi!!! We love ya, Girl!
Janine numbered the girls off into four groups. Carter's first "station" was Spin the Nail Polish Bottle. One girl spun, and the one who it pointed at had to paint one finger nail the color that was spun. Result: cute rainbow fingers!
Station two was the facial area. The girls put on face exfoliant, then took a break with cucumbers on their eyes!
Carter wasn't having it initially, but once she decided it was "very nice," she didn't want to get back up!
The birthday girl, Madi, after getting her hair done. The awesome thing about being a mom to a kiddo is that your child can go play with other children, then you get to LEAVE the annoying ones. Madi is so not that kid (rest assured - if you're reading this, your kid or kids are not the ones that annoy me! That's a story for another day!). She's a great kiddo, a wonderful pal to Carter, and a friend I would trust unconditionally!
Carter's third station was the flip flop clinic. Janine got a pair of flip flops and six tons of ribbon to make funky flip flops for each girl. Despite having some manufacturing issues on our part, the flip flops were really cute! Carter's turned out great, and she loves them (in fact, she insisted on wearing them to Target later ... in the 37 degree rain!!)
Carter's final station was hair. How old does she suddenly look?!! This tousled look will be her signature style one day! What a gorgeous little girl!!
Bring on the presents! Madi is one lucky little girl!
Then cake! Janine made flip flop cake and cupcakes. Super cute!
The rice cereal situation is getting better. It's hit and miss, really, I think! Last night, we tried a couple bites of greeny beanies, and Charlie seemed to like those. Soon, it'll be candy bars and burgers!
Charlie tip-toed into Carter's room to wake her up Saturday morning. These guys are two sweet little peas in a pod!
As Andy tried to get Charlie to take bites of cereal, he would tongue them over, spit half out and longingly gaze at his bottle!
Carter, dancing and singing to Miley Cyrus' Party in the USA
This afternoon was watch at dance day, a time for parents and families to come into the studio to watch their little dancers in action. As usual, Carter didn't let us down!
Carter is not the most delicate of dancers. She lacks a certain ... gentle nature. But she brought me to mommy-tears this afternoon. She has made so much progress from this time last year. There are five other girls in her tap/ballet class, she is the oldest, and she has the advantage of having one year under her belt. And she adores Miss Kalie, the teen helper in class, and Miss Evie, her instructor. Don't get me wrong: I fully understand that Carter is never going to be a Broadway dancer. But she's made huge improvements over the past year, and I'm oh-so-proud of her!
Here's a secret: I hate the snow. Not really the snow, but the cold that snow requires. So, I'm not a huge fan of playing in the cold with Carter. But, I'm trying! So we've started to carve out a "snow tunnel." I figured it'd be really easy and fun. It's only sort of one of those things!
Where to start? We got shovels and started digging a hole in the massive snow pile
Carter wanted the "big shovel" ...
... but it proved to be too big for her, as she fell numerous times trying to get a hold of it!
"I'M QUEEN OF THE MOUNTAIN!!" ... only because I let you be, twerp!
