Perfect St. Patty's day

Happy St. Patty's Day.  This year St. P rocked out some great weather I think my NEW Honda CRV told me it was 78* when we went to the park!! Yes, we got a new ride and I'm in love! Last week we started "looking" at cars and it was between the Rav-4 or the CRV.  We went back and forth and Tues 3-15 we were "dropping the Rav-4 back off and not making any decisions" and ended up getting the CRV... I know, craziness happened all in 2 hrs.  It was raining, I didn't get to say goodbye to my junker (Gav wouldn't even take a picture of her when we drove off) I'm a new woman rockin out the CRV.  I had to get new sunglasses for us hotties now that we are in a "cool" ride.  We look good in it - me and my little partner! I need to stop finding reasons to drive somewhere and jam with the windows (and sunroof..heehee) down!!  Charlee just chills in the back with her shades on!! OK-sorry back to St. Patty...

We went to the park and met Amber and Morgie there! The girls played and had a blast.  Jenny and Gaeton were there too.  Em still was prego and trying her best to walk herself into labor... didn't work until Sun!! Family is doing wonderful, Berkeley has lots of dark hair like Charlee did.  Congrats to the little family.  We did go visit and just when I thought Charlee would let me hold and cuddle... she wasn't having it! And she was really concerned that she dozed off and let her passy fall out of her mouth.  This was making Charlee crazy she just wanted to give it back to her "oh-no papskee" So I got to hold her for about 1 min.  Baby's are so precious! So tiny, I can barely remember Charlee being that little.  Man- I'm just scattered tonight... again, back to the park... 

Charlee didn't miss a beat in the last 6 months that she had been away.  She ran right up the steps and down the slide this time she was a little more stable and didn't want or need my help at all.  She is a big girl and mastered the "toddler playground" it made me a little sad that she was up and down and only came to me when she needed a drink to re-hydrate.  We were there for 3 hours and she was so excited she couldn't eat any snacks... too busy wearing her little self out.  The weather made everyone feel awesome.  I think I came out of my "seasonal depression" after I got a taste of what is soon to be the norm.  There is something about the warm sun and fresh air that makes everyone feel rejuvenated!! I loved it. 

she went down on her belly several times before she thought she could go forward... not sure why! I love this picture:

How cute is this:

Gaeton showed up and was a pro at the playground too!!

She doesn't know what to do with herself she is so happy!

She couldn't make it another 15 min to wait on Gabbie and Alex to join us... she was so tired she was wanting me to hold her and couldn't help laying her head down for a sec or two! We got in the car and she was asleep before we got home (about 3 miles).

We drove past Brandy's and I could have called it... she was sitting out in the driveway trying to get burnt!! But best part... you could see a baby bump! Scrubs hide that so I caught her actually looking prego! Yay and she thought a stranger was pulling into the drive because she always gets the pleasure of the junker taking her to work! She loved the new car too!!

We spent the night watching tournament games and eating pizza while little ones played and made a huge mess but it was okay because it was nice out so nothing could bring me down.  Nothing... not even that my bracket went to crap!

Side note: Just so I can remember this event happened - Erins bachelorette party was last Saturday! Fun times! I'm pretty sure I'll be revisiting Talbot Street! Wow is all i can say!

Carmel Apples and Jessie Boots

I have been slacking on the updating.  We have just been hanging out inside hoping and praying for warm weather.  We had a few days we stayed in jammies.  We tried carmel with apples... and Charlee just wanted the carmel.  We have been working on our forward roll and she will now put her hands down and tuck her head waiting for us to flip her over! Cant push herself over yet...

Favorite shows right now are Doda and Boots, Guppies, Mickey, and Cake! She will randomly want to watch her shows in our bed covers and all.  Maybe its when she is tired and needs a 30min "rest."

Loved it... as you can see!

We are now working on our ABC's.  Counting to 10 forward and backward is almost mastered!! Circle, heart, square, star, moon, and sun are mastered.  Movin on... and don't be confused we don't have class time she just started asking me shapes playing with her handy Manny tools! And counting is from Strawberry Shortcake... she has memorized parts of this show and its to the point where she is acting it out in front of the screen.  Her timing is spot on and she knows when her favorite parts are coming up... she will come sprinting from the living room to sneeze at the same time as one of the girls on the show.  Hilarious.  She claps on rhythm with "If your happy and you know it..."  Its really nuts, I just think she is a sponge absorbing anything we give her and sometimes I feel like I should have a classroom full of educational stuff and i should be stimulating her more than I do.  But I don't want to have "Class time" I just want her to learn whatever she wants at her own speed.
Potty training is next... she tells me when she goes so we tried panties again to see if she was ready.  Nope she peed all over Minnie and didn't care! :) Maybe soon.

This picture is for G. Grandpa Walt... I know he loves her passy in pictures so she added a second! Talented

I had a random day of baking... Pineapple upside down cupcakes (need to be eaten out of the oven) and homemade vanilla with vanilla icing colored green for the upcoming holiday.

We took Charlee to Poppy and Mae Mae's house while we went to dinner at Outback and then to the Honda dealership to price some cars! My car is just comical.  Over the years its been a pain in my rear.  Its also served its purpose and has gotten me back and forth from nursing school for 4 years in Lafayette and taken some beatings along the way but the last few years its gotten ridiculous.  Duct tape is holding Charlees window up (she just discovered how to roll her window down with her foot... so it goes down and doesn't go up) my drivers side mirror has been broken off twice- sad part about that is that I did it once when it was frozen and I tried to help the tow-truck driver load it and slipped and grabbed my mirror for balance... the bolts just snapped because it was so cold.  Second time I came out from Target and it was hanging and Gavin put it back only for him to "gently touch it" and it came off again... so I just left it off.  Then a few Christmas' ago I was working and when I came out to the garage my hubcap was missing. Merry Christmas to whoever needed a hubcap... and after that... It was just silly to fix anything.  A few days ago my blower went out and its still freezing out so we had to get that fixed and my turn signal just clicks away randomly and that my friend is so annoying it makes me crazy.  So it was in the shop for a while. Thankfully it was an easy fix but we still were looking, because its time for a new car.  No its past time.  So on the way home we stopped at DQ for a treat... Charlee loved it.

I heard her yelling "stuck" and glanced over to find this:

How did she get up there? Not sure... but she is a climber so i didn't ask her to do it again.

Oh how could I forget:  Jessie Boots are her fav shoes now.  They are a size too big so double layering of socks helps.  But she still looks like she is 80 shuffling around the house because she isn't used to how big they are and they have a tiny heel.  Haha they stay on at all times.  If one falls off... "booooooots" Its kinda great!

You can see the concentration in her face... with tongue out! She is used to running everywhere so this is new for her.

I think she is boy-crazy already.  She got real shy and hardly said a word around Joshie.  March Madness has started so games are always on.  Josh and Scott came to watch a few.  Josh won her over with some cookies. Speaking of the games... this might be the worst bracket I have ever filled out.  Its just a disaster, I was hanging in there at 4th but its over now i must be last.

Again... in her jammies.  They go nicely with Ariel's hair.

Cinderella

Its been a while since I have updated the blog, sorry about that... its been kinda busy and I just haven't taken my camera everywhere.  My mom even said "No camera today" - of course then I wished I had it! We cleaned and enjoyed some 50* weather last week, only to be congratulated with some snow flurries... I'm over it! I don't know how else to deal with this but I'm willing to work overtime to get one of those lights that look like a Bili light/tanning bed light for my seasonal depression.  Its becoming a problem and I cant help but wonder what it would be like to actually enjoy January and February.  Those two months are brutal... what a waste, we should move.  Well okay Gavin pointed out that I wouldn't move because when you weigh it out family always makes the scale drop on one side to the degree that anything you try to put on the other side doesn't even elicit a budge.  I tried adding Hawaii to the other side... and then the distance from family just backfired my plan to make one side amazing, somehow it benefited the family side again.  We need to win the lottery... and have a home in Florida for Jan-March.  I would quit work and Charlee wouldn't go to school, she is smart enough! I'm not sure how Gavin would swing living in Florida for Jan and Feb... poor Daddy! 

I keep telling people (dad, grandma kost, friends at work...) that Charlee isn't at a great age for public lunch/dinner dates.  I guess they think I'm making it up.  I will risk it every now and again thinking my Marry Poppins diaper bag will keep her at bay long enough to get through a meal and I just get embarrassed at how quickly she derails all my best efforts like I'm an amateur.  I sometimes just laugh, other times I grab her and bail because EVERYONE is looking at me with those glances that suggest I'm beating her or cant get my parenting in check.  Either one combined with the seasonal depression... epic fail of the week.  Don't worry we will get back on the horse next week.  She did do pretty well at McAlisters with dad last Friday.  She was playing with stickers... she gets them now! The fact that they were sticky would throw her a little, but now she is sticking them everywhere.  She gave a whole sheet to the little boy behind her... she can share!! But yesterday with Amber and Morgan... it was a scene a few times.  I had her "trapped" in the inside of a booth and Color wonder (awesome, just discovered it) kept her busy while I ordered and then randomly when our food came she thought she needed to get out of the booth and would try to climb over me (ketchup hands and all) She might have started in a three-point stance at one point, but I was trying to keep ketchup off everyone.  Amber helped with a plate or two... but she pretty much was "Crazy-town" and I know I cant use this every time she is being a diva, but she was asleep before we got to 40.  Precious Morgan was just sittin in her seat chowin down and being perfectly quiet... no joke... she was perfect.  I'm sure she is like that all the time.  The girls are only 12 days apart but they are night and day and they don't really play together yet but both get excited to see each other.  I'm pretty sure I heard Amber say... "I can see why you wouldn't want to take her out by yourself" - yes, she is nuts!  Honestly, I don't know what else to do I make her stay in the booth, but the fit that comes with it makes me feel helpless, thankfully its very short lived and she gets over it, but she will try again in about 5 min.  What do you do?  Put your hand over her mouth and follow it up with a head-lock? I'm actually okay with it, she is very independent and has a vibrant personality and I wouldn't want it any other way.  I'll take it even if we have to eat at home for a while... Ill take all of it, everyday!!

We had a little play date with Alex on Friday... and we got out the dresses that have been in a drawer since Christmas because they were too big, but we busted them out for the girls to try out.  They were still a little big, but they enjoyed them for 5 min or so.  Charlee kept pulling on the top part (it was itchy I'm sure) so she could care less about it.  It was fun for a few pictures. She was concerned that she couldn't walk as fast as she would like. 

I thought this was hilarious... not sure why, but a little princess walking through the kitchen was funny

Really Girl Scouts? Why must you make such a yummy cookie? I avoided all moms with their daughters cookie sheets at work... I didn't get a little scout knocking at my door... thought I was in the clear...But this weekend my mom while I was in the bathroom (otherwise I would have told her to keep walkin) decided to cave at the entrance to Penny's when the cute little scouts sucked her in.  NO!! I think it was like 2 min before they were opened.  UHH... and with these little darlings you cant just eat a few... its a roll.

My baby is a little dangerous with a ball.  She is good at throwing... she thinks she needs to be less than a foot from you to throw it.  I keep pushing her back and she gets sad like I'm pushing her away... so I let her fire it at nose-breaking range.

She thinks its funny when she hits a wall or body part... She finds it humorous when others get injured (or act like it-we do that a lot- prob too much) I'll keep doing it if she keeps belly laughing at me... trust in that.

I'm going to start sitting like this... at work... waiting in line... talking to people...

Cheese...

Yeah she doesn't need help turning on the light anymore...

And... last night Gavin and I were eating Firehouse subs after her gymnastics class and she was watchin some "Cake" (Strawberry shortcake) before her bath and she started crying all weird, like something was wrong... and Gavin shot up to look at her and his face terrified me into panic like she was losing a limb or about to.  She was standing on that white wicker table with the lamp.  I'm sure she was all inspired by her gymnastics class, but I cant figure out how she did it.  Seriously...

On a side note: I'm super obsessed with Zac Brown Band and would love to see them, but they aren't coming to Indy anytime soon.  This has gotten me and my sisters concert obsessed so we are going to Taylor Swift in July and we are getting the Mega Ticket too I think.  I'm super freakishly excited about this.  I just want it to be warm out... I think my sanity might depend on it.  That is scary for everyone involved.  I'm running out of ideas to keep her busy inside the house.  The only thing she gets crazy happy about is Bubble Guppies.  I'm kinda sad that Mickey has taken a back seat to this new show, but not really... I love you Mic, but a little variety never hurt anyone.  She still carries you around so your not forgotten. AND Bubble Guppies is really cute.  Check it out if you have littles, you will be singing the theme song in no time. Just click this- Bubble Guppies 

Have a great hump day!!