Month: March 2009

“Violet! You’re turning violet, Violet!!”

Today was such a fun day! Last fall, Ms. Liz and I strapped the babies to our bodies and ventured out to Wheaton for a great consignment sale called Best Brands Resale (www.bestbrandsresale.com). It’s a madhouse, let me tell you….women elbowing each other for baby bargains. We had so much fun last time that when I received the email about their spring sale, I forwarded it on to see if we might go again, the challenge being the girls are obviously too big to strap to our persons. Luckily, our dear friend Ms. Heather agreed to not only drive us out there, but stay in the car with the girls while we hunted. So sweet is this friend, that she played kid’s music the whole way and back and had to listen to Charlie scream and generally be on her worst behavior. Why is Charlie being a little pill, you might ask? I think the answer is: Just because she can, and wants to be.After the sale, in which I came away with a little bit lighter wallet, we managed a hurried lunch at The Olive Garden. I am fortunate to lunch with mom’s who have it together, or at least have a few tricks up their sleeves…right at the point I thought Charlie might spontaneously combust, Ms. Liz pulled out the Dum-Dum suckers. Now, Charlie has never had one of these. Not for any particular reason except that I have none in the house…but not until now do I realize the magic power of the sucker. As you can see, it looks like C is about to turn into a blueberry, a.k.a. Violet Beauregarde from “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory”…and it took me forever to get the sticky goo off of her fingers, but man, if it didn’t do the trick. Pure magic!!

Ladies (and Babies) who Lunch

This morning some of the girls joined me for a belated birthday lunch at one of my favorite places, Wishbone. Some of these gals I have known since our single days…back when I first started going to 20somethings (the singles ministry) at Park Community Church! Clockwise from the top we have Ms. Colleen and her little girl Anna, Ms. Liz and her almost 2 year old, Lauren, Ms. Lauren and her newborn, Georgia, and Ms. Megan and her little one Lindsay. We still can’t believe we all had girls!! We are officially, ladies who lunch.

Pinkie Big Ruffles

Ok, I know that many of you will not be AS excited as I am about these pictures, but I just love seeing Charlie in something I’ve had packed away for awhile! These “Pinkie Big Ruffles” were my very first Matilda Jane purchase. Seriously, I have loved these little pants from the moment I saw them when Charlie was just six months old. I pulled them out of a box yesterday, washed and dried them (they were a bit long) and now, voila!! Perfect!! Paired with her striped lap dress from MJ, she just looks as sweet as can be, doesn’t she? I think that big ruffle pants might be my favorite item of clothing for little girlie’s…

*Edited to Add: Charlie is feeling much better, thanks so much for the inquiries and prayers. Her fever has stayed well under the 100 degree mark and it looks like she is on the other side of this “sickness”. She’s still pretty cranky though…I’m hoping she is in a much better mood tomorrow as some of the gals and their babes are joining us for a tasty lunch at Wishbone, my favorite!!*

Playdate at the Park

Yesterday afternoon Charlie and I walked to the park with the Jernigan boys and their Mommy, Ms. Jennifer. It was almost 70 degrees yesterday and absolutely a crime to be inside! After getting the rest of the much-needed cleaning done in the apartment, we loaded up with tons of snacks and made our way to the very crowded neighborhood park down the street. Charlie was still not feeling 100% and was pretty cranky, but she did warm up towards the end of our stay and let me set her down to walk a bit. She and Henry shared a bag of Cheez-it’s.

Happy Bday, little Lindsay!!

Saturday afternoon we attended Baby Lindsay’s 1st birthday party, Hello Kitty style! The birthday girl was decked out in some darling Bailey Boys (if you know me, you know how much I looove that brand) and her Mommy, Ms. Megan made this amazing Hello Kitty cake FROM SCRATCH. How cool is that??

Unfortunately, as we now know, Charlie was not quite herself at the party. The next day she woke up with a 101 degree fever. We aren’t sure if this came about as a result of her vaccines on Friday, or just the time of year/yuckiness going around…but she’s been pretty miserable for the past two days. Our plans to organize and clean today were put on hold as she awoke with a fever of 103. We made an impromptu trip to the Dr. and our plan is to just wait and watch. So far tonight, I’ve given my baby a lukewarm bath and we’ve woken her up twice to keep the meds round-the-clock. I’m sure she will be fine in the next 48 (or hopefully 24) hours…but it is so sad watching your little one struggle so much.

In the pictures below, Charlie is sporting her new kitty smocked dress, in honor of Lindsay’s love of her two kitty BROTHER’S, Sydney and Stanford. Her eyes look a bit glassy, and her behavior now makes a lot more sense. At any rate, we had a wonderful time at the party and the cake was delicious!!! Happy Birthday, Lindsay!!

In other news, we are SUPER excited for our little anniversary getaway this coming Saturday night. As of March 25th, Vann and I will have been married for 3 years! Unbelievable!! Luckily, Mr. Craig and Ms. Lauren had a great recommendation for us, The Herrington Inn, in Geneva, Illinois. It is only 45 minutes away and is supposed to be really lovely. Pray that Charlie will be feeling much better by this weekend. Mr. Ben and Ms. Kim are keeping Charlie for the night…it will be her very first sleepover!!! We are so anxious and excited to have a quiet night away. Check out The Herrington Inn at http://www.herringtoninn.com/.

The Birthday Blues

Before Manderpalooza….

After Manderpalooza….

So, as my birthday week comes to a close, I am slightly melancholy at how fast this last year flew by. I always feel like I suffer from the post-birthday blues, as it’s so lovely to receive cards and wishes from the people that love you. It’s not everyday that it gets to be all about you…wedding days and babies being born run a close second, as tokens of appreciation seem to overflow…but birthdays are just fun and special and I’ve always loved them.

Wednesday night my dear friends Emily and Kate took me to a darling French bistro for many glasses of wine and some coq au vin, which was so delicious! We laughed and had the best time. They generously gave me an IOU for a Saturday “girl’s day”, including a mani/pedi gift certificate and money towards cupcakes at Sweet Mandy B’s. Something to look forward to as the cold days seem to drag on and on!

Vann’s last class of the quarter is today. It would be a huge understatement to say that I’m happy about that. We’ve had some pretty late nights this week…I am a natural night owl, and would love any reason to stay up, and with Vann typing away until midnight or so, I’m more than happy to work my way through a whole season of “24”. This is NOT good for the morning routine, however, and my gym attendance and general “taking care of myself” is suffering. I will be happy to have a couple weeks to get our life and house in order before he is back at it.

18 months and Counting….

Charlie went to the doctor today! Here are her stats:

Height: 32 inches
Weight: 22 pounds

She is in the 20th percentile for her weight, and 60th for her height. Aw…little peanut!! She finally broke 20 pounds.

Here she is in the sweetest little cat pants and a beret that Poppy picked out for her at the beginning of last fall. You’ll also see these little pants on Charlie’s friend, Lindsay. Great minds think alike!