Everybody knows I have been dreaming about Charlie’s “Big Girl Room” for months now. As soon as a home of our own became a closer reality, I have been brainstorming paint colors, themes, and all kinds of kooky accessories. The bottom line is that Charlie’s BGR is where she will, as a preschooler, kindergartner, etc., dream all of her big dreams. It will be her room until she’s a teenager and has her own opinion about decor…which better not happen before she hits puberty (ha!). I want it to be a festival of colors, textures, and pure fun.

I admit it, it’s pretty fun for me, too. The worry is that I’ll get attached to something and then change my mind when the BGR is a tomorrow reality. So, in order to keep things fresh, I am making a list of my must-have’s:

1. Super-colorful bedding
2. A jewelbox chandelier
3. A shaggy rug
4. Blue and pink walls separated with a white chair rail (blue on top, pink on bottom)
5. An ornate but antiquey mirror I can spray paint a kooky color

That’s it so far. I’ve been thinking about this bedding now for a little while, and it might be time to pull the trigger. It really is…just perfect.

Poor Charlie. Mommy had the best of intentions this morning. I found out that our neighborhood pool opened on Friday morning, and had it on my calendar to go at 11 am (during the Mom & Tot Swim hour) and show this little gal a great time in the water.

What I wasn’t prepared for, was how COLD the water would be. Call me crazy, I thought it might be heated…I mean, pools in Texas are heated, aren’t they?? At any rate, I did get in as far as my waist but Charlie would not go past her ankles. We stayed in the water for about 15 minutes, so with parking, changing, waiting, etc…a lot of effort for Charlie to dip her feet in the water and cling to me for dear life. I purposely didn’t sign her up for another round of Aquababies at my gym this summer because I wanted something a little less scheduled, but they at least have a lovely, heated pool. I’m starting to have second thoughts about that decision.

Looks like this may be an activity best saved for those 90 degree days…which at this point, don’t seem to be happening anytime soon.

Charlie is wearing the cute swimsuit I bought her in Hawaii. Good thing Mimi suggested pulling it out now…it’s a 2T and she’s got NO room to grown in it!! Never fear though, you know she has a stockpile of swimsuits just waiting to be worn. Guess we’d better figure this pool thing out!!

Yesterday, Daddy assembled Charlie’s brand new Step 2 wagon. We got the idea from Ms. Megan and Lindsay, after a really fun wagon ride we had with them last month. It was sunny and we decided to walk down to Ribfest (one of the neighborhood street festivals) and see what we could scare up. Unfortunately, Ribfest didn’t appear to be “wagon-friendly” (too many people) so we made a stop at Starbucks so Mommy could get a frap and then rode on home.

These pictures make me laugh because Charlie does look like a bit of a diva riding by herself. She actually lasted for quite awhile without getting fidgety. A great alternative to the stroller!!

Friday Ms. Megan and I went for another round of what I call Power Strollerin’…it was a beautiful day and we didn’t let it go to waste. A long walk South to Roscoe Village (a really cute ‘hood), a quick stop at the park, and a long yummy brunch made this a perfect afternoon.

The girls loved their time at the park, and as you can see, Charlie is obsessed with the slide…that is, going UP the slide. She was too scared to come down the slide, so she just practiced her stairs.

If you needed one more reason to book Leigh for your family photo shoot, here it is. She made us this amazing collage of Charlie, and I can’t wait to see it in person. Stunning, isn’t it??

Yesterday, Charlie posed in her too-cute new shirt from Carter’s…I just love it (excuse the bars behind her, gotta love the city, right??)!!! Later on, the sun made it’s appearance and we spent the afternoon in the backyard. We even had impromptu visits from Ethan, Henry, and little Miss Olivia! The kids ran around the backyard and screamed and did their usual thing.

This morning we woke to yet another dreary, no good, yucky rainy day. I am starting to think we will NEVER see sun here in Chicago. I mean, it’s JUNE 11th, for goodness sakes! I’m afraid our walk with Ms. Megan and Lindsay got pushed to tomorrow, so it’s a PJ day here in the Bischoff house. I do love being out and about, but there’s nothing like the comforts of home. Off to pour myself some coffee (1/2 caff, of course, in case you were wondering)…

A continuation of Tuesday’s events…

This morning my Mom’s Group outing took a detour when we all discovered it was too wet to go to the park. Fantasy Kingdom, here we come! Fantasy Kingdom is kind of like an indoor amusement park, except there are no “rides”. Everything is geared towards little ones. It was seriously a workout keeping up with Charlie as she fought to play with all the big kids. Eventually Ms. Megan and I had to take the girls to the “baby area” so that we could just sit down and relax!

After some intense playtime, we had lunch and Charlie and I headed home to get things ready for little Miss Emilyn, who came to play this afternoon. Lucky me, both girls have been asleep since 1:30 pm, and it’s now 4 pm. Kinda weird to walk down the hall and realize that there are two sleeping toddlers in the house…I guess a sign of what’s to come!

Here are some truly funny pics of Charlie and Lindsay having a ball…