pitter pats.

thankful for...

2011-11-07T09:47:00.003-06:00

in working on a little thanksgiving project

(since i was overcome with pregnancy laziness

and didn't accomplish any halloween craftiness)

i asked my bug

what she was thankful for.

after a long puase

she looked at me and replied,

"donuts".

punkins for my punkin (and a few other minor details).

2011-10-18T10:19:00.002-05:00

i have updated over at spontaneous blah a few times since our adventures in maui, but realized today that i had not updated here. while most of you who read this also read that, here's a brief recap on life inside our home over the course of the last 20-ish weeks...

summer.

sammy.

we lost our sweet sammy girl in early september.

she is greatly missed.

...and into fall...

and there was one other development...

we came back from maui to a positive pregnancy test!

our latest addition will be joining us sometime in early march. i am right at 20 weeks now and, while feeling large, i am also feeling good. we will find out a week from today whether our little bean will sport blue or pink (or in our case, probably green or purple!)

i am definitely missing my energy these days which would account for why my blogs have not been updated as frequently (or my laundry folded as often, or the dishwasher emptied on a regular basis, or the piles of crochet projects piling up)...

but we are entering prime picture season and i hope to do a better job in the coming months!

stay tuned!

just maui'd (and other vacation pictures).

2011-07-07T15:12:00.000-05:00

it's hard to believe that our time in maui has already come and gone. my dad asked me when we returned what my favorite part of the trip was. i couldn't answer that question; there were so many pieces that made up the journey that i treasured...

- early morning roadtrips.
- getting lost on the kahekili highway (and nearly sending the jeep over a cliff)
- marrying my guy for the second time (in a fashion much more fitting for us)
- frequenting lahaina in the evenings and sipping on mocha coconut frappacinos
- exploring the bamboo forest and wondering how many laws we were breaking just to get a glimpse of the water falls.
- moving from sea level to 10,000 feet above sea level and back down again in one morning (and standing above the clouds for an hour).
- trekking through six miles of lava fields to find an private beach (excepting the wild goats which inhabited it) and breathing in the ocean spray with no one in our way.
- swimming with the ancient turtles of the islands
- overcoming my fear (albeit briefly) of open water and swimming out into the rocky reef so i could swim with the turtles!
- macadamia nuts and maui coffee.
- getting up at 4:30 to watch the sunrise.
- the maui swap meet...everything i could ever want from an open air market (including kula corn and golden pineapple).
- the sun on my shoulders, the wind in my hair, the salt on my skin, the sand in my ears.

i'm a little sad that it is over, but so grateful for the experience. i hope to write more about our "wedding" on my other blog, but for now, i will leave you with some of my favorite shots and moments from our tropical adventures.

morning yoga on the first day. tree by a tree.

somewhere on the highway to hell...

what's hard to understand is that the road was literally the width of our jeep.

on the day we got 'maui'd', it rained...just as it did on our wedding day ten years ago.

just the right size for an umbrella!

the artist at work...

pretty sure we were breaking laws here...

i, surprisingly, don't look as terrified as i was. i was certain one of us was going to blow off the side of the cliff...

black and white sand: the result of bleached coral and lava rock.

c'mon...it's kinda funny.

bill took an ungodly amount of pictures of waves...be sure to check out his facebook page.

beach yoga rocks.

on our final night, a final sunset.

our hawaiian wedding.

my aloha.

i cannot wait to go back.

summer.

2011-06-13T22:11:00.000-05:00

i was certain that, once school was out, my house would be clean, my life more organized, myself more productive.

i can't imagine why that hasn't happened yet...

i will say this about summer so far; we are getting lots of exercise with frequent bike rides to nanny and papa's house to insure their pool is being put to good use. i am also getting my runs in again and have tackled my summer reading due to a new bought of insomnia. the house still isn't clean, but my tan is coming along quite nicely...

as a side note...

we recently celebrated the life of pastor stan wierson. stan definitely affected my life with his vision and faith and while my heart is sad that he no longer shares this plane called earth with us, i am overwhelmed with gratitude at the lives he touched (including mine) that led to other lives being touched (including my child's). in honor of his great life, many of us gathered to remember him and the gift he gave us in summer games. can you pick out your old huddle leader?

sing it with me..."i'm glad i am a huddle leader, there's nothing i'd rather be...but if i weren't a huddle leader..."

our cups run over. thank you, stan.

now, i should probably tend to those dishes...

i really really want one...

2011-05-25T10:07:00.000-05:00

typically i reserve this space for 'just us' stuff. but today, i came across another blogger's giveaway that i am absolutely in love with (if you have a toddler, you will relate).

jen over at IHeart Organizing has teamed up with a company called SweetSeat to give away one of these awesome, versatile, necessary and did i mention awesome booster seats. i personally have my eye on the aqua one with red dots. i'm pretty sure bug would love it too.

at this point, anything is better than the worn out high chair we've been using. it has evolved from a nice cushioned high chair+tray to a naked, strapless cruddy 'booster' seat that bug can no longer stand...

in fact the timing on this couldn't be better; i removed the high chair/booster seat from it's assigned seat just last week (note to self: in the future, do this more often...petrified chicken nuggets and play-doh are not much fun to clean...) however, it's absence has left bug with much more freedom to spin around at dinner often causing drama when she bangs her knee against the leg of the table.

i am this close to moving dinner to the living room floor.

anyway...check them out. that is all.

sunday sundaes.

2011-05-23T13:12:00.000-05:00

i have given up making dinner on sundays. this goes back to how i was brought up; popcorn and fudge and the disney family movie on sunday evenings.

sometimes we venture out for our sunday meal frequenting both dairy queen and coldstone creamery. these are the nights i forego my inner health nut in favor of my chocolate addiction.

most sundays, though, you'll find us curled up on the floor watching 'tinkerbell' or 'toy story' for the 3,419th time sticking our sticky chocolate covered fingers into a bowl of popcorn licking up the final moments of our weekend.

some traditions are meant to be kept.

birthday replay.

2011-05-06T10:59:00.000-05:00

the week has been a whirlwind of birthday, sunshine, color and haircut mishaps (for which i sadly don't have pictures to present, yet.) let's just say i paid money for a trim of bug's bangs when i could have cut a much straighter line for free with my fiskars. lesson learned.

onward.

birthday.

charlie's birthday meal (per her request): chik'n nuggets (that's right, the meatless kind), organic mac 'n' cheese, carrots and roasted red pepper hummus. i won't lie. i'm a super proud mom.

thank goodness she finally mastered her fine motor skills enough to demonstrate her new age.

new books! we are avid dr. seuss fans. she's already memorized most of red fish, blue fish.

yes, this is one of those freakish dolls that scares the crap out of you when you walked by it in the toy aisle. it was also the one and only thing she actually asked for for her birthday. the look on her face was worth it.

what a family of three with a three-year old looks like.

sunshine.

we were also very happy to welcome the sun back to the plains and celebrated in great fashion with our friend, lucas.

color.

i'm fairly certain all that sunshine was a result of our fabulous (finished) wreath that we adorned our door with to beckon mother nature.

(note the extra little piece of egg carton that wound up in the center of this one. my child is an advanced crafter).

and on a side-note, i recently finished my own little crafty project and just for fun, here's a peek.

so here's the backstory on these beauties.

during the holiday season, i was bringing my yarn with me to work to stitch away at scarves to be gifted during christmas. one student noticed this and requested i make for him, a pair of hideous leg warmers. i nodded and laughed and put the idea in the bottom of my bag.

within the last two weeks, the student has pestered me non-stop about his legwarmers. so with the yarn leftover from charlie's birthday bunting, i fashioned these. and i kind of liked them. and i was kind of bummed i had to give them away.

but now i have a better idea of how to stitch these on my own. if interested in the pattern, let me know. i'll try to write it out.

i hope your week has been full of sunshine and color as well.

three.

2011-05-02T08:14:00.000-05:00

i don't know what it is about the number 'three', but it is so strange how one day and one number can transform my girl from baby to big girl. yesterday it hit me especially hard when i was remembering this...

...and then turned around to find this...

one thing i have discovered in the last year is that everyone has advice for you when you are pregnant. and after the baby comes, everyone has advice for you about how to deal with a new infant. and then all that input stops. i didn't want advice when i was pregnant. i didn't want advice when my girl fit squarely in the nook of my arm. but could someone please tell me how i deal with this whole business of growing up? 'cause i don't like it. not one bit.

okay. maybe i like it a little bit.

happy birthday, bug.

please shine down on me...

2011-04-26T23:14:00.000-05:00

we are still battling the gloom here in the cornfields. it has lead to a lot of table time and a need to create our own sunshine...

we were fortunate to enjoy a fair amount of fair weather during easter weekend. charlie enjoyed her first official egg hunt and was pleased to find that our fluffy friend did not skimp on the chocolate (although a great deal of it found it's way to the bike shop with daddy...shhh...)

picking up the easter bunny's carrots.

we hope your easter was as blessed as ours!

with easter behind us and a birthday just ahead, we are ready and eager to welcome the sunshine into our lives.

making spring.

2011-04-21T08:05:00.001-05:00

normally, a midwest spring means 60 degree temperatures, tulips in full bloom and lots of park activity after a long day at school. this year, spring has left us teetering on the edge of getting winter coats out again and starting the fire as soon as we get home.

this year cabin fever and spring fever collided.

in an effort to call on mother nature, bug and i decided to make our own spring.

as soon as we polish off the next dozen eggs, we plan to make a dozen more to adorn the spring wreath we will hang on our front door (in hopes that mother nature will take notice and grace us with her presence!)

terrible twos.

2011-04-20T12:55:00.000-05:00

just shy of her third birthday, our girl has entered the phase so often dubbed the 'terrible twos'. my hope, naturally, is that with the passing of her third birthday, this phase will make it's exit as swiftly as it manifested.

however, i am as much a realist as an optimist and know that this is probably not the case.

in recent weeks, charlie's 'listening ears' have been on the fritz. this has resulted in a lot of repeated instructions from me and my guy, several stern conversations following daycare pickup and one high speed chase through the aisles of target that resulted in my girl screaming, 'stop, mommy! my arm! my arm! you're hurting me!'

call DHS.

the biggest frustration in all of this is trying to find a way to make her understand the importance of listening; we've tried positive reinforcement, time-outs (which proved to serve as some kind of reward since she now places herself in the corner), revoked privileges and even threats to her toys ('if you don't listen, teddy gets it.') so far, nothing seems to phase her.

my mother describes her as having a strong will.

i describe her as having her daddy's ADD tendencies and selective hearing loss.

her daddy would argue that she has my moodiness and quick temper.

and yet, despite our frustrations, i wouldn't have it any other way. because at the end of the day, when i hold her close and inhale all the energy that seeps out of her i wouldn't trade grocery aisle chases for solo shopping any day of the week.

so until she turns three and her 'listening ears' return, i guess i should plan on wearing my tennis shoes to the store...

taking a step...

2011-04-19T11:45:00.000-05:00

i have always reserved this little corner for sporadic updates on our little family complete with pictures of our growing girl and all our adventures. recently, i have been craving space to carve out room for all of the ideas that go swimming through my head on a daily basis. my sister site, spontaneous blah, is really much more for me, for my spirit and for all the randomness that consumes my brain. in some ways, it is the one place where i feel i can be the most 'me', absent of titles and obligations.

however, there is that very real and very large part of me that is a mom, a wife, a teacher and a girl who is constantly looking to tap into creativity through all kinds of mediums. from crocheting to scrapbooking to completely redecorating my living room, i am constantly searching for creative outlets and am especially seeking those in which i can involve my girl and my guy.

so with that, pitter pats begins to step in a (slightly) new direction. i look forward to sharing our ideas, projects, activities, creativity and growth with you here.

thawing out.

2011-04-18T12:01:00.000-05:00

i realized today that i hadn't posted since christmas. christmas.

well, needless to say, our lives have continued to move forward. my girl has continued to grow. and as we enter spring, i grow restless and eager and am longing for those summer days when we can just play and create and enjoy each other's company. until then, in chronological order, a few glimpses of life since christmas...

bill's first sitting of his new, hawaiian inspired sleeve.

charlie's really big big-girl bed.

a little something i'm (still) working on...

valentine's day baking.

haircut!

outside!

i love me some outdoor yoga.

namaste.

sitting #2.

cousins.

ella.

celebrating ella's first birthday.

pappy turns 80!

look for more soon. i have a few tricks up my sleeve that i can't wait to test out.

santa baby.

2010-12-17T09:42:00.000-06:00

dear santa,

as you know, charlie jo would like buzz and woody and jesse and bullseye and rex and all of her friends from 'toy story'.

but if you could...

her daddy and i would like her to stop growing up quite so fast.

Despite a lack of cheesy grins, she was very excited to see santa. the best part was watching her watch him while standing in line and when we left the line to use the restroom she shouted for all to hear, "I'll be right back, Santa Claus!"

december views.

2010-12-16T13:14:00.000-06:00

okay, so maybe daily was a bit of a stretch. but here's a few to catch you up to speed...

(this one i am particularly proud of...my first SWEATER!)

nine more days...

6 days of december...

2010-12-06T13:17:00.000-06:00

on spontaneous blah, i attempted to list all of the things for which i was thankful for on a daily basis during the month of november. i was not always successful in my postings, but i did make an effort, and definitely made an effort to find things for which i was thankful for...daily.

this month, i'm hoping to post photos of our day to day lives leading up to our favorite family holiday. we do have great fun. and since it is already the 6th of december, here are a few photos to catch you up to speed...

fun at family weddings.

2010-10-26T10:32:00.000-05:00

i love photo booths.

punkin patch.

2010-10-13T12:47:00.000-05:00

one thing we have done
as a family
since charlie jo was just a little bit
is head to one of our local pumpkin patches
to pick out about a half dozen pumpkins
to carve
and adorn our steps with.
this year was no exception (and we did not miss our winter coats that we donned last year!)
and just for grins and giggles...a few comparison pictures.
my goodness
how my girl has grown.

guess what we did this weekend...

2010-10-04T11:11:00.000-05:00

here are some clues:

did you guess?

our little explorer.

2010-09-13T10:29:00.000-05:00

with the changing of the seasons, we are finding ourselves getting out as often as we can and taking advantage of the fall-like weather (before it turns too cold...because it will, in the blink of an eye!) one thing that bill and i always enjoyed before i got pregnant (and during our tropical vacation last year!) was hiking. we love exploring the trails (and those places just off the beaten path) and have enjoyed introducing charlie to it in the last few weeks. she is quite the explorer and enjoys our forest walks. this is the fun side of 'two' and we are taking advantage of her love of nature!

we have enjoyed exploring some of our local state parks and are hoping to branch out and explore a few more soon. i hope you have all gotten the chance to get out and make new discoveries!

the zoo.

2010-08-20T09:53:00.000-05:00

our summer was simple

and far too short.

but we managed to squeeze in a few things

one of which was a trip to the como zoo in st. paul, mn.

i'm not sure who had more fun...

here are a few of my favorite snapshots from the day.

so hot!

daddy and charlie do 'the scary lion'.

mommy and charlie do 'grumpy gorilla'.

after a long day, curling up with our new friend for 'curious george goes to the zoo'.

more summer snapshots to come...

summertime...

2010-07-06T08:13:00.000-05:00

...and the livin' is easy.
these are just a few of my favorites from our summer so far...

hanging out at old macdonald's farm.

our butterfly garden is finally done!

baby ella came to market with us.

birthday bliss.

2010-05-05T13:41:00.000-05:00

two has been so much fun so far.
thanks to our family who shared the day with us!

two.

2010-04-30T07:41:00.000-05:00

in two days
our baby will be two.
we took her out on the town for a photo shoot;
she didn't disappoint!

happy birthday, bug.

kissing cousins.

2010-04-09T23:36:00.000-05:00

charlie finally got to meet ella this week.

when i asked her what she thought of her new cousin, she replied,
"i like her!"
the next day, when i asked her again about ella she said to me,
"mama, ella pretty."

yes baby, she is. your aunt katie jo and i have both been blessed with beautiful girls.

ella mary.

2010-04-05T08:07:00.000-05:00

charlie is pleased to announce the birth of her cousin (who officially has a name!)

ella mary.

8 lbs. 2 oz.

21 inches long

beautiful girl.

everyone is doing well. ella will remain in the NICU through today at least, but she is in great hands and getting all the love she can handle. continued prayers are always appreciated!

welcome sweet baby girl. you are so very loved and a true blessing for all of us.

days of our lives.

2010-03-14T22:19:00.000-05:00

just a little bit of us on a day to day.

meet dorothy, our newest 'addition' to the family. we're hopeful she likes us and chooses to live for a bit.

big dorks.

2010-03-03T09:52:00.000-06:00

we are just a bunch of big dorks.

scenes from a snow day.

2010-02-09T17:44:00.001-06:00

i know i will complain in june

but i honestly love the chance to spend a day with my best good girl.

it doesn't take much to entertain us

and our day went quickly

(that two hour nap may have had something to do with it...)

take a peek.

a washrag, a tripod and a teddy bear...she was entertained for nearly an hour.

checking out the snowplow.

these are the gloves that nanny and papa bought for christmas. they're a little big, but lots of fun to wear!

right now, she loves to play possum.

it's never too early to encourage flossing...

all set to head outdoors!

(i should insert here that we did frolic in the snow for well over an hour...however, we were so busy shoveling that we didn't pause for pictures. i should mention that charlie is an excellent help; she used her garden trowel to knock out the sidewalk while i removed the small glacier at the end of our driveway. i see lots of clean driveways in our future.)

nothing tops off a snow day like M&Ms and sesame street.

i cannot begin to put into images or words just how wonderful she is.

hope you are all cozy!

just because it's been a while...

2010-01-12T12:39:00.003-06:00

they're not the greatest quality.

and she doesn't appear to be the cleanest child

(truly, i bathe her every night)

but lately, she's all about getting in on the photo shoot

and making sure we capture every 'cheese!'

so just a few...

she's such a ham.

christmas catch-up.

2009-12-21T13:34:00.007-06:00

happy christmas!

all our love.

bill, amy lou and charlie jo.

(and the dogs)

warm weekend.

2009-11-09T09:06:00.006-06:00

walking and weddings.

gotta love a warm november.

tricks, treat and a little H1N1...

2009-11-03T21:39:00.005-06:00

...but we don't let that get us down.

a good rockstar always makes an appearance.

besides...having the flu just adds to that

rockstar

partied-too-hard

appearance.

sharing.

2009-10-15T08:30:00.003-05:00

breakfast time at our house.

charlie gets her waffles (or bananas or cereal)

mommy gets her coffee

and sometimes the dogs get a little something too.

we watch mickey

we eat

we share.

we do not like loud noises before an adequate amount of caffeine or milk, though.

boom boom.

2009-10-12T13:38:00.001-05:00

because it makes me giggle.

bad mom.

2009-09-01T09:09:00.005-05:00

i came to the realization yesterday that i have done a horrible job of keeping this site updated.
so in an effort to make up lost time...

recently
bill and charlie reviewed their animal noises.
i still think bill's reaction is far more comical
than charlie's perceived barnyard sounds.

additionally
we have been working on incorporating silverware into our mealtimes.
at first, this was quite a struggle for us
but we have discovered that
when given ice cream
she becomes a spoon savant.

we have another video to share
however i have not yet uploaded it so it will come later.

in other news...

i am back at school
an happy to have rediscovered some semblance of routine.

charlie is back at school
and also happy to have rediscovered her own version of structure.
how do i know?
we are all sleeping better at night.

bill is working at a camera store in town
and building his photography business on the side.
he is very much enjoying it.
he did his first senior picture shoot over the weekend and has already scheduled a few more appointments for this fall.

we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of charlie's cousin
and have already booked katie jo and troy for their pregnancy pictures in the spring.
i am giddy at the thought of being an aunt
and cannot wait to spoil another little person.
charlie now signs 'baby' when we talk about aunt 'kay jo'.

our summer as a trio
was perfect
and we are so thankful that we had it.
we have all gotten back to reality
but are looking forward to many more summers
together.

you can close your eyes.

2009-08-14T22:29:00.003-05:00

what else can you do

when her fever is 102

but rock

and snuggle

and sing?

films to follow...

summer.

2009-08-01T23:14:00.004-05:00

i've been neglectful
and will catch up more soon
but for now
just a breath of what we've been up to...

lots of walking...she's everywhere.

making new friends...

garage sales...great-nanny was so proud.

walking, 'talking' and growing.

2009-07-02T21:19:00.003-05:00

a little view from our house.
walking.
talking [with our hands].
constantly growing.

summer at our house...

2009-06-25T23:37:00.002-05:00

...so far, is quickly slipping away.

and we're walking...more to come on that soon.

trail blazing.

2009-05-21T08:33:00.006-05:00

gotta love a sunny day.

growing life.

2009-05-20T11:57:00.004-05:00

there is so much about this time of year that i love.
the earth begins to wake up from a long slumber
and new life takes shape.

i remember watching the world around me change
through windows last year;
car windows
living room windows
bedroom windows

i was always amazed each week at how differently
everything looked.
greener grass
budding trees
signing birds
lush flowers

as if God himself touched the earth with his fingertip
and watched it wake up.

and so now
i watch the earth
with anxious eyes
and watch my girl
a new life
a changing life.

just another hallmark holiday...

2009-05-10T20:42:00.003-05:00

...but i'll take it.
everyday.
and twice on sunday.
happy mother's day.

playing at the park.

2009-05-04T08:27:00.008-05:00

i love spring.

happy birthday, sweet girl.

2009-05-02T22:41:00.006-05:00

it was a good day.

(mommy baked, daddy decorated...charlie destroyed.)

may day.

2009-05-01T10:01:00.004-05:00

a year ago today
i had a doctor's appointment.
i went in via wheelchair
feeling no different than the day before
and the day before that.

i was told i would be induced may 4
my due date
because my doctor wanted to make sure special care was taken with my leg.
i would be induced because i wasn't dilated
and had no signs of labor.

i remember feeling so disappointed
that the birth of our daughter
would have no element of surprise.

we went to target.
i bought a small decaf starbucks
and sushi.

we drove through taco john's.
bill bought burritos.
we had no idea we'd never get to enjoy this food.

as i hobbled up the two stairs into my parents house with my walker
i stopped short.
a warm sensation.
a draining sensation.
as if my body was disposing of something it no longer needed.
and it just kept coming.

i looked at my husband with all the humility of a four-year old child
"i think i just peed my pants"
there was a hesitation
and then with sympathy in his voice he said,
"that's okay, honey"

"i can't stop."

moments passed as we stared at one another.
"do you think...?" he started.

i went to the bathroom and changed my clothes
somewhat awkwardly
and found my spot in my dad's recliner with my starbucks in hand.

"don't you think you should call the doctor?"
just let me drink my coffee.

dad: "aim, i'm pretty sure it was your water. i think you better call."

reluctantly, i set down my coffee, pushed aside my sushi and dialed the phone.

nurse: "i think you better come on in."

our lives were about to change all over again...

etsy.

2009-04-20T11:56:00.000-05:00

have you seen this website?
shopping at our house will never be the same.

winners!

2009-04-14T09:32:00.002-05:00

to my loyal readers
i thank you.
my four sponsors!
and since there were only four of you to choose from
ALL of you will receive fabulous prizes
(no, i'm sorry jess...photoshop is not one of them...not this time...)

i will get them out to you as soon as i get my hands on them!

thanks for playing...watch for another 'contest' soon in lieu of charlie's birthday...

giving back OR the art of sharing.

2009-04-07T22:01:00.005-05:00

we are a family of bloggers.
bill maintains his blog.
we maintain pitterpats.
i maintain my other blog and occasionally update this one.
i follow 24 blogs.
TWENTY FOUR.
24 opportunities to step into the lives of others.
24 opportunities to learn something.
24 opportunities to engage with kindred spirits.
24 opportunities to meet someone new.

in many of the blogs i follow, bloggers offer 'prizes' for a variety of things -
guess the weight of my child
share with me your thoughts on...
name that artist
answer this question
and on
and on.

i love this.
i think it is a brilliant idea.
and i want to do it.

we don't have big sponsorship here on pitterpats
in fact, the only sponsor we have is you -
the reader.
so while this prize my not be great
or large
or cost a great deal
it comes from the bottom of our hearts
and is something that gives you (the 'winner')
an opportunity to share something that we
the family
love.

here's the deal:

submit via comment your blog site
OR if you don't have a blog of your own
what is it you follow
(our thanks for following this or any of its sister sites
but they don't count...go BEYOND these venues...)
i'm always looking for new reading material.

i will accept entries through monday night (4/13) @ midnight
(plenty of time!)
and will do so by randomly selecting three comments with the help of my husband.

three winners will win one of our most favorite things...(but i won't tell you what because that would be no fun...i guess you'll just have to take a leap...)

winners will be announced here on tuesday, 4/14.
so c'mon...what's your blog?

meeting somebunny special...

2009-04-04T22:43:00.003-05:00

papa and i took charlie to get her picture taken today with a bunny.
the easter bunny, if you will.
a bit unsure what to think at first
she eventually warmed up to the furry little guy
and was very upset when mr. brent put him away!
i think we got some good shots in.
you be the judge.

'swim' said the daddy fish...'i swim' said she...

2009-03-30T07:54:00.005-05:00

i took a total of 94 pictures during bill and charlie's first swimming lesson.
i posted 40 of them to my facebook.
i am posting as many as my patience will allow me here.
she is quite the little fish
just like her daddy.
they had the best time
and i had the best time watching them.
i'm sure there is pending video in this experience...

fingerpainting and drywall.

2009-03-24T22:00:00.003-05:00

who needs daytona beach when i have all this going on during my spring break?

things that made yesterday sweet.

2009-03-24T09:41:00.002-05:00

monday monday.
so good to me.

thank you for all of your notes and calls.
a few other things that made the day a little more bearable...

bubbles and grass.

2009-03-22T22:48:00.004-05:00

let's face it...movies are more fun anyway.

music: '100 years' by five for fighting.

too many to choose.

2009-03-22T21:17:00.006-05:00

more to come...the wifi hates me right now for uploading so much...

better late than never.

2009-03-19T21:06:00.003-05:00

she's on the move.
watch out.
life's about to change again!

simple girl.

2009-03-19T09:37:00.005-05:00

i can't do all the fancy stuff with photoshop that my graphically advanced husband can.
i'm an iphoto girl at heart
and find that everything i need to modify pictures to my liking
can be found right there.

(i love 'antique' mode.)

(and blurred edges with sunlight...priceless.)

(and of course, the ol' 'black and white' mode...perfect for cracks in the sidewalk.)

(and the 'crop' and 'boost' modes are great when you really want to punch up color. still not sure who that ball belongs to...)

but sometimes...
straight out of the camera is just as good as anything.

really...she wore green!

2009-03-18T22:21:00.002-05:00

i told you she did...
gosh.
look what two months will do to a kid.

pea pie.

2009-03-18T22:10:00.003-05:00

where's charlie?

that's how mommy rolls...

2009-03-18T09:27:00.003-05:00

...coming soon to a trail near you.
target assures me it will only take five days...
should have it by spring break.
now if we can just get the weather to cooperate.

bonnie lass.

2009-03-18T08:14:00.002-05:00

these are actually from january.
when i bought the outfits
while bill was in hot-lanta.
you can tell
because she's minus four teeth.
but she sported them yesterday
with all of her irish pride.
more to come...

coming attractions...

2009-03-16T08:43:00.003-05:00

things we are currently looking forward to at our house (that i'm sure you can expect to see pictures tied to at some point...)

aqua tots with daddy.
music together with mommy.

hawaii (minus charlie...maybe next year...)
dave. september 25 with aunt katie jo.

warmer weather and lots more smiles.

charlie jo's first birthday!

stay tuned...

these are a few of my favorite things...

2009-03-12T08:27:00.007-05:00

the world according to charlie.

at our house, we have lots of things that make me happy.
mommy thought it would be a good idea for us to share those with the world
in the box
because maybe some of them would make them happy too.

so
because mommy says i have to share
i will share with you all of our favorite things.

word world.

this is one of our favorite shows. even daddy likes it. mommy makes me laugh when she sings the 'build a word' song. she dances around the living room with me and we build words like 'bell', 'rug' and 'pit'. have you seen it? you really should.

vitamuffins.

mommy eats these...i'm not big enough yet. but they look pretty good. she buys them at target. we go to target a lot...

leg warmers.

mommy found these at (of all places) target. she liked them so much she bought me three pair. i wore them in my 9 month pictures with my yellow dress. i like to wear them with my onesies on the weekend. i'm the hippest kid in my daycare class, i won't lie.

priddy books.

i love the funny face books best. you can touch them and then they make noises at the end. i have seven of them, but mommy found more. they're my favorite thing to read. i can even turn the pages all by myself.

scrapbook frames.

these are mommy's favorite thing to do when nanny and papa watch me sometimes. she gets them from her friend kelly. kelly gets her lots of other scrapbooking stuff too and it makes daddy roll his eyes. she's currently working on three different books, so these give her a break and let her worry about just one thing. we have three at our house, but we're getting three more just for my room. daddy is going to take pictures of real butterflies with his new camera for my room.

daddy's new hobby.

daddy bought a new camera. he loves to take pictures of me, outside...anywhere that makes him think. he's going to take pictures for our house. then he's going to take pictures of uncle dayton, uncle dalton and aunt carmen for their senior pictures. he likes to put his pictures on his blog. you should look at his blog. he takes very good pictures of me.

rockabye baby.

mommy was afraid metallica might be a bit much for me at this age. but at least this way i still get to listen to good music. they have loads...from bob marley to metallica to coldplay. they rock very much.

adobe CS4.

this is one of daddy's favorite things. he uses it with his new camera. most nights, after i go to bed, he stays up and looks for ways on how to use it. he can make all kinds of cool things with it and make our pictures look awesome.

we have lots of favorite things at our house...more than we can share here. but these are the things we use almost everyday in one way or another and we thought we would share them with you!

love,
charlie jo.

barefoot.

2009-03-11T10:00:00.000-05:00

a note:

if one more sales clerk
elderly lady
check out line girl
or barista
points out that my child has no shoes and/or socks on
and then proceeds to ask
"aren't your little toesies cold?"
i may have to get pissy.

of course her toes are cold.
it's 30 degrees outside.
but...

does she look like a battered child?
does she look like she is neglected?
did you notice my flip-flops?

i'm open to suggestion regarding the shoe/sock issue
with a 10-month old
who would rather put the socks in her mouth
than on her feet
and has them off before i get the key in the ignition.

but until a solution is found,
she will go barefoot
much like her mom.
i mean really...

do these look like the feet of a child who is suffering?

from tubes to trotting.

2009-03-06T14:13:00.004-06:00

charlie had tubes put in her ears yesterday.
we have been battling chronic ear infections for nearly four months now
and the doctor finally decided it was time to see and ENT and have tubes put in.

the year just wouldn't be complete without at least one of us undergoing some sort of surgery.
bill informed me yesterday that it is my turn again.
oy.

however, the tubes took well
she was a champ
with very few tears.

in fact, she was doing so well by mid-afternoon
and the sun was shining so bright
and it was in the high 60's
that we pulled out the wagon
and went for a trot down the trail.
i almost felt guilty, having taken a sick day for the surgery
and then watching the buses pull out of the middle school
in single file fashion.
but the guilt quickly faded as charlie jabbered to us about the ducks and the wind.

spring...just around the bend...

a taste.

2009-03-04T08:35:00.008-06:00

i've gotten so involved with my chapters
that i have failed to post
daily snippets.

there are many more to come -
bill has had great fun with his new camera.

but for now, a taste...

she is so close...

lazy afternoons.

little leprechauns.

i've been bugging him about not having enough pictures of him...

dusk.

bill is blogging.

2009-03-03T08:01:00.002-06:00

after years of putting it off
bill has finally decided to actively pursue his love of photography.
we made the decision to invest in a 'real' camera
and release him into the wild.

he does have a flickr site:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bluedropphotography

and now adds to that his very own blog

http://bluedropphotography.blogspot.com

you can be sure that there will be pictures of charlie both here and there.
needless to say, we are very much looking forward to the spring
and the green and color that comes with it's onset.
keep your eye on us and we'll keep our eye on the horizon!

squeaky clean.

2009-02-17T22:24:00.003-06:00

she's getting so big.
she took a bath tonight (nearly) unassisted.
she loves bath time.
so do i.
it never fails to turn a fussy girl
into a smiley girl.
we are tired.
but we are clean.

blue drop photography.

2009-02-15T22:23:00.002-06:00

ps.
bill set up his own flickr account in the hopes of getting his portfolio started and online.
there's a whole story behind the name.
just go with it for now.

bill the picture man.

2009-02-15T17:52:00.003-06:00

the new camera has found it's way home.
it is awesome.
bill has been like a kid with a new christmas present.
charlie and i are blind as a result of all the flashing going on around the house.

the pictures are out of this world.
and choosing a picture of the day will be hard from here on out.
just keep checking our flickr site for full rolls.

heya, cupcake.

2009-02-12T20:58:00.003-06:00

our friend, claire, brought cupcakes to daycare today and shared.
charlie decided to bring hers home and share with us.
this was her first 'cupcake' experience.
she made a tremendous mess of her high chair
but managed to get a few crumbs in her mouth.

between the three of us
we destroyed that cupcake.

sunny with a chance of smiles.

2009-02-10T20:09:00.003-06:00

sixty degrees.
i had on my flip flops.
tomorrow we'll be in winter coats again.
at least we got to break in our red wagon.

early thaw...with bonus 'playing ball'.

2009-02-09T21:15:00.009-06:00

spring has come early to our little corner of the world.
i fear it won't stay
but my, hasn't it been grand?
the wind
the clouds
the light...
it almost felt like april.
i think it has provided a boost to everyone's morale and i only hope that it will carry us through until the true thaw.

(for more pictures, visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/pitterpats)

and as a bonus.
playing ball
OR
the value of sharing.

enjoy the sunshine
and share with someone you love.

illusion.

2009-02-09T08:00:00.005-06:00

i got sidetracked yesterday.
but bill was on top of things.

it's only an illusion.
she desperately wants to pull herself up and has put forth every effort to do so.
but she gets by with a little help from us.
she had great fun yesterday standing up
looking out the window
pushing the rocking chair
and falling down.
and we, of course, loved every minute of it as well.

hope you are all able to enjoy the view from where you are today.

tip toe through our lives OR charlie's window.

2009-02-07T08:49:00.004-06:00

one of the reasons i decided to switch from spontaneous blah to here was to give people
(friends
family
strangers)
an opportunity to watch us grow
crawl
walk
run
change
learn
live
love.

i happened upon heather armstrong's blog, dooce, and have throughly enjoyed her daily photos.
i thought to myself
'self,
what better way to share our lives
than to share them daily?'
even in the smallest
and/or most random of ways.

so in an effort to share with you our lives
(and to help me further appreciate the little things tucked away in each of them)
i present the first of many footprints.

charlie's window.

saturdays at our house tend to resemble one another every week.
charlie usually rises before anyone else (i am still trying to teach her the value of 'sleeping in' on the weekends).
coffee is made.
breakfast is had.
and at 6:45 we wrestle bill out of bed for work.
charlie spends the first part of the morning quietly entertaining herself in the living room while i putz around picking up or catching up.
but then.
we move into her bedroom for a few hours of just play.
and this is the view from her floor as we roll around, play her piano, read books, throw balls and cuddle.
it is one of my favorite parts of the week.
the sunrise makes everything so soft and yet so bright and colorful.
her smile is endless.
and the combination gives me the energy to get through the day.
even if we didn't sleep in.

bright spot.

2009-02-06T14:38:00.002-06:00

thanks to this tutorial, i was able to highlight the bright spot in my life.

i hope to play more soon.