An Ode to Jen

Jennifer is Judd's Dad's first cousin, not sure if that makes her Judd's second cousin or Judd's first cousin once removed. Doesn't matter - either way, she's a Saint in my book. Every couple of weeks I'll see an email arrive in my inbox from Jen asking if Judd and I need a babysitter for the upcoming weekend. I rarely decline the offer.

Charlotte loves Jen. She doesn't even flinch when Jen walks through the door and scoops her up. Jennifer has that touch, that way about her. I believe she could charm any kid.

This past week an email arrived asking if I'd like a babysitter. I told Judd that Jen was going to come over and babysit on Saturday. Charlotte and I went for a jog on Friday morning, and when I came back he had a whole evening planned out for us - reservations already made. It was so thoughtful and sweet. We had a great night that included a movie and dinner - we had not been to a movie theatre in a year! It was a great treat.

Judd and I are so grateful to Jennifer (and Mariel sometimes, too!) for staying with Charlotte on nights like this past Saturday. I truly believe that we are better parents because we have these chances to reconnect to each other. We have a few moments to just relax, talk, and reconnect - most of the talk is about Charlotte of course - but we do talk about the couple we were, and now the couple we are becoming. We plan, dream, and laugh.

Thank you, Jennifer, for giving us these opportunities. We can never repay you for what you are really giving to us - it is much more than just a night out. And, thank you, Mariel, for letting us borrow your mom every once in a while!

Fridays

Fridays are fabulous. I have really enjoyed having Fridays to play with Charlotte. Taking a pay cut and having an extra day at home is living up to be one of the better decisions I've made in a long time. Judd decided to take a vacation day today and hang out with us to see what Fridays are all about. We were so happy to have him with us today. I'm trying to talk him into going part time too!

We went to one of the Decatur city pools this morning, McCoy. Each Friday from 10am-12pm they close the pool to any children over 5, and let all toddlers in. Then they get a bunch of toys out like balls, rubber duckies, and buckets. We had a great time. Charlotte splashed around, stole numerous toys from other kids, and jumped off of the side over and over. She had such a good time that she took a 3 hour nap this afternoon!

Over the past week or so she has learned about the trash can. She knows what "trash" is and knows how to open the trash can, throw the trash in, and close the lid. It's great! We just hand her something and she loves the little job of throwing it away. We are taking full advantage of ths new trick before it gets old to her.

And here's a couple of others from today:

Mini Moos

For Christmas I received this picture frame:

image from moo.com

It is made for MiniCards from moo.com. The MiniCards come in packs of 100 so, you can create 100 cards at a time with any graphic that you want. I used 100 different pictures of Charlotte throughout the first 15 months. It took a while to choose 100 different pictures, upload them, then crop them to fit the MiniCard size. The cards came in the mail Monday, and it was well worth the effort - I LOVE them.

Here is how the picture frame turned out - I'm still trying to decide where to hang it in the house.

Now...what to do with the 80 cards that didn't make it into the frame?

Char-Lo in Austin

Charlotte and I had a great time visiting some friends, Bryan, Kindra, & Lindsay, this past week in Austin.

Kindra and I met through work. She was in Atlanta last year for business. I was still breastfeeding Charlotte and the time, and she was breastfeeding Lindsay (Lindsay is 2 months older than Charlotte). I was returning the key for the lactation room, and Kinda was waiting to check it out. We struck up a conversation and have been in contact ever since.

We use each other as a sounding board for issues like breastfeeding, transitioning to formula then milk, daycare, being a working mom, etc. It is so great to know someone going through the same exact situations that you are. It is even better when that person has a daughter 2 months older than yours and has had to forge the way ahead of you - then I get to pick her brain when I hit the sticky situations.

The weekend was filled with trips to the pool and park, lunch at McDonalds, Texas bar-be-que, and a great Tex Mex dinner. Charlotte and Lindsay got along well - always copying what the other one did. Lindsay is the cutest, smartest little girl that doesn't know how to walk - she RUNS everywhere! I thought Charlotte was a wiggle worm - she has met her match. I was amazed by how many words and songs Lindsay knew. She even said Charlotte, but it always came out "Char-Lo".







Thanks for the great visit, Kindra! Can't wait to do it again.

A mess

This is what it looks like when a 16 month old insists on feeding herself some yogurt:

It's messy.

(Yes, her bib says "Diva" - No, I did not buy it, it was a gift - However, I am realizing that it fits her little personality well)

Charlotte and I are headed to Austin, Tx tomorrow to visit a friend and her daughter for the weekend. We were supposed to go a few weeks ago, but didn't make it onto the plane. This time we have actual confirmed seats -what a luxury!

Sun Flare

I signed up for People One today at the Showcase School of Photography. I took 2 classes there last summer and loved every minute. I'm very excited to learn some new stuff and get energized again about taking pictures. (I'm also excited because I'm gonna know someone in my class!)

I saw a sun flare tutorial today on Pioneer Woman. I took Charlotte out tonight to try it a little bit. Basically, you set your camera on aperature priority, and then close your aperature down as high as it can go, like f/22. Then, you can capture some sun flare.

I wish I had a beautiful wheat field close by to do photo shoots, but instead my front yard has to do. It is a fun technique that I'm excited to use more. These are by no means very good, the composition in the second one is terrible - but I love her hands. She does this all the time now when she doesn't know something. If you ask her a question and she doesn't know, she throws up her hands - "I don't know, Mommy." - very innocent. However, whenever she strikes this pose, I have flashes into the future, 16 years down the road, when there is something she's denying oh so innocently.

Summer is here

We had a fabulous weekend this past weekend. It was the kind of weekend that really lets you know that summer is here. We have had so much rain and cloudiness lately, that we really needed a bright, sunny weekend. We spent as much time outdoors as possible.

It started out slow, Judd had to work late on Friday night, so we just hung out and ate pizza after Charlotte went to bed. Saturday morning we took a trip to Serenbe. Serenbe is a community south of Atlanta, close to Peachtree city that is striving to be a self sustainable community. It is all new development, houses cost around $500K. It sits on 900 acres, has a farm, stable, town, and 100 miles of walking trails. It was beautiful. There was a farmer's market going on that we walked around, then we explored the town a little bit. We started to hike on the trails, but Charlotte was not in the best of moods, so our outing was cut a little short.

Saturday afternoon Judd had to work, which meant cancelling some plans. But, we headed to Decatur square around 6pm for dinner. We had a yummy dinner at Raging Burrito. After dinner we walked out onto the square. It was a "Concerts on the Square" night and everyone had their blankets and chairs spread out on the square listening to the concert. All of the kids were running around like crazy and dancing - Charlotte joined right in and loved it. We left around 8 and headed to Bruster's for some ice cream. A great summer night.

Sunday I used my Spa Sydell gift certificate that I got for Mother's Day and had a great afternoon of pampering. I had a massage and facial. I had never had a facial before, and it was FABULOUS. If you've never had one, treat yourself sometime.

Because no post is truly complete without a picture, here is Charlotte exhibiting some great table manners.