Zoo and Other Things

Friday morning we headed to the zoo with Allison and Marshall. Judd and I got a yearly pass to the zoo a few weeks ago which allows me to take one other adult and up to 3 other kids with us for free! So, if anyone wants to head to the zoo - just let me know! Other great things about the zoo - it opens at 9:30 am, parking is free, and you can bring food in - so no need to buy lunch there. Even if you aren't into seeing the animals, there is a petting zoo, a couple of playgrounds, a train ride, and a couple of other rides.

Friday morning we got there about 9:45 and were right behind about 20 school buses letting kid after kid after kid out. It was CRAZY for the first half hour or so. I was so busy trying to keep Charlotte from being knocked over by 5th graders that it was hard to enjoy it - but then we got into the groove and had a great time. Marshall and Charlotte loved seeing the animals and then enjoyed taking a break for lunch.





After lunch we headed to the petting zoo. Charlotte loves to grab a brush and brush all of the animals.



However, Al snapped this picture just as Charlotte thought it would be a good idea to brush her own hair. (YUCK! Luckily we haven't found any lice yet :) )



The rest of our weekend was a good. We headed to the lake on Saturday for Judd's cousin Jennifer's wedding shower. We had yummy homemade ice cream and cake - both of which Charlotte could NOT wait to eat - then headed out on the boat for a nice boat ride on Saturday afternon. I would have pictures of that - but I realized when I pulled out my camera on Saturday afternoon that I had forgotten my memory cards a home. Guess the pregnancy brain is starting to kick in!!

Taking Baby To Walk

Cindy is Charlotte's baby. She got her for Christmas. Her name is Cindy because of Charlotte's resemblance to Cindy Lou Who.

Lately we have been taking Cindy on lots of walks. Yesterday, after we returned home from taking Jody for a walk, Charlotte said, "I take Cindy to walk." So, we went upstairs and packed up Cindy into her stroller.



Then she started running with her down the sidewalk. (maybe we need a baby jogging stroller?)



Cindy loves the walks. You would think she would be scared to death after the stroller has been tipped over or hurled down the sidewalk. But instead she just closes her eyes and goes to sleep.



Usually we have to find a stick to take back to Jody.



Then Charlotte declares it is Cindy's birthday when we hit one of the sewer caps and sits down in the middle of the sidewalk to sing "Happy Birthday" at the top of her lungs.



This walk of about 75 yards usually takes us 30 minutes or so to complete. In other words it takes FOREVER. I was telling Judd about our walks the other day and he said, "Sounds great - sure beats sitting in a cube, working." I had to agree with that.

Swimming

I've been keeping a little secret from all of you lovely blog readers. Charlotte and I have been up to something. Every Monday and Wednesday morning for the past four weeks we have packed up our swimsuits and headed to the Y for swimming lessons.

Why didn't I write about this sooner? I haven't been able to get a single picture to prove that we have actually been doing it. And, I have a really, really hard time blogging about something like this without a picture. But, this past Saturday we did a make up class since Judd and I were in NYC last Monday. Judd was able to come along and video tape.

When asked whether he would like to jump in the pool and be Charlotte's buoy or video tape, didn't take him long to decide. go figure.

Charlotte started out 4 weeks ago very excited about swimming lessons, but still not so sure that she wanted to let go of me - AT ALL. So, I was patient and let her fingernails dig into my neck and shoulders for a half hour two days a week. Then in the 3rd week, she grabbed onto a noodle and let go of me. It was the miracle my neck had prayed for - she swam solo holding onto a noodle. I was one proud mama.

Then this past week, she took it a step further. I put her little "backpack" on and held onto her waist. All of the sudden I felt her little legs pumping as hard as they could. So, I let go to see what would happen. She took off! "Swimming" all around. She was so proud of herself you could feel it. I was pretty darn proud too.

We have a little over a month before the pool opens. I'm hoping that these lessons will be fresh enough in her little brain and little muscles that she'll feel right at home there this summer.

Here she is in action.

Why?

Someone told me the other day that the "why?" questions weren't supposed to hit until the 3s. Lucky us, Charlotte has started early. I would say we are averaging about 250 why questions/day. Our brains are tired at the end of the day. In the morning, I actually try to think of why something might be the way that it is - but by the end of the day I go with the standard answer, "That's how God made it."



Here are a couple examples from today:
C: "Why we having pancakes for lunch?"
Me: "I thought it would be fun."
C: "Why you think it would be fun?"
Me: "Because it is something different and you like to help"
C: "Why me like to help?"
Me: "I don't know, why do you like to help?"
C: "I dunno"

C: "What's Daddy doing?"
Me: "Taking a shower"
C: "Why he taking shower?"
Me: "Because he has to go to work"
C: "Why he go to work"
Me: "You know why, why does he have to go to work?"
C: "To make money" pause....
C: "Why he need to make money?"
Me: "So we can feed you and do fun things"
C: "Why we do fun things?"
Me: "Because we do"

We have been asked "Why the sky is blue?" on a daily basis. That one I can safely say I don't know the answer other than - "God made it that way"

She came home from her grandparent's house saying, "I love asking questions" I'm pretty sure she was told that she "loves asking questions" a lot. But no matter how tiring the "whys" are, I am so very thankful for having a curious child.



(what the majority of pictures look like these days - this is her "smile")

NYC

Judd and I made it back to Atlanta yesterday afternoon after a wonderful trip to New York.

We didn't have an agenda, we just wanted to take in the city and try to relax a little bit. We had fabulous luck with eating - thanks in part to the wonderful little app I had on my iPhone called Yelp. We ate fairly inexpensively even though we ate great Italian food in the cutest little restaurants.

We saw South Pacific at Lincoln Center on Saturday night (it was awesome!), went to the movies on Sunday night, and went to a comedy club on Monday night.

Sunday morning we spent walking around the Upper Westside checking out the flea and farmer's markets. Sunday afternoon we headed to B&H Photo. It is the coolest place for anyone remotely interested in photography, videography, recording, etc. Monday we went to the Top of the Rock and to the Museum of Modern Art. There is a performance artist on exhibit there right now and let's just say it was, well, interesting.

We had great travel luck - first class both ways. That beats sitting in coach trying to entertain a 2 year old any day.

We spent some great time together just the two of us. We always have a good time traveling together - something that I'm extremely happy about. We have very similar tastes and travel style. Sure, we missed Charlotte, but we knew she was in good hands and didn't worry about her at all. In fact, we even forgot to call her one night before she went to bed because we were too worried about getting from the restaurant to the movie on time!

From what I hear, Charlotte had a wonderful time with her grandparents. She played with baby ducks, ate ice cream cones at the dock, went to the park, ate cheetos and coke on the boat, fished with her Grandaddy, played with her Grandmother, went on the paddle boat with Aunt Pam, and had lunch with her Great Grandparents. They said she slept great, and I'm sure she did with all of that going on.

Col-De-Sac Fun

What evenings in the Spring and Summer should be.











My new all time favorite is in one of the sets above - can you guess?

Reason #567 why I love him

A month or so ago, Judd and I planned to go to Cabo, Mexico for 5 nights/6 days sans Charlotte. Judd planned the whole thing. We had two tickets to fly anywhere in the world, so Judd booked our seats with those. Then we had enough hotel points to cover our hotel stay - a semi-free vacation, what could be better.

At the time I voiced my doubts about being about to be away from Charlotte for that long. It would be the longest I have ever been away from her, and I just didn't know if I could do that. Don't get me wrong - I need a break, and I recognize that, but 5 nights is a long time. Judd told me that he had worked hard on booking and researching the trip and to be honest, his feelings were kind of hurt. He said that I would love the time away and would be able to relax when I got there.

So, I started to get used to the idea. I soon began to look forward to the time away and knew that I probably needed a full 5 nights to completely relax. I was starting to plan out my wardrobe - and this takes some work when you barely still fit into your old clothes (yes, you "pop" a lot faster with the 2nd) and you don't have too many cute summer maternity clothes to choose from. I had even started to get used to the fact that I would be putting on a bathing suit.

Then, Judd got home from Las Vegas last week. He was tired. He had been on the road for a few nights for the past 3 weeks. He missed his Charlotte. He looked at me and said, "you are gonna kill me, but I don't think I want to be gone from her for 5 nights. I've been gone so much lately, and will be leaving again the week after we get back - can we just go somewhere for 3 nights?" My mouth dropped open and I gave him a big hug. Seriously, how can you say no to that?

So, we are still headed out of town this weekend, but for 3 nights. It will be a really nice get away. We are headed to NYC and will be staying close to Central Park. We plan to see a show, eat lots of yummy food, and try to do a few things we haven't done there before. And, I won't have to put on a bathing suit :)