Birthday Girl!

Oh no, she's been transformed into a gooey, slimy, brown monster! How did this happen? Let's go back to a couple days ago...


Hey there, it's me Charlotte. I turned 1 year old on Saturday! It's taken me a while to get this blog entry posted because in addition to being the birthday girl, I've also been the sick girl. Mommy thought we had lucked out when I didn't catch Jack's illness a couple weeks ago, but I proved her wrong. I started to feel crummy and feverish on Friday and was still sick on my birthday. See:

Mommy and Daddy actually took me to the ER Sunday morning because they didn't like the way I sounded when I was breathing. But the doctor took an X-ray and said my lungs don't look too bad; they think I just have a virus. Fortunately the hospital wasn't busy and we were in and out quickly. I REALLY didn't like getting the X-ray taken, though. To keep me still, they had to put me in this plastic tube with my arms stuck over my head and my legs clamped down. I couldn't get out of there fast enough.

But enough of that--on with the good stuff. I was at least well enough on my birthday to open presents, play with some new toys, and enjoy my first taste of cake. Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Nold, and Aunt Lisa for all my new goodies and a great train cake (still girly because some of the train cars were pink).



I'm not walking on my own quite yet, but I'm getting really close!

I love touching all my grandpas' heads.

Grandma got Jack this cool dog balloon, but I liked it too.


We also had fun playing with Aunt Lisa and Macie.


Aunt Lisa reading me one of the new books she got me.


Jack read some books by himself while the grown-ups were eating dinner.

And the grand finale. Mommy says she has some videos of this that she'll post later. As you can see I didn't think twice about diving into cake for the first time. Yum!


Ever the lady.


I was still just cutely messy until...I decided to play peek-a-boo.

Then the monster emerged!!!




To my baby girl on her birthday--how can it be that you're already a year old? The past 12 months have flown by, and yet at the same time, it's almost hard to remember when you weren't in our lives. You came into this world on a beautiful Friday afternoon (reportedly the weather was beautiful; your mom was too busy trying not to scream out in pain to notice). Just like with your brother, I took one look at your sweet little face and fell in love.

We've had our challenges over this past year. I wouldn't relive those first 6 weeks for anything, when your reflux was so bad you kept vomiting in your sleep and I probably ran over to your crib 50 times each night to make sure you didn't choke. Thankfully your reflux improved enough that you were able to sleep, but you certainly made up for it by dousing all of us, the house, the dog, in puke over the next 8 months! You also had diffuculty learning to nap in your crib; you've gotten much better, but you sure gave me and your nanny fits for a while.

But the challenges were all worth it. It's been a joy watching you grow into a spunky, clever, adorable girl. Depending on the situation, your energetic, fearless, take-charge approach to life amazes and/or scares me. But you have such a cute little personality and charm everyone you meet. You can be beating up on your brother or Louie one minute, and then in the next melting our hearts by flashing us your nose-crinkling, toothy grin. You also love to cuddle, and I cherish the time I get to spend with you snuggled on my chest while I rest my cheek on your downy head. I know the next year will be full of excitement, and we look forward to all of your adventures, our little Destructor.

A Girl and Her Daddy

I think Charlotte's days as a Momma's girl will be short lived.

Love this picture of father & daughter dancing in the summer evening sun.

Weekend with the Jacksons

We've been so busy with Jack's adventures and Grammy and Grampy's visit that I never got a chance to post pictures from our weekend at the lake house with the Jacksons. Bobby and Rachel brought Chloe (4) and Scarlett (2) up to the lake house for the first time a few weeks ago.

Our little Charlotte has no fear. This is not a good thing. Here she is charging, no holds barred, face-first into the water.

Hacking up a few lung-fulls of water seemed to make her a bit more cautious; at least for this day. She and Jack had fun splashing around.


She still loves to roll around in sand (and eat it).

The kids had fun playing with the next-door neighbors and watching people learn to waterski.




We had a great time and hope to have the Jacksons up for a visit again next year. We just had the boat taken out of the water and put into storage for the winter this past weekend :(

Trip to the ER

We spent a fun 4-5 hours in the ER with Jack yesterday. Don't worry, he wasn't injured. He'd been sick for a few days, and when I called his doctor's office they weren't sure if they were going to have any openings that day, so we were instructed to go to the ER.

Poor baby. Have you ever seen anything so pitiful?

He had a fever that would get up to 104 at times, but other than just feeling tired and crummy, he didn't have any other symptoms. At the ER, they drew blood, checked his urine (yes, I actually succeeded in getting him to pee in a cup!), and even took a chest X-ray. Nothing bacterial was found, so he was diagnosed with viral syndrome; i.e., they have no idea what's wrong with him other than it being a virus.

He made it through today without running much of a temperature, and his appetite was better. So knock on wood, hopefully he's on the road to recovery. He was also very proud of himself for being such a brave boy at the hospital.

Charlotte didn't mind that her brother was sick. It was much easier to have the toys all to herself when Jack wasn't interested in doing more than laying around on the couch! She also tried to help me out with some household chores like folding laundry.

It's a little-known secret that socks fold much better if soaked in baby spit first.

I'll never forget that day 10 years ago. I was in grad school at UNC, and I was actually in Biostatistics class from 9:00-10:15, so none of us knew what had happened until after the Towers and Pentagon had been hit. I actually had a meeting right after class in another building at 10:30, so I didn't find out until I walked into the meeting and news of the 2nd Tower collapse and the crash of Flight 93 in Pennsylvania were being broadcasted. Like most Americans, I was in a daze of shock and horror for the rest of the day. Other than watching the constant news footage, I've forgotten many details of that day, but I remember clearly some things such eating lunch (and what I had for lunch) with students in silence at the Student Center as we watched the news, trying to call friends that lived in New York and getting the message that all circuits were down, and talking to Andy and my parents. I was so fortunate that no one I knew in New York or Washington was injured, but like all Americans I will never forget.

On a brighter note...

Grammy and Grampy Visit, Part 2

Happy Birthday to all our September birthdays--Grandmomma Fields, Uncle Stephen, and Aunt Anna!

Charlotte was obsessed with Grampy's head for some reason. She loved to pat it and kiss it :)

Charlotte has also become a little narcissist as of late. She'll kiss her image wherever she sees her reflection--here in a little mirror in a book.

And the window.

View of the make-out session from the other side of the window.

Jack was also obsessed with himself at this same age :)


Charlotte trying to put on Mommy's shoes.

Charlotte with Grammy and Grampy.


Charlotte got quite a workout during the weekend pushing around this hippo toy. She got really fast--she's just a blur in the picture!

Charlotte with Aunt Lisa on the porch playing with Macie.

On Sunday, Jack spent some quality alone time with Grammy, Grampy, Andy, and me on an outing to the local petting zoo. Here's Grammy teaching Jack about some of the finer points of feeding horses.

Jack actually spent more time at the petting zoo's playground than the zoo itself. Not that I can blame him--this new barn-themed playground was very cool.

I don't know who had more fun--Jack, or Grammy and Grampy!