Randoms

Here are some miscellaneous older pictures that I never got around to posting. Charlotte is fascinated by Lou, and he puts up with her abuse as well as he did with Jack's.

Where I found Jack one night (that's the floor).

Jack after eating something yummy and blue. I can't even remember what it was.

Andy and me dressed up for a wedding (our good friend Johnny Golis from IU).

Everyone loves laying in the sun spot we get in the late afternoon.

Charlotte is ticklish under her chin. She normally giggles more than this, but of course she always tones down her behavior when I've got the video camera out.

Funny face

Charlotte has started making one of my favorite funny faces that Jack used to do, also around this age. Is this something all babies do, or just some weird inherited trait from the Nold-Fields families?

She actually does the face better in the second video, but I wanted to include the first one also so Jack could make an appearance.


(That is Jack making all the ma-ma sounds; at first Charlotte's mouth is strangely moving in sync to his words. She CAN say ma-ma, and does quite often, but the wiley little rascal absolutely refuses to do it for the video camera.)

GOD, is that woman taking another picture of me?

Mothers' Day

Happy Mothers' Day to all you wonderful moms out there! We had a great weekend--Kentucky Derby and friends over on Saturday (will post pictures from that later), and then brunch and fun at the park with Grandma and Grandpa.

As you can see, Jack got a great new toy today--his first tricycle! Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Nold for such a great gift. They arrived back in town for the season a few days ago, so we look forward to seeing more of them. Here's Aunt Lisa with Charlotte.

Trying out the tricycle with Ty from across the street. Jack took a spill shortly after this picture was taken and got a nice bump on his head, but he got back on after a little while and rode it to the park.



Charlotte loved the swings!


We were able to catch a few chuckles on film.

Jack and Charlotte swinging together.

Getting some trike-riding pointers from Grandpa.

By the time we left the park, Jack was starting to get the hang of pedaling!

Conference

Happy Birthday to Grandma Nold yesterday!

Charlotte and I attended a conference in Springfield last Wednesday and Thursday. She behaved incredibly well at the conference, and people couldn't get enough of her (who can blame them?).

A lot of staff from my agency went to the conference, and Charlotte was a hot commodity as she was passed around like a hot potato!


She slept for the whole 3-hour drive down to Springfield, and for about 2 hours on the way back. The last hour she screamed the entire time. Oh well!

Easter

These pictures were actually from the weekend before Easter, but I hadn't had a chance to post them yet because the Florida pictures weren't finished. Andy's athletic club had a family Easter brunch, so we took the kids for a couple hours. Charlotte looked worried in the picture, but she at least was okay with sitting on the Easter Bunny's lap long enough for the photo shoot. Jack, however, took one look at the "scary usta bunny" and wanted no part of it. (Easter Bunny costumes actually kind of freak me out too.)

Jack at least had fun chowing down during brunch, and he got his hand painted with a cute little monkey.

The Johnstons joined us, and we got a couple good pictures of Jack and Will looking out over Congress Ave; or rather, the construction on Congress Ave.

Will giving Jack a hug--how sweet! He's grabbing Jack's butt a little, but hey, when your arm is at that height, there's not much you can do to avoid it.

Visit with the Edelmanns

Finally, the last of the Florida pictures! On our final day of vacation, we visited our good friends the Edelmanns, who happened to have recently moved near where we were staying. The last time we saw them, Jack and Amelia were still babies. They've changed just a little, don't you think? (In that picture, Jack was just about the age Charlotte is now).

We had a wonderful time catching up with Lindsey and Cliff, and it was so fun to watch Jack and Amelia play together. We also got to meet new baby Sam for the first time!

What a great picture of Jack and Amelia playing peek-a-boo!

The competition was heated in Candyland.

Can you believe all 4 kids sat quietly together and played for a little while?

While I was disappointed in Amelia's outfit choice (Florida jersey), as a Nutritionist I was impressed that she chowed down on some raw broccoli! If only she could have convinced Jack to eat some.

Yummy cupcakes!

The highlight of the day for the kids was getting to play in this awesome bouncehouse. Jack was a little nervous at first about going inside, but once he got used to it, we had a hard time getting him out! He still mentions the bouncehouse and "Mamelia" at least once a day.

I couldn't get Charlotte to take a nap all day, so by the time we were getting ready to leave she was pooped. I didn't realize she was asleep until she started swaying forward off my lap. She was able to continue her nap in the car ride to the airport, and then she slept very well on the plane. (And no, she did not continue her brother's proud tradition of airplane pooping!)

We had such a wonderful trip and enjoyed our time with the Edelmanns and all the grandparents!

Charlotte and I are actually taking another trip today, but just driving this time. It's time for the annual Illinois State Breastfeeding conference in Springfield, and I'm on the planning committee for the conference so there was no way I could not go this year. Hopefully Charlotte will be a big help in the mornings when I'm manning the registration tables :) Jack went to 2 conferences with me when he was a baby, and he did very well both times, so let's hope Charlotte will do the same.