Trip to Goebbert's

We had a fun fall outing on Sunday to Goebberts farm in South Barrington. The weather was perfect--a clear, crisp autumn day. Unfortunately it was so perfect that the sun was really bright and the kids either didn't want to look up into the camera or were squinting when they did. Oh well, we were still able to get some cute pictures.

Jack and Charlotte doing some cute poses in the cartoon cut-outs with Aunt Lisa, Grandma, and Elif.



Jack and Aunt Lisa at the big wooden tractor.

Oh no, we shrunk!

The cutest pumpkins in the patch!


In addition to the pumpkins, there were also tons of other activities. We all really enjoyed the huge petting zoo; especially the cool giraffes.

Mr. Giraffe looking for some carrots.

Both kids had a lot of fun at the pig race. Here's Jack and Grandma watching. Jack kept talking about the pig race afterward, and the fact that pigs were given Oreos as an incentive to run.

Charlotte was rocking out to the loud country music at the race, but then her lack of a morning nap caught up to her.

Tired baby snuggling with Grandpa.

Checking out all the animals.

The kids really liked these adorable little piglets.

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.