Bubbles

Last weekend we went to the birthday party of Nathan Jelinek, who turned 3. It was held at this awesome place downtown called Bubbles Academy. The theme was all about superheroes, and the kids went through "superhero training." Fortunately Jack wanted to be Spiderman for Halloween, so we already had a costume for him. Charlotte had to make do with an old Superman t-shirt of Jack's, but she didn't really care.

The superhero training involved a lot of running around and practicing different superhero moves. Not sure which techniques they were doing here. Jack's toward the left striking a pose. There were also about 4 or 5 other Spidermen in attendance.

Charlotte had a lot of fun too but at times looked a little overwhelmed.

Getting a ride from Daddy on the scarf.

Toward the end of the party, an emergency message came through that animals had escaped from the Lincoln Park Zoo. The kids had a mission to rescue all the animals.

Jack rescuing a frog.

Spiderman and Batman facing off on the bridge.

Of course Charlotte loved all the things to climb on.

They both had a lot of fun on this thing.

I managed to get one picture of the birthday boy. Nathan is wearing the orange cape.

Mmmm, cupcakes.

So cute! Right before we left, the kids discovered this hiding place.

So adorable of Charlotte grinning at her big brother buried in the scarves.

First Day of Playschool

I have spent the last 30 minutes trying to figure out why these photos are loading sideways. I am officially giving up.

Anyway...Charlotte had her first day of playschool yesterday. It's the same thing Jack did: a 1.5 hour class, 2 days per week. It's for 2 - 3.5 year olds, so since Charlotte just had her birthday she's by far the youngest in the class. I would have really preferred to have her start playschool when she was a little older (Jack didn't start until he was almost 3), but there was only 1 opening left in the class for the remainder of the year, so I knew if we waited we'd lose out.

This was Charlotte's very first experience totally on her own. Jack, Sarah, and I dropped her off. It's actually the same location as Jack's preschool so she was familiar with the place. She didn't cry at first because she was so busy playing with toys it didn't really register that we were leaving. But the teachers said about 10 minutes later when she realized what was going on, she started crying and the tears pretty much lasted the entire class. Toward the end when they had a snack, she finally stopped (food cheered her up, no shocker to anyone).

When we picked her up, her face crumpled a bit when she first spotted us. But I'll give her credit, she didn't come screaming and running over to us. She stayed seated in her chair where she was finishing her snack...while the tears started to trickle down her face...clasping hands over my heart now as I'm reliving it.

I'm guessing tomorrow's drop-off at playschool may be "interesting." I don't think Charlotte realizes yet that this wasn't just a one-time thing. We know she'll eventually love school, since she's very social and is very verbally and physically advanced for a 2-year old (in her mother's opinion). This will be a great outlet for her to learn and have fun with other kids. It would be nice if we could fast-forward through her adjustment period, but such is life :)

Birthday Girl

She's looking more grown up every day! Our little girl turned 2 years old today. We had dinner and birthday cake last night with Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Lisa.

 

Charlotte was not interested at all in opening presents. She was having way too much fun with balloons and tissue paper from the gifts!

This is the best we could get for a picture of Mommy with the birthday girl. She did not stay still the entire night, much less look at the camera.

By far, the biggest hit of the night was the Dream Lights. Jack saw an advertisement on TV once for them (basically a Pillow Pet that shines light) and proceeded to recite the commerical to Grandma the next time he saw her. Of course Grandma couldn't resist and got a Dream Light for each of them :) Charlotte got a unicorn, and Jack got a penguin (which he and Aunt Lisa named "Tuxedo.)

Charlotte soon bored of playing with her new toy and went back to the old standbys.

Jack and Charlotte had actually been apart most of the weekend--Charlotte was home with me, while Jack was with Andy at the lake house. Can you tell they were excited to be back together?

Scoping out the cake early on. Thanks to Grandma for making such an awesome cake!

Grandpa wanted the kids to pose with the cake.

It took Charlotte about 2 seconds before she sneaked a swipe of frosting.

Grandma had bought a tiara for Charlotte to wear, but she was a bit skeptical. Daddy modeled to show her how it was done.

This was about as good as we could get it on her before she ripped it off.

Mmmmm, cake. Video below.

Charlotte was a trooper for her birthday night. She actually wasn't feeling well, though from the pictures you wouldn't know it--until I took this one toward the end.

The kids playing with their Dream Lights in the dark. See Jack shining his right into his face.

Videos of blowing out the candle, singing Happy birthday, eating cake. She was pretty subdued and obviously was not feeling like her usual bubbly self.

 

Charlotte barely made any mess with her cake this year. Much improved over her 1-year birthday, huh?

 

Charlotte, we can't believe you're already 2 years old! You are such a cute, happy, loveable, brave, spunky, and funny little girl. We've so enjoyed watching you grow up this past year--seeing you walk (and then take off running, jumping, and somersaulting); getting to hear your sweet little voice for the first time and then being amazed as you quickly started forming sentences; and seeing you charm everyone you meet while also impressing them with your fearlessness. We can't wait for what you've got in store for us this coming year. I have a sad feeling that by your 3rd birthday there won't be much "baby" left in you. Slow down, little girl!

Big slides and other summer fun

Here's a compilation of summer pictures; some that are recent and others that I just never got around to posting. We went to a festival last weekend, and the kids had a blast on the big slide.

Charlotte loves, loves, LOVES corn on the cob.

Sucking out every last drop of juice.

This was right before she started screaming as I had to pry the cob out of her death grip. She had started biting hunks out the end of the cob.

Here are some random pictures taken over the summer. Jack's sunglasses lost a lens, and for some reason he and Charlotte both thought it was cool to go walking around like this.

 Too cute for words.

 Snuggly warm towels after water play in the back yard.

Jack at nearby Rehm Park, where they have these cool hand-powered trains out on weekends. Rehm pool didn't open for family swim until 10:30 or 11:00, so it was convenient to have the park next door to play at until the pool opened.

 And finally, some cute Lou pictures. So sweet of Charlotte and Lou communing on the floor.

 The kids' outdoor toys came in handy for Lou in the hot weather too.

 Awwwww...