Bahhh Bahhhhh

Yes thats right. Charlotte was a lamb for Colins 1st Birthday/Costume/Halloween party. She looked so cute in her little outfit. She had so much fun playing with all the toys, especially the walker. She LOVED the walker. She would stand up behind it and walk across the room with no regard to whomever was in front of her. She would just bang into them and then keep pushing as if saying, "Hello!! You are in my way! Do you mind moving?".





Colin had a blast at his first birthday. He was superman. Ryan was Clark Kent. Lisa was Lois Lane. Kelly and Dave were zookeepers. Brodie was a monkey, Mason was a lion. Too cute.




Last night we moved the clocks back an hour. Children do not recognize daylight savings time. 5:00am on Sunday morning was not much fun for dad. He let mom sleep in both Saturday AND Sunday morning. The funny thing is he enjoyed every second with his daughter. They really had some quality bonding time together this weekend.

Last Thursday Shelby and Charlotte drove down to CT to visit Janet and Chris and Emma and Sarah. Charlotte had so much fun playing with girls and can't wait to see them again. Thank you Chris and Janet for taking care of them!

Sadness

Someone in West Virginia wants to buy my opened package of diapers. I know there is nothing wrong with the diapers, but for some reason it makes me sad to think that a family out there is searching ebay for deals on opened diapers. I just picture some small coal town in the hills of West Virginia, parents struggling to buy formula and diapers for their kids. It just makes me feel guilty for everything I have and how buying another package of diapers was no big deal for us. It just makes us appreciate what we do have and how lucky we are compared to thousands of people out there.

Then again, it could be a someone who has a pet monkey and the monkey wears diapers. If it were a monkey who cares where the diapers come from. Or it could be a scientist like myself wanting to do comparisons with all the diaper brands. They might want to find out what the gel stuff is in the diaper. Or it could be a person who is going to export the diapers to the Middle East for thousands of dollars per diaper.

Plushies meet Ebay

Click here for the Plushies Ebay listing. Feel free to place your bid. All proceeds go to charity. Not sure which one yet, dad might be starting a babies with bad diaper rash fund.

I think next we are going to make a little phone call to the Playskool company telling them to back off the chemicals in the diapers. :)

My Nemisis the Plushies

Charlotte's rash on her private areas is horrendous. Bright red, blistered, raw and painful describes it best. Mom told dad today "we need to figure out what food she is having a reaction to". Dad laughed and said "are you kidding me? hello we just switched from Huggies to Rashies diapers. I think that is the cause". So today dad hit CVS again. This time to buy the same old over priced, non-irratating Huggies that he hates.

Dad will be selling the rest of the Plushies on ebay. Please feel free to make an offer. There are 55 of them left.

Being Thankful for Love

There is something magical that happens upon the birth of a child. It is something that is very difficult to narrow down because so many things change. It could be the overwhelming responsibility of being a parent. Never wanting to make mistakes that will effect your child. It could be the feeling of mortality. Realizing you are getting older and that your child needs you right here right now. It could be the sense of protectiveness that takes over after a child is born. Knowing no matter what you will fight, scrape, and scrounge to ensure your child gets whatever they need to grow up to be happy, strong, healthy, and loving. Mostly I think it is a sense of being thankful. Thankful that no matter how bad you might think things are you still have more than a lot of people.

I am thankful for everything in my life. Friends, family, relatives. I am thankful we have a daughter that has brought us more joy and laughter than you could ever imagine. I am thankful she lets us dress her up to take her picture. I am thankful she has brought some extra magic in the form of love to our lives. I am thankful that I have a computer to share this love with you.

Here is a picture of love:

Scrap the Plushies

Charlotte has a lovely little rash now. From the new diapers? Who knows. We will give it another couple of days. If it continues we are switching back to the Huggies.

Huggies vs. Plushies

Mom: Michael, please pick up some diapers for me during your lunch break.
Dad: Sure, what kind?
Mom: Huggies
Dad: But I don't like the Huggies, I can never get them on her.
Mom: Well you can't buy the Pampers?
Dad: Why not? I liked the Pampers.
Mom: You liked the Swaddlers. Those are only for newborns.
Dad: Are you sure?

At lunch dad entered CVS and strolled down the diaper aisle. For 10 minutes he stared at all of the choices. Huggies, Pampers, CVS brand diapers, Pull ups, Swimmies, and who knows what else. Then a pink package caught his eye. Plushies. He could buy 60 Plushies for the same price as 40 Huggies. One thing dad knows is that diapers are expensive.

So dad brought home the Plushies. Mom laughed at him.
Mom: What kind of ghetto diapers are those?
Dad: They are Plushies.
Mom laughing: Plushies?
Dad: Yeah, they are made by a reputable company.
Mom: Which one?
Dad: Playschool.
Mom: They make TOYS!

This is when dad decided a good old fashion test would be needed. So he got out the measuring cup and one Huggie Diaper and one Plushie Diaper. One full cup of warm water was dumped into each diaper.




The results? Well it was about equal. Surprisingly the Plushies felt drier. We will find out today after she wears them around. Dad is crazy and a scientist at heart.

Terrible Two's?

Is that how the saying goes? Terrible two's? We are in the terrible ten's. Ten months. Charlotte decided last night to wake us up not once or twice but three times in the middle of the night. Today she decided she wanted to eat lunch by throwing it on the floor. Later on she decided the cabinets in the kitchen looked better with her in them instead of pots and pans. We are chaulking it up to a bad day. We have all had them...so why can't a baby just have a plain old bad day?

Walk in the Woods

Click HERE for more photos

Bonfire

No matter what people tell you about having children you can just never be prepared for the amount of time and energy they consume. On Saturday Dad thought taking a nap while Charlotte was napping would be a great idea. Unfortunately down time should be spent doing things that you can't do while the baby is awake. Mom reminded dad of this by yelling get your lazy ass off that bed telling him how important it is to utilize the "down time" to do things. Things such as showering, getting dressed, cleaning bottles, getting diaper bags ready, and cleaning. One thing he learned not to do while Charlotte is sleeping was lowering the storm windows all over the house. Especially the one above her room in the attic. It wouldn't be so bad if the windows in the house were not 100 years old. But trying to open and close an antique window in a crooked house is anything but quiet. Needless to say Charlotte also did not appreciate the slamming of the windows. As if mom catching dad "sleeping on the job" was not bad enough...waking Charlotte after only 30 minutes of her morning nap quickly put him into the dog house. The rest of the day he was "reminded" that she was grumpy and fussy because someone woke her up.

The saturday afternoon nap was not much better. After 30 minutes of crying and screaming in her crib, Mom and Dad decided to pack up Charlotte and head over to Kelly & Daves house for their annual Christmas tree bonfire. After 5 minutes in the car Charlotte was alseep. Dad dropped mom off at their house and continued to drive around the back roads of Dunbarton, Goffstown, & Weare with a sleeping baby for an hour. I think he was able to redeem himself a little with mom after that.

Kelly and Daves house was a roaring success with the kids. Lisa and Ryan brought over Colin and of course Mason and Brodie were there as well. Charlotte got to play with everyone and had a wonderful time.


Last year at this time mom, Lisa, and Kelly were pregnant. Hard to imagine a year later 3 kids running around. In honor of last years pregnant bellies...here are the kids with Pumpkin shirts!




We cant wait until the next batch comes! It will be pure chaos.



The highlight of the night was that all of the children went to sleep (we were worried Charlotte wouldn't go to sleep in a strange house). Dave threw last years Christmas tree on the fire and viola! instant giant bon fire!







please click "pregnant" if you want to view pumpkin bellies again.

Love Thursday

Love is....

Playing peek-a-boo with your granddaughter.

Finally Home

Charlotte and Shelby finally made it home last night from North Carolina. Because of heavy rain along the eastern seaboard, the flight out of NC to NH was delayed. They were supposed to be home around 6pm. They eventually landed at 8pm. Dad was looking for them at the airport, turned around, and saw Charlotte smiling away in the baby bjorn. She somehow seems MUCH bigger to him. Even after spending some time with him, he noticed there is something different about her. She IS bigger. She is heavier. Her two front top teeth have come in. She is talking more. She is waving more. She is turning into a little kid in front of his eyes.

What Not To Do

I find it hard to believe I am the only husband in the world whose wife leaves a list of things to do for her husband. I confirmed this when at my friends Paul and Jena's house this weekend. Paul also had a list of "to do's". So to make this world a happier place, I have a few words of wisdom for all the men who have lists:

1. Do not ignore the list on the fridge of things to do.
2. Finish the list early. Do no wait until the last day to start the list.
3. Do not add projects to the list such as painting the living room and raking the yard.
4. Do not cross any items off the list that are not finished.
5. If you don't finish the list do not pretend you didn't finish it because you couldn't read your wifes horrible handwriting.
6. Do not open the fridge to get your 4th beer of the night without looking at the list.
7. Do not open the fridge to get your 5th beer of the night without looking at the list.
8. Do not hide the list before your wife gets home hoping she will forget all of the things she asked you to do.

North Carolina vs. New Hampshire

Charlotte trying to put her socks on in the carseat in NC

Who is the Captain??

I love the open water!

I've got my eye on you Clowns!

Growing every day!

NH:
Today dad had on a t-shirt, over that long sleeve shirt, over that a sweatshirt, over that a light jacket.
NC:
Mom wore a long sleeve shirt.

NH: Dad raked the leaves up. Then took the dogs for a fall walk in the woods. It was cold and winter is coming.
NC: Mom, Nanny, Grampa, and Charlotte went out on the boat.

NH: Tonight dad turned the heat on.
NC: No need for heat.

Luckily mom sent dad some pictures of Charlotte. He was missing her a lot today.
Click here for the full set.

New Design

We hope everyone likes the new design of the blog. Thank you Bluebird Blogs. We are still trying to get Charlottesweb for our address. Until that happens, this is what we got. We like it.

Dad is counting down the days until Mom and Charlotte come home. He talked to Charlotte this morning on the phone and she said she is having fun. Yesterday she went to the Mum Festival in New Bern NC. Mom got some pictures of her with some clowns. I guess she would not take her eyes off the clowns. She didn't cry, didn't smile, just stared at the clowns. If you ask me clowns are scary.

Today Charlotte is going to brunch. Dad will be tackling the list of chores on the fridge. He even added to the list a few items so it will be a busy day for him.

Sorry there are no pics. Dad is hoping mom can upload some in NC?? Right mom??

Weekend Alone

Dad flew back from Dallas on Thursday as Mom and Charlotte were flying to North Carolina. They literally missed each other by only hours. This I think made it worse for dad. He just wanted to come home to see Mom and Charlotte. Now he has to wait.

We he arrived home the house was empty with the exception of two dogs that were VERY happy to see him. Abigail and Oliver were beyond excited. Dad quickly found the long list of chores to do on the fridge and a little note left from Mom and Charlotte telling him how much they missed him and loved him.

Friday night dad spent installing the new door knobs on the new french door he installed. Dad didnt realize how crooked the house was until he installed the door. It took a lot of work to get it in and even more cutting. It fits...although it looks crooked. Oh well.

Saturday dad is going to take the dogs for a walk in the woods and let them run around like crazy. They were stuck in the house alone all day Friday and are going to be alone tonight. Dad is going out with his friends to a haunted hay ride. Tomorrow he needs to finish his list of chores!

So since this was dad first trip away since Charlotte has been born...he realized the incredible power that Charlotte has on him. Yes it sucks waking up in the middle of the night and at 6 am....but seeing her smile and play and giggle and sleep really completes his day.

Love Thursday

Happy Love Thursday

This post is about being thankful for having these woman in my life. Love is having friends from college that you remain close with. Although we all live in different states we continue to get together at least twice a year (more if we are lucky). It has been such a joy to be a part of each other's lives as we have traveled the road to marriage and now motherhood.

A face only a mother could love

Charlotte is enjoying a "Maple Biscuit for Teethers" What a mess! Did you check out the shirt? Clean-up will not be fun

while dad is away..she will play

Dad is away and Charlotte will play! Dad promises that he will put the locks on the cabinets while mom and Charlotte are away in NC. Until then mom gets to pick up all the food from the lazy Susan at least 4 times a day. Oh what fun!

Believe it or not

We have run out of things to tell you. Charlotte has diarreah. Tonight we cooked on the grill. Dad went to the ice cream store but it was closed (bitches). Ahh, as I am sitting here telling you thing Shelby reminded me....Saturday we went to Portsmouth. It was a beautiful fall day. Clear blue sky. Warm weather. We hadn't been back since Charlotte came out of moms belly (4 days before Charlottes birth). So we strolled around and shopped. Then shopped some more. We did go to the wine and cheese store. The owner picked out the perfect bottle of wine for mom...Muscato d'Asti. Mom wants a case of it now. She was ready to chug the whole bottle she loved it so much. Then he let us sample cheese. So we bought some of that too. Strange cheese, but very delicious.

Jon and Tracey met us for lunch at the brewery. It was not very good but it was nice to see them. After lunch we headed home.

Saturday afternoon took Charlotte and the dogs for a walk in the woods. Abigail loved being off her leash and ran and ran and swam and ran. Oliver didn't enjoy beng on his leash but enjoyed it none the less. It was a nice "family" afternoon.

Sunday Dad spent the day with Charlotte. Dad is going to Dallas for the week. The day dad flies back, mom flies out to visit Nanny and Grampa in North Carolina. She is going to be gone from Thursday till Tuesday. Thats over 8 days of dad not seeing his daughter and wife. He is not too excited about this. Maybe dad will pick up a cowboy hat for charlotte and some boots for mom while he is in Dallas!

Thats about it for excitement around here. Expect the blog to be pretty quiet for the next week.

Love Is

Love is .... Your neice holding a bug in her hands so it doesn't get hurt.











Love is ... Renovating your first bathroom together over Easter weekend.













Love is .... Having patience with your puppy while potty training.











Love is ... pregnant pumpkins at Halloween time.












Love is ..... Holding your daughter in your hands.











Love is .... Dogs sleeping with thier suffed animals.










Love is .... Butter Crunch Ice Cream








Love is ... missing your best friend.

It goes by quick

I have made similar posts in the past but I have to do it again. I can not believe how fast time is flying by with Charlotte. She is going to be 10 months old this weekend. She can now walk behind her wagon full of blocks, using it to hold herself up. Today she just chatted and mumbled until she fell asleep. She smiles and she laughs when being tickled or when you do something funny. She is a little person, growing in capability every day.