We have a Winner!

Yes Charlotte won First Place in the town Easter Bonnet Contest. She looked adorable in her little dress and Easter bonnet that dad decorated. She paraded around smiling and waiving her hand like she was at the Miss American Pagent. She won a big stuffed bunny that we subsequently named "Bunny". The town paper was there to take pictures and tried to inverview her. Yes it only took 15 months for Charlotte to make the paper! That is a family record. It took dad 7 years (1st grade). Mom was 4 or 5 when she first made the paper. If we keep up at this pace she will be famous before we know it. Angelina who??

Test run of the Easter Bonnet

How creative!

Strike a pose!

Where is the easter bunny??!

Are those all mine??
Its fun to be proud parents.

Char-jaya

American Idol watchers beware. Sanjaya has nothing on Char-jaya. She dances. She has a mohawk. She is cuter. And above all else she can sing much better (although it's more like yelling and we have no idea what she is saying). Yes folks, welcome the next American Idol....Char-Jaya!

Sanjaya TRYING to sing.



Charlotte after a singing spree. Amazing.


Tonight mom went to get her hairs cut. Dad got to spend some quality time alone with Charlotte. It's funny how much she changes when her mother isn't around. I think she does her best to drive her mother crazy just to get a reaction. I started thinking this a few weeks ago when she was whining and whining. She would keep running to Shelby to throw herself at her. When Shelby picked her up, she would want to get down. When she put her down, she would want to be picked up. Shelby got frustrated and said, "Charlotte, I swear I am dropping you off at the Fire Station!". Charlotte turned towards me, winked, and smiled. She then went on driving Shelby crazy. I should have taken that as a clue that she was doing it on purpose.

Tonight she was an angel. We ate the spectacular grilled chicken and squash that dad made. We played. Then she took a bath and just splish splashed for what seemed like hours. Afterwards she put her diaper on without crying (no small feat in itself, she hates her diapers). She then got her daily massage and she just smiled. She even put her pajamas on without a fuss (although dad did have to sing Old MacDonald over and over). She really likes when he choses unique animal sounds such as the armadillo, chinchilla, and spiny lobster. Yes even spiny lobsters make sounds. This is what it sounds like. I don't make this stuff up people. If you have unique animal sounds, please send them to me so I can include them in my rendition of Old MacDonald. Thank you.

Beans Beans, the more you eat....

Friday evening we packed up the minivan and headed out to Vermont for a little weekend away. We could have stayed home to do a little spring cleaning but dad decided mom really needed a change of scenery. It was a long week with Charlotte being sick and all, and we both needed a little fun.

Mom and dad made a pact saying we would never be those parents that let their kid veg out infront of a lcd in a car watching a movie. Friday we broke that pact. We now understand why so many people do it. Charlotte who normally cries after 20 minutes in the car, was singing and giggling along with the wiggles for most of the ride to vermont. When it was over she contently sang kids songs in the car with mom and dad. The portable DVD/LCD worked!! It will be a staple in the van from now on!

Friday night Shelby's cousin Melissa and husband Ryan came over to show off ultrasound pictures of thier new baby. We hope they continue to have a healthy pregnancy and hope that they have a boy so Ryan will have someone to ride dirtbikes with. Believe me Ryan, a girl is not so bad and you had better believe Charlotte will be tearing it up on those bikes soon enough.

Saturday we did a little shopping in Manchester Vermont. Mom had warned dad about how horrible Charlotte was shopping. As usual he didnt believe her. He had to learn the hard way. He started with her in the stroller. She would stick her arm out while he pushed her through the stores. She would grab whatever clothes she could and pull them off the racks. So much fun. He then tried to just hold her and carry her around the store. This lasted all of 2 minutes. Finally he gave up and let her walk on her own. Her walk quickly turned into a run and the fun was on. Chasing her around J. Crew while she ran, waving at the girls working there. Picking up anything she could find, and more importantly getting in peoples way that were trying to shop.

We repeated this over and over. Finally at the last store mom just went in alone.

After our shopping spree and a little nap, Charlotte was ready to go on another excursion. Not wanting to dissapoint, we decided to head to our old residence of Williamstown MA in the Berkshires. We took her to the toy store and Charlotte got a pink balloon. Then we went to Desperados to get some Mexican food. Charlotte shoveled it in. Words can not explain to you how much this little girl loves Mexican food. Black Beans were being eaten by the handfuls. There was nothing left of the Burrito. Keep your hands and feet away from her when she is eating. It sickening.

After dinner we were all sleepy and headed back to the house to watch a movie and relax. Charlotte went down with a full belly and no issues. However she started waking up at 11:30 then it seemed she was up all night. Mom actually had to take her out of the crib and sleep with her in order to calm her down. Too much Mexican for sure.

Exhausted, we decided to drive back home Sunday morning before Charlottes nap. Of course she slept the majority of the 2 1/2 hour ride. Once we got home she was miserable. Fussy. Grumpy. And above all else Gassy. Hummm, I wonder where that came from??? It could have been from the 2 pounds of black beans she ate the night before.

Putting Charlotte to bed tonight was so much fun. The gas in her belly expanding. Of course letting her drink some of dads seltzer surely didnt help matters. She laid in her crib crying until she made herself sick. Wonderful. More puke to clean up. Let this be a lesson to all of your parents. Mexican should not be given to an toddler less than 1 week after a stomach flu. Lesson learned.

War

Most people don't think about germs and viruses very often. Maybe when flying on a plane, or touching a public toilet you might think to yourself "I bet there are some germs here. I hope I don't catch anything". For most people that is where it ends. For dad that is where it just starts.


His new passion is killing germs and viruses. Whats really funny is he can't see them so he never knows if he really completed the job. It's not like a fly that you can wack with a fly swater and see if its still moving. Most bugs have weapons that destroy them. The swater for the fly. The trap for the ant. Spray for the wasps. Boric acid for fleas. Germs and viruses are no different. The weapons of choice are heat and chemicals such as the ever important bleach and Lysol.



Dad isn't sure why he is becoming so obsessed. It might have to do with being a new parent. Seeing his daughter Charlotte sick yet again with a "stomach bug" is throwing him for a loop. Monday Charlotte attended her first "music together class." It should be called lets pass the germ infested flute around in a circle to share our germs class. In reality he doesn't mind that germs are shared. He does mind when bad germs are shared that cause his daughter to throw up all over him while he rocks her in his lap to put her to bed. Vomit soaking through his clothes, puddling in his lap. A lovely pool of warm smelly puke. That is when he has had enough.




Today was "playgroup" day. Did Charlotte attend? No. Why? Well because she was sick yesterday and tuesday. So we did what most parents should do. We kept her home. Why others can't seem to do the same with thier children I do not know.


So now the mission has begun. Kids, bring your runny sniffly noses near
my child and you will get sprayed with Lysol. Consider this your one and only warning. Dad has had enough with the cleaning up of puke and the smell of vomit is really getting to him. Germs and viruses are not friends to the new parent.

Never too young

When Bill Gates was in the eighth grade he took an interest in computers and programming. He learned BASIC and found bugs in computer software. At age 14 he made $20,000 with a friend by making traffic counters. By age 21 he joined forces with that friend (Paul Allen) and started a company called Microsoft. The rest is history.

The Bill Gates story is not unique. Linus Torvalds started Linux at the age of 21. Steve Jobs started Apple at 21 out of his garage. Larry Page and Sergey Brin founded Google in their early twenties while studying computer science at Stamford. Jerry Yang (co-founder of Yahoo) and Jeff Bezos (Amazon.com) also started young. The one thing they all have in common? They all loved computers at an early age.

At the ripe age of 15 months Charlotte loves computers. At this pace she will re-design the internet and create a new programming language by age 10. Dad is expecting she will learn type before she can write (and he will help her accomplish this). She has already begun using the touchpad on the laptop and loves to hear the click of the keyboard. She loves surfing the internet for Disney Shows and can't believe the magic of downloading the Wiggles videos online. Yes a monster has been created.

However we have made a pact to ensure she is never allowed to put tape on her glasses or wear a pocket protector. Maybe having a "geeky" girl is not such a bad idea. Dad won't have to worry about her dating at an early age. He wont have to worry about late nights at parties. Instead she will be hanging out with her computer geek friends making spyware and viruses. He also won't have to worry about handing out gobs of money for her to go mall shopping. Instead, he will just have to fork over thousands of dollars for new computers ever 6 months. Not a bad trade off.

I know it's a lot of pressure for a 15 month old. Dad really wants to make sure Charlotte is kept grounded...you know, make sure she knows where she came from. So for every leap in technology she is exposed to, dad ensures she has something non-technological to play with. See example below:





Tupperware on the head. The least technological thing in the world.

Happy St. Patricks Day

Charlotte is very lucky to be Irish on such a spectacular day (ok she is part Irish). Regardless, for today she is to be called Lottie (the Irish rendition of her name). Lottie loved starting her day with milk that we dyed green. Followed up by some black pudding and soda bread. When Lottie finished eating she did a magical jig while mom played the fife and dad wailed on the bag pipes. She rode her zebra around the living room and drove all of the mice out of Ireland our house.

In reality today was like most other Saturdays with the exception of dad having to snow blow two feet of snow off the driveway which took two hours. Luckily he flew home from LasVegas a day early by catching the red eye on Thursday night. He arrived at the LasVegas airport at 10pm Thursday evening. Arrived in Manchester at noon on Friday. In between was hours upon hours of cramped smelly airplanes with people snoring next to him while he struggled to sleep. He is however very lucky to have beaten the St. Patricks day snow storm and very happy to be home with his wife and daughter.


The was no Guinness and no Jameson at the Ronan household today. Not even corned beef and cabbage. Our Irish ancestors would be very disappointed and we are sorry. The snow prevented us from hitting the grocery store until this afternoon. Dad did wear his green sweater. Mom wore her green jacket. Lottie a green dress. We must have looked amazing to everyone in the grocery store. We realized we are one step away from wearing matching outfits with shamrocks on them. So uncool.


We did get a deal on corned beef today. I guess there are a lot of Irish people in New Hampshire since the grocery store was all out of cabbage. After venturing to another store we were able to find some. So tomorrow we will celebrate by cooking an Irish boiled dinner for Lottie. To think a couple of years ago mom and dad would have been at the bars in Boston all day and all night. My how things have changed.

Charlies New Friend

Charlotte found a new friend in North Carolina. Her friend is always with her yet seems to really love being around her in the morning and afternoon. Her friend copies her every movement and doesn't seem to ever go away. Her friend is her shadow. Literally.

Mom sent these pictures of Charlotte playing with her shadow. She found it. Ahh how wonderful to be a kid.

Weekend update

Dad got the chance to live his life like he did many many years ago before he got married and before he had Charlotte. Mom and daughter went to North Carolina on Friday leaving dad behind with the dogs. The excitement of sleeping in every day and running around the house in his underwear quickly ended when he arrived home after work on Friday. They house was dark and cold and when he opened the door after a long day of work there were only two dogs to greet him. No mom greeting him with a warm kiss. No daughter clapping and screaming that her da-da was home. Such a let down.

He was on his own which also meant "make your own dinner". This equated to left over ribs in the freezer from last summer and a can of corn chowder. Again such a let down. But without his wife to impress dinner was just about filling his belly not some elaborate home cooked meal.

Saturday morning dad awoke at 6:15am. He tried his hardest to go back to sleep but just couldn't do it. So he got up and cleaned the house for mom. Since everyone had the stomach flu a few weeks ago he figured he should clean with bleach. Needless to say there are no germs left in our house, on any surface. He didnt realize how much bleach he used until the dogs looked a little green. He decided it was a good idea to take them out of the house. So he cracked a window and packed the dogs into the car for a ride. He took them on a backwood excursion along the towns river trail. They were in heaven bouncing through the snow and woods. Unleashed they played by chasing each other through the heavy brush, rolling in the snow, and sniffing for animals. They were very happy to be outside.

They returned to the sanitary house and the bleach smell had dissipated. It was safe to enter. The dogs immediately went to sleep from exhaustion (or bleach poisoning). Dad decided to trek out to Portsmouth to visit with his friends that he doesn't get to see very often. So it was off to the seacoast for a little cookout at Rogers new waterfront mansion. Jon, Tracie, Kurt, Laura, and Anderson all were there. We ate then headed to the Asia (Chinese Restaurant) for Karaoke. Of course none of us sang. We just laughed at the people singing. Dad had a great time and headed home around 11pm.

That is your weekend update. Today dad is going to finish doing our taxes and take the two dogs for another walk. He misses his wife and daughter.

Charlotte Shakira

Charlotte thinks she is Shakira. Where do you think she learned to dance like this?

Happy Birthday Daddy!

34 reasons why I love my daddy

34) You love to take me places..like on vacation, to the beach, to the bookstore, the grocery store
33) you are very funny
32) you make me laugh everyday all the time
31) since I was only a few weeks old you have been putting me to bed
30) and reading me tons of stories before I have to go to bed
29) you give me a bath every night bath
28) and make sure there are bubbles
27) which you put all over me
26) you feed me your special K with red berries
25) most mornings when we eat breakfast together
24) you play hide and seek with me all the time
23) and love to chase me after I come out of my bath always saying " I'm going to get you"
22) which makes me run even faster and giggle
21) you are very sensitive
20) you have become more so since I was born.
19) you tell me you love me everyday
18) and give me kisses all the time
17) when you leave when you come home and just whenever
16) I love to watch you cook
15) you love to have me try all types of food
14) I especially love your Mexican food
13) I love when you tickle me
12) and pretend to bite me
11) which makes me laugh hysterically
10) you buy me flash cards which include flashcards about animals, colors, numbers, states and capitals
9) and keep telling mommy I am not too young to learn these things.
8) you even read me the nature book you bought which has about 600 pages and the Science book
7) I am going to be smart like you
6) you can't wait to teach me things about nature outside
5) and are going to let me touch bugs and stuff that mommy will have NOTHING to do with!
4)You married Mommy
3) You turn on Shakira, or Sergio Mendes and close the blinds or door so no one can see you and you dance with me to my favorite music.
2) you let me watch The Wiggles in the morning even though you don't' like them. You dance with me and sing with me while I watch them and tell me to never stop dancing.
1) you are my daddy and I couldn't ask anyone more perfect to be my daddy and I love you very much.

This is us last year on your birthday













This is us this morning...how times have changed!

Mexico

Now is a good time to revisit a little story between mom and dad. For our honeymoon we decided to escape the frigid New England weather by going to Mexico. We absolutely loved it. Partly because it was our honeymoon (and how many people hate their honeymoons) and partly for another reason. We had fun on the beach, in the pool, and on our little excursion to the ruins of Tulum.




Tulum was amazing to walk through. Seeing the Mayan ruins dating back to 1500 AD. One of the building we visited was the Temple of the Fertility Goddess. During this time Tiffany and Ian were trying to conceive Liam so we prayed for them here. We also prayed for ourselves, that we would have a quick conception and a healthy baby...if ever we decided to try (remember this was our honeymoon). We left Tulum feeling good having enjoyed our day learning something instead of doing tequila shots at the pool.

When we returned home we found out Tiffany was pregnant. Shortly after we found out Shelby was pregnant. In reality we had nothing to do with Tiffany getting pregnant as she already was during the wedding, we just didnt know it. However, Shelby is another story.

So between Shelby and I we joke about Mexico and the powers of the Mayan Fertility Goddess. What makes it even more wild is that Charlotte absolutely loves Salsa Music. To top that Charlotte can not get enough Mexican food. At first we just thought it was a coincidence. Now we really think there is something to this. To us she is a fussy eater. But put some taco meat in front of her and watch out! Keep the fingers and toes away from her non stop chomping mouth. She will eat whole limes. Black beans dont stand a chance with her.

So who knows. We are blessed to have had her and joke that she is part Mexican. Dad is ok with this since it might give her an advantage when applying to college.

Below are some pics of her eating tacos:





















Charlotte has also been reading a lot of People and US Weekly Magazines. Seems she is totally star struck. She keeps telling us the paparazzi is following her, No Pics Please!! We told her she should try to hide behind some dark glasses since thats what all movie stars do.






















The paparazzi was able to snap this pic before she threw a temper tantrum.



















And finally folks, the paparazzi was able to sneak into the hospital for a first look at baby Marin Taylor Slosberg.

Mall Shopping

Dad finds mall shopping with Charlotte very disturbing. First there was the family in Sears the just took over the store. Kids playing on the treadmills, more kids running around in circle, still more kids opening and closing the doors of a dryer, mom fiddling with torque wrenches, dad touching buttons on every plasma television he could find. Its just a bit much when you are just there to look around at things. This is why I dont like to shop unless I know what I want.

KayBee toy store was not much better. The highlight of this visit was the mother, father, and two children who were playing with toys in the middle of the aisle. As a parent, yes I understand you let your kids play. But to have them literally sitting on the floor playing with trains and every single toy they can find is just a little much. Especially when I am trying to push a child in the stroller down the aisle. Please pick up your damn kids and move them out of the way so I dont have to bump into them and say excuse me 100 times. This is not your living room, it is a store. Other people come here to look at things and buy them without having to try every single one out. Maybe they were related to the people in Sears.

The pinnacle of the trip to the mall with Charlotte and mom was the walk through the puppy mill pet store. Lots of little puppies stuck in open topped acrylic boxes filled with shredded newspaper. Kids reaching their dirty hands in to pet the dirty dogs. Of course there were also the standard sick dogs stuck in cages behind the glass as well. One was obviously not happy being in a cage and was soaking wet. From what we dont know. Mom commented loudly..."that one looks sick! Why is it all wet and shivering??" The woman who worked at the pet store went in with a towel and dried it off. We had enough. Charlotte of course just laughed at the puppies in the clear boxes. She thought they were funny. It was very disturbing and we will not be taking her to any more puppy mills.

Our walk through the mall was quick. We had had about enough. Between the stores and then seeing 30 kids playing on the jungle gym in the middle of the mall we were all set. What parents let their children play on dirty mall jungle gym toys with hundreds of other kids, coughing, spitting, and touching everything? If you are one of those parents please email me. I have some questions.

Tonight our friends Paul and Jena had a baby. Congratulations and welcome to the world of parenthood. Just look at all of the things you have to look forward to!

The trip that almost was

Mom and Charlotte have rescheduled their trip to North Carolina for next weekend instead of this weeked. Dad had to call everyone and cancel the party he was planning.The kegs of beer have to be returned. The entertainment has been canceled. The idea of sleeping in until 9am has been buried into the back of his brain until next weekend. There goes running around the house in his underwear and sock singing Old Time Rock and Roll like Tom Cruise. The good news is he wont have to try and come up with the money to replace the Porsche that accidentally falls into Lake Michigan. (again some of you like my mother wont get the reference).

Dad is exhausted after a horribly sleepless night. Charlotte was up at midnight and required dad to rock her for 20 minutes, then put her in her crib and rub her belly for another 15 min. Everytime he stopped she would look up at him laying on her back in her crib and grab his hands and put them back on her belly. She must have had a tummy ache. Again she woke up at 3am. Then at 5am. Then finally mom went and got her at 6am.

Dad will be taking a little siesta on the couch very shortly.

Almost 100%

We are almost 100% healthy. Dad is in New Orleans trying to stay away from as much spicy food as possible. Mom is at home still with a queasy stomach and Charlotte is starting to have normal stuff in her diaper.
Mom and Charlotte head to North Carolina tomorrow to visit Grampa and Glamma...pray the snow holds off and that they don't get stuck sitting on a runway for 6 hrs (mom's biggest fear).