Not just another Tuesday

Today I turn in my final paper for my masters! Woo hoo! I'm not in the clear yet, I still have to present my paper to a board of Augsburg people in late June.

On a different note, I have some fun pictures of Charlie to share. These are from my camera, so they'll be better quality. I've noticed lately that my blog posts from the iPad have poor quality for pictures. Sorry about that...

Charlie ALMOST rolled over the other day during tummy time.

He likes tummy time a whole lot more if he's propped up on his whale friend Willie. 

Charlie and I are both VERY happy that Tony's done with the play now. Here they are bonding after several days of not seeing each other. 

You may recognize this jumperoo as one of my garage sale purchases. I checked to see if Charlie could hold himself up in it yet. He sure can. He can't play with the toys on his own yet since he's not moving his hands purposefully, but if I sit on the floor in front of him and play, he really likes it. Note the drool flowing out of his mouth: he has become a super drool master lately!

Photobomb by Sol on the right side of this picture. Here's a happy jumping Charlie!

Memorial Day 2013

This year I was excited to expose Charlie to one of my favorite Stewartville traditions. Unfortunately, the rain hindered me from doing so. He enjoyed the parade from the warmth and dryness of his Great Grandpa Arnie's house. I ventured into the rain with Laura and Michelle. I discovered that my rain coat aid not in fact waterproof! I was SOAKED, 

I've been forgetting to bring my camera places lately, but I did get a few pics on my phone. Here's Meg with hear Girl Scout troop walking.

And here's Connor with his Boy Scouts.

Since I convinced Laura and Michelle to go to the cemetery for the ceremony, we were even more soaked!! 

I like this shot because its my Grandpa Clarence and Grandma Barb's head stones with the legion vets in the background. Grandpa was always proud to be a leader at the Legion and to have served in the Army. 

When we got back to grandpa's, we asked if we could borrow some of his clothes while we threw ours in the dryer.

They were a little big for us...

Charlie and I went out to Willow Hill for a second lunch. Mindy sent me some texts while I was busy in the other room. Here's one of Natalie and Charlie.

Uncle Jon sleeping on the job...

Harvey shared his lovey with Charlie. So cute!

It was a fun day with family!

Track and Field

Charlie and I decided to head out for a walk this morning. On our walk, we noticed elementary kids at the high school track. Turns out it was track and field day. On our way back,  I noticed my cousin Connor out on the track. Charlie and I took a detour and watched him do a few events. He was so excited to see Charlie and me there! I asked him where Megan was, and he said she came over in the afternoon, so after Charlie's nap, we headed over to watch her too. Then to make the day even better, we walked with Amy to pick the kids up from school. Of course they were really only excited to see Charlie...what a great day!

Unfortunately Charlie has a bit of the sniffles. I'm not sure if babies get seasonal allergies, but he doesn't seem to be "sick" just sneezes a little more and has some boogies. He did have a low grade fever this afternoon, but he seemed ok. He's also VERY drooly, so maybe he's an early teether. We shall see! 

Charlie and I have no plans this weekend, so that seems a little strange. I don't quite remember what my husband looks like these days. I believe I mentioned that he's in a play at the rep, so we don't see him much. He's also working all weekend...I've got to give single parents a lot of credit. It sure is difficult to do this alone especially when trying to finish up my masters. I'm not complaining, just commenting. 

Back to work on the paper! 4 more days till its due! 

Moby Time

I've discovered my favorite baby item thus far: the Moby wrap. It worked great for Kaylee's concert the other night, and Charlie and I went on a walk with it today. He falls asleep and stays asleep! When he's in the stroller he wakes up right away when we stop moving. He's also pretty darn cute when he's poking his head out to look around and check things out.

Here we are before our walk today. By the time we got to city hall to pay the water bill, Charlie was snoring like his daddy!

The other day Sol was rolling around the kitchen rug trying to catch her tail. She is the silliest kitty I've ever met. Here's a cute shot of her when she caught it briefly.

In case you've been following my daycare dilemma, we may have had our prayers answered today! Pastor Wahl had given me the name of his grand children's daycare not knowing if she had any openings. Turns out she does, AND she's willing to let us be part timers! Tony works on average 3 days during the week. We'd like Charlie to stay home with him when he's home. Another bonus, she lives 3 houses up from my brother and Amanda! And yet another bonus, Pastor Wahl's grand kids also go to Bethel, and their youngest daughter is just a few months older than Charlie. He'll know some kiddos at daycare then!

I feel like a giant weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I had come to the conclusion that Charlie would have to go to a center. While they are not the worst places in the world, I wanted him to go and have a similar experience to the one I had; a loving daycare mom or dad with kids of all ages to learn and grow with.

On that note, I'm going to get some more work done on my paper before I collapse into bed after another tiring but wonderful day as a momma.

Random Charlie Post

I have a lot of pictures on my phone/iPad, so I figured some of you may enjoy them!

Meg helping us take care of the little man. She really wants to walk and hold him, but we told her she has to wait until she's older. That's not something kids enjoy hearing...

Sunday was  Pentecost Sunday in church. Bethel asked us to wear red to worship in celebration. Here's Charlie in his red. We also greeted before worship as a family. Charlie was one of the youngest greeters.

Here's our snoozing boy!

Since we got new curtains, Charlie's been sleeping in until 7! Woo hoo!

Close-up!

We walked over to Kaylee's band concert last night. I've been practicing with the Moby wrap, and it worked great! The auditorium was so full, I had to stand through the whole concert. 

Aunt Amanda and Charlie

Tassle's worth the Hassle

 I drafted this post on Sunday, but Blogger has been difficult for me. It hasn't been letting me upload pictures...FINALLY I could today!)

Today (SUNDAY), as a tornado warning swept over Mitchell County, IA, my little cousin Michelle graduated from high school. The ceremony was paused just towards the end so everyone could be in a tornado safe room. After a little while, the ceremony finished! I wasn't able to attend the ceremony, but we headed down there yesterday to help Michelle celebrate!

When we arrived, Michelle didn't let Charlie stay in his car seat for even a minute! I have picture after picture of all the relatives and non-relatives that held Charlie throughout the party, but I won't bore you with them.

I've posted about my cousin Hannah's amazing cake talents before, and here's the cake she made for Michelle's party! How neat is that?! (Recognize the pictures on the cake? Yup, I took her senior pictures...)

Michelle has 2 older sisters who like to give her a hard time. They've always told her she was born in China. Hannah made up a birth certificate to prove it. HILARIOUS!

As always, grad parties are full of food. Michelle's was no exception. Here's Tony, Kaylee and Meg enjoying some yummy food from the nacho/baked potato bar.

Michelle has been an incredibly involved and community oriented high schooler. These are all the scholarships she earned for college. We are all SO proud of her accomplishments. 

My Aunt Christa has made each of us cousins a quilt when we graduate from high school. Here is Michelle's. Simply beautiful. 

Whenever there's a family gathering on my side or Tony's, we seem to accumulate little helpers. Megan enjoyed helping Tony change Charlie's diapers. She rode down to IA and back with us so she could help "take care of Charlie" in the car. What a sweet little cousin!

Michelle has chosen to follow in her sisters' footsteps and attend Riverland Community College for her first 2 years of college. She will complete her generals to put her on her way to a 4 year degree in the area of social work. Choosing to do this will save Michelle a lot of money in the long run. She can still live at home and commute to campus.

Good luck Chelle!

Hip Hop Journey Style

Yesterday morning my cousin Megan had her first dance recital for Tippey Toes Hip Hop! She was in the absolute last group to perform, but it was worth the wait! They closed out the show with a little Journey!

The girls had a lot of fun on stage.

Meg smiled through the entire dance! 

Here's the beauty

Amanda and I wanted a picture with the celebrity

Family!

Funny family!

Aunt Becky. 

It was fun to watch Meg up there!