Tutu + Kissing Daisy

I was rummaging through Charlotte's closet for something the other day and found my old ballet tutu. Charlotte and I walked downstairs and surprised Daddy. He loved it. What made it even better was that she just couldn't stop giving Daisy kisses!

Tutu + Kissing Daisy, originally uploaded by MamaBeaker.

Dental Surgery? UPDATE

Went to the dentist this morning and all checked out ok; thank goodness. Apparently, Charlotte has a long attached frenulum (tendon that attaches your top lip to your gums) - hers attaches all the way down to the skin between her two front teeth, so when she fell it split. At this point they are not going to do anything. She might grow out of it and/or she might have a little snip + stitch later on down the road. As long as her teeth don't change color she will be just fine.

Even if she wouldn't have fallen she would have had to have a snip + stitch anyways. Now, it's just fifty/fifty.

Dental Surgery?

So, Charlotte fell Saturday and hit her mouth pretty hard. Lots of blood. Very scary (for me anyways). And it wasn't until yesterday that she really let us have a peek...

Looks like the skin between her two front teeth is split and disconnected; kinda just hanging there. Not good. Luckily it doesn't really seem to bother her but, it still needs to be looked at. Dentist appointment tomorrow morning at 9:30. Will keep you posted.

Boomlet

March 19, 2009 — Wall Street Journal | Associated Press

U.S. Hits New Baby-Boom Peak

More babies were born in the U.S. in 2007 than any year in the nation's history, topping the peak during the baby boom 50 years earlier, federal researchers said.

Among the more than 4.3 million births, the birth rate rose slightly for women of all ages, and births to unwed mothers reached an all-time high of about 40%. More than three-quarters of these women were 20 or older.

It isn't clear the boomlet will last long. Some experts think birth rates are already declining because of the economic recession.

Guess we're part of that boomlet!

Preschool

Ugh. Just put Charlotte on the waiting list(s) for preschool. So hard to think about!

New Words + Bye-Bye

The past couple of days Charlotte has really started mimicking what you say. She'll intently watch your lips and then try to repeat. She's got "door", "hello" and "a-sa" (Vesa) down pat. We are working on "thank you" and "bye-bye", though she HAS finally started to WAVE bye-bye - seems to have taken f o r e v e r! She does it backwards with both hands. It's cute.

Bunny Ears

You lookin' at me?

Bed or Chair

Here's Charlotte Sunday morning. She has taken a liking to a doll bed that was my Mom's when she was a little girl. Thing is - Charlotte doesn't understand 'bed'. She thinks it's a chair and takes the mattress and sheets (in the background) off so she can sit on it. She cracks me up.


By the way, she rooted KungFu Panda out of her toy box. We acquired it during beach vacation last summer and we couldn't get it out of her hands; she was obsessed. He used to make all these kungfu noises but one toss on the hardwoods ended that pretty quickly. Has KFP made a comeback? We shall see...

Rashes + Diapers

Charlotte has been having flare ups and off and on bouts with diaper rash for the past couple weeks (again). We have altered her diet and kept close watch and we can't figure out the cause. We've even used the PRESCRIBED ointment from the doctor. Probably just her sensitive skin.

That being said, we've decided to change her current brand of diapers — the ones she's been on since day 01 — to see if that might be where all the issues are coming from. Enter, Seventh Generation. Let's see if these chlorine-free, hypo-allergenic, fragrance- and latex-free bad boys make the difference.

FYI: she got through the night just fine with them - no leaks. AND, her toosh DID look slightly better. We'll see how they hold up.

Leaflet Tight

Found the perfect lunch boxes for Charlotte! As most of you know, I have an infatuation with organizing everything! Yay!

Thought I Lost The Camera

Thought I lost the camera this morning. Couldn't find it anywhere. Was in a major panic running through the house in my jammies. Thought I might have left it behind at The Olive Garden in PA! Can't imagine NOT having it! Oh man.

I did eventually find it in one of the small compartments in my suitcase. Must not have been thinking clearly. Silly me.

Say, "Say!"

I have a habit, when teaching Charlotte new words, to say, "Say _______, Charlotte!" The past couple of days she has started to say, "say," too! She'll point to something, nod her head, and say, "say." It's amazing to see something like that 'click' in her mind and, even better, to watch her use a newly developed skill.

Weekend In PA

Had a great weekend in PA...

Our flight Friday was pretty good. Charlotte was a bit fussy for the first 15 minutes, slept for 40, and then was a only a little bit better than fussy for the last 15. Nana picked us up and we went straight to Isaac's Restaurant & Deli - a fav (and also where I had my first job). The red potato salad is superb. Made our way to Gammy + GrandDad's place, took a nap, woke and was greeted by the GG's and a whole entourage of the rest of our family for an open-house evening.

Charlotte and I went to the park with Nana + PapPaw Saturday, mid-morning. We ate lunch and then headed over to PapPap + PopPop's to spend time with them and the GG's. Charlotte was very excited to play with Max, the shit-szu. We went home for a nap and then over to The Olive Garden for PapPaw's 50th birthday dinner.

We had a lovely 'Young' breakfast Sunday morning while the little lady napped and then we were off to the airport again!

Considering there were so many new faces and new places, Charlotte did do really well. However, you could sense her hesitation. It was hard for her to get really 'warmed up' to everyone and everything in such a short time period, and I think it was kind of a relief for her to be home in her own environment Sunday night.

On a final note, I think this trip was very well-balanced - FINALLY - and we got to spend lots of time with everyone! A success!

Hi!

She now says, "Hi,". Woot! And, she gets so excited when she says it! It's funny.