Charlotte Findley & Co.

Practically Perfect...

2012-02-06T20:31:00.000-05:00

We got back from a practically perfect two weeks in Florida on Saturday. It was our first time staying at our "home" resort, Bay Lake Towers and we loved it. We lucked into a view of the Magic Kingdom and it was so relaxing to watch the fireworks from our balcony every night. Our second week was at Beach Club Villas and we really enjoyed walking to Epcot and the wonderful pool there. The weather was wonderful the whole time: sunny and in the 70s/80s with little humidity.

Charlotte was more into rides this time, her favorites were Pirates and Toy Story Mania. She also absolutely loved dancing with the characters during Move It, Shake It, Celebrate It. Actually she generally loves dancing anywhere at Disney World... to background music before rope drop, at the pool, while watching Mo'Rockin and British Revolution at Epcot... Charlotte did the Bippidi Bobbidi Boutique this trip and loved being a princess diva. She got so many compliments on the beautiful outfits Grandpa John sewed.

It was Oliver's first time flying and while he was far from perfect at least he wasn't the kid that screamed the most on either of the flights. He still loves the characters and got a ton of attention for his squeaky shoes.

Photopass Pictures from October

2012-01-11T21:40:00.000-05:00

We finally got the Photopass pictures and I just got through editing them all. Here are some of my favorites and a slide show... believe it or not there were a lot more than this, the photographers seemed to latch on to the kids during this trip. We even had a few follow us around one morning at the Magic Kingdom.

Minnie tickling Oliver

Oliver bit Mickey (probably more than once)

Christmas 2011

2012-01-01T17:13:00.000-05:00

Christmas this year was fairly low key-- I had surgery to remove my gallbladder on the 23rd, so we took it easy at home and the grandparents joined us. We ended up having a nice relaxing day.

Charlotte's first present to open as part of her advent calendar was her new suitcase from Aunt Carri. For a three year old, the suitcase was over the top awesome and in addition to taking it to Grandma and Grandpa's house this weekend there have been many games of "party" which for some reason involves packing a suitcase full of random toys going upstairs with it and unpacking it again.

Here's Charlotte in front of the gorgeous stockings her Great Aunt Louise made her and Oliver. Check out Zuna the elf... he couldn't resist trying them out either.

Posing like this with her brother was Charlotte's idea...

The kids and Bill coming down on Christmas morning. Charlotte didn't waste anytime claiming presents.

Here's Oliver checking out the new monorail.

And here's Oliver opening his big girl pirate ship with a "little" help from his sister. Charlotte told Santa and everyone else that asked that she and her brother wanted "big girl pirate ships" for Christmas. She also made a point of saying that Oliver wanted to share his ship with her. When we asked her if she was going to share too, her response... "Yes, I will share. I will share with myself."

Santa was generous to Charlotte as well, here she is opening a big girl pirate ship of her own. She actually has been pretty good about sharing all her presents with everyone including herself and her brother.

New Year's Eve with G&G Findley

2011-12-31T16:12:00.003-05:00

Out visiting the neighbors with our reindeer "antlers"

Ollie loved wearing his "antlers"

Relaxing with Grandma

Painting

Ho ho ho!

2011-12-20T02:34:00.000-05:00

Oliver finally got to meet Santa for the first time on Sunday. Charlotte tagged along too.

Santa's Workshop

2011-12-17T21:19:00.000-05:00

Charlotte and I went to Santa's Workshop today at the community center. Despite still getting over a cold Charlotte had a fun time making ornaments, eating pizza, and of course meeting the big man himself.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

2011-11-30T21:10:00.000-05:00

Charlotte was very excited about putting the star up on the tree on Sunday.

And as a surprise for her, I made an advent garland. Each bag has a small treat and/or a card with a special Christmas activity to do together.

And of course our new scout elf, Zuna, has been appearing on shelves and in other interesting places. He's had both some good and bad to report back to Santa in the last few days.

More 3rd Birthday....

2011-11-19T20:35:00.000-05:00

Birthday dance with Grandma.

And of course one last shot of the amazing cake or at least the top layer. And to think her birthday isn't even until tomorrow....

3rd Birthday Part 3

2011-11-19T20:32:00.000-05:00

After nap time, it was time to open presents.

Charlotte's Birthday Part 2

2011-11-19T20:14:00.000-05:00

Charlotte's 3rd Birthday

2011-11-19T20:08:00.000-05:00

We celebrated Charlotte's 3rd birthday today. Can you figure out the theme?

I was pretty happy with how the cookies turned out. (The Minnie one in the middle is from WDW, but the rest were homemade.)

Aunt Carri made the cake and it deserves the many pictures that will follow of it....

My friend Katie did a great job with the ear headbands for the kids. (If you ever need bows, check her out: https://www.facebook.com/bugabow).

The kids painted Mickey and Minnie masks.

More pictures to come...

WDW Part 2

2011-11-02T21:13:00.003-04:00

The day they wore their Grandpa made pirate costumes the kids got a lot of attention... especially Oliver much to Charlotte's chagrin.

James the Photopass guy followed Oli around like his own personal paparazzi.

Charlotte was picked to be on stage in the Pirate Tutorial.

And now for the princess costumes, first Cinderella. (Yes! Grandpa did these as well).

Did we mention how much Oliver flirted with the princesses?

And on our last day in the parks, Charlotte was Snow White.

Then we went on to Myrtle Beach where the kids saw the Atlantic ocean for the first time.

And in case you're incredibly patient and want to see more pictures, here is a slide show for your viewing pleasure:

We have another trip planned for January to meet up with some friends. It can't come too soon for Miss Charlotte though. She asks about when we are going to "Mickey Mouse's House" at least a few times a day since we got back. Last night she tried the stand by of telling us that there were only "3 more sleeps until Mickey Mouse's House"...we wish kiddo, we wish.

WDW Part 1

2011-11-02T20:50:00.000-04:00

A few weeks in coming, but there were oh 1600+ pictures to get through between me, my dad, and photopass. We did two weeks at WDW staying at Old Key West in October. On the way (relatively) home we stopped at Myrtle Beach for two nights.

The first several days it poured. Once we broke down and ordered Charlotte and Bill rain gear, it completely stopped and we had beautiful weather the rest of the trip. Oliver's shirt is the first of many Grandpa creations... I made Charlotte's.

Belle was Oliver's favorite...

Oliver's first haircut

Grandpa John joined us the second week.

Grandpa made Winnie the Pooh dress and Oli's shirt.

Charlotte insisted on doing this pose with every character with long ears.

Dancing in her Alice dress while waiting for the monorail (yes, another Grandpa original along with Oli's matching shirt). Charlotte's favorite ride was the monorail. When asked what the best thing about the trip was, her answer was "Monorail!!".

We were "family of the day" aka first in line one morning at the Character Spot in Epcot, so the kids got to take pictures with all of the Fab 5 all at once. It was pretty much chaos.

Oliver's favorite thing at Epcot was this wheel.

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-29T20:10:00.002-04:00

We celebrated Halloween today with all the grandparents.

First there was the pumpkin carving (or at least the pumpkin de-gutting... we didn't finish before nap time, so tomorrow he'll get a face.)

Then after nap we got the kids in their costumes.

Meet Dorothy...

We bundled everyone up and braved the snow to go to the Air & Scare at the National Air and Space Museum (Udvar-Hazy).

And here's the Flying Monkey. It was a bit difficult getting Oliver into the rest of his costume.

Borrowing my witch's hat.

The snow did not seem to scare off any of the crowds.

Charlotte literally almost knocked the Marshmallow Man clear over.

We also took some video, but make no promises on timeliness since we haven't even gotten pictures posted from our trip yet.

Post Birthday

2011-09-26T21:41:00.001-04:00

There was left over sugar in many forms for many days. Here's Charlotte with her favorite chocolate covered Oreos on a stick.

Oliver playing with his new blocks.

Eating leftover cake.

The Cookie Monster cookies were memorable...

The giant bruise he got a day or so after his birthday.

Daddy's birthday = more cake. Charlotte started to assume that I would bring a cake home with me from work everyday.

Playing with Daddy one morning while Oliver napped.

And insisting I take her picture wearing the hat. This is her version of "smiling" for the camera.

Oliver's 1st Birthday

2011-09-26T21:30:00.001-04:00

We've been way too busy lately... this should been posted, oh two weeks ago. But better late than never, right?

Oliver's birthday was supposed to be held in the park but we had inches and inches and inches of rain the entire week before. So very last minute we were lucky to be able to move it indoors at the community center.

While it was raining and Oliver and Charlotte were visiting Grandma and Grandpa the week before, I spent way too much time making cookies. I was pretty happy with how they turned out for my first time trying anything like it.

We also did an Elmo fruit platter and a Grouch veggie tray.

'Aunt' Carri made Oliver's cake and cupcakes. They were absolutely adorable!

Oliver loved the balloons and loved the ribbons even more.

Big sister with balloons Grandpa attached to her braids...

Opening presents...

And Oliver's favorite part: eating the cake!

Well, that ribbon was pretty good too.

What We Did This Weekend

2011-09-04T21:18:00.003-04:00

Taught Eeyore and Tigger how to play Candyland. Charlotte also went to her first real movie on Friday with Mom and Grandpa-- Winnie the Pooh. Complete with popcorn and raisinettes it was a big hit, she gives it two thumbs up!

Hung around the house

Let the Fairy Grandfather check the hem on her new dress.

Ate...errr...read some books.

Met up with Grandpa at the Animal Farm.

The favorite part for both was the bounce house. Oliver's first time in it.

Yes, she's literally licking the wall... kid just cause your brother does it doesn't mean you have to too.

Oliver and Charlotte are off for a week visit with Grandpa and Grandma Findley, so Bill can get some contract work done this week. Charlotte's pretty excited about it, almost as much as she's excited about the promise of cake at Oliver's party next weekend.

Glow bath

2011-08-28T14:25:00.005-04:00

Irene wasn't much more than a big rainstorm here. But it did mean an entire weekend inside. So we've been trying to keep everyone entertained.

Here's Charlotte "reading" to Eeyore.

And after lunch today we did a special bath with glow sticks. (I can't take credit for the brilliant idea, here's the source: http://playathomemom3.blogspot.com/2011/07/glow-sticks-thinking-outside-box_17.html) It kept the kids completely entertained for almost an hour. We had to promise Charlotte she could play with the glow sticks some more tonight to get her to agree to get out of the bath for nap time. Yay for the $1 at Michaels impulse buy!

And I'm the first to admit, I had absolutely no idea how to make the camera take decent pictures of this. But you'll get the idea...

You can barely make out Oliver there. He was in the tub, but couldn't handle holding the sticks and not chewing on them. So he's not illuminated enough to show up in most of the pictures.

After Oliver got out, Charlotte really had fun making "glasses" and waving the sticks around.

The stars on the wall are from Charlotte's turtle which she got for Christmas last year from Uncle Sean. She *loves* that thing, but for some reason it always has to be set on the blue color.

Tuesday afternoon

2011-08-28T13:45:00.002-04:00

This is what we did Tuesday afternoon after I got home from work.

Charlotte picked out this pose, "Take a picture of my foot, Mommy!"

Picking Peaches

2011-08-16T19:32:00.000-04:00

Bill really liked this picture of Charlotte that Grandpa John took today while they were picking peaches at the farm.

August Afternoon

2011-08-10T19:59:00.001-04:00

We had the first really nice weather in what feels like forever today. So Charlotte and I walked to the little playground after work.

I let her pick one flower from this tree, which then could not be set down for anything.

Even climbing had to be done with the flower.

By this point the flower has become a casualty of rolling around in the grass. You can see a bit on the left if you look closely.

Roaring like a dinosaur!

Oliver was happy to see us when we got home. He has had an interesting day... let's just say it involves Charlotte's potty and his tendency to put *everything* in his mouth. The kid will never, never, ever hear the end of that one.

Oliver's crooked growl face. I didn't catch all of it; he also scrunches up his eyes when he's doing it full force.

Charlotte has had some issues wearing her bike helmet, so she and Bill had been practicing today. Charlotte decided dinner was a good time to practice.

Happy 4th of July!

2011-07-04T23:20:00.000-04:00

Happy 4th of July!

Charlotte's been sick all weekend, so we resorted to making cookies to occupy her for awhile yesterday.

To escape the cabin fever, we did manage to venture out to the 4th of July parade this morning. We made it through most of it... Oliver needed an early exit but it was lunch time for him and considering he pretty much skipped morning nap he did remarkably well.

Here's some pictures from waiting on the parade...

Visit to G and G Findley June 2011

2011-06-19T13:53:00.023-04:00

Looks good enought to eat
- and Ollie did!

OK - this ball is safer to play with.

Time to read!
Look at the stack of books Charlotte got out.

Charlotte modeling her new necklace that she designed herself.

Grandma and Grandpa have this neat water table
- with running water

Ready for church

Grandma said I could wade in the puddles - she waded also!

It is fun to wade in puddles!

With Grandpa at Anne Marie Gardens
"Oysterman Fountain"

On top a large platform in the forest at Anne Marie Gardens

Climbing and posing

A fairy castle at Anne Marie Gardens
One of dozens made by local artists

Another fairy castle - Charlotte wanted a close look

Must touch these magic pebbles

Sewing project

2011-06-12T18:39:00.001-04:00

Not bad for my first project since 6th grade. I'm counting on it looking cuter on Charlotte.

Thanks to my dad for being patient and showing me the basics. And thanks to Carri for loaning me her machine.

Oliver is 9 months old

2011-06-12T18:34:00.000-04:00

He just started pulling himself up to standing this weekend.

He loves jammin' on the keyboard.

Sunday at the Animal Park

2011-06-05T20:31:00.004-04:00

We went to the Animal Park this morning.

Charlotte is a daredevil...

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

2011-06-04T21:09:00.000-04:00

Grandpa John's birthday was yesterday so we had him over for dinner and made him a cake today. Charlotte had the most important job-- testing out the frosting.

Oliver eating

2011-06-04T21:06:00.001-04:00

Charlotte loves to help feed Oliver.

And Oliver really loves feeding himself. Here he is after eating ziti the other night. Yes, that's pasta sauce above his eyebrows.

Welcoming Summer

2011-05-30T21:47:00.000-04:00

We're happy that summer has arrived because that means watermelon. We also got to go swimming yesterday since the pool opened on Saturday. Both kiddos are little fish and loved it.

This afternoon was so hot, we spent most of it indoors though.

Garden Walk

2011-05-30T21:34:00.002-04:00

We went to Meadow Lark Gardens this morning. They opened at 5 am for photographers today, so we were able to go right after breakfast. Even though we were only there from 8-10, it was hot. I think we hit 90 before we left. Oliver napped in the stroller which was such a nice bonus.

The new Korean Bell area

He held his hat up like this the whole nap

We saw several geese families

Bill pointing out the goslings

Strawberry Festival

2011-05-30T21:15:00.001-04:00

Saturday we went to the Strawberry Festival at Great Country Farms. It was a bit crowded and we never even made it to the strawberries. But we had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa Findley and Grandpa John.

Charlotte's favorite part of the day was the "pillow bounce". She climbed right up and jumped right along with the big kids.

Riding the Cow Train

Checking out Grandma's hat

Patty Cake

Our main event was supposed to be the diaper derby. Despite the weeks of training and laps around the living room, Oliver had other plans and never made it past the start line. At one point he turned around, went the opposite direction and spent a few minutes checking out the grass. Needless to say he came in dead last, but he got the same prize as everyone else anyhow.

Sound asleep

2011-05-19T19:51:00.000-04:00

Wrestling

2011-05-19T19:37:00.001-04:00

A typical afternoon activity...

Charlotte actually said, "Good Boy!" while doing this.

Next to crawling, standing is the most exciting thing ever.

Water table

2011-05-19T19:35:00.000-04:00

Playing with the water table and Oli's "water table" last Sunday

Charlotte's idea of a perfect breakfast

2011-05-19T19:32:00.000-04:00

This was how she wanted to eat her yogurt last week.

Oliver at 8 Months

2011-05-19T19:31:00.000-04:00

Oliver can now crawl. No cat or comb is safe.

2011-05-19T14:18:00.000-04:00

Mother's Day

2011-05-08T21:37:00.000-04:00

We spent the afternoon at Kidwell Farm. The weather was perfect and the kids had a great time.
Oliver especially loved exploring the grass.

With Grandpa at the Garden

2011-04-24T16:54:00.000-04:00

Oliver says...

2011-04-24T16:52:00.000-04:00

Happy Easter Everybody!

Some of Charlotte's Favorite Babies

2011-04-24T14:05:00.000-04:00

Tigger had to do tummy time...

Catching some ZZZs

2011-04-24T14:00:00.000-04:00

This was back when Oliver (and Mommy and Daddy) was still getting up two or three times a night. Made for a sweet picture but I'm not missing those nights.

Charlotte does her Llyod Dobler tribute...

2011-04-24T13:55:00.000-04:00

I don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don't want to do that.

PS. I found a memory card with pictures and video from 5 months ago. So the next few posts aren't recent.

Easter Bunny

2011-04-17T21:05:00.001-04:00

Charlotte and Oliver met the Easter Bunny this morning. Charlotte thought we'd see Alice too when I told her we were going to visit a rabbit.

And here they are two weeks ago (at Picture People).

Oliver at the park

2011-04-17T20:58:00.000-04:00

Charlotte at the park

2011-04-17T20:56:00.000-04:00

Flowers

2011-04-17T20:54:00.000-04:00

We went on a walk this afternoon and Charlotte stopped to smell the flowers (or pose for pictures as instructed by her mother).

Easter stickers

2011-04-17T20:12:00.000-04:00

Thanks to Great-Aunt Carolyn, Charlotte had the second perfect rainy day activity-- Easter stickers. They kept her happily occupied for a good 45 minutes.

This is the face she makes when you ask her to smile. No clue why...

Yet, she will smile if you say "say cheese"

Sophie is a popular giraffe

2011-04-17T20:08:00.001-04:00

Oliver is working on his top two front teeth coming in. We're thinking within the next week or so they'll be cut.

Easter Eggs

2011-04-17T20:07:00.000-04:00

Charlotte and Oliver were both sick yesterday with a cold. Combine that with rain all day long and by mid-afternoon any distraction was welcome. We ended up dying Easter eggs and it was a big success. Oliver and Bill supervising Charlotte directing the dying process

The final results (yeah, purple didn't come out too well :P)

Oli really wants to be able to crawl

2011-04-17T20:04:00.000-04:00

He can get up on hands and knees. He's managed to scoot back a few times, but so far no coordinated crawling. Unfortunately, he's favorite place to practice is his crib when he's supposed to be going to sleep. Last night I caught him rocking back and forth on his hand and knees. He literally fell asleep mid-rock in the crawling pose.

Oliver at 7 months

2011-04-17T20:01:00.000-04:00

I had tried to post these on his 7 month "birthday" but due to technical difficulties, you're now be inundated with posts one after another instead.

Big hugs

2011-04-17T19:58:00.001-04:00

Charlotte likes to hug Oliver. But she doesn't quite understand that hug does not equal head lock.

Just hanging out

2011-04-17T19:54:00.000-04:00

I Love You Oli

2011-03-20T20:40:00.000-04:00

Unprompted Charlotte gave Oli a big hug today and said "I love you Oli!"

He responded by blowing more raspberries.

First day of the season at the Animal Park

2011-03-20T20:37:00.000-04:00

Checking out the baby donkey

Yes, the stroller is pink ... the price you pay for having a big sister.

Oliver wears green

2011-03-17T13:06:00.000-04:00

It's a goofy bib, but we had it laying around from a couple years ago.

Lunging for the cat is trickier than it would seem.

I think we need to get him some baby ray-bans or something to really complete the look.

Oliver tends to moisten his surroundings if left in one place for too long.

In keeping with the day, I decided to make Oliver a pea puree for lunch. Green chair, green shirt, green bib, green spoon and green peas. You may want to pinch him, but you're not allowed.

Oliver's 6-month checkup results

2011-03-17T10:36:00.000-04:00

I took Oliver in to the doctor yesterday for his 6-month checkup. He's doing just fine. Here's how he measured up:

Height: 27 inches (70th percentile)
Weight: 19 pounds, 1 ounce (75th percentile)
Head: 17.5 inches (65th percentile)

Oliver is 6 months old

2011-03-16T21:34:00.001-04:00

If you look closely, you can see his two new bottom teeth in this picture.

Ready for dance class

2011-03-16T21:24:00.003-04:00

On Saturday, Charlotte had her first dance class with mommy. Here's some pictures of her in her outfit before they left.

M-I-C-K-E-Y ....

2011-02-26T19:49:00.003-05:00

The week before last Charlotte, Bill, and I went down to Walt Disney World for six days. Because I worked so much overtime in December, I had comp days that needed to be used. Grandma and Grandpa Findley very generously agreed to watch Oliver while we were on the trip. We missed him a lot, but I think Charlotte loved having us to herself and it made traveling much easier.

The main goal was getting out of the cold. Florida didn't disappoint-- we had 70s and 80s the whole time and no rain.

We stayed at Beach Club Villas in a studio. The room was in a great location; top floor overlooking the pool. It was right by the elevators, quiet because it was sort of in a corner away from other rooms' doors, and had a large balcony. Beach Club Villas is now one of my favorite resorts. We really enjoyed being a short walk from Epcot. Charlotte *loved* the fancy shmancy pool complex.

Charlotte continues to love meeting the characters. And she was more into rides this time, including Pirates. She even sings her own version of the song.

Once again we failed to make it to the Main Street Electrical Parade. I don't know if it's cursed or what. We had a great spot in Frontierland and waited about 45 minutes for the parade to start. Charlotte was a bit whinier than normal and pretty clingy. I should have known something was wrong when she turned down the offer of ice cream. But we thought she was just tired since it was past her normal bed time. Minutes, literally minutes, before the parade arrived Charlotte stood up and puked. All over herself and all over me. We had a not-so-pleasant walk through the crowds to get to first aid. I will say that even in a bad experience Disney magic pulls through. The RN at first aid gave Bill a voucher and sent him to Main Street to pick out new pants and socks for free to change Charlotte into. She also helped me get cleaned up. I'm really hoping this whole throwing up at Disneyworld thing is done with. Two trips in a row is enough already. Thankfully Charlotte didn't get sick again and while we took it easy the next day it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

We only did one table service meal this time, Garden Grill, on our arrival day. It's one of our favorite character meals. The food is family style and better than the usual buffet stuff. I thought we might miss not having more sit down meals, but I actually really liked not having so much stuff scheduled. It was nice to just go with the flow and eat when it was convenient.

The last day Charlotte had her third haircut at the Main Street Barbershop. This time the Daper Dans were even singing during her haircut. It's always a great experience and relatively cheap for Disney. I totally recommend it to anyone who can work it into a WDW trip.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the trip:

We took quite a bit of video this time. But considering we still haven't finished editing the videos from Christmas, no guarantees on if or when it will get posted here.

Thanks again to Dick and Jeannette for taking care of Oli! We really, really, really appreciated it and it was so nice to be able to come home to the happy and a bit spoiled little boy.

Oliver's vacation continued

2011-02-19T20:20:00.009-05:00

Just chillin' out again

Catching up on the news

Grandma, you are so nice to me!

Bath time

Oliver's vacation at G and G Findley

2011-02-19T19:59:00.015-05:00

Enjoying swing time with Grandma

A little blanket time

Playing on the floor after my bottle

Oliver learns to read

Bonding over tummy time

2011-02-05T22:02:00.000-05:00

Charlotte still insists on doing tummy time when Oli does it. Notice that she's also apparently teething :P

He rolled over for the first time ever during naked tummy time a couple weeks ago. He still rolls best nekkid... the kid has his own priorities.

Flirt

2011-02-05T21:59:00.000-05:00

Oliver can flirt with the best of them.

Jumperoo!!!

2011-02-05T21:55:00.000-05:00

Oli loves playing in the jumperoo. The spinning frog is his favorite part.

Fashonista

2011-02-05T21:54:00.000-05:00

Can you guess who put together this stunning outfit?

Actually Daddy was responsible for most of it. But Charlotte picked out the hat.

4 Months Old

2011-02-05T21:49:00.000-05:00

So these are a little late, but we took them on Oliver's 4 month "birthday".

Napping in Bed

2011-01-20T14:24:00.000-05:00

Last night we let Charlotte sleep in her "big girl" bed for the first time. This afternoon, she was still very excited to go up and nap. After she got to sleep, I snuck in and got a shot of her curled up.

Christmas Cards

2011-01-08T23:59:00.000-05:00

It's January 8th, almost 9th, so I think I just have to face the facts. The Christmas cards are not getting mailed this year. Sorry guys, working every weekend but one in December sort of put some stuff on the back burner.
Here are the pictures that I took for the card...

And Bill's favorite, if for no other reason Oliver's expression.

Now, does anyone want to help me take down the tree before Saint Patrick's Day?

Check out my styling outfit

2011-01-06T23:42:00.000-05:00

Thanks for the onsie Cousin Elisha and for the kickin' shoes James :D

Christmas at Grandma and Grandpa Findley's

2011-01-01T20:21:00.010-05:00

Charlotte and Ollie

Ollie

Charlotte cooking dinner

Charlotte coloring

Ollie checking out Grandma

Ollie and Grandpa

Decorated Ollie and Grandma

Charlotte getting new teddy bear

Charlotte dancing with new teddy bear

Grandma reading Charlotte a new book

Last few Christmas pictures

2010-12-26T10:45:00.000-05:00

Oliver's first Christmas

2010-12-26T10:40:00.000-05:00

His favorite part was just all the one on one attention.

Looking serious...

Checking out the new rattles

Attacked by a sock monkey (thanks Uncle Matt and Holly)

Open presents!

2010-12-26T10:37:00.000-05:00

Charlotte was very into "open presents!" (and a bit bossy about it too). She unwrapped both her and her brothers gifts. A few of Grandpa John's too.

New cars from Aunt Carri... one of her favorites this year

New puzzle

Reading a card from Great Grandma and Grandpa

Showing Oli her car wash

So much for the cute picture of the matching PJs

2010-12-26T10:32:00.000-05:00

Getting a picture of the two of them together is not easy

especially on Oli

Christmas Day

2010-12-26T10:29:00.000-05:00

Santa was very generous this year

Oli and the new sign for his and Charlotte's room.

Opening blocks... each new toy had to be played with before moving on to the next present. It took over four hours to get through everything, even then we rushed her through the last few cause it was nap time.

Cookies for Santa

2010-12-26T10:26:00.000-05:00

On Christmas Eve, Charlotte and I baked cookies for Santa.

All done

The ones Charlotte picked out for Santa (and a carrot for the Reindeer)

What we found Christmas morning, Charlotte quickly volunteered to finish the cookies for Santa. No such interest in the carrot.

Later in the day, we told Charlotte she had to eat some orange before she could have another cookie. Her response, "Charlotte cookie! Reindeer orange!" Apparently since we don't have a dog, the reindeer are good candidates for pawning off unwanted fruit and veggies on.

Ho ho ho!

2010-12-06T19:53:00.000-05:00

Charlotte got to catch up with Santa on Saturday at Frying Pan Park. It was freezing, hence her pink nose.

Charlotte's loving the Christmas season so far. Jingle Bells is a giant hit as is the chocolate in the advent calendar every night.

Charlotte's 2nd Birthday

2010-11-21T08:52:00.014-05:00

Charlotte celebrated her second birthday yesterday in style.

After breakfast, she rocked out to the Beatles

And taught her doll to dance too

Then we went to her party at the At Play Cafe where appropriately, Charlotte got to play.

Daddy helping during the art project. The kids painted caterpillars.

Oli just checking everything out.

Flirting with Grandma and Grandpa

And his new girlfriend, Reese.

The amazing cake that Aunt Carri made for Charlotte (sorry about the odd angle...)

Singing Happy Birthday

Eating "Happy Birthday CAKE!"

After the party (and nap time) Charlotte got to open all those new birthday presents with Grandpa and Grandma Findley

Playing with her new kitchen

After dinner she had a second round of birthday cake

Overall, it was an excellent day. Thanks to everyone who joined us and especially the Grandpa John for giving Charlotte the party at At Play and Aunt Carri for making the cake. Charlotte's a lucky little girl to have everyone celebrate with her.

A final slide show with all the photos (some blatantly stolen from Grandpa John)

Charlotte Eats Cheerios

2010-11-17T10:11:00.000-05:00

When Charlotte saw us taping Oli this morning, she wanted to be filmed too. Hence the thrilling footage of her eating cheerios, counting, and various other musings.

WDW Videos

2010-11-17T10:02:00.003-05:00

We didn't get a whole lot of video on the trip, but here are a few clips:

Oliver Smiles

2010-11-17T09:59:00.001-05:00

It's hard to capture them, but here are a few of Oli's smiles.

Chunky Monkey

2010-11-15T21:32:00.001-05:00

I'll do Oli's 2 month pictures soon (it happened to be the day Charlotte got sick at WDW, so haven't gotten a chance yet). But I snapped these pictures today which really show how fast he's growing.

Here's the day he came home from the hospital for comparison...

Checking out his big sis

Just in the last few days he's really started to coo, smile, and even giggle a lot more often. Haven't been able to capture it on film yet, but here's a half smirk.

Walt Disney World Take 1 (or 3)

2010-11-15T20:56:00.006-05:00

We got home from Oli's first and Charlotte's third trip to Walt Disney World last night. Still pretty exhausted, but wanted to get these posted while I was still motivated. The trip probably tied with our infamous family trip to Cancun for being cursed... no medical professionals had to visit our room, but I did sprain my ankle pretty badly the morning we left, Bill broke his glasses right before we left, and Charlotte spent an entire day projectile vomiting.

Even with all that, it really was an excellent trip. Charlotte, Oli, Bill, and I stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge Kidani Village. We had a savannah view and Charlotte thoroughly enjoyed saying "Good Morning" and "Good Night" to the animals each day. Grandpa John stayed near by at Bonnet Creek.

The highlight of the trip was being picked as "Family of the Day" in Toontown. We got a personal tour from the Mouse himself.

Here are a handful of my favorite pictures:

Charlotte meets "Missy" for her private tour

Oli modeling his Pooh outfit

Grandpa teaching Charlotte how to drive

Stickers were a huge hit this trip

And of course Oli got his first set of ears

And for those of you with too much time on your hands, here's a slide show of all the "good" pictures. I'll post more once we get our photo pass pictures back.

And here's a link to the photos online if you want to see larger versions.

Walt Disney World November 2010

Playmat

2010-11-15T19:58:00.000-05:00

Charlotte's used the playmat more since Oli was born than she ever did when she was an only child.

These were the last pictures we took before our WDW trip. Prepare to be inundated with Mickey Mouse House pictures...

Bath time

2010-10-27T21:18:00.000-04:00

Oliver still loves his baths, especially with oatmeal in them. And yes, he's pretty much all tummy...

Lounging

2010-10-27T21:16:00.000-04:00

Rawwrrrr!

Smiles

2010-10-27T21:14:00.000-04:00

This weekend while Charlotte was at Grandma and Grandpa's house, we pulled out the activity mat for Oliver. (Charlotte co-opted it within minutes of returning home).

Oliver has started smiling. Grandma was a champ at getting the big smiles out of him... he can be rather stingy with them.

Sorry this is out of focus, but it's the best smile picture we've gotten so far.

Newish Videos

2010-10-21T10:20:00.002-04:00

These were taken last month, but I'm just getting around to uploading them...

Big foot

2010-10-21T00:02:00.000-04:00

Trying on Daddy's shoes

Oliver's 1 month stats

2010-10-18T10:35:00.001-04:00

Just got back from his one month appointment (I know it's late but the pediatrician had no earlier appointments). His stats are:

22 in - 60th percentile
10 lbs 15 oz - 75th percentile

Head: 15 1/4 in - 50th percentile

Quilt time

2010-10-17T15:22:00.000-04:00

Oliver on the wonderful quilt that Great Aunt Louise made him.

Oh wow, more pumpkins....

2010-10-17T15:19:00.000-04:00

And more pumpkins...

2010-10-17T15:17:00.000-04:00

No fear! Charlotte is an expert at climbing.

More pumpkin patch fun

2010-10-17T15:12:00.000-04:00

Bill's shirt was pretty much all Oli saw of the pumpkin patch. He had a nice view of the much needed coffee as well.

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-17T15:10:00.000-04:00

We went to the pumpkin patch this morning. The weather was beautiful and Charlotte loved climbing on the pirate ship.

Sound asleep

2010-10-17T15:08:00.000-04:00

The most asked question seems to be, "How is he sleeping?" Oliver's a pretty good sleeper. He's usually getting up once or twice a night at this point. He does usually have a fussy period in the evenings, but thankfully it usually corresponds with Charlotte's bedtime.

Oh and somehow his hair seems to be getting a bit red. I don't know where that came from.

Rockin' Out

2010-10-17T15:05:00.000-04:00

Checking out Daddy's Headphones

Just hanging out...

Bath tub

2010-10-11T01:00:00.003-04:00

These are a few weeks old. We've been trying to catch up on sleep during kiddo free moments, but we'll try to be better about getting pictures posted :)

Charlotte really loves to try out all of Oliver's stuff. Of course most of it did belong to her at one point, but she doesn't know that. We have to watch the binkies. She insists on doing tummy time when he does. The buckles on his swing and carseat are endlessly fascinating. Here she is playing with his bath tub.

For comparison, here she is at almost 1 month:

And at 3 months:

And here's a few pictures of Oliver before his baby acne really kicked in.