I asked Charlotte today to comment on her feelings about the current state of the economy in Michigan. This is what she told me.



Or maybe it was just her opinion about carrots for dinner.

Charlotte has been challenging me this week, but not to say I adore her any less. She seems to come home from daycare so very tired, but also hungry...a bad mix. Then to top it off, she came down with a new cold this week. So now we have a tired, hungry, booger-nosed baby. Fantastic. Oh, and don't forgot I weaned her last week. Who could forget that?
Despite this perfect storm of unhappiness, I have survived the week and now we are packing for a weekend in Detroit. We will be attending Kim and Gary's son's baptism and meet up with Brian's brothers and wives as well. We are looking forward to a fun-filled weekend.

Some of my favorite pics as of lately.

Charlotte at her first "rock" concert at FMG.



I can do it all by myself!



Two Nappy Pappys

Milk Shake

This isn't new, but it's new to me and it's been making me laugh all afternoon.

Charlotte has grown so much in 6 months and has a few tricks she'd like to show you.

She is getting ever so good at sitting up on her own. However, I can't leave her side for long as she has been known to take a face plant every few minutes. That wipes the smile right off of her face.


Who needs a thumb? I've got my big toes.


She's now eating carrots, sweet potatoes and peas...although peas tend to make her gag. She is making several consonant sounds, b, g, m and y. No "mama" or "dada" yet. She is also making a good effort to hold her own bottle. Such an independent lady! Now if she would only change her own diaper.

After the horrendous thunder storms we had in June, Brian and I made the decision to cut down our large 1/2 dead maple tree.



Brian has wanted to do this for a couple of years, but I always fought it since it is our one source of shade and I see this major expense as doing nothing to bring up the resale value of our house. "Charlotte will get a sunburn!" I said. "Let it fall on our house, then we can get a new kitchen!" But then I heard a story of a friend of a friend who's tree fell on her house, spearing her husband's side of the bed. The next week, we got some estimates.
The tree removal company underestimated the work ahead of them. They expected to spend 4 hours at our house, but spent a solid 11 and didn't even get to the stump removal in that time. Here is the slideshow of pictures from the day. Since then, the stump has been ground up (along with the power line to our garage :( ), so we have a lot of clean up work ahead of us. The tree ordeal was the excitement about the block that day. We should've charged the neighbors for babysitting services, because all the children did was sit at the windows and stare at the spidermen crawling through our tree limbs with chainsaws. Goodbye ole' tree. I won't miss you come this fall!

Back on the grid

We just got back from a really nice 4 days in Traverse City. My family was camping at Leelanau Pines in Cedar, MI. With Charlotte's addition to the family this year, we knew it would be difficult to do our traditional tent camping for the summer, so we let my parents do the hard work of setting up camp and stayed with them for a few days. The National Cherry Festival was in T.C. for the past week, so we took advantage of several festival activities. Brian ran the 5K race with Meagan and my parents (Meagan beat him - but don't tell him I told you so). We visited many a winery and came home with almost 1 1/2 cases. My absolute favorite wine was the ice wine at Brys Estate on Mission Peninsula. The wine tasting comes with a small slice of cheese cake. Together, they are breathtakingly delicious - the wine becomes like a caramel syrup after tasting the cream cheese. I will remember that taste for a long time. Alas, it will only be a memory because the ice wine goes for $70 per bottle!

Charlotte did just fine with camping, albeit "fake" camping since we were in a travel trailer. She did manage to wake up a few times each night, but she was always easy to quiet. I can't wait to take her on more trips as she grows older and more interested.

Here are a few of my favorite pics from the weekend.

"Double fisted"


America's High Five


Outside Old Peninsula Cellars


Our little sailor in "Fishtown"


She was dressed in cherries from head to toe - and snuggled in her Aunt Meagan's arms


The whole crew


And lastly - I have to say happy 6 month 1/2 birthday to my little Charlotte. Look at her - she is getting "SO BIG!"

Today was one of those simply nice days. Charlotte and I enjoyed the morning together and then did our grocery shopping. She slept nicely through the store, and when she did awaken, she just smiled and kicked her feet out for me to kiss. Elderly shoppers stopped in the aisles to give her a "hello" and smile. We came home for lunch. More carrots ended up on the bib then in her mouth. Then we took Maggie out for her long Wednesday walk. The sun was out and the temperature was ever so comfortable. We stopped at a nearby diner so I could pick up an iced hazelnut latte. Two little boys entertained Maggie while she was tied to the dog post outside. A man stopped on his walk to ask us if we were going hunting. (Oldest beagle joke in the book.) Now Charlotte is taking her last afternoon nap in her crib, Maggie is barking in her sleep on the couch, and I am catching up on some odds and ends. I thank God for how lucky I am to get to have days like these.

I never got around to posting any pictures from the holiday, but here is my absolute favorite picture. Aunt Julie took this one.

I am in love with this commercial. Brian hates my cyborg impression.

I think I can see the resemblance

and apparently I didn't have hair either!