Grammy and Grampy!

Grammy and Grampy got her today to see Charlotte! We went out to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants with Grandpa!

Grandpa Skip gave Charlotte a spoon at dinner and she loved it. She couldn't quite figure out how to put it in her mouth!
Then he moved on to letting her lick the salt off the crackers.... just what she needs!
Grammy was so excited to see Charlotte. Charlotte just loves her and gave her lots of smiles (mostly before dinner when she was still in a good mood!)
Yes, that is Jimbo in the background. We ran into Amy and Jim at the restaurant! It was so funny to see them! 
Charlotte is so excited to have her Grandparents here!!!!

ChickIN Patty Night Take 2

It's a Thursday in New York, which means ChickIN Patty Night at the Funny Farm! Molly is at a sleep away camp for the week which meant that Rory didn't have to share Charlotte with her! They lounged together before dinner. 

Maggie came in from the pool and wanted to hold Charlotte. I told her to sit in the chair to which Amy asked from the other room "don't you want her to be closer to the floor?!?!". Rosie and Rory joined in the picture.
Maggie enjoyed having some Charlotte time.
The girls who live down the street, that watch the kids, came for their first ChickIN patty night. They didn't know they were fake chicken until I spilled the beans! Rory started off the night by stealing Jessie's ChickIN patty. 
Rosie was quite the little thief also. She kept taking Charlotte's blankey from her. Poor Charlotte couldn't do a thing and just sat and watched the commotion around her.

After dinner I put Charlotte in Rosie's exersaucer. She hasn't been in one since we were home, and she needed to be helped with blankets to stay up. Now she is such a big girl, standing in it all by herself!
Mimi missed ChickIN Patty Night, so Amy sent home some leftovers so she wouldn't miss out! When Mom got home and saw her patty she asked "Are you crazy???". She then went around the house singing the ChickIN Patty theme song.

Great Grandma's!

Today we went to visit Great Grandma and Charlotte was in a great mood! I dressed her in pink frills and Grandma went nuts. I definitely won points for the outfit today!

Charlotte is getting so close to being able to roll over! She took a little nap on Grandma's bed, and Grandma kept checking on her every 2 minutes to make sure she didn't roll off! I insisted she couldn't roll yet to which Grandma replied that it could happen at any time. She certanly came close while she was playing on the floor! She got all the way over but was laying on her arm. She can't figure out how to get it out of the way!
Aunt Dee came down to say hello and got lots of smiles! Charlotte just loves to play!
All the pictures I have of Grandma and Charlotte are in her chair in the living room, so I wanted to take a few outside. Charlotte didn't want to cooperate with me while I was taking pictures, but was an angel the rest of the day!

Bye Bye Crazies!

The crazy Long Island bunch left Sunday morning to go home. Charlotte was very sad but was thrilled to spend some more time with Kelly! We were sure to go in Grandma's gardens to take some pictures before they left!

Charlotte has been becoming very animated and is getting used to having her picture taken. She is starting to become a bit fresh when I bring out the camera!
Charlotte doesn't know what to think of her Crazy Great Uncle Rodney!
Like Father Like Son... Charlotte doesn't know what to think! 

The Looney Bin!

Uncle Rodney, Aunt Karen, Kelly, and Aunt Karen's parents, Kay and Andy, came up to visit for the weekend. It is always an adventure when you add Grandma and Grandpa and my mom to the mix. Tonight we went out to dinner to one of mom's clients resturants. We frequently go there when there is a large group of us because we get the banquet room all to ourselves. They have to seclude us from the rest of the restaurant! This is why....  

Charlotte got a new stroller today. I brought home my jogging stroller but it weighs 27lbs, and is difficult to open and close and switch between cars, so I got a lightweight umbrella stroller. I love it. Grandma Great would take Charlotte for walks around the perimeter of the room we were sitting in... and then would stop and look to see if she fell asleep. She may be a baby but she is not that dumb!After Grandma Great had a Margarita, I gave her my phone to try "The Moron Test". It is an application on the iPhone to test how smart you are... it is pretty tricky but starts out easy. Of course Grandma missed the first question. Here is the first page that she messed up. She read it out loud, "Where are you right now"... and responded, "oh I'm in the SUNSHINE!". WRONG! We all had a good laugh!
Mom ordered a bottle of wine that was called "Rodney Strong!". Uncle Rodney proudly showed off his muscles!
While Aunt Karen snatched up Charlotte, Grandma made sure to give Kelly some love and tell her that she will always be her baby! Poor Kelly couldn't escape!
Charlotte was the best baby tonight! She stayed up two hours past her bedtime and only cried a bit on the way home. Ok, she screamed, but it was only because they are doing roadwork on the road and there was a HUGE bump she didn't like. She and Grandpa have a lot in common. (He yells when you go over a bump!)
We went back to Grandma and Grandpa's for desert. Kelly loved holding Charlotte but was a little concerned she might get spit up on again. 
Warning... the next picture appears to be very foul... but is in fact very funny. Mom was stretching in the hallway, and her charming brother thought it would be hilarious to let one rip right in her face! GROSS! Mom was trying to pinch his bottom but it didn't phase him in the least!

I know Grandma is going to kill me, but this is the best picture of the night! (The lid was on) This pretty much sums up our family... a bunch of wackos, but we sure know how to have fun!

Charlotte Meets Kelly!

Charlotte met her second cousin Kelly yesterday! Great Aunt Karen and Great Uncle Rodney met Charlotte when she was about 2 months old, but Kelly was still at school and couldn't come home to meet here! Well, she finally got the chance and Charlotte just loves her! 

She was a little scared at first when the whole family piled out of the car. Mom's side of the family can be a little rowdy! 

This morning we went to Grandma Great's for breakfast. I have been trying to give Charlotte some more time on the floor since all she ever does is get held and carted around by her Grandma Great. I'm hoping she rolls over from her back to her front soon! 
Baylie has been driving Grandma Great crazy. Poor Baylie. She is such a good girl when I'm around... I think she can tell Grandma isn't a dog person! Baylie is so good with Charlotte though! After Charlotte tried to eat her, Baylie ran off and hid. I don't think she liked having her hair pulled by a little baby!
As soon as Kelly arrived this morning, Charlotte proceeded to spit up on her. Now she has to smell like milk for the rest of the day... Sorry Kelly!

ChickIN Patty Night!

Thursday nights are ChickIN Patty nights at the funny farm. (Note the IN in Chicken... its fake chicken!) We were so excited to go last week, got to Amy and Jim's, and the power was out, forcing us to go out to eat instead! Tonight we got to experience our first ChickIN patty night!

Rory was a little sad that Molly grabbed Charlotte right away. Once he got some Charlotte time in he was much happier and ready for the festivities to begin!
Mimi joined us... it took some talking into to get her to eat a fake chicken patty, but she did it and thought they were actually pretty good! There are rituals to ChickIN patty night. First off, before you eat it is necessary to say the ChickIN Patty Pledge!
Second, you are allowed to steal others ChickIN patties. The only rule is that when you have your thumbs up, and feet on the table, no one can steal it from you! Rory loved to demonstrate! Maggie was the only one with a ChickIN patty left, but no one wanted to steal hers after she picked the breading off and who knows what else! 
Lastly, before getting desert, you need to sing the ChickIN patty theme song... which goes something like this... "ChickIN Patty night, and I'm feeling right, ChickIN patty night...Oh what a night" to the tune of "Oh yes its Ladies night". 
Charlotte enjoyed herself and I'm sure was wondering what all the racket was about!
After dinner the kids got ready for bed. Molly and Rory were "fishing" off the balcony. 
What were they trying to catch? Their sister's of course!
We had lots of fun as always and I can't wait for Charlotte to have siblings to goof around with! (Well I can for another couple years at least!)

Hot, Humid and BUGS!

We have been trying to continue our San Diego lifestyle here in New York, spending lots of time in the stroller and outside, but the humidity and the bugs just aren't helping! We spend a little bit of time outside with Mimi this weekend but it didn't take long before I was being eaten alive! Charlotte didn't seem to attract as many bugs!

Mimi's pond is so pretty! Chris helped her work on rearranging it back in May!

On Sunday, we went to Amy and Jim's church for a Vacation Bible School carnival. Charlotte was very happy to see Rory and stared at him intently. 
Maggie was loving all the goodies!
Molly was hanging out with some of the older girls (I can't believe how big she is) but when she saw we were there she quickly scooped Charlotte up!
Yesterday we hung out at Grandma and Grandpa Great's. Grandma went to the bathroom and I panicked and asked WHERES CHARLOTTE. She was hanging out with Grandpa on the couch. She just loves him!
Grandma Great doesn't think it is too warm to take Charlotte for walks, but she stays on one side of the street in the shade and walks back and forth. Her yard is so pretty!

Last night we were invited to Jim's mom and dad's for dinner! Charlotte was so tired but managed to stay pleasant the whole time. Rory was happy to see Charlotte as usual and is very protective of her. For those of you who have read the Twilight series, all Amy and I can think of is Jacob and Renesme! 
*They were watching T.V. in case you were wondering what they were both starting so intently at!