Swim class

Disclaimer: I did NOT take these pictures. One of the parents in our swim class is a professional photographer. I knew he was taking pictures of his wife and child, but I had no idea he was taking pictures of Charlotte and me too. Today, at our last class, he showed up with CDs of images for everyone. There were at least 60-70 pictures of just the two of us. I was pleasantly surprised and extremely grateful. Without these photos, I have no proof that we even took the class. A million thanks to Rodney Bailey - check out his website: http://www.rodneybailey.com/

Maybe we'll hire him to take more photos of our family some day. I think he mainly does weddings, but he also mentioned that he photographs events and children too.

I called in the calvary!

After battling my sickness for two weeks, I was exhausted. Mem and Poppy came to save the day (and me!). They were here for five days and we cried when they left yesterday :) I had to attend a conference for work so they watched Charlotte while I was away for two half days. Charlotte is drinking her afternoon smoothie while watching Mem make pot roast! God Bless Mem's good cooking. It was the perfect day for a pot roast because....

...it was snowing outside! Poppy took Charlotte out for a walk EVERY day while he was here. As a result, she asks for Poppy and her shoes at the same time.

Mem let Charlotte tear apart her purse at least once a day. She reported that she finally got her wallet organized again now that she is home. Charlotte was asking for "Memee" and "Pop-pee" today! Come visit again soon!

IKEA

I've always loved IKEA, but I never noticed that it is so kid-friendly until I became a parent. We took the kiddos there last week (Amelia and Max joined us) for 99 cent breakfast and some play time! They loved it. Charlotte ate all of my eggs and most of Amelia's too! We had breakfast (and coffee for me) for under $3 bucks.

After breakfast, the kids roamed the children's area.

Charlotte and Max had fun climbing on the mattresses.

Their hair was standing up straight from all the static.

Are you guys ready for a big kid bed?

Goofy pics of my goofy girl!

Charlotte strutting around in Daddy's vest. We've been hanging around the house a bunch these last few days battling colds. Charlotte is feeling fine now but her parents are trying to catch up. I got meds today for my sinus infection so I'm hoping to be out of my fog soon!

Crazy hair to go with a face covered in spaghetti. Charlotte has been going in to the fridge constantly for more of the latest batch of spaghetti sauce. Little does she know that I spiked it with broccoli and cauliflower (insert evil mommy laugh). Her hair is a mess after swim class and a long nap.

She loves wearing her glasses from her purse.

Baby Loves Disco

Last weekend, we went to the Grand Opening of Baby Loves Disco Washington DC. My friend was the "host mom" and put us on the VIP list because it was sold out before I had a chance to buy tickets. Thank you, Susannah! Check out the website: http://www.babylovesdisco.com/ for all kinds of cool information and an upcoming event in your city! DC tickets are sold out through April!

Charlotte checking out the scene up on stage. She was a little overwhelmed by the whole thing but Mom and Dad had a great time.

Charlotte musters up the courage to ask Jack if he wants to dance!

His response: "Hmmm, I'm not sure? Maybe after I eat a few more gold fish." Poor Charlotte was heart broken. Jack will look back and regret this in 15 years :)

An attempt to get a picture with me, Charlotte, Marcy and her son, Jacob. We actually did get a decent picture of the four of us, but I thought this told the story better. It just shows how difficult it is to take a decent picture of 18 month olds!

After two hours of dancing, eating (there was a huge spread from Whole Foods), mingling with friends, and checking out the sponsor tables (my favorite online store was there http://www.abbyslane.com/), it was time to leave the city and head back to suburbia. On our way out, we were surprised to receive a goody bag with the above contents - a pair of Baby Legs (our favorite!) and a BLD music CD. Fabulous!

18 months old!

I can't believe my baby is 18 months old. We're off to the doctor for her check up today. I'll post stats later.

New shoes!

Check out Charlotte's new kicks! We haven't gotten any new shoes for Charlotte lately, but all the sudden her feet were seeming too big for her other shoes. These were too cute to pass up. Plus, she threw a fit in the store when I tried to take them off! She takes after her mommy - what girl doesn't love shoes?