30 + 1

 I can no longer say, "I just turned 30", which is the line that I used up until the day before I turned 31.  The birthday this past weekend was pretty quiet compared to the surprise party that BJ threw for me last year, which is fine  by me!  I was able to meet some friends for a pedicure on Saturday and we went out for lunch on Sunday so it was a pretty good weekend. 

Charlie continues to be a little rascal about putting his feet on the table during mealtime.  He has started smiling, waving his finger and saying "no" while setting that big block of a foot on the table.  We've tried a couple of different methods to get him to stop but for now he's sticking with this routine.

My gift bag made an ideal hat on Sunday morning.  It's never a true party until someone makes a hat out of a household item.

That is pretty much all I have to say right now.   I think a combination of not sleeping well the last few days, reading too many articles about the debt debate in Washington and eating Shredded Wheat for breakfast has solidified my lame/boring status.  Or maybe this is what happens when you turn 31.  Tune in next week when I'll recap something exciting like my dental appointment or the fact that I had the oil changed in our car 

Weekend Recap

I've been on a little blog hiatus, which directly relates to my picture-taking hiatus. 

Last weekend my sister and her family came for a visit.  After spending a little time in our neighborhood pool (where Charlie feared for his life), Molly and I loaded up the kids in her minivan to go to dinner.  On our way to WDM, we were debating between The Cheesecake Factory and Red Robin and at the last minute we decided to go to Red Robin, just "in case" Charlie had a hard time sitting still for dinner.  There was no "just in case" about 10 minutes in to dinner.  I was that lady in the restaurant who was holding her screaming toddler, while still trying to eat my dinner.  It wasn't pretty but I think that glares from The Cheesecake Factory patrons would have been much more judgmental than the Red Robin crowd.  There is a giant red bird in the middle of the restaurant and balloons are freely distributed...if you were expecting a romantic night out, we ruined it and you shouldn't be too upset. 

During the weekend visit, Charlie remained stoic during all group photos, only to flash a huge smile the minute after the picture was taken.  If I didn't know better, I would assume that these 3 happy-go-lucky girls were holding him hostage instead of entertaining him the entire time.

We didn't have anything planned this weekend so we all caught up on some much-needed sleep.  Charlie only has his pacifier when he is in his crib and I originally planned to break him entirely of the habit at 18 months but I chickened out.  I think that he's pretty happy that I am a coward.

We hope that everyone was able to stay cool and well-rested this weekend!

Fourth of July

First off, I think it is time for Charlie's first hair cut.  His post-nap hairdo reminds us of Nick Nolte's mug shot so I think it is time for a little trim.

We went back to Cascade for the Fourth of July weekend and enjoyed a relaxing weekend with family and friends.  The weather was hot on Saturday so Charlie enjoyed a little time around the water table and pool in my parent's backyard while my pale-as-pale-can-be skin searched for some UV rays.  I probably should have sat in the sun instead of the shade if I was hoping for a tan. 

After some fun at my parent's house, we were off to Grandma Jan and Grandpa Steve's house where Charlie helped water some flowers.

On Sunday Charlie and I went to meet my friend Kayla's four-month old son, Will.  I didn't get any pictures, but trust me, Will was adorable and his older sisters, Emma and Nora, are very sweet and cute girls.  We spent the rest of the day on Sunday at my parent's house with my parents, my brother Randy and sister-in-law Carrie and their girls (Anna, Lauren and Julia) and Uncle Marty.  Charlie was exhausted to so he ended up sleeping most of the afternoon and didn't have much time to play with his cousins, but we still had a great time. 

Charlie decided to celebrate his independence by waking up from 1-4 am on Monday morning so I was little worried that he would sleep through and miss the parade, especially when he spent most of the time before the parade with his head resting on BJ's shoulder.

We were surprised to see the 3 crazy Gehl girls (Anna, Lauren and Julia) and my brother Randy join us for the parade, which was a great surprise!

The local grocery store threw string cheese from its "float" which was a great mid-parade snack for Charlie.

Grandpa Bill driving his restored M tractor in the parade...Grandpa Bill almost missed his cheering section because he was busy talking to people on the other side of the street but luckily he turned over his shoulder, saw us, and threw the obligatory candy at his fan base.

Following the parade, Charlie and BJ checked out Grandpa Bill's tractor...

 and Grandpa Bill showed Charlie the sign that he hung from the tractor.  I'm pretty sure that it says something about "this is not a toy and no person named Charlie Supple should ever think that it is a good idea to climb on or play around this tractor."

Before we headed back to Norwalk we were able to spend a little more time with the Gehl girls where they obliged Charlie in a few rounds of Ring Around the Rosy. 

This was the view within 5 minutes of leaving Cascade.  BJ and I were certain that Charlie was going to sleep the entire way home because of his middle-of-the-night rendezvous but about 10 minutes after I snapped the picture, Charlie was up and ready to be entertained for the rest of the drive.  At one point he started whipping his bag of Cheerios all over the place, causing "Cheerio confetti" to be distributed throughout the car.  BJ, who was driving, asked me if i knew what was going on and I said that I did, that I had lost complete control and I didn't care any more.  It was Fourth of July and I was exercising my independence to let my toddler engage in all sorts of nonsense to avoid any meltdowns.  Exactly what our Founding Fathers envisioned.

Hope that you all had a great, Cheerio-confetti free, Fourth of July weekend!