1st Half of 2014

Charlie started indoor soccer in 2014 and he loved it!  During one Saturday session, I sat next to a grandma who was particularly vocal ("Go Noah" "Great Job Noah" "You Can Do It Noah"...repeated over and over again).  Charlie happened to score a goal and as he ran by the sidelines, he stopped, pressed his face to the net and shouted, "Mama, you have to yell.  Really loud.  Like 'Go Charlie Go' and 'Great Job Charlie' - the crowd found his direction incredibly funny.

 

At the end of January we finally moved into our home.  It's now July and we still have a few items that are outstanding on the to-do list, but all in all we've settled in really well.  After spending 4 months in an apartment, the kids loved the space to run and play.

We celebrated Valentine's Day in February with a small party at school.

We tried to patiently wait for Spring to arrive in Central Iowa.

We went to Chuck E. Cheese after Charlie had a particularly good week at home and school.  I identified a new number one thing that I dislike about parenting. Previously number one was cleaning up vomit but going to Chuck E. Cheese on a Saturday is the new top contender.  We let the kids play games for an hour and then high-tailed it out of there.  My use of sanitizer that day hit an all-time high.

Charlie started taking a break from playing with Legos to ready Lucy a story.

We attended an Iowa State game as a family.

Lucy had amuch-needed first hair cut.  The appointment was right after day care so we're sporting the rag muffin look.

Lucy was happy to hop up into the chair after Charlie's appointment and was pretty content for a few minutes.

She started to lose patience so I played the role of Assistant to Jenn the Hair Stylist/Sucker Holder.

The Easter Bunny found us and brought some new Play-Doh, books, M&Ms, whiffle balls and light saber.

We celebrated Easter with my family at my sister's house - complete with an Easter egg hunt.

Charlie proudly displaying his egg hunt stash.

We celebrated Easter with BJ's family by coloring eggs - a glimpse of a genuine smile from Charlie.

A hard-fought family picture in our Easter attire.

Attempt to get a picture of Nana Jan, Papa Steve and the grandkids.

Enjoying an egg hunt in Nana and Papa's backyard.  With a fleece jacket over her dress and tennis shoes, Lucy looked like she belonged in a scary religion.

We enjoyed meeting Captain America and Black Widow at the mall.  Thankfully, neither seemed too offended that Charlie was sporting some Batman clothing.

I enjoyed a Mommy & Muffins breakfast at the kid's day care before Mother's Day...

and brought their Mother's Day gifts back to the office with the hopes that I would magically acquire a green thumb.  They didn't last long.

 Lucy enjoyed the beauty shop set-up at Nana Jan's house.

We were back in Cascade to celebrate my dad's 70th birthday.  The two pictures listed below are further evidence that Charlie cannot take a normal picture.  We have family pictures scheduled in a few weeks so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

We enjoyed scotcheroos from our favorite noodle place, Z'Mariks.

I got to spend some time with Charlie as a chaperone for a day care field trip.  My days are probably numbered where he still wants me to be seen and heard around his friends so I'm going to steal as many moments as possible

We transitioned to soccer and it was somewhat of a flop.  The time was during the time when we normally ate lunch and the number of soccer fields and players was very distracting.   I don't think that we'll have a soccer player on our hands, which is OK because I know nothing about the sport other than I should yell "Go Charlie Go" when he is playing.

We got into character with our friends (Zach, Drew and Jake) during the Super Hero photo at the Heart Walk.  Spider-Man told Charlie to copy him and Charlie took the task very seriously.

A quickly family photo after the Heart Walk.  We generally aren't theme-people but decided to follow the super hero theme.

 BJ enjoyed Daddies & Donuts at the kid's day care.

Charlie modeled the foam/stick-on tie that he made for BJ for Father's Day.  I love clothing items that do not require dry cleaning.

A quick picture of BJ and the kids on Father's Day - they sure love their daddy.

Lucy created a unibrow for herself - thankfully the marker is washable.

While BJ and Charlie were away (BJ to golf with friends and Charlie to have a few nights with Nana Jan and Papa Steve), Lucy and I decided to check out a splash park.  She was very proud of her new swimming suit and waited patiently for me to take her picture.

Wild woman enjoying the splash park!

Charlie took swimming lessons in mid-June.  He absolutely loves the water so we hope to have a lot of nights and weekends swimming this summer.

This past weekend, we had fun with visits from my sister (and her family) and my brother.  We've had other visitors since moving in at the end of January but with the blog on indefinite hiatus at that time, my picture-taking was non-existent.

Enjoying movie night with cousins.

...and ice cream with cousins.

A quick photo with Uncle Marty before he headed back home.

 

Whew - it was an abbreviated catch-up but I'm ready to get back on the blog track for the remainder of 2014.