First Haircut

It was time, but I'm still a little sad. 

I was hopeful that my excitement would be contagioius...

 One last look at the back...it was starting to become business in the front and party in the back.

A little pep talk because he was starting to get nervous.

 Again...I was hoping that my excitement would be contagious.  Charlie was very skeptical at first so I had the bribe/sucker ready to go.

Charlie was very concerned about the hair that was falling all over his shirt.

 I tried to get a good post-haircut picture but it wasn't happening after dinner.

Playing in the backyard while BJ mowed the lawn.

BJ had the audacity to suggest again that I sweep while he finishing mowing the backyard.  So I promptly handed the broom to Charlie who attempted the one-handed technique.

But like his mother, he quickly tired of the sweeping and needed a little rest.

It was a big day and I promised Charlie that I wouldn't take dozens of pictures or sweep up his cut hair during any future hair cuts.

Old Friends

After making some new friends in Kansas City, we spent this past weekend in Guttenberg for our annual "Wartburg" weekend with our old friends. 

The guys of the group (plus Zinn..the only Wartburg alumna in the group) have been together since 1996 with the rest of us wives joining shortly thereafter.  We've been together through dating, engagements, weddings, becoming parents, vacations and so let's just say that there aren't many secrets in the group  We can pick up right where we left off and more importantly, we can be brutally honest with each other.  It is both hilarious and frustrating at the same time.

We had a great time boating, golfing, driving a golf cart around Abel Island and just catching up. 

This was Saturday morning when we played a Divorce Open, which basically meant that you took turns hitting a shot with your spouse.  The only rule of the game was that in order to play you had to be willing to divorce your spouse if the game didn't go well.  We all participated...we're a little competitive like that.

 Sarah and Jenn O on the course. 

The entire crew at dinner after a day of boating.  I think that the bartender's name was Ted and I told him that I would take his picture but I forgot.  I hope that he isn't mad.

Kevin (Arch) and Jenn A.

Birdie (Mike) and Zinn (Sarah)

Troy and Jenn O.

Laura and Me (photo bomb by Troy and Jenn O).

The girls (photo bomb by Troy).  I'm not sure why I was making the Price Is Right model hand gesture.  I think it means that I'm fond of this group of girls.

Laura and Dave - I have many good photos of Dave from the weekend but because he has a "career", I will refrain from posting those here.  You're welcome.

BJ was busy picking out tunes for all of us to enjoy  - BJ the DJ...some  things will never change.

After all of that fun, some of us were sleepy.

It was a great weekend and fun to catch up with these friends.  We may not see each other as often as we would like, but they are a group of people that you could call if anything came up and they would show up at your door ready to help...with plenty of cold beer. 

Thanks to both sets of grandparents for watching Charlie over the weekend - we know that he had plenty of TLC and we appreciated the opportunity to act young and foolish again.

New Friends

We haven't been up to too much lately and you'll be shocked to know that my picture-taking ability has not improved since the last post.

Charlie's favorite dessert is chocolate pudding...so long as he is sitting on BJ's lap, as noted in the picture below.

This past weekend we went to the Kenny Chesney/Zac Brown Band/Billy Currington/Uncle Kracker concert in Kansas City with some friends while Charlie stayed with Aunt Molly, Uncle Mike and 3 of my nieces (Emma, Claire and Hannah).  We were able to spend a little time with our friend Jason before and after the concert...imagine that, at a sports bar. 

 Waiting for the concert to begin in the midday summer heat. 

A group shot of the entire group - we were very warm and "glistening" already in the midday sun.

And here begins my favorite string of pictures of our fellow concertgoers...or as I like to call them, my new friends.  First, a shot of one of our new friends who needed a nap towards the end of the concert.  I was excited to snap the picture of the napper, but more excited to be able to capture the magic of the outfit next to him.  I'll be the first to admit that it was very hot, but the heat did not justify the cutoff shirt and the short-short cutoff jean shorts.  Ladies - I think that he is single...

Randy and Dawn sat behind us and were having a great time the entire night so I told them that I wanted their picture. 

I can't remember the names of the next people, but they saw me take Randy and Dawn's picture so I felt obliged to take their picture.


This picture uploaded out of order...kind of a like a blog roller coaster.  Thankfully BJ caught Charlie with his post-pudding face before he face-planted on our couch.

Finally, I didn't get any pictures of Mike, Molly and the girls, but I know that Charlie had a great time.  Charlie has been asking for "Memma, Clah and Hannnn" all week.  I knew he'd be in good hands, which was obvious after finding all of the random remnants of the weekend.

Thanks Molly, Mike, Emma, Claire and Hannah for watching Charlie for us - we had a great weekend and were able to relax knowing that Charlie was in great hands!

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!