@ 20 months

Charlotte is the craziest banana in the bunch right now. She is charming us and cracking us up, and it's fun to see the boys notice her milestones just like Frank and I do.

* I haven't measured her in a few weeks, but she last weighed in at 27 pounds and was 32 inches tall
* she climbs the stairs now, though once she figured out she could do it she's been lazy and wants us to carry her up
* she does like to climb on the couch to sit and watch TV now
* she likes Thomas, but not as much as Curious George
* she likes to put her plate on her head when she's finished her food (or dumped it on the floor), and she steals food from the boys plates if she can reach them
* she's started to have ultra-dramatic crying fits when she's upset, and checks to see that we are paying attention to the drama
* she says "hmmm" a lot, purses her lips, and scratches her head when/like she's thinking - we think she may have learned that from Curious George
* she'll do anything for a cheese stick
* she continues to wave and say (sort of) "hi" and "bye" and she blows kisses when we tell her to give a kiss or say goodnight
* we can tell when she's tired because she just lays down wherever she is, and sometimes she starts fake snoring
* she is pretty happy lately to play and watch TV in the living room and let me get stuff done - but I never know long the phase will last!

Week 16: Welcoming spring

I didn't take many photos the last few days. I didn't feel well the beginning of last week, and then other things ended up taking my focus, mainly reorganizing some old photo and video files. In the whole scheme of things I am not hurting for photographs, let me tell you.

Anyway, Frank took Zach to a cub scout event where he roller skated for the first time. Frank said he was awful at it and he loved it. That's Zachary, always the most eager one to try new things.

Gabe came home with a very nice school photo. Here they do them in the fall and in the spring, so again, no shortage of photos. I have some prints to give out eventually, but I'll also put it up on Shutterfly (and maybe designate an album just for the kids' school pictures so they're easy to find).

He drew this for me and said "It's a picture of me and Brown Monkey going to outer space in a pencil." Alrighty then.

Our plum tree bloomed. So pretty, I wish it lasted longer than four or five days.

And the grass was getting out of control. The combination of weather, traveling, and other evening commitments meant it was overdue, so much so that our old mower couldn't handle it. Frank got to go to Lowe's and pick out a new one. Now we just need to get some flowers, at least in those pots.

And here's Charlotte saying "Hi" to Zach off the bus. Not as boisterous as usual, but still pretty cute :)

Week 15: Sick and tired and fun (and sick again)

Right off of Easter and their spring break, the boys both came down with colds and missed almost the entire week of school. The days with them at home were up and down, because they're actually kind of peaceful when they're not feeling well. Then on Friday we drove up to Ohio for Maggie and Ben's 6th birthday parties. There was a family party on Saturday and a friends bowling party on Sunday. The kids enjoyed hanging out and playing together, but there were still times of not feeling well (allergies were also annoying us, I think) and more fever, Charlotte this time. We made it through about mid-day (and mid-party) on Sunday and had to head back home. Then it was my turn to catch the cold, and Charlotte is still a little sniffly.

Easter morning, after the boys found eggs and their toys hiding in the living room.

A Disney Twister-like game.

They are usually only this calm when they're sick.

After moving the couch, and before rearranging everything. The bedding and the curtains really don't coordinate in real life but they don't look as bad as in this photo!

After. Much more room all around, including space for an unused wardrobe from Charlotte's room.

We turned Charlotte's car seat around. Her reaction was underwhelming.

We had fun riding little scooters in their basement.

The kids made tags for the party favors.

They also had tea parties.

Gabe decided he didn't want to bowl, but Zach had a great time.

Probably time to go.

OK. Really time to go.

Week 14: A short spring break

Last week's highlights:
making cookies for Grandpas' birthdays
moving the couch from our bedroom into the boys' room
Charlotte climbing everything she can, including stairs, couch, and toy bins, and hitting her head
the boys having Friday and Monday (today) off school for a short spring break
coloring eggs