Daddy's Favorite Band Broke Up

Now, I saw this coming, but The White Stripes are officially broken up.Charlotte suggested we dress up like Meg and Jack to both grieve and cheer ourselves up.


Yes, Charlotte is a better drummer than Meg.


For those who are unaware this is who we are impersonating.


There are a few recorded performances of Daddy Jack and Baby Meg, but died hard fans will have to see those in person. A little too kooky for this blog according to Mom.

I know the shadows in this picture are weird, but she looked like the cutest little pink polar bear in real life!


We got this shirt from Auntie Amy for Christmas. Thanks, Auntie Amy!
Also, this was the very first picture I took of Charlotte during this photo shoot. I just sat her on the couch and said, "Smile, Charlotte!" and this is what I got! Love this girl!



Charlotte was standing all by herself today! Now, I did prop her up against the table, but once she was there, she held herself up for a long time!

Our trip to Appleton this past weekend was very eventful. First, about 20 minutes from home, our car spun out and we ended up in a very steep ditch. Everyone and the car were fine, but Charlotte and I had to sit in our car at a steep incline for about an hour. I thought I would take that time to give Charlotte a head start in learning how to drive.


We finally got to Appleton and had lunch at Chipotle. When we got back to our car, Kyle realized that I had left the lights on and the battery was dead. Someone gave us a jump, we drove across the parking lot to Barnes and Noble and Old Navy, and when we returned to our car, it was dead again. SO. We went to Starbuck's and got coffee and let the car run the entire time we were there. Finally, no more problems! We had a fabulous time, nonetheless, and decided to have an impromptu overnight stay at our friends, the Edwards home. And we had DELICIOUS dinner at Famous Dave's. It it climbing the charts toward Red Robin for me.

Charlotte is such a Chatty Charlie lately!






Also. Her laugh is my favorite sound in the ENTIRE WORLD.

My favorite time of day, of late, has to be when Charlotte takes her afternoon nap. I call it my "Mommy Fika." "Fika" is the Swedish word for "coffee break." Every afternoon, around 1 p.m. I make a pot of coffee and lay down on my couch with a book until Charlotte wakes up (usually an hour or so). Sometimes I have a sweet treat, sometimes I just have coffee with cream and sugar, but boy, oh, boy do I love that quiet coffee-reading time! Currently I am on my second tour of Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows. I'm almost done and contemplating reading it a THIRD time. I miss so much because I read through it so fast!

Here. Proof that I am a real human being, separate from my baby :)

Tomorrow the three of us are taking a trip to Appleton, Wisconsin for Starbuck's, Target, Old Navy, mall walking, Famous Dave's, and who-knows-what-other-adventures!

This weekend we had a really big retreat and the Rills were kind enough to watch Charlotte all weekend. On Monday morning, the last meal of the retreat, I just kept Charlotte with me and brought her to the kitchen. She was such a dear to play on some towels with some kitchen utensils while Mommy and Daddy baked fresh biscuits for everyone.



Charlotte is really into snacking lately. She enjoys feeding herself crackers, teething biscuits, apple slices, and carrot sticks. Here are some of the snacks that Charlotte shared with Mommy today:



This video is from Christmas, but it's Charlotte enjoying my sister, Katie's dancing.

This is also from around Christmas- Charlotte taking her first ride on her new sled from Gramma and Poppa. She's about to go down for a nap, which is why she may look so indifferent. Normally on her sled she smiles and laughs.

Charlotte is seven months old!
Every month I take probably 20 or so shots of her sitting in that chair and this month it was so hard to pick one because they were all so cute!

This was the first month that Charlotte realized that there was a piece of paper sitting next to her in her chair.

It wasn't long before...

... it ended up in her mouth.

Charlotte and I have been so sick! BOOOOO!!!! She has been sick since we got home from Christmas, poor girl. I started getting sick on New Year's Day. We have been laying around the house since then. At first it was kind of wonderful. Kyle pulled our guest bed into the living room and for two days we laid on it and had a Harry Potter movie marathon. But now, I'm ready to be better (and am far from it). We have another group coming in a few days and Charlotte and I want to go to Marquette with Lauren- we need to get better!

Charlotte's newest trick is sitting up pretty well by herself- but even more exciting is that we put her in the real bathtub sitting up a few days ago and she LOVES it!

The first time I put her in the tub she was so sick, so I was hoping it would make her feel better. She actually loved it, but doesn't she look so pathetic?


She loves the bath toys, Grandma and Grandpa Duck!



I had to cook during Christmas Camp, while Charlotte was sick :( so we had a string of really awesome sitters! Thanks, Heather, Lynn, Megan, Sarah, and Johanna! Auntie Heather snatched her up any chance she got and loved laughing back and forth with her.

Charlie lovin' that snow globe. Don't be fooled by the yawn.