The State of Charlotte, October 2013

It's been a while, and Charlotte is doing so much more, that I figured I'd just do a quick list with a few photos and call it a day.

Her vocabulary has exploded recently, but it's hard to understand what she's saying. Still, I'm so glad to see that she's making a concerted effort to talk.

She loves singing. Row row row (your boat) is popular, as is She'll be coming round the mountain.

She's still a mama's girl. I don't mind.

She enjoys walking on the curbs in parking lots, along the edge of the deck, on yard sticks laid on the floor. Balancing is fun!

She says"please" and "thank you" without prompting.

She loves animals. She stared down this rooster and eventually petted him. She also tried to climb into the llama paddock. Mr. Llama was not impressed.

She goes "vroom vroom" with hand motions when she sees a motorcycle.

She continues to amaze with the things she'll eat. We went to a garlic festival and she ate slices of raw garlic. She ate chicken Caesar salad last night for dinner. Like anyone, she loves sweet/fatty foods, but she's great about eating healthy. Just don't get between her and a cider donut.

We went to a revolutionary war re-enactment and she had a ball playing with they toys. Rolling marbles down a board was a big hit. Hello, cheap Christmas present!

She discovered pockets this past weekend. Now there's leaves in all of her clothes.

The Itsy Bitsy Spider

Must be she learned this at daycare, because I think I've only sung this song twice to her. I was completely surprised to turn my head and see her doing the hand motions!

Video here if the embed doesn't work for you.

First trip to the beach

The hotel we stayed in for Katie's wedding in Rockport, MA was right on the beach, in this nice cove, and was a 4 minute walk from downtown Rockport. It was perfect for what we needed, and we were next door to a family of 5, so I didn't have to feel badly about Charlotte's periodic screaming fits.

Saturday morning we ventured down to the beach. It was my first time at a northern beach, and the water was so clear! It was Charlotte's first time at any beach.

 She was ok at first.

But then a wave came up a little higher than we were expecting and her feet got wet.

So I took her shoes off and she didn't like it.

After a little coaxing, she walked down the beach holding Dadu's hand. They found some cool shells, rocks, and a sand dollar, and then they said hi to all the seagulls.

Festivities!

Getting back into the swing of things... Charlotte and I recently attended the reception for Tim and Katie's Rockport wedding. She was a little less clingy this time around! And she also kept her headband on this time. Sadly, her gold TOMS are now too small. They've been replaced by some orange madras ones, which are practical, but nowhere near as cool.

 Early on, Charlotte stole my sesame chicken appetizer. She devoured it, too. But playing hide and seek came first.

My first .gif!

After Charlotte helped herself to some carrots (and thought she snuck away. She's so impish, this one), she was happy to run up and down the hill and visit with Auntie Didi.

 The end.

Strolling

A brief placeholder of the Charlotte strolling her way back from the post office in her flamingo pjs:



Recap of some of our adventures to follow in the near future!

(For those who can't view the embedded video: http://youtu.be/kyx61tXZynk)

Four weddings (and hopefully no funerals)

Last year, my "little sis" Allie asked me if I would officiate her wedding. Awwww. Of course I did! I love to talk, how could I pass up this opportunity?

Well, then her sister Katie asked if I'd officiate her wedding. Sure!

And then Katie's friend Lisa asked if I'd officiate her wedding. Why not!

And then, Allie's husband's cousin wondered if I'd officiate her wedding. Definitely!

It started off as a fluke, but I have to say, I get so much joy out of officiating weddings. Katie's wedding was this past weekend, in Rockport MA, and it was beautiful. Charlotte was the flower girl, which was hysterical because, well, that child marches (or doesn't, as it turned out) to the beat of her own drummer.

Below, a selection of photos:

 Pre-wedding. This is the only picture I have of the headband, which she (very clearly) refused to wear.
 

Charlotte and Allie walking down the aisle. This was just before Allie tried putting her down to walk. That didn't work, either; she processed in Allie's arms.

Post-ceremony, playing in the chairs.

 Party dress. At this point, she wanted nothing to do with anyone except me.

Blushing bride, cranky flower girl, officiant. 

It is SO HARD to be this girl. Sometimes she just can't take the difficulty.

Dancing shoes

I bought Charlotte a pair of tiny Toms to wear to Katie's wedding. They are canary yellow glitter. They may be my most favorite thing.



Ok, that video may be my most favorite thing. Link here if you can't see the embedded video.

Also, look how nicely she pets the cat at the end - we have been practicing "gentle" and she is finally being nicer to the poor kitties.