Friedrich Five

DISNEY!

2012-01-28T12:40:00.000-06:00

For Christmas this year we got the boys each one gift (a bike for Jack and a small Thomas track for Charlie… well, and Josh got a new pack of pacifiers ) and decided to drive down to Disney World for one of the days we were in FL. My parents and sister decided to go too, and it was such a treat to have extra grown-ups to help with all the littles.

My dad even got us a hotel the night before, so we wouldn’t have to do the drive down and back all in one day.

The boys pretty much thought the hotel WAS Disney.

Ready to head out the next morning.

On the ferry boat. We took 2 single strollers and a baby Bjorn and swapped kids in and out all day. It worked wonderfully!

As we were walking into the Magic Kingdom one of the many character shows was beginning. This was Jack’s very favorite part of our day. He LOVED watching the character sing and dance!

Dumbo was a hit with both boys!

Any carousel is a happy time.

While we were on a ride, Aunt Lala got the boys these Mickey ear hats. They adore their hats and still wear them daily. Jack even took his for Share Day at school.

Waiting in line at Mickey’s Philharmagic (a 3-D show) and the ever infamous “It’s a Small World.”

Enjoying a classic Mickey Ears Ice Cream, then watching the parade on Daddy’s shoulders.

Gigi and Papa… Lala and Jack

The kiddos definitely wore down, but they did great with no naps. That evening we watched the parade and rode the train all around the park to see everything one more time.

Josh was a little confused, and Charlie was out before we even got on the tram back to our car.

I feel so lucky that we were able to take the boys to “The Happiest Place on Earth,” and share their excitement with them.

Joshua’s Baptism

2012-01-27T21:21:00.001-06:00

Boy, I’m really behind! I’m going to attempt to catch up in a few days, so that I have special events like this one documented in my boys’ lives.

Over Thanksgiving weekend my family (mom, dad, sister and grandmother) came into town, and we took the opportunity to have Joshua baptized that Sunday. It was special to have so many important people in Joshua’s life there as he was welcomed into God’s family.

Joshua, Mama, Daddy, and his sponsor, my good friend Cheryl

Our whole crew… minus Colton? Not sure where that little rascal got to!

I’m not sure I’ve ever written about the baptismal gown our boys have worn. It was made by my great grandmother (who I never knew) for my grandmother, her first child. It is meticulously sewn by hand, with beautiful embroidery, and has lasted almost 100 years, and has been worn by my grandmother, her six children, her thirteen grandchildren, and many of her great grandchildren, my boys included. Such a special piece of history.

A few of the things I put out on the food table at the little reception we had at our house. The tree in the background is has the thumbprints of all of those who came to visit him in his first days and weeks. We added the prints of a few of my family members who couldn’t come then, and now it hangs in his room.

Cheryl, who’s an amazing paper crafter, made Josh this beautiful candle holder with his verse on the back. We’ll light it every year on his baptismal birthday as we remember the waters of his baptism.

For a blast from the past, you can read about Charlie’s baptism here, and Jack’s here.

November in the Friedrich home

2011-12-18T22:09:00.001-06:00

Now that it’s almost Christmas, I figured I’d better do a little catching up! (That and my mom’s bugging me to update. Hi Mom!)

November was a great, busy month… full of kiddos, guests, sewing, and work. Here are a few highlights in photos.

A family of Mizzou fans- woo SEC!

Jack in his turkey shirt and birthday crown. Because his birthday fell right around their preschool Halloween party, we actually sent treats in November.

Jack’s “thankful” homework.

Charlie’s thankful too!

I actually decorated for Thanksgiving with a simple banner and a thankful tree this year!

Allison held an Iron Chef competition, and Joshua helped Mama and Daddy judge.

I sewed… a lot. Here’s Joshua’s turkey bib…

and I made five tree skirts total, including these two.

Best of all, my family came for Thanksgiving and Joshua’s baptism!

More on Josh’s baptism on the next post!

And that was November in our home!

Let’s Play a Guessing Game!

2011-11-21T06:41:00.000-06:00

Can you tell who is who?

I’ll publish this post again later in the week to see if you got it right!

Josh’s birth announcement

2011-11-20T16:39:00.000-06:00

Well, I still haven’t mailed these to everyone… at this point I think I’ll wait and mail them with Christmas cards!

Big Lil Brother Shirts

2011-11-18T22:38:00.001-06:00

I don’t think I ever posted pics of my boys in their “bro” shirts…

Joshua has already grown out of his, so I guess I need to make him a new one!

Halloween 2011 (part 2)

2011-11-06T16:12:00.001-06:00

After Jack was sick on Saturday, Charlie ended up being sick for Halloween. Luckily, he’s 2 and didn’t really know what he was missing. Jack, Joshua and I headed to trick or treat with Kennison, Colton and Reesie.

So about that costume… for months Jack has insisted that he wanted to be Mike “Bizowski” from Monster’s Inc. I, on the other hand, thought he’d be happy as Charlie Brown, and didn’t give it a second thought.

Until, his school Halloween party, when he wanted to know WHERE his Mike Bizowski costume was. Oops! So that night I got to work!

I took a piece of green fleece remnant, used a sleeveless shirt as a pattern, and appliqued the eye and mouth on. Then I made boot covers and added glow in the dark paint.

I modeled it after this commercial costume I found online.

Jack took it upon himself to take a picture of me sewing it.

BFFs (when they’re not trying to kill one another).

Josh just wore a regular old outfit, and a little matching Mike Wazowski hat I made to match Jack’s costume.

These pictures crack me up.

It was a great Halloween!

Some Halloween Fun! (part 1)

2011-11-02T15:18:00.001-05:00

I haven’t uploaded the pictures from Halloween night yet, but here are a couple of the other Halloween activities we participated in this year!

Bass Pro shop had a Charlie Brown Great Pumpkin Halloween event. Since I intended (more on that next time) for the boys to be Charlie Brown, Linus and Snoopy for Halloween, I really wanted to take them. Well, no one was in a great mood (the event was during nap time) and our Bass Pro was a little confused about the timing in their ad. I did snap these two pictures, though!

Kennison being goofy

The big four waiting to roast marshmallows by the outdoor campfire.

Then, on Jack’s birthday I took my boys and Kennison to the pumpkin patch. We all had a lot of fun!

Corn sensory play

How tall are they?

Oops. Lost his shoe! Luckily it was in the stroller.

The kids ran around on the awesome playground, and humored me by taking pictures.

Little man did this.

I didn’t attempt a hayride with all four littles (picture Charlie jumping out), but Charlie (well, and the big boys too) looooves trains, so we did take a train ride.

Waiting for the train

Unfortunately, after coming home and taking a nap Jack got sick. This is what he looked like the rest of his birthday.

Joshua, 2 months

2011-10-31T22:27:00.001-05:00

Although this post is late, I did manage to take his picture the day he turned 2 months old!

At two months you:

weigh 13.4 lbs. (75-90%)
are 24in. tall (75-90%)
eat every two and a half to three hours during the day, and usually give me a 4-5 hour stretch at night, followed by a couple of 2-3 hour stretches (Yay!)
take several slightly longer “naps,” usually lasting an hour or more
roll often from your tummy to your back
are generally happy, except for just after you’ve eaten when your reflux kicks in
smile most at your daddy
have giggled a few times
still love mobiles, and are just starting to reach out to them
like to lay on the floor and watch your brothers or the ceiling fan
still look like Jack to me

Just a little 2 month comparison…

Jack, Charlie, Josh

Jack and Charlie’s Peanuts Party!

2011-10-18T21:21:00.001-05:00

Last weekend we celebrated Jack and Charlie’s birthdays, Peanuts style!

Here is the invitation we sent out. Front:

and Back:

Earlier in the week I made the boys some shirts with freezer paper stencils and black fabric paint.

Charlie Brown for Jack

and Linus for Charlie. I decided to go with a little piece of light blue jersey knit in the pocket rather than trying to get him to carry around a blankie.

I bought Josh a Snoopy snowsuit on Ebay (for .99 woot!). Unfortunately, it was almost 80 degrees the day of the party. Oh well- maybe it will be cold at Halloween! So instead I made a hood out of some white jersey, and attached knit ears and a pom pom nose. I sewed the hood into a white onesie. Then I attached felt “paws” to the bottom of white booties and made him some pants out of the fabric I use for my dress…

which I made using a pattern/tutorial from Running with Scissors.

I even painted my nails to match the occasion. Mike did the zigzags on the right hand.

With lots of ideas from Pinterest, I put together a table of snack foods and goodies. I made and printed little signs from a chevron pattern and a speech bubble.

Sally’s Snack Mix and Snoopy’s Puppy Chow in a (new! clean!) dogbowl

Cupcakes a la Peanuts

“A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” Popcorn in Peanuts comic snack cones

“Peppermint Patties” (hee hee)

The Great Pumpkin Cookies

The Doctor is In Dip, Lucy’s I Promise Chips and Pigpin’s Piggies (Lil Smokies)

Christmas Time is Here Cider

Spike’s Cactus Water and Lucy’s Lemonade (and Advice)

The décor was pretty simple… first the Charlie Brown stripe food table. The drinks were on my kitchen hutch, with red tablecloths draped to look like Lucy’s Lemonade/ Psychiatry Stand. Forgot to get a picture of that, though!

Treat bags were red paper bags that I glued a Snoopy house top onto for kids to decorate as an activity.

The decoration station

Outside we had a Project Linus table where kids could decorate squares to create a blanket.

In the backyard was also a “football kick” (basically a bunch of toddlers running around with a football)

and lots of swinging.

And now for some shots of the action!

Joshua’s Nursery

2011-09-25T12:55:00.000-05:00

When we moved the boys into a room together this Spring, we took down the nursery and turned Jack’s airplane room into the new nursery. Since my mom and I made all the bedding, etc. in that room I wanted Joshua to have it.

We added a few “baby” touches…

I ordered this vinyl verse, Joshua’s verse, and hung his hospital picture underneath it. It’s on the wall above the rocking chair.

The most comfortable chair in the world, next to an old living room end table with baskets for burp rags, toys, etc.

Changing table

I made a quilted wall hanging to go next to the closet. I think you can’t see the letters very well, though, so I’m planning to outline them in a darker thread sometime soon!

Crib view. My mom and I made the bumpers with appliqued airplanes, crib blanket, skirt, curtains and wall hangings. I love that my boys have slept surrounded by mama’s love.

When I was a little girl, my grandmother Momsie gave me a porcelain bunny for most occasions. Among those were many Beatrix Potter pieces. My mom brought them to me this summer, and I knew I wanted to put them in Joshua’s room.

You can click to see the old nursery and this room when it was Jack’s here. I’ll have to do a post on the big boys’ shared room soon! Can’t believe I haven’t done it yet!

Happy 1 Month, Joshua!

2011-09-24T21:13:00.001-05:00

At one month you:

weigh 11.3 lbs. (75%)- the biggest of your brothers at this age by almost a pound!
are 22 3/4in. tall (90%)- again, the longest of your brothers!
eat about every two hours during the day, and every 3ish at night
still sleep for much of the day
have great neck muscles- and you love to be on your tummy!
have a "fussy time" most evenings
are just starting to enjoy your bath
like the swing and bouncy seat for short times
REALLY like to watch the mobile in your crib or swing
protest the carseat when first put in it, but then usually fall and stay asleep for a long time!
have smiles a few times at people talking to you
look like your biggest brother Jack

See this post for Charlie and Jack’s one month stats and pictures.

Gigi and her boys

2011-09-16T07:30:00.000-05:00

Jack’s First Day- Preschool 3/4

2011-09-15T07:07:00.000-05:00

Jack started his second year of preschool on Tuesday. He goes Tuesdays and Thursdays for 2 1/2 hrs. and it’s just the perfect amount of time for him to learn and play and wear himself out!

He was unbelievably excited and ready this year, which is always a bonus! I can’t say enough about how much I love his little preschool.

There were quite a few moms (not me!) in tears at the first drop-off, and at least one pitifully sad little brother. Don’t worry, he got over it fairly quickly as we went to get a pre-birthday treat together.

I’ve seen the idea to interview your kiddo every year various places on the internet, so I used that idea this year with Jack.

Sesame Street Birthday Dinner

2011-09-14T21:23:00.001-05:00

Our middle guy turned 2 today. TWO! It doesn’t seem possible that he’s already two and yet I can hardly believe we’ve only known him for two years.

I’m hoping to get a little post put together next week highlighting Charlie’s current sayings and antics, but for now, I wanted to share the family dinner we had for him this past weekend.

Charlie loves anything and everything Sesame Street, so I fixed some simple appetizers in the spirit of Sesame Street!

Enjoying his dinner

Love this expression

Mmmm… celery!

Opening a gift

“Cookie” Cake

Happy Birthday Charlie!

Ring around the rosies

2011-09-14T07:53:00.000-05:00

A pocket full of posies.

Ashes, ashes,

We all fall down!

Josh at 2 weeks

2011-09-13T14:33:00.001-05:00

Although he’s turning 3 weeks tomorrow, and I’m just now posting these pictures, they were, in fact, taken the day he turned 2 weeks!

Gigi enticed some smiles from him

Hanging with big brother

Outfit change! (We do a lot of those.)

{a video} Happy Birthday Papa Jack!

2011-09-01T15:50:00.003-05:00

Happy One Week, Joshua!

2011-08-31T22:17:00.001-05:00

Joshua David Friedrich

2011-08-26T09:23:00.001-05:00

Introducing Joshua David Friedrich, born August 24, 2011 at 9:43 am!

I’m trying to gather up the energy to write down his birth story, first time meeting his brothers, etc. but for now, here are a few pictures for the grandparents with very limited commentary!

Seconds after being born…

Sad face…

Big boy! (But not as big as his oldest brother!)

Gettin' angry

With Dr. Lemberger

All cleaned up and back with Mama…

Calmed down on the warmer…

Meeting his family… Jack is such an excited and sweet big brother!

Charlie, on the other hand, felt like this…

well, until Meemaw gave him a cookie!

We’re headed home today. More to come!

Jack Sings to Joshua

2011-08-25T20:15:00.001-05:00

Many more pictures and commentary to come, but for now, a sweet moment caught on camera today between my oldest and youngest boys.

Trip to the Fire Station!

2011-08-21T12:46:00.000-05:00

About a year and a half ago, we got a chance to tour the Oak Grove fire station, and Jack loved it. (You can see pics from that trip here.) In fact, often when we see a fire truck he’ll ask if it’s going to “Jenna’s fire house.” So when Jenna’s mom asked if we’d like to tour the NEW station with some friends, we couldn’t miss the chance! And this time, Charlie was just as excited as his big brother.

All of the kiddos got the chance to pretend to drive!

We brought Colton along for a “boys trip,” and because he came last time too!

(The picture quality is terrible, I know. With three boys to look after I managed to forget my camera in the car. But at least my phone had a camera to capture something!)

All the kiddos lined up…

(Also known as the pictures where Charlie let a stranger hold him without pitching a fit. Miracle, I tell you!)

Here’s the picture of the kiddos last time. Look how little they were! And, of course, last time Charlie and Madi were being worn in carriers, and Anna was in her mama’s tummy!

Charlie the fireman. Speaking of this little man, he got to bring home two very real souvenirs from his trip to the fire station. One bump on the noggin, and one “Decline for Hospital Transfer” form. That’s right. The kids got to play with one of the water hoses that leaked a little water onto the slick concrete of the garage where we were looking at the trucks. Charlie slipped in the water and wiped out right onto the back of his head. After he calmed down, one of the medical techs decided they needed to do an exam on him to make sure he was ok. So, we got to sit in the back of the ambulance where they checked his vitals and pupils, determined he was probably fine, and I got to sign a waiver that we didn’t wish to be transferred to a hospital.

And here people were afraid I’d go into labor at the fire station. Never a dull moment!

Kansas City Community Garden

2011-08-20T09:31:00.001-05:00

One not-too-hot day a couple of weeks ago I dragged my swollen feet and my cute boys to the Kansas City Community Garden’s Beanstalk Garden for Children. We met Allison’s clan and another playgroup family there and it was such a great experience!

My big-boy ham.

The three musketeers in the gourd house. Can you see the gourds hanging down? I’m pretty sure they would have spent the entire time in here if there hadn’t been a school group there waiting their turn!

These two rode in style for much of the morning. Don’t worry, I did eventually let Charlie explore, but chasing an almost 2 year-old around can get a little difficult in a large pregnant state.

Charlie sampling blackberries, which he loved! This garden was so neat because they actually encourage the kids to touch, taste, look, etc. We sampled berries, cantaloupe, yellow watermelon (brilliant, I tell you!), carrots, peppers… and I’m sure other things that I’m forgetting. I should have written this post right after going!

Love this blurry pic of my boy saying something!

Kennison and Jack explored the cotton that had been picked and all the kids played with the wire cotton brush thingies…

Jack thought he might just knit up a sweater for winter.

We’ll definitely go back in early Fall to see the crops that weren’t quite ripe!

The Zoo… you know, two months ago.

2011-08-12T20:23:00.001-05:00

I was syncing my itunes to my phone, and thought I’d look to see if there were any pictures I wanted to upload to the computer. There I found the zoo pictures I took in June.

Jack on a rock. He insisted on wearing his dinosaur shirt, even though I tried to explain that we would not, in fact, be seeing any dinosaurs.

Charlie rode in the wagon. Try to ignore his sweaty hair. Ew.

Charlie rode on a carousel seal all by himself!

Jack loves the carousel too!

3 Pictures

2011-08-08T15:41:00.001-05:00

Just a few pictures from last week. You’re welcome, Mom.

Me and Joshua at almost 37 weeks.

Charlie the thug. He put this hat on himself and wore it sideways almost all day.

My Jackers. I think this picture makes him look so old, and look how blond the sun has made his hair this summer!

Baby Sewing

2011-08-04T22:54:00.001-05:00

I’ve been busy sewing for baby lately! Rather than double post, if you’re interested you can see the goodies that have been posted over on the Monkey Stitch blog, by clicking here.

VBS in the Outback

2011-08-01T22:48:00.001-05:00

Jack got the opportunity to attend VBS at a friend’s church every evening last week. I went with him three of the nights, and he loved it! The theme was Australia, and they learned several Bible stories that Jack can now tell! His favorite is Jesus Walking on the Water. Last week, I overheard Kennison and Colton (who also came) playing with Jack and they were playing, “Rise Up and Walk.” Very sweet.

He’s been singing “The B-I-E-I-E” (The BIBLE) over and over and sitting down to “read” his Bible on the little “sit-upon” pad they sent home with him.

Here he is in all his outback gear that they made at VBS, complete with red icing from the cake that was served at the end of VBS celebration. He’s already looking forward to Bible School (or Angel School, as he sometimes calls it) next summer!

The Very Best Teether

2011-07-25T07:10:00.000-05:00

Apparently, garden fresh corn on the cob makes a great teether.

At least, Charlie seems to think so.

Our 4th of July…

2011-07-18T07:30:00.000-05:00

half a month late!

We had a very special 4th of July, spend with both sets of grandparents! Sorry, for the millions of pics, but these are basically the only pictures I’ve taken all summer, and they all happened on one day!

Me and my daddy.

I got the boys little flags to take to the picnic at Mike’s parent’s church, and they were a big hit.

As were the carnival games set up there…

and the fire truck…

and the homemade ice cream!

Then we settled into our chairs for the fireworks display. Jack LOVED each and every burst of fireworks!

Charlie fell asleep just before they began, and of course, woke when they started. He just watched them quietly, never even flinching for the loudest ones!

Jack wore his daddy’s hat and ran around the grass, shouting “Happy New Year!” Yeah, he was a little confused.

And this pretty much sums up how we all felt at the end of the night. What a great 4th!

Jack’s Camp Show!

2011-07-17T21:11:00.001-05:00

Jack’s stage debut, as one of 19 narrators in friendSHIP, a musical, took place late last month. He loved camp, and is still singing songs from the show!

Here’s his sailor costume. You can read about how I made it here.

Practicing his moves…

He was excited to be on stage and did pretty well! He stayed in his spot, (mostly) kept his hands to himself , and did *some* of the movements to the songs. He did get a bit distracted by the hat, and yawned several times toward the end.

Even Charlie-boy, equipped with the proper snacks, was a pretty good audience member!

Several of Jack’s friends and my mama friends came to see the show- we are so blessed by such sweet friends! And after, the boys, Mike and all 4 grandparents headed to Chick fil A for lunch. I’m totally unsure of what’s happening in this picture, but I love it!

Farmstead

2011-06-08T22:37:00.001-05:00

Life is flying by this summer, and there just hasn’t been much time to blog. But, I do have a few photos to upload, so this will be a post mostly for the grandparents. You’re welcome, Mom!

Last week we visited the farmstead. The kiddos had a great time!

Smelly goats.

Me in my very pregnantness… ugh!

Oh, and I took the new bag I made for summer… post to come soon!

Swing Set!

2011-05-20T08:20:00.001-05:00

Last fall, the grandparents got together to purchase a swing set for the boys. It has been an amazing gift that I can tell (especially with another boy on the way) we’ll be enjoying for MANY years.

A HUGE thanks to Daddy, Meemaw and Papa for building it- no small task. There are still a couple of parts to get up- the awning over the tower and a little picnic table that goes underneath. Then, once we get mulch underneath we’ll be ready to go!

We’ve already enjoyed lots of outside cousin playdates.

Gee, what’s that on your face, Charlie?

I had Charlie out in his cute, newly made outfit to snap some pictures of him in it…

until he found the dirt pile.

(This would be his reaction to me removing him from the dirt pile.)

Ah, boys… whatcha gonna do?

Party Time

2011-05-18T16:17:00.001-05:00

Sadly, I didn’t get a single picture of Reesie at her first birthday party. However, I did get some good ones of the boys.

Charlie, reliving his first birthday cupcake experience.

The party was the day of Mike’s birthday. Also, Jack insisted on wearing his tie.

And… a cowboy hat for most of the party.

I’m sad this next picture came out blurry, because it’s a keeper for sure. How cute is Kennison’s dress?! Allison got it on Etsy.

Classic Coco

I know most of you don’t ready our craft/sewing blog, Monkey Stitch, so here’s the pinafore/bloomers set I made for Reesie’s birthday gift.

Happy Birthday Mike!

2011-05-14T22:47:00.001-05:00

Love,

Tori, Jack, Charlie and Baby Joshua

Going Home

2011-04-28T08:16:00.001-05:00

The boys and I spent last week in Florida with my family. We had such a good time hanging out with Gigi, Papa and Lala, swimming, and staying up waaaay past our bedtimes.

I always do such a terrible job of taking pictures when I’m at home, because I’m just too busy playing to remember my camera. So, some (mostly) verbal highlights of the trip:

Flying there was an adventure in itself. We got stuck for hours in Memphis when our plane broke down (after we had taxied all the way out to the runway, returned to the gate and sat on the plane for 30 mins.- yes, the boys love it :). The flight was canceled so we were sent to Atlanta, then RAN to catch a plane to Jax. Did I mention I didn’t bring a stroller? Oy. But we got there!

Papa took Jack to the park on Wednesday while Charlie came to the office with me for a bit. Jack was so excited to have a date with Papa!

The boys swam every day we were there, even though I thought the water was FREEZING! They did not care one bit! Jack even learned to swim in the deep in with no (human) help!

Jack wore my old Superman cape almost the whole time. He was very serious about rescuing those of us in danger.

The last night we were there we went out to dinner with Lauren and her boyfriend to celebrate her birthday. Charlie and Adi became fast friends. Notice La in the corner trying to stay out of the picture. Nice try sis!

We miss you guys already and can’t wait for summer to see you again!

Egg Hunt!

2011-04-26T21:52:00.001-05:00

Just catching up on pics for the grandparents. :) A couple of weekends ago, our good friends invited us to an egg hunt picnic at their grandparents’ house. It was a very fun time and Charlie’s first real egg hunt! We were especially excited because we were out of town for our playgroup’s egg hunt last week.

This was the starting “line.”

My handsome big boy

Finding eggs in the grass

Charlie, in all honesty, wasn’t all that into finding eggs. He had a cookie in one hand and picked up eggs with the other, requiring his Daddy to follow him around with the bucket. I think he may have picked up 6 total. :)

This is Jack and his buddy Eli. I asked them to put their arms around each other, and this first picture is what they did. Too funny! Once I explained what I meant they got the hang of it. What silly boys!

Just some Easter pictures

2011-04-24T11:10:00.001-05:00

He is risen! Alleluia!

This is what happens when you fly halfway across the country late the night before Easter, then get up for early church.

The Easter Bunny visited while we were at church, and things went a bit better after that.

Happy Easter, from our family to yours!

Middle

2011-04-15T10:04:00.001-05:00

I love that I get to make these shirts for my boys…

(I used my fancy Silhouette machine, and I’m in looooove.)

And I really love how cute this little guy looks in his.

Jack's Announcement

2011-04-11T14:56:00.001-05:00

Boy oh BOYS!

2011-04-07T17:21:00.001-05:00

That’s right, our third sweet baby is another bouncing bundle of BOY!

Here he is!

Sucking his thumb

Just to compare, here are my other two at the same “age:”

Jack

Charlie

Green

2011-03-27T21:49:00.001-05:00

This 18-week pregnant mama is really too tired to come up with anything witty to say. But, my boys are still being cute and funny, so here are a few St. Pat’s Day pictures for your enjoyment!

When I went to get these pictures the boys were in no mood to have a good picture taken simultaneously. They each hammed it up on different shots.

I do love the pictures of them looking at each other though.

And here are a couple of Charlie in green, taken by his Daddy.

Tune in later in the week for a big reveal!

Happy 18 Months Charlie!

2011-03-18T20:43:00.001-05:00

Our Charlie-boy is a year and a half old! How did that happen? Here’s a little tutorial on Charlie at 18 months!

Stats:

Weight: 20 lbs. 2 oz.- below the chart (I’m trying to fatten him up- promise!)

Height: 31 1/4”- 25%

The past few months have been big for our little guy. While he’s still pretty weary of strangers and being away from mama, he’s definitely gained some confidence as his walking has gotten better. You’re now happy to wander around, and often get angry (fussy!) when I can’t let you.

He has seven front teeth and two molars on top! Bring on the steak!

He’s a pretty good sleeper, with a 1 1/2- 2 hour afternoon nap and sleeping 6 pm-7 am most nights. Mama reeeally appreciates that!

Charlie is talking up a storm, putting two words together, and babbling like crazy. I’d estimate that he has 30-40 words that he uses regularly. I’ve also caught him “singing” along to some of our favorite kid songs lately. Fun!

Some fun new activities he’s enjoying right now: brushing his teeth with brother, throwing balls (and toys), “cutting” with safety scissors during craft time, undressing himself, using a fork effectively, coloring, wrestling with Jack.

Charlie also loves his baby. He often carries it around, saying “baaaaybee” and “Aw. Ok, baby,” while patting or hugging baby. So sweet!

We’re enjoying this little guy so much! Here’s a little comparison from a year ago…

6 months

18 months

Five

2011-03-16T21:06:00.001-05:00

I know it’s been weeks… months… since I updated this little old blog. I’m all set to do a post about Charlie turning 18 months, but realized I’ve left out a slightly important part of our little family’s life these past few months.

I’m pretty sure all (three) people who read this blog already know this (Hi Mom!) but…

four will soon become five!

Baby, 9 weeks

Baby, 15 weeks

In late August of this year, we’ll welcome our newest little one to our family!

"Funky" Jack sings "The Grandpa Song"

2011-02-01T23:55:00.002-06:00

Oh my goodness this kid cracks me up. And yeah, I definitely have no idea how to turn it the right way. :)

In the event you haven't put Christmas away...

2011-01-07T15:06:00.001-06:00

I meant to get this posted sooner. Waaaay sooner. Ah well. Maybe you'll want to use this idea next year.

This year I totally failed at Advent. I hardly did anything with the kids. Advent is my favorite season of the church year, and I want to do better... and next year I will!

I've always love the idea of reading an Advent or Christmas book each day of December as a way to tie into an Advent Calendar. While I haven't made an Advent Calendar yet (I have plans to do that during Lent this year), I have the rest of my ducks in a row. Here's what I did:

First, I pulled aside all the kids' Christmas toys and books. I generally put them away every year so they'll be fresh to play with come November/December.

Next, after Christmas I went shopping to see what simple activities I could purchase on clearance for the boys next year. I bought a few things, a ceramic ornament painting kit, a foam garland stringing kit (totally could have made this but it was $.50), a little activity book, a window cling nativity set, and a few odds and ends I can't recall at the moment.

Then I made a list of all the Advent activities I'd like to do. I wanted to balance the Jesus with the Santa, and put a focus on giving and doing, rather than getting. I wanted to make it simple enough that we could do every day, but meaningful, too.

So... I matched the books up to activities and planned 24 days worth of activities (yes, I know Advent begins before Dec. 1 but we'll likely be out of town with my family until Dec. next year). There are a few dates that I'll stick to (decorating will be first, St. Nicholas Day, Christmas Eve, etc.) but I'll rearrange the days as needed next November to match our schedule.

Advent 2011

I think you should be able to click on the link to view it full screen and download it if you join Scribd. Otherwise, if you're interested, leave a comment and I'm happy to email you copy of the file. :)

My favorite part is that I used our cloth reusable Christmas bags (some are drawstring and some just tie with ribbon), and placed the book, any items for the activity, etc. in them then labeled the outside. All I have to do next year is pull them out, order them, then place them under the tree! Ready to go!

Christmas!

2011-01-03T07:02:00.000-06:00

Well, I pretty much did a terrible job on the picture front at Christmas. We all had so much fun that I hardly thought to get the camera out!

First a few more from Christmas Eve...

Lauren's boyfriend Adi got Jack a remote control fire truck and Charlie a singing car. Both were a HUGE hit.

Gigi and Charlie

Lala and Jack

In our family, the tradition is that Santa doesn't wrap gifts. He's a busy guy, so he just leaves them out! Jack asked Santa for Mickey (which was surprising to Mama!) and Santa delivered with Mickey pj's, sippy cups and a flashlight. Papa helped Santa out by getting a container truck with a jet taking off the back! Gigi and Santa teamed up to get Charlie a ride on fire truck for Gigi's house, Elmo doll, and outfit. And silly Santa stuffed the stockings so full he just scattered the candy all over the fireplace. As you can see, none of us could want for anything after Christmas!

Another big hit- big Woody! Even more popular are the action figure Woody and Buzz that Lala gave him. They never leave his fists!

Buzz hat and gloves from Gigi and Papa!

Lala reading Charlie's new book, "I Love You, Stinky Face."

Christmas Eve

2011-01-02T18:38:00.001-06:00

We enjoyed a wonderful Christmas week in Jacksonville with my family. 3 seemed to be a magical age for Jack and Christmas. He was very excited about everything. Each time he saw lights somewhere he'd say, "It's Christmas here!"

Here are a few pictures from our Christmas Eve...

Playing around the house in the morning

Pictures by the tree before church

I made Jack some reindeer food to put out for Rudolph.

Sprinkling quickly turned to throwing

Opening the boys' Christmas pj's. It's our family tradition to open a new pair of pj's on Christmas Eve night.

I made the boys pj pants out of an old (too small) pair of pj pants of mine. I used scraps to cut the t-shirt circle then ironed on letters saying "sweet."

Making hot chocolate and putting out cookies for Santa

Sampling in a tiny Santa mug

5

2010-12-17T06:20:00.000-06:00

Five years ago,

on a beautiful,

white

Advent Saturday,

I got to marry the love of my life.

Here's to 65 more.

Charlie at 15 Months

2010-12-16T22:20:00.001-06:00

Our Charlie turned 15 months this week! Where does the time go? Here are a few things about our guy.

Sweet little Charlie, at 15 months...

You're still a peanut. We'll get your official stats next week at your checkup, but you're about 19 1/2 lbs (5th-ish percentile, I think). And yet, your personality is much bigger than your size!

You have been in a Mama phase, scared of strangers, and upset if I walk more than 5 feet from you. You're just coming out of that phase and becoming friendly once again!

You have six teeth- four on top and 2 on bottom. I think you're working on more!

If your teeth aren't bothering you, you're a pretty good sleeper! Recently you've gone back to two naps, and often those each last 2 hours! In addition you go to bed a little after 6 pm and usually wake up at 7 or 7:30 the next morning. (Well, you usually get up once around 4am to eat.) That's over 13 hours of sleep a night!

You play so well. Next to other kids, by yourself, with your brother... You love to explore, take things apart, put in and take out, and drop things. Often you'll play for a good 30-45 minutes by yourself!

You aren't walking yet- although I've seen you take as many as 6 steps at a time! You just prefer to crawl or cruise the furniture almost exclusively. We know that you'll walk someday... when you're ready. :)

You are a sweetie. You love to give (open mouth) kisses, hugs, and high fives.

kissing Daddy the day you started giving kisses a few months ago

Your vocabulary is pretty typical for your age, I think. You say... peas (please), cheese (as soon as you see the camera or for the food), Mama, five (for high five), boom, muh (more), bye bye, Gigi, Papa, and Ack! (which I'm pretty sure is Jack). You also speak in fluent sentences... in Charliese. You're definitely saying something, I just don't know what!

You're a great eater! You haven't developed much pickiness yet, and you eat a ton! A banana and a half in a sitting is nothing for you! You love anything in a sippy cup and drink mostly milk, and occasionally water. You also still nurse about 3 times a day.

You love, in no particular order... fruit, ride-on toys, yogurt and applesauce, your pacifier (oh what fun that will be to break you of :), climbing on anything and everything, snacking constantly, going up and down stairs, pulling everything out of cabinets, dumping buckets of toys, and Gerber yogurt melts. You really like the yogurt melts.

We love you sweet boy, and we're so proud of you!

Quick Takes

2010-12-09T22:50:00.001-06:00

Life here has been crazy, although it's all just day to day stuff. Such is the life with littles I suppose. :) I've neglected the blog, but without the time to give a proper update, I'll give you a few random quick takes (read: I don't have to form cohesive, flowing paragraphs.)

1. Charlie= still not walking. Also, Charlie= cute as ever.

2. I finally decorated for Christmas. We decided not to put up the big tree, and just went with the little table top tree and a few decorations.

3. Someone send us Christmas cards! Our card displaying wreath (see above) is looking really sad!

4. Jack , although going through (another) stubborn "phase," is doing well. He loves preschool and I think generally does pretty well there. Today he came home and told me he didn't go to time-out today! I'm sure there's been a day before when he didn't go... maybe? But, he was very proud of himself for listening to Ms. Stacey today.

5. I've taken to letting Charlie stay in fleece footie pj's all day. Sooo much easier in the frigid weather. Also, no socks for him to pull off.

6. I've been super busy with Monkey Stitch orders. Some examples of what I've worked on lately:

Keep up with it all on monkeystitch.com!

7. We got the boys' pictures taken on Monday. We got some good ones that I'll post soon, but here are a couple of outtakes.

8. I'm ready for bed. Goodnight!

Charlie learns to stand

2010-11-24T20:05:00.002-06:00

Charlie, slooooow at learning to walk as he may be :) is starting to branch out a bit. And, oh boy is he proud of himself!

Owl Cupcakes

2010-11-24T16:45:00.001-06:00

I got this picture off my camera and realized I never blogged it. For Jack's birthday at school I asked him what kind of treats he wanted me to bring, and he said...

owl cupcakes. Owl cupcakes!

Where does this kid get this stuff?!

So, my friend google and I set out to find some ideas. I came across this post on one of my new favorite blogs, I Am Momma, Hear Me Roar, and modified it for what I had on hand.

They eyes are oreo halves, cream side up. The beaks are starbursts cut in half, and the eyebrow thingies are tootsie rolls. She used oreos cut into slivers, but apparently she has sharper knives than I do- mine just crumbled.

To coordinate, I make him this owl beanie, using the pattern at Toad's Treasures, another blog with amazing ideas!

In summary, when your quirky 3 year old requests owl paraphernalia for his birthday, google and awesome craft blogs won't fail you. :)

Shutterfly Christmas Cards

2010-11-24T15:56:00.001-06:00

Shutterfly has some great deals on Christmas cards and Christmas photo cards going on right now! Before I had kids I always had great plans to hand make all of my Christmas cards, and other cards for that matter. But let's face it, that's just not possible anymore. :) Shutterfly is a great compromise. Adorable photo cards, with no more work that uploading photos. Another of my favorite things to do is order thank you cards with the boys' pictures on it for all those post-Christmas thank you notes. I think it adds a nice touch!

Ok, now for picture options. Last Sunday before church I snapped these pics of the boys because they ended up semi-matching. I like how they turned out, and I'm thinking of using them for our cards, but they're more fallish colors than Christmas. So... whadda ya think? Stick with what we have, or try to re-do with Christmas sweaters?

For all of my blogging friends- Shutterfly has a great promotion right now! If you blog about Shutterfly's cards, they'll send you a code for 50 free holiday cards! That's what we're doing at the Friedrich house!

November in Jacksonville!

2010-11-22T22:52:00.001-06:00

The boys and I loaded up and headed to Jacksonville. I had a weekend training for work so the boys hung with my parents and sister while I did that, then we all had a great time being together. Such a great time... that I took very few pictures!

Here are the few I took.

We took a late flight there. I thought it would be great! The boys go to bed early, so I thought they'd sleep on both flights, and we could catch a snack or something on our layover in ATL. Leave it to my boys to prove me wrong. :) So glad I took the double stroller since when we landed in Jacksonville at midnight no one had slept AT ALL! And, well, they behaved about as well as you'd expect a 1 and 3 year old to act at midnight. Oy.

Showing off their orange and blue for Lala's Gators.

Jack's "copia" hat. And pose.

Poor Lala was sick all weekend. So glad she, my parents, and my grandmother will all be here this weekend for Thanksgiving!

nothing more than a lot of Halloween pictures

2010-11-01T20:24:00.001-05:00

Happy belated Halloween from our very own penguin and dragon!

Roar! And... waddle waddle? (What does a penguin say?)

We hit up a local church's fall festival for some pre trick or treating fun!

(It didn't take Jack long to get tired that that heavy dragon head. :)

Instead of trick or treating in the neighborhood, we went to the retirement community where we go to music class and hung out with the grandmas and grandpas there. It was great for everyone and definitely lucrative in the candy department!

Take a blast from the past and check out Halloween 2009 and 2008. I wasn't blogging then, but one of our most precious Halloweens was in 2007 when we brought our baby Jack-o-lantern home from the hospital!

Now, pardon me while I go pass out from a sugar high. Not that I've been eating the kids' candy or anything...

More Birthday Fun

2010-11-01T07:55:00.001-05:00

On the day before Jack's birthday he had a pumpkin party at preschool. The kids could wear their costumes, but I didn't think Jack would keep his dragon on. Instead I put him in his superhero shirt and cape. Charlie and I tagged along, and Mike even came from work to hang out for a bit.

The kids did a little song presentation and then they ate all the sugar they could stomach.

Friday night, on Jack's actual birthday, we invited Mike's parents and brother over for pizza and cupcakes. We got very fancy- pizza from Pizza Hut and mini Halloween cupcakes from the store.

Jack didn't seem to mind.

Actually, neither did Charlie. Both boys LOVE pizza of any variety.

Carolyn's Pumpkin Patch!

2010-10-31T11:09:00.000-05:00

One of the best online deal sites, Groupon, had a family pass to Carolyn's Pumpkin Patch as it's daily deal. We were there in 2008 and 2009 (oh my goodness, look at those babies!), and knew we wanted to go this year as well, so I bought it. (Side note, if you don't "do" Groupon, you should check it out! Just enter your city and they'll email you a deal every day. Most don't apply to me, but I've gotten 3 or 4 amazing deals!) When I logged on to Groupon I found out I had a $10 credit from someone using my link to buy a deal, so the pass ended up costing us $5 for our whole family! Then, when I read the fine print, I realized we could bring grandparents, too. Awesome!

We went with Allison and Kenny and crew. Here are all the kids in age order...

What a crew!

Charlie wasn't happy in the stroller for long. He loved the wooden train.

I took advantage of (the boys') still being in church clothes to snap a few great pics!

Hams.

Daddy, Mama and our silly boys.

We took a hay ride out to the pumpkin patch, and let Jack choose a pumpkin to take home. The rule was, he had to be able to carry it! :)

Charlie, on the ride back. It was another wonderful year of family fun at the pumpkin patch!

Louisburg Cider Mill

2010-10-30T21:37:00.001-05:00

At the end of September we visited Louisburg Cider Mill to climb on pumpkins, watch cider being made, and sample cider donuts, cider slushes, and hot cider!

Jack wasn't all that amenable to standing still for a picture, but I did get one!

The best of the "together" shots.

The babies.

The girls of the bunch.

The big boys sampling caramel apples and root beer, respectively.

Oh, and Charlie practiced his favorite skill... climbing!

The Big 3

2010-10-29T23:02:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday to my biggest boy, the baby who made me a mama, my very favorite Super Jacky Boy (his favorite way to reference himself)!

Since the day you were born you started going and never stopped!

Minutes Old

Today, your Aunt Allison described you with these words: exuberant, entertaining, exhausting, elaborate, emphatic. I couldn't agree more! Everything you do- laughing, crying, loving, learning- you do with gusto and all the drama of a now three year old! I love that you never do anything half way- it's all or nothing with you buddy!

One Year

Some things you love, in no particular order: pizza, wrestling with your brother, singing and talking(constantly :), sneaking into bed with Mama and Daddy in the middle of the night, suckers, your cousins, playing baseball with Daddy, performing on our coffee table "stage," watching TV (well, I can't deny it!), and morning table (learning) time with Mama.

This has been such a big year for you. You learned how to be a big brother. You started talking in paragraphs, rather than mere sentences. You potty trained yourself this summer. You started preschool and Sunday School. You learned compassion and how to exert your will (strongly). You learned about consequences. You loved Jesus.

Two Years

3 Years

Your daddy and I are so proud of the little boy you're growing up to be, but mostly we're just thankful to be your parents. As much as your go-go-GO personality makes me pull my hair out at times, I can't wait to see what amazing things God does with your life!

Happy Birthday, sweet boy.

Love,

Mama

Dear Papa Jack

2010-10-23T19:43:00.002-05:00

Jack and I made my dad (Papa Jack) a reverse finger painted picture of a tugboat for his birthday.

My dad, in turn, wrote Jack a thank you note that Jack just treasures. He took it up to his room and frequently requests it as his bedtime/naptime story. So frequently, in fact, that he now "reads" it when holding any type of written materials.

Thanks, Dad!

Party Like a Superhero!

2010-10-23T10:33:00.001-05:00

We celebrated Jack's 3rd and Charlie's 1st Birthdays last weekend with a few friends and family. We had a superhero theme, and it was a big hit with Jack!

These cake pops are a post in themselves. Let's just say, I'm SO not Bakerella. Seriously, nothing went right with them. I guess that's a post in itself. :)

These are the superhero shirts I made for the boys. Simple...

with a cape that snaps to the back a la Superman pajamas from my (husband's) youth.

The boys had fun while waiting for the party to get started, although Jack feigned shyness.

For an activity I just made some simple paper masks and put out craft stuff for the kids to decorate them. I'm pretty sure Jack spent about 80% of his time doing this. He was especially impressed by the unsupervised opportunity to use glue sticks!

The rest of the time, the kids just ran around in the backyard! It was a beautiful day, perfect for a fall fling!

What a great way to celebrate my favorite little guys turning a year older! Happy birthday boys!

Feeling better

2010-10-19T21:42:00.001-05:00

... but this is how we were feeling last week.

Poor kiddos.

Chair

2010-10-14T21:25:00.000-05:00

One of Charlie's new favorite places...

Two

2010-10-12T21:33:00.001-05:00

peas

pod.

Spaghetti Night!

2010-09-28T21:56:00.001-05:00

You're bothering me.

2010-09-16T21:58:00.000-05:00

On our way to preschool orientation last week I was quizzing Jack about social situations he might encounter. Our guy has a tendency to be a little... uh, aggressive at times.

Me: What do you say to Colton if he takes a toy from you.

Jack: I forget.

Me: I don't like that Coco. Can I please have it back?

Jack: (repeats) I don't like that Coco. Can I please have it back?

Me: What do you say if Eli is playing with something you want.

Jack: Ummm.

Me: Eli, could I please have a turn when you're done?

Jack: (repeats) Eli, could I please have a turn when you're done?

We continued reviewing these situations, remembering the fact that we don't push or scream when things don't go our way. You know, wanting to make a good first impression and all. Then I hear from the back seat:

Jack: Mama, what do I say to you if I want you to stop bothering me?

Happy 1st Birthday Charlie!

2010-09-14T21:35:00.001-05:00

Our sweet Charlie boy is one today!

Charlie, you are such a perfect addition to our family! Though your start in this world was rough, you overcame the odds, and haven't looked back since!

1 Day Old

3 Months Old

6 Months Old

9 Months Old

1 Year Old

At 1 you're a joy to be around! Generally happy and low key, you love anyone who will pay attention to you. You love your mama, screaming if I walk more than a few feet away.

You have an easygoing and determined personality. You'll work at figuring something out for a long time without getting frustrated.

You're still crawling, not yet {even close to} walking, but cruising and still getting into anything and everything.

You love to climb, to wrestle with your brother, and to put things in and out of buckets.

You're still a peanut. You weight about 19 lbs. and still wear 6-9 month clothes and size 2 or 3 shoes.

You still only have two teeth, but are working on at least four across the top! Other than teething issues, you're finally sleeping pretty well at night!

You love to eat! You especially love bananas (you can eat a whole one in a sitting), peas, yogurt, applesauce, bread, snacks, green beans, noodles and mama's milk. You tasted your first sips of whole milk today and liked it!

Today we celebrated your birthday by taking your brother to preschool and then hanging out together. This evening Mee Maw, Papa and Uncle Dave came over and we had a traditional first birthday dinner- Shepherd's Pie, peas and rolls... and of course pumpkin cupcakes, just like your brother had!

We are so thankful for you, sweet Charlie. I can't wait to see what great things God is going to do with your life!

Jack's First Day of Preschool

2010-09-14T21:01:00.001-05:00

Our big boy did a great job on his first day. He was so excited to get ready this morning. Here is the first day of school shirt I made for him last night, next to his backpack. His teacher told us to write our kiddo's name on their backpack, so I ironed letters onto some space fabric and sewed that on.

We did a little photo shoot on the front porch before we left.

I was doing Charlie's first birthday pictures at the same time, and here was the best shot I got of the two of them together. Oh well!

On the ride there ride there Jack started to get a little nervous. He did pose outside the school by the beautiful flowers, though!

He was hesitant when we first walked in, but joined his friends playing pretty quickly. He took his favorite Barney book about weather for share day, and got a good report from his teacher. I'm so proud of him!

Go Chiefs!

2010-09-13T22:27:00.001-05:00

Everyone knows that a gameday isn't complete without whale rain boots. :)

Santa Cali Gon Days

2010-09-11T06:00:00.000-05:00

Last Sunday afternoon we headed to Santa Cali Gon days, a street fair in the downtown Independence square. The boys were excited to go!

Charlie is a cutie. That's all I have to say about that. :)

A fair calls for fried food, what else?! We shared fried onion petals, Pepsi, a pretzel and a hotdog.

In what might be the first instance ever, no one asked us if these boys were twins.

Have I mentioned how I love our double stroller?! When Charlie was ready to nap, I turned Jack's seat around so he and I could talk and Charlie could sleep in peace. He was asleep about 2 minutes after I took this picture.

Mike and Kenny left halfway through for a golf game. Five kids + two double strollers = creative seating. Check out Cerise's cute new hat!

Everyone got lemon ices just before we left- even Charlie got to try some!

Excuse me...

2010-09-09T08:44:00.000-05:00

but who stole my baby? Because this kid looks like a little boy.

Presenting the almost one year old Charlie. Where does time go?

Ham

2010-09-07T20:41:00.000-05:00

All I wanted for my birthday...

2010-09-05T20:39:00.001-05:00

was for my boys to sit still for a picture together.

And if you can believe it, I actually got one!

The Vacation (part II, finally)

2010-08-25T09:18:00.001-05:00

One of the days in the mountains my dad rented a boat for us. Jack had been talking about going on a boat ever since we told him about vacation, and he was SO excited. Both boys were good sports about wearing life jackets, even though poor Charlie could hardly move.

Captain Jack(s) did a great job navigating us around the river!

Eventually all the excitement wore the boys (big and little) out, and everyone needed a nap...

but not before they took a picture of mama tubing. :)

Not to drag this out forever, but one more installment of vacation pics coming soon!

Charlie's first (real) haircut

2010-08-15T20:56:00.001-05:00

I took Charlie with me to get a haircut last weekend. I trimmed his sides back in May, but he was looking a little girlie. He was great- a little squirmy, but no crying and he even sat happily on my lap while I got a cut after him!

Oh yes, he's all about the faces these days.

My handsome boys. :)

The one with Peter Piper, Miss Muffett and Humpty Dumpty

2010-08-09T21:39:00.002-05:00

Vay-cay! (Part 1)

2010-08-08T11:47:00.001-05:00

Our little family took a vacation with my parents, grandmother and sister in the mountains of NC a few weeks ago. It was a wonderful, relaxing time. We'd previously been there when Jack was a baby, and were so excited to return. The family whose cabin we rented even had a sign put up at the convenience store.

Here was the view from the porch of our cabin. A direct view of the Hiawassee Dam!

Four generations of oldests (well, one of the generations was behind the camera :) next to the dam. Excuse the poor lighting!

Charlie continued to be spoiled at every opportunity. :)

My dad's brother and his family came up for a day and continued spoiling both kids!

Papa and Gigi taught Jack to swim using floaties!

Mike and Aunt Lala came to join us on Tuesday... Stay tuned for Part 2!

Charlie's Words, and other random updates

2010-07-16T20:17:00.001-05:00

Well, it looks like little Charlie is going to be a great talker just like his big brother. Just wait, in about a year I won't be able to get a word in edgewise between the two of them! I just wanted to make this list of his words (in relative order) so I remember- this blog is basically the boys' baby books!

7 1/2 m

Bye-Bye (while waving)

9 m

Mama

Dada

10 m

Gigi (said with soft g's)

Papa

Ball

Pat Pat (while clapping)

Boo

The major difference between Charlie and Jack is that Charlie almost always whispers his words, and well, if you've met Jack you know that he doesn't know how to whisper!

Charlie is also smacking his lips to imitate kisses (cute!) and has his second bottom tooth! At 10 months he weighs 18.9 oz (11th percentile), and barely (as in they're on the big size) wears size 2 shoes. What a peanut!

June/July in our house...

2010-07-15T10:27:00.001-05:00

Yes, I'm very late in updating. Just wanted to give you a rundown of the past month and a half at our house! Here are the highlights!

Charlie made big strides physically, crawling at super-hero speed, pulling up all the time and starting to cruise the furniture.

It was hot- we went swimming!

Gigi came into town for a month (and spoiled the boys :)!

I made cute 4th of July Monkey Stitch shirts. (Click for a picture where you can actually see the shirts. :) Are these some good looking kids or what?

We harvested cucumbers, zucchini, tomatoes, basil and green beans from the garden. Charlie noshed on some produce.

Jack potty trained himself in one day! Check the awesome Diego underwear. And yes, I'll be sharing that story soon. :)

Charlie and his curls turned 10 months old!

Shew! I think you're all caught up!

Happy Father's Day

2010-06-20T16:17:00.001-05:00

to the guy my babies call Daddy! I love you for who you are and who you're teaching our boys to be.

March 2008

March 2009

March 2010

AND, a Happy Father's Day to the Papas, who taught us just as much!

9 Months

2010-06-18T21:49:00.001-05:00

Charlie- you are 9 months old!

Here's what you're up to these days...

You weigh 17 lbs 14 oz (10th percentile) and you're 28 inches long (50th percentile).
Your first tooth just popped through on Thursday!
You crawl (fast!) everywhere, and pull up all the time. You're just starting to think about cruising, but usually fall as soon as you move your feet. You also like to do baby yoga and get up on straight legs.

You learned to climb up the stairs last week.
You say bye bye (while waving) and more (sometimes).
You are a terrible sleeper! You usually take two 1 hr naps a day and go to bed at 7 pm, but get up at least 3 times (usually more- many more) a night. We're working on it! :)
You're a total Nuk pacifier baby. I think it's cute, but I'm not looking forward to breaking you of the habit one day!

Even though you're tiny, you're a great eater! You still nurse every 3ish hours during the day and eat two meals of food. You'll eat baby food, but are happier to eat tiny pieces of "real" food. It's nice to just give you what we're having!
You have the biggest, most beautiful blue eyes!

You suddenly have MAJOR stranger anxiety, and cling to mama like nobody's business. At your doctor check up the doctor said your heart was just racing when she went to touch you- so sad!
You have a sweet personality, and you love to cuddle, but you really don't like it when someone (usually your brother) takes something from you!

You simply adore your brother, and I can tell you two are going to be great buddies. I've already caught you wrestling with each other and giggling your heads off!

You are our sweet Charlie boy and we love you so much!

teaser

2010-06-16T22:34:00.001-05:00

may 2009

(oh my gosh, check out those baby faces on the boys!)

one year later...

(plus two babies)

more (LOTS more) coming soon

Backpack Baby

2010-06-13T08:49:00.000-05:00

Charlie's been a bit clingy lately. Especially in the late afternoons, he just wants his mama, so I've taken to wearing him in the carrier on my back, where he always falls asleep. Good thing he's a cutie. :)

Cut

2010-06-11T20:42:00.001-05:00

Don't worry...

he didn't lose his cheesy grin when he lost his hair. :)

Splash Park

2010-05-31T21:57:00.000-05:00

Enjoy these pictures of the big kids at the splash park at Loose Park. If you can't tell, they loved it!

Ambidextrous?

2010-05-30T09:03:00.000-05:00

Powell Gardens

2010-05-29T08:58:00.001-05:00

Last week I decided the boys and I needed a field trip with just the three of us, so early that morning I packed a lunch, slathered on sunscreen, and we hit Powell Gardens for the morning. I took the double stroller, but next time I think I'll stick with the single, as the amount of time both boys were in the stroller was few and far between.

It was a perfect, quiet, hot, fun retreat!

Jack loved this butterfly bench...

and hopping in the Hummingbird Garden.

They are getting ready for a bug exhibit, and many HUGE bugs were already set up. We"ll have to go back to see it, as Jack loved the ones we saw.

Here Jack's excited that I finally let him pick a "flower"- this yellow dandelion. Check out that goofy face!

We spent about an hour on the water garden island,

then headed back to the "mainland" to check out the vegetable garden and head to the barn for samples of strawberries, blackberries, snap peas, radishes, broccoli, and carrots.

By early afternoon we were all hot and tired! Thanks Kansas City Groupon for the great deal on a year-long family pass! I have a feeling we'll be going back often!

First Haircut

2010-05-28T21:46:00.002-05:00

I was looking at our Powell Gardens (post coming soon) pictures today and noticed that Charlie's hair was getting a little out of control.

I mean, he was born with hair that came down past his ears and the curl on top of his head was getting pretty unruly. Mike has been asking me to cut it, literally, since he was about a month old. So today, when I had the scissors out giving Jack a trim, I did.

Just a few clips around the ears, neck, and in front.

I must say, although I greatly dislike the fact that it makes him look older, he sure is handsome.

And don't you worry, I left those curls in the back completely intact!

Spring (and Summer) is here!

2010-05-27T22:19:00.001-05:00

Well, we went right from rainy, cold days to 80 degree sun! Now that Charlie is mobile, we're getting outside as often as we can!

Wait. I did mention that he's crawling, right? He has been for a few weeks.

And I must say, I love that cute little behind. :)

A New Little Friedrich

2010-05-18T16:12:00.001-05:00

Our niece Cerise Laurelyn Friedrich was born May 13 and weighed 9 lbs 8 oz looking like a girly clone of her big brother's baby pictures! She's settled in at home and being loved on tons by her big brother and sister. I only got a couple of pictures, but there are lots more over at Allison's blog.

I promise to stop soon...

2010-05-16T05:28:00.000-05:00

(Posting pictures of Charlie and his girl, that is.)

... but obviously not today!

Charlie's new cart cover!

2010-05-15T10:25:00.001-05:00

I recently made Charlie a shopping cart/high chair cover, and I think it's pretty cute if I do say so myself- although not as cute as the kid in it! Check out MonkeyStitch soon to see how easy it was!

Your gifts are too heavy to mail...

2010-05-09T12:33:00.000-05:00

so you'll just have to come see us to get them!

Happy Mother's Day Gigi, Meemaw and Momsie! Two little boys have never been as lucky to have such wonderful women in their lives as mine are. :)