Up uP and AwAy~~~~~~~~~~

Charlotte relaxing at the cottage in Hayward

Here we are again and it has been a month since I last updated this blog. I really need to find some consistency in my life. Although I guess I am pretty consistent on writing only once a month. Does that count? Anyway this last month has been filled with all kind of good things so we better get started!!.....

The view from the front window at Dave & Monya's cottage

The month started off with us going up to Dave & Monya's cottage (Nana Moni & Papa Dave as Charlotte would say) It is always such a nice and relaxing time when we go up there. This was Charlotte's first time up there and I think she really enjoyed it. The last time Jim and I were up there was when I was still pregnant. So technically Charlotte had been there before, but she didn't have a very good view back then. Jim had his 31st birthday while we were there. We spent our days relaxing by lake, and walking the shore. Jim spent his days fishing with Dave. The cottage is situated right on the lake, which is as big as lake Mendota. So in other words it is big! We enjoyed afternoon naps and BBQ food. We all slept in a king sized bed together. It was such a nice time. We are planning on going back up in August for a short weekend. It is about a three and a half hour drive north (Hayward) so it is a bit of a drive, but it is so worth it. The funny thing is that their cottage is on the same lake that my family use to go to when I was little. When we go out in the boat I was always look and try to find the old cottage we use to go but I have still been unsuccessful in finding it. Charlotte took her first boat ride. At first she wasn't to sure but she warmed up to it fast. We also went on a wilderness walk, which is basically a zoo, but it is in the woods. I am not sure if Monya or Charlotte enjoyed it more. All and all we had a really nice time, and Jim turned a year older.

Charlotte playing on the beach at the cottage Charlotte's first boat trip Wilderness Walk in Hayward

This picture speaks for itself

Charlotte and Monya trying out the boat

Charlotte has been doing some pre-potty training. Jim bought her a potty seat, but I really didn't want to start training her to use a potty seat because then you have to just turn around and train her to use the "big Potty" so I got a seat that fits on our toilet. She has been really doing a great job. I think in the next week or so we are going to hit the potty training full force. I know it is early but she is very interested and seems to understand the concept of using the potty, so why not start now? I am sick of changing diapers. I have been using the cloth training pants and baby legs. We have been spending time in the kitchen and breezeway because we have wood floors in there so if she has an accident it is easy to clean up. It seems to help her understand that she needs to use the potty when she can actual feel that she is wet. So I am hoping this keeps going well and she starts using the toilet on a more consistent basis. I am not going to push her to be trained. I will let her go at her own pace.

Charlotte working on potty training. I am so horrible for posting this!

Now onto the big news. Charlotte and I are going to London. This came about kind of unexpectedly but we are really happy to be going. Cherie's oldest daughter is getting married and she asked me if Charlotte, Jim and I would be able to come. I told her that I probably wouldn't be able to come because we didn't have the money. I told her that the only way we would be able to come is if my dad would pay for our plane tickets. I got up the courage and asked him, and surprisingly he said he would. I have to pay him back but it is worth it. I have been wanting to go and visit Cherie and the kids for a long time, but we just couldn't afford to go. I was suppose to go this last Christmas, and then we had some issues and I wasn't able to go. It broke my heart and I know Cherie was really disappointed. It killed me to have to call and tell her we weren't coming. Bobbie and Kerie have never met Charlotte so it is going to be so exciting for her to see them. I am still a little worried about how Charlotte is going to act while we are there. When we went to my sisters Faith's for a week, Charlotte was a total nightmare the whole time we were there. If you remember the post I wrote about our trip to Indiana then you know what I mean. I am hoping this trip goes a lot better. We have a 8 and a half hour flight, that I am not looking forward to. I reserved us seats at the front of the plane near the exit so Charlotte will have a little room to get down and play if she wants to. We leave Chicago at 8pm so I am hoping she will sleep on the way over. If she doesn't sleep I know I am in for a lot of trouble because we arrive in London at 11:30 the next morning and if she doesn't sleep on the plane she is going to want to sleep during the day when we get to Cherie's and then her sleep schedule will be all out of whack. So does anyone have any tips for flying with a baby? I sure could use it? I am also not sure how the logistics of flying with a baby work. Does she has to sit in her car seat while on the plane? If she does, do I have to haul the car seat through the airport with me, or do the take it at the baggage check and put it on the plane for me? If she doesn't use a car seat do they allow you to check the car seat at the baggage check? What about the stroller? What happens to that? Can I take a stroller on the plane? If not how am I going to get around the airport with her? I guess I need to call British Airways and ask some questions. I just hope everything goes smoothly and that we have a nice trip. We will be gone for about 2 1/2 weeks. We leave Chicago July 30 ans arrive in London on the 31st. We stay until August 15th and we return to Chicago on the night of August 15th. I am so excited to see everyone and I will finally get a proper roast dinner thanks to the amazing cooking of Kerie. I would seriously go for just that. I craved it so bad when I was prego, and now I am finally going to get it. I guess I need everyone to wish me luck and hope for the best! All ready to head for London!

I have been taking a few online photograph courses. My niece Erin (Faith's daughter) was nice enough to give me copies of Adobe photoshop Cs2 and Adobe photoshop Lightroom 2 the only problem was I only knew how to use it in the VERY basic sense, and I wanted to be able to enhance my photos in a more professional sense, so I decided to take a few courses that will help me do just that. I will start them in about a week and then I will be able to do a little work while I am in London and then finish the course when I get home. I would really like to take my photographs to the next level and possibly start doing some things for a little extra money. I have been reading a lot of books and doing a lot of research online. It will take sometime but I know with practice my photos will get better. I have always enjoyed doing this but have not gone beyond the intermediate learning, it is time to get serious about this and start to take pictures of other things and people besides Charlotte. I will keep you updated on my progress. If any of you would like to be my guinea pigs please let me know.

We ended the month of June with a trip to the zoo in Madison. It was Charlotte's first trip to see the real live animals up close. It is so much fun to go and do these things and see everything for the first time through her eyes. Now speaking of photographs, you would think I would have taken a ton of pictures, but two things happened. First it was really hot that day so none of us were really in the mood, and second I was having so much fun show Charlotte the animals and just playing with her that I pretty much forgot until we were ready to leave. So I got one picture of her with a fake lion. And by this time she wasn't in the mood to sit still for mom to take a picture. She loved the giraffe's and the lions, but the seal scared the living crap out of her. It would come out of the water and make this awful sound that sounded like it was dying, and she looked at it and just started screaming. Everyone around us was laughing but she was truly scared to death. So we didn't stick around there for long. Her favorite animals were the monkeys. She sat in front of the big window for about 20 minutes watching them. The one monkey was swinging by his feet upside down and that is all she talked about all day. She would say "monkey" and then she would say "Swinging" all day that is what we heard. "Monkey"I would say" Yes Charlotte, did you see the monkey?"and she would say "Swinging" All day long. So before we left Jim bought her one of those monkeys that have the Velcro on the hands and feet. She has carried that thing around with her all week. When she was ready to go to bed She said "Bis.....Monkey" I think she was worried that "Bis" (Her stuffed dog "Roofus" that she sleeps with) wasn't going to like the monkey. But Bis was a total gentlemen and invited Monkey to sleep with him and Charlotte. The zoo was a lot of fun. I am sure we will be back very soon. I think we are going to go to the zoo while we are in London. That zoo is huge. I am hoping maybe the aquarium too.

Well there you have another month safely stored into the memory bank. I hope everything goes good for our trip. This next month we have our family reunion. I am really looking forward to it. I have all the DVDs back except one and I am not sure that one will be back in time, but we should have a nice selection to watch. I still have not found a digital projector. So if any of you have one or know someone who has one please let me know, otherwise I will go to A to Z rental and rent one so I can set up the screen and play the movie in the background at the picnic. I am going to bring copies of the movies and the pictures to the reunion. Which reminds me that I better get going on making copies of those so I have them done. It is going to be a lot of fun. I really hope everyone shows up. It would really be nice to get a picture with everyone in it. I will post pictures after the reunion. OK I gotta get off here. I am hoping to keep this updated more often but I said that last time too. I have not updated my twitter or facebook on a regular basis either. My days are just to full these days. We spend as much time as possible outside and we are always running here or there and everyday I seem to have a list of things to do that is a mile long. So if I don't update until next month please forgive me, I am not dead just busy........

Stop and Smell the Roses or Tulips

Charlotte took some time to smell the Tulips

It has been awhile since I updated my blog and I have good reason....OK maybe not but when you have a 1 1/2 yr old who lives and breaths to play outside then what is a mama to do? So that is pretty much where we spend our afternoons. The morning I try and get the house in order and get my "chores" done so we can spend the afternoons outside. I usually leave the kitchen for the afternoon because Charlotte can play outside while I do that because it is easy to keep an eye on her from the kitchen. So anyway I know everyone is dying to know what we have been up to..... Yeah right....but I am going to make you suffer through it anyway. This is going to be a long one! This is the shirt everyone hates except for me and Charlotte. What is so wrong with it?

OK so we left you last time hanging about Charlotte's doctor appointment. We went back and found out that she does in fact have a auto immune deficiency. It is called Selective deficiency of IgA. It is nothing really serious It sounds really serious but in reality it isn't. Basically she has a low level of a protein in her blood that helps prevent infections like colds, sinus infections, bronchitis,diarrhea, etc. She can get these things easier then other kids but once she does have them she has all the antibodies to fight off the infection. Our pediatrician said most kids that have this either have a lot of symptoms or they have no symptoms at all, and so far Charlotte really hasn't had any symptoms. She was only sick once this winter with the flu and we all were sick so she didn't have a fighting chance on that one. She may eventually outgrow it and we also found that it is passed down through families. I am guessing it is my side of the family because Jim is never sick and my side of the family there always seems to be something wrong with someone. I am going to be tested just to see if I am right. So that is what we found. She gained a pound and a half back and the doctor said she wasn't as worried about her weight. She just wants me to try getting her to eat more often. She called it "failure to thrive". Nothing like making you feel like a horrible mother when they say that:) I have tried everything to get her to eat. She just picks at her food and really will only eat a few bites of anything and then she just plays with the rest. I have tried everything to get her interested in actually eating, but nothing works. She is to "busy" to eat. We stop everything and sit at the table to eat, even snacks, but she still won't eat more then a little at a time. I am not going to worry myself to death about it. I am just more aware now of how much she is eating. So that is the gist of it. She is fine and so far she has not had any problems with it. She will be going to see the immunologist sometime in the next two weeks. I will update when we get back from the appointment.

Last month Jim came to me and said he was getting some chicken eggs from a guy at work and he was going to hatch them and raise chickens. I told him was "absolutely insane, and that he was not going to hatch chickens and raise them because I would end up being the one to raise them", and I do not want to raise chickens. Our neighbor has raised chickens every year we have been here and they are the worst animals I can think of. First off they smell, and I don't mean they she kind of smell bad. They stink! Chicken crap is disgusting and the smell will seriously make you want to cut your nose off and stuff the remaining holes with cotton. I think you get the point that they stink! Second they are noisy, especially if you have a rooster. Our neighbor had a rooster for one year. Every morning at the ass crack of dawn that stupid bird would start in with the coooock a dooddlle do crap. He is very lucky I didn't go over a butcher the stupid thing myself. So that is smelly, noisy, what else could there possibly be? OK # 3 They are stupid! That is a big one. Gunner (Our dog) is almost as dumb as a chicken so there is no doubt in my mind that Jim will set up the chicken factory and Gunner will spend his days trying to figure out how to kill one of them so he can chew on it. And last but certainly not least is the fact that Jim will not take care of these smelly, noisy stupid birds, I will end up doing it because of his work schedule, and I do not want to raise chickens. So that was what I told Jim when he said that he wanted to do this. I thought that was the end of the conversation. The next week I went down into our basement and I was looking for something and I hear this"" cheep cheep"" at first I thought it was a mouse. as I started to look around I noticed a very bright light coming out of an old diaper box. Well can you guess what was in the box? Oh not "A" chicken, 11 chickens and there were three more in the incubator next to the box. I am not sure what made me more upset the chickens or the fact that Jim thought it was OK to put a heat lamp into a cardboard box.Nothing like burning your house down over chickens! So as of now the chickens are still here. I am hoping they will be going away soon, but I have a feeling they are here to stay. At least Charlotte get a kick out of them. I let her hold them and she usually drops them when they move. They are cute right now, but I am certain they will not stay that way and I know one of them is just dying to be an early riser. Oh how I love my husband and his brilliant ideas!

The black "Chicken" of the family. The only black chicken all the rest were light brown. My friend Devin just gave birth to a beautiful baby girl who she named Sydney. She allowed me to take some pictures of her so I could practice my baby photography skills :) OK I am no where near professional or even semi professional but I am learning and really enjoying it. It was a lot of fun, but it would have been a lot better if I had a sitter for Charlotte, and if the light had been a little better. (It was a rainy cloudy day) I had a lot of fun though and I learned a lot. I have been doing a lot of reading and I am taking a photoshop class. My niece Erin gave me a copy of Photoshop Cs2 and Photoshop Lightroom so it has been a lot of fun learning how to enhance my photos. I am finding that I really enjoy doing this and it gives me something to work that is just for me. Since Charlotte was born I don't do a lot of stuff for myself so this is something that is just for me. Here are a few of the pictures I took. Devin also has a two and half year old little boy Nickolas. They all came over last week and Charlotte and Nic played together. It was really nice and Charlotte had a blast. They rode together on the powerwheels ATV. It was so cute. Charlotte held onto Nic around his waste and he was so good with her on the back, but he wanted to drive fast so he asked for her to get off and then he rode around the yard and almost crashed on several occasions. It was pretty funny. He is a sweet kid and Charlotte loves playing with him. It was a good day. Sydney

This last weekend we had a lot of fun. It started off with a trip to the greenhouse. Charlotte loves going there. She loves all the flowers and she especially loves the the little wagon she gets to ride in. I really need to buy that kid a wagon. I keep saying that but I would like to find a used one. A brand new wagon is like 70 dollars. Crazy! SO anyway then we came home and Jim built the raised garden boxes and we planted our garden. We are going to have a really nice garden this year. WE have a really nice selection of veggies and fruits. We even got a nice apple tree. That probably won't produce much if anything this year or next but when it does it will be nice. It is a honey crisp apple tree. Those are really good apples. After we got that done we had to rush to get to Laurie and Herbie's daughter Sylvia's graduation party. She graduated from college and is going to be an elementary school teacher. We didn't get to stay long but I got some nice pictures of the three of them together and we met a cute little puppy who's name was Molly. Charlotte didn't really care for her though. She has a little to jumpy and she nipped at her a few times. SHE was just being a puppy but Charlotte didn't understand and really didn't care. We came home and had a relaxing evening outside and finished up the garden. I planted some flowers out front and then it was off to bed. I think that should cover it. It has been busy but we have had a lot of fun the past few weeks. The weather is getting nicer and we are spending every minute possible outside. I will try to keep this more up to date in the future. That way you won't have to read until your eyes burn.

Laurie, Sylvia & Herbie

Laurie & Sylvia Molly the cute little puppy we met

She is showing Jim her "Button" Future Gardener We stopped to get a picture with the totem pole This is how she spends her mornings.

Notice the shoes over the feetsy jammies The flowers I planted in the front of the house

The garden we planted this weekend. The raised boxes are really nice and makes it a breeze to weed.

2lbs

It has been awhile since I updated this blog so since our last visit I have been to Indiana to visit Faith and had a really nice time with everyone down there, I have turned 29, I found out I have a large cyst on my ovary, Charlotte has gotten four more teeth, Celebrated Easter with Jim's family Charlotte got a huge easter basket.Jim has been put on meds for his blood pressure,Started to potty train Charlotte, We have planned a trip to Chicago with Dave and Monya for Jim's birthday, My dad is driving again...... The biggest news I guess is Charlotte went to the doctor last week and she has lost two pounds. Our doctor was concerned and wanted to check her bloodwork to make sure everything was OK. So the following day we had to go to the hospital to have her blood drawn. It was a horrible experience for both of us. They had two people (a man & a woman) help "Hold her down" while they took !five! vials of blood. It took them forever to get the blood they needed. They didn't get a very good vein and instead of just trying to do it over they decided to just stick with the vein and basically let the vials fill up one drip at a time. Charlotte screamed and cried the whole time. I felt so bad for her. Both of the technicans were pretty heartless throughout the whole thing. They didn't try to help calm her down and then the guy actually looked at the woman and asked if "she" was OK.....because she was holding Charlottes arm and leg for so long so she couldn't move. So when we finally got done we went up to the third floor to see Janet. My lactation consultant after Charlotte was born. She had a book of mine that I let her borrow and we decided to stop and see if she had it. It was so funny to see her. She hadn't seen Charlotte since she was about three months old. It made me long for pregnancy again. She asked when we were coming back to visit. I told her it would be awhile yet. We would like to wait till Charlotte is about two before we start to try again. After that we went back down to the gift shop and Charlotte got a new stuffed dog. When we were in Indiana Faith had a little stuffed dog she called Abby and Charlotte loved that little dog, so we picked up the new dog and named her Abby. So that helped with the crying and put the smile back on her little face. She now has to sleep with Roofus (Bis) and Abby. It is very cute. We haven't heard back from the doctor yet but I should hear something today or tomorrow. I will post when I find out something! I have started to potty train Charlotte and so far it is going pretty good. I started having her wear the baby legs legwarmers when we are at home. At first I thought they were the dumbest thing I have ever seen, but they are so nice for her to wear now that we are starting to potty train. It makes taking her training pants on and off a breeze and when she is running around without a diaper on it keeps her legs warm. This is proably third product I have changed my mind about since we have had a baby. There have been a few things that before CHARlotte was born that Jim and I would look at and say "How stupid is that, we will never use that." We would laugh at whatever it was and walk away. Now I find myself embarssed buying these things:) we have been spending a lot of time in the kitchen and breezeway because I have found that if I let her walk around without a diaper that she realizes what is happening when she starts to pee. She has went on the potty 3 times so far. So we are on our way to being potty trained. This is only the beginning so we have a long way to go but it is start. We went this last Saturday and had Jennifer Hagans do Charlotte's pictures again. She is the one who took the awesome pictures of her when she was about 7months old. I love the way she does her pictures. She not only captures the way Charlotte looks, but she also captures her personality. She has sent me a few proofs to show me how they are turning out. So far I must say, that I love them! Here a few for everyone to see. When I get all of them back I am going to ask everyone to tell which ones they would like copies of and the sizes, so I can order just the ones I need. Last time I ordered a ton of pictures and everyone wanted the same one and then I had a bunch of extras so this way I won't have to waste a bunch of money on a ton of pictures that no body wants. My dad is doing better. HE is driving again but I am not entirely sure he should be, but he won't listen to me. I am starting worry that he may be showing the early signs of Alzheimers. I am not kidding either. He is forgetting a lot of things lately and it is starting to really worry me.

To Aunt Faith Love Charlotte

To build or not to build

I am getting so sick of saying that things have been crazy but that is the only word that makes any sense. My dad is out of the hospital and we are trying to convince him to move in here but it is becoming a hard sell. We had a contractor come and give us an estimate of adding onto our house. It was a lot more then we had expected it would be. We would have to sell his house and even then it would just barely cover the cost. I don't understand how adding onto a house can cost just as much as the house itself. It is cray. So for now I am driving back and forth to his house three times a day and he is becoming more and more demanding. It is almost like he has become the kid and I am now the adult. It is starting to wear me down, but what else can I do.

DOWn WiTh THe SiCKnesS

Charlotte' dress from Uncle Charlie amd Aunt Karyn...... She looked really cute

I want to go to Aunt FAith's!!!

THe very cute bag that Aunt Faith bought for Charlotte's birthday

She is all girl! She loves carrying her bags around. she loves baby dolls. She has a cute knitted poncho that she has to wear every chance she gets.

Life has been pretty crazy around here, but I guess that shouldn't be a surprise anymore. My dad has been in and out of the hospital and is now currently "In" the hospital. He has had two surgeries in less then a month and he has become so weak that he couldn't stay home by himself. I had to go my Aunt Shirley's funeral last Tuesday and when I came back after the wake to check on him I found him on the floor. He had fallen and couldn't get him self back up. It was a total life alert moment. This is why they make those things. He really should have one. I got him up and back to bed and told him if he had to get up that he needed to call me. I got up early to go over and check on him and this time I found him in the bathroom on the floor. I called the doctor and Jim helped me get him to the car. We took him back to the hospital and they finally admitted him again. He will now be coming home on Tuesday with a life alert button. They have also set up meals on wheels for him and a home health nurse will be coming in 3 times a week. The big news is we finally decided to have him move in with Jim and me. We are going to build three rooms onto our house for him. He will have a living room, bathroom, and bedroom. We have the contractor coming this week to look at our house and see what he can do and how it will cost. We will be selling his house. I Have been trying to get him to agree to this for over a year, but now he realizes that he really needs to do it. He just can't stay by himself anymore. If he doesn't do this he will probably end up in a nursing home the next time so he wants to do it before that happens. We are also going to be adding a extra bedroom onto the other side of the house too, and the whole back part of the house will be moved out ten feet. I will finally have a bigger kitchen. We will be using the money we get from his house to pay for all of this but it is still going to be a lot of work, but when it is done I will feel so much better that my dad is right here with us and I will be able to take care of him.

Now onto the good news. Jim and I got our first night alone since Charlotte was born. Our friends Laurie and Herbie came Friday morning and took Charlotte to their Son's (B.J.) basketball tournament in Fon du lac. They spent the night up there so we had a whole day and a half to ourselves. I was pretty freaked most of the time, only because it was the first time I have ever let anyone take her over night. From what Laurie told us Charlotte had a really good time. I was glad she had fun. Jim and I really didn't do much. It was nice to just be home and have quiet. It was so weird, less then two years ago we couldn't imagine having a baby and now we don't know what to do with out her. Charlotte needs to get out and interact with other kids her age so it was a great experience for her. I can't wait until summer when we will be able to go to the park and she will be able to play with other kids. Needless to say I got to sleep in on Saturday morning. (8am:0) The bad news in all of this is just before Charlotte left she had a bit of a cold but it wasn't anything horrible. Laurie didn't have any problems with her being sick while she was gone, but when she got back all hell broke loose. It started last night about an hour after she went to bed. She woke up screaming and I could get her to settle down. I finally got her back to sleep and then every hour after that she was awake. I finally brought her into bed with me and Jim and she slept for about an hour and a half. Then when daylight came so did the vomit. She couldn't keep anything in her stomach, not even water. I cleaned the floors with the shampooer about four times, I did three loads of laundry, gave Charlotte three baths, and changed both her clothing as well as mine about four times. She finally fell asleep in my arms around noon and slept for a good hour. Now this evening she has been able to keep some Cheerios down and a bottle of water and formula. She has gone to sleep for the night and she has been asleep for about an hour so I am keeping my fingers crossed that the worst is over, and she will sleep through the night. We both need a good nights sleep.

SOME LIKE IT WARMER THEN BELOW ZERO

Today we are having a heat wave here in the great state of Wisconsin. It going to be 49 degrees which by most standards is still really cold but here in Wisconsin you will some crazy person with shorts on. I guarantee it. It is going to be really nice to be outside and not have your nostrils freeze shut. It is funny how in the fall when it is 49 degrees out we feel like we are freezing but in the middle of winter when it hits 49 we feel like it is a tropical heat wave. At any rate it will be nice to get outside and enjoy the warmth for a few days and then reality will hit again and we will all realize that it is still the middle of February. So enjoy it while it lasts!

Last night we made homemade pretzels. I was sure this was going to be a very difficult undertaking. I was wrong. It was the easiest thing to make ever. It was fun and they were really good. I think I will make them the next time we have lasagna instead of garlic bread or bread sticks. If you have always wanted to make homemade pretzels give it a try it is a lot easier then you would think.

Jim and I went out by ourselves for the first time since Charlotte was born. It was nice but we both missed having Charlotte with us and we really didn't know what to do once we were done eating. We didn't want to go see a movie so we just went and rented a movie from the movie store and then we went and picked Charlotte back up. Monya asked why we were back so soon. We told her we didn't know what to do with ourselves. It was just to much to ask us to do since it was pretty much the first time. Better luck next time.

Did you know??

OK I posted this on facebook but I thought I would post it on here too. 25 random facts, goals,wishes, etc, about myself. It was actually kind of hard to think of 25 random things. So now I want everyone to do the same. Leave me a comment with 12 random things about yourself. 1. I wish I wore glasses 2.contrary to popular belief I am a very good cook! I love to cook. 3. I love to draw and I am good at it. I started going to school for commercial art but life got in the way, and I didn't get very far. I wish I would have stuck it out, 4. I like that I have grey hair 5. I am more comfortable with my body now then I have ever been. I want to lose weight, but my will power is very weak, and since I have had Charlotte I am happy in my own skin. 6. I wish I lived in Washington State 7. I hate talking on the phone 8. I have wanted to be pregnant since Charlotte was born. I enjoyed being pregnant, but hated everything that came with it. I will not be getting pregnant anytime soon though so don't ask! 9. I judge public bathrooms by the smell of their soap, no matter how clean they are if they have crappy soap then they are crappy! 10. I am a very organized person. I didn't say my house was spotless, just organized! 11. I want to take classes for both Photography and cake decorating. I had so much fun doing Charlotte's cake I want to get better at it. I love photography and I now a lot about different aspects but I want to get better, and be able to put it all together so I can take great pictures of Charlotte. 12.I love my car. I will never by anything but a Volkswagen ever again! Go ahead and laugh!! 13. I absolutely hate doing laundry. give me any other household chore but that! 14. I didn't want a big wedding, I wanted to elope (St. Lucia was my choice) but Jim wanted a big wedding. Guess who won! 15. I love staying up late, it is my alone time and I also like being alone 16. I hate people who are not polite and people who do not know how to use good grammar! It drives me crazy! 17. I went to Florida and never went to Disneyland:( 18. I am pretty sure Mint Ice cream was the best invention ever. 19. My favorite holiday is Halloween, but I always look forward to St. Patricks day because it is the only time you can get corn beef and cabbage 20. I have to have socks on all the time. I hate being barefoot. even during labor I kept my socks on:) 21.I didn't think I would like being a mom. I was so wrong. 22.I love the fact that Jim still holds my hand when we are in the car. 23.I wear my watch on my right hand even though I am right handed. 24.I want to spend a month in Hawaii, I would like to rent a house on the beach. really I would rather just buy a beach house in Hawaii nu I am pretty sure that 25. I didn't want to go out with Jim when we first met. I am glad I did it anyway. He has turned out to be the best man for the job:) OK and now the thing I love the most! The way Charlotte smells. I am sure it is because I am her mother, but I love the way she smells. It is a little weird but she has a wonder sweet smell to her. Since the moment she was born I have loved putting nose in her hair and just being close to her.

What's up Doc???

Charlotte's year old well baby check was on Thursday and sadly I found out she is a year old!! OK just kidding I found out more then that. She is now 21lbs 8oz and 29.8 inches long. She has hit all of her milestones and the doctor said she is doing great. I don't want to be one of those mom's who thinks her kid is a genius and no other baby could be as smart as my kid type of person so what I am about to say is just what the doctor said and it is not me bragging. I thought it was completely normal until she said something. Charlotte is very quick when it comes to learning new words and the doctor said she knows a lot more words then most 12 month old babies. OK there I said it. She picks up on words very easily. She knows Mama, Dada, hi, bye bye, cat, puppy, ba ba (for bottle), eyes, horse, uh oh, bear, there are a few more but I have just hit a blank in my memory. So she is doing really good when it comes to talking. Now on to the shots. as most people know I put Charlotte on my own vaccination schedule. I do believe that vaccinations are very important and they prevent a lot of illness. The problem I have with them is that the CDC and FDA do not do the sort of tests on these vaccinations that I think need to be done. I am perfectly aware that there is no known connection between Autism and vaccinations but at the same time they can not say there isn't some sort of connection. The number of recommended vaccinations for baby and children has climbed along with the rate of children who develop Autism. So it is very scary for me, especially because I have two family members with the condition. So the schedule called for Charlotte to get six vaccinations in four shots. There were two that I had decided that she would defiantly not get (Chicken Pox & Hep A) The chicken pox's one will will not get at all and the hep A she will get before she starts school. The other two pneumococcal and the MMR (measles mumps and rubella). She received the pneumococcal, but the MMR she did not. I have been dreading the MMR shot since she was born. This is the shot that has so much controversy surrounding it. So I did my research and I decided that I would give Charlotte the MMR shot but I want the shots separately and spread out over six months. Well guess what? They no longer make the individual shots. So what is a worried mother to do? I could not give her the MMR shot. I just couldn't do it. So I came home and did a little Internet surfing and went back and read a few different chapters and I have decided to wait until she 2 1/2. I will then give her the MMR shot. This way her brain has time to develop and she will then be covered for the diseases. The doctor said that the individual shots may become available again in the near future and if that happens then she will get them sooner. It is just so scary. 1-150 babies now develop Autism and on top of that we have the condition in our family. I will be very glad once this is over and she has all the shots she needs.

Charlotte's Party Recap

Mom prepared to clean up the very messy CHARLOTTE Laurie, Nickolas, and Charlotte Charlotte on her new 4 wheeler. We had beer and baby bottles the perfect baby party:) I am 1!!!!! & a mess!!

OK so I have been out of touch for the last week and everyone wants to know "How was Charlotte's Birthday?" So here goes. Charlotte is now a year old and this last year has went so fast. I have always heard everyone say that kids grows so fast, but until now it didn't make sense. It really seems like yesterday I was in the hospital giving birth to her and now she is walking, talking, little goof head. She is such a wonderful little person, and I can't really believe that I get to keep her. So now onto the party. It was a pretty crazy couple of days. My dad had surgery two days before so I asked Monya to come and help me with the decorating and cooking. The night before I made her cakes. I was so worried that the cakes wouldn't turn out. I am good at baking but I had never attempted decorating a cake. SO as you can see by the pictures the cakes turned out perfect. I was so happy. We had a really good time. Charlotte was a little overwhelmed by all the people, but thanks to Monya, I was able to do what I needed to do and she took Charlotte. It just goes to show how much Charlotte loves both Dave and Monya. When Charlotte finally warmed up to the crowd she had a really good time. The guest list included----- Jim's mom, sister(Mindi), brother(Duane), My brother Pete and his wife Vicki, My nieces Kirstie and Kendra, our neighbors Steve and his daughter Kim, Our good friends, Laurie, Herbie, and their son B.J., Of course the famous Granny Jo A.K.A. (Corky), her granddaughter Amanda, Our friend Devin, and her adorable little boy Nickolas. I think that was it but I am sure I forgot someone. Anyway Charlotte got a ton of gifts. I am not going to name everything because it would give me carpal tunnel. Lets just say the kid will have plenty of stuff to keep her busy. She had a really good day.

Since Charlotte's party things have just been crazy around here. My dad has been sick. He ended up in the ER again, and now his second surgery has been postponed. So I have had to take care of him, and that is not an easy task. He is so stubborn about everything. In between there I was sick for 3 days, and the thing that surprises most people is on top of all of that I sold my business. Yes, you read that right. I sold my store. About three weeks ago a lady got in contact with me and asked if I would be interested in sell my store. Things had started to get rough for us and money was becoming increasingly tight. I was starting to worry that we wouldn't be able to make ends meet and that I would end up having to close the store anyway, so I talk with Jim and we both decided that this would be a huge weight off our shoulders. I was really sad to give up everything that I had worked so hard to put together, but at the same time I was so relieved to not have to worry about how I was going to pay the rent for the store. It was a horrible time to open a business but I wanted to stay home with Charlotte soooooooo bad, that I thought I could make it work. It is really crazy now that I think about it. I opened the store when Charlotte was less then three months old. I put so much work into it. I was breastfeeding and tagging clothes at the same time. I know that is a bad visual imagine but it was true. The lady I sold the store to was complaining about how much work she had to do before she opened the store again. I seriously wanted to look her right in the eye and slap her across the face. The store is pretty much put together except for a few of the racks of clothing that we had started to take home. So she had to re-hang the stuff, and she had a bit of cleaning to do. Other then that the store is ready for business. She really has no idea how easy she has it. It really pissed me off now that I really think about it. I had to paint the store, wax the floors, put up the rack, sort all the clothes into sizes and gender, put all the clothes on hangers, tag every single piece of clothing, put up the shelves, and counters, get the sign for the outside of the store, move the furniture, I could go on and on but I am not going to because it just makes me realize how mad it makes me that she takes it granted. Don't get me wrong I am glad she is doing it and I am glad she came to me when I needed to get out, but it is just the fact that she doesn't have a clue how easy she has it. She got one hell of a deal. I basically sold everything for what I owed. I didn't make anything by selling it. I gave her the rights to the name and everything in the store. All I can say is she got one hell of a deal. OK enough about that, it is done and I am glad! Sort of.......

I am hoping to get back to my project of copying, scanning, and transferring the pictures, slides, and movies. I now have the correct software for my computer so now I will be able to get them done. I am also going to return to Poynette to finish up making copies of the Allen book. I now have most of the pictures scanned and copied, so if there is anyone that would like copies of the disc please let me know. I am going to go full steam until I get them done. I really want to start working on my own copy of the Allen book, but I have to get this other stuff done first. I have a lot of stuff to give to Faith, my Uncle Bob, and Dennis Kluge, so if any of you are reading this I have not forgotten about you! I promise. I will get everything to all of you very soon.

Well I think that should cover it. Just another day in the life of Jonette Ferguson. I guess it is better then having a boring existence. Hopefully things will start to settle down now. YEAH RIGHT!!!!!!!

It's my Party

What the #@%* is that???

Grandpa Dave & Grandma Monya with Charlotte.

Who is having more fun? Dave or Charlotte?? You

be the judge!!

Grandma Monya & the 1 year old

DAD & Charlotte

This present stuff is cool!!

This is so much fun!!

Fun to be 1!!!!!