My first 4th of July

We took a Saturday night drive down St. Augustine to see some kind of fire show. That's what I thought my parents were saying, but it was actually called a fireworks show. It is where the entire night sky is lit up by all kinds colorful bangs. Before the show started we laid down a blanket on the grass and I played with my toys and hung out with my new friend, Tyler. I'm not going to lie, I was exhausted! But just when I was about to fall asleep...BANG! The show started and I was up. I wasn't too sure about the loud noises at first, but I got hooked on all the colorful displays. You may not be able to tell from the pictures but I had a great time, I was just waaay tired. So no smiling from me.

Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth??

I like Dada!!

CHEER....ios

As many of you may know, I have been eating plenty of solid food. Including sweet potato, avocado, pears, apples, carrots, grains (oatmeal, rice, barley), and my old favorite bananas. I say bananas are my old favorite because the other day my parents gave me something called Cheerios and I LOVE them! I can eat them anytime; breakfast, lunch or dinner. I'm pretty good at grabbing them, but getting them into my mouth is another story. They are sticky little things once I get slobber all over my hands. So if you want to get on my good side when you come to visit be sure and bring some Cheerios with you.

And I'm Off: Part II

So my parents bought me a shiny new toy that can be set up for different stages of moving around. I never showed much interest in it until Dad set it up for walking. I guess I'm a natural because from the first step I was off and running, literally. Check out this video if you do not believe me.





I get going pretty fast and I like playing the sounds and songs on the toy. My Vavo says I can race Auntie Dot when I come to visit. I'm not sure who will win, I've only been doing this for a of couple weeks now.

Life's a Beach

I've lived in sunny Florida my whole life and am just now getting to the beach. What took my parents soooo long? I was all excited to play in the sand, feel the cool ocean breeze, and put my toes in the ocean. Unfortunately none of that went like I thought it would. First off I wasn't a big fan of the sand, I guess I am my mother's daughter after all. Ocean breeze??? We sure could have used one, it was blazing hot out...even in the shade. We decided to try and cool off in the ocean. I was a little scared, no one told me how big waves get down here...one was almost up to my ankles. Yikes!!!
We had a lot of fun, but I did have to listen to my mom the whole car ride home about how she misses the beaches in San Diego. Apparently it is not as hot over there. Maybe one day when I get older I will move there for a few years to check it out. (Charlotte~this is Mom~there is no way I would ever let you do that! Who does that to their mother? SORRY MOM!)

A Mother's Day Treat

After spending Mother's Day with Dad spoiling mom, I thought I would head up north so my Vavo could spoil me! We kept the same walking routine, once a day...but this time it did not feel like a thousand degrees outside like it does in J'ville. I met a lot of new people, it seemed like Vavo was showing me off. I think she had fun doing that. I spent most of my days up there wishing I was outside enjoying the weather.










My Vavo, Jose for all of you who are on a first name basis with him, would see me like that and grant my wish. He would pick me up and we would go out to the garden. I learned all kinds of things, but none more important than hay is very itchy to sit on.





















It was a short week , but I had so much fun I am already planning my next trip back!

Happy Easter!

Apparently a bunny came to the house last night and dropped off some goodies. I'm not sure how he got past Jake and Gracie; they go crazy if anyone even looks at our house. However it happened, I have a basket full of new things to put in my mouth. I received some toys and lots of new books, which is good because I love to read!!! I heard a rumor about this bunny leaving chocolate behind. Strangely, I looked and didn't find any...I'll have to ask my mom about that later. I know how much she loves those Reese's. All in all it was a fun day, thank you to everyone who thought of me on this holiday!

Finally I get to play with my food

This week I started getting some solid food. We are starting with rice cereal, then we will move on to oatmeal and others. While most of it ended up anywhere but in my tummy, the little I did get was awesome. Even though I had to wear a bib, I had a lot of fun. Plus, I get to hang out in my new chair everyday. What does everyone think??

And I'm off!

It didn't take long for me to get on the move. Now that I am, I realize there is so much for me to see and explore around the house. My favorite thing to do is play hide and seek with the dogs. OK, they do most of the hiding while I try and find them, but it is still fun for me at least. Check it out in this video, while keeping in mind that I am moving much faster now.

Bath Time

Every night I go through the same routine. I have so much fun throughout the whole process I thought you might like to hear about it. Around 6pm is when bath time begins and I try to make it last as long as possible. Sometimes I try and give my parents the hint that it is time to get started by pretending I'm cranky. First I get in the tub and play with my toys.

While I am playing in/with the water my dad gives me a "hair do." It's different every time, but it's always fun to see.

I read my book.

I get scrubbed down.

One last chance to play with the toys.

I get dried off.


Then my PJ's go on and I'm off to get my hair brushed. I love that part because I get to play in front of the mirror.

After that is is off to bed where it's anybody's guess how long it will take before I am fast asleep.

Fun at Petco???

My parents wanted to take me to an aquarium like the one in Denver, the problem was there is nothing like that here in Jacksonville. So they did the best they could and took me to Petco to see what kind of wildlife we could run into.

My favorite animals by far were the Nemo fish! I had fun watching them zip this way and that way. I could hardly contain myself, giggling from all the excitement. I'm still trying to figure out why my dad said they are called Nemo, and for that matter fish. The sign said they were clowns.

There were a lot of other fish there along with some birds and cats. I thought they were all pretty boring, but I did find somebody who was quite a character. This guy said he was Remy, the star of Ratatouille. Little does he know, that just happens to be my second favorite movie next to Elmo in Grouchland. I knew he was lying, but I still thought he was pretty cool.

Even though I did have fun, I missed my two favorite furry friends back home. And it turns out that they missed me as well. This is what they do every time I leave them.

I love it when family visits!

My Vavó and Vavô came to visit for a whole week! It was the best time I've had since I left their house after Christmas. It was playtime nonstop from when I woke up until I went to bed, minus a few naps here and there. We played, read books, had fun during bath time, and before you knew it the week was over. They tried to pull a fast one on my parents when they tried to pack me away in their luggage. I told them it wouldn't work but it was worth the try. Maybe next time.

My new toy!!!

When my parents take me for a ride I do the usual, which consists of chomping on Piggy and taking a nap. I thought that was all the excitement I was going to get, but when I awoke we were already home and I had a shiny new contraption waiting for me to explore. It's called a "jumperoo" but I call it laughing time. It shouldn't be hard to figure out why, especially if you are around when I am in it. While my parents were glad to hear something that had different music in it than my swing, Dad says it just replaces one song stuck in your head for another. I just have fun jumping around. As you can tell my feet do not quite reach the floor, but the pillows will work until I get bigger. Speaking of growing, I am over the two foot mark now....I'll catch up to Mommy in no time, and 12.5 lbs...that is almost twice as much as when I was born! Well, that's it for now...I'll catch you later, and if you are looking for me, you know where to look.

This week: One big step....or roll!

I spent a lot of time on my tummy time mat, and guess what? It has paid off! I rolled over for the first time on the 27th and now that I know it is as easy as drooling, I'm doing it all the time. I'm not very good going from my tummy to my back yet but I'm working on it. I'm even working on it in the middle of the night. Most of the time I can't get it and get frustrated and have to get mom and dad's attention to roll me back over again because I don't like to sleep on my tummy. It brings back memories of my first weeks when I was up all night with the parents....they loved it then so I'm sure they are excited to experience it again.




I have a lot of toys but you never would have guessed that a bag of frozen veggies would top them all in making me laugh. Check it out:




Well, that's all for this week. Stay tuned for more updates and if you don't see me smiling, you're not trying!!

Charlotte Laughing

Funny faces

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

My Christmas adventure!

My holidays started with helping Mom make a Christmas card and flew through to the New Year. I did a lot of things for the first time and met so many new people that I didn't realize how much time went by. Here are some pictures to tell my story:
I don't care how long you keep me in this box, I'm not smiling until you take this silly dress off!

Christmas before Christmas...I love it! Thank you GG & GG Scholz.

Why am I wearing the bow??

My first plane ride...I barely remember it, I was zonked out the whole way.

Meeting my Vavó and Vavô for the first time. Let the spoiling begin!

My Grandmama and Grandpapa...they walked uphill, through the snow, into the wind, here and back just to see me! I think they thought it was well worth it!




















Hmmm...I heard about this one...my Uncle Eric. Luckily, he left the hard candy and scissors at home. My Auntie Lisa told me he's all talk though, he's just a big softie underneath it all.








Holy moly...it's COLD up here!


My typical morning at Vavó and Vavô's house. Hanging in my renta-swing. Thanks Nancy!

This is how the rest of the day would go... never a shortage of play time.

Cousin Dreue...I loved him. He told me I was "so sick and I don't even know it". I guess he was right because when I got home I got the sniffles. Guess I was sick and didn't know it yet. He's so smart.


Christmas Day with the Cranks.


All dressed up for Christmas with the family.

Meeting my Auntie Maria. I'm still mesmerized by this tutu.

Reading one of my new books I got for Christmas with some help from Vavó.

Meeting the Arnolds! At first I thought Jake was there, but then I realized this dog was bigger than my Jake. HA! It was fun to meet Cameron too, I hope his parents send me the picture of us together (hint, hint). I'm surprised I made it out of there...I could tell Auntie Lori definitely wanted to keep me. Plus she gives great gifts, wait to you see the new kicks I have now!


Jackie, Alexis, and Gianna. They had so many toys! I can't wait until I have that many when I get older. I had fun hanging out with the girls...Tommy was nice too!

I loved meeting Jes, Mitch, and Julia! She had a lot of fun toys too! This getting older gig is definitely going to be fun.


Jarvis! I loved meeting her too. Mommy tells me she's getting married this summer. She's going to be a beautiful bride. Then she can get working on getting me a new friend!
















Trey liked to do tummy time with me on the floor. He liked to see me do my dance moves!

I was happy to meet Nancy. I can't wait until I'm older to taste her delicious sausage bread!







I'm starting to get used to this bottle thing.


Do I have to go home??


This is what I did the whole flight back.