Bossy Resolutions

So January is almost up, and I still haven't made any legitimate resolutions. At this point, I think it's safe to say it's not going to happen. Ditto Christmas cards. *sigh*

But because I've been accused of you know what you should do? being my unintended catchphrase, and because it's always easier to make resolutions for other people than ourselves (you know I'm right), here are some things I think other people in my life should totally make happen in 2012.

Y'all ready?  Okay.

You know what you should do?...

Anneliese. Learn to say your name. Correctly. Ann-ees is cute, but Anneliese is oh so much prettier. Also please let's be done with diapers too.

Nathan. Wiping your own bum after you poop is totally the rage.  All the cool kids are doing it. Make it happen, kiddo.

Marky. Permanently delurk, please? Blog comments make me feel so loved. Shoot for like once a week or something. (This goes for any other chronic lurkers out there too. You know who you are.)

Mom. No broken bones. This year is the year of no fractures. Got it?

Ashley. Before the year is out, I'm totally going to convince you that you can (and will!) pick up that baby and be out and about pretty much however you want, without being intimidated by his pterodactyl screams or feeding schedule. You are mommy, hear you roar. (And manage.)

Liam. Seriously though, stop screaming like a pterodactyl.

Bowden. Learn to swim well enough to get yourself to the pool steps and climb out, should the need arise.

Another Nathan. Learn to swim well enough to do a mile race with me this summer. A mile is totally doable. Me and you and B-diddy can train together in the backyard, okay? I keep saying it, and you keep agreeing, but I'm not sure you know I'm dead serious. Let's do this.

Dad. Embrace the era of the smartphone. You're one of the tech-savviest grandpas I know; you can totally handle it. Jump on the bandwagon. You won't regret it. And you may never have to talk on the phone again! (That's a good thing.  I promise.)

Charlotte. Please, for the love, learn to sleep all night. Every night. This must happen, soonest.

Okay that's all I've got.  If y'all have you know what you should do?s for me, knock yourselves out! Especially if it means delurking. ;-)

My Jingle

Meet Jingle.

Jingle is the newest stuffed friend who accompanies Anneliese in her bed at every nap and night-night.  He's in good company, with the purple clownfish Daddy brought home from Florida, and of course her beloved Hattie.

Jingle is a puppy who is mostly quiet, but if you push the button on his ear, and then read certain lines from the book he came with, he's been known to growl and bark a bit* (much to toddler's delight) (and at 3am through the baby monitor, much to mommy's chagrin).

Anneliese loved Jingle from the start (he's a puppy! who came with a book! her two favorite things); we knew because she right away got very territorial, calling him my Jingle... and hasn't really stopped.

And we knew My Jingle was officially in the fold when she did this on the way back from Myrtle Beach a few weeks ago:

Because using an animal for a pillow? That's Anneliese's love language.  True story.

Welcome to the family, My Jingle.

*Thank you, Another Nathan.

Charlotte at Five Months (by Daddy!)

{Note 1/31: Finally posting this five-month update about Charlotte, trying to squeeze it in before she gets to six months. Yes, cutting it very close!}

Over her fifth month, Charlotte has continued her trend of being our easiest child.

A big part of that may be that she is so easily entertained by her older siblings. Nathan and Anneliese race up the stairs to be the first to greet her after naps, and Charlotte usually rewards them with a big smile and lots of squealing. For playtime, we often plop Charlotte in the bouncy seat or bumbo in the bonus room, and she will have a full supply of toys at her disposal within minutes, courtesy of the big kids. Nathan and Anneliese need an occasional reminder to be gentle with their baby sister, but for the most part they do very well, and it's fun to see Charlotte beginning to truly interact with them as well.

Charlotte now has a matching pair of bottom teeth. This has resulted in a ridiculous amount of drool. She has perfected gnawing on all of her toys, including the foam blocks that she got from Santa, several of which now have a nice set of dental impressions all over them.

I'm not sure if we've mentioned it before, but Charlotte is a fidgety eater. Unless she is just exhausted, her legs flail all around every time she nurses or drinks a bottle.  Since I've been helping with some of the night feedings recently (no, she still doesn't sleep through the night), I am learning that her fidgets can be a bit dangerous for a dad in the middle of the night. A misplaced kick has startled me out of a sleepy stupor on more than one occasion!

For me, the most exciting part of the last month has been Charlotte's responses when we are talking to her. She is giggling and babbling back to us. It's nonsense, but it's very intentional.  No da-da just yet, but I'm trying my best to make it her first word. She's still our squeaky girl, but these days the squeaks have been mostly replaced with lots of squealing and shreiking, especially when she's happy.

Happy 5(+) months, baby Charlotte! We love you more every day.

New Years at Myrtle Beach

If you hadn't already gathered by this photo taken on New Years Day, we spent the holiday weekend at the always tacky-fabulous Myrtle Beach.  We brought along Ashley and John and baby Liam, Another Nathan, and Mr. David (originally of orange shoelace fame). Turns out? Six adults and four babies makes for a slightly chaotic road trip. In case you were curious.

But the weather was absolutely gorgeous. Sunny and 70 in January = God bless South Carolina.  We got to play on the beach, take naps, read, play games, go outlet shopping, and cook a lot of good food including a multi-course fondue and a several-layer birthday cake.

And consumed one or three (ahem) adult beverages in the process.

Anyway here's our trip, in pictures --

Charlotte's first time at the beach!

Love seeing my babies running and playing together.

Another Nathan is completely fascinated by the beach. #midwesterner

Have I mentioned recently how glad I am that we now own two of these dump trucks? (Also, don't be fooled by their bare feet or my mention of nice weather.  The water was frikkin freezing.)

Myrtle Beach, home of keepin' it classy. Because why wouldn't you close down a trashy amusement park and replace it with a neon-lit ferris wheel? I mean duh.

Playing taboo...

For the record, this is how Another Nathan actually gives clues: ummmmm ummmmm ummmmm it's punctuation... and it has a sister. Or maybe a brother? It's a this or a this-this! Yes, David totally got it right. FROM THAT. Color me impressed.

(Bonus Erin-loves-you points to the first person who's as smart as David and comments with the right answer.)

Mark successfully photobombed us like six times. *sigh*

(And yes, we are Those Friends who have matching hoodies. You will not judge us. They are cute.)

My beautiful beach babies. I melt.

For more pics of our weekend, click here. Happy beachy new year to you all! And remember, kids: it's a this... or a this this.

Awkward Sibling Pic, v5.0

The first awkward sibling moment of the new year!

Whatever delightfully mischievous news Nathan just gave his sisters, Charlotte looks properly horrified while Anneliese is still trying to maintain some semblance of a game face.

She'll clearly be the one handling their PR at future press conferences.

{Note, 1/24: And so begins a series of drafted-but-not-published posts, after a blogging hiatus spanning the most insane several weeks in recent or maybe even distant memory. To be explained someday maybe. For now: I'm baaaaaaaack!}

Christmas Lights

I love love love Christmas lights. I spent a lot of time brainstorming on how to do lights on the new house.  Classy and simple but not so simple  it didn't seem festive.  So this is what our house has looked like for the past month:

Next year we will add candles and wreaths (not lit) in the dormer windows upstairs. (And fix that lattice work under the front porch. Been bugging me since we made the offer on the house.)

And all will be merry and bright once again.

Happy Twenty Dozen

Hey it's 2012!

I can't get it up for resolutions right now, so this post is blissfully short. Just three things to say:

1.) It's never too early in the year for a somewhat awkward family photo.

2.) No, you let your son run around on the beach in January in a sweater and his underwear.

3.) We might be awkward but dang do we love each other.

Happy New Year!