Week 64 - Happy 4th

A day late and a dollar short.  Yadayadayada.  I know - Thursday is the blogging day for me in America - I don't know why but Wednesdays are no good.  O well.

On Friday we went to Matt's great aunt's 50th wedding anniversary in Wisconsin Rapids- and met a slew of relatives I didn't even know existed!  The highlight of the night was Charlotte discovering the lounge singers at the bar next to the event's meeting room.  She was MESMERIZED.  She kept walking and finding her way back to stare at the singers!  Charlotte has music in her blood, that is for sure.

We celebrated the 4th of July 'up north' and it was great fun to hang out with Matt's family at his Grandma's cottage on Lake Nokomis.  I got a bit of sunburned but luckily Charlotte didn't (and she has a very subtle and cute sandal tan on her feet).  I think she likes the water after some initial trepidation. 

We also visited Kris T - my old boss from DL!  I know she is always home for the 4th and it is great to see her in her own big family, parallel crazy universe in Tomahawk.

On the development front she is pointing (I suppose she should have been doing this at one year), and she has said 'bird' and 'boat'.  She isn't a stellar copycatter - she often has this look of 'I am not your parrot, Mom' but it is fun when she plays along.  She is also drinking out of a glass - out of sheer will I think.

Also - she is getting her upper molars - FUN.  Many days she can sleep through (especially if we tucker her out with her share of running around) but some nights (like, I dunno, last night) she just wails for a while inconsolably.  She slept well up north (Grandma's room must be a masterful baby sleep den) and must have found all of her hamminess (dancing for the extended family on many, many occasions) to be, well, exhausting.

Ok, on with the onslaught of photos!

Charlotte with Grandma Shirley enjoying some ice cream at Wisc Rapids:

Char with great uncle Randy - she is not so sure of this whole floaty situation:

Family up north:

July birthday girls:

Crazy hair!

Charlotte visiting Kris in Tomahawk:

Charlotte at the Burk trailer up (more) north:

Charlotte experiences water!

Charlotte back in Madison at dusk:

Charlotte and Brooks play ball with Uncle Dan's help:

Week 63 - Enjoying our Wisconsin Summer

Sorry for the late post - it is hard to stay on top of blogging when you are living life I guess :).

This week was filled with many fun events and outings it is hard to keep up as we often do, well, nothing in Singapore.  Charlotte did have her first night here without waking up (yeah!) which I think was the result of playing with other kids till she was tuckered.  She is also apparently counting to three and saying 'pretty' but I haven't heard either of each.

We are at a point in the house where we cannot do so much but it is substantially done on the inside anyway except transitions in the floors and a wooden topper for our handrails and other stuff I cannot remember.

We went to DB's birthday mini-golf (sans Char) hosted our first BBQ at the house and went to the local free zoo and took Charlotte on her first boat ride on Lake Mendota and went to concert on the first concert on the square of the season.

The weather has been blissful - hard to believe it was 60 degrees two weeks ago (and I insisted we turn the fireplace on!).

On with the photos (many this week!):

Here is Matt jumping on our dumpster:

Matt and the birthday boy and some random sock monkey:

Brooks and Char playing on the slide at our first bbq:

Testing out the new lens (85mm f1.8):

Matt and friends chillin' and grillin' in our backyard:

Charlotte enjoying the zoo:

Charlotte enjoys her first Babcock ice cream:

Charlotte and her aunties in the big Union chair:

Charlotte's first boat ride:

Here is Charlotte intently playing with her plastic cups on the season's first Concert on the Square:

Week 62 - New House

My apologies again for a late post - Wednesday night is a crash night for me here in the States - I crashed and Matt had to use my computer late anyway.  I have been having some camera issues as well - my point and shoot Canon S90 is dead... word to the wise is to keep a case on your camera in your bag if you decide to keep an opened water bottle in it.  So Matt brought the SLR from Singapore and I bought a charger and it is better.  Sigh.  Technology.

We moved into our house!  It is not done but we are sleeping here and that is good.  We have been here since Tuesday night.

Charlotte can now say good morning and she is sleeping like a champ during the day (who knew she still loves to sleep through construction noise?) and is getting up at night - for milk feeds mostly.  We jerry rigged some black out curtains for her room and she slept till 7:30 which is great!  She was getting up with the sun at 5:30 before.  She sleeps with the sun at 9PM too.  How thankful we are that in Singapore the sun rises and falls at the same time EVERYDAY.


Here is Charlotte eating her first dinner at our house:

And Charlotte moving her playpen around as we clean up around her:

And some house photos (sorry some are dark):

Here is the rainy view from our bedroom - toilet is temporary:

Stairs finishing!  Plus a gold backdrop for our Buddha:

Buddha up close - I should have moved the duct tape:

Washer and dryer is in:

Kitchen is grouted and ready (except for the microwave which comes this week):

Powder room - a work in progress:

Master bath:

Japanese Washlet included!

Fireplace paint courtesy of Matt:

Charlotte's wardrobes will take a few years to fill up:

And some Charlotte photos!

Charlotte looking curious:

Enjoying the new sofa:

Upset to be relegated to the playpen: