We're Back! Happy Valentine's......

To my faithful tummy time readers and anyone who got the annual card, my apologies for leaving you hanging. This mommy has had a busy time of late. I finished my masters degree in the fall with an intensive semester of student teaching. In between grading and planning and writing papers and creating final projects and being evaluated on my ability to work with children, I found little time to document the progress of my own.

So I ditched the blog temporarily but I am back! As for where I was in January, I have no good answer. I was right here adjusting to my new part time schedule, I guess......

Anyway, here's a recent photo of our baby, who is no longer a baby! He puts on this over the head poncho towel after baths and just runs around looking like a tiny Jawa loose in our kitchen. As you can see, he has a mouth full of teeth! He walks! (as of November 17th!) He talks! He dances! He is full of surprises.


The current vocabulary includes: Mama, Daddy, no!no!no!, uh oh!, Hi, Bye bye, shoes, socks, BlaBla (his favorite snuggly toy),more, mas (he's bilingual), agua, and his favorite songs: "bicycle" and "Godfrey"

And there are more that I'm forgetting

He is a music student now! On Saturdays we all go to "Music together" and we sing and play instruments and dance. He loves to kick out the jams on his tambourine.

Theres more and more to say but I have to go and get ready for work.

More later!

Woodsy Good Times

Ahhh...pics from our wonderful vacation in the Adirondacks. What a perfect spot for watching the sun set through tall trees.

We enjoyed 5 restful days of lounging, swimming, reading, and playing with our sweet Charlie! Charlie had a great time in the sand, using his new digging toys from Momala. He also enjoyed mingling with beautiful baby Maeve, one month older. they shared some graham crackers, stared at each other on the swings, and traded babbles. Charlie showed off his military crawl while Maeve teetered about on 2 legs only.

All of us loved the cold lake and Rob and I even swam across to the island for some exercise. It was great to be with the whole family and bring to Charlie to this place we love so much. Also good to see old friends (my family has been coming here for 29 years!).

We miss it already!

I am back to work/school, student teaching with a wonderful group of fifth graders. Charlie is going to daycare 5 days a week and being a champ about it. Hopefully I won't be a stranger. More on the big 0-1 tomorrow.

Almost One Year!

Look at us! How did we get this far? As the summer comes to an end I am bittersweet about it. Just last year at this time I was packing my hospital bags and anxiously anticipating bringing home that sweet tiny baby. Now he's almost a year old! When did that happen?

I'm just amazed when I think about his first few days with us--he was so tiny and delicate. Rob and I would rock and sway and sing him to sleep and then swaddle him tightly without jostling him awake. We'd carefully lay him down in the bassinet and then slip ever so quietly under the covers, praying for him to stay asleep for the next hour or so. Sometimes he would sleep, and other times he'd slowly start to whimper, then the whimper would escalate into that full on "I'm awake" cry.

Now he gets into the crib , hugs "Bla Bla" really close and sticks three fingers into his mouth, curling into a fetal position. He inches back and forth along the mattress, flips a few times, sits up and looks around, makes a few noises, and then burrows back down into a cozy tripod and falls asleep for 11 hours.

He points to things he wants, says Mama to me, and Dada to Rob, and "Uh-oh" when he drops something. He wiggles over to the DVD player and tries to figure out how to undo the babyproofing on it. He smiles at us cause he knows its off limits to babies.

He giggles at the sight of dogs and cats.

He turns the pages of his favorite books: Pajama time, goodnight moon, and Brown Bear.

He stops to study pictures on the refridgerator. He presses his face against mine to kiss me and pats my head.

He goes underwater and comes back up without a tear!

He twirls spaghetti around his finger until it tears in two and must be eaten.

what a big boy.

August has just flown by. Momala and Grandpa came for a visit and we had great times. Some of the highlights: model trains at the Botanic Garden, alfresco dining at gullivers, and lunch at Madelynn and Dave's.

Tomorrow we leave for the Adirondacks and a relaxing vacation. We are looking forward to more time with Momala and Grandpa, Aunt Birgitta, Uncle Eddie, and uncle Brendo.

Lots to talk about when we get back!!

Mommy's Day Off

No more math class........mommy has a day off! Charlie is at daycare so I am at home for a rare free day trying to clean the office and write my novel and make casseroles and stuff.

I have been so busy today:

# of entertainment news shows watched: 2
# of entertainment news websites discovered while procrastinating on internet: 5 (actually more but I am too ashamed to list)
# of bathtubs scrubbed: 2 (this is really true although it sounds like fiction)

As long as I am procrastinating, I might as well blog:

Charlie the magnificent is really communicating. Just last week Kimberly remarked on how exciting it would be when he started pointing, and what do you know? He is doing just that! Maybe he heard her say it and thought, "yeah, I'll try that in exactly 2 days." Anyway, he points and babbles in perfect consonants and says uh oh and da_ _ y (for daddy). He stares at objects and places and tries to figure stuff out. He is delighted by the microwave as it beeps away. He laughs at this tiny Chihuahua in the neighborhood who has a yippy little bark. The dog looks like a cartoon but thinks he is so tough. Charlie laughs and laughs at him.

He opens his mouth wide for applesauce but pushes away spoonfuls of green peas, broccoli and spinach. What's a mom to do? I try to hide the veggies in rice or ground turkey or potatoes but he figures it out.

Must go and do stuff and work on messy office. Momala and Grandpa are coming for a visit soon!

Babies in the Garden

We had a busy weekend catching up with friends! Todays' post is about our Sunday outing to the Garfield Park Conservatory. So much fun. We met up with Kimberly and Lance and Noah (born a day before Charlie, down the hall at Swedish Cov.) for plant life and big mosaic sculptures--part of the Niki in the Garden exhibit.

First of all, Garfield Park is the gorgeous green gem in the middle of the West Side. Beautiful indoor and outdoor landscapes, exotic flowers in vibrant colors and pleasant smells (think orchids and lilacs and stuff like that that smells nice).

Second.....the Niki exhibit is wonderful--big, dancing, tiled scupltures of people and creatures and skulls and things. some for climbing, some for sitting (see the boys, above), some just for "enjoying."

The whole thing was perfect for the babies who sat, looked, climbed, touched, looked at their reflections, made noises. It's especially cool to see Charlie and Noah together--interacting and "talking" to each other. Playing together and then moving on to their own independent projects. Check out the last picture which shows each in his preferred mode of transportation.

And check out the outfit on Charlie. Lets just say that it was called into question (and yes, I questioned it myself) after three different people referred to Charlie as a "she." Here is my defense:

I grabbed it rather quickly when I couldn't find the Skynnrd/ACDC/John Deere shirt that I had PLANNED to put on him.

I kind of like these sleeveless, legless numbers for the hot weather.

I think it's rather cute (it has buttons in the shape of little teddies!!)

And yes, his hair has gotten rather long and pretty and I have yet to do anything about it. Maybe it's time.

But whatever.......Gender distinction doesn't come super easy at this age so it's not that big a deal. He's a cute baby, is all.

As for that outfit, though............


I will definitely accessorize it with a shrug and barrettes next time.

Uh Oh!

So I think we can officially mention Charlie's first word right here on old Tummy Time!

On Tuesday when we dropped Charlie off at daycare, one of the other babies was walking around and dropped her bottle and said "Uh oh." That evening when we fed Charlie he said "Uh oh" everytime one of us dropped something. Okay, it's very primitive sounding at this point but you can definitely hear the short u and the long O and his mouth makes a perfect O which is so unbelieveably cute.

He says it a lot after we say it. Someone drops something and says "Uh Oh, " and then he says it and looks for the object.

He also says MAma and Dada but with no real connections. Although I think he has figured out that Rob is Dada.

Enjoy the picture--little man loves carbs just like his mama!

Festival time

Here we are at the Old Town School of Music Folk and Roots Fest in Welles Park. We went on sunday after Church to meet with friends and eat and hear music.
The pics above are:
First balloon--a big hit!
Charlie and Claire--drinking out of each other's sippy cups and chewing)
Baby Eddie chilling in his Graco
Rob and Charlie looking adorable

What fun! We met up with Amy and baby Claire for a picnic and then with Peter and Julie and baby Eddie at the Wiggleworms tent for music. When we got there it was kid dance time so I enjoyed a little blast from my past. I was glad to sit back and relax and watch someone else teach the tiny dancers. She was very good.

Summer has been fun but the busy times are kicking in with me back at work this month. I'm teaching dance to teens at a musical theatre camp downtown and these kids are great! Funny, hardworking, talented, nice kids. they are humoring me and my musical tastes--I think they rather enjoy the Stevie wonder and the Michael Jackson and the Bossa Nova.

Math class has taken a bit of a back seat to being prepared for work (as evidenced in too recently returned homeworks--arghhhhhhhhh). Not to worry, though, this mama will get her groove back.

Also new in my world is boot camp. That's right, that 3 day a week--wake up at the crack of dawn--go outside and do push ups and squat thrusts kind of exercise program. I am trying to pair my tendency to snack with aggressive exercise that I would never attempt on my own time. I'm hoping it will result in, well, results. I'll let you know. BY the way, I heart pizza.

Charlie is doing new things all the time!!!!

There's aquababies......floating and splashing and kicking.

And holding the sippy cup on his own, almost.

and eating spaghetti

and Swedish pancakes (that's our little Viking)


Still as cute as can be!

Still busting out of his clothes, Hulk-style

Still crawling on that belly, super fast


He's our tiny genius.

Before I go:

Welcome Baby Max!

Happy Belated Birthdays to Oscar and Sam!!