My friend Marie!

Hi Everyone,

This post is long overdue, as my friend Marie has already been here for exactly one month.  Nonetheless, I wanted to take the time to introduce her as she has become an important part of my young life.  Marie, who is from Sweden, is here living with us for the summer.  She is 22 years old and has an interesting life back home, including her very own apartment and a job with a security company.  She is the youngest of three girls and is very close to her sisters and her family.  What else can we say about Marie?  She loves chocolate and is very happy to have some of her favorite brand from home.  I'm not sure what chocolate is yet, but Marie and my mom think that I will love it one day.

Marie and I spend a lot of time together these days.  She takes me to the playground, we go on a lot of walks in the neighborhood, we play together at my house and she takes me on local adventures like the aquarium and the library.  And this week we went with my mom to a place that Marie really loves: Ikea!  Marie shopped a little (mostly in the section where they sell the chocolate...:o), ate some meatballs and, for a few hours, felt as though she were back in Sweden.  We're happy that she's still here, though, because we've grown very fond of Marie!

Here are a few photos of us together.

More soon!  Love, Charlotte

Reunited and it feels so good!

Well, as the old song goes, it was indeed great to be reunited with my old pals Scarlett and Ella at my friend Mia's house on Friday.  We had our normal Friday playgroup and were so happy to have Scarlett and Ella back on the scene now that their moms are out of school for the summer.  Our moms were reminiscing about the days when they all used to just sit around and chat while we would hang out in our car seats...how things have changed!  Babies were crawling up and down stairs, in every possible direction, pulling up on the tables, eating their lunches, etc.  It was crazy!!  And so much fun.  I just loved it.  Here are a few photos of all of us.

Expanding my verbal repertoire

As you might already know, I've been saying "dog" for weeks now.  I really love my canine brothers, Gryffin and Bucky (who like to get up as early as I do!), and I'm always very excited to see them.  As soon as my mom carries me down the stairs, I very proudly declare "dog," knowing that my 4-legged friends are just around the corner.  I am very proud of myself for this accomplishment, though I must confess that I have been anxious to add to my spoken lexicon.  Alas, when prompted to utter other words - "ball," "hot," etc. - I have simply replied with my most reliable response: "dog."

But yesterday I finally added a second word to my verbal repertoire...and it is "hat!"  My dad was wearing his favorite baseball cap as he so often does on the weekends.  I usually like to play with this hat and so was trying to grab for it and daddy said, "hat"...and I repeated it!  My mom and dad are really proud of me and I love entertaining them with my skills.  Hope to have more words soon.  :o)

Happy Father's Day!

Well, it has been a really big weekend around here!  Yesterday was my dad's birthday and he and mom had a fun time out in New York City.  I also had fun playing at home with Marie.  Today is Father's Day...I'm lucky to have the BEST dad on earth!  He took me for my swim class this morning and for some daddy-daughter time at the bookstore in the afternoon.  Who could ask for more?  As it was his first Father's Day, I wanted it to be really special so my mom and I made him a personalized plate with my footprints and I got my picture taken with big, blue "Dad" blocks and we gave it to him in a frame.  I think he really liked them.  I really love my dad.

Check out my swimming skills!

My dad and I have been taking swimming for a few months now...it is one of my favorite activities!  This week mom decided to shoot a bit of video so that you can see firsthand how skilled I am at splashing around and going under water.  Mom and Dad think it is great practice for me, especially since we have the beach just down the road.

Hey, everybody!

Hi There,

Well, summer is here and I am 9 and 1/2 months old.  I am crawling like a maniac (thankfully my mom has finally installed a gate at the top of our stairs) and easily pull myself up to stand; my mom thinks I will be walking soon...and then look out world!

I'm still enjoying swim lessons, music lessons and spending time with my friends.  We have a new friend living with us for the summer.  Her name is Marie and she's here from Sweden to spend time with me and my family...I'm not sure where Sweden is exactly but I think it is very far away.

Here are a few photos that my mom took recently of me out on our boat.  I love being out there though I'm not so keen on wearing my life jacket.

Love, Charlotte