Two Months!

This seemed like the first weekend in a while that we had ZERO plans so on Thursday night we made a To-Do list. We're reorganizing our empty guest bedroom and we had plans to finalize Charly's nursery too. I needed to work in the yard, make a trip to Goodwill, and visit the recycling bins to drop off some cardboard boxes. However, Charly had other plans for us. And the beginning of our Saturday, set the tone for the rest of the day.

Charly slept in until 9:00 this morning so we took advantage of some extra shut eye. We changed her diaper, fed her a bottle and took turns holding her while the other one of us did odds and ends around the house. Around 12:00 she became fussy so we fed her again even though we weren't quite sure she was hungry. Grandma and Grandpa Hoodjer called and were on their way and Charly was so excited for visitors, that she burped up nearly half her bottle upon finishing it!

I laid her on her changing table to put on a clean outfit and she spit up even more of her bottle, except instead of ruining another outfit, this spit-up ran down the side of her face and pooled up under her head and all in her hair! She needed a bath anyway so before Grandma and Grandpa arrived, Kelli and I hurried to get her bath going.

Grandma and Grandpa showed up halfway through her bath. They were able to see how much she enjoys her bath time and then I put her in her green pig towel and wrapped her up tight to show them how adorable she was when she was all clean. Kelli pulled the plug on the bath tub and it took all of us a moment to realize that it wasn't emptying into the sink . . . the entire thing had emptied onto our counter! And was now pooling up on the floor! Kelli and Grandma got down on their hands and knees cleaning and mopping up the mess while Charly became so entertained that she peed through her towel and all over me!

So we had quite the start to her Happy Two Month Birthday. Suffice it to say, we did not cross much off of our To-Do list. But Charly's crossed plenty off her own personal To-Do list in her second month! She's officially outgrown her Newborn clothes and wears all 0-3 or 3 mos. She's graduated from 4 ounces per feeding to 5 ounces and unofficially weighs over 10 pounds! She's learned how to talk and smile and locates her mom and dad rather easily.

She's still as squirmy as ever and has survived her first ever Cold. She has had three babysitters, Grandma and Grandpa Henning, Grandma and Grandpa Henrichs, and Aunt and Uncle Ashley and Beau (they need the practice). She made her first long car trip to Des Moines for her cousin Brooks' birthday party and went for her first stroller walk. She visited both mom and dad's schools and celebrated her first holiday (Easter). She loves looking at herself in a cow mirror attached to her favorite farm, floor play mat and has made acquaintances with her big sister Elliot.

Two months has flown by! We feel like she's accomplished so much and can't wait to see what's in store for us next.

5 Years

Five years ago on this very day, it was rainy.

The sky was gray, the ground was wet, but Spring was in the air. Trees were budding, flowers were blooming and a relationship that started nearly 15 years earlier in elementary school was about to become formally celebrated by family and friends.

So many details from our wedding day are still fresh in our memory. I remember Kelli walking barefoot down the dusty stairs from a photo shoot in the church balcony. I remember her carrying a can of Pepsi high in the air between shots, so as not to spill any on her beautiful white dress. I remember Marty trying to eat the coffee beans out of his corsage and I remember Melanie (a little under the influence) trying to fulfill any leftover Bachelor Party fantasies I may have had. (I had none.)

Kelli remembers the way I held her hand after the ceremony while I politely shooed the second dove out of its cage and soaring into the sky. She remembers kissing me twice in front of the crowd, just to make sure we got the kiss right! She remembers Michelle tripping up the stairs and the way the guys surrounded her and sang to her, Tom Cruise style ("You've Lost That Loving Feeling") on the dance floor.

We both remember how the rain stopped and the clouds parted and the sun shone down on St. John as we were pronounced husband and wife.

And five years later, as we begin our journey as a family with Charly, we remember how much we loved each other that day and do our best to share that love with her today.

Uncanny?

Charly's dark hair definitely garners comparisons to me, her father . . . but after digging out the photos above, I think it's obvious as to where she'll get her looks from. Thank God!

Charly's First Easter

On Saturday, Charly attended her second birthday party in five weeks (cousin Brooks) and this time around, she didn't sleep at all! Between the basketball playing and the egg dying, there was too much action to miss out on.

On Sunday, she celebrated her first ever Easter Sunday and got LOTS of attention. In fact, she was a showstopper in church!