I had to fill out a form for daycare the other day that asked about Charlotte’s favorite foods. I’m not going to lie, it felt weird and almost awkward to write that at the top of our 16-month old’s list is quiche. But man can she put away a piece of quiche.
Here she is, hard at work on a piece fit for a large man…
Slowing down, but still making progress…
One of Charlotte’s new skills is her understanding of pooping. It’s probably more exciting than it sounds.
When she is making or has just made a poop, we can say, “Charlie, did you make a poop?” And, when she is or has pooped, she will reply with a “yup” (usually in the form of a dramatic head nod) and confirm by pointing to her butt. (I find it impressive.)
The next question is always, “should we go change your diaper?”
Sometimes she says yes and walks to her room… Tonight, she literally ran away and hid under the table… 
I should clarify that even if she walks her little tush to her room to be changed, changing her is pretty much never easy unless she just woke up and is in a daze.
The girl hates the changing table. There are so many better things she could be doing. She will scream and twist and cry and attempt to escape. Most times, we can tame her by singing the Itsy Bitsy Spider 75 times or giving her a new random object to distract her… But let me just say, she is not the only one who dreads diaper changes.
Maybe it’s time to start thinking about potty training…
Guys, remember last night when I was having a mega dramatic mom meltdown over Charlie starting preschool? Well, today was the big day and Charlotte did SO well! We left feeling giddy and excited and just good, good, good.
When we got to the school, the administrator took us right to Charlotte’s classroom. Some of the kids were painting and some were playing with clay. There were kids from C’s new class in there, in addition to some of the older kids from the K2/K3/K4 classes. The Administrator explained to us that the kids are encouraged to intermingle. They may ask their teacher to spend some time with another class and their teacher then gives them a set amount of time, and off they go. I love how independent they’re allowed to be… and how trusted they are.
Anyway, the teacher immediately walked over to us with a couple of the little girls in the class to introduce themselves and welcome little Charlotte. They took her on the tour of the classroom, which got totally hijacked by the fish tank.
Charlotte LOVES fish tanks. A bunch of the kiddies stood by the tank with C and her teacher and pointed out different fish and other items in the tank. It was awesome watching her little head shift from the kids to the tank and back to the kids.
Then, it was snack time! Charlotte sat at the mini table with all of her little friends. They took turns taking crackers and apples from the plate and were all served a little bit of milk in “big kid cups”… AKA cups without sippy tops. Charlotte spilled hers all over the table… but whatever!
After snack, the kiddies sat together on the carpet and sang songs with the teacher. Charlotte was ecstatic. She joined in with the hand motions and of course, clapped and demanded more after each song.
Then, it was a big moment. It was time for Mommy and Daddy to fill out paper work and leave Charlie to play with her new tiny friends. I reluctantly walked out and turned around to see my little one’s reaction to us leaving… surprise, surprise, she didn’t even notice. She was too busy playing.
After we filled out some paperwork and talked to the administrator a bit more, we went to retrieve Charlotte. At this time, she had moved with the class to the Music Room. We stood in the window and watched Charlotte as she sat on her teacher’s lap, playing the double piano thing. She looked up and saw us, smiled, and continued playing.
I mean, could you make up a more perfect reaction?
We literally had to carry her out of there, she didn’t want to leave. It was SUCH a good and relieving feeling. I have a feeling that she’s really going to love it there.
And of course, Charlotte got home and was zonked. Nana held her and she just kind of melted into Nana’s arms. She also took her nap pretty early. Sleepy bunny with the big day.
Don’t worry, she had enough energy to throw her hair bands all over the floor and chase the kitty… 
Tomorrow is a big day for our little love. Tomorrow is Charlie’s meet and greet at her new preschool. She will meet her class and her teachers… She’ll get to check out the school. It’s a whole new world for this little lady…
So maybe I should just be honest and say that tomorrow is a big day for mommy. I keep thinking about my little love being at school all morning without mommy or daddy or nana or grandma or grandpa or grampie or Grammy. None of her peeps.
What will that be like for her?
Will she connect with her teachers? Will she make friends easily? Will she love school? Will she hate it? Will she cry when I drop her off? Will I cry?
Oh my goodness.
(Here comes the pep talk…)
I know this will be so good for her, but I can’t help this pit in my stomach. The thought of her looking around for her family. Mommy? Daddy?
Woah. Okay. This will be good for her. She will get over any initial hesitation (as will I). She will love it… Right?
All we have to do is have fun (together) tomorrow and then I’ll… Errrr… We will have the rest of the week and weekend to prepare. Not too bad. We can do this!
I scored an awesome deal on a Facebook Buy, Sell, Trade Group… $15 for this super cool upright Barbie piano with a mini stool. Needless to say, our little music lovin’ lady is pretty pleased.
Charlotte really took strides in swim class this week! Whatever, I said it. I’m that mom. But really, she did so well (relatively speaking)! She was LOVING the water, splashing like a goon, kicking her little feet, and blowing bubbles in the water!
I decided to stay out of the water this time so I could take pictures. So, enjoy!
Mark attempted the water slide again… This time instead of whiplash, he dunked our tiny girl! Haha They’ll master it some day 🙂
I just had to share this pic. Hubby caught a sweet moment I was having with my little bunny… Just two gals maintaining good oral hygiene together. 
By the way, how cool is C’s toothbrush? It’s a specially designed toothbrush for toddlers so they don’t choke on it or jam it down their tiny throats. We got ours for free from our pediatrician, but here’s one that looks the same.
And yes, that’s a giant bowl of candy in our bathroom. The candy has become a solid distraction for Charlotte. She doesn’t necessarily know it’s edible, but she loves to take pieces out, put them somewhere else, put them back in the bucket, try to rip the wrapping off, etc. So yeah, we moved it to the bathroom to help ease the morning “getting ready struggle”…
Mark taught Charlie a new party trick…
This weekend my absolute most favorite house guest came to see us. My sweet (and quirky, hilarious, sometimes clamy) cousin, Stef. Our Cali girl.
She flew in on Friday and I sadly dropped her at the airport this morning. Those 4 days were filled with a lot of family time and a lot of fun! Or as my husband would say, “adventuring.”
On Friday, I picked her up at the airport and drove her directly to dinner with my parents. The restaurant had live music, which was hilarious… not because the music was funny or bad – it was great – but because Charlotte was OBSESSED. Immediately upon hearing the end of any song, she would start signing “more” and making hollering noises. Oy. Can’t take that child anywhere.
Also, Stef gave C the BEST gift ever. I’m not even going to mention anything more because they deserve their own post.
On Saturday, we went to the Children’s Museum (SO FUN!!)! It was a blast, as always. Man does Charlotte love that place.
Saturday evening, we had the entire fam over (my grandpa, parents, sis and her fam, and bro and his girlfriend) to hand out candy to the trick-or-treaters, get together and celebrate three birthdays (mom’s 62nd, Grandpa’s 90th!!, and Gabby’s 4th). We decorated amazing skull cookies that I made using this recipe and these cookie cutters. I must add that we didn’t end up taking Charlie out for trick or treating. We had planned to, but it was so rainy and cold, that we just let her hand out the candy.
On Sunday, we had my niece’s 4th birthday party! It was a blast!
Sunday evening, we picked up some delicious Vietnamese food and had dinner at my parents’ house.
Then yesterday, Stef and I took C for a walk and then left her with my Milly (mother in law) so we could go explore the city. I took her to the Milwaukee Public Market, we walked around the third ward, sampled some Milwaukee-famous Purple Door Ice Cream, and played around. That evening, we had a nice leftovers for dinner meal and went to visit Grandpa! All in all, SO much fun.
We all got very used to her being around… I’m thinking we should probably head to LA to capture her.
On Friday, we took Charlotte to her 15-month check up. To no surprise, she checked out wonderfully! Although, I do think it’s a bit weird, but supposedly, she didn’t grow at all. I think her weight went up a little… she weighed in at 21.5 lbs, but her height stayed the same at 31 inches. They said it was likely just a measuring error either last check up or this check up, but of course, I’m a little put off by it. BUT, I’m following the advice of my husband, which is to ignore it.
Our doctor told us to work on words. Charlotte can learn a sign in 5 minutes flat, but isn’t all that verbal. She has some words, but sometimes I feel like she calls everything ma or some form of it. I don’t know. Again, I’m not going to be overly concerned, because the doctor said her comprehension is just great!
I should remember this, althoughI’m sure I’m going to forget, but she had three shots (poor babes)… flu shot, tdap booster and Hep A I think… Now I’m thinking maybe there were 4?
Regardless, Charlotte was a champ. She bawled her mini eyes out, but still managed to wave goodbye to the nurse after she administered the shots. So polite 🙂
All in all, a successful visit.
Our little tough girl after her appointment (shots and all)!
Playing House 