Utah Vacation 2007

Last week we went to visit Helaman's parents in Sandy, Utah. I was really excited when we got there because it was really chilly out, but that was short-lived unfortunately. Charlotte was excited to meet her other grandparents and a whole group of relatives who adore her!

View from Park City ski lift.

Helaman was shocked that I lived in Utah for four years and never went on the Alpine Slide. So in the fast-becoming-a-tradition of hanging out at ski resorts in the summer, we headed up to Park City and rode the slide as well as the newer Alpine Coaster which we were able to ride together. It was faster which made us both feel a little queasy for the rest of the day. Are we getting old??? I used to be able to ride coasters all day and not be fazed.

Silver Lake. Somewhere in "The Canyon". Nice to be out in nature!

Dueling babies.

While in Utah we visited my old BYU roommate Christianne. Her baby Dylan is just two weeks older than Charlotte, and he certainly likes his tummy time a lot more than she does! Here she is trying to pick up some pointers.

The pool sure looked good in the blazing heat we braved to see the aerials show in Park City. Olympic athletes and hopefuls put on a show every Saturday in this summer training facility.

It was really cool to see all the aerialists jumping at the same time - sorry I didn't get a video of that but this one gives you the idea. Afterward we went on some ziplines that went down alongside the ski slope and the Alpine Quicksilver. T hey were all fun but I got majorly burned out in the sun my skin hadn't seen in years!

Charlotte with Grandpa and Grandma E

Early birds

We are taking advantage of the fact that Charlotte is at a very portable age. She is great when we take her out on the town and charms the residents and tourists of New York and patiently sits while we have dinner. The other week Restaurant.com was having a sale - $25 gift certificates for $3. Pretty good huh! Especially around here where inexpensive eating out is hard to find. The catch is that the restaurant selection isn't that great. You never know what you're getting into really. Tonight we went to Sortie, which is actually a Bar/Lounge complete with couches and low tables. We felt a little silly wheeling Charlotte in, but didn't really care since we were the first ones of the evening there at 6:30pm. Going early to restaurants is essential with a baby - no one minds, they are desperate for customers at that hour and you can sit anywhere. Not to mention you can get the tyke home for her 7-8pm bedtime. Luckily a table opened up out on the patio which was awesome since today it cooled down to 60 degrees!! So we sat out there and had a lovely dinner. Nothing beats sitting outside for dinner on a cool evening.

Believe it or not Charlotte's hair is coming in nicely but is very light.

Hot doggy days

How can you say no to a face like this?

We are ready for another vacation! Charlotte and I are keeping cool indoors this August which has turned out to be a scorcher in the city. She likes to pretend she can stand up like big people. Last week we did get to the pool though. The water was a little cold at first which made her nervous, but after a few minutes in the hot sun she eased into the water with the other kids. She even got so relaxed that she fell asleep in my lap while we sat in the pool! I wish I could have gotten pictures but didn't want to bring my camera to the public pool.

To celebrate Helaman's birthday on Saturday, we met some friends for crepes, since we had watched a Bobby Flay crepes challenge on the Food Network and they looked good! We even tried our own at home tonight and Helaman perfected his spatula-free crepe flip, after only ruining a few.

I also entered this contest to win a new TV from Best Buy. Check it out, you never know!

baby at work, baby at play

I know most of the pictures on this blog are of Charlotte, but she is definitely the cutest of our family and has become such a little smiler, bringing happiness to our home and our neighborhood! She feels like a real grown up sitting in the bumbo chair.

Charlotte loves her baths.

Little swimsuit model

Family picture taken in Central Park. Believe it or not, this was the best of them!

My little swimsuit model. Lookin' good in a super cute suit Grandma sent! Next step, a trip to the actual pool.

For Charlotte's 4 month mark, we celebrated by using a gift card from the dental class to buy her a jumperoo. She loves it! Our living room has now officially been taken over by baby apparatuses. In other news, at Charlotte's 4 month check up she made the 73rd percentile for height at 25 inches. Thanks for the tall genes, Dad! She also took her shots like a champ though I heard some weird screaming from her while she slept that night.

So I've been "tagged" by a few people lately, so I thought I'd do that instead of doing Saturday chores like I should be during her morning nap.

Jobs I have had (not in order):

1. Executive host at 2002 Olympics
2. Software co. marketing assistant
3. T&E paralegal
4. Immigration paralegal
5. Gap salesperson
6. Chili's waitress
   

Movies I can watch over and over:

1. Little Women
2. It's a Wonderful Life

Places I have lived:

1. Bay Area, CA
2. Tallahassee, FL
3. Raleigh, NC
4. Provo, UT
5. Mesa and Tempe, AZ
6. NYC
   

TV Shows I watch:

1. Jeopardy
2. House
3. Lost
4. Scrubs
5. ER
   

Foods I like:

1. Waffles
2. Doughnuts
3. BBQ'd steaks
4. Salmon and sole
5. Ice Cream
   

I'd rather be:

1. In the park
2. shopping

Websites I visit daily:

1. babycheapskate.blogspot.com
2. my email
3. all of my friend's blogs
   

People I am tagging:

1. Ellen - why haven't you posted lately??
   
2. Andrea-- Get a blog girl! (that makes 2 tags for you)

Laughing it up

The Virgin Mother

On our way to the park yesterday, we stumbled on this HUGE "Bodyworld" style sculpture right on Park Avenue in Midtown. It's called The Virgin Mother and most be at least 30 feet.

We resumed our trek to the park on the bus, and noticed a zebra casually crossing the street at one of the lights. You don't see that every day. Upon further inspection we noted a film crew and movie set at that spot.

Charlotte loved kicking her legs on a blanket at the park and was full of huge smiles until the camera came out of course.

We've made this our favorite spot, at the southernmost tip of the Great Lawn. It was a fabulous summer evening. I can't believe it's taken us three years to start going to Central Park! We can thank Charlotte, she begs us to leave the apartment every day so she can see all the cool stuff around her.

Central Park Stroll

Who Me?

On Saturday we went to Central Park. It was hot during the day but in the evening it was perfect for a stroll. At Belvedere Castle we had a good view of the turtle pond that has a ton of moss on it, you can see it - the light green color. A string quartet was playing music near the Great Lawn, making for a very pleasant time. Next time we'll have to bring a dinner to eat there. Charlotte was a good sport for the trip, but got fussy as the night went on since she's started to go to bed earlier these days.

4th of July Fun

We call this the "having the time of her life" smile. It's the one she uses when she's trying to win me over. It works!

Charlotte is happy to have her dad back despite his weird expression.

Showing off her 4th of July outfit and hairbow. I was so excited when we got back to find that she fits into her 3-6 month clothes now.

Our 4th of July BBQ was rained out, so we brought it inside to the lounge where all the babies congregated on the pool table. Charlotte looked on enviously at the older kids who could sit up.

Adventures in Air Travel

We had a great time in Houston with Grandma and Grandpa. Charlotte finally got used to riding in a car and was so patient while shopping and eating out. She can't wait to visit again!

In retrospect, we should have stayed a bit longer! On Wednesday, we flew to Chicago for our connecting flight to LaGuardia. Since it was supposed to be the same plane going to NY, I didn't worry when the flight was very delayed and almost averted to Wisconsin due to storms in Chicago. But when we landed, they announced that the plane was no longer going to NY. To my dismay, I found out that our flight had been cancelled. Although there is a flight to NY from Chicago every hour, due to the storm in Chicago most flights had been cancelled and the remaining ones were booked solid with 50+ people on standby. I was directed to a "rebooking center" which consisted of a counter with three red phones you could use and a phone number printed on a banner above it. After recovering from the shock of that, I noticed that there were about 100 people in line to use those phones. I called the number from my cell phone and found out that the soonest flight I could be rebooked on was 5pm the next day! Of course, the airline (AA) wouldn't do anything for the passengers.

So Charlotte and I were picked up by a friend of Pete's who was in town and spent the night at a Marriott in a neighboring town and lounged around all day napping and snacking on food from the breakfast buffet which wasn't too bad! Much better than the cots that we saw a lot of people camped out in on the news. We went back to O'Hare at 3pm, not before Charlotte ruined her outfit by pooping all over it, leaving me to dress her in the spare onesie I had in the diaper bag which she had far outgrown, so she used it as a shirt instead.

Our flight was delayed to 6:30pm so we settled in, only to find out an hour later that this flight too had been cancelled - this time due to "weather" in NY. By now my cell phone was almost dead, so I joined a long line at a different booking center (this one manned by actual people!) and had my parents handle calling the rebooking phone number. Although they said the soonest flight again would - unbelievably - be the next day at 5pm, they talked them into booking me on a United flight at 9am the next morning instead. By this point I was wondering if I'd ever see my own bed again. As I trudged out to the hotel shuttle, I looked at Charlotte in her now perma-spot on my stomach in her Bjorn and she looked at me with biggest grin on her face I think I'd ever seen! Wouldn't you know it - she was having the time of her life! That really cheered me up.

On this third day of wearing the same clothes, we got on the 9am flight without incident, though I had to laugh as they had me take Charlotte out of her Bjorn and hold her up while they patted her down as we went through security. We made it to NY in one piece. Miraculously and quickly, I found our luggage which had arrived two days prior. Upon arriving home, we took a nice long nap together. Thankfully, Helaman gets home today and we will be all together again.

This cartoon really has new meaning after hauling the diaper bag, my carry-on and Charlotte around for three days straight.

Kickin' it in Texas

Charlotte and I are hanging out in Houston this month while Helaman does some externships in Dallas and Alabama. We miss him a lot! But, Charlotte got to meet her cousin Laird who loved holding her.

Charlotte also got some new outfits including a skirt that she thoroughly enjoys wearing.



Sizing up Uncle Steve.



Showing off another new outfit Grandma got for her while kicking her legs which is her favorite passtime lately.

Memorial Day Weekend

This weekend Charlotte was blessed. Here she is posing in her beautiful dress and shoes for the occasion.

Earlier in the week, we took a subway ride to the park to meet up with the other babies. I love her expression.

Decked out in a bonnet a tad too large, on the way to Central Park.

Hanging out with Uncle Phil and Aunt Jennie.

In Central Park Charlotte posed while an artist drew her portrait. She loved all the attention she got from people walking by. We couldn't believe she sat there patiently for a half hour, usually she gets antsy when her stroller is not moving.

Who does she look like?

No one can really decide who Charlotte looks like - Helaman or me. So here are our baby pictures, tell us what you think! For pics of Charlotte, feel free to browse the last 100 or so posts.

Helaman at 6 months

Christina