Snow and a tour of our apartment!

That's right! Our first snowfall in Buffalo on November 5, 2007. It snowed just a bit more than a flurry, maybe what one might call a "dusting." Boo.

That's disgusting Dad, what is on your plate?! Here Charlotte joins us for a family dinner of Bombay Curry with Chicken. She is sitting in her Bumbo, a chair to help her sit up without one of us holding her. They have been recalled recently because parents put them on tables and counters and babies fall off. But here there is nothing to fear because we are sitting right next to her. She would have to take a flying leap in order to make it off the table. Don't worry Grandmas. (I know you already were...)

This is our new living room. It is set up pretty much the same way we had it in Duluth, with the exception of the fireplace and bookshelves and giant bay window and hardwood floors.

This is still the living room.


When you walk into our apartment you are immediately in the dining room. Then if you look right you see the kitchen (pictured here).

Here is looking back at the entry way and dining room from the living room.

Another view of the living room/dining room and the beginnings of the kitchen.

Here is our little balcony. Right now it is home to Matt's mountain bike and Kristi's winter boots that somehow got moldy since last winter. She'll have to figure out what to do with those...

This is Charlotte's room, but it is still pretty empty because she is still sleeping in our room for now. Mommy just can't put her in her own room yet...Since she sleeps through the night it really doesn't disrupt our sleep too much unless she wakes up earlier than she should. Speaking of which, have any other parents had problems with daylight savings time making their baby get up way too early in the morning?!

Here is our lovely bathroom.

Our walk-in closet/storage space. It has a sink in it!

This is our room (and currently Charlotte's room too).
Thus concludes the tour of our new apartment. Charlotte is awake and ready to eat, so that signals the end of this blog post as well. See you next time!

Charlotte's First Laugh!

Charlotte laughed for the first time a couple of weeks ago. I just figured out how to put video on here, so that's why it's a little late! She has the cutest laugh!

Four Months Old Already!

Charlotte, Mommy, and Daddy had a little photo shoot under the big tree in our front yard in Duluth. She was very cooperative, but didn't look at the camera much. Further down you'll see more pictures from this same day.

"Auntie" (one of mommy's best friends from college) Mikkin made Charlotte a lamb towel! She looks so adorable in it! Thanks Mikkin!

Aunt Lisa and Uncle Travis got this fuzzy outfit for Charlotte. It is appropriately from them because it has a pink bird on it and they have several pet birds. They are Charlotte's bird cousins.

What a beauty.

This is Charlotte playing airplane with Daddy.

Lots of fun!

Fast asleep on Daddy's lap. She looks so big in this picture!

Mommy and Charlotte at the Farmer's Market just down the street from our apartment. We got Charlotte her first pumpkin! This was also her first time in the Moby wrap facing forwards. She puked a lot, so there is a burp rag hanging on the front to catch it all!

Grandma CarolAnn made this quilt for Charlotte. She likes to have tummy time on it because there is lots to look at!

Charlotte borrowed Daddy's cowboy hat.

She is such a cute baby (and I'm NOT biased!)

Some more pictures from our fall photo shoot. She is actually holding the pumpkin stem all by herself! Seconds later it got too heavy and it rolled off her lap.

Charlotte and Daddy.

Charlotte and Mommy.

Daddy decided to carve Charlotte's pumpkin, tiny as it was. Obviously, Charlotte was thrilled.

Charlotte loves to help in the kitchen.


On October 28, Charlotte was dedicated at the Vineyard Church in Duluth. She was so good and didn't fuss at all. She wore the dress and booties that Mommy wore when she got baptized in 1982! Later during the sermon she let out a big happy squeal and the pastor blamed it on another baby!

Auntie Laura came all the way up from St. Louis, Missouri for Charlotte's dedication. (Ok, not really. We just planned it for the same weekend Laura was going to be in town). Laura hadn't seen Charlotte since she was 3 weeks old! She's a very different baby now!

Goodbye Duluth! We will miss you!
For those of you who didn't know, we just moved to Buffalo, MN for 9 months as a part of our schooling. We will post again in a few days with some pictures of our new apartment.

Happy 3 Month Birthday Charlotte!

Charlotte apologizes for not posting anything for almost a month. She blames her parents entirely for the problem. She also can't remember what her latest accomplishments were the last time we posted, so she's just going to say everything she can do now, and if you've heard it before, oh well.

Charlotte can:
-sleep through the night
-smile
-coo, talk, and make dinosaur-sounding noises
-almost laugh
-look at her hands, which makes her look cross-eyed a lot of the time
-fall asleep by herself in the crib
-go to daycare at our friends' Josh and Joy's house and play with baby Silas
-be a baby medical student and attend a three day orientation in Minneapolis without ever crying or disrupting the meetings
-make everyone around her act silly trying to make her smile and talk
-make her parents so happy

Charlotte and Daddy

Charlotte in her corduroy overalls. She looks kind of like a boy.

Charlotte went on a trip to Lutsen with Mommy, Daddy, Aunt Lisa, and Uncle Travis from Iowa. We rode the gondola up the "mountain" to see all of the leaves changing colors.

Here we are at the top of the "mountain" looking at the beautiful colors.

Charlotte with Lake Superior behind her.

Yum, those hands are delicious!

Our friends Luke, Shannon, Mikkin, and Karl came to visit us in Duluth from Chicago and Denver. Here we are at Gooseberry Falls for a hike.

Grandma Carol Ann and Grandpa Randy love Charlotte!

Daddy is teaching Charlotte to play the piano.

This is at Uncle Charlie and soon-to-be Aunt Olivia's engagement party in Delano. The whole family and lots of friends all came together to celebrate!

Charlotte kicking her legs in happiness for Auntie Olivia.

Charlotte loves her bouncy seat--she sits in it a lot when we eat dinner or need to have our hands free to do something.

This is Charlotte when she was two days old--compare with the picture above to see how much she has grown!

Traveling Baby (and Mommy and Daddy)!

Last week Matt took a vacation to the Boundary Waters with his friend Josh. Kristi didn't want to be alone with Charlotte for four days, so she asked her mom and dad to come up and help out with baby care and take her on a little vacation. If Matt needs/wants a vacation, then so does Kristi! So Kristi's parents came up and whisked her away on a vacation to Bayfield, WI for a day and up the north shore for a day. While Matt was paddling around in the Boundary Waters, Kristi was taking a boat cruise of the Apostle Islands in Bayfield. Charlotte enjoyed the trip immensely (by that I mean she slept a lot, had a bottle, and looked around while being really cute!). She also had a sample of Mommy's cookies and cream ice cream...

Charlotte thought about jumping overboard, but I convinced her she couldn't swim.

Charlotte's first dip in Lake Superior. She didn't mind the cold water at all.

Mommy and Charlotte on the shores of Lake Superior in northern Wisconsin.

Bug-eyed baby!

Mommy, Grandpa Mark, and Grandma Cindy with Charlotte at the Rose Garden in Duluth.

Charlotte holding on to Grandma Cindy's sweatshirt zipper.

Matt and his friend Josh by the entry point to the Boundary Waters.

Super Matt!

Beautiful calm water.

Matt had a great time on his trip!