Birthday Girl - delayed pic!

Dinner date!

Last week, Brian had an event after work, so I picked up Charlotte and we headed to Red Robin. We sat in one of those half booths... you know the ones for two people? Where all of a sudden, I realize that my sweet little Charlie Girl was a KID! I knew she was inching that way, and had been a "girl" for awhile now - long gone were the baby days. But, she ordered her own cheeseburger (unprompted) and I about fell over! Here is my baby sitting across the booth from me, ordered for herself (and she ordered her own milk - I asked for the additional oranges), and she was just huge before my eyes!!

We had the best dinner date - she was talking to everyone of course. Asked our waitress where the red bird was (Red Robin) and when she replied that he wasn't there that night, Charlotte needed to know where he was. If he was at home in bed :) They really got a kick out of her!

So, tonight Brian has a work event again - and I think we need another girls date!

Who is the sucker now?

Sometimes Charlotte is the SWEETEST little girl in the world! But, she plays me like a fine tuned fiddle too... and I know it, but I take every ounce I can get. Last night while Charlotte was stalling, and supposed to be in bed.... she asked for Puppy. I took Puppy up to her and this was our conversation:

Charlie Girl: Mommy, you come lay for me?
Mommy: No Honey, you need to go to sleep. Kiss kiss.
CG: How about you lay real quick?
Mommy: No, Sweets - you need to go to sleep.
CG: Real quick?
Mommy: Good night, Charlotte.
CG: Mommy, give me a kiss.
Mommy: MMMMWWWAAHHH!!!!
CG: Okay, now a hug.
CG: Tuck me in Mommy
Mommy: Okay, honey - good night.
CG: Oh Mommy - while giving me the biggest bear hug ever - come lay for me! I
love you Mommy!!!
Mommy: Just for a minute....
CG: I love you snuggle me Mommy!
Mommy: I love to snuggle you too Charlie Girl!
CG: Snuggle tight Mommy!
Mommy: Okay honey.
CG: Tighter Mommy. Like this. (and reaches for my arms to go around her)
Mommy: Okay, sweets - love you!
CG: Love you too Mommy. Love Snuggle!


MELT!!!!!!!!

I was an instant puddle and of course knew that I would lay with her for as long as she asked... there will be time to break bad habits later, right? :) And while I'm contributing to her perfecting those stalling techniques... I'll assume responsibility with a big smile for now :)

Happy Birthday Zoe Mohawk Dean!!!

Just wanted to give our little pup a happy birthday wish!! We love our puppy so, and she is such a wonderful addition to our family!! And while it's been a VERY bumpy ride regarding her health, since August... we wouldn't trade her for the world. WE LOVE YOU ZO-ZO!!!!!

And we're having a birthday party for her tomorrow! Sounds ridiculous I know... but, truth be told, she will most likely only have one birthday, and we're so happy we made it this far - so we're going to celebrate!! So, our friends are coming over tomorrow for a dog party - bet they never in a million years thought they would be saying that!!

Pics to come later!!

Buh-Bye Halloween Jasmine

I was doing so well at regualar posting.... I'll try to catch up!

Halloween: Yes, I still need to download pics. But, Princess Jasmine was a hit!! Charlotte was such a big girl, that Brian and I couldn't believe our eyes... our little girl is now completely a BIG GIRL!!

Of course it was cold (welcome to Hallowee, Cleveland style), so we layered her up! I thought this was for sure going to equate to one major melt down, but she obliged to layer after layer under that THIN Princess Jasmine costume. And even sported her winter coat on top! She trekked to way more houses than we thought she would. And was a hoot on top of it!! She said trick or treat and thank you to almost every house unprompted (why is it that good behavior is almost always exhibited for strangers and not us?), and even wished people Happy Halloween!!

But, on this night, Brian and I decided Charlotte's calling in life would be: a talk show host, a politician or just a rocking sales person... why?? B/c she is such the conversationalist!! She would ring someone's door - say Trick or Treat - and then say "I like your scarecrow!" Or the same thing, but say "I like your lights and duck (those porch geese)!" And she asked every single person: What you are? (what are you dressed up as, Charlotte style). It was so funny to see these "older kids" (10 - 12 maybe) react to her questioning!! Then, after we had enough, we headed back to the house to hand out candy - where Charlotte proceeded to say "Kids!! Come here!! I have candy!!!" She was quite the Halloween Jasmine, and quite the trooper!!

I will miss Halloween Jasmine, but am a little glad Santa is around the corner! Plus, I don't think we've seen the last of her - I'm sure she will make an appearance a few times this winter!

And oldie but a goodie.... Uncle Mike!!

Earlier this summer, Charlotte and Brian were watching Handy Manny, and Charlotte yelled out "Uncle Mike! There's Uncle Mike!" This is who she saw, and it still makes me laugh!!


She LOVES LOVES LOVES her Uncle Mike!!!! Randomly, she will just look at Brian or myself and say "Mike so funny!" and she just adores him. Who doesn't, right? :) Here are a few of the two of them, and I just love the pic at the bottom of the blog with Charlie Girl sandwiched between her two favorite guys!

Charlie Girl's BFF

Baby E is Charlie Girl's BFF - she was at the Halloween party with us too, and the cutest Raggedy Ann I've ever seen!!! This girl makes some killer faces - way too cute not to show!

More Halloween Jasmine

Last Saturday was Charlotte's halloween party with the PTA that I joined. I couldn't be more pleased with this organization... this party ran like a well-oiled machine, and it was so much fun! Everything was completely age appropriate. They had quite a few crafts, including making halloween jewelry and a glittery spider (show below), dancing, story time, a small trick or treating village, and of course coffee and treats for the parents! Love that! This membership is $30 a year, and these parties are free! There are several throughout the year, including tons of playdates, other "field trips" (we went to the farm / pumpkin patch earlier this year), and all of the kids are in Rocky River, so Charlotte will go to school with them. Most of all, Charlie Girl has a blast!! So, more of "Halloween Jasmine" below!

Monkey Melt Down!

Let's not forget how well Charlotte embraced Halloween last year! She did NOT like that monkey costume! But, she let us suit her up on Halloween night, and just before she was about to head outside... Brian reminded her that she needed her hat on to go outside - so he quickly pulled the hood part of the costume up, from behind her, and she thought it was her "hat". Worked for me!! From Monkey Melt Down to Charlie Monkey! She was cute!

Halloween Sneak Peek!

Charlie Girl is obsessed with Princess Jasmine! She says she is going to be "Halloween Jasmine". She's never seen Aladdin, so I have no idea where she gets this true love...

Yay!! New Look!

Loving my new look! Thanks to my ultra savvy blog friends, I now can look not so typical - I don't do well with typical :) Now if only I could figure out how to decorate with lots of fun things that I see on other blogs, I would be in business! Why do I suddenly feel like I'm back on my maternity leave creating a myspace page with swimming fish and andy warhol pics? That I never touched again after I went back to work :)

At least it's a start...

Daddy's Girl!

The video above is a quick preview of my Daddy's Girl! Charlotte things the sun, moon and stars revolve around her Daddy! She loves him so!!! And while there are times when I wish she adored me like this, or even perhaps when my feelings have been hurt (because I'm a big baby!), I see this special bond and just MELT! They are two peas in a pod and just one in the same - and she wants everyone to know that she's a Daddy's Girl!! And how lucky am I to have a husband that is not only a great husband, but a great Daddy too!

So, who is this Charlie Girl anyway?!

Charlotte Jane Dean -

Charlotte = my Grandma (Charlotte Katherine) and my mom (Charlotte Lynn - goes by Lynn)

Jane = Brian's mom's middle name (Cythina Jane). And they have the same initials, CJD!


Brian and I had a heck of a time trying to come up with names when we found out we were pregnant. If Charlotte had been a boy, she still might be unnamed! But, when we realized we had pretty good family names to work with and came up with Charlotte Jane, very early on... that was it! We loved it and it stuck! And we never looked back. We told everyone at Thanksgiving that we were having a girl - and that her name would be Charlotte Jane Dean.

Only problem... Charlotte is a pretty big name for a little girl. Little did we know how big our little girl would end up being, but it was intimidating naming this little itty bitty baby (oh, who are we kidding - those words certainly did not describe her as a newborn - again, little did we know...) such a big name. It's nine letters, old-fashioned, and found on practically nothing!! Poor kid is going to grow up without name barrettes like I did as a kid! Brittany was not common, and hard to find. And there's nothing better than when someone tells us their mother / grandmother / great-grandmother's name was Charlotte or Jane.... just what you want for your sweet little unborn baby!! :) But, we knew we loved it! We knew it was strong, very special to us, and she was named after all of her Grandma's! We were moving ahead full-throttle!

So, Brian started calling her Charlie! Perfect nickname - short and sweet. A bit more kid-friendly and not your great-grandma's name. In fact, most of her time spend in utero she was Charlie. Or Baby Charlie, as her cousins called her. We never called her Charlotte. But, then we met her and realized she had a personality bigger than life and could sustain that Charlotte name, no problem. She was born at 9lbs 11 oz, outweighed all of the other babies in the nursery by 2+ lbs (all boys), and screamed her head off. She was evicted from the hospital nursery twice for disturbing the peace! She was CHARLOTTE JANE and here to tell her story!! And then on those content moments, rare as they might be... she was still Baby Charlie.

And the Girl - well, I don't know exactly how it came to be, but I remember being on maternity leave and it was one of those 4:00 pm hours, when I was desperately waiting for Brian to come home to take a turn with the baby. One of those days when sleep was so passe and yesteryear to an infant... and I just realized that I had met my match. This girl was going to trump me in more ways than I could ever imagine! This girl, my Charlie Girl, was a serious force to be reckoned with!

And she still is! :)

Fresh flowers.... mmmm!

Who doesn't love fresh flowers? I remember Brian and I always had fresh flowers in our apartment in DC. We bought them every Friday on our way home from work (or happy hour :) ) on the streetcorners - gracefully wrapped in newspaper... no wonder they only cost $5! How very European of us?! :)

Anyway, I have fresh flowers on my desk from my dear sweet hubby! He sent me flowers for our fourth wedding anniversary last week... only four years, one might say - but, we've been together since 1999, so really it's a decade! TEN YEARS is much more impacting then just lovey dovey four... heck, four years is just childs play! :)

We had a great anniversary!! Brian took the day off, and I took a half day. We went to lunch at our favorite Italian joint, then took in an afternoon movie. Pick up boos together and then proceeded to enjoy a typical Thursday night with Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice and a no-napping toddler that was a bear to put to sleep!!

So... thank you honey for the past decade of bliss, and my fresh flowers!!

Love you!

Flashback to the late 70's!!

Quick sneak peek of Charlie Girl's fall school pics. I dressed her in a new brown dress (that most importantly she approved of!) and she looked adorable. Yes, one of her teachers fixed her bow in that strange, mommy didn't do this, way.... but, look at that smile. She's a peach! That's what Miss Jess and Miss Kady have always called her since the infant room - Peach! And that she is. WHO KNEW that her dress would match the background and instantly create an image from the late 1970's? This could be my preschool pic from when I was 2 and a half! (okay with Brian's features)

Hilarious, but adorable!!

There's a helper elf taking over my blog!

I notice a new post here and there... a new family pic... what is going on?! Oh, my husband is taking over my blog! LOL!! Just kidding honey - I love your active participating - keep it up!. Just outing you in case anyone is wondering why I have two personalities.

Charlotte and I were having fun taking pictures with my mobile phone tonight and we caught this beauty. Is it me or does she have a striking resemblence to her Daddy? Okay, maybe it's just her sense of humor that we have in common.

Our Anniversary

This morning, after Charlotte tried convincing me it was Friday, I tried explaining to her that tomorrow is Thursday and I know because tomorrow is a very special day, Mommy and Daddy's Anniversary. She proudly stated "It's mine too". Of course, I laughed and said no, its not your anniversary. You weren't even born yet. I said an anniversary is when two people in love join together and get married. I married your Mommy. Charlotte's response, "I went on married-go-round with Mommy too!" Unfortunately, I couldn't argue....

Too smart for her own good....

The other day, Brittany, Charlotte and I were driving home from our trip to the pumpkin patch when both Brittany and I smelled something emanating from the back of the car. We of course turned to our lovely daughter and asked politely, "Charlotte, did you go poopy in your pants?" Her response - "Why don't you smell and see"

Yay!!!

I'm so excited b/c someone responded to a post! (THANK YOU Marcia!) I know it seems ridiculous, but this is probably how Charlie Girl feels when I give her m&m's for going potty!! Keep up this kids, and you will get blogging results! :)

Okay, Okay.... I think I might be back...

I'm guilted in to resurrecting the blog by my friend, Gina. Thank you Gina! In fact, I'm pretty sure she's the one that guilted me into it before... good intentions gone awry. I WANT to keep a blog, but it's a lot of work. So, this time - I'm going to try to stick to it!

Stay tuned... so much to catch up on since she turned two in April!

Almost 2!!!!!

I can't believe you are almost TWO, Charlotte!! Two years ago today, your dad and I were admitted to the hospital. It was a typical day for me on modified bedrest. I rolled out of bed and went straight to the couch, worked for a few hours, broke for lunch and a little Days of Our Lives, and then cut out a little early for Oprah that was DVR'd from the day before - those last few weeks were great!! :) We had a doctor's appointment at 4:30 across town, and Daddy was going to meet met there (it was by his work). Because Mommy was so engrossed in Oprah, she never got around to really getting ready. I had time to take a shower, but just thought I would pull my hair back, no big deal.

Drive across town - ten days late - meet daddy at the doctor. Dr. A wanted to get one last ultra sound just to check on the amniotic fluid. We had a plan to get admitted to the hospital on the 12th (Thursday night) and deliver you on the 13th. This was the last check before delivery. Dr. A just wanted to get a look at the fluid, b/c the only thind that would disrupt our plan is if there was low amniotic fluid.

Daddy and I arrived and quickly found out that we had crazy ultrasound Doctor! Dr. J is very well-known in Cleveland and is the "expert" of ultrasounds for the Cleveland Clinic, but she's nuts!! Absolutely no bedside manner, and she just barks orders - Mommy talks about this lady with all of her friends, b/c we've all seen her! Tech couldn't get a good reading on the amniotic fluid, so she called in Dr. J. Dr. J starts flying around the room, can't scrape together enough amniotic fluid to get a measurement, and tells us we need to go to L&D immediately!! She calls Dr. A, tries to tell him that she's sending us, he's not answering - Daddy and I are just looking at one another like we don't know what to do... it was chaos. So, we wait in the waiting room while Dr. J tries to get ahold of Dr. A. She comes flying out into the waiting room and tells us to go now! We're on the fourth floor of the hospital and we need to go to Labor and Delivery on the 2nd floor.

Daddy calls work - he left his laptop on his desk, b/c he thought he was just going for a quick doctor visit. I call work, because it looks like I'm not working the next day. Then we called Grandma Cee Cee and she and Gigi started making the four hour trek to come meet you!!

Little did we know you would be born two days later.... more to come later!

Happy Opening Day!

Don't mind the tears - someone didn't want their picture taken!

*Having posting trouble - will come back with a pic!

Dear blog - I've neglected you!

Just when I think I'm all ready to brag about my blogging skills being back on track... I ignore you!

So, Charlotte turns two this weekend - on EASTER!! I'm not sure how I feel about this.. my BABY is two!! Yikes where did the time go? She's so not a baby anymore though - she's a big girl - with a BIG personality!

Count your blessings!!

I've just read two of the most heartbreaking stories about three babies that are and were very sick. Two (a set of twins) are living day to day, and one baby girl that just recently went to heaven because lost her battle with cancer. I can't even imagine - it's so heartbreaking!!

We love you Charlotte Jane!!! We are so lucky to have a perfect toddler tornado!!


Everyone - give your kids lots of hugs today!!!

Charlotte's Dayee chimes in...

I remember (fondly) the day Brittany told me that she was going to start a blog about Charlotte so that she could keep all our friends and family up to date as Charlotte grew. I think my response was something like, "(Laugh out loud).... Okay honey. Like we have a ton of free time to sit down and do a blog.(eyeroll)" Of course, that didn't go over that well with Brittany. So I figured at some point during the life of this blog, I better contribute in order to help support my wife's fantastic idea! I love you honey....

I know Brittany has posted several stories of Charlotte and her funny ways / sayings. So I decided that it would be fun to come up with some "Charlottte-isms" that are our favorites, as well as a few stories that support how she uses this impressive vocabulary. I hope you all enjoy!!!

The Dictionary of Charlotte-isms
Chick-a-Monkey - Chipmunk (aka any person dressed up in costume while standing on the side of the street waving at you to come into their business... Liberty Tax Service)
Peeka Pots - Polka Dots
Beeee uuuuuuuuuuuu - The Color Blue
Ann Amy - Aunt Amy
Poopy - Winnie the Pooh
cookie cookie - Cookie
wa-wa - Milk
Eieio - old MacDonald
Cat or Farm Dell - Farmer and the Dell
Radio - Wiggles
Pwincess - Princess
Momney - Mommy
Dayee - Daddy
What doin? - What are you doing?
ocean - Lotion
I do potty - I went potty
brokey - broken (Daddy's Radio in his car)
Caulk-ee - Coffee
I lav lu - I love you
you k? - You okay?
Oleeia - Olivia - a new cartoon (based off a children's book) about a pig named Olivia... definitely a favorite in our house
uppy!!!! - Pick me up NOW!

A little Charlotte Story Time:
Since daycare is on the way to my work, Charlotte and I have the joy of sharing our morning commute together. This 30-45 minute drive has led to lot's of fun and interesting conversations. It has also led to Charlotte learning lot's of new things, some taught by me, others learned on her own. Here is a few of our morning happenings:

On my way to work one day, we were stopped at a light and Charlotte says "Caulk-ee
Dayee, Caulk-ee". Since I didn't bring coffee from home that day, I wasn't sure what
she was saying until I turned around and saw she was pointing to the Caribou Coffee on the corner of the street. To this day, I still have no idea how she knew that is where they served coffee.

On several occasions, I have caught Charlotte telling people who are driving slow to "C'mon" or "go-go-go". I also noticed she is fairly good at saying "WHOA Dayee!" outloud when I have had to slam on my brakes at any time. (I swear I am a good driver).

Me: (Yawn)
Charlotte: You tired Daddy?
Me: Yea, I am tired Charlotte.
Charlotte: I tired too Daddy.
Charlotte: Momney tired too.
Charlotte: Zoe tired too.
Me: What about Mackey (our cat)? Is Mackey tired?
Charlotte: No, Mackey "meow".


Recently, the battery in my car died due to the cold weather. I had to jump my car, which led to my radio no longer working. Prior to this, every morning was filled with the Radio (aka The Wiggles) playing over and over and over. Post my radio going kaput, this is our morning routine:
Charlotte: Dayee? Radio brokey?
Me: Yes Charlotte, my radio is broken.
Charlotte: Why?
Me: Well Charlotte, my battery died and when I had to recharge the battery, which led to my radio breaking.
Charlotte: Why?
Me: I am not sure why. All I know is that it's brokey.
Charlotte: Twinkle Little Star?
Me: (Sings Twinkle Twinkle Little Star 40 times before arriving to Daycare)

A Charlotte Gem

Me:"Hey Charlotte, did you play with Play-Doh today?
Charlotte: "I tried to eat it Dayee."

Daddy's proud moment!!

Daddy was changing Charlie Girl into her pj's after her bath, and she looked at his shirt and said "soccer ball". Yes, indeed it had a soccer ball on it! Who knew the girl knew the words soccer ball?



Looks like we might have another soccer player in the family... at what age can she start?

You know what made me melt today...

hearing -

"I luh-lu mommy!"


I just love my girl!!!

same! same!

Charlotte does the cutest thing lately... it all started with learning her colors, and we would show her how things are the same color. The cup is the same color as the shirt, etc. So, we started same, same! Now, she does it all of the time, and I just love it!

She also says "eew! gross!" and that just makes me laugh so I thought I would put it out here.

A few things about Charlotte Jane...

Charlotte is a really funny little girl. I often think she's an old soul... she just says some of the most profound things - yes, I'm talking about someone that isn't even two! Her vocabulary and comprehension is pretty impressive, but it's not like she's being taught these things... of course we teach her things and she learns so much at school, but it's almost as if she already knows them. It's a little strange (good strange!) sometimes and continually amazes Brian and myself!

A few of her favorite things at the moment:

Peeka Pots! Which in Charlottese means Polka Dots! She loves them and wants to wear them all of the time. Needless to say, Brian and I are often hunting for peeka pot clothes, pj's, socks, etc... It's a funny stage!

Singing - she loves loves loves to sing! Twinkle Star (that's what she calls it), Farmer in the Dell (called Cat - not sure why), and Old MacDonald are her favorites. She still loves the Wiggles and will sing their songs too! She and her Daddy and a fabulous duet!

Mickey and Minnie - she loves Mickey and Minnie and asks to see them all of the time. She wants to drink out of her Minnie cups, and likes to draw Mickey and Minnie too.

Coloring (formerly known as Yellowing) - she loves to color with a pen and paper... her most favorite past time lately! Brian will draw shapes for her and she intricately colors them in.

Going potty!! Going potty is HUGE around here!! Charlotte became really interested in gong potty last October. I attribute this to school 100%! We didn't even own a potty at the time! She started asking to go at home, and then started going every night before bathtime. Then she even started asking her teachers to go at school, and telling them when she needed to go too! We were all amazed. Over Christmas - it all came undone... between traveling and not having a predictable schedule, no more potty. We didn't push - she became interested again, and is back to telling her teachers about three to four times a day that she has to go. And she goes every night before bathtime. We all get very excited and celebrate!!

Giving Zoe treats - this her job, and likes to give ZoZo her cookies when she goes potty... lots of potty training going on in the Dean house!

Ms. Authority! Charlie Girl has become very authoritative lately!! I don't know if it's the age or having the dog to boss around, but she is all about "Stop it! You sit here! No Mommy/Daddy/Zoe!!" and many many more... we embrace her strong willed nature, but try to curb this bossiness! Which can be a tough accomplishment sometimes!

Herself! Lately Charlie is really into herself :) She identifies herself all over the house (Char-it) and sees baby pics of herself and says Baby Char-it. I ask her who is cute, and she yells "Char-it!!!!!" and likes to see herself in the mirror. She's a ham!

One new addition... our puppy!!! Zoe Mohawk Dean joined our family shortly after Christmas. She is abut 3.5 mos old and adorable!! After toying around with adorbale names, we asked Charlotte what she wanted to name her dog, and she promptly replied "Zoe, thanks!" And Mohawk - well, she has this adorable cowlick stripe down her nose that looks just like a Mohawk. Besides, how fun is it to say ZoMo? :)

Zoe is integrating into our family very well!! She does get up through the night sometimes, so Brian might tell you a different story. But, she is such a GOOD DOG! She is so sweet and friendly and just adorable. Sometimes we have to remind Charlotte that Zoe is not her wrestling party, but they do well together.

She's a great new addition and we love her so!

We live!!!!

So, I thought I would try out this blogging thing... what I found was one more thing to keep up with. And that was challenging at best.

Only 7 mos or so have past, and it seems as if we have a completely different little girl living with us! But, I'm going to start updating again!

Stay tuned!!