We're in Trouble

We're in trouble. Why? Because if you think I took a lot of photos before, well "ain't seen nothin' yet!"

I recently bought a new digital camera, a Canon Rebel EOS. Shortly after I bought the camera, I read that my friend Sharon who owns Smitten Photography (she shot Charlie's 1st birthday, Chase's newborn and 3-month pictures) was teaching a 5-week photography course for people like me - busy Moms who have fancy cameras and don't know what to do with them. Well, SIGN ME UP!

Yes, that's right. I am taking a photography class. Come to find out, I suck, but I'm practicing - LOTS! This class teaches you how to take photos in the manual setting which gives you a lot more control over your photos and a lot more creativity, but alas, I am stinkin' up the joint, big time! It's only week two so I should give myself a break, but I am impatient and want results right away. I never did like to practice. Ask my Mom. Anyway, my biggest problem right now is figuring out exposure. My photos are either too bright or too dark. It's a balancing act and apparently, I'm pretty off-balance. HA!

The good news is that I'll have lots of photos to post of anything and everything. My neighbors are loving this because I've sent them tons of pictures of their kids too. So, I hope you enjoy my photography journey with me. Hopefully I'll learn SOMETHING! Wish me luck!

Easter Egg Hunt 2010

We had so much fun at the annual Skybrook Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday. It was an absolutely beautiful day. Both boys were in a great mood and so was I because I had help! Mike took the weekend off, so he was able to come with us! Yippee!

Anyway, Charlie had a great time playing on the playground, climbing and sliding down the slides. Chase just enjoyed watching everyone and I had fun taking lots of photos. Once the Easter egg hunt started, Mike helped Charlie find eggs (he found three!) and Chase and I tagged along just to watch. Afterwards, Charlie enjoyed his first popsicle (watermelon flavor, yummy!) while Chase gobbled down his bottle of milk.

There was a DJ at the event again this year, but Charlie wasn't nearly as interested in the music as he was last year when he danced for all the world to see. Oh well. Regardless, we had a great time, but we had to cut the event short in order to get home in time for naps.

We decided to take advantage of the wonderful weather by having a picnic outside after Charlie and Chase's nap. For some reason, snacks just taste better outside. All in all, it was a great day for all of us...

Man on a Mission

I don't know why but I think this video is so funny. We were all headed to Charlie's friend, Cooper's house. Every time we go to Cooper's, Charlie has to "drive" something over there. Today it was the lawnmower (or as Charlie calls it, the "yawn mo mo"). I am fairly certain that the entire neighborhood could hear us coming. Charlie truly is a man on a mission. The only thing that slowed him down was the fact that he had to stop to identify the doggie. Love it!

Chase's Big Week!

It was a big week for Baby Chase! After a few days of struggling with naps, general fussiness and mega amounts of drooling, he cut his first two teeth! (The front two teeth on the bottom.) Then, I noticed he was doing more and more sitting up on his own! What a big boy! He still struggles a bit with sitting up, but he's definitely getting better.

So, I decided to pull out some of Charlie's old toys and Chase LOVED it! He's totally fascinated with the colors and sounds, and what's even more funny is so is Charlie! I guess what was old is new again. Charlie loves his old Fisher Price karaoke toy. It sings "If You're Happy and You Know It" to which Charlie responds by clapping his hands and stomping his feet. It's so funny to see him sitting in front of this toy, towering over it!

But back to Baby Chase. I think we're back on schedule with naps again. Now that those two teeth have pooped through, he's not as miserable and is able to get some rest. Bless his heart. It must be so painful to cut teeth!

Here is some video of sweet Baby Chase in front of his new toy. What a cutie! (And yes, he's usually this smiley and happy.)

(I thought I would try embedding videos through YouTube. Let me know what you think. Once it fully loads, you should be able to watch it as often as you like. Enjoy!)

Charlie Monkey Sees Curious George!

Well, today was a big day for Charlie Monkey. Mike and I took him to his first live show, "Curious George Live." How appropriate!

To celebrate, I got Charlie a new book, "The Original Curious George," and a Curious George t-shirt, which I gave to him at breakfast this morning. Mike and I talked up the show all weekend and all morning, hoping to get Charlie excited about what he was going to see. We dressed him in his new shirt, put him down for a nap early, and once he woke up, we left for the show.

I don't think he had any idea what he was about to see and do, but I was so excited for him I couldn't stand it. We had great seats, row L in the center section, and a clear view of the stage. The auditorium lights dimmed, the stage lights turned on and the show began with a great song and dance featuring most of the cast. At the end of the song, Curious George jumped onto the stage and the crowd erupted into applause. I teared up. I was so happy to be there in that moment with Charlie at his very first show. It was awesome.

Charlie was such a good sport. He sat in Mike's lap or my lap for most of the first act. He was so well behaved! Then Mike and Charlie played in the back of the auditorium during intermission. Charlie got a little restless during the second act, but he still was such a good little boy and did exactly what we asked him to do. (I'm not sure why a show like that would have an intermission, but whatever!)

We had so much fun with Charlie. What a great day! What an awesome little boy! I could not have been prouder of him. How cool is it to experience these "firsts" with your kids? And to think that I have years of "firsts" ahead. I can't wait for the next one!

My Cutie Patooties!

Really, I don't have much to blog about, but I have some cute pictures so I thought I would post them.

Doesn't Charlie look like such a big boy? He's dressed up for church and I just thought he looked so cute, so I had to snap a picture.

And little Chase in the bathtub. What a cutie! He's getting so big. He won't be able to fit in the infant tub much longer so I thought I would get more photos of him at bath time. And look at him in the car seat! Is he huge or what?

On the Chase front, his naps are still going much better. We had a downturn mid-week and I thought we might be going backwards (he only took a couple of naps that day and the longest was 40 minutes), but I chalked it up to teething because the next day was back to normal. We're now solidly getting at least one 2-hour nap a day, plus a couple of other shorter naps. Go Chase!

And Charlie, of course, is growing up more and more by the day. He's putting several words together now and making short sentences. I'm so proud of him! It's so much easier when you can communicate with one another! Charlie also started swimming lessons again this week. We've got to be ready for summer, right?

Anyway, enjoy the photos. Are these Arning Brothers cutie patooties or what?!

A Breakthrough!

That's right! We've had a breakthrough! After trying for weeks and weeks to get Chase to take a nap that lasts longer than 30 minutes and that he doesn't absolutely fight me for, I finally got him to take three naps today and one of them was 2-hours. AND he went right down for all three of them! I could not have been prouder of him! So what was my secret?

Well, I've been reading books on the subject (only one of which was somewhat helpful) but yesterday, I decided to hit the internet to see what solutions I could find from real moms. One mom said that she hung blankets up over the windows in the baby's room and it instantly made a difference. I realized that my room (where Chase is currently sleeping until Charlie moves out of the crib) probably is way too bright during the day. And with me as his mother - who has to have the room pitch black when I sleep, to the point where I cover my eyes at night - I should have known that this was the problem.

So, I hung blankets, towels, whatever I could find over the windows and moved his pack-n-play to the darkest corner of the room. The first time I put him down, he went right to sleep without a fuss. I thought we were on to something, but then he woke up 45-minutes later. Forty-five minutes is definitely an improvement, but I was skeptical and needed to see a long nap before I would become a believer.

THEN, I put him down for nap number two. After thirty minutes, he woke up so I was SUPREMELY disappointed. I decided to leave him in there for a few minutes just to see what happened. I figured he was going to stay in his pack-n-play for at least an hour. What he decided to do with that hour was up to him. Long story short, he feel back to sleep after only 10 minutes of fussing. The best part is, he stayed asleep for two hours! HORRAY! HALLELUJAH! It's a miracle!

The third nap lasted 45-minutes as well, but that's ok. The first and last naps of the day should be sorter, so I'm ok with that. Anyway, Chase was an absolute joy today. I could tell he felt good and he was much more alert and attentive. So yeah us! It looks like a crypt in our bedroom, but if it works for Chase, then so be it!

And in other happy news, Charlie Monkey melted my heart tonight. He put his hands on my face, turned me to him and said, "Kisses Mama!" Then he leaned in and planted a big kiss on me. An unsolicited kiss! My heart jumped in my throat! What a sweetie!

What a day we had. A not so good start (long story for another blog) but a great ending. Here's hoping for another good day tomorrow!