Blogging Lessons

So I read this blog post from the Pioneer Woman a few days ago called Ten Things I've Learned About Blogging.  Number two on her list is: Blog Often.  She writes: "Consider your blog a precious bloom that requires daily nurturing.  And watering.  If you water a plant every two weeks, it will shrivel."  Sadly enough, I was that girl who killed her bamboo plant in college.  Yes, a bamboo plant.  You don't even need to water that thing - just stick it in a glass of water.  But I was too lazy.  I let it shrivel.  And die.  I didn't throw it out until it got moldy. 

Hopefully I don't treat this blog like that bamboo plant.  Life just gets so busy sometimes and it's easy to make excuses.  But if I'm gonna commit to this, I need to make a better effort.  So I'm sorry for abandoning you for the past few weeks.  But I'm back.  And I have watering can in hand.

Charlotte is growing up so fast. 

She's starting to crawl and really does improve every day.  She went after my chicken taquitos today.  I put the plate on the floor to get a glass to water.  By the time I turned around, she was trying to eat a taquito.  Smart little girl.

 
She has friends.  I didn't have friends until I went to kindergarten!  I thought everyone in the world was a cousin of some form.  And everyone spoke Vietnamese except for Big Bird and Cookie Monster. Here she is just hanging out with her buddy! 

She can go grocery shopping.  We took her to Dudleys Bakery a few weekends ago for some tastilicious bread.  She grabbed a loaf of jalapeno cheddar from the shelf and wouldn't let go. 

She can hold onto a cup, kindove. 

And most importantly, her hair is growing...out.  My little girl has a mohawk.  So proud.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!  I love you so much.  As soon as you walk into the room, I turn my head to see your smile.  I love it when you tickle me and when you throw me up in the air.  You're the best at changing my poopy diaper and tucking me into bed.  I love you and I can't wait until I can eat birthday cake.  Maybe next year.

Sleepy Time

Oh what a weekend.  So starting a few weeks ago, Charlotte decided to stop sleeping.  She would be up 4-6 times every night and I felt like I had a newborn all over again!  I was tired and grumpy and didn't know what to do.  Some of my friends told me about "sleep training" but the thought of letting Charlotte cry to sleep was just unbearable.  Then on Friday night, exhausted and without any answers, Justin and I somehow agreed to try our modified version of sleep training.  Justin would be in charge while I sat on the other side of the house with the TV on.  Even with the TV muffling the sound of Charlotte's shrills, I still cried. It's night number three and we're still in the process of "sleep training" our little girl.  Justin insists that she's getting better and at the end of this whole process, it will result in a happy mommy and happier baby.  But this weekend, Charlotte was definitely pissed off at us.  She was mad. 

She was especially needy all weekend, demanding to be held the entire time.  She would glare at us a little bit more and require a lot more entertainment before she would even crack a smile.  Ugh, it was terrible and I kept thinking to myself - is this all really worth it?  But I spoke with my sister tonight and she said, once you've committed to sleep training, you have to stick to it.  And yes, she said, Charlotte is definitely pissed off at you and needs reassurance that we still love her.  Oi.  Please tell me I'm not a bad mommy...will keep you posted on how it all works out (i.e. if I crack and let her come back to sleep in our bed).

Anyways, lots of photos to share this week. 

So our good friends, who have a little boy only a week younger than Charlotte, moved this weekend.  They're having a year-long adventure in Europe!  So sad!!!  But thankfully, they were able to squeeze us in for one final play date after the movers packed up all their stuff away.

Charlotte and baby Jackson.

 

 

Charlotte is definitely sitting upright now.  Now she just has to figure out crawling.  She can roll over like a rock star and can scoot herself backwards.  No forward movement yet though.

Charlotte sitting up!!!

And Charlotte had her very first experience in the pool this weekend too.  She started enjoying the bath a lot more so we figured it was a good time to take her for a dip, since it's been so hot.  She seemed to enjoy it, especially splashing around.  She was done after about 10 minutes though.  :)

Baby Bulldog

So this weekend wasn't as jam-packed as the others, which was a welcome change.  There was still lots to do though.  There was an extended family bonfire at Coronado Beach (which we only attended for about an hour before Charlotte insisted on going home).  We had a family photo session at Balboa Park (after the second time my photographer rescheduled on me).  My little brother flew back to college so I sent him away with some fresh baked white chocolate and macadamia nut cookies.  And daddy installed a brand new ceiling fan (painted to match the walls) in Charlotte's nursery.  Wohoo!!

But the real reason for this post, I needed to show you photos of Charlotte in her baby bulldog onesie.  Bulldogs, woof, bulldogs, woof, bow wow wow...Eli Yale!!!

My little bulldog!!!

Look at how happy she is to be a bulldog!

New Toys and Family Time

As Charlotte is getting a bit older, there isn't much that can distract her for too long before she needs to be walked around, played with or otherwise entertained.  In the past, she could lay on her play may for hours!  But now that she can roll over like a rock star, those days are long gone.  Currently, she is love with this baby activity seat that my sister gave us from her kids. 

I also got these Edushape Sensory Balls during a recent trip to Costco and Charlotte LOVES them.  She loves to eat them, roll them, see them bounce - it's definitely a keeper.  It's also nice to see an immediate reaction from her with them...unlike Raffi the Giraffe.  I got this as an impulse buy on my birthday (and in my defense, on sale) but Charlotte is clearly too young for the rocking giraffe.  But it's still super adorable and matches her nursery.  :)

So we had another super busy weekend.  Instead of traveling around town to visit the sites, we visited family and friends.  Charlotte and I had a play date with my good friend and co-worker on Saturday afternoon at her place in downtown.  I'm beginning to notice that Charlotte is getting more and more anxious around strangers but thankfully she was on her absolute best behavior!  So no tears there!

Afterward, we headed to Coronado to visit Grand Pappy and Uncle Adam (and since Justin had a regatta out of the Coronado Yacht Club, he just met us at his dad's house).  Dad made some especially tasty spaghetti and meatballs and then just played with Charlotte. 

Charlotte with Grand Pappy, Dad and Uncle Adam.

On Sunday, we spent time with my family.  Since my little brother is home for a few more days, my mom wanted me to take family photos of everyone (we are now up to 15 people - that's including all the spouses and grand kids).  My mom made yummy pho and I brought over some chocolate pound cake.  It was a gorgeous day so I ended up with some pretty decent photos.  And Charlotte loves being around other kids and wouldn't stop squealing while her cousins were running around her.

I imagine that she'll look at us like that again when she's a teenager.  :)

Charlotte trying to grab her uncle's necklace.

The ladies in the family. 

Another excellent weekend.  Now, I just have to get through this week...

Sand Castles in San Diego

Even though Monday always makes me feel a little blah, with another fantastic weekend in my back pocket, it's pretty hard to bring my spirits down.

The family had another exciting and jam-packed weekend. On Saturday, we drove down to this nautical junk store near Mission Hills. The place was pretty interesting and I'm sure Justin wanted to buy a ton of stuff there. But thankfully, we walked away empty handed.

Afterward, we stopped by the Old Town Mexican Cafe for a late lunch then walked down to the Old Town San Diego State Historic Park.

Charlotte and Daddy with some street tacos for lunch.

Justin getting some fresh churros.

I haven't been to state park section of Old Town since middle school! The whole thing reminds me a bit of Colonial Williamsburg (but not as nice and much too commercialized). But it's a fun way to spend a few hours.

On Sunday, my little brother (home for two weeks before going back to school) joined us for an outing to Imperial Beach for the U.S. Open Sandcastle Competition.

It was so crowded! Some of the sculptures were very impressive. Here are some of my favorites.

This giant rat was part of the Clark Pest Control entry. Pretty funny.

This was one of my little brother's favorites and I found it especially touching as well.

Since I was born in the year of the rooster, I loved this entry! So cute!

This was one of Justin's favorites - designed to withstand the high tide coming in at 4pm!

Another awesome weekend in San Diego. I really love do love this place!

Adventures in Balboa Park

Charlotte is growing up so fast! She's now wearing 6-12 month clothes and weighs 16.5 pounds! I think she's about 1-2 weeks away from sitting upright all on her own; I'll be sure to get photos of that when she finally does!

This past Saturday, the family went out to Balboa Park for the afternoon. It's been a pretty dreary July in San Diego. Actually, it was the coldest July in 77 years (with an average temperature of 66 degrees)! But thankfully the sun was shining during our little excursion.

Balboa Park was beautiful and just buzzing with families wandering around the different gardens, museums and art villages. We stopped by the Japanese Friendship Garden, Botanical Building, Spanish Village Art Center, and the giant fountain between the science and natural history museums. It was also nice to just wander around without an agenda and have Charlotte take everything in.

Sugar snap peas growing in the Japanese Friendship Garden!

Charlotte and Daddy next to the lily pond outside of the Botanical Building.

Mommy and Charlotte next to the big fountain in Balboa Park.

I adore San Diego and it's days that this that make me appreciate being back home after all these years. Hopefully Charlotte will appreciate it one day as well.