We started writing weekly letters to Adam's grandmother, Mamaw, about two months ago, about the stuff that we (especially Charlotte) have been up to since it is hard for her to talk on the phone and we rarely get to see her. But we recently realized that Mamaw probably knows a lot of stuff that Charlotte's other grandmothers don't know because she is getting these letters every week. I figure that we may as well start posting portions of them here for anyone interested since we are already writing them. Enjoy!
----
This has been a fun week for us. On Monday was Adam’s birthday. His office had cake for him to celebrate and that evening Ariel had a special dinner for him at home—pot roast, mashed potatoes and gravy, and peas with a peach pie (with a candle in it) and ice cream for dessert. Some friends of ours who went to law school in Durham with us but now live here in Houston--the Stewarts--came over with their little boy who is about ten months older than Charlotte and we had a lot of fun talking and watching the kids play. It is hard to believe that Adam is 28. Time just keeps on marching by.
On Wednesday morning, Charlotte’s friend Cooper turned one and we went to his birthday party at the park near our house. Cooper’s mom had filled his little plastic swimming pool with plastic balls and Charlotte thought that was almost as fun as having water in it. Ariel could hardly get her out of it during the whole hour they were at the party. Charlotte enjoyed trying pizza for the first time and eating bright yellow frosting off of her cupcake before smearing it all over Ariel’s shorts. (Ariel, of course, didn’t think that was quite as much fun.) She was especially enchanted by the small party whistle that she got in her treat bag at the end and although she can’t blow it she loves to watch Ariel do it.
On Friday, Ariel and Charlotte went out to lunch with Christina and her mom Anna and then went to look for Halloween costumes. Christina is two months older than Charlotte and also has a cute round face and a mop of awkward blond hair similar to Charlotte’s but she is a little more laid back than Charlotte. At Toys R Us, the moms let the girls out of their seats in the carts to try out the tricycles and the motorized miniature cars. Charlotte’s feet can’t quite reach the pedals of the tricycles yet, but she was really excited about getting on it anyway. She tried out the Barbie car all by herself before Ariel put her next to Christina in the toy Jeep’s passenger seat. But Charlotte (not surprisingly) wanted to drive the car, so she crawled over on Christina’s lap to get to the steering wheel and then they both started screaming and crying because they got wedged into the seat together.
Charlotte is getting more and more words each week, even though she often refuses to say older words that she has known for a long time like “Mama.” This week, she started bringing us her nursery rhyme book and saying “Rosies” when she wants us to read or play “Ring Around the Rosies.” It is her favorite new game. She has been saying “cheese” for a while now but as soon as I ask her if she wants some cheese now she goes running for her high chair because she knows it is time to eat. (Charlotte's other words, FYI, are "uh-oh," "Jesus," "Dada," "doggy," "ducky," "woof," "moo," "red," "shoes," and "pretty".) She has two shows she likes on TV now besides Baby Einstein: The Backyardigans and Dora the Explorer. She doesn’t ever say “Dora” but when she sees her she says “Do do do do do” because that is how the show’s theme song starts. Ariel buys little cups of yogurt for Charlotte that have Dora the Explorer printed on them and whenever Ariel gives her yogurt now she says “Do do do do do” even when she gives it to her from a container without Dora on it.
This coming Tuesday, Ariel and Charlotte will be going to Utah for a visit with Ariel’s family. Charlotte’s Grammy and Grandpa and her aunts and uncles there are excited to have her there for a week and Ariel is excited to show off how cute and fun Charlotte is. Ariel is also excited to have some true fall weather for a little while since it is still well into the 90s everyday here in Houston and probably will be until November.
