Charlotte Is G-Tube Free!

Today Charlotte's pediatrician removed her G-Tube. Adios!

July 21, 2012

We got home today from a great trip to the Itasca Biological Station in Itasca State Park. Each year the first-year students in the College of Biological Sciences at the UofM (where I work) spend a few days at the biological station studying biology, enjoying the park, and getting to know one another. I am lucky enough to get to go up for one session and bring along my family. Patrick and Charlotte spend much of the time on their own while I'm sitting in on modules (I learned all sorts of cool biology-related things) but we squeezed in time for some family fun!

Charlotte was very excited to put on a life jacket. She insisted upon wearing it and was frustrated she had to take it off to go to the bathroom. Prior to this photo Charlotte got to go fishing for the first time! She caught a little fish that Patrick threw back. A faculty member was fishing with his kids and they offered to let Charlotte give it a try - very nice!

The life jacket was for our canoe trip. Here's Patrick putting the canoe into Lake Itasca. Neither of us have canoed in a very, very long time so it was perhaps not the fastest or most efficient canoe trip. However, I define success as staying afloat and we did not tip over! Success!

Of course we had to visit the headwaters of the Mississippi, just a short distance away. Charlotte was not shy about putting her feet (and then her whole body) into the Mississippi.

Water is for splashing. Especially the water of the mighty Mississippi River (which doesn't seem so mighty at the headwaters).

Taking a break from splashing with Dad. Take note of the water bottle in Patrick's hands. It's the Dora water bottle that we bought Charlotte as incentive for going BM in the toilet. I was very excited to come back to our cabin late one morning to see Charlotte drinking out of her Dora water bottle and then Patrick was kind enough to show me the photo he'd taken of her BM in the toilet. What a Dad. We have not seen a repeat of BM in the toilet, but we're excited that she has done it once!

Walking across the Mississippi River!

Our last night at Itasca! Charlotte roasted a marshmallow with Patrick. She enjoyed more than one s'more while at Itasca. Notice the fabulous shirts! These are the traditional Nature of Life shirts that are to be worn with pride. It was very nice of the NOL staff to give shirts to Charlotte and Patrick this year.

As a result we were able to take this adorable family photo in our cabin. Charlotte was a trooper over the past few days, staying up until after 10 p.m. each night! Today we got home around noon and we all slept for at least 1.5 hours. It's good to be home and, despite being surrounded by a pile of laundry to fold, feeling refreshed!

July 16, 2012

Quick post. Charlotte met Dora and Boots at Nickelodean Universe (Mall of America) a couple weeks ago. We made a quick trip to the mall to pick up a few things for a baby shower when all of a sudden she spotted her favorite characters.


She had no fear and could hardly hold herself back from jumping to the front of the line. By the time it was her turn and Dora turned to wave her over Charlotte was already hugging Boots. In addition to seeing Dora and Boots Charlotte reminded us that she also got to see Backpack and The Map. 

July 15, 2012

Summer! We've been loving it. So much so, that the blog continues to be neglected. I was chastised this weekend by my brother-in-law's mother, so this post is for her. :) 

Three weeks ago Patrick traveled to the Badlands of South Dakota to pace a friend, Kurt, who was running a 100 mile race. Kurt and his family of 5 were gracious enough to have Patrick travel with them in their RV and I can only imagine how crowded that was for 4 days. He had a nice time and while he was away imagining crazy things like running the race himself in a few years, Charlotte and I spent the weekend at my parents' house.

Charlotte has grown so much since last year! Here is a link to a blog post with a photo playing in the same spot last year. Her head was about level with the telescope:
http://charlottekrussell.blogspot.com/2011/07/july-4-2011.html

Grandma and Grandpa Distad have gorgeous flower gardens and here is Charlotte with a bowl of flowers she picked with Grandma.

Grandma and Grandpa took us to Oxbow Zoo. Grandma introduced Charlotte to the fact that goats eat grass and, as the old adage goes - the grass is always greener on the other side. Despite the green grass available in the goat pen this goat was going nuts for Charlotte's grass. She happily complied and would still be picking grass for the goat if we hadn't pulled her away.

Break time! Here's a nice photo of Charlotte with Grandma and Grandpa.

Since this weekend we've been pretty low key. On June 30 Patrick and I enjoyed the Twins tickets he won at a race earlier this spring while Grandma and Grandpa Russell babysat Charlotte. We all had a great time, especially Charlotte. :)

We've spent quite a bit of time at the park. Here's Charlotte swinging away. We continue to love our neighborhood. This past week we had a neighborhood picnic and the neighborhood association provided live music, a bouncy castle, and a climbing wall. Unfortunately I didn't have our camera with us but brave Charlotte put on the straps to climb the wall but didn't quite make it to the wall. I think she would have given in a try if not for the little boy who started crying on the wall and needed someone to help him down. She got nervous after that - maybe next year!

We cooled off on the 4th of July with a bike ride to a nearby splash park. Charlotte is much more comfortable in the water and holds her own with the bigger kids this year.

I thought this was pretty cute. She kept climbing onto Patrick's back while he sat in the pool.

Last weekend Grandma and Grandpa Distad came to visit and we took in the Mill City Farmer's Market, a tour of the Guthrie, and lunch at Cap's.

We took a very similar photo of Charlotte in the Guthrie last year and her shoulders met the break between panels. It's so fun to watch her grow: http://charlottekrussell.blogspot.com/2011/08/august-29-2011.html

Today we had a baby shower for Pat's sister, Kelly. She is having a baby this September and I took a few photos at the shower. Above is a fruit basket carved by Grandma Russell. Thank you Pinterest for models we could draw ideas from!

And the super cute punch bowl.

And the super duper cute little girl I brought with me.

Charlotte enjoyed coloring with markers while we played games. Here she is with Grandma Russell. Charlotte has recently become interested in jewelry and paid Grandma Russell a few compliments this weekend. She likes to touch jewelry, and says things like "I love it" and "that's beautiful" - it's very sweet. 

Aunt Kelly let Charlotte help with a couple gifts and Charlotte loved the bows. She is looking forward to meeting her first cousin, Molly, this September.

And I still find Charlotte eating to be a beautiful, glorious image. A nice photo to wrap up a blog post.

Her eating is having a positive impact on all areas of life. On July 3 I took her to her second appointment at the dentist and she has perfect teeth! Last time we were at the dentist they said her teeth were not as worn as they would expect and this was because she wasn't using them. This time, the dentist said she never would have remembered if I hadn't reminded her by asking about how they looked now.

And, just this past week she tipped the scale at 25 lbs. We got home late tonight and I didn't get a chance to weigh her, but hopefully she continues to maintain this weight and grow steadily. Next week we see our pediatrician for her 3-year well-child visit and to have her growth checked. Hoping for good news!

Addendum:


I forgot to mention that we have eliminated diapers from our daytime routine! She still wears a diaper overnight. Charlotte's new school uses correct terminology for all body parts and bodily functions, so toilet, urine, and BM have become common vocabulary around our house. She has been doing great urinating in the toilet. She seems to be afraid of having a BM in the toilet, so we have the pleasure of cleaning a pair of underwear daily. Let's be honest, when its a big mess, we discard the underwear. It was pretty gross opening up plastic bags of dirty underwear from Charlotte's school, so we implemented a throw-a-way policy.


I purchased  Dora water bottle for Charlotte if she takes a BM in the toilet. So far it's not working, but there's always tomorrow...