Strolling, Strolling....Strolling Makes Me Quiver: The Jr. High and High School Years

(Okay. Lame title, but I had to pay a little tribute to Tina Turner ~ she was one of my favorites of the 80's and this blog post is ALL about the 80's. Which is by far one the best decades EV-AH!!)

Unfortunately, I accidentally forgot to give Monk my 7th grade picture to scan. :( Bummer. I essentially looked the same as 6th grade except for the fact that I had a really cool navy blue corduroy blazer on. I thought I was all that and a little bit more in that blazer. Now I just realize that the whole female blazer era was just really bad taste.

I was loving Jr. High! There was more independence and I didn't have to deal with all the idiots from elementary school. PLUS I was reunited with a lot of my friends from my first elementary school. I thought I was exceptionally cool because I now had a locker and got to change classes every period. Life was good.

I changed a lot from 7th grade to 8th grade. In 8th grade though, I was allowed to wear a little blush AND lip gloss. Oh yes, this was the high point of my little 13 year old life!

And please notice my clothes are not disheveled even one eency weency bit!



9th grade was another interesting year for pictures. It was the year of the Bi-Level haircut. Which I can tell you right now is just a fancy name for a mullet. And yes, I had one. I will have to muster up a picture from somewhere to show to y'all because you simply MUST see it.

9th grade was also the year that I started taking my drama theatre seriously. I LOVED to act and I was in all the plays that year. Interestingly enough, there weren't enough guys for one particular play so I played the part of a bald man. Let me tell you, it was not fun getting all my hair under that rubber cap.

I had also attended 4 weeks worth of music camp the previous summer and was now first chair trumpet in the band. I was excited that I was going to get to be in marching band in high school and couldn't wait for band camp. Ha! Little did I know!

As a side note: the last day of school in 9th grade I went to the theater to see Ghostbusters!!! Who Ya Gonna Call?!?!?!

10th grade brought SO many new things to my life! Marching band, more drama more theatre, boys, chocolate malts at lunch and so much more! While the general rule in our house was that I couldn't date until I was 16, my mom conceded and let me go on my first date when I was 15 1/2 years old. A few months later I had my first kiss. It also brought my first break up, but I was okay with that because I liked my friends better any way!

I was now allowed to wear full make up and my mullet bi-level was finally growing out!



11th grade was a rough year for me, so to speak. My first boyfriend and I had rekindled our relationship and were dating again and kids, I was head over heals for him. There was SO MUCH DRAMA in my life, too! On stage and real life!

I was made first chair trumpet in 11th grade and the pressure to perform was almost unbearable. A lot of the senior players resented me and I soon began to resent band. I now had my driver's license and me and my friend Jules went EVERYWHERE together ~ the new found freedom was great! I would drive and drive listening to .... wait for it ... cassette tapes!! ha! Phil Collins, Lionel Richie, Air Supply, Huey Lewis and the News, The Pointer Sisters and Cyndi Lauper just to name a few! I was struggling through Chemistry and actually failed the second semester of Geometry (I had never failed anything! Ever!). I hated Geometry.

It was also the year that the drama club (the actual club and not my specific group of friends!) decided to do a musical. I was in band and sang in church, but boy was I surprised to land a lead role in Guys and Dolls! And thus was born my unusual love for Broadway show tunes! I played Miss Adelaide and had to produce a thick New York accent! It was one of the best memories of my life!

My boyfriend at the time (remember, the one I was head over heals for?) asked me to his prom (he was a senior)! I was SO excited! I went and bought a dress and then guess what? He broke up with me! Heart broken, I would drive for hours listening to Lionel Richie croon out Stuck On You. He finally decided that since he had already asked me and I had already bought a dress that he still wanted to take me. Good thing too, cause Lionel was wearing out! (FYI: still one of my favorite songs of all time!)

Let me tell you my friends, when that boy saw me on Prom Night ..... he swooned. I saw it! And here we were. Prom 1986. I still have this dress by the way. Cool, huh? This was one of the best nights of high school! I had a ball!



This picture was my summer before my senior year. Isn't my room all dainty? So not me. And clean, too! It was rarely like that so I'm glad I have photographic evidence! Ironically, I thought I was fat here. I wish I was that fat again.



My senior year was bittersweet for me. I had a lot of senior friends from the year before and missed them terribly, but I was SO happy about being a senior that I wasn't sure how to feel at all. I had a new boyfriend, Andy. I'd met him at church camp over the summer and we fell madly in love. He was 19 and moved from Ohio to Michigan just to be with me. Our song was Glory of Love by Peter Cetera from Karate Kid II (sticking finger down throat and gagging profusely - not at the song, just the whole our song thing).

I absolutely HATED band and the band director by this time and it was starting to show. I had been secretly tapped to be Drum Major for that marching season and turned it down at the last minute. My mother was furious with me, but I just wanted to be with my unit and not have anymore pressure. Over the year it became worse and I almost quit band and joined the choir, but my mother had put her foot down. After I graduated I barely picked up my instrument again. I sold it a few years ago.

The drama club did another musical ~ this time it was Gypsy. Now do y'all know anything about Gypsy? Yea well, neither did I until I landed the lead role and THEN found out Gypsy Rose Lee was a famous BURLESQUE DANCER!!! Try telling that one to your youth pastor when he wants to come and watch the show! Can you imagine my mother telling people I was the lead role in the school musical and when they ask what part, she replies, "Oh, she's the stripper!". Eegads, people. I, however, did not strip one teency bit. Gypsy was considered the Lady of Burlesque. Ahem.

Prom that year was not fun in the least. Andy was being dumb, my hair was bad and I missed my friends from the previous year. We did, however, drive to prom in a Fiero!!! Oh my, we thought we were cool.

See? He just looked like he was acting dumb, didn't he?



By the way, Scarlett O'Hara called and she wants her dress back.

Here is one of my senior pictures. I thought these boots were all it, y'all! Fringe was so cool. These boots would be in style right now if I still had them!



And then the yearbook shot... and just so you know... I cried the day I graduated. I didn't want to be done.



Oh, to have that smooth skin and 80's hair once again... ::sigh::

Next up: The College Years and more!

And the Stroll Continues...the Elementary Years

As we continue our leisurely stroll through my childhood, we will experience the Elementary Years today. These were tumultuous years for me to say the least. Or at least 5th and 6th grade were. After 4th grade my elementary school closed. They divided all of the students amongst 3 other elementary schools in the area. NONE of my friends were at my new school.


I was also the fat kid. We all know what that means.


For the life of me I cannot figure out why I have freely chosen to post these pictures on the world wide web, for crying out loud! I have spent most of my life trying to avoid looking at them as they pain me so and yet, here I am.


It must be because I'm turning 40. It's senility. I know it.


After the rage of The Shag wore off, then came the new style... the Dorothy Hamill. My mother rushed right out and got me the coolest new style. What she neglected to think about was the fact that the Dorothy Hamill looked best on those with straight hair. Needless to say, the Dorothy Hamill was a total pain in the keaster for me.


I couldn't find 2nd grade's picture so we're skipping straight to 3rd. Notice the stylish barrettes? Either that photographer needed to tell me to sit up straight or I needed some extra support at the ripe old age of 8! Sheesh!






Now the next two pictures get a little foggy for me as I'm not sure exactly when my mother hacked ALL my hair off and which on of these were first. All I know is that after the deed was done, my brother called me Michael for a solid two weeks. This was also during the time of my mom's Olan Mills obsession.


I'm thinking this one was first. I'm also thinking the bow was just lovely, don't y'all? ::smirk::




And then... the hack job. The authentic looking wagon wheel made it all better though.



Y'all. I look like a dude. A lavender wearing dude.






And lastly, 6th grade. It was now the 80's. Mt. St. Helen's erupted, there was an assassination attempt on President Reagan and I was done with elementary school! I couldn't wait to begin Jr. High! I had already bought my first issue of 'TEEN magazine, was beginning to discover my talents and most importantly, I had regained control over important hair decisions!



Apparently it was never meant to be for my clothing to look neat and tidy in a grade school picture.



Tomorrow our little journey will take us through Jr. High and High School, some of the best times of my life! My weight, my hair and my personality all begin to change! And best of all ~ there are prom pictures involved!!

The Countdown ~ 40 Years of Me: A Walk Down Memory Lane

Well, it is upon me, y'all. There is no denying it anymore. On Saturday July 4, 2009 I will turn 40 years old.

4-0. For-tee. Forty. 40!!!

This milestone has bothered me for quite some time now. I'm not exactly sure why other than the fact that I don't feel 40. I still feel like I'm in my late 20's to early 30's and I most certainly act like I'm about 12 most of the time. 13 on a good day. Just not 40. When I was a kid 40 sounded SO old. Now I'm screaming, "I'm young! I'm young!". Go figure.

Maybe it's the fact that I'm coming to grips with my own mortality. If the Lord chooses to give me a long life then odds are I've lived half my life. If He's chosen not to give me a long life then I've live over half my life, maybe less. Fairly morbid thinker I am, wouldn't you say? I realize that I'm dwelling entirely too much on this whole number thing and it would suit me best to just Let. It. Go. And I have for the most part.

And since I've decided to enjoy this new decade in my life and just be happy, I've also decided to share a few pictures of how I came to be the ripe old age of 40. Or mostly just to laugh at what a dork I used to look like. Either way it will be fun.

So, this whole week will be spent sharing photos and memories of me from babyhood in 1969 (wow, that sounds like a long time ago!), through the 80's where the big hair and the music ruled, all the to where I am now. A Jesus loving, blogging, photographer wannabe, wife and mother of 6.

It's all good, my friends. It's all good.

Humble Beginnings

Michelle Renee, the 5th child born to Troy and Betsy on July 4, 1969. My mother let my sisters and brother name me. My name could have been Ethel Nadine, ya'll. I do not believe I was an attractive baby.



I was a happy baby and obviously had a desire to eat everything in sight at an early age (this habit hasn't changed much). Monk says he sees little bits of Charlotte in this picture.



This next one is the beginnings of my sausage curls. I was cute and chubby at this age. Those two things do not go hand in hand once you're 40 though. Just sayin'. This is the picture where I see lots of Hope. With the exception of the fact that I did not throw fits and wreak emotional havoc on the rest of the family. She got that exclusively from Monk.



I couldn't find the picture of me in the red dress complete with knee high black patent leather boots and the sausage curls streaming down my back. Instead, y'all will have to settle for the Easter I was 5. Sausage curls, but no cool boots. Obviously I'd eaten a few too many chocolate bunnies by this time in my life. If I had one word to sum me up as a child it would be chub. I had lots of chub. What about that retro couch in the background though, eh? That's authentic 70's right there people! This was also the year that I nearly bit my tongue completely off when I slipped and fell while running at church. My tongue had to be stitched back together and they thought I could possibly have a speech impediment as I got older. ::pause:: BAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!



I had the sausage curls through kindergarten and then The Shag haircut became all the rage. My mother opted to cut my curls so I could be cool. Or not. This picture is of me in first grade with my cool shag. I love the picture with the exception of that jacked up turtle neck. Would it have been asking too much of the photographer to have fixed it or to have simply said, "hey kid, pull down your turtleneck!". I mean, REALLY!



By the next year ( 1976) my mom had cut all my hair completely off. I would not regain control of it again until 1982. My walk down memory lane could quite possibly turn into a tribute to my hair I fear. That's okay though. A good Hair Anthology never hurt anybody, right?

Tomorrow? We finish up the elementary years, showing you my mother's fetish with Olan Mills and we just might make it through junior high. Depending on whether I can talk Monk into scanning more pictures for me or not!

I hope you all enjoyed the beginning of 40 Years of Me.... definitely more to come!

When the Going Gets Hot...

....the hot go to the water park!

I don't have much photographic proof because frankly, I was too busy chasing an almost 2 year old around with an almost 7 month old on my hip! Not much time (or enough hands) for picture taking!

It's only 267 degrees here right now, so I figured going to the local (read: cheap) water park was a great way to beat the heat! That and I didn't feel like cleaning out my fridge.

(Procrastination: Why do today what you I can put off until tomorrow.)

It was a whole lotta fun until the two ultra tan bodybuilder moms showed up. They pretty much ruined it for the rest of us white- as- parchment, Shamu-ish types. But I'm not gonna complain. I may have been a little (or a LOT!) self conscious in all of my postpartum baby flabbage, but it was worth seeing the smiles on the girl's faces! And I would be remiss if I didn't mention the fact that the swimsuit I wore was actually...um...my maternity swimsuit. From last summer.

I really should be ashamed of that, but for some reason I'm just ... well ... not.

Two really happy girls...



...and this one I couldn't keep still if my life depended on it...



We were all having a really great time until some kid pooped in the intermediate pool (not the kiddie area and it goes until about 3 feet deep). Then all bedlam broke loose. The pool had to be evacuated which Hope did not understand one eency weency bit and demonstrated her confusion with ... well... screaming. Then we watched as one of the lifeguards grabbed a long pole with a net and retrieved the offending piece of ...ummm...waste. I thought to myself at that moment:

1. What a crappy job (then I laughed at my pun!)
and
2. What do they do with "it" once they retrieve it?

I then proceeded to watch them dump a ton of chemicals into the pool and at that point I decided to call it a day. I know there are chemicals in the pool to begin with, but I just didn't feel right about taking my babies into a freshly chemical-ed pool, ya know?

The two littles slept on the way home and the two older ones ate everything they could get their hands on the whole way home. Why is it that swimming makes you so doggone hungry?

Y'all want to know just how tired poor Hope was? Dinner says it all...



We decided that it was so much fun and such a great day that you know what we decided to do?

Yep! We're going back for Round 2 today!!

Y'all have a great weekend! We have a busy one planned and Monk and I will celebrate 11 years of marriage tomorrow!!! Woo-hoo!! Love that man!

Wordless Wednesday

Some Happier Highlights of Vacation

I know I sounded all Negative Nellie in today's post about our vacation. Make no bones about it ~ it was rough. BUT. There were good times to be had too! And I wanted to share those as well!

Here are some of the happier times of our trip.

My sister T. (the nurse and Master Gardener) had some kicked up flowers on her deck! I just fell in love with them. She had not one, but TWO of these bad boys! Does it not make you want to run to the nearest nursery and spend $200?!?!



Ah, Charlie. She always makes me smile. :)



This is Christopher. He's my great nephew I saw for the first time in Michigan. He's a hambone and a cutie! He'll be 1 next month right after Hope turns 2. They weigh the same. This boy has girth. And drool.



Hope took filling the sand pail quite seriously.



Look! It's Peg Bundy's kid sister!



I bought this doo rag as a joke at a gas station on the way to Tennessee. Guess who really liked it and has taken up wearing the thing? It's black and has orange and red flames all over! I told him to look mean for me. He does it quite well, don't you think? Oooo, Monk. Scary.



I can't help myself. She's too cute.



She's HIS girl. That is for certain. Nice doo rag, huh?



A big metal slide. In the middle of a lake. Every kid's dream.



These two had a ball with each other.



And this poor baby just swung her self right to sleep she was so worn out. No kidding. She's sleeping in the swing.


Speaking of sleeping. That's what I need to be doing. I get to take newborn pictures in the morning!! Woo-hoo!!

And that, my friends, is about as abrubt of an end to a blog post as you can possibly get!

Good Night!

How to Sum Up a Vacation Like Ours...

...the trip from H - E - Double Hockey Sticks. That's how.

Seriously.

Monk would tell you otherwise, but he's always been a "glass half full" kind of guy anyways. And frankly, all that positive-ness gets on my nerves a little.

And he didn't lose near the sleep I did. But I'm not bitter.

Let me give you a brief summary of the events that transpired on our first ever 2 week vacation, shall I? And because I like to live on the edge a little, I'll do it in bullet form.

• We leave Saturday morning June 6th for Tennessee.
• Before we've been in the car 2 hours, Charlie has a diaper blowout of epic proportions. All over herself, me AND her brand new car seat that had been purchased the day before.
• 2 hours later Charlie has a repeat performance. Just tell me this...how much can one baby hold for goodness sake?!
• We arrive in Tennessee around 9pm and totally crash.
• Sunday was a great day ~ rested and spent time with my mom.
• Monday was a great day ~ met up with my friend Jill and her family. I haven't seen Jill in 20 years and it was wonderful to catch up! That is until Monk nearly killed us all with a Roman Candle
• 5am Tuesday morning Hope wakes me up throwing up.
• Hope feels bad all day Tuesday and throws up one more time that evening.
• Hope starts perking up, but still not herself Wednesday and then gets horrific diarrhea.
• Monk and I debate whether to just head home. My sister Teresa begs me not to and we decide to move forward with our trip to Michigan.
• Thursday morning June 11th all seems well and we start heading to Michigan.
• We're making great time and at the last stop (a restaurant) Liv says her tummy hurts. We are about 2 hours from my sisters.
• About 5 minutes from my sister's house Liv begins to cry and say she's going to throw up.
• I text message my sister letting her know my child is going to puke in her driveway.
• We pull in, I get Hope out of the car seat in the back and hand her to Monk.
• Hope throws up on Monk
• I pull Liv out of the back and she pukes in my sister's yard.
• We are quite the guests, are we not?
• Monk changes his shirt and 15 minutes later Hope pukes on him again.
• Liv then gets the horrific diarrhea aspect of the virus. The kind that really can't be controlled not matter if you're 2 or 6. More clean up. Ew.
• Liv feels bad on Friday and starts to perk up on Saturday a little
• Saturday night I meet with my bff's from high school that I haven't seen in 20 years. A definite highlight!
• Sunday morning I am awakened by Grace crying in the bathroom. Guess what she was doing? Yep. Throwing up.
• By 2 pm she is feeling a little better and we head to the lake by my sister's house. Another definite highlight. We spent most of the day there and it was beautiful. And fun!
• Grace and Liv's tummy's still hurt on and off on Monday and Grace gets the nasty, uncontrollable "D" word. I go and buy Children's Immodium AD for the trip home. Just. In. Case.
• Everyone was healthy on Tuesday and we all loaded up and went to this absolutely fabulous place called Greenfield Village. An AWESOME historical sight to visit! I was STOKED! I went there several times as a child and couldn't WAIT for the girls and Monk to see it.
• I walk through the gates, take about 8 pictures and my camera DIES! Totally. I didn't bring my camera bag so I have no extra battery. I was bummed and mad at myself beyond belief. BUT we had a great time!
• Wednesday morning we start heading home and have no health issues or bowel catastrophes whatsoever.
• Thursday we are continuing home when Madgirl calls to tell me there's hardly any water pressure at our house. Hmmm... We call the water department. Nothing wrong on their end.
• Madgirl calls back to say that the yard is flooded around our water meter.
• Call the water department back and they send someone over.
• Madgirl calls back a few hours later to tell us a note had been put on our door that we have a broken pipe close to the meter so THEY SHUT OUR WATER OFF!! Madgirl proceeds to use bottled water for the dogs and to wash her hands.
• We arrive home on Thursday, June 18th at 7:30 pm to absolutely no water. None. I go buy 4 gallons of water and Monk starts calling plumbers.
• Friday morning at 9am the plumber arrives and fixes the pipe for a mere $300.

And there you have it. Our trip in the nutshell. (How was that for brief?!?!) I cried a few times during the trip out of frustration and sleep deprivation. Coming home to no water nearly sent me over the edge.

Monk kept reminding me that God was in control and this was teaching us to rely on Him more and that He would be glorified in this situation.

There he was being all positive again and all I wanted to do was wallow. And maybe smack him a little. But I wallowed for a good, long time. And I got over it. You know why?

Because I realized that we are home. Safe and sound, in one piece. My children are happy and healthy and my water is on. God didn't forsake us. It was just another one of those opportunities to trust Him. Monk succeeded and I failed. As usual. You would think that I would get this by now. Obviously God keeps trying to show me through these little trials.

Apparently I'm a slow learner.

Anyway. I'm home. I'm not rested or tan (as if!) or telling terrific tales of great adventure (is vomit considered adventure?). Heck, I don't even have that many pictures! But you know what? I am glad to be here. Where I belong. Doing what I do.

And I am thankful.

To Take My Mind Off of the Vomiting

Well. Vacation 2009 has turned into Stomach Virus 2009. And to take my mind off all of the vomiting and diarrhea that has been going on since the wee hours of last Tuesday morning, I've decided to post some pictures of the better days of our vacation.

I bought this suitcase at the Goodwill in Tennessee and have all sorts of great plans for it, photographically speaking (and did you know old suitcases are all the rage in photography right now?) I plopped Charlie in it in front of the barn and she did not disappoint!



Oh, Charlie. You're such a doll. She makes my heart smile. :)

The lighting on this one wasn't the best, but you know what? Photography is subjective ~ and I happen to like this subject a lot!! She is so beautiful to me and growing up so fast. Monk and I nearly cried when we saw this picture. She just took our breath away. As do most of my children. ::happy sighs::



And my Liv is something else. She's her own person and even at 6 years old doesn't subscribe to what the world thinks is "in" or "cool". She likes what she likes and that's the end of it. Plus, she's beautiful to boot!! I found this skirt for her at the Goodwill and you would have thought it came from Ralph Lauren, himself. She loves it AND she rocked it!



Truth be told, by the time I took the other pictures up top, Hope was already throwing up and sick. My little spitfire has had a rough vacation. She was hit fast and hard by this virus and it has taken 5 days for her to get her fiery little personality back. But it's back. Trust me. This picture was taken right before The Plague hit. She was really sick of the camera being in her face and the look on her face let me know this was it. And it was.



So we start heading home on Wednesday morning and I'm just praying that there are no bodily incidents, if you know what I mean. Ha! Despite all of the sickness we have had a REALLY good time with our family and friends and extremely grateful for the time away. Just hoping that Vacation 2010 doesn't hold the same ...um... activites for us!

Hope y'all have an awesome day!

So Far....

...there's been a lot of this...







...and a whole lotta this....







...I love the fact that my mom has always grown these....







....this one requests to "whing" about 2 or 47 times a day...

...this one got to "whing" for the first time and giggled out loud...

...and we had to resort to this....







....we took them here...



....so they could see this...



...one of the very best things was getting to visit with my college roommate, Jill. I haven't seen her in 20 years...too long...




....and that's a brief glimpse of what we've done ....

... so far.

I'm Leeeaaavin' On A Jet Plane In Phil the Suburban

I'm here to announce that me, Monk and the Monkettes are leaving for vacation tomorrow!! Holla! ::Happy Dancing::

It is a MUCH anticipated and needed time of rest for our whole family. Trust me when I say the last year has been rather tumultuous. And it has been an entire year since we've been on a vacation as a family so we are VERY excited to be getting away for a bit.

When I say a bit, I mean TWO WHOLE WEEKS!!

(a side note to all would-be thieves, robbers and general menacing types: there WILL be people staying in my home. My house will NOT be vacant. There are two big dogs there also. One of them is murderous. Beware.)

I really am looking forward to a time of rest and relaxation. Well...if you call being in the car ( or Phil) for 12 straight hours with a 9 year old, 6 year old, not quite 2 year old and 6 month old, relaxing that is. I have an iPod and I know how to use it. 'Nuf said.

We also have one of them thar Fan-cee DVD players in the Suburban and the One-Eyed God will LIVE as we drive down the interstate. The children will be drugged entertained with videos and I will have in my iPod earphones. Can't get much better than that, my friends.

We're heading North for 12 hours on Saturday and then further North for 5 hours on Wednesday and then 5 hours FURTHER North on Thursday! And I will have to quit saying Y'all and start saying You Guys. And possibly, "eh". Eh?

Awwww, you say? She won't be blogging for two weeks. ::sniffle:: The heck I won't!! I plan on blogging the whole vacation!! Blogging is relaxing for me and I haven't been able to do it lately, so you better believe I'm gonna blog. Well, unless I'm having too much fun. Which is quite possible. But it is still The Plan to blog.

Oh! And look!

Because a blog post is SO much better with pictures .... I'm posting non-vacation related, cute pictures! Tell me you love me.

Hope nursing her dolly.



See! Told ya it was cute!

And a cute one of Charlie just .... well .... because.



Next time I post I'll be coming to ya from somewhere other than my living room sofa! Whoop! But I'll be more relaxed (hopefully), which means I'll be funnier (or not) and have scads of pictures (that, my friends, is a definite!)!! Please pray for our traveling safety!!

See y'all later!!

Happy Belated 6 Months

Charlie turned 6 months old yesterday. I took pictures, but in the crazy busy I like to call my life right now, I wasn't able to get my post up for her.

I can't believe she's 6 months old already. While I very much try not to hurry time along, my heart already aches for the time that has past. I know she's our last child and each passing day gets a little more bittersweet for this momma.

But today? Today is a celebration of her arrival at 6 months old! She is such an easy baby and we feel SO beyond blessed to have her in our lives!

We celebrated 6 months with some sweet potatoes!! She enjoyed them very much!



Did you see her onesie?



You can tell she is so proud of her mother for putting such fan-cee frocks on her. Or not.



Let me just say this as an aside. The older I get as a mother, the less I appreciate fancy and the more I appreciate functional. A onesie is a perfectly functional piece of clothing. Maybe a little tacky when it talks about my child's big butt, but functional nonetheless.

Happy 6 months sweet Charlie Anne!! You are such a bright spot in our lives and we love you SO much!