Last Days of Summer.

I know we're technically in fall but its been summer-like around here. We had a few 100 degree days and we decided to take 1 last dip in the pool. We forgot to heat the pool the night before and Rob had a good idea to just heat the hot tub since it only takes 20 mins to heat up to a comfortable temperature.

But before swimming, there were sno-cones that needed to be munched on. I can also now cross #22 on my 30 while 30 list (#22 - Use sno-cone machine).

After swimming, we went to my sister's house for a Fall Cookie Decorating Party!

Charlie was too young to participate, but he had funny playing inside.

My sister pre-made the sugar cookies. She made leaves and pumpkins. It all started out innocent enough...

"Hmmm..I wonder wonder what this tastes like..."

Our masterpieces...

Thanks Ashley for inviting us - we look forward to your next decorating party!

Charlie is 3/4 old! (9 months)

Charlie turned 9 months today. "They" say your kids grow up so fast and its so true. I still feel like he is a baby but he is turning more into a toddler now.

This last month was a big one because Charlie started to stand on his own and took his first steps. He continues to practice walking every day.

He also finally got his first two teeth this month - the bottom middle ones. You can only see them if he gives a big yawn.

New foods Charlie tried this month are pears, peas and blueberries. Blueberries make his #2's interesting.

This month he touched sand for the first time and also put his toes in the ocean for the first time.

We signed Charlie up for classes at the Little Gym and he continues to really enjoy them. He gets a kick out of the other kids and loves the little gymnastic fips we do in class. He also tries to grab at the bubbles when the teachers blow them towards him.

He's starting to outgrow his 9 month clothes. 12 month clothes fit him more comfortably.

He had some rough nights in the beginning and middle of the month due to teething but it seems he is back to his normal 10 hour nights of sleep. I wish he slept 11-12 hours but as long as he gets 10, I'm content. His naps are still rough. Every once in a while he'll bust out a great nap but for the most part we only get 2 30-min naps for him. It seems right at 30 mins, he wakes up. He must be hitting some part of his sleep cycle that wakes him up and he can't go back to sleep. When we put him down to sleep at night, this doesn't happen. We have Charlie's 9 month checkup in a couple weeks and I'm going to ask the pediatrician about this. Sometimes I can rock him back to sleep after the 30 mins and then we'll get an additional 30-60 mins out of him. He's still generally a really happy boy but I know he needs more sleep.

Happy 9 month birthday, little monkey! We love you very much!

That's Random.

I always feel a sense of accomplishment when I have used all of the staples in my stapler and need to refill it.

Thanks For Voting.

Thank you for helping us solve an argument voting in my poll.

We have a few broken kitchen table chairs that broke because (according to Rob) people don't stand up and then push their chair out. They are instead just pushing the chair out and the cheap chair legs can handle it so they snap. His solution is to buy chairs that have wheels on them.

I know thats practical and know people who have them in their kitchens but I don't know, I'm just not feeling it. I told him if he can find them at Pottery Barn or Crate and Barrel then we can get them. :) Don't get me wrong, I'm not a furniture snob and will only buy at these stores, I'm just saying if they don't sell them then it might suggest they aren't the hippest chairs around. And believe me, I'm pretty hip! ;)

My friend's husband also told us he thought it was an unsafe option with having kids and he is a cop so he should know all about safety, right? So in the name of safety, I think it would be very irresponsible to get chairs with wheels on them.

That's Random.

Sometimes when I'm in traffic, and we are at a dead spot, I look around at the other cars out of boredom. At times I will notice someone starting at me in their mirror. Like this:

Do they think I can't see them? Its like those big trucks that say if you can't see my mirror, I can't see you. So if you can see me in your mirror, buddy, I can see you staring at me!

I don't know why they are staring - boredom too? It certainly isn't to admire my disheveled appearance. But it makes me feel weird. Then I get nervous because its uncomfortable so I look away and bite my lip trying not to smile. I sometimes laugh and smile when I'm nervous or uncomfortable.

The worst is when there is a car next to me with a bunch of people (men/boys) in there and the biting isn't working and I'm smiling. The person in the car looking at me will typically look away for a second then everyone in the car is turning around to look because they think I am enjoying this.

I used to carpool with 2 ex-coworkers and the driver was determined to kill me by way of embarassment. One time were in the fast lane and he started slowing down so we were driving at the same speed as the car to the right of us. I was in the passanger seat in the front and looked over at the guy in the car next to us then looked straight ahead. My driver wouldn't go faster so we kept at the same speed as the car next to us. I couldn't take it anymore and just started laughing and trying not to look at this person who probably thought I liked him. Its stuff like this that really embarasses me.

Something You Don't Want The Driver in Your Car To Say.

The three of us went to sushi tonight. Next door is a gelato place so we had to get gelato.

As I was driving out of the parking lot, I had one hand holding gelato, my tongue licking the sides as it melted down, and the other hand on the steering wheel trying to make a full right turn by turning the wheel, letting go, putting the hand back on the wheel, crank to the right, and so on.

Rob said "oh boy, we're going to die."

I reassured him by saying, "Don't worry, I've been in many accidents and I've survived all of them!"

Happy Friday!

Like Buttah.

Growing up, my family kept butter in the cupboard. I'm not a huge butter person, but I loved when I used the butter, it wouldn't rip my waffle/pancake/roll to shreds when spreading the butter. It went on the food flawlessly.

In the summer, our butter sweated. Sweat beads would form on the butter. This is normal. Don't be concerned.

Rob and I were keeping our butter in the fridge because it was the Wagner way. I decided I wanted my butter the Hammond way so I bought another butter dish and now have my own special butter dish stored Hammond style.

My brother in law commented on it when he saw it - something along the lines of "you Hammond girls!"

So I'm wondering - is it really that abnormal to keep butter in the cupboard? Anyone else keep their butter that way?

He Walks.

The Youngest 79 Year Old I Know.

My father-in-law, Lou, had his 79th birthday on September 11. He is not your typical 79 year old grandpa. You will not find him in a chair staring out the window all day long and heading to Denny's for his 4:00 pm early bird dinner.

This grandpa can be found scouring the internet and books all day, reading his dozen daily newspapers and working out at the gym. This man is more active than I am (I realize thats not saying much).

A week or so ago we met up with my in-laws to celebrate his birthday at Il Fornaio, a Wagner favorite.

Charlie was a little moody on the way to the restaurant and wanted to be held the entire time. He was a pretty good boy considering he was tired and didn't love the volume level of the restaurant.

Birthday boy with brother in law, Michael.

I have a ton of pictures like this where Rob's mom is already smiling at the camera, and his dad is whispering in her ear to "look at the camera, Corinne".

The people responsible for Rob's existance.

Rob and his mini-me.

This picture cracks me up.

Happy Birthday!

Speed Bump.

Poll.

I added a poll on the right side of my blog. Please take the time to take my poll. I'll explain in a week.

Thanks!

Water Drama.

The morning after we got back from our vacation, I was in Charlie's bathroom getting my rings (I had taken them off the night before when I gave him a bath) and heard a drip, drip, drip.

The sound of water dripping drives me a little insane and I was determined to find out where it was coming from. I soon figured out it was coming from underneath the sink. I looked under the sink and saw a big puddle towards the back of the cabinet, went to Rob and said, "we have a problem." Then I said "ok, gotta go to work!"

Rob called our homeowners insurance and they came out to look at the damage. The leak upstairs went down to our guest bedroom and guest bathroom on the first level. I came home to this:

Markings all over our walls with blue tape indicating where there was water.

A week or so later, they came out to demo our downstairs guest bathroom and bedroom.

We had to take all of my crap out of the bedroom closet, so for the past month and a half, our living room has looked like this:

The restoration starts next week - thank goodness!

Labor Day Weekend.

We spent Labor Day weekend at the beach with the Beiers and Remmicks.

The weekend was filled with a little golf, some walking and playing on the beach, a ton of bad food eating, a major victory for the women's Pictionary team and a lot of laughs.

The winners of the Pictionary game (we have mad skills):

We also should have had a technology intervention but that didn't happen. There were iphones, blackberrys, laptops, ipads and portable dvd players that came along for the weekend. Here is Melissa and Dorothy in a "Words" tournament.

I think the Remmick boys had fun.

Charlie touched the sand and ocean for the first time that weekend. The water was coooooold.

Charlie was having fun playing in the sand so I decided to get up and take a picture of him from a distance. Instead, I got this:


On our last night, we headed to Margaritaville.

Thanks everyone for such a fun weekend!