Return of the Jedi

Kris has been watching Star Wars with Charis for the first time. They enjoyed a good time together watching Return of the Jedi and cuddling.

Fingernail paint

Today, Charis decided she did not want to take a bath. She usually likes taking a bath, but today she did not want to. So I bribed her with fingernail paint. Because she loves getting her nails painted. It was clear paint with blue and silver sparkles.Charis likes to get wrapped in a towel and lay on me or the couch after her bath - she calls it being a baby. And she loved the extra treat of getting her nails painted while "being a baby".

Making Rolls with Mommy

Kris and I have been letting Charis help in the kitchen lately. She loves making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and helping in some way with almost all of her food.
I was really in the mood for something sweet. I don't usually let her eat stuff like this but it was a nice Charis-Mommy afternoon.She was so proud of herself and so was I. She loves helping and really enjoyed eating it.

Face paint from school

On Fridays at school in the afternoon, they have puppet shows and face painting. Charis is not usually there late enough to participate but I had to pick her up late, so she got her face painted.
She was really excited about it and did not want me to wash it off.

Water Table Fun!

The Bischoffs got Charis a water table for Charis for her birthday or Christmas. Charis and Evie played with Evie's water table a lot when we were in MN and she loved it. It took Kris and I awhile to set it up, but now that we have it built she wants to play with it all the time.
We set it up right outside of our front door and everyday after school she asks if she can play with it and get fresh water. She does not like it when there are a lot of leaves in it. She loves sailing the boats but I think her favorite part is the water wheel.

Nature Center & Dino pit

On MLK day, Charis was off from school and both Kris and I did not have work, so we planned a little family time. We went to the Nature Center and Dino pit, it was our first visit there and we all loved it. First we played around inside at the cave exhibit.Then we went outside to explore the Dino pit. Charis liked it. She dug a little, cleaned the bones a little and walked around a lot. She had a hard time focusing on any one thing. But she still enjoyed it.
We walked around the pond and stopped for a fruit snack.
We visited all the animals. A wolf, skunk, hawk, rabbit, salamander, snakes, turtles and more.
Then we headed back inside and looked at their other bones and misc. exhibit.
But before we left, Charis had to go back to her favorite spot... the cave.

Samantha's B-day Dinner

While my actual birthday was not fun, when Charis and I got home, Kris and a friend Sommer and several other friends had organized a surprise birthday dinner.

(Just as a side note: my last two birthdays, Charis has been sick. In 2008, she threw up on me several times on my birthday. And this year 2009, she was in the hospital for throwing up so much that she was dehydrated.)
Even though it turned out to not be a surprise, I loved it! Charis stayed at home with Aunt Katy but insisted on a picture with us. And then would not smile! I had a lot of fun and we had over 15 people celebrating my birthday at Trudy's - one of my favorite restaurants. Thank you!

Kansas Trip

After Christmas, Charis and I went to see my family in Kansas. Some of my family were sick so we did not get to see my mom for the first few days. But we had a great time playing with Cecilia, Kristen, Audrey and Phil. We also got to visit with Debbie, Marty and Bob for a couple nights. Then on the third day Charis woke up sick and started throwing up (on me). So we went to stay at my mom's house.

After 36 hours of throwing up, I took Charis to the doctor and they told me to go immediately to the children's emergency room. Charis was almost unresponsive by the time we got there because she was so dehydrated and tired. After 8 or so hours, she was admitting to the hospital where we spent the remainder of our trip. The next day (my birthday) she was doing a little better. We spent the day in the hospital, reading books, getting IVs, watching movies and having a few visitors.And thankfully, the doctors released her in time, so that we could fly home.