New study shows... kids need more TV!!!

..... well it was probably a marketing study and nothing related to childhood development....

Behold..... the TV Kart!

I was leaving the grocery store a few weeks ago and saw three of these puppies lined up near the exit, parked at some sort of docking station. Such a complex piece of electronics need not be left outside in the cart corral. From a distance it looks like your run-of-the-mill car-themed grocery cart. But this one's been pimped.... TV screen inside for the kiddo and up top for the parent. Well, little Charley got to take 'er for a test drive the other morning. (Forgive the bad cell-phone pics)

Seriously, if you see one of these at your local grocery store, give it a try. It's hilarious. Probably not the reaction the TV Kart makers were after but I laughed the whole time (see the parent's screen below....).

Climbing in and shutting the door....

View for the parent (you can see our little test driver through the parental supervision portal). As you can see, we were test driving a dual-screen model.

There were a few buttons that took you through picking out a show and getting it started. We chose the Mickey Mouse Playhouse, I think it was.

But the best part is, while your kid is in the cab watching a cartoon, you're getting fed all kinds of great parenting advice, such as what foods to pick out for your child, or how to bond with your child. For instance, one way that I learned how to bond with my child is to leave loving post-it notes around the house for them, such as......

I was reminded by this very responsible and safe looking lady to make sure I signed it, "Love Mom."

She did NOT want to get out.....

Only way I could get her out of the TV Kart was to bribe her with a pony ride. And by the way, props to the King Soopers on Quebec St for having a kiddie ride that only costs a penny. I thought the one cent marking on the coin box was for nostalgia... ya know, reminisce about the good ol' days when a kiddie ride only cost a penny. Nope, a lone penny fires this pony right up. On top of that, they put a bowl of pennies next to the ride for you to use so you don't even have to front the $0.01 for a pony ride.

Charlotte and I both got a kick out of the TV Kart but I suspect we won't be using it that much. It's a lot more fun to watch Charlotte toddle around the store and come very close to knocking things off shelves and causing a "cleanup on aisle 1."

I can see my house from here!!!!

So it's been just a *little while* since this blog has been updated. We've been teaching Charlotte to hold up two fingers when asked how old she is, and I (this is Aaron.....) was reminded that the last blog post dealt with her first birthday.....

Last weekend we took a short trip into the mountains. We drove to the top of Mt. Evans. To get there is not really a big deal, you only have to take the highest paved road in North America.... Yep, that's right, the HIGHEST.... the parking lot at the top is a bit over 14,000 feet or thereabouts. And this was a very treacherous drive to the top, I might add. Many parts of the road have NO shoulder, and it's a sheer dropoff at the edge of the concrete. And you're dodging bicyclists the whole way, who for some crazy reason want to ride their bikes up a treacherous mountain road with no shoulder and sheer dropoffs..... while dodging terrified drivers making their way up the mountain.

There were a lot of beautiful spots along the drive to the top....

View from the top......

We were WAY above the treeline. It was interesting to see how the forest just STOPS all of a sudden when you're driving up the mountain.

Charlotte making friends with some mountain goats.... who appear to have received a bad haircut recently.....

I would HIGHLY recommend the drive if you're ever in the Denver area. Get out and breathe some fresh mountain air......

Charlotte's Birthday

Charlottes birthday was on November 4, and we were in Grandpa and Grandma Ribbens' neck of the woods for this special day. It was not a very planned party, but we got the essentials: pizza, balloons, cake, a party dress, and plenty of people who love her to pieces!

here's daddy and Charlotte opening a present

here she's wearing a beautiful hat from a couple of her great aunties, and tasting a new bracelet

mamas makin silly noiseshere we are with Grandpa and Grandma Ribbens

eating pizza (check out the gap between her teeth....hehe)

when it came to her "smash cake", she didnt want to get dirty, all she wanted to do was pick off the big dot sprinkles and eat them one by one....

such a girly girl, I think I was hoping for a mess, but she wasnt really even into the cake part.

here she is with her one guest that was in her age group, Hudson. He gave her the cutest little purse and accessories that she loves! these two were so fun to watch together!

and uncle Donavan who she adores!

and great grandma Rath

She had a great time, she LOVED being the center of attention!

she's a busy little thing

check out her squishy arms...they're like marshmallows

we've been playing alot around here......tea party anyone?

....so we moved

We are not just on a Vacation, although it seems like we are.

Sooooo much has changed I'm not sure where to start! My last post was about how Grandpa and Grandma Ribbens were coming for a visit (and that same weekend we had some CRAZY decisions to make) Aaron had applied to all kinds of companies closer to the midwest when I was preggers with Charlotte, and we really didn't get much feedback at that time, so we decided that this was probably God's way of telling us to settle in SoCal. and buy a house. and embrace our church family because our "real" families were so far away. so we "settled down" i felt like God had given me a peace with not being physically close to the family I longed to be near............

then in July Aaron heard from a company(near Denver) that must have saved his resume. They wanted him to come for an interview. yikes.... so he went, we figured what the the heck, might as well do it, what have we got to lose?...................and in the end of September,they ended up giving us an offer we couldn't refuse. yes, we just bought a house in April, SOOOOOO we found some renters.

and then we said alot of quick "see you later"s because Charlotte and I has to fly to Kansas City to meet the newest addition to the fam! who packed up the house you ask? why, Aaron did. I packed Charlotte and I a suitcase to last us three weeks and left everything else to dear hubby......... talk about giving up controll! I kept telling myself that really in the big scheme of things it really shouldnt be that big of a deal who packs up my stuff, it's all gonna get to where we need it eventually.....

we arrived in KC just hours after Roman Joe was born. and fell in love immediately. we then spent the next 1 1/2 wks with the new little guy and his momma and daddy.

and then we were off to NE to grammys house for a visit untill Daddy FINALLY got to NE. we missed him so.

and now we're here. in CO. we already had some snow. it's kinda strange. so I vow to do some blogs about the deets asap. All three of us had Birthdays (charley mae turned 1 on Nov. 4.... yes we were at grandmas house to celebrate) and we have so much more to show and tell!

were getting ready

for Grandpa and Grammy Ribbens to come!
they fly in this afternoon and
we can't wait.....
we're squeeky clean

and brushed

and ready for some Nebraska loving

from grammy and grandpa

yiiiiipppppppeeeeey!

Dear Charlotte,

you are 10 months old today. WOW.

I am crazy about you! You are my little cuddly snugglemuffin. You have an extreme flair for drama. You love baths, really love water in any form. You love going to the grocery store, where you never fail to draw attention to yourself. People cant resist your geeky little smile, it's like you are just waiting for strangers to look at you so that you can win them over. it pretty much always works. Its either that or you give these strangers your furrowed brows, which is something you inherited from me, but makes me wonder if you will be a thinker like your daddy.
you've been pinching me alot lately, I think it's a comforting thing to you. You jibber jabber like crazy, it makes me so excited to hear you, I cant wait till you say lots of funny things. You still mainly say dadadada and nananana. I can already tell that you are incredibly silly and can usually get you to laugh pretty much anytime I want by hiding and suprising you, or doing a fake laugh. You often look to me for approval in new situations to make sure everything is okay. I am the center of your universe, and I love it, although Its pretty fun to see you get excited to see your daddy come home from work.
you are mommys little helper already. You are happy to be doing whatever I am doing. You like to "help" empty the dishwasher and "fold" laundry with me. you even will give the clothes a lil shake before you fold them just like you see me doing. You have very strong fine motor skills, but you are not really into the whole crawling gig. You prefer rolling to get to your destination.
You like eating cheerios. You love "brushing" your own teeth while mommy brushes hers.

you're hair is wispy. Just tonight your daddy and I were laughing at the way it moves in the breeze. Both your daddy and I love to rock you to sleep, and love that you are always a little snuggler in the morning. You alreay have a "thing" for elmo. You are our social butterfly... you do NOT like when I leave the room. You love to jump in your rainforest jumper. You love the outdoors. You like to pull/pinch your dad's ears. You roll your ankles. you love love love music and dancing.

You are my ray of sunshine.

Love, your mamamama (hopefully you'll get my name down sometime soon)