So, it's been a while. Things here have been busy, busy, busy. We are making our plans for our trip to Cali in Aug. We have actually purchased our plane tickets!! Woo Hoo!! I will be flying in on Tues the 28th of July. And Mike will follow a few days later - Friday the 31st of July. We are planning to celebrate Charlie's first birthday on Sunday Aug 2!! (Save the Date cards to be arriving in the mail soon!). Mike is thrilled to make it to an Angel's game. And better yet, we are planning on going with good friends Andy and Becky Short, and Kim and Dustin Funk! We will be in town until Tuesday, Aug 11. We are so looking forward to the family reunion on the 8th!! Mike has not attentended the festivities since before entering the Army, and I have only been once in my 4 years as a "Modugno." It will be so much fun to introduce our new little "Modugno" to la Famiglia!!

Charlie is doing wonderfully!! She is crawling like a pro now. I spend my days telling her "no!" and picking her up to move her away from the dog's water bowl. She actually had her very first time out today. She hates the baby gate, and was very upset that I was in the kitchen, and she was not. After a tantrum that lasted several minutes, she ended up in her crib. She is going to grow up into a very strong willed little girl!! She had her 9 month check up yesterday and she looks great!! She is now 15 lbs and 6 oz (still the bottom of the growth chart) and 26 inches long. She is growing so fast!! Still waiting on those two top teeth, but as of last night, she started sleeping again (yeah!). I just hope that it continues!!

We are putting new windows in throughout the house. They should be installed in the next 6 - 8 weeks. We are so excited - it really going to make a difference in our heating/cooling bills, as our windows now are currently about 40 years old. Also on our home improvement agenda is a new fence in the yard. That will be wonderful, because our dogs are currently escaping several times a day!! We have actually taken to tying the dogs up while outside, just to keep them in the yard. We are hoping to have it finished before the rainy season really starts (although we had over four inches of rain on Tuesday!), because it will include an automatic gate opener!! I can't wait!! Not quite finished with the bedroom upstairs yet, but hopefully by the end of the week. Pictures of a finished room will be posted soon!!

Doing my daily leg exercises!!

Climbing on Daddy!!

After her doctor's appointment (where they drew

blood from her arm) she fell asleep holding the

bottle in her mouth!!

She did NOT like the feel of the grass on her hands at all!!




Feeding her face (and making a mess!)

Well - it's official. Charlie has started crawling. She is still pretty slow, and you can see the serious concentration on her face. It's really cute. I'm sure that in a few short days she will have crawling mastered, and will be zipping all over the house, making me crazy!! As of right now, only two things will motivate her to crawl across the room - either the remote control, or Kahlua.

Things here are busy as usual!!

We went to the Children's Museum in Rock ford today. I don't know who had more fun - Mike or Charlie. :)

Charlie is growing like crazy. She is very close to crawling, but not quite there yet. She gets up on her hands and knees and rocks back and forth, then she gets annoyed and starts yelling, because she can't figure out how to move. It's actually pretty funny. Hopefully she figures it out before Grandma CoCo and Auntie Michelle and Mckenna come out to visit next month. She is also learning how to feed herself, which basically translates to double the laundry for mom. Her two bottom teeth have come in, and she is working on the top two. I hope they come in soon - I miss sleeping through the night!!

We are painting the upstairs bedroom in preperation for our visitors, so that is taking up quite a bit of time. Mostly just prep work (removing wallpaper, sanding, taping, etc.). We should be done by the end of the week. I'll post picture when it's finished. I also am getting ready to start my garden. I have a few things started indoors (tomatoes, bell peppers, and jalepenos). Once the weather gts a bit warmer, I will move them outside, and then also plant onions, spinich, lettuce, broccoli, potatoes, green beans, and carrots. Yum!!

Learning how to feed myself!

SUCH a MESS!!

Playing at the museum with daddy.
(He might be having more fun than I am!)

Going into the "nail wall" at the museum.

The imprint of my backside... How do I look??

Okay then - the Pinoski family blogging has begun!!

Okay - I know that it has been a while since we we're in Cali (over a month actually) but I wanted to take a second and tell you all how much fun I had when I was there!! It was nice to see everybody. I really enjoyed dinner with everybody at Grandma's house on Friday. Thank you for making the effort (despite weather and traffic) to be there. Enjoy the pictures from our visit!!

Hope you guys enjoy keeping up with our family!! There is always so much going on. I will be sure to keep you guys up to date with a new post every couple of days!