Little Pickle
25 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 15 years ago -On November 4th 2006 our lives changed with the addition of our Little Pickle, Charlotte Rose. As first time parents we will make mistakes, have adventures and try to laugh every step of the way. We want to share our adventures with you.....
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Episodes
Baby Henry is Finally Here!
January 12, 2009 21:10It's hard to believe that he's finally here, but on December 5, 2008 we welcomed our son, Henry Patrick Spratt into the world. I wanted to say "we welcomed our little boy" but to call him little would be quite a misstatement. Hank weighed in at a hefty 9 lbs 6 oz or for the metrically-minded, 4275 g. His massive girth came as quite a surprise and unfortunately gave rise to some delivery-related complications. But after a long stretch of labour followed by a quicky quick surgery baby Henry e...
Where Did the Lazy Days of Summer Go?
August 18, 2008 00:13It is the middle of August. Summer is almost over. I know this because the Blue Jays' hopes of a playoff spot are growing ever dimmer. As the summer draws to a close Emilie and I cannot help but dread the craziness that will engulf us in the very near future. We are in the process of doing renovations to accommodate baby number 2 (unlike Charlie who had a cute in utero nickname, our second child is known simply by the number two). There is much work to be done to prepare for #2's arriva...
Charlie's Engineering Lesson
July 04, 2008 23:36Charlie learned that a tower built on a shaky foundation - when intentionally pushed - will fall. She was not too impressed.
Look Who's Walking and Talking
July 01, 2008 22:57It seems like only yesterday when I resolved to post more. Since then, in typical resolution fashion, I have not posted at all. I take this to be not a measure of laziness, but of how busy we all have been. Work was (and is) very busy, the winter was long, and as usual time is short. Charlie has also kept us busy. She has finally learned how to walk. According to the doctor 99% of kids learned to walk before she did. This means that Charlie beat only legless babies to bipedal locomotio...
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmma??
March 09, 2008 19:53Charlie and Emma had their first joint professional photoshoot this week. In view of the INSANE weather (see below) we have been forced to resort to less conventional activities - such as junior modelling! Actually, we have been meaning to take the girls in to further document their friendship, so we took advantage of an Easter special and carted them off to the Superstore for a photo session. Wow. It's hard to get two one year-olds to sit quietly for a portrait. Especially when one of them ...
Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!
March 09, 2008 19:43We know we are not alone, but here in Ottawa we have been bombarded with a RIDICULOUS amount of snow over the past three days or so. About 64 cms to be precise. Kudos to Mike and his dad, Noel, for spending most of the weekend shovelling snow. And thanks to both of them for not having heart attacks while doing so. It's tough going out there.... I might have to stay indoors until spring.
We Are Oh So Pretty
January 19, 2008 03:21It was a late night. We partied, hit the clubs, danced, and after a couple last bottles of milk it was time to crash.
Boxy McGee
January 16, 2008 03:32Charlie likes to climb into things: boxes, baskets, containers, sacks, she really doesn't discriminate. There is a good chance she will grow out of this quirk; she get larger everyday but the boxes stay the same size.
Merry Late Christmas/New Years
January 13, 2008 03:59 VideoHappy New Year, Merry Santa Day, its been a long lazy time between posts. We have finally recovered from the holidays. We had a great time, put thousands of miles on our car, Charlie had the stomach flu (we did learn that she needs to learn to chew her food), and only 346 days until we will do it all again. Charlie had a great Christmas even though she had no idea what was going on. In fact the unwrapping of presents freaked her out a bit. Emilie and I have been so diligent in teaching h...
The Old Lady's Party
November 09, 2007 02:18 VideoCharlie turned 1 on November 4th. Weird. Who would of thought we could have kept a baby alive for a whole year. To be fair, Chrissy and Henrik have kept Emma alive for the same length of time, so I guess we are not that special. In celebration of their longevity Emma and Charlie had a joint 'first birthday' party. This means they each got twice as many presents. Charlie and Emma invited 12 kids (all under 3) to their party. Each of the 12 kids brought along at least one adult. It was a...
Blue Steel
October 13, 2007 14:44Charlie has discovered a new love, hamming it up for the camera. In the past Charlie would become mesmerized and expressionless in the face of a camera. Now she strikes a pose. As you can see her signature pose is quite funny.... she has named it blue steel.
How Do You Like Them Apples
October 10, 2007 02:38 VideoCharlie seems to be developing a bit of a stubborn streak. A few days ago we were in the grocery store when Charlie spotted a bin of shiny red apples. She pointed at them, laughed and gave us the hugest, cutest grin. As we moved away from the apples the grin turned into a frown and then Charlie started with her fake baby cry. We gave in a bought two apples for the princess to hold. She held on to them the whole way home, and then for TWO more hours. Charlie loved those apples. Eventually her ...
Fall Fall Fall Fall
October 02, 2007 02:18 VideoSeptember is over! It has been a crazy busy month. I started and finished my first jury trial, Emilie went back to work (for real), and Charlie started school (aka: daycare). I think our lives may be more manageable now that Charlie is in structured care. The daycare seems like a great place. The food is prepared by Steven Bekta (the owner and chef at one of the best Ottawa restaurants). It turns out that his son is in the same grade as Charlie. No more wienies and beans for the kids - curri...
Seven Weddings and Almost My Funeral
September 07, 2007 01:28It is hard to believe that I have been back to work for a month. The transition has been quite painless, but perhaps a bit sudden. One day I am changing a diaper and the next I am back in court defending the mostly innocent. A large reason for easy transition was our grand-parental support. With both me and Emilie at work and no day care the grandparents came to the rescue. Louise took the first shift and looked after Charlie for a week. Noel and Linda took the second shift and kept t...
Cleaning up and shipping out
August 03, 2007 13:43It is a sad day. Today marks my last weekday away from work. On Monday I return to the widget factory to defend the mostly innocent. Truth be told I am looking forward to the return to work; I love my job. At the same time I know I am going to miss staying at home with Charlie. The years of expensive daycare are about to begin. I have learned a lot on my time off. Most importantly I learned that a 14 year old member of the Taliban can grow a better beard then me. It made me sad to bathe and...
Jolly Spinner
August 03, 2007 00:35 VideoWe have always said that we would like Charlie to be able to think outside of the box. Charlie seems to do this every day (exemplified by acts such as eating shoes rather than wearing them). Today she thought of a new way to use the Jolly Jumper. You may also note that in the video she is holding a pillow, don't ask me why, but she loves it.
A Lake of Tears
July 30, 2007 14:08It is hard to tell what will freak out a baby. We spent the weekend at the cottage where it was sunny for a change. Emilie and I took Charlie down to the dock to introduce her to the water. Emilie sat with Charlie to watch me dive into the lake (a very rare event). As I entered the water Charlie convulsed and began to scream. She did not stop crying for 30 minutes. I am not sure why she was so upset. I can only guess that my half naked, ghostly white body caught her off guard.
There and Back Again
July 26, 2007 17:15Summary 3,500 km 4 Provinces 3 States 2 New Teeth 1 Wedding Day 1 or 200 km Down 3,300 To Go We are the type to ease into things; Saturday mornings start with pyjamas, coffee and 2 newspapers. We applied the same philosophy to our road trip. It started with a 2 hours drive and a weekend at the cottage. It rained all weekend. Contrary to what you might expect, this was perfect for us. No pressure to go outside, no guilt about being lazy. We did manage to make it down to the dock and Cha...
It Begins
July 12, 2007 22:21In the beginning there was a car, neatly and efficiently packed. There had been no tears shed. The tank was full (well 3/4 full) of gas. The sun was shining. The question is: can it last? Today we are embarking on our longest road trip with Squishy. We are driving to Meg and Jon's wedding in Nova Scotia (where we were promised there would be a baby sitter). The plan is to segment the trip by spending a night at the cottage, a night in Quebec City and a night in New Brunswick and ultim...
Splish Splash
July 08, 2007 17:15 VideoOn Friday we offered to babysit Emma while her parents went to a FIFA soccer game. Emilie and I always welcome a chance to hang out with Emma. It is amazing that babies that were born on the same day can be so different. Emma possesses some sort of super strength. She can move into a sitting position from her back, she can almost stand on her own and she can crawl - a real baby crawl that is very unlike Charlie's worm-like wriggle. While Charlie may not be as active, she excels in other ...
Comic Charlie
July 06, 2007 13:57It was late afternoon and Charlie was napping. She had been asleep for about an hour and I was dozing on the couch watching tennis. This is the part of Charlie's nap I hate the most, the last 1/3. Its not the worst part because Charlie will soon be awake, but because of the uncertainly of when she will wake. She could begin to stir at any minute or she could sleep for another hour. Its entirely random. It is hard to plan my nap when I can't anticipate hers. On this day I was woken not by Cha...
Ohio Road Trip or How Charlie Spent 7 Hours in a Car Seat
July 05, 2007 14:31 VideoI owe Charlie an apology. I may have recently accused her of playing sick. As it turns out she was sick; Charlie had a massive ear infection. After a trip to the doctor and 10 days of medication (oral injection 3 times a day) Charlie was as right as rain. This was a good thing as we were about to embark on road trip to Ohio to attend Katie and Jack's wedding. Statistics Provinces: 1 States: 3 MacDonald's Meals: 4 Hours in Car: 24 Antibiotics: Priceless (actual price $14) We have discovered...
DaDa Day
June 17, 2007 15:21 VideoI thought it may be appropriate to write a post to document my first Father's Day. To start with the important information, I got lots of presents and got to sleep in! I also came to the realization that I have had it easy the past month. It has been a tough week with Charlie; the perfect storm hit. Charlie is teething (her two bottom teeth have cut through), she has a cold, and it has been very hot (only made worse by the helmet and the furnace of a room she sleeps in). Charlie has wok...
The End of an Era
June 12, 2007 17:44 VideoCharlie can crawl. It may be more accurate to say that Charlie can crawl backward. Even when she wants to move forward she moves back; I would find this a tad frustrating. Charlie however is not fazed by her unidirectional mobility. For Emilie and me this new mobility is a big adjustment. Gone are the days of sitting baby on the floor and running to get the phone. No longer can we take our eyes off our bundle of joy to read the news paper. When left unsupervised Charlie seems to always end u...
Emma and Charlie's Play Date
June 03, 2007 21:57Charlie and Emma had a fantastic play date today. This was one of the first times that they seemed to respond to each other in a gentle manner that did not involve grabbing, poking, and drawing blood and a flood of tears. Much. As you can tell they are both musical prodigies. P.S. As you can see I figured out how to upload video's. I feel as smart as the average 12 year old.