Reunited and it feels so good!

Charlie greeted his long-distance girlfriend, Lakely, on Thursday with a warm "Hewow" then promptly stole her pink princess suitcase before giving her a ride in his wagon and showing her the gutter where he likes to play.  Lakely, on the other hand, made sure that Charlie properly admired her bracelet and boots before accepting a ride.  It was fabulous!

I don't think you could find a more "boy" boy or more "girl" girl if you tried.  Breakfast was a perfect example.  Charlie scarfed down 4 blueberry pancakes Saturday morning while Lakely took dainty bites to finish about 1 1/2. 

In fact, mealtime was about the only thing Charlie and Lakely did together.  They mainly played alongside each other all weekend -- when Charlie wasn't swiping whatever toy held Lakely's interest at the moment. I think that the only thing he willingly shared was a case of the sniffles, that unfortunately kept Lakely from attending the Reuber Halloween bash.  Charlie and I were able to go for a bit -- spending the majority of the time beating up the zombies in the front yard --, and Lea made an appearance after we came home, but Lakely got some much needed beauty sleep, instead.

Despite some stuffy noses and a few tears, it was a fabulous weekend, and Jason and I can't wait for them to return (hopefully with Tony this time!).  In fact, I'm convinced that in another year Charlie and Lakely will truly enjoy playing together, in another 7 years they will enjoy teasing each other and in 14 years we will just have to make sure they don't enjoy each other too much!

All aboard!

Mmmm...blueberry pancakes!

Did I drop this?

Spooky!

Getting a little sleepy...

Picture Day!

Seeing as I completely forgot picture day back in June and sent Charlie to school sporting a cement truck emblazened onesie and clashing brown flip-flops, I pulled out all the stops this time.

We broke out part of his Christmas outfit (sshhh...don't tell!), hunted down some brown shoes to match his belt, tamed his hair with a bit of Daddy's Fiber and even accessorized with a spider man watch. 

Completely unconvinced that he'd make it to his picture session unscathed (he arrives at school at 8:45 and pictures weren't until at least 9:00), I took some pre-shots at home just in case.  Based on his condition at the end of the day, I'm optimistic about the official school shots, but we definitely got some fun ones at home, too.

Check out my boys!

Like father like son

The only thing as cool as his wagon is worms

 Work, work, work...

My little heart throb

Guy Talk

*Sigh*

"Those" Parents (again...)

Had an outsider been looking in on our household this weekend, Jason and I might have some explaining to do...

It started off innocently enough.  We all went to Chris, Sophie and Calvin's for dinner, where Charlie and Calvin played, all six of us shared a yummy (albeit somewhat messy) dinner, and Charlie even went down to sleep in his pack-n-play at a somewhat reasonable hour, and transitioned just fine to bed when we got home.  Textbook parenting...

Saturday was a bit of a different story, though.  We kicked off the day by dressing Charlie up in a Halloween costume over 2 weeks before Halloween and letting him play with our classy new yard art:

Next, to avoid the risk of popsicle stains on his clothes, we stripped Charlie down to his diaper and allowed him to run around the neighborhood:

Then we stood by and took pictures while our 19 month old son played Evel Knievel on his bike:

Later, we dressed him up in a garnet leisure suit and paraded him around the neighborhood for our friends, showing off how we'd taught him to say "GoooOOO Chickens!"

Charlie even managed to bust open his lip at church on Sunday morning -- with BOTH Mom and Dad working in the nursery and standing within 6 feet of him when it happened!

To send the weekend out in style, on Sunday afternoon we presented him with a 30+ year old wagon from the attic, that is almost guaranteed to be covered in lead-based paint (which is chipping off by the way):

What can I say?  We had an absolutely fabulous family weekend, and if nothing else, I learned a valuable lesson about judging other parents...no matter what I see them doing at Publix, driving down the highway or on America's Funniest Home Videos.

New... York... CITY!

Well, this is my first second-hand post.  Charlie had an absolutely outstanding long weekend with his BaBa in town, while I was gallavanting around New York City with Jana, Kelley and Tracey.

We girls spent the four days eating, drinking, laughing, walking, talking, watching Broadway shows and watching New Yorkers.  It was a great time, but I have to admit that I missed my boys very much and wished I could have also been a part of their fabulous fall weekend with BaBa.

Based on the fabulous text messages, phone calls and picture texts I received in NYC, along with the photos and stories shared with me upon my return, Charlie, Daddy and BaBa had very little downtime this weekend.  They enjoyed wonderful dinners (Mustard Seed, Taco Boy & Sushi!), multiple parks (even after dark), Charlie's first trip to the pumpkin patch, a haunted hayride and a sunset cruise, not to mention all sorts of smiles, hugs, laughs and kisses. 

Other highlights of the weekend include finally starting to say his own name with regularity.  In fact, Tuesday morning I pointed at a picture and asked who it was, and rather than grinning slyly at me, Charlie immediately said, "Char-char!"  I was so proud.  Also, BaBa and Charlie did some geography cramming and if you say, "New York" he chimes in with "CITY!" -- even if he overhears it from the other room.  I couldn't have hoped for a better weekend for my boys.  Thank you, Debbie!

Despite all of the adventures at home and away this weekend, I have to admit that my very favorite moment came Monday evening when I gave Charlie his souvenir.  Amazingly enough, there are street vendors in NYC who sell school buses.  Even more amazing is the fact, that the second I saw it, I knew it was the perfect souvenir for Charlie.  His shout of "Bus!" when I gave it to him in the car, along with his insistence upon playing with it, carrying it to school, keeping it in his sights at all times and pointing at it and saying "Char-char" put me over the moon. 

I had no idea how exciting it would be to have him fall head over heels with something I picked out for him.  It may be one of my best "mom moments" so far...I know that we have home runs and report cards and graduations, a wedding and grandkids to look forward to, but I think I will always cherish the first time I found him the perfect gift.

Late night fun at the park...in his spooky ghost t-shirt

Vroom-vroom!

Uh-oh...captured at last

Wooh!  This pumpkin hunting is hard work

Ahoy, matey!

The good life

Baba caught me!

Kind of sour...

My very own school bus!

Jana, Mommy, Tracey & Kelley off to Mama Mia

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...

What girl in her right mind would be semi-dreading a fun-filled trip to NYC with 3 girlfriends for shopping, shows, food and fun?  Only a crazy one.

Well, call me crazy.  In approximately 27 1/2 hours I am leaving for my first girls' trip in over four years in one of the most fabulous cities in the world with three of the greatest girls I know -- and Jason has told me not to worry about money!  I should be on cloud nine, and 99% of me is, but that one little percent is far from it...that one little percent is sad and confused and worried and scared...

I am going to miss 4 whole days of Charlie's life. I know it sounds insane and controlling and downright nuts, but as much as I want to go, I hate the idea of missing a weekend with him. 

To be clear, I am not the slightest bit concerned about Charlie's safety, welfare, health or enjoyment of the weekend.  BaBa will be arriving at 2:30 tomorrow afternoon and Charlie will have four straight days filled with laughter, love, hugs, crafts and fun with BaBa and Daddy.  Having no doubt that he will have an absolutely fabulous weekend, I'm not worried about him...I'm worried about me.

What do I do when I wake up at 6:45 and no one needs a clean diaper or wants to go wander around the common area splashing in sprinkler puddles and pointing at birds?  Is it possible to go 96 hours without folding laundry?  How do I know it's lunchtime if no on runs into the kitchen at full speed and barrels into the refrigerator?  What if I miss a new word or new owie or new favorite toy or new skill (like this morning when he helped take out the trash!)?  What if Charlie misses me?  What if Charlie doesn't miss me?

Well, I have a 4-pronged strategy to ensure that I survive and that I don't ruin the weekend for all of us: 

1. I'm bringing my sneakers to hit the exercise room when I wake up long before my saner friends.
2. I'm planning to beg hugs off Kelley, Tracey and Jana to overcome the inevitable separation anxiety I will start to feel as soon as I've gone 6 straight hours without anyone hanging on me
3. I'm leaving plenty of room in my suitcase for random, ridiculous and expensive souvenirs
4. I'm allowing myself to order champagne with any meal during which I feel blue

So, with a happy, safe baby, plentiful hugs and copious amounts of champagne, I am confident that I am going to have a fabulous weekend of being Jenny first and wife and mom second...only to return Monday evening and even better wife and mom.  Bon Voyage!

Special Guest

We had a special guest this weekend.  Cousin Tyler sent Flat Stanley to explore South Carolina and spend some time with Charlie, so we tried to show him a good time.

Friday night we took him to Wasabi, the japanese steakhouse, with our neighbors Bob & Donna.

Saturday morning Stanley came along to Sports Clips for a haircut...

Then Saturday afternoon, we all hit the water for a harbor cruise with Garrett & Amanda.

Stanley even got to see the USS Yorktown.

It got chilly, though, so Stanley cuddled up in Mom's purse when Charlie and Miss Amanda put their jackets on and played peek-a-boo into the wee hours (past 9:00!)

Finally, we just spent a quiet Sunday afternoon around the house, enjoying the beautiful fall weather.

Overall, we had a blast with Flat Stanley this weekend and are going to be sorry to see him head back to Kansas City, but hopefully next time he visits he'll bring cousins Tyler and Elizabeth with him!