Busy, busy

Aren't January and February supposed to be those boring, slow months in the dead of winter where you go stir crazy and look forward to having something to do come spring?  Not so much around here.  Between work, church, friends and Charlie just being Charlie, life is a whirlwind -- and as I look at the next few months is just going to get crazier, but even more fun! 

Charlie seems to love this pace, because he seems to be doing something new almost every day.  He can stand on his own briefly (as long as he doesn't realize he's doing it), and he chatters in his own little language almost non-stop -- throwing in some deafening squeals every now and then.  He's also learned to sign "more" this week. It takes some prompting, and he actually looks more like one of the Temptations than someone doing sign language, but he's learning. It's amazing to think that he is on the road to communication

Right now the pinnacle of humor at our house is to put an upside down cup on Charlie's head or our own head.  It tickles him like nothing else.  And to Otis' profound dismay, Charlie adores petting him.  Who knew that a dog could perfect a look of righteous indignation?

Just in the past week Charlie has had two play dates with little Miss Kate.  He struggled a bit at her house until his bath -- naked equals happy in his book -- but did great when she came to our house.  Charlie had a ball "teaching" Kate to play his piano, though sharing is apparently going to be a bit of a struggle for him.

This week he also went to the nursery at church for the first time.  Jason and I both spent the service straining to hear any howling or screeching from down the hall, but Charlie did great.  And if being able to sit back, listen, learn and not worry about Charlie waking up weren't enough, his speed crawl to Jason when we picked him up would have made the whole thing worthwhile.  We definitely plan to keep it up -- it's almost like an hour long date!

Out of everything, I think the biggest kick of the past week has been Charlie's new obsession with Jason.  Daddy is the coolest thing EVER!  Charlie actually crawled over to the door, turned around and sat there indian style the other day when he knew Jason was leaving for work.  And when Jason comes in the door at night Charlie can be playing, eating, squeeling, anything and he'll shout out "Dada" as soon as the door opens.  It's fabulous -- a bit frustrating if Jason tries to do something like tie his shoes or go to the bathroom, but absolutely adorable to watch!

When you throw in Jason's birthday (and cake!), lunch in North Charleston on Wednesday to meet Jason's new boss, Bible Study Wednesday night, with the standard naps, diaper changes and playtime, it's no wonder Jason and I have trouble getting out of bed in the morning!  It's really just crazy fun and getting better every day.

Our little comedian

"Sharing"

Piano Lessons

Mmmmm... Cake!

Let's Play!

Each day I am amazed by how much Charlie "does".  It's as if he went from being a baby to being a little boy over night. 

Like all "good" parents, we have purchased a ridiculous amount of toys to educate, entertain and challenge Charlie.  But, like all "good" babies, he would much prefer to play with the shutters, an empty cup or a remote control (as long as it does something -- he is not fooled by the old battery-less remote we gave him.)

Of course, lately Charlie's very favorite activity is to chase Otis around the house and "pet" him or feed him random things found on the floor.  Talk about a role reversal -- 9 months ago Otis couldn't get enough of Charlie, now he can't get away fast enough, unless of course Charlie is offering something particularly tasty.  This puppy love resulted in Charlie's first black eye following a head on collision with Otis' bone.  Naturally, I felt the need to offer a detailed explanation in line at Publix the next day, likely convincing the check out girl and bag boy that I had indeed beat my son...otherwise why would I be so defensive?!

A few weeks ago, Jason and I cleaned up the bonus room to create a real play room to contain Charlie's Christmas haul -- and boy was it worth it.  Any time we head up the steps to the the third floor Charlie starts running in our arms out of excitement (he hides his emotions about as well as his mom). 

Now after nap, after lunch, before dinner, after walk, before bed, etc. we form a family convoy up the stairs, close the door and Charlie is in hog heaven (definitely a play on one of his favorite toys -- his Fisher Price farm!). Out of necessity (of course) we got rid of the 13" TV that had been up there (well -- we at least got it to the back of the Yukon awaiting a trip to Goodwill) and moved the living room TV upstairs, replacing it with a new TV -- all for Charlie, of course -- so we can turn on the news, music videos or Say Yes to the Dress and play right along with him.

I had no idea how much Jason and I would love the new play room until the stomach flu struck last week.  First Donna got sick, so Charlie was home with me.  Next I got sick, but since it was Jason's first week of his new job I couldn't let him stay home (though the fact that he was able to go in a couple hours late and come home a couple hours early may have saved my life), so I had to figure out how to keep Charlie safe and entertained without expending any energy or making any sudden movements. 

Who knew that he would be so happy playing on and around me while I laid moaning on the floor?!  I apparently make a terrific jungle gym -- thank goodness!  The best part is that since we can close the door, and the room is virtually empty, Charlie is safe from the standard household dangers of stairs, cabinets, outlets, breakables, etc -- it's like safety heaven for moms.

Logically I know that all of the changes and developments in Charlie's personality and abilities have been gradual, but in truth, I can't believe that my 8 pound 1 oz baby is now a 22 lb little boy able to crawl, stand, cruise and laugh when the Fisher Price chicken lays her eggs...

My Goofy Face

Come on Ride the Train

Story Time

First Black Eye

Checking the Mail

Open, Closed, Open, Closed, Open, Closed...

10-4 Good Buddy

Hey, Dog-dog!

Brrrr....

Nothing could have prepared us for 12 degree temperatures on Screamer Mountain and a heatpump that couldn't quite keep up, but we had a wonderful trip to the North Georgia Mountains this weekend.

The weather was actually such a big deal that the local news out of Atlant pre-empted EVERYTHING to talk about the icy roads and water main breaks....over and over and over again.  Normally we may not have noticed, but when you are restricted to local channels, can't get out from under the blanket by the fire and have a dog nuzzled in between you, it gets old!

Thankfully, the little room that Charlie slept in stayed toasty warm all weekend, and by noon each day we were all able to venture out into the living room where it had warmed up to about 63, which was actually quite comfortable.

Despite the frigid temps, each day we set out on adventures post morning nap.  Friday we drove over to Helen, GA, and it was like stepping directly into a Heidi movie.  There wasn't much open (apparently January is an incredibly slow month), but the town is adorable and we can't wait to visit in the summer to try out the water park and see the shops. 

On the way back we checked out Tallulah Gorge, the deepest gorge East of the Mississippi.  It was quite impressive, especially when you learn that some crazy person actually walked across it on a high wire once!  We capped off the day with the highlight of Charlie's weekend, a ride in the cart at Walmart and a new balloon!

Saturday we took Charlie to the Dillard House in Dillard, NC.  It's a family-style restaurant where they serve you everything on the menu -- seriously!  The food and service were great, and  I think Charlie may have found his favorite restaurant!

After lunch we drove on up to Highlands, NC, which is an absolutely adorable little town that reminds us of Eureka Springs, AR -- lots of shops and galleries.  While Charlie was still napping we checked out the Bridal Falls, a waterfall over the road.  It was frozen so we didn't drive under it, but we did walk through.  It was gorgeous.  Once Charlie woke up we had fun poking around in the toy store and a couple other shops before heading back to the cabin for pizza, a fire and football.

Jason and I spent Sunday morning watching crazy infomercials curled up on the couch with Otis while Charlie napped -- I really don't know how I survived so long without cable before I got married.  Then we all loaded up and headed home.  We tried to stop at a store where there are real-live goats walking around on the roof, appropriately called Goats on the Roof, but it was closed.  You gotta love the mountains!

Overall we had an amazingly relaxed and fun family vacation despite the record low temperatures, and to top it off, all of the time curled up under the blankets may have convinced Otis to finally forgive us for having a baby! 

The Dew-Drop-In

Playing cups in the cabin

Helping Daddy with the fire

Breakfast in Bed

Not pleased...

Where do I start?

Yummy!

Mom & Dad at Bridal Falls

Parental Hubris

I am quickly realizing the dangers of parental smugness -- you know, the feeling that you have everything under control and this parenting thing is a piece of cake.

Exhibit A:  Last Thursday morning Miss Sophia spent the morning with Charlie and me because her daycare was closed for the holiday.   Not only was I able to keep up with two crawlers and two sets of diapers, but the kids got along great and actually played together (if you call Charlie stealing Sophia's bow and chewing on it and following her around the house "playing"). 

The arrogance set in when I was able to get both Charlie and Sophia down for naps, and Charlie napped for 2 1/2 hours -- allowing me to come downstairs and revel in my amazing parenting abilities. 

Flash forward to Friday through Sunday when my beloved napping expert refused to nap for more than 40 minutes at a stretch, then on to Monday and Tuesday when our happy little boy has actually been grumpy in the evenings!

Exhibit B: As I've mentioned before, mornings are my favorite part of the day.  Charlie and I get up, nurse, then come downstairs to play and eat breakfast until time to go to Donna's. 

Yesterday morning Charlie was playing with his new piano from his cousin Camden (a fabulous toy that I highly recommend) while I sat on the couch enjoying my cereal.  As I scarfed down my Fiber One and caught up on my GMA, I was thinking of how far we've come in the past 10 months -- how wonderful it is to sit and enjoy a few minutes of "me time" while my son innocently and contentedly plays at my feet...

Then I looked over to discover that Charlie apparently has go-go-gadget arms.  He was contentedly swinging my empty coffee cup while the last remnants spilled out onto the rug!  To add insult to injury, I hadn't even had a sip yet (luckily it had cooled off while I fed the dog, made Charlie's lunch and packed his bag for Donna's). 

The fun didn't stop there, though.  Charlie enjoyed the clean-up nearly as much as the destruction, unspooling the entire roll of paper towels while I tried to soak up 12 ounces of coffee from the rug.

I suppose I've learned three key lessons from my cockiness:
1 - Never feel like you have things under control -- God has a sense of humor
2 - Dark brown carpet is a blessing
3 - Even annoyances and accidents are fun with Charlie!

Mmmm...bow

Chasing Sophia

"Sharing"

My little Piano Man

Clean up time

Snow Day!

Who is lucky enough to get a "blizzard" on their first Christmas?  Charlie!  It was wonderful.  The snow started on Christmas Eve after our breakfast with Uncle Jim, and by the time we left for church the roads were icy and many other churches had cancelled services.  Charlie was fairly good for the service -- he was able to stay in the sanctuary for a good 20 minutes, then he and I hung out in the lobby.  Later we had a fabulous time at Great Grandpa B's.

Christmas morning was very relaxed, and while Charlie didn't really get into opening his presents, he absolutely loved them.  The two favorites so far are the car hauler (especially the walkie-talkie he used to talk to cousin Landon) and the mailbox (in which he receives letters from Baba (blue), Grandma (red) and cousin Elizabeth (orange), plus the all-important package from Bass Pro!).  But I have to admit that Charlie's favorite part of Christmas day was the Christmas meatballs -- I think baby food is quickly becoming a thing of the past in our house.

On Boxing Day (unexplained Canadian holiday that falls on 12/26), Charlie got to play in the snow for the first time and even made his first snow angel!  He wasn't too sure about the snow itself, but enjoyed seeing the "icebergs" floating in his bath later on -- possibly the only kid to play with his first snowball in the bathtub! 

The rest of Saturday was spent as a true snowday -- playing games, taking naps and eating homemade potato soup (of which Charlie is a big fan).  It was incredibly relaxing and wintery.  And to top off a perfect day, Charlie's new friend Chanley Elizabeth Allen was born that afternoon to our good friends Tim & Jana -- it just doesn't get any better.

Overall, we had a fabulous Christmas in Kansas City despite the fact that Charlie's and my colds stuck around the whole time.  Last night Charlie slept soundly through his first New Year's Eve (woohoo!) even with all of the crazy fireworks in the neighborhood, and today finished up the holidays by seeing what Santa left for Charlie here at home and opening his presents from Baba & Papa and Grandma and Grandpa -- we're very fortunate that Santa Claus is flexible and agrees to visit our house on New Year's Eve rather than Christmas Eve...it is much better than opening presents at midnight the night we get home!

Breakfast with Uncle Jim

Ho-Ho-Ho, Santa's on his way!

Christmas Eve with Baba, Papa and my cousins

Papa showing me the snow

Making Snow Angels with Daddy

Brrr....

Aunts, Uncles & Cousins

Time to Relax!

Joy to the World

Christmas has always been my favorite time of year.  I love the family, the friends, the food, the music, the lights, the silly movies, the magic in the air, and especially the opportunity to share the joy and hope of our faith -- but this year everything is so much more...just more.

I feel like I've taken a giant step forward as far as really "getting" it.  I was raised to believe that Christmas is the celebration of Jesus' birth and that Jesus was the son of God sent here for us, but I realized this year that I've always kind of taken it for granted.  Having a son of my own has opened my eyes to the amazing grace and mercy that is at the heart of Christmas.

While anyone can tell you that I believe that Charlie is perfect, I know that he will disobey and make poor decisions and mistakes along the way.  Nevertheless, I would never send him out into the world to be a sacrifice for anyone, much less people who would mock, hate and ignore him.  To think that God sent us His son, who actually is perfect, for just that reason astounds me.  To think that God loves us more than I could ever dream of loving my Charlie is beyond my ability to comprehend.

With these thoughts in mind, I feel like I am truly "adoring Him" for the first time in my life.  I expected Charlie to bring new joy to the presents, the lights, the snow and the time with family, but I never dreamed that my baby boy could open my eyes to the true love of Christmas.

Joy to the world, the Lord is come
Let earth receive her King.
Let every heart prepare him room,
And heaven and nature sing.

Merry Christmas!

All I want for Christmas...

Is my left front tooth!  Yes, on top of a booger of a cold (pun definitely intended and incredibly appropriate!) and a crazy schedule, Charlie's left front tooth is finally poking through.  At this point I'm not sure if it's the cold or the tooth that has him tugging on his right ear, but I'm praying it's the tooth!

Despite the challenges, we're having a great week in Kanas City and looking forward to even more fun with friends and family...but at this point honestly, all I want for Christmas is Charlie's left front tooth.. preferably painlessly and within the next 30 seconds, so the stinker can at least enjoy the excitement of his first Christmas...even if he has no clue what's going on.

Meeting Santa's Reindeer at Bass Pro

Learning the ropes

I never knew how early people picked up certain routines, customs and behaviors.  Since Charlie was a few weeks old he has habitually scratched his nose  (lucky kid inherited my itchy nose), raised his right eyebrow when he's curious and rubbed his little eyes when he's sleepy.   Jason and I have been suprised by how many actions are innate rather than learned.

Now that Charlie is 9 months, though, we're starting to establish some learned habits that could be with him for the rest of his life:

• Brushing his teeth (better be!)
• Playing the piano (could be?)
• Snoring in church (uh-oh!)

I was horrified this past Thursday when I noticed that my perfect son's two perfect teeth had plaque on them!  I have to admit it -- it hadn't even crossed my mind to start brushing his teeth, and he's had them since August. 

I swung by Walmart Friday morning and picked up Charlie's first toothbrush and toothpaste just in time.  That afternon at his 9 month check-up the doctor asked me if I was brushing his teeth.  While I couldn't say "yes", I was able to tell her that I had purchased the tools and planned to start right away.  How embarrassing would it have been if I'd had to look at her in confusion and say "Oh, wow!  I hadn't thought of that yet"!

So, this morning I brushed his teeth for the first time (forgot yesterday) and it went fairly well -- though I'd love to see anyone who can brush those two tiny little teeth in a "repetitive circular motion" as instructed on the toothpaste tube.

Next up is Charlie's introduction to music theory -- also known as banging on the piano keys.  Mom and Dad brought out my Grandma's piano for us at Thanksgiving, and Jason had it tuned for me as an early Christmas gift.  Pretty much all I can play is a few Christmas Carols, but I love it -- and like it or not, Charlie will take at least one year of piano.  And who knows, maybe he'll be a virtuoso -- everyone was commenting on how long his fingers were when he was born...

The most distressing habit that Charlie has worked on this weekend is snoring during church.  Since he was three weeks old, I have delicately tucked (and/or stuffed) him into the sling to take his morning nap during church. 

Most weeks he will nap until at least 11:30 or so, allowing both Jason and I to listen to the service and preventing us from having to take him to the nursery.  To be clear, our church has a wonderful nursery staffed by wonderful people -- but with all of the H1N1 mess in the news I'm paranoid.

This morning I crammed Charlie into the sling (at least al but his right arm) and he went directly to sleep.  He slept peacefully through the Christmas hymns at the begninning of the service, but when we all sat down for the sermon he started to get a little noisy.  Apparently he was scrunched over a bit far, because he was snoring like a 5000 pound elephant.  It was hilarious.  I kept trying to shift him or adjust his head, but had little luck.  Thankfully all of the folks sitting near us adore the little stinker, but it was quite embarrasing. 

As far as this becoming a habit, I have no doubt that while he might get out an initial "zz-" in the future, he won't get any further before Jason or I pop him awake.

It's truly amazing to watch our little baby develop into a person with his own preferences, interests, abilities and quirks, and to know that things we do and decisions we make today may impact him for the rest of his life. 

Quiet... I'm practicing

9 Months!

I can't believe that we have known and loved Charlie longer than we waited for him (well, for him specifically).  He is officially 9 months old today, and the time has just flown. 

I can remember every detail of the day he was born like it was yesterday -- or at least those that I could remember the next day -- I'm still grateful for my epidural!  At the same time, though, I can't remember what our life was like before March 9.  What on earth did we do all day and why did we think we needed so much sleep?!?

To commemorate this 9 month-iversary of the start of our adventure, here is the latest Charlie update as of 12/9/09:

•Weight - 21 lbs. 7 oz (50-75th percentile)

•Length - 28.5" (50th percentile)

•Head - 45.9 cm (75th percentile)

•Teeth - 2 (bottom front)

•Hair - Dark blonde/light brown and still thin, but respectable

•Birthmarks - The stork bites on the back of his neck are almost fully covered by hair, and the potato shaped birthmark on his left shin is definite.  Plus, just Monday night I found his first freckle high on his forehead over his right eye.

•Naps - 2 per day (though the afternoon nap can be a battle)

•Bedtime - 7:30 to 8:00

•Waketime - 6:30 to 7:00

•Favorite Food - Grapes by far, but he loves just about everything -- even mediterranean and thai food!

•Favorite Song - Toes by the Zach Brown Band

•Favorite Dance - Self-taught: lie on your stomach, bury your face in the floor and wiggle all over!

•Favorite Toys - Links and Push Train

•Favorite Game - Chewing up magazines -- but still loves Peek-a-Boo

•Recent milestone -

• Standing and only holding self up with one hand
• Walking beyind his Push Train
• Cruising around coffee table or sofa -- and transferring from one piece of furniture to the next
• Trying to feed himself with a spoon
• Says "Dada" and "Donna"
• Riding in Big Boy Carseat
• Sporadically giving hugs (particularly first thing in the morning)

•Imminent milestones -

• Walking!
• "Mama" - hopefully!
• Top Teeth  

•Hero -  Daddy

•Personality -

• Even Goofier -  He loves to laugh and be surprised and wiggle and giggle.
• Active - Unfortunately, Charlie is not much of a cuddler.  He is sweet and loving, but would much rather climb all over you than hug you.
• Curious - He loves to check out new things and is always craning his little neck to discover the source of a noise or to see where something came from/went
• Morning Person - Charlie wakes up grinning and ready to go and can't wait to get to bed at night...definitely takes after his mom here.

Obviously Charlie has learned a lot over the past 9 months, but I'm willing to bet that Jason and I have learned more.  A few of our recent epiphanies:

• Sometimes it's easier to just let Charlie chew up a Victoria's Secret catalog than to try to entertain him while you make dinner.
• The world will not end if Charlie's clothes are already dirty when he arrives at Donna's in the morning.
• It's possible to go through an entire day without noticing that you have spit-up all over your jeans.
• Boston Terriers may allow babies to poke them in the eyes, pull their hair and pinch their ears, but they take it out on the parents.

Here are a few shots from our 9 month celebration this morning (also known as playtime before work).

Checking out the new day

Loving life

Ho-Ho-Ho

I have to be honest, it hadn't even crossed my mind to take Charlie to see Santa...there's just so much to learn in the first year!  Jason received an email earlier this week that Santa was making a surprise visit to our neighborhood and suggested that it would be much easier and nicer than visiting him at the mall.  My response?  Of course!  (Phew!  Talk about a lucky save to keep me out of the "bad mom" club!)

We combined our first encounter with Santa with a gift exchange with Charlie's Angels.  It was too much fun!  All of us moms dressed our babies up in one of their Christmas outfits (funny how they all seem to have more than one this year...), and thoroughly enjoyed chatting and laughing at their antics.  We even had a special guest this time, Miss Kate's "Annie" joined us for the fun! 

After some playing, corraling and laughing, we paraded down Scrapbook Lane to see Santa.  Amazingly, we didn't have any criers -- and Sophia was downright overjoyed with Santa. 

And talk about instant gratification -- we walked back up to our house and the kids each got to open their first Christmas gifts!  There's nothing like setting unrealistic expectations the very first year. 

I have always loved the Christmas season and all the faith and hope in the air, but everything is brighter and better this year. 

Playing with the Girls

Waiting to see Santa

Hmmm...  Why did my Mommy give me to you?

Apparently Sophia is the only one to

appreciate the importance of Mr. Claus!

Whelmed

Well I'm not technically overwhelmed, but I'm definitely not underwhelmed, so  I guess I'm "whelmed".  I don't suppose this year the holidays are any busier than any other year -- there's just less time to spend cleaning and planning and more time to spend playing and laughing.

I've learned a few key lessons this week.  One - chewing on black construction paper will stain a baby's mouth making him look Goth.  Two - even after almost nine months, a formerly spoiled dog can act out by using the recently cleaned carpet as a bathroom.  Three - only the best husband in the world would surprise me with a massage on Saturday afternoon, while he stays at home to wait for the new washer and dryer and deal with the dreaded afternoon nap (and yes I am totally bragging!)

Car troubles, a broken washing machine, a passive agressive dog, crazy work schedules, and 100 unaddressed Christmas cards notwithstanding, life is good, and we are looking forward to the best Christmas season ever!

Goth Baby

(I swear it was almost black in person)

One of the Boys

Charlie is without a doubt a little boy.  It's almost as if someone sat him down for a step-by-step lesson on boy interests, habits and quirks.

Now, I'm sure that were he a little girl, I would interpret some of the very same things as "feminine", but since he is a boy they are extremely masculine to me.  For example, my 8 month old son has already started flirting!  The first incident was Halloween night when he clicked across the room until Lakely looked his way, then burst into a huge grin.  The next was with a bartender at Jim & Nicks!  Grins, giggles and stares left no question that he was trying to impress her.  To make it even funnier, Uncle Travis was his wing man.

In addition to flirting, Charlie has started spitting (more of zerberts or raspberries, but nonetheless) and shows a distinct preference for footballs, tools and cars over anything cute or cuddly -- and Daddy's tools are the best thing ever.  He also seems to have the inherent male desire to tear things apart -- rather than ride or push his little train, Charlie prefers to knock it over and bang on the tires.

The clincher, though, the incident that assures me that Charlie is a "boy's boy", occurred Sunday. While playing in his bathtub, Charlie stood up, grinned and started to pee into the water. I laughed/screamed in surprise, at which point he stopped, stared at me, then started again with an even bigger grin! It appears that I have a lifetime of adventures before me.

Learning from a (retired) Master

The big guns

Counting our Blessings

There is so much to love about Thanksgiving.  The obvious things:  family, food and the start of the Christmas season;  but beyond that, the opportunity to take a step back and truly realize how amazingly blessed we are each and every day.

We have been having so much fun with Charlie's first Thanksgiving week.  We spent Sunday downtown with Uncle Travis before he flew home, and met Kris, Stephanie and Korden for a wonderful pre-holiday brunch at Poogan's porch.  Grandma and Grandpa drove into town Tuesday and delivered the piano on which Charlie will someday suffer through his lessons and the dining room table at which he'll eat many, many, many more holiday and everyday meals -- both of which originally belonged to Charlie's Great-Grandma and already carry so many wonderful memories.

The festivities kicked of Wednesday with a BBQ lunch with Charlie's Uncle Chris, Aunt Chrissy and cousins, then a guy's night with Chad while Mommy and Daddy took Grandma and Grandpa to the Woodlands for an outstanding dinner.

Charlie made sure to wake us all up plenty early (aka 4:30) on Thursday morning to get the Turkey in the oven by 7 and watched his first Thanksgiving Day parade after his nap -- waking up just in time to see Santa.  Then he thoroughly enjoyed turkey, rolls, sweet potatoes, green beans, cinnamon apples and pink fluffy stuff before joining Daddy for a Thanksgiving nap.  Add to that pumpkin pie for dinner and Charlie definitely got a dose of the Thanksgiving spirit!

The highlight of the evening was the "official" lighting ceremony after dark to officially kick off the Christmas season.  We all oohed and aahed from across the street when Jason hit the switch. 

The best part of Friday was sleeping in to 7:15!  Charlie must have taken pity on his poor, sleepy parents.  So, we of course rewarded him accordingly with Aunt Chrissy's homemade pumpkin bread and pink fluffy stuff for breakfast.  I'm not sure what's going to happen when we go back to oatmeal and orange slices.

2009 has brought Jason and I so much joy and hope and growth.  Charlie's birth was the most precious experience of our lives and watching him grow and mature has been nothing short of amazing.  This year we've also found a church home here in Charleston, learned to understand and appreciate the value of my work situation, and been blessed with many visits from friends and family.  If I believed in luck, I'd have to say we're the luckiest people in the world.  Instead, I believe that God has chosen to shower us with incredible blessings, and I can only pray that we find the will and the opportunity to pass them on to our family, friends and neighbors.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Brunch with Korden, Uncle Travis, Kris and Stephanie

Don't even think about touching my pie.

The lighting ceremony

Surprise!

I can't believe I made it!  I am notoriously bad at keeping secrets from Jason, but I did it.  With a lot of help from family and friends, I successfully surprised Jason with a visit from Travis Thursday night.  To go back to the beginning...

For the past three years Jason and I have talked about putting up Christmas lights, but we didn't know how to maintain Jason's standard on our house with 40 foot tall peaks.  Last year we hemmed and hawed and eventually decided not to do it, but I got the idea to take advantage of Travis' professional light hanging abilities and give Jason a surprise weekend with his little brother. 

My plan was to talk to Travis about it over the summer, but with my job uncertainty I couldn't commit to the cost of the plane ticket or the materials, so I waited.  Once my job was secure though, I emailed Travis with an offer he couldn't refuse:

Subject: Can I interest you in an all expenses paid trip to Charleston?????

Hi, Travis! I have an opportunity for you. If you are free any of the following weekends, I would like to treat you to an all expenses paid trip to the Charleston metropolitan area (Summerville, to be exact). Your weekend will include air fare, fine dining, and a stay at a waterside resort in a balcony room overlooking a quaint old-style Charleston neighborhood. In addition to all that, you'll be entertained by the cutest baby East of the Mississippi, his adorable dog and their parents. Interested? But wait, there's more! If you are able to stay for 3 nights, we will throw in a free trip on a 25 foot center console with a private fishing guide (weather permitting)! All of this and much more can be yours...if you'd be interested in helping Jason hang Christmas lights...

Luckily, Travis fell for my extremely persuasive marketing technique and agreed.  Soon after the plan was set in motion, I decided that I really wanted to try to pull it off without lying to Jason.  We have an agreement that lies in relation to Christmas/Birthday presents are permitted, but lately I've been feeling like I tell too many "little white lies" -- the kind designed to make people feel better, ease a situation, or just fill a break in conversation -- so I was determined to do without.  Not easy...but not impossible with a little creativity. (Though my mother reminded me there is little difference between lies and deception, I prefer to look at is purposeful vagueness...)

In order for the plan to succeed I needed to:

1. Make a large charge on our credit card from "Creative Displays"
2. Convince Jason not to make any other plans for this weekend
3. Arrange for Jason to take Friday off work
4. Get Jason to the airport Thursday night to pick up Travis
5. Keep my big mouth closed

Obviously, number 5 was the hardest, but here is how the rest worked out:

1. Reminded Jason that my corporate card was "broken".  Then told him that there would be a large charge from a "fixture company" on our personal card, but not to worry about it -- I would be doing expense reports in the next week or so. All true.  (Apparently my corporate card had never been turned back on after maternity leave -- oops!)  Then hid all of the boxes in the enormous trunk of the Impala.
2. Suggested to Jason that it had been way too long since he'd been fishing and that we should leave this weekend wide open to ensure that he could go.  (He and Travis are picking up the boat right now to go fish the jetties.)
3. Told Jason that I had a "wiring specialist" flying in from Kansas City for a project in Summerville on Friday that required my consultative support.  Then told him that Donna had doctors appointments in Columbia this week --they happened to be on Wednesday, but I left that part out.  Finally, asked him if he could get the day off and be home.
4. Emailed Jason Thursday morning and told him that I had offered to pick up the "wiring specialist" from the airport after reminding him of the cutbacks in travel spending since my company's merger.  Then asked him to go with me, since the specialist was arriving at 10:00 at night and I would be more comfortable if I weren't picking him up alone.  When it was time to leave, I told Jason that the Impala was completely out of gas (true!), so we'd need to take the truck, thus avoiding unauthorized use of the company car.  Finally, when asked if I knew what the guy looked like, I suggested that Jason keep an eye out for a someone who looked like he was from Kansas City.  I told him that if that didn't work, the guy would recognize us since I was the only redhead standing around.
5. Told my mom, my brother, Jason's whole family and most of the neighbors about the surprise -- to keep from popping -- and regularly reminded myself that any false comment would ruin everything.

So, believe it or not, it worked!  Jason was completely confused when Travis walked through security and thrilled to here that Travis was here to go fishing.  I'm not sure he was quite as excited about spending an entire day of Travis' visit hanging Christmas lights, but he definitely loved the idea of a weekend with one of his brothers. 

Plus, now that they are done and no one has to go back up that 40 foot ladder until January (next year we're renting a cherry picker), he is thrilled with the lights, but based on the number of neighbors that stopped and commented, most of the men in the neighborhood are not thrilled though -- apparently my surprise has tweaked the interest of quite a few of their wives.  Oh well!

While I would love to post pictures of the lights, all self-respecting Kansas Citians know that the official lighting ceremony will not be until Thanksgiving night...but I assure you that they look incredible and we never could have done it without Travis.  What better way to kick of Charlie's first Christmas season than to light up our house like the Star of the East! (Speaking which, I'm considering adding a large star as a chimney topper next year -- with the cherry picker it should be easy, right?)

Supervising

Whoa!

Giggles

Laughter has always been at the heart of Jason's and my relationship.  We both love to laugh and between our goofy senses of humor and my natural "grace", we have ample opportunity to do so.  Throughout the years laughter has rescued us from fights, comforted us from loss and eased the boredom of many long flights and drives (what other adults do you know that drive down the road making fish faces at each other?).

In spite of all of this experience, though, neither of us was prepared for the overwhelming  joy of Charlie's laughter.  We took him swinging for the first time on Saturday, and my cheeks actually started to ache as he giggled his way to and fro.  It's definitely safe to say that he inherited our appreciation for silliness.  In the past few days it has become easier to make him laugh than to get him to stop, and I assure you there is no sweeter sound than his little "khu-kA-kAA-kheeee". 

He laughs when he's tickled, when he's changed, when Mommy & Daddy wake him up in the morning, when he gets ready for bath, when he sees Otis, when he swings, when he rides down the street in the pack, when Mommy flies his spoon almost to his mouth then throws it in reverse (beeps and all), when Mommy peaks around Daddy who is pushing him in the cart at Home Depot, when Mommy or Daddy sneaks around the edge of the couch, and sometimes just for fun.  He's an absolute delight.  The joy is just spilling out of him and brightening the world around him.  We are so amazingly blessed.

Playing in the Warming Drawer