Our Little Travelin' Man

Charlie is awesome...that could actually be my entire post regarding our whirlwind weekend trip to Kansas City. Charlie is awesome!

Despite some last minute flight changes and virtually no layover going or coming home, Charlie was a pro on all four flights. He played with his new games, enjoyed his snacks, flirted with flight attendants, earned his first set of wings and even napped a little. Jason and I were so proud of him...and by the time he goes to college we might actually stop fearing airplane trips!

Now, if the travel to and fro was great, our 44 hours in Kansas City were outstanding...short, but outstanding! After warmly greeting BaBa in the airport and riding the suitcase to the car, Charlie quickly crashed, giving Jason, Debbie and me a chance to catch up all the way back to Lee's Summit. Then he slept until 6:39 Central Time on Saturday morning...I tell you, Charlie is awesome!

Our adventures truly began Saturday morning when we met Great Uncle Jim, Great Aunt Jan and Great Uncle Sam for breakfast (after a Zinger appetizer at home with PaPa). Charlie showed off his massive appetite and giggled and chattered away with all of us, when he wasn't charming ladies at nearby tables.

From breakfast we went straight to the Kansas City Zoo to meet Nikita, the polar bear...whose hair is clear, by the way, not white! Who knew?

With BaBa, PaPa, Uncle Travis, Aunt Natalie, Cousin Ellie, Uncle Stephen, Aunt Ashley and Cousin Landon, we braved the frigid temperatures (low 40s...but remarkably comfortable in the sun) to visit the red faced kangaroo (it was National Red Faced Kangaroo, after all), the monkeys, the sheep, the tiger and various other animals.

As Jason can attest, I'm not much of a nature lover, but I had an absolute ball at the zoo. Why? Because Charlie is awesome!

Charlie crashed hard in the car on the way from the zoo to Crown Center -- we were actually afraid he might sleep through lunch at Fritz's, but being Charlie he woke up just in time to see the train lower his hamburger to the table and to swipe a few of Uncle Travis' fries.

After exploring the Crayola store and greeting all of the Crown Center shoppers who happened walk to through the main entrance (from the 2nd floor balcony), Charlie got to tour the new 2900 building (aka Midwest Shredding South) and drive his first tractor with a little help from PaPa. If he hadn't had so much fun from the moment he woke up, I would swear this was the best moment of Charlie's life so far...but I think I might just have to chalk it up to the best all-around day...topped off by Jack's Stack, poker, cookies and cousins back at BaBa and PaPa's house.

All of that, and Sunday was actually the focus of our trip back! Following a relaxed morning of waffles and games around the house, we all headed to Loose Mansion to celebrate Nanie's seventy-fifth birthday. In addition to roaming the halls and posing for pictures, Charlie had his first rootbeer, care of Uncle Chris, and his first cream puff -- well, cream at least. He was more than willing to "share" the puff part with Great Aunt Lina.

As the party drew to an end, PaPa whisked us all back up to KCI just in time to catch our flight, and Charlie played his heart out until we broke the cloud cover over Atlanta. Then leaning against the window see all the lights, his "whoas" abruptly switched to "zzzzz's", and Charlie slept all the way back to Charleston -- waking up just in time to announce that we were climbing into Daddy's truck.

Jason and I are both a bit shell-shocked by the excitement, adventure and fun of the past two days, but Charlie is entirely unphased...yep, you got it...Charlie is awesome!

Welcome to Kansas City!

A Zinger a day... 

Breakfast of Champions

Hello!

Cousins!

Chugga, chugga...

Choo-Choo!

Riding off into the sunset, PaPa style

Elizabeth, could you please pass the crumpets?

I'll hold

Waffle Lessons

First Rootbeer

Happy Birthday, Nanie!

...zzzzz

Doomed...

This can't be good.  We are flying to Kansas City this evening, and I'm not nervous about the flights.  Having flown all over the country for previous jobs, it's not the actual flying that scares me...it's the one year old. 

Prior to all of our other trips over the past two years, I have been almost frantic in my preparations and overwhelmed with a practical dread of the upcoming flights -- and other than a diaper explosion at 10 weeks and a short-lived crying fit  at 11 months, we've had no problems.

This time I've picked up a few new books/toys and packed some snacks, but I have no overwhelming sense of terror regarding the flights, and while I am not a superstitious person, I'm wondering if this is a bad sign...  Could I be over-confident and setting us (and our fellow passengers) up for a miserable evening?
Maybe I should pack some extra snacks...

(Alas, no pictures...I have unwillingly acquiesced to pint-sized demands and kept the camera at bay this week...all bets are off this weekend, though.  We have grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, polar bears, trains and parties ahead of us!)

Paparazzi

"No, mama" is a phrase I hear frequently these days, usually when it's time to get out of the bathtub, come in from outside or stop some other fun activity, but yesterday I heard it repeatedly when I tried to take Charlie's picture! 

We were relaxing at the picnic table enjoying Charlie's first ever ring-pop (huge fan, by the way), and as any mom would, I wanted to commemorate the momentous event with pictures...and after I took a handful of shots, Charlie looked me straight in the eye and said "No, mama."  Stunned, but wanting to respect his wishes (on this anyway), I put the camera in my pocket and he licked on.  A minute or two later, I stuck my hand in my pocket to grab the camera, and he looked up and repeated, "no, mama." 

While I hate to admit that I'm stubborn, I will confess that I'm very persistent, so I tried a few more times and met the same response...  Charlie has developed the same disdain for photographers as a reclusive star...and it's all my fault!

I am hoping that his aversion to pictures yesterday was just a quirk brought about by a super-fun and busy weekend, the time change and an extremely full belly.  Looking back, our weekend pretty much revolved around food.

Friday night we drove up to Ridgeville with Chad and Corrisa for Duke's BBQ.  Then on Saturday the Altman Family came over for Chili, Hotdogs and S'mores, and with Ryleigh's help, Charlie got to hang with the big kids all evening.  He had an absolutely fabulous time.

After church on Sunday, the three of us went to Summerville's annual Taste of the Town and shared "tastes" of Shrimp n Grits, Steak Sandwich, Pepperoni Pizza, "Uptown" Banana Pudding and Blueberry Bread Pudding, along with some knee-slapping good music (literally).  Summerville definitely knows how to throw a festival.

So, right now I'm convincing myself that Charlie was just going through a period of "exhaustion", as all the big stars do at some point...and that I will get to document his next 20 years with the same perseverance as I've done the first 20 months.

Jump Castle Junky

Finally a binky Charlie loves!

Mmmmm...

Awkward

I'm sure that Jason and I aren't the first parents to realize that using the restroom in peace and solitude is a thing of the past and if we're lucky of the very distant future, but surprisingly enough we've both grown accustomed to the company -- even if it includes a toy train and a Woody doll.

What's not so easy to get used to is the questions...Charlie is a very curious boy and absolutely fascinated with bodily functions -- to the point that he yells out "poop!" anytime he hears a questionable noise, no matter where we happen to be, and is convinced that that happens every time anyone uses the restroom.

That said, this morning his shouts of "puh-puh" didn't phase me, until he refused to believe my denials, and I realized he was pointing at my hip...well, the "purple" pansy on my hip to be more precise...

How exactly does one explain a tattoo to one's child -- especially if it has zero emotional or spiritual significance?   In fact, it doesn't even have a very good story.

When I was twenty-one a girlfriend convinced me to go with her to get a tattoo one Sunday after church (not kidding) since the tattoo parlor was just down the street from my apartment.  Feeling oh-so daring, I let her talk me into getting one, too, but lacking any great inspiration, I just picked a flower off the wall and changed the color to purple since I'm not really a pink person.

For a while I semi-convinced myself that like the pansy, I was extremely strong and hardy despite being seen as weak and young, blah-blah-blah...but that was definitely an afterthought.

I don't suppose I particularly regret the tattoo (especially since pregnancy and childbirth didn't turn it into a mini-Monet across my abdomen), but I don't think I'd do it again.  Thankfully it remains hidden, since I'm not exactly a crop-top kind of girl.  The crazy thing only sees the light of day in the shower and only serves to remind me that my one great rebellion in life was completely meaningless -- I imagine a lot of people can say the exact same thing, though.

I almost wish I'd gone the belly-button piercing route like so many of my girlfriends since you can just yank those out, but at the time that seemed pointless, since I don't where clothes that show my belly (and yes, I do see the fault in that logic).

Back to this morning, I basically just changed the subject, washed my hands and hustled Charlie out of the powder room, but it made me realize that Jason and I are going to have a lot of explaining to do over the next few years -- some innocuous and some a bit more complicated.  Thankfully, we're pretty boring.

Awesome!

Amidst all the other fun this weekend, we also erected the coolest swingset ever in our backyard!

Jason and I had been toying with the idea of getting Charlie a swingset for a few months, but weren't sure if we had the space, etc.  When BaBa came to visit, our very persuasive little boy showed his BaBa just how much he loved to swing and slide and climb, and together she and Charlie convinced Mommy and Daddy that it was time.

Ever the planners, Jason and I did a lot of online shopping and narrowed our choices down to the Highlander from Sam's Club and another swingset from Lowe's, both of which met our core requirements;

1 - Smallest possible footprint possible to fit in our postage-stamp size backyard
2 - Swings
3 - Slide

I was leaning towards the Sam's Club option, because it had more bells and whistles for the price, a wood roof, rather than canvas, and we'd actually seen it in the store back in the Spring when I had tried to convince Jason to buy it (subtly of course, since Charlie was barely walking).

Last weekend we took a trip to Lowe's to check out their samples and were unimpressed with the quality, so we decided the Highlander was our swingset of choice.  Having been to Sam's recently, Jason knew that it was no longer on display, but we drove over for some groceries anyway.  Ever optimistic, we asked a staffer if they had any of the swingsets in the back, but were told that they had all been sent back to the distribution center.

Forty-five minutes and $200 later we were headed to the checkout when Jason suggested that we get a mammoth tub of animal crackers for Charlie.  Hoping to shorten the time in line, I ran off to find the animal crackers while Jason and Charlie headed to the front. 

After much wandering (who would have thought animal crackers would ever be in the bakery?!?!), I found the animal crackers and noticed a slide sitting atop 4 large boxes on a cart in the corner.  I walked over and saw that it was the Highlander.  Assuming that someone else had ordered it for in-store pick-up, I rushed to the front to trade places with Jason, so he could check out the quality. 

Jason quickly returned, looked at me like I was crazy and wondered aloud how I had missed the price tag attached to the slide or the one attached to the cart itself (what can I say -- I was still flustered by the animal crackers hunt!).  Then he told me that it was priced $200 less than online since there was no shipping required. 

We immediately tracked down a manager and all paraded through the store to the back corner.  Dave, the manager, confirmed that the Highlander was in fact for sale and he even took off another $90 just for the heck of it!  Jason, Charlie and I were on cloud nine!

Fast forward  six days to 8:30 AM Saturday morning and construction commenced.  Despite the dire predictions on the website (14 to 43 hours!), Jason, Bob, Garrett and Chad finished the swingset in 12 working hours, even with Charlie's help throughout the process (thank goodness for Donna and Amanda!).

We truly couldn't be more thrilled with the new swingset, but throughout the weekend I realized that our original three requirements weren't the half of it.  For the perfect swingset you actually need 19 things:

1 - The smallest possible footprint
2 - Swings
3 - A slide
4 - A picnic table
5 - Steps instead of ladders
6 - Beautiful weather
7 - A glider
8 - A telescope
9 - A steering wheel
10 - 308 pieces of wood (in 80 shapes and sizes) -- minus the three O3s without a home
11 - 1,884 pieces of hardware (in 34 shapes and sizes) -- minus the random few pieces left on the table
12 - 3 drills (with extra batteries)
13 - beer
14 - steak soup
15 - 4 dogs
16 - 12 free hours
17 - an incredibly GENEROUS and LOVING BaBa and PaPa
18 - the five BEST neighbors ever
19 - the MOST INCREDIBLE husband/daddy in the world

and let's not forget number 20, a fabulous and adorable one-year-old running around and getting in the way to remind everyone what it's all about (even when the very last step takes 10 times longer than expected because the silly spikes keep hitting rocks!).

This morning when I arrived home after dropping Charlie at school and admired the swingset towering over our backyard, I felt like the most blessed woman in the world.   For a long time I thought that Jason and I would miss out on the opportunity to have a swingset, but after less than 48 hours, I can't picture our backyard without it, and after almost 20 months, I can't picture our lives without Charlie.  God is so good!

Breaking down the boxes -- the fun way!

Here, Dad, let me get my screw driver

Working on the third floor

Showing Garrett how to use the ladder

Shooting the Rapids with Amanda

Need any help, Mr Bob?

First meal at the picnic table

Wake up, wake up -- look what's outside!

Daddy and Chad attaching the slide...almost done!

Mastering the climb

Fall Fun

Weekends are my favorite time!  I know that's not exactly a unique or earth-sharttering assertion, but it's definitely top of mind.  Both Jason and I had a hard time saying goodbye to Charlie this morning after an absolutely fantastic fall weekend.

We kicked off the fun with a trip to the West Farm corn maze on Friday evening with Bob and Donna.  Almost as exciting as the attraction, itself, is the fact that there is something fun to do waaaay up at the Jedburg Exit!

Jason worked from home Friday afternoon, so we were able to head over right around 5:30.  For $5 per adult, we spent over 3 hours playing, exploring, petting and laughing.  It could have turned bad early, though.  We made the mistake of letting Charlie play in the corn box first thing, and he didn't want to get out.  The only thing that quieted his screaming (yes, screaming), was the opportunity to run "free" in the hay bale maze.  He navigated it with only two wrong turns...I'm thinking he has his mom's sense of direction!

Next up, after the apple sling-shot, Charlie got to stick his hand in a goat's mouth...aka feed it.  (I truly cannot imagine going to a petting zoo prior to the invention of hand sanitizer, and I consider myself fairly middle of the road when it comes to germ fears).  Following the alternating adoration and fear of the goats, sheep, cow and chickens, we set off into the corn maze around 6:15 or 6:30.

Two hours, many, many, many wrong turns, string cheese, sunset and a short nap later, we exited the corn maze -- having punched our map at every single checkpoint, for which we earned a sticker, and some free food at Chili's -- not to mention the honor of being able to say we survived!  In addition, the stellar F.S.I investigators that we are, we deduced that it was the pig, in the tree house, with the corn launcher!

The fun continued Saturday afternoon with the Toy Box daycare Fall Festival.  Charlie got his first tattoo (a great big, hairy spider), went on a hayride with Raggedy Ann (aka Miss Jo-Jo), and ate a whole hotdog -- all during naptime, so Jason and I were quite impressed.

With everything else going on, Jason and I almost forgot about trick-or-treating Sunday night -- thank goodness Charlie had Chad to remind us.  Our little "Charlie Brown" picked up the routine by the second house, and was a trick-or-treating allstar.  We only hit houses of people we knew, realizing that most of the candy would end up around Jason's and my waistlines, not Charlie's, but that was plenty. 

By the end of Scrapbook Lane, Charlie was walking back to the wagon after giving a very quiet, "man-man" (thank you), and climbing back in all by himself, urging mom and dad to "Go", while we chatted with neighbors.  And by the end of Pavillion he was bidding farewell to each house with a "Happ-een" (Happy Halloween). 

One pack of Smartees later and Charlie was circling the kitchen/dining/living room loop at 90 miles per hour, then bouncing off the front door...so much for the whole idea of a "sugar-high" being a myth.  I can honestly say that this was my favorite Halloween ever!

And for Charlie's part, he learned two very important lessons this weekend:  one, do not get lost in the dark with Bob, Donna, Mom and Dad...we are useless when the sun goes down; two, Halloween really is all about the candy.

Hayride

Happy Halloween!

Charlie Brown

Check it out, there's candy in here!

Sugar High!

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