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!

Update...

Just back from the pediatrician...again...

Daycare called around 11:15 to say that Charlie's rash was worse.  I missed the call, though, and when I called back at 12:15 he was already down for nap.  I rushed around to get everything done and was very unsurprised when they called back around 1:15.  Charlie had just woken up and his rash was raised and very red...so off I went in yoga pants...to daycare...then to the pediatrician...in yoga pants.  While I am proud to say that I do not have the tush I had (or even half the tush I had) when I was 9 months pregnant, I still in no way, shape or form have a tush that should be seen in public in yoga pants.  But I guess that's motherhood.

Back to Charlie...the pediatrician's office had called when I was in picking him up from daycare, so I called back to get his results from the strep test.  It isn't "common strep", which causes strep throat, but strep bacteria did grow...so... yeah?  Anyway, the doctor recommended that he stay on his antibiotic, and when I asked if it could be causing the rash, which has definitely become worse since he started the new one on Friday, she asked us to come in.

So, after 4 trips to and from the car in pouring rain (approximately 1 hour after I had blown my hair dry) and an hour in the waiting room with a very bored, very active Charlie (all the while wearing yoga pants in public!), we saw Dr. Tripp.  Thankfully, she does not appear to think I'm crazy, and even more important, believes that the rash is just part of the whatever virus Charlie has.  She even wrote him a note to go back to school tomorrow, since he doesn't even seem to notice the rash and she's certain it isn't contagious.

So, I guess the lessons of the day are:
1 - Never wash all of your jeans at the same time
2 - Never blow your hair dry on a rainy day
3 - If you're really not crazy, the doctor won't think you are

And the best news of all?  I don't have to make dinner! We're headed out with our neighbors John & Trish.  Woohoo!

He's baaack....

Yeah!  Charlie's back and the lethargic, crabby, hollow-eyed baby is gone!  We couldn't be more thrilled.

After three days of sleeping, fussing and refusing to eat, a second trip to the doctor and a second round of antibiotics (that apparently don't taste as good as amoxicillin), it might have been strep.  The test was so faint though, that they had to send it to the lab Friday afternoon and the results won't be back until today.

It is not, however, diabetic ketoacidocis...  You see, Thursday and Friday Charlie's breath smelled strongly of rubbing alchohol, and since he was still extremely lethargic, I thought I should look it up online and see if I could find any hints as to what he might have and whether or not he needed to return to the doctor.  Well, according to all of the perfectly reliable internet sites I found, breath smelling of rubbing alcohol can be caused by one of two things: 1 - ingesting rubbing alcohol, 2 - diabetic ketoacidosis. 

The latter is accompanied by lethargy (Charlie had been napping 4 to 6 hours per day and then sleeping all night -- and this is the kid who barely gets in a 2 hour nap!), loss of appetite (by lunchtime Friday he'd only had half a Dora yogurt!), and severe dehydration (huh?  not sure...but probably not). 

So, I called the doctor, related his symptoms and asked if I should come in...all the while picturing weeks, months and years of doctors and procedures and special diets, etc.  Since he was so lethargic, they did recommend that I bring him back in, and of course, he perked right up in the waiting room, playing, laughing at the fish and trying to escape to the "well kids" side, terrifying a mother of a small baby.

Since Dr. Tripp is so great, she didn't even laugh at me once we made it to the exam room, but assured me that a child with DK would not be flirting with her, throwing goldfish or reveling in the I Spy books.  She did however do the strep test, which came back "inconclusive".

Saturday morning was still a bit iffy, but by Saturday afternoon we saw sparks of our Charlie.  He and I took Otis for a walk to the swings, where he insisted that I swing along side of him, and he actually ate some dinner, before topping off the day by feeding the fish with Bob.

Unfortunately for Charlie, he missed out on our guest Saturday evening.  A boy in the neighborhood found a Boston Terrier running loose and immediately brought it to our house (shocker!).  Amazingly enough it wasn't Otis, but within an hour we'd named the new dog Luis, and he and Otis were leaping furniture and wrestling on the living room floor.  Knowing how terrified I would be if Otis were missing, I posted a note on our neighborhood Facebook page, and Luis' real owners came racing up to the door less than an hour later.  Apparently Luis (aka Mercutio) had made a run for it right after dinner.  Alas, no second dog for us... Otis is still pouting.

Uncomfortable with taking Charlie to the nursery after just 3 doses of the new antibiotic, we all stayed home from church yesterday, but celebrated the return of our ornery little monster with blueberry and banana pancakes, and a full day of Daddy time.  By bedtime Jason and I were both exhausted -- apparently Charlie needed to make up for all of the rest he'd gotten over the last few days with constant activity.

Helping Mom while home sick

First Milkshake as a reward for being such a trouper at the Doctor

Back in dancing form

You're in my spot!

So lonely...

Poor Baby

Yesterday afternoon Charlie's daycare called at 1:49 PM.  He had just woken up from nap with a 103 degree fever and had the shivers.  As I hadn't yet squeezed in my shower, but had run 5 miles over lunch, I knew a shower was not optional.  I immediately IM'd Jason to see if he could get Charlie a 2:30 appointment at the pediatrician and ran up to the shower. 

Twenty minutes later, I was de-stinked, in the car eating a granola bar for lunch, and en route to daycare then on to Sweetgrass Pediatrics to make our 2:30 appointment.  It is such an amazing blessing to live so close to daycare and the pediatrician and to have flexibility at work -- not to mention a husband who doesn't mind acting as an administrative assistant from time to time.

For the first time ever, I didn't peek through the picture window before walking into Charlie's classroom, and I was completely unprepared for the sight that met me when I opened the door.  Miss Brenda was sitting on the floor, and Charlie was lying limp in her arms.  Obviously, in the back of my head I knew that he was fine -- she wouldn't be sitting there calmly if he wasn't, but my immediate reaction was sheer panic.  When I walked over, she just quietly shook her head, clearly as unhappy about Charlie's condition as I was.  This just was not my Charlie.  But Miss Amanda did assure me that every once in a while he would open his eyes and smile at them.  That definitely made me feel better.

Charlie peered up at me blankly when I picked him up and just snuggled into my shoulder.  I was so grateful that we had an immediate doctor appointment.  During the short walk to the car, my fears started to get a bit out of control.  What if his ear infection had gotten terribly worse?  What if it was the start of some horrible disease?  What if he was never going to feel better?  But he cheered me up a bit when he asked about Otis and smiled at a truck driving by.

At the doctor's office, they checked Charlie's ears, which were healed and tested him for the flu, and he fell asleep waiting for the results, which were negative.  Basically, he has a virus and that's all they can tell me.  I need to keep him hydrated and watch his fever.  If it isn't significantly lower by Friday I should return.  That's it.

Charlie did show interest in the school buses on the ride home and asked again about "Dogo"...so there were sparks there of himself, but that's about it.  At home he actually sat down with me and watched part of Toy Story -- completely amazed that Woody could be in the chair with us and on the TV at the same time -- until he fell asleep in my arms.  The selfish part of me definitely enjoyed the cuddle time with my baby, but the heat emanating from his body took away much of the pleasure, along with his obvious discomfort when he woke up. 

For the past 16 hours Charlie has survived on popsicles, frozen blueberries, grapes and cheese, along with random stretches of sleep.  It's killing Jason to be at work, rather than hear to watch him like a hawk, and at this point I'm just trying to help us both recover from a long, hot night and chase the crazy meningitis, terminal illness thoughts from my head.

I am so thankful that Charlie hasn't been sick much -- I'm not sure I'm strong enough to handle it!

Zonked again...

Daddy is much more comfortable than my crib

Poor baby

Let's Hug it Out...

Charlie appears to be getting cuddlier by the day and also may or may not be discovering the relationship between cause and effect. 

As I've mentioned before, Charlie is slowly starting to enjoy hugs and cuddles and kisses...and will even sit in our laps for multiple minutes at a stretch to read books or do puzzles.  He still wiggles and squirms a lot, but it's a start.  In fact, he's even putting his new found appreciation for hugs to another purpose.

As all parents do, Jason and I have been working on manners with Charlie.  Currently we're working on saying please, thank you and I'm sorry, and keeping our feet of the dinner table and covering our mouth when we cough.

Charlie absolutely loves "please" because in his world it truly is the magic word.  It is very rare for Charlie to invoke "please" and not get his hearts desire, whether it be a banana, mom or dad to sit on the floor or just about anything else.  And while I'd like to claim that this is intentional on our part, to make sure he understands the value of the word and it's impact, blah, blah, blah...in reality, he's just so stinking cute when he throws his chin in the air, grins and shouts, "peeeeeze", that we can't resist.

Thank you is coming along, but not nearly as well...he's just not as motivated to perform on demand when he already has what he wants.

I'm sorry is the latest project.  While the days of purposely hitting, biting, scratching and pinching seem to have passed with the launch of Charlie's vocabulary, he is still a rough and tumble little boy and can inflict fairly serious pain when he runs into you at full speed, so we're trying to get him to understand that sometimes he hurts us and to apologize.  Our efforts seemed fairly ineffectual until yesterday morning.

We were all playing on the floor when somehow or other Charlie's arm smacked me in the nose.  I told him that that hurt, and he got a very concerned look on his face, looked at me and said, "Mommy, hug", then proceeded to very carefully snuggle me.  It was hilarious!  My only guess is that it is founded in both our attempts to get him to apologize and my habit of kissing his "owies" when he discovers them, which he thoroughly enjoys. 

Fortunately for us, it wasn't a one-time thing, but continued through this morning.  Each time an "ouch" has come out of Jason's or my mouth, Charlie has quietly said "hug" and snuggled us.   Otis, I'm afraid, doesn't find it nearly as adorable.  While hugging-out a bonk this morning, Charlie spotted Otis laying on the couch behind me and whacked him pretty hard.  Otis jumped off the couch and slinked across the room glaring at me...with Charlie close behind saying "Dog-o, hug" over and over again.  I laughed so hard, Jason had to come downstairs and see what was going on!

I guess the next step is to teach Charlie that as much as people appreciate receiving apologies, it's really not a good idea to hurt them just to give yourself a reason to do so...

Mulling over this morning's adventure, I knew that I remembered a time when Otis was actually more interested in Charlie than vice versa, and I have proof!

Doctor, Doctor

Yesterday morning I had to rush through work to make it to my checkup in the afternoon.  Oddly, as I raced around getting things done, I found myself chipper and excited...what?!?!?  I giggled when I finally realized that I hadn't been to the doctor since it was fun!

Flashback 2 years, up to 18 months ago and the monthly, then biweekly, then weekly doctor appointments were great!  Other than watching the weights on the scale slide waaaay too far to the right and that one chocolate milkshake lecture, everything about it was fun.  My blood pressure was always remarkably low, making me feel like I'd accomplished something -- though heaven only knows how I thought I could take credit for that -- and hearing the heartbeat was like having an early conversation with my little miracle.  Each time, as soon as I got to the car I would call Jason and Mom to recap the wonderful experience.  The anticipation and excitement of these visits were some of the highlights of my pregnancy.

Fast forward to yesterday and the sole explanation I have is the fact that my only visits to the doctor since Charlie was born were at 6 weeks, when all the doctors and nurses oohed and aahed over my precious little man, and at 6 months when everyone complimented me on no longer tipping the scales at 170+!  I guess all of these positive memories kind of bled into yesterday...then of course, I got there.

While I am still a big fan of Carolina Women's Care, the nurses weren't nearly as excited to see me (nor did they remember me as well), since I wasn't expecting.  Not to go into details, but there certainly was nothing as pleasant in store as hearing a brand new heartbeat.  Though, I have to admit that I did call Mom from the car to celebrate weighing in left of 140 (fully clothed and with a full bladder I might add!).  Otherwise, yeah, it was just the same old annual visit I've dreaded since I was 13...

Now, all of that said, the afternoon and evening were much more fun than 18 to 24 months ago.  Rather than spending an exhausted evening punctuated only by regular attempts to heave myself out of the recliner and race-waddle to the powder room to rid myself of the latest 16 oz of water I had forced myself to drink, I enjoyed a yogurt snack and coloring with Charlie, along with with a hot bath and a glass of wine with Jason...  All in all, I have to say that a fabulous evening does outweigh a fabulous doctor visit.

It's great for the complexion...

Truck!!!!!!

Is it abnormal for a 33 year old to drive down the road and shout out "truck" when she sees a log truck ...if she's the only one in the car?

Charlie is absolutely obsessed with transportation -- airplanes, trucks, buses, boats, trains, motorcycles...  You name it and he loves them all.  Our rides to and from school and church have turned into a quest to find every such vehicle in Summerville and shout it's name, and once he's spotted one, he immediately demands more. 

The crazy part is that I find myself playing when I'm alone in the car.  Yesterday I was on my way into town and saw two back-to-back school buses in my rearview mirror and I was overjoyed...then I remembered that Charlie wasn't with me and felt a bit foolish, but I'm wondering if overjoyed was actually the appropriate response after all.  Trucks and buses and airplanes really are pretty neat.

In fact, Charlie has reintroduced me to all kinds of excitement lately.  He can hear the geese coming about 20 seconds before they actually appear above the trees and he starts shouting and staring into the sky.  Then as they clear the treetops and glide down for a landing on the pond, he shouts and claps, and to be honest -- a gaggle of geese flying in and landing in your backyard is pretty cool.

And, while Jason and I have been married 6 1/2 years, I admit that it is still pretty exciting to hear his truck rev up the driveway after a long day.  Now, alone I probably wouldn't race to the back door and start pounding on the glass, but it sure is fun to watch Charlie do it -- and to see Jason's face when he witnesses the joy he brings.  When Otis gets in on the act you'd think it was Christmas morning around here, not Monday night.

And no one can really deny the fact that the weightless whoosh you feel when pushed high on the swing deserves a "whoa!" and a giggle, followed by a "whee" on the upward arc.  It's as close to flying as we'll get in this lifetime.

While I can't see myself cuddling a banana all the way home from Publix anytime soon, and I hope to break Charlie of the joy he finds in ripping a bubble mower out of the hands of another little boy and then shouting "whee" as he pushes it away, I am definitely finding much more excitement and joy and thrill in life than I have for years.  I suppose this is just one of the first in a long list of things I'll learn from my baby.

Wheee!

Priority Shift

Two weeks ago, on August 25, Jason and I celebrated 10 years of being together...or rather, we should have, we even talked about it ahead of time, but we both forgot!  I actually realized it the next day when I glanced at my phone on the way in to daycare and saw the date...the extent of our celebration?  A text message notifying Jason that we were both slackers.

Now for many couples that might not be so unusual, but I am a birthday/anniversary fanatic.  I just love the chance to celebrate wonderful things like the lives of people I love and relationships with them.  I vividly remember being disappointed 9 years and 5 months ago when Jason felt no need to commemorate our 7 month dating anniversary...obviously things have changed a bit.

Fast forward to last night when the stars seemed to align for an infinitely more important celebration.  Bible Study was cancelled, nothing was defrosted, Wasabi had an early bird special...ta-dah: dinner out!  Moments after Jason agreed to taking Charlie and I on a family date, I realized that today was going to be Charlie's 18 month birthday!  Now there is a reason to celebrate!

Granted, had Jason never manipulated me into asking him out 10 years ago by telling me that he had no plans on a Friday night (whatever!) when my closest friends happened to all be at a produce conference in Colorado (vastly different career path at the time), and had I not charmed him with my glasses (which he still mourns the loss of to lasic, by the way) and my fabulous rendition of Jesse's Girl, there would have been no Charlie to celebrate. 

But, what could be more fun than an 18 month old at a Japanese Steakhouse?  Absolutely nothing.  I highly recommend that anyone with a toddler take them tonight -- it's just too much fun to miss!

And now, for the quarterly Charlie update.  We're 18 months into this adventure and it is truly getting better every day.  I know I've said this before, but 18 months is by far my favorite age.  He is just so crazy much fun right now!

As of 9/09/10:

• Weight - 26 lbs 12 oz (50th percentile)
• Length - 32 inches (50th percentile)
• Head - 49 cm (90th percentile!!)
• Doctor's comment at 18 month appointment: Double Ear Infection!  We had no idea.  Charlie hasn't fussed or rubbed his ears at all, but now he's on his first round ever of amoxicillin...he loves the medicine, but the ear infection makes me nervous...
• Teeth - Still 4 bottom, 4 top, and still gnawing on things right and left, so likely more to come
• Hair - Very blonde after a summer in the sun, but showing signs of darkening up by the roots 
• Birthmarks - Stork bites are no longer visible; second birthmark near the potato-shaped birthmark on left shin and freckles high above his right eye and on each cheek
• Naps - 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours after lunch every day at school and a little bit earlier on weekends
• Bedtime - 7:00 to 7:30
• Waketime - 6:45 to 7:00
• Favorite Foods - Almost anything!  Bananas, meatballs, shrimp (as of last night), steak, pasta, yogurt...
• Favorite Song - Toes by the Zac Brown Band, Itsy Bitsy Spider and Daisy Sour Cream Jingle
• Favorite Dance - His own private dances that he breaks into during commercials...particuarly Daisy Sour Cream, J. Garris Interiors and Big Lots
• Favorite Toys - Silverware, cups, books and puzzles
• Favorite Game - Feeding the fish, peek-a-boo, pouring water out of his water table
• Interests - Trucks, dogs, books, water, outdoors, shoes
• Recent milestones - 

           - Started Daycare and absolutely loves it
           - Knows that B says "bu"

           - Talking constantly and even having some basic conversations 

•  Imminent milestones

            - No idea, but I'm sure there will be something new today and something else tomorrow

• Best Friends - Bob and still Otis (begrudgingly) and Wa-Wally
• Hero - Da-da
• Personality - definitely holding to his original traits...just exaggerated with time

          - Still Goofier - He is developing a fabulous belly laugh and loves to give/receive zerberts, tickle, play tag and hide

         - Active - If I didn't know better I would think he'd forgotten how to walk...all he does is run

        - Curious - He absolutely loves to learn so far.  Whenever I see him at school, he is intently listening to the teacher read or show colors or whatever the circle time activity is for the day, and he loves to ask what things are, repeat it, see them and figure out how they work.

        - Joyful - Charlie wakes up smiling, laughs and jokes around all day.  The best moment of each day is when I get to daycare and peer through the picture window.  As soon as he sees me, he kicks his little legs, swings his little arms and laughs...no mom could ask for more.

        - Loving - He is finally starting to cuddle some.  He is very free with hugs and kisses now, and Jason's favorite part of the day is when Charlie comes in and wakes him up each morning with a hug and cuddles for a few minutes in bed.  Plus, his newfound love of reading makes sure that we get lots of time with him in our laps.

        - Independent - No doubt, he can do it himself, but he will still ask for help when he needs it or gets frustrated.  It's so much fun. 

       - Tidy - He is amazingly good at picking up toys and is a bit over-concerned with washing his hands or having me clean them when he's eating...hopefully this doesn't become a problem.

      - Fabulous! - What can I say?  He's just more fun than I ever dreamed!

All duded up for the night out