Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to you and yours...

from the Ward's - Daniel, Melissa, Charlie, Lucy & Khaki.

ok...here's you a post...

Amongst the chaos of me trying to get Christmas presents finished, I'll give you a new post. Just a quick peek at a new video of Charlie. I've got tons of stuff to post from the last two weeks or so. I'll be sure to post alot over the holidays because I'll probably be bored since I have built-in babysitters when I'm in AL. Not that I'm complaining!

I found these rolls of wrapping paper at Target for $1/roll so I grabbed a few. Charlie has had the most fun with them. Who needs Christmas presents...

that crazy time of year...

I apologize for not posting in a while. Things have just been crazy! I'm still hacking and coughing and have been for over a week so that has led me to some groggy days.

We had a great Thanksgiving in AL with all of our family. We were there for about 10 days so I'm sure my parents and inlaws are having Charlie withdrawals. He got pretty spoiled while we were there. The weather was beautiful most days so a good bit of Charlie's time was spent walking around outside. That is where he prefered to be! Unfortunately, since we've been home, he hasn't been able to play outside due to the cold weather and his mommy being sick. Poor thing. We spent Thanksgiving day with Daniel's family and a good bit of his extended family that night. Friday was spent with my family. Daniel also got to spend some time with the boys. This is a group from high school that gets together usually around Thanksgiving and Christmas because there's a good amount of them home. I usually just pop my head in to say hello and leave Daniel with them. No telling how many video games they played! Most of our time was just spent with our families, especially Daniel's grandmother. Charlie warmed right up to her and they had a ball! He has really begun to remember people. He gets excited to see any of his grandparents and will go right to them. Charlie's is perfectly content with any of them. That made my vacation wonderful!

Well, that's about it. I finally got my Christmas decorations up today, inside and outside, with Daniel's help. It really puts you in the spirit! We'll see how Charlie does with the tree. I'm working on Christmas presents as well. I'll post more after Christmas since I don't want to ruin the surprise for my family who reads my blog. It's going to be a chore but I'm really going to enjoy giving them.

We attended Breakfast with Santa yesterday morning at church. I'll try and upload the pics and post on that soon. So for now, this is all you get. :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

May your stuffing be tasty

May your turkey plump,

May your potatoes and gravy

Have never a lump.

May your yams be delicious

And your pies take the prize,

And may your Thanksgiving dinner

Stay off your thighs!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

things that go bump...and bump and bump and bump...

Yes. I'm ashamed to say, Charlie went for a tumble down the stairs on Thursday. I know...I know...it happens to every kid but this time it was my kid and it was totally my fault. I was getting ready to go next door to visit my neighbor and her son. I had opened the gate at the top of the stairs to go out and needed to grab one more thing. Charlie was lying on his belly overlooking the top step looking down and I'm thinking "he's not going to pull himself over the edge" as I turn around...patump, patump, patump, patump...patump. Sure enough. Charlie pulled himself right over and down he went "penguin" style. Fortunately, there were only 5 steps until the landing then in turns and goes down to the basement. Unfortunately, those first 5 are wooden. I picked him up thanking the Lord there were no broken bones or a concussion or worse. He did manage to get a wallop of a bruise just under his eyebrow on his left eye. We both just sat down and cried. I was sick to my stomach the rest of the day. I went on next door to see my neighbor. When she answered the door, she could read all over my face that something was wrong. I explained to her that I didn't now what to do...ER? pediatrician? nothing? Luckily, she's at home with her second child so she just said, "Come on in. We'll get an icepack." I did call the pediatrician but Debbie was my lifesaver at that moment! Thanks, Debbie!

We had to, unexpectantly, leave out of town that night due to a death in Daniel's family which meant all of Daniel's family that we rarely see would see Charlie's black eye. They all reacted better than I thought they would though. I did get a few, "Whoa! What happened?" But most were just, "Aww, how did you get that big boo boo? Did you fall down?" Then I knew I was in the midst of experienced mommas and didn't feel judged in any way. I have had to answer the how it happened question many times though (and it's only Sunday). Don't these people understand that I don't really want to live it again? I know they're curious but must you make me repeat it for the 100th time? Guess this is my penalty for leaving the gate open and turning my head for a split second! :)

These were taken yesterday and Charlie was not happy about me taking his picture...as you can tell! Today, it's many more shades of blue, purple, red, green, etc. I guess it has to go through the colors of the rainbow before it heals. We've been talking about his 80's style makeup.

As I mentioned, one of Daniel's first cousins passed away on Wednesday. He had been fighting cancer and other complications and his body was just tired so when it came time he asked not to be put back on the ventilator on Tuesday. He leaves a wife and three kids - one in college, one is a senior in high school, and a 5 year old. Please keep the Thomas family in your prayers as they go through this difficult time especially with the holidays coming up.

So, here I sit in Elba. Home for the week! We had planned on going up to TN to visit my grandmother with my parents yesterday but due to us coming home early for the funeral, we decided to stay put here in AL for the duration. I just couldn't see putting Charlie back in that car for a 7-8 hour drive. These plans also made us have to board Khaki for the long haul...anyone want to donate to the poor family who has to give and arm and a leg to board their dog over Thanksgiving!?! Maybe Santa will be good to us this year and just leave the money in her kennel...oh, there's no such thing as Santa...what was that!?!...I'm Santa! Yikes! We're in trouble!

chasing a dog...

Here's the latest save from my dog's teeth. Apparently, I wasn't fast enough. I wonder what else I'll have to save today...

random thoughts on a monday afternoon

let's see...random thoughts...

1. Charlie, contrary to a prior post, is not walking on his own. Well, he's taking a few steps on his own. We have yet to get him to walk as much as he did a week ago as seen on the post.

2. Is it time to wean your child from the pacifier if he is biting through the silicone? I've thrown away four in the last month due to this and he only uses them in church and to go to sleep.

3. I got in a mood and cleaned my kitchen and bathroom on Friday and Saturday. Now my fingertips are sore due to the scrubber part on the sponge.

4. Is it unusual to get on to your dog more than your child? Poor Khaki just doesn't have a chance when you've got a one year old throwing you toys to chase. How's a dog to resist that? Unfortunately, she takes the toy to her pillow and proceeds to chew it to pieces. So, on a day like today, I spend most of my morning chasing a dog and prying her teeth apart to retrieve whatever toy Charlie has given to her. Charlie gets so excited to do this but I've told him over and over not to give things/food to the dog. Of course, he just looks at me with that blank stare and throws something else to her. Then, I realize that I was the one who taught him to throw the ball to Khaki. I never thought he would start throwing toys to her. *sigh* I fished out a little pressboard book today. It now has permanent teeth marks.

5. I bought Charlie a new pair of tennis shoes last week. He's worn them a couple of times and they were really hard to get on him so we determined they were too small. So, today I decided to take them back to get a larger size. Luckily, I still had the receipt but had pulled the tag off for him to wear them and threw it away. I was afraid that they wouldn't take them back if I didn't have the tag too. I remembered throwing the tag away in the trash can in Charlie's room. We take this trash out fairly often since it gets full of wet diapers. (We only put dirty diapers in the diaper genie.) To make a long story short, I knew right where it was but this location was the trash can outside. Ugh...that's was disgusting. But, like I said, I knew right where it was so I found it rather quickly.

6. I'm excited about going home (Elba) for Thanksgiving. I always enjoy so much spending time with my family and with Daniel's family. Daniel has taken the week off so we'll get extra time to see everyone.

7. I'm also excited that Christmas is right around the corner. I always love this time of year. I'm not, however, looking forward to presents for everyone on a "no money" budget. I guess it's time to use the creative part of my brain and get to work. When all's said and done, I'm sure I will have loved doing it. I'm just stressed about it right now.

Well, there's random for you. It took me about 6 hours to do this post because I kept having to leave and come back to it. You know...dinner, bath, bedtime, husband time, Jon & Kate plus 8, etc. :) Now, it's my bedtime because I'm sure Charlie will wake sometime during the night, as he's been doing for the past week, and we'll have, actually I'll have, about 30-45 minutes of crying and screaming to deal with. I try to not involve Daniel in these since he has to work the next day but the screaming normally wakes him up anyway. So off to bed...

yummy to my tummy

I made my mom's recipe of camp stew on Monday and have been enjoying every bite this week. It makes a huge pot so we gave some away to a couple at church who are both under the weather right now. I wasn't able to present it in true Melissa Lester style. Maybe, next time, although I'm not sure I'm truly capable. She amazes me. Anyway, I also put a portion of the stew in the freezer for another day.

Since it has been a little cooler this week, it's been a nice way to warm up on a cold day. Serve it with some crackers and sliced cheese. Yum! It's even better leftover! It's similar to brunswick stew so if you're interested, here is the recipe:

Camp Stew

3 cans Castleberry's BBQ beef
3 cans Castleberry's BBQ pork
3 cans Sweet Sue's BBQ chicken
2 lg. cans diced tomatoes
1 can butter beans
1 can whole kernel corn

Mix all ingredients and simmer for about an hour. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.

I usually have trouble finding the Castleberry's BBQ pork and Sweet Sue's BBQ chicken. This time I used the Lloyd's brand. It's in the refrigerated section with the processed stuff like Country Crock mashed potatoes, Hormel's Pot Roast, etc. It comes in a mustard yellow plastic bowl with a red lid. The Castleberry cans are 10 oz. cans so I just bought the same ounce amount in the Lloyd's. Actually, I had to buy extra because the Lloyd's came in 18 oz. containers. I ended up using a container and a half of each and decided to use the leftover meat for BBQ sandwiches. Wal-Mart didn't have any of it. I checked two Publix's and both had the Castleberry's BBQ beef but the shelf space for the Castleberry's BBQ pork was empty. No sign of the Sweet Sue's BBQ chicken anywhere. So...Lloyd's BBQ pork and BBQ chicken it was. It was still a wonderful stew, just a little sweeter than normal.

Charlie's walking!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Charlie is on the move! He walked across the living room tonight. Daniel had been playing with him and had gotten Charlie to take a few steps toward him for Goldfish crackers. Thank you Goldfish crackers! Daniel just kept working with him and increasing the distance by scooting back. I was teasing him about his scooting back in the video. It just looks funny. He said he wasn't expecting Charlie to keep going that far and that he was just trying to scoot back as fast as he could so that Charlie wouldn't grab hold of him.

It got time for Charlie's bath so I just told him we needed to go run the water and take his clothes/diaper off. I stood him up and he walked from our desk in the dining room to about halfway down the hall. I changed him and he walked from his room all the way to our bathroom. Yes, Charlie streaks through the house every night. (Sorry I don't have video of that one. You're welcome, Charlie!) :)

So, Daniel and I are now exstatic, elated, jumping for joy, etc., etc., etc. You get the idea. We made sure to call both our parents to let them know. They seemed almost as happy as we were.

18 months old

Charlie turned 18 months old on Tuesday. As you've seen from my previous post, we're still waiting on Charlie to find his independence and sprint down the hall. He's on the brink so it shouldn't be much longer. As for his vocabulary, we've just got animal sounds. It is fun to hear him moo and bark though! He's almost got a cat's meow.

Charlie had his 18 month check-up with the pediatrician today. She pretty much said he's not walking or talking because he doesn't need to. Busted! I am so busted! I've learned his grunts and whines. He's using his sign language but the doc mentioned that these can make him lazy. The more I think about it the more I'm convinced she's right. I thought I was doing good but I guess I'm just gonna have to get tough and deal with the whines and screams until he figures out he has to tell me what he wants. I've gotten so good at asking him to show me what he wants so that he's not screaming at me.

I was told to work with him alot during the day to get him to take a few steps toward me. So, maybe we'll have him walking by Thanksgiving! We tried to get him to walk in the doc's office but he was already having a traumatic time and was just screaming so he wouldn't do anything except stand there and scream. I think it traumatized him because if I try to get him to walk to me, same thing...screams or whines. Tomorrow's a new day. Maybe he'll work with me.

In addition to the usual questions regarding eating, drinking, napping, sleeping, etc., I got asked a few other questions. Some were does he stack things, does he point to body parts when asked to, does he respond to/follow simple directions, and others I can't remember right now. To answer some of these...sleeps 12 hours a night; eats well; drinks about 20 ounces of milk a day and about 4-6 ounces of juice a day; takes one nap (around 2-2 1/2 hours) in the afternoon; yes he can stack things; he will point to mine and Daniel's nose, mouth, eyes, ears, when asked; he follow directions/commands well.

Some of Charlie's favorite things are still his books and his cars. He loves to sit and put things in and take them out. He loves to look out the window. I have to raise the blinds every morning so he doesn't tear them up "raising" them himself. Charlie is entralled with the cat. He likes Khaki but I think she's a little too hyper for him right now. We walk the floors all day long. I guess that's how he burns his energy during the day.

Charlie's stats from today are: weight - 24 pounds 8 ounces; height - 31 3/4 inches; head circ. - 19 inches. We would have gone shot-free today except that I had them give Charlie a flu shot.

Well, I guess that's about it for an update.

I mentioned in a previous post that I was working on a book for Charlie. I finished it a couple of weeks ago but have just now gotten around to getting pictures of it so I could share it. My aunt gave me the idea to make a book for him that were "his" things. She did this for both her kids and they loved them and still cherish them. I hope Charlie will do the same with this one. He, of course, loves the page with his kitty on it. His other favorites are the train, the cars and his books. Maybe, one day, his favorite page will be his mama or his daddy! :) Anyway, I had fun making it for him...

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

first steps

I got Charlie to take a couple of steps on his own today. It took a little coersing because he kept sitting down instead of taking the couple of steps toward me. I held my hands out toward him to persuade him to reach and take a step and as he did, I moved them back some. He finally got to where he would just walk to me no problem. We usually have a truck parked across the street and we spend many an afternoon looking out this window at that truck. He points and I say "truck!" I get a sound similar to the word in return so he definitely has his own sound for truck. Today we were focused on the car in the driveway a few houses down.

We've been trying a few things to get Charlie to gain a little confidence and walk on his own. I had seen somewhere to put clothespins in both hands and since they are used to walking with something in their hands. Charlie walks some with one clothespin since he is down to holding one hand but most of the time, he throws it down. So, we've been trying to get him to walk with anything in that hand. He favors his left hand and refuses to walk only holding on with his right. He will sit down and pitch a fit until you reach for his left hand. Spoiled, I know. Every kid has their quirks I guess. He still insists on you touching him somehow if he is carrying an object. You have to wrap your hand around his or hold his wrist, etc. I know that I am just asking for it by encouraging him to walk. But, he's got to learn sometime! I think he is going to be a runner...so lace up the tennis shoes!

Here is a video of his first steps...

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Fall Festival

Yesterday, we had our Fall Festival at our church. Daniel and I head up this event so we've been working for weeks to get everything ready. A friend of mine from church kept Charlie yesterday afternoon while we set up. She brought him to the festival when he woke up from his nap. Things went well. The kids all seemed to have a good time. There were games, popcorn, hot dogs and the favorite...the bouncy.

I decided this year to make Charlie's Halloween costume. He went as a spider. Somebody called him the "itsy bitsy spider" which I thought was appropriate since it is his favorite song right now. I got lots of compliments on it...

Below are a few more pictures. I've got tons from the event but figured you were probably only interested in the ones with Charlie in them. The favorite thing for the little boys was the bean bag toss. That hole just fun for them. All three kept climbing up the ramp and pushing the bags in the hole. There's also a video below of Charlie with the bean bag toss.

Happy Halloween!

Charlie's ready to hand out candy to all our trick-or-treaters!
We have our church's Fall Festival tomorrow so costume pictures will come then!

haircut

Maybe my mom or MIL won't kill me but I gave Charlie a haircut today. I couldn't take the fuzz any longer. :) It had just gotten unmanageable. So, I pulled his high chair/booster chair thing into the living room, laid down some towels, and got the scissors ready. Charlie had a different idea. He smiled big for the "before" pictures but threw a fit while I cut his hair. Now I know why they charge so much to cut kids' hair. I'm lucky he still has both ears! Somehow I managed to trim it up. And, yes, don't panic, he still has his curls. The makeshift drape didn't make it very long as you'll notice in the pictures. And, you'll notice there's no smile in the "after" pics. It's hard to see much in the pictures but I tried to capture it.

week in AL

I got to spend all of last week in Alabama. It was so nice to visit with family and not have to cram it into a weekend. My parents decided to come up the weekend before last as mentioned in my air show post. Daniel had a family reunion in AL this past weekend so Charlie and I jumped in the car with my mom and dad that Sunday and we rode back with Daniel this past Sunday. I hate that somebody has to stay and make some money to pay the bills...sorry sweetie. But, Charlie and I had a great week. I think I only had one day where somebody wasn't off from work to visit with us. We got to spend some quality time with Daniel's grandmother and see Branson, my nephew, play soccer. We got to see my sister and brother-in-law. Charlie warmed up to everyone well. I was so excited. He almost got to where he prefered Grandpa over me. He would get so excited to see any of his four grandparents. I think if he could have, he would have run to any of them in a heartbeat. This warmed my heart. Not only for my parents' and Daniel's parents' sake but for Charlie's sake as well. He is such a mama's boy and clings to me alot. It was nice to not have to stand just outside his view so that one of them could have some time with him. I could walk in the room and he hardly noticed me or would just acknowledge me and go back to playing. This week also gave me the change of pace and scenery I apparently really needed. I was at the point of not enjoying staying at home. I love being with Charlie but I guess I was just at my limit. I've noticed this week that I feel almost refreshed. There's a joy again being with my son each day and I relish in playing with him. So...this will be music to my mom's and MIL's ears...I need to do that more often.

Charlie got to sit and play in my old rocking chair. He seemed to really enjoy climbing in and out. Unfortunately, it wouldn't fit in the car so it couldn't come back to GA. (Anyone got an SUV they would like to get rid of?) So, for now, it's staying at Grandma and Grandpa's. Charlie also got introduced to the world of saving pennies. Well, Grandpa tried anyway. Charlie was given an Auburn piggy bank. However, apparently, those pennies are so much more fun all spread out on the floor. Charlie and Grandpa did manage to get a few in the pig.

Here are a few pictures from our week:

air show

Daniel and I went to the Air Show at Dobbins ARB in Marietta today. We are still trying to figure out how we feel about attending. We were trying to make it in time to see the F-22 fly and to see the Thunderbirds. We got to the parking lot and got in line about 12:30. We loaded the bus about 2:00! The F-22 was to fly at 2:22 so Daniel was a little hesitant to get on the bus at this point, thinking he might miss seeing it fly. We could see planes flying overhead while in line so he figured atleast from the parking lot he would get to see it fly its demo flight. Against our better judgement, we got on the bus. Surely, it won't take 20 minutes to get to the base. Well, it didn't take but about 5 minutes but who knew we would have to sit in the bus line waiting to unload. That was a 20 minute wait. So, as we sat on the bus, listening to the F-22 fly overhead, not able to see anything, my heart just broke for Daniel. For those of you who don't know, Daniel is an aerospace engineer. His job is to work on the design of the F-22 at Lockheed Martin. He kept telling me it was ok that he missed it but I could tell by the look on his face that it wasn't. However, there was nothing we could have done about it. We had no idea that the crowds and the wait would be this bad. Lesson learned. Daniel has seen the F-22 fly but has not gotten to see it fly its demo flight except by video. He was so looking forward to seeing it in person.

So after our 2 hour ordeal getting onto the base for the air show, we made our way to the viewing areas to set up to see the Thunderbirds. There was an acrobatic byplane flying at this point, which we enjoyed watching. We got to see the whole ritual of the Thunderbird pilots getting into their planes and taking off. Watching the Thunderbirds fly was great! Daniel was trying to hide his giddyness but I could see the corners of his mouth sliding up! It was cool to see them fly in their different formations.

Then, we began our journey back to the bus. We debated when we first got there to just get back in line to leave and watch the Thunderbirds from there but we decided to go and enjoy the show from the viewing area and risk the lines later. Lines there were. It seemed like for miles! The Thunderbirds were the finale of the show so everyone left when they were done flying. We got in line at about 4:20. We got on the bus at 6:20! Needless to say, my feet hurt. We finally made it back to the car at about 6:30. Whew! I'm tired reliving it! One of the good things was that today was a cool day. I wore a jacket most of the time. No stifling heat! Thank you Lord! That would have definitely been miserable. Here are pictures from our day...

On a lighter note, Charlie got to spend the day with Grandma and Grandpa (my parents). They came up to visit for the weekend and kept Charlie while we went to the air show. I mentioned to Daniel somewhere in one of those lines that I really enjoyed spending some time with just him without Charlie. I love my little boy but my time with my sweet husband is lacking. So, thanks Grandma and Grandpa! I called while on the bus to check to see if they had gotten Charlie to go down for a nap. They weren't even home! They were out galavanting...eating out. Charlie was great for them and I am so relieved. I'm so glad they got to spend some real quality time with Charlie. That's a rare thing for them since they don't live nearby. My mom is always bringing Charlie something and this trip was no different. I mean, what else would you expect from a grandma? Here's a picture of Charlie enjoying his Halloween treat bag. Normally being a camera hog, Charlie wouldn't even look at me to take a picture. He was just too enthrolled in his goody bag...especially with those candy corn!

storytime

Charlie and I attended our first storytime at the Kennesaw Library today. I was rushed to get out of the house because Charlie slept til almost 9:00, which means I slept til almost 9:00 and the storytime started at 10. Luckily, the library is just downtown which is about 5 minutes away. So, after the quickest shower ever, we ate a quick bite and out the door we go. I was really surprised at how many kids there were. The age range is 18 months to 3 years old. I decided Charlie would be fine in there even though he's not quite 18 months. I mean, three weeks shy...who cares? I could tell Charlie was a little nervous being in a crowd. That seems to be his only phobia. But, what else would you expect from a kid who stays at home with his mom all day? He still deals with separation anxiety.

My main goal in going today was to expose him to new people. Charlie gets freaked out by new people. He doesn't just get shy, he gets upset. So, I am on a mission to find ways to expose him to more people. Any ideas? Charlie screamed when I put him down on the floor. I only did it so I could sit down with him. I sat him back in my lap and he was fine after that.

The lady who does the storytime is a hoot! I told Daniel she should have been in a Barney suit. She was just that exuberant! The kids LOVED it though! We sang songs, jumped around, and she read three books somewhere in all of that. By the end, Charlie was crawling around though so that made me feel better about him. It's going to be a fun activity to do each week and I'm sure Charlie will grow to look forward to it as he gets older. Fun, free and puts Charlie in a crowd...what else could you ask for?

Check out this cute picture I got when we got back home. And, no, I didn't pose him. He's just that cute sometimes!

Charlie climbing stairs

I finally thought to get Charlie on video climbing the stairs. It's nothing spectacular - I just wanted to always remember the moment...

Charlie's nursery

In my last post, Becky, in her comment, asked me to do a post on my "super cute nursery". I posted a long time ago, before Charlie was born, about the nursery but I realized I never showed the final product. The airplane theme came from the fact that Daniel is an aerospace engineer and works on the design of planes all day long. He loves planes, spaceships, etc. so I knew he would really enjoy doing this theme in Charlie's room. This will also give something for Daniel and Charlie to have in common and discuss when Charlie is a little older. I found the bedding and associated items at Babies R Us. The red stripe and pinstripe were painted on the wall with a wallpaper border over top. I traced out the planes onto some plywood and Daniel cut them out. I then used my leftover wall paint to paint them. They are just attached to the wall with finish nails. My mother-in-law painted the larger airplane on the wall to match one of the airplanes on the wallpaper border. We (me, my mom, sister, MIL, and SIL) all took a hand at sponging on clouds with a white paint and glaze mixture. I choose not to remember this day much due to the stress of it on me. Nothing we did pleased me so I just gave up and let them finish it. Sometimes it sucks being a perfectionist. I think it turned out well though. I guess is was quite traumatic because I never posted about it. It was the same weekend that my church threw a baby shower for Daniel and me. That's why I had so much family here. I didn't even post about the shower! Anyway, I enjoyed decorating this room for Charlie but have decided that the next go round won't be as intense. (So I say!) :)

So, for Becky and any others interested, here's the 360 of Charlie's room.

itsy bitsy spider

This is a video of Charlie learning "The Itsy Bitsy Spider". It has become his new favorite song and he's getting the hang of it.

sippy cups taking over!

I walked into the kitchen tonight to fix me some chocolate milk (my obsession) and was admiring the incredible job my darling husband did cleaning up the kitchen. So when I opened the cabinet to get out a glass, I wasn't immediately looking into the cabinet. To my surprise, when I went digging for my glass, I quickly realized my cabinet has been overtaken by sippy cups! Since they were all clean, which is a miracle in our house, they were stuffed wherever a spot was available. Who knew that only one child could do this to you! Then, of course, I went to put my glass in the dishwasher and lo and behold...another sippy cup! They are taking over my kitchen! Just so you get the full effect, I snapped a picture. I think I will have to dedicate one cabinet to kids' cups and plates/bowls if we have any more kids!
Note to self: Don't buy any more sippy cups!

swinging...

Daniel put Charlie's swing up in the yard. Since the weather has been much cooler, I was anxious to get it up so he could use it. Charlie tried it out yesterday. He loves the swings at the park so I expected no different for his own swing. He just sat back and enjoyed the afternoon watching the cars go by. We have it in the front yard because that was the only spot that had a tree branch low enough to tie ropes to. I'm still not sure if I like it there just because it kind of advertises that a child lives here. Also, I just feel more comfortable playing in the back yard. I'm trying it out for a while but we may end up rigging something in the back for a swing! :) Here is my sweet boy in his swing:

growing so fast...

Wow! Post #150! I haven't really posted an update on Charlie's growing and development other than a few little tidbits here and there so for this momentous post, I'll write about that. Surprised? It's what this blog is all about anyways, isn't it?

In a few days, Charlie will be 17 months old. He learns something new every day. Well, it seems like every minute. His vocabulary is showing some progress. He will say "duh" when he sees his rubber duck or a duck in a book. That's his most recent "word". I'm sure he has more but we just can't tell what they are yet. He is, however, learning signs through our sad attempt to teach him sign language. We have really only taught him a few signs. I got frustrated because he wasn't showing any progress but over the last month or so, he is really making strides and surprising us with signs that we haven't used in a while but he apparently learned many months ago and remembers. Wow! What a memory! Recently, he has accomplished the signs "all done/all gone" and "eat".

As for walking, he's still hanging on by one hand. He's gotten very quick on his feet as well as steady. Steady enough that he has enough balance to turn his walker around. You'll see this in the video. We did have a development on Sunday. Charlie was holding on to the coffee table and wanted to go to the ottoman which had one of his toy cars sitting on it. He let go of the coffee table and stood there for a few seconds. You could tell he wanted to walk to it so badly. He finally sat down and crawled to it. I don't think Daniel or I took a breath the whole time he was just standing there. We didn't move a muscle just waiting to see if he would take a step. It was still an exciting moment even though he didn't make that first step. We hadn't seen him stand that long before.

Charlie still has 6 teeth but has cut a molar and another regular tooth in the front on the bottom. I thought he cut a molar on top but I can't see it anymore. I'm thinking the gums have just swollen up around it. It will appear again in a few days. So, really, I think he has two molars that have cut - one on the bottom and one on the top. Also, he loves to use these teeth to bite his mama - mainly on the knees!

Charlie still loves his books. "Pat the Bunny" is still a favorite and is usually our bedtime book. Some of his other favorites are "Where is Baby's Belly Button?", "Noah's Crew, Two by Two", "Puppy Love", "Charlie Monkey" and "I Can Sign! Playtime". This last book is a sign language book and he has learned the signs for hat and book. The others to learn are car, ball, bubbles and swing. He makes an effort to do ball but hasn't quite gotten the sign yet. One book that he loves is an Elmo Look and Find book. It is one of those books that has a ton of things on each page. He has amazed us at what objects he can learn/remember. Things like duck, kitty, cow, frog, airplane, and Elmo. Daniel recently taught him pizza! You just ask him where the "whatever" is and he points right to it!

Charlie is at the age where putting things in and taking them out is a favorite pasttime and has been for a while. He loves to pull his toys out of his toy box. He will only put a few back in though! He loves to pull anything out of his changing table. I pick up many diapers, sheets, washcloths, and clothes during the day.

Charlie is obsessed with his train. He got this battery operated train for Christmas and has recently taken to it more. He has learned which switch makes it move when you push the stack. It apparently doesn't go fast enough for him though because he likes to push it while it's moving. He has also taken to wanting to carry it around except that it is a little too heavy for him to carry very far. Charlie also loves to play with his toy cars. We can sit for hours pushing cars back and forth to each other. This has also become my distraction when I need to deter him from a fit or anything else. I just go, "Charlie, where is your car? Can you find your car?" He will usually stop whatever he is doing, including pitching a fit, and look for and go after one of his cars. He's getting smart to my tricks though and won't always look for them anymore. He will still stop whatever he is doing though if I mention finding a car.

Charlie's other obsession is his fridge DJ. This has almost become what a TV is to most of us. For example, I gave Charlie his snack and juice today in the kitchen and walked into the other room to do something else. When I came back into the kitchen, Charlie was just sitting there, eating his snack, drinking his juice, all sweet and calm and, of course, watching/listening to his fridge DJ. If he is anywhere near the thing, it must be on. He will turn it on and crawl over to play in his Tupperware cabinet. When that song is finished, he will drop whatever he's playing with, crawl over to it and turn it back on.

It just amazes me what he understands. Even just the little things like telling him to go get in his chair because his food is ready. He'll crawl right over there to it, stand up next to it and wait for you to come put him in it. He has started going to it when he's hungry or when he sees me fixing his plate on the counter in the kitchen.

Well, there's a million things I could tell you about Charlie. I've posted a few pictures and a video. I have started putting Charlie in the "car" buggy at Publix. He seems to really like riding there and will even play with the steering wheel. It is just a tank to maneuver. (Tide, you can send me free coupons for the free advertising!)



The other pictures are of Charlie playing behind the curtains on our sliding glass door. He likes to watch Khaki. He will usually just lay on his belly and watch her and talk to her but I couldn't get a picture fast enough before Charlie was up on his knees after the camera.




The video is a good compilation of the developments of Charlie. From walking to screaming, pulling things in and out, eating, his fridge DJ, and, of course, him being a camera hog.



If you made it all the way through this post, you are a dedicated reader! Whew! I really packed in some info! Guess I need to post more often! Well, hope you enjoyed learning many of Charlie's quirks!

using a fork

In the last few weeks, Charlie has learned how to use a fork and spoon. He does better with the fork because the food just falls off the spoon. Below is a video we took a week or so ago. Charlie has gotten much better in the last few days with poking his food and holding it up the right way. This has also given us another way to get him to eat his veggies since this is a new trick for him. He likes using the fork so he just eats whatever is on it!

my new "artiste"...

I made a trip to Michael's (the craft store) today to spend some of my birthday money (yes, I actually have some left) and to get supplies for a little book I am making for Charlie (I'll share it when finished). I went down the "crayola" aisle, among many aisles, and found Charlie some jumbo crayons for 99 cents. Someone mentioned to me that he was probably old enough to learn how to color so I figured I could spare the dollar even though I know they are just going to get broken. When we got home, I made Charlie a little station at his high chair/booster seat thing to try out our new purchase...

For the most part, he knew what to do but hasn't gotten the drawing motion down. He taps them on the paper. We'll keep at it. I'm looking forward to many works of art displayed all over my house, especially the fridge! And like any mom...I'm glad crayons are non-toxic...

Happy Birthday to me!

Well, today I turned 30 years old. Don't really feel any different - not that I really expected to. It just seems weird to think that I'm thirty. I just think back to when I was younger and the people I knew who were thirty or in their thirties. They were always Mrs. So and So and somebody's mom. Oh, wait, I'm now somebody's mom! (That still hasn't sunk in.) I still feel like I relate better to the teenagers instead of the soccer moms. But, slowly, I'm realizing my age as I spend more time with our youth group. I'm the chaperone now (the cool one, though!). Daniel and I can drive these kids all over the place...by ourselves! Are we really old enough to do that? Sadly, yes. :) 30. *sigh* Bye Bye 20's...may you treat someone else as well as you did me!

Thanks to a little help from Daddy, I received my first card from Charlie today...

Daniel treated me extra special this weekend. I stuck him with Daddy Duty alot! That was better than any present he could ever give me (not that I don't want presents too!). It was his turn for a while though and I am feeling much better after my retail therapy session! Thanks Mom and Dad for facilitating that! If they had just had those shoes in my size!

I had a nice relaxing day today once we finally got home. We had a preacher try out at church so we had a.m. worship, potluck, then p.m. worship at 1:30. We then took a lady from church home so we got home around 3 or so. The three of us crashed for a couple of hours. It was so great! For dinner tonight, Daniel ran out and got Panda Express. Yum! I only eat a few things Chinese/Thai but oh, how I love those few things! (If any of you live in Montgomery, go by Lek's and eat a spring roll for me!) I think Charlie enjoyed the sweet tea the most!

Occupying a 16 month old

Oh, how I miss Charlie’s morning naps! Charlie went to one nap during the day I guess about a month or so ago. It was just after his 15 month dr. appt. because I remember thinking when she told me that he would go to one nap soon that I was so thankful he was still on the two naps a day schedule. However, I am having trouble getting through the morning now. To put it mildly, I am not a morning person. If I could sleep in til about 10 every day, I would. Charlie doesn't get up until about 8:00 which is nice for me. I can handle that because I don't go to bed until about midnight most nights. But in the mornings, all I want to do is lounge around but of course, Charlie doesn't let me do that. It's not really because of the TV. I'm just lazy. I love playing with Charlie but he doesn't really require you to "play" with him much. He's good about playing on his own, as long as I’m in the room, so I end up just sitting and watching him. He won't let me leave the room to do anything else. So I am bored sitting there watching him play. I guess how I need help is ways to involve myself more with him. I just don't know what kind of things to do with him. We read lots of books and roll cars and balls back and forth to each other but that only last so long! We walk all over the house many times. But still, I find myself looking at the clock and anxiously awaiting his nap time which here lately isn't until about 1:00. I’ve been getting out and walking the neighborhood or going to the park and that has helped. It also makes me feel better to get out of the house. I want to maximize my time with Charlie especially since he’s not improving on his vocabulary much. I know that will come with time but the screaming is about to do me in. I want to enjoy my days home with Charlie but here lately I’m just surviving the day. I want to incorporate some “teaching” time especially some Bible stories, etc. I feel the same way as a blogging friend of mine, Becky, does concerning sharing things with our children in relation to God. You can see her post here. I’m not even sure if Charlie is at an age where I can do this. I know teaching him about God/Christ starts when they’re born but the other stuff...I’m just not sure. So, please, give me any thoughts!

I noticed today that Charlie has cut another tooth. It is the fourth one on the left on top. This will make tooth #7. Weird how teeth don’t grow in one beside the other. This is a molar coming in and he hasn’t cut the one in front of it. I guess they’ll just fill in later.

Charlie is doing well with his walking. He can walk holding either the left or the right hand only. It was fun to walk him around at church last night. He looked like such a big boy walking beside me holding my hand. I was grinning from ear to ear.

Charlie has also begun to climb. We went to our church’s picnic Saturday and he was playing on the slide. Another little boy started to climb up the slide from the bottom. I guess Charlie figured he could do that too and tried. Since then, he has been trying to climb onto the couch, into his crib, into his Tupperware cabinet, into the dog’s kennel, and more. He has accomplished the latter two!

On a side note, Charlie enjoyed his dinner at the picnic, especially the chocolate cupcake for dessert...

one-handed...

Success! Charlie will finally walk only holding one hand for support. Ever since we got him to walk while holding on to his lawn mower with one hand, we've been trying hard to get him to do it without the lawn mower. He is a smart little fella though. After he fell a couple of times with the lawn mower, he will not go near it! So we had to find something else for him to hold on to. Daniel got him to walk holding his ball in one hand. That worked ok for a day or so. Even then, it would only last for about 15 minutes because he figured out the trick and was back to whining until you gave him both hands. We did notice that if Charlie has a goal (distraction) in front of him, it's no problem, so we've been using that tactic like getting him to walk to the kitty, his fridge dj, etc. We decided to try and get a video of it last night and the camera was his distraction. I told him to walk to Daddy but once he saw that Daddy was holding the camera, off he went. Camera hog. Today, he's been walking all over the place one-handed. I was so excited! Not only for Charlie's sake but for my back's sake as well. :) He has many more falls now but Charlie just laughs and I pick him up and off he goes. I decided he needed to learn how to stand up after he falls so that I don't have to keep picking him up. No problem. He figured that out quick. Charlie hasn't whined for the other hand yet today! Success! Let's pray it lasts!

guilty mommy moment

I had a guilty mommy moment yesterday. I've had them before but not to this extent. For some reason, I was just in a weird mood yesterday. Charlie is getting very proficient at using his scream to communicate and these two things did not mix well. I was sitting at the computer, reading blogs. Charlie was standing beside my chair whining. He loves the computer so I have to limit his time with it for fear that he will mess something up. I kept telling him to wait just a minute. But, of course, the screaming starts because I'm not picking him up so that he can have his "computer time". After a few minutes of this, I guess I had just had enough and turned and yelled at him to stop screaming and wait a minute. He just looked at me with those brown puppy dog eyes, whined a little and sat down. He proceeded to play with some of his toys at this point. My heart hurt. I felt awful that I was sitting there, being selfish, and not giving my son what he wanted at that point. And to top it all off, I yelled at him to stop screaming. How hypocritical is that? Sometimes, I have to say his name pretty loud to get his attention when he's screaming but I've never yelled at him like that. I immediately got up and hugged/kissed him and told him I was sorry, not that he cared, being a one year old, but it was necessary for my sake. He was already over it and on to something else. So, after having my guilty mommy moment, I've tried to watch my patience and my temper with him because he shouldn't have to take the brunt of my bad moods. I know I'm not the only one who has these moments and I'm sure there will be more...I mean, I'm only human. But I pray God will give me the patience to stay calm and to watch my tongue, not only with my son but with everyone around me.

Labor Day weekend

We had a great time in TN for Labor Day. Charlie got his first case of "the crud" last week so I wasn't sure if we were going to get to go since we were going to visit my grandmother. I didn't want to take all those germs up there for her to catch. I ended up taking Charlie to the pediatrician on Friday and she said it was just sinusitis and put him on antibiotics. So it was up to me if I wanted to take him. My parents drove up to ATL Friday night and we all loaded up and headed to TN on Saturday morning. I was still second guessing going, especially since I was starting to feel a little yucky too, but I'm so glad we went. Charlie now remembers Grandma and Grandpa so he had the best time playing with them. He's not too keen, however, on strangers so my grandmother didn't get to love on him much but he did get to know her at meal times. He sat beside her and played. Every meal, he remembered (even at Olive Garden on Sunday) and tap, tap, tap...

We had to get a little creative for her to get to hold him...nilla wafers are miracle cookies! He sat in her lap and ate every one. It was really good to see her. It's been a while since we were up and I know she was just ecstatic to see all of us. Charlie is such a ham and she laughed all weekend at him. I know that was good for her spirits.

Charlie still will not let go of your hands while walking. We got him to walk with his lawn mower while holding it with one hand and holding your hand with the other. Then, we got him to take a few steps with it on his own. He, of course, fell every time after that and now will not walk with it at all. One step forward...two steps back. Oh well, we'll keep trying. Needless to say, we (um, mostly Grandpa) spent all weekend walking him around. It's all Charlie wants to do these days. So if you are in need of some exercise and you have a strong back, come spend a day at my house...

crawling!

For the last month or so, Charlie has perfected his crawl. He has spent so many months sliding around the house on his belly. Once he figured out he had to use his knees to go from belly to standing, it was only a matter of time. My floors aren't as clean :) but his clothes don't get a big dirt stain on his belly anymore. Yeah! He has ruined many shirts this way. He still slides around some but prefers the knees now. I finally got a video of him crawling where he didn't immediately go for the camera.




I've been slacking on my blogging. I have no excuses. Nothing real exciting happening around here. Daniel and I have been brainstorming for the last week or so. We had a youth committee meeting this past Sunday to plan out some activities for the youth group and the little kids. Daniel is the deacon in charge of youth so he leads the meetings which puts a little more responsibility on both of us as far as the committee goes. We've added two new couples to the group and they had lots of new ideas, which were nice. Now, if we can just get the kids to come! If any of you have ideas that have worked for your youth groups in the past, please pass them along! We're trying right now just to get them together so that they can get to know each other better. None of our kids go to the same school so they only see each other at church. This causes many problems as you can probably guess.

We are heading to TN to visit my grandmother this weekend. We haven't been up there in a while so I'm sure she is anxious to see us, especially Charlie. We were in AL two weekends ago visiting parents/grandparents and siblings. We always enjoy going "home". Here are some pictures from that trip:

Charlie's new walker

Why spend money on things for a child when all you need is already in your home...

water...water...everywhere!

A week or so ago, I pulled out Charlie's water table. He got it for his birthday from Uncle Mike, Aunt Stacey and Branson. I wanted to put it outside but our backyard swarms with mosquitoes (a problem we have hopefully solved). So being the crazy mom I am, I set it up in the living room! I know, I'm just asking for a mess! And a mess I got but Charlie had alot of fun splashing around in the water. It has a water wheel and two different levels that hold water. You'll see some sailboats in the water but they didn't stay in long. Apparently, only Charlie can be in Charlie's water. He would just throw them out on the floor. Khaki also loved the "big water bowl".

waiting for daddy...

yum...coke icee...

Yesterday, during my usual trip to Wal-Mart for groceries, I stopped on the way out to get a sugar & cinnamon pretzel and a coke icee. Of course, when Charlie saw the cup, he immediately wanted some, so being the wonderful mother I am...I pulled the straw out gave him some from the bottom of the straw. Unlike other liquids though, it doesn't come out the end of the straw without sucking on it. Charlie managed this fine but kept wanting more, as any normal person would, but I was trying to get out to the car. I had intended on having my snack in the car in between my trip to Wal-Mart and Publix. Charlie had other plans. On our way out to the car, Charlie is fussing at me to give him more coke icee. Since he was sucking through the straw from the bottom earlier, I tried to get him to suck out the top....success! Charlie accomplished sucking through a straw! I've been trying to get him to do that periodically so that I don't have to keep "straw-feeding" him when we're out to eat. (He loves my sweet tea!) But, I guess when you have motivation like a coke icee, you figure things out rather quickly. :) Needless to say, Charlie sat in the buggy and drank the whole time I unloaded groceries into the car. Between that and the sugar & cinnamon pretzel he helped me eat...no afternoon nap for Charlie! I think he thought it was worth it though!

15 months old

Charlie turned 15 months old yesterday. I'll give you a little update as to the things he is doing. He is not walking on his own yet. Charlie had his 15 month checkup with the doctor today and she said 17 months is still the average age when kids start to walk. He's very good at walking while holding your hands or walking with his walker toy/car though. I'm afraid he is going to be a runner and not a walker once he figures out how to do it own his own. For now, Charlie is walking, holding on to everything he can. And, when you are holding his hands to walk, he definitely has an opinion on where he wants to go and has figured out how to manipulate you to go that way. If you don't, get ready for a tantrum. Yes, sweet little Charlie knows how to throw a fit. I think I mentioned it in a previous post but he will drop his head, bend at the waist, and scream and cry. He's quickly learning how to get his way.

His vocabulary hasn't developed much. As mentioned, he can say "Khaki" (our dog) but he hasn't said it recently. We've heard him say "dada" but again, he hasn't used it in a while. Although I heard him say it over and over today but not in reference to Daniel. I'm not too concerned though and the doctor wasn't either. She pretty much said that if his vocabulary isn't up to about 5 or 8 words in 6-8 weeks to give her a call. But, in talking with my sister the other night, she reminded me that one of our cousins didn't talk much until about 2 and her son was the same way. In the meantime, we'll keep trying...

Charlie is definitely a busy boy. He is always playing with something. There is no sitting still any more. Most of his playing consists of taking things out and putting things in. He also has an obsession with pushing buttons over and over so he loves a phone, a remote, his little tool bench that has nails to push in, etc. Charlie also loves his poppin' pals toys. You know, the ones that have a button to push, or a lever to press to one side, or a key shape to turn, and a character pops up. He still loves to open and close doors, cabinets, drawers, etc. One new thing, now that he can squat and stand back up, is to drop something on the floor and pick it up in order to use this new skill over and over. And, he still loves his books!

Some of the questions I was asked today were things like can he point to objects in a book, can he point to your nose or your eyes if asked, does he primarily eat with his fingers (pointer and thumb), does he expect you to startle him when you play peek-a-boo, can he do pat-a-cake, does he reach for you to pick him up or push you away when he doesn't want something like when you wipe his mouth, etc. The answers, if you're interested, are yes; no, but he loves to touch my eyes and my mouth so we're working on it; yes, the little pig; yes; yes; and yes.

Charlie's "stats" from his appointment today are: weight - 22 lbs. (55%), height - 31 1/4" (50%) and head circumference - 19 1/2" (95%).

Dr. McGee said that his morning naps will soon disappear. *sniff* *sniff* I so enjoy two naps a day. Charlie can manage on one nap but I prefer him to take two for obvious reasons! He is still sleeping great through the night. He normally goes down about 8:30 or 9:00 pm and wakes up the next morning about 8:30 or 9:00 am. It's wonderful!

Charlie and I went to the park today to take his pictures. He was not very cooperative but I managed to get some good ones. Here are a few shots from our photo session...