realizations...

1. No matter how clean the floor is, Charlie is going to slide across the one spot we missed with the vacuum.
2. A clean diaper means it's time to poop. Oh, and dinnertime means...time to poop!
3. Apparently, my knees are the best teething toy.
4. When they won't eat their dinner, add icing!
5. From birth, apparently, boys are drawn to the remote and making sure their "hmm hmm" is still there.
6. Opening doors and drawers make the top ten list of fun things to do for a one year old.
7. Who knew you could play peek-a-boo with Paul, read Judy's book, and feel Daddy's scratchy face 1000 times before bed and Charlie still not be asleep. (btw, if you don't recognize these activities, think back to your childhood or when your children were young...it'll come back to you!)
8. Just when you think you've got it all figured out, a tooth comes in.
9. Showering before noon is impossible, even though Charlie takes a morning nap.
10. Did I brush my teeth today? (Gross, I know.)

I'm sure I've got plenty more. If you've got kids, you're probably just laughing at me and nodding to each of these! Oh well. The joys of motherhood. Maybe that should be the name of my blog.

But on a more serious note, I have come to realize that Charlie's new "things" happen so gradually or there's too many for me to keep up with. You blink and he's learned something new or has cut another tooth, etc. So here goes me trying to think of all the new "things"...

I noticed today that he cut his bottom right tooth. His top two teeth are about halfway in. It looks like he's going to have a gap like his momma did but we'll see once they're completely in. I'll try and get a picture posted.

Let's see...Charlie has learned to point to what he wants instead of just staring at it and grunting or whining. He doesn't point like you or I point with our finger. No. Charlie points with his hand. If you watched "The Apprentice" in the first couple of seasons, you'll remember how "the Donald" would point at the person with his whole hand and say "You're fired!" It reminds me of that every time. Conan O'Brian refers to it as the "cobra". (sorry for all the """"" 's) :) However, it does help to know what he wants.

Neither Daniel or I have been able to recognize any words from Charlie. He says mama and dada but not in reference to us. He makes mmm and mamama sounds when he see's his cup with milk in it. We hear duh sounds when he see's the dog or kaka sounds. (Our dog's name is Khaki.) I'm sure he's talking up a storm but we just can't understand him.

We've been having trouble the last few days getting Charlie to eat. For you new moms like me, this is apparently normal. I talked to the nurse today. She basically told me to offer him three healthy meals for the day, to not bulk up on liquids, and no snacks. She said, "He'll eat when he's hungry." So, on goes the battle!

Charlie is not walking yet. He walks with help and can walk along the coffee table by himself. No steps by himself though. He is pulling up alot now on the couch, his toy box, etc. Charlie is starting to want to walk everywhere instead of crawling (sliding). He'll look for and reach for my hands to pull up with and off we go. Needless to say, my back is killing me! I'm glad he has the desire to walk though. It probably won't be too much longer before he gets fed up and does it on his own.

Charlie has learned how to play peek-a-boo in a sense. For example, he will crawl out of the room and then turn around and peek around the door frame at you. He'll crawl away and do the same thing all over again. We've been trying to teach him peek-a-boo. You have to put his hands in front of his eyes but he's knows what's going on because he will leave them there for a few seconds before pulling them down. You'll get a pretty good smile by doing this!

Well, that's all I can think of right now. Hope this brings you up to date.