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: