Happy Birthday!

We just celebrated Charlie and Oliver's first birthday. Poor Charlie had a nasty cold, though, and he was in no mood to play. But, we HAD to have a photoshoot.

We also went to my mom's for Thanksgiving. Which was even better, because Charlie had the flu. I experienced my first cleaning barf out of small crevices.

Some of my favorite Charlie-isms these days:

He bobbles his head back and forth when he gets excited, happy, or hears music.

He loves Itsy Bitsy Spider.

Goldfish crackers are his favorite snacks.

Pancakes are his favorite food.

He walks everywhere. I love when he looks for me so he can hold my finger while he explores.

He has another new habit that drives me crazy. He hates having his diaper changed. He's ok until the diaper comes off, then it's time to roll over, crawl away, flip on his tummy, anything he can do to keep from having a fresh diaper put on. It's infuriating!

But seriously folks. I love this crazy kid.

Growing Like a Weed

WOW, can it really be that long since I took the time to sit down and write up a new post? Well I certainly hope I can remember everything that has happened in the last couple of months.

There are more new teeth. Four on the top, four on the bottom. He can eat just about everything we eat now, which is nice. He prefers veggies to fruits. His favorite snack is goldfish crackers. We've also given him more opportunities to self feed, things like pudding, soup, potatoes, any really anything I would normally feed him. It makes a complete mess, but he loves it. He's completely off formula and just has regular milk now. That doesn't seem to bother him too much. He'll even drink it cold, right out of the fridge.

He has officially outgrown all of the hand-me-downs we've been given. I'm surprised they lasted this long, because most of them were 3-6 months and, well, he's almost 12. We've been making a few trips to the second-hand store to get him some good sweaters and pants for the winter. It's amazing how many cute clothes you can find that are practically brand new. Love it!

I made a trip to see my parents last month. We drove up to Yellowstone for a day and it was BEAUTIFUL! I love the mountains in the fall. Charlie loved it, too. He doesn't get to see grandma and grandpa very much, but he was sure happy to spend time with them.

He still isn't talking much, but occasionally he will get going for a while and do a string of connected syllables (none of it makes any sense yet). "T" usually is for the cat, "Sss" is for Angel and Emilee and "uh" is for something he sees and likes. So I guess we're getting somewhere.

This was the picnic we had at the park before Justine left to
become a famous actress in L.A.

Charlie loves kitchen stuff. He was teething at Grandma's, so
keeping him happy was a constant struggle.

Just after waking up, the boys grab a much needed drink.

It was COLD in West Yellowstone while we were walking
around, but that didn't seem to bother this kid.

Grandma and Charlie, having some snacks at Old Faithful
Lodge

Charlie is learning all about the harsh realities of the world -
like pine needles.

What a jolly crowd! We didn't want to leave!

This is the top of a turkey baster which Charlie likes to chew
on. He squishes it so it sucks to this inside of his cheek,
then laughs when it pops off.

We add to buy a new hat for his giant head, because none
of the hats we have fit him anymore. Baby Genius right here.

This was at the Remebrance Event for Oliver last month. All
the balloons represent a child lost by a family.

Here is Ollie's balloon.

During the name reading, people would release their child's
balloon when their name was called. It's difficult to see, but
Oliver's is the biggest blue dot near the top.

We also visited the zoo for his first time! Remember I mentioned
none of his hats fit him? Here is the proof.

And finally, I took this one last night. Charlie is learning to
brush his teeth. He's quite good at it already!