Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Happy Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary, Daddy!
We spent yesterday at the Chockley's and were completely entertained by all of their blogging friends and their monkeys. In fact, the kids outnumbered the adults, which didn't prove to be that scary after all. We enjoyed playing with the monkeys, eating LOTS of chips, guacamole, salsa, fish tacos, chicken tacos, more chips, and quesadillas. It was a great afternoon. Thanks to the Chockleys for inviting us!

Pre-party nap

Cute Chloe

The loner


Asleep within seconds on the drive home.

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Monday, May 28, 2007

First Watermelon


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Sunday, May 27, 2007

Fresh Cut This Morning


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Monday, May 21, 2007

In Bloom

So, everything that Neal has tirelessly worked for in the yard is all for naught. Or at least for him anyway. Unfortunately, by the time he returns, all of these beauties will probalby be shriveled up, yellow, and brittle. I'm doing my best to keep this from happening, but I just don't seem to be blessed with his green thumb.







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Random Stuff

Roxy and Maggie battling the bumps and curves.

Hanging out with Nana.


Lurking in the trees


First Corky's roll


Banana party


Playing


Loving on Maggie


Chillin'


Laughing


Pointing


The "uh oh" face

Posted by Cathy at 10:13 PM | | Comments

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

My Charlie Boy

He's so cute! And he's doing so much! And unfortunately, he started throwing up at school today. Not spit up but real throw up! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it's just a quick bug because otherwise, he feels fine.

This morning we practiced brushing our teeth. Charlie mostly just sucks the water out of the bristles.

Charlie zonked out on the way home from work and school. I couldn't help capturing the moment through the vanity mirror. And yes, I did this while driving. Bad mommy!


This evening, we played with almost everyone of Charlie's birthday toys. Charlie even stood on his own with the assistance of the coffee table and his toy car. I need add, though, that this moment of standing lasted only long enough for me be back away slightly and snap the shot. When he did finally start his assent, I noticed that he was very careful to stick his cute little butt out to cushion the plop to the floor. It was cute!

Also, I got a haircut this afternoon and whacked at least 6 inches of my long stringy locks.

Posted by Cathy at 9:40 PM | | Comments

Monday, May 14, 2007

Mammaammaamamamamama!

Yesterday was Mother’s Day and Charlie and I got to spend an extremely enjoyable afternoon at my mother’s house (a.k.a. Nana’s house). After a morning of napping, reading, and watering the plants (the hydrangea’s are beginning to bloom), Charlie and I headed to Nana’s for an afternoon of eating, playing, more napping, and visiting with the other mothers in our family – Diana, Aunt Caroline, Nana, and Great Grandmother Ruth.

Grandmother Ruth just loves spending time with Charlie. It’s been a long time since she got to spend any real time with a baby since everyone has lived away from Memphis when their little ones arrived. I am happy that she gets to spend this time with one of her great grandchildren, and am just as happy that Charlie gets to spend some time with her. While Charlie scoot, scoot, scooted across the den floor, Grandmother Ruth tried to convince him to take a few steps. As evident in the photo below, however, he was content to keep his cute little butt and the floor as one. Gravity is just too much of a contender with him right now.

While our lunch was being prepared (by me, my sister, and her friend), Nana and Caroline took Charlie, Morgan, Taylor for a walk. The adults walked while the kids rode leisurely in the wagon. Nana and Caroline came back huffing, but Charlie was not ready for the adventure to end. Apparently he thought he might bring on the charm with a few tears in hopes of getting to make another block.

Also while passing the time until lunch, Charlie’s cousin Morgan attempted to teach Charlie and I her rendition of the beloved dance of the 80s, The Robot. Okay, I know that the 80s are back in style, but really, does The Robot have to make a come back, too?

After our glorious lunch of grilled meat on sticks (YUM!), grilled asparagus and grilled peaches, Nana took the children to the neighbor’s house for a dip in the pool. Charlie really seemed to enjoy floating around in the warm water. He particularly liked chewing on the noodle float and drying off in the warm sun.






Once home, Charlie got a nice warm bath. While in the tub, he practiced the not so new skill of drinking bathwater from a real cup and showed off his newest skill of attempting to utter the words “uh-oh”. He opens his mouth wide and contorts his jaw to the side, bares all of his four teeth, and lets out a wretched “accchhh-uch.” It sounds more like a cat coughing up a fur ball, though, but very cute nonetheless.

This morning while scrambling to get out of the house on time, Charlie passed the last few minutes “eating” his Cheerios. I say eating loosely because with the amount that fell out of his lap when I picked him up added to the amount that went on the floor, I wonder if any made it into his mouth. I think he is finally learning the fun of feeding Roxy from the high chair. I was really hoping that would not happen for a long time. But I’m sure the dogs are happy!

Posted by Cathy at 11:00 PM | | Comments

Sunday, May 13, 2007

Clepto

Yesterday was a busy day for Charlie and his mom. We were fortunate enough to be able to start off slow and relax a bit before we took off running. After a 7:30 a.m. bottle, we went back to bed for a little weekend morning snooze. We woke up refreshed and ready for the day.


After our leisurely morning, we ran errands. We made our usual Saturday trip to Easy Way. Charlie loves to go there and see all of the different colors and shapes of food. Usually, he is happy to just observe, but on this day, his curiosities got the best of him. At one point, I looked down at him riding happily in the shopping cart and he is munching on a piece of onion paper/skin. While picking out tomoatoes, he helped by picking out the fattest redest tomoato he could find and throwing it on the floor. Fortunately, it wasn't ripe enough to burst into a pulpy mess.

After these two moments of me not noticing just how easy it is for him to reach out and grab something from the shelves, I determined to keep a closer watch on him. I (or so I thought) figured out a way to park the basket just so, in order to keep the bountiful produce out of his reach. After picking out my asparugus, mushrooms, and zuchini, I turned the corner to head toward the check-out. I looked down at Charlie to announce that we were nearing the end of our shopping trip when I noticed something red and mushy all over his face, shirt, white shorts, and fingers. He was munching on one of the most beatufil red strawberries I have ever seen. And he looked to be in heaven. I wondered where he got this little gem because the strawberries are usually stored in tightly locked plastic containers. Well, duh. He's no fool! My son stealthly poached a strawberry from it's plastic home while I was checking out the asparagus. And these were no ordinary strawberries either. No, these's weren't the 2 packs for $4 strawberries. These were the delectable, long stem, perfectly red and ripe Drisoll strawberries. $5.99 for one pound. Good taste that boy has, eh?



We ended the day by celebrating Chip's birthday at the Chockleys. We drank wine, ate Sekura, and played. Charlie had a grand time playing with Connor and Chloe. He even gave Chloe a hug, and I think he would have stolen a kiss if she would have let him. Aunt Tiffany was also there, and we all know Charlie loves him some Aunt Tiffany!
Overall it was a great day, but we really miss Daddy and can't wait to see him!

Posted by Cathy at 10:13 AM | | Comments

Friday, May 11, 2007

Hugging

Let's just say that our second Daddy-less morning was not a great one. First of all, I am dog-sitting a friend's dog, which makes the dog count in our house now three. And if you take into account the size of these dogs, you could really say that I now have 5 1/2 dogs in the house. My dilemma for the weekend - do I even bother to vacuum since the hair I suck up will instantaneously be replaced with a fresh layer of fur?

Kennedy, the golden retriever (and Roxy's best friend) is not happy being here. The dogs definitely have fun together, but like anyone, the comforts of home are just irreplaceable. Thus, Kennedy woke earlier that I would have liked this morning. Her early rise woke my two dogs and by the time the three of them got to whimpering and whacking their tails against the wall and the bed, Charlie was awake. Plans for sleeping in a little late foiled! And with that, things just got off to a bad start. After feeding and clothing, Charlie was in a mood.
He was instantly calmed with a little blow drying action. Oh, how he loves having his hair styled.
Then, after naively thinking I was in the clear with Mr. Grouchy Pants, he spit up; we had to make a wardrobe change causing Mr. Grouchy Pants to bring out the big guns.
Finally, Charlie composed himself and went back to being the sweet and lovable baby that we all know and love. One of his favorite new tricks (besides biting me) is hugging. Within the past week or so, he has discovered the joy of putting his arms around my neck and snuggling into my neck (and often biting me, but that's beside the point). It is so sweet and every time he does it, my heart flutters.

He even seems to want to learn to smooch. Here, after I crouched down on the floor to his level, he scoot, scoot, scooted all the way over to my face and leaned in for what I thought would be a sweet, wet, and sloppy baby kiss. Instead, he bit me. He seemed to be so happy with his little trick. He giggled so much; I could swear I heard him say under his breath, "Suckahhhh."

Posted by Cathy at 9:45 PM | | Comments