TGIF!

It's been one of those weeks when Friday seemed to take a long time to arrive, but it's here - yea!  Charlie was home sick on Monday and Tuesday but was back to his normal self on Wednesday.  A big thanks to Grandma Jan who came down to stay home with Charlie.  Both grandmas volunteered but BJ and I had to make a decision based on who we spoke to first...not a bad problem to have! 

Wednesday was our 9th anniversary and I came home to find the following gifts on our kitchen counter.  A card, candy bar and 4 different chocolate desserts.  He knows me so well.

As I said, Charlie was back to his twazy self on Wednesday and engaged in his normal post-dinner, minus pants antics.  I think in this picture he and I were having a dance party to old-school rap jams that we were playing from DirectTV.  BJ refused to participate in the dance party but it looks like he could be trying to shake a groove in the background.

Following the dance party, BJ and Charlie settled in to watch a little ESPN before Charlie's bath.  I have a feeling that I'll be looking at the back of their heads while watching sports for quite awhile.  

Finally, earlier tonight Charlie threw a tantrum worth documenting when we wouldn't let him in the laundry room to bother Copper while he ate.  Please note that as he is screaming on the floor, he has neatly crossed his feet.  Might as well get comfortable if you're throwing a fit.  I can relate, by Friday nights we're usually tired and ready for bed too!

Special Delivery

My parents came to visit on Thursday and brought with them an outdoor playset/slide that they've had for the last few years.  It will be perfect for Charlie this summer and we really appreciate that they made a personal delivery!

Charlie loved having some one-on-one time with Grandpa Bill and Grandma Kathy and capped off the night after getting a bath by peeing in the corner of his room before I had a chance to get a diaper on him.  I have a feeling that it won't be the last time that he waters his carpet.

Once we cleaned up the puddle and got him dressed, he came out to the living room to give Grandma and Grandpa one last hug before going to bed.

Thanks again for coming down Mom and Dad - Charlie loves the play set.

Afternoon Outdoors

We had a relaxing Mother's Day weekend and enjoyed the summer-like weather.  Charlie took his bubble-blowing lawn mower for a spin.

Unfortunately, you have to move faster than he can in order to actually generate bubbles so BJ helped for a little while.

Then we decided to have fun with bubbles the old-school way.  The picture doesn't do it justice, but he was clapping his hands and "jumping" (which is more like a one-footed hop with his arm flailings but he is so impressed with himself that it is quite the sight).

 I attempted to get a picture of Charlie by our lake/pond (I don't know what the difference is between the two) but Charlie was absolutely stunned by the neighbor mowing his lawn so the best I got was this open mouth stare off beyond the camera.

 Finally, just a look at my two boys.  I think that this was the first walk when Copper didn't insist on being two steps ahead of Charlie's stroller or wagon.  He has a bad case of little dog syndrome and should have been called Napoleon, but we love him anyway. 

Random

We had some fun visitors this past weekend.  Grandma Jan, Grandpa Steve and Great Grandma Kate came for lunch on Saturday for a couple of hours and Aunt Molly, Uncle Mike and the "girls" (Emma, Claire and Hannah) came later Saturday afternoon and spent the night with us.  Claire also gave us our first official May Day basket and a drawing of her interpretation of a lawyer (which I proudly displayed in my office) and both were awesome.  Thanks again Claire! 

There were many opportunities for some good pictures but I started the Jillian Michaels 30 day shred workout video last week so I was unable to make any sudden movements and grab the camera.  I thought that lugging around a 30 lb. toddler would result in some muscle mass but shockingly, it did not.

I snapped a couple of pictures after dinner tonight of Charlie playing in his race car "ball pit" and I think that the below picture is final evidence that he's no longer a baby...he's a little boy.

Seriously - doesn't he look older than 1?

Picking up the ball pit has become somewhat of a treasure hunt because you never know what you will find - a sippy cup, raisins, Charlie's socks, magnets.  If Copper is ever lost I know the first place to check.

If I hadn't been so honest about my camera struggles, I could claim that the below picture was the result of some photography technique but the truth is that at the last second I pressed a weird button and all but a portion of Charlie's face disappeared.

In other random news, a bird flew into my window at work yesterday morning.  After an hour or so of recuperating (complete with checks every 15 minutes by myself or some of my co-workers), and a debate about whether I should offer him/her (our checks were not THAT thorough) some broken Wheat Thin crackers, it seems that Chipper McDee was back to a non-flying but walking kind of normal.  Then this morning, another bird was on my window ledge and "pecked" at my window a couple of times.  Clearly the windows in my office are too clean and I now have all of the justification I need to avoid washing our windows at our house - all in the name of saving the birds.   

Easter 2011

We came, we saw and we conquered Easter 2011.  Not a very big task when you consider that Charlie was pretty much within a grandparent's reach the entire weekend.  Friday night began with dinner with Grandmas Jan and Kathy and Grandpas Bill and Steve.  Charlie wasn't short of attention the entire night.  Here's a picture of him with my mom following dinner doing what he loves - sitting on a lap and looking at a book.

On Saturday we went to my sister's house to celebrate Easter with my family.  Charlie was pretty excited to be outside for the Easter egg hunt and even ran to this particular egg, but didn't quite get the concept about

 picking up the eggs.

 Emma was kind enough to start handing Charlie eggs, which he thought was pretty fun.

The crew of Gehl cousins - there was lots of fun to be had and we're pretty sure that by Christmas, Charlie will be a really good contender against Dylan and Tyler in their wrestling matches.

 The "Gehl" grandkids and grandparents following the Easter egg hunt.  Note how Charlie is reaching into Dylan's basket while everyone else is looking at a camera.  I guess he figured out the point of then hunt at the last possible minute.

On Sunday, we started with church with BJ's side of the family and TRIED to snap a few decent pictures after church.  Charlie was obsessed with jumping so I decided to post two pictures of Grandma Jan, Grandpa Steve, Cousin Max and Charlie because I don't know that I ever snapped one that was good of all 4 of them.

Then we tried the unthinkable - a family photo.  Or at least a partial photo - Copper was gated in the laundry room because he hasn't been allowed in the same room as Max since Copper got a taste of him back in 2007.  Charlie was in full escape mode and as you will see in the 2nd photo, his need to escape turned into rage when I wouldn't let him get down and run away.   

It's a good thing that the Easter Bunny had already delivered Charlie's basket otherwise the hair pulling incident may have been a deal-breaker.

Speaking of the Easter Bunny - she delivered two new books, Play-Doh filled eggs, bubbles and a lawn mower that blows bubbles.  Thankfully, the Easter bunny realized that the lawn mower slowly leaks the bubble solution before leaving the lawn mower on Steve and Jan's wood floors all night.

 Charlie also got to see Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Bill on Sunday before we headed home so it will go down in his memory as a great weekend!

Siestas

Charlie took a four-hour nap today and was deliriously happy when he awoke.  Smiling and bouncing and giggling.  Further proof that the world might be a happier place if we all took afternoon naps.

I snapped this picture after Charlie went to bed the other night.  I tend to dislike stereotypes, but I'm starting to think that nurture has nothing on nature...

Fifty-Six Years Young

Our first born, Copper, turned fifty-six (8) years young yesterday.  He has made a name for himself (usually in a bad way) every place that we've lived and would give the Dog Whisperer (the real one, not the one we paid gobs of money to in KC) a run for his money.  I spoke with him on Sunday about how he was entering the golden years of his life and that he should really start to reevaluate his behavior towards other people and dogs.  I think that instead of changing his ways, he is going to transition into an old, crabby dog.  Like the old crabby man who kids are afraid to see at Halloween, but if they strike up enough courage to ring his doorbell, they are given a tube of bad toothpaste or a half-rotten orange.  In previous years, we've always celebrated with a birthday cake from a dog bakery, but now that we know the extent of his allergies (he is allergic to human dander now...yes, I know), each of those birthday cakes probably shaved 2 years off of his life.  So this year it was just extra TLC for our Squirrel Pup. 

We had some great weather this weekend so we took Charlie and Copper to the park by our house.  Charlie loved the swing, but refused to look up towards the camera.

A picture of Copper enjoying the view from a park bench...barking at children, one of his favorite activities.  Copper had to stay off of the playground because he is (of course) allergic to mulch.

Sunday was even warmer than Satruday and when Charlie woke up from his nap, his hair was curly so I had to snap a few pictures.  The front wasn't too crazy...

...but the sides and back were something to behold.  Never mind that his cheeks were stuffed with grapes.

I tried to get Charlie to smile at the camera and that is when the shenanigans began...

 ...more tomfoolery.

A picture of the birthday boy.  He looks thrilled with life, doesn't he?  I'm pretty sure that if he was surveyed, he would report that he is neglected and not given the respect that he deserves.  He is basically the dog-version of Rodney Dangerfield.

Copper quickly tired of my antics and started yawning.  Despite his terrible breath, I think that my teeth brushing efforts are paying off - look at those pearly whites!

 Following Charlie's nap, we decided to let him run around in his diaper because it was really warm.  We also decided to try on his new sandals.  To my surprise, he loved his new sandals, clapped and refused to take them off.  Which led to the next string of pictures that will be resurrected for his high school graduation.

 Finally, following Charlie's bath last night, we decided to try on his duckie robe that he hasn't worn in months.  Trust me, you could tell that it had been awhile.  I think it is time for the robe to go into storage.

We hope that you had as fashionable of a weekend as we did!