Like Father, Like Son

A belated Happy Father's Day to BJ, my dad and Steve.  Charlie is a lucky little boy to have BJ for a dad and BJ and I are lucky to have the chance to see our dads as often as we do. 

In what will forever be known as "Poor Planning of 2011", I was in New York City last weekend, so I missed the Heart Walk (BJ's biggest work event of the year) and Father's Day.  When I was originally asked about going to NYC, BJ and I both agreed that we had "nothing" going on the weekend on June 18th...oops.  Anyway, while I was gallivanting in NYC, many friends and family came to Des Moines for the Heart Walk so I'm sorry that I missed it, but I'm glad that everyone had a great time and that the walk went well.  A special thanks to Steve and Jan for watching Charlie while I was trying to be hip in NYC and BJ was busy with work.

Charlie's obsession with lawn mowers continues.  If we see someone mowing their lawn on our walk, it is a topic that stays with us for the entire walk.  If a neighbor is mowing their lawn, Charlie will stand completely still and watch for the duration of the event.  Needless to say, when BJ mows our lawn, it is a camera-worthy event.

 Trying to keep up with BJ...those little legs move fast, but sometimes not fast enough.

Every time that BJ and Charlie would pass each other, Charlie would stand and wave but this time he thought that the magic of it all required a high five.

Pure excitement watching BJ mow the backyard.  At this point (45 minutes into the lawn mowing process), BJ suggested over the sound of the lawn mower that perhaps I could grab a broom and start to sweep the sidewalks.  I pretended like I didn't hear him and instead pulled a weed (note that it was a singular weed).  I swept the last time that BJ mowed the lawn and the next day my side kind of hurt so it wasn't a risk that I was willing to take.  Come to think of it, I could have hurt my back by bending over to pull the weed so I should really be more careful when in the great outdoors.  Looks like I'll be sticking to sitting on the deck with a cold beverage from here on out...the risk of frostbite from the beverage is a risk that I am willing to assume.

Rambling

So it's been a couple of weeks since I've updated the blog and it's probably because we haven't been up to anything too exciting...as is obvious in the string of pictures and captions below.

Charlie's favorite spot to snack has changed from the rug in the kitchen to anywhere where BJ is sitting.  Charlie will run as fast as his little legs will carry him (usually dumping most of his snack) just to eat his "nack" by BJ. 

Copper continues to sulk and demand more attention than any child or dog could possibly need.

This was the scene the other morning when I got out of the shower.  Charlie has figured out how to open all doors in our house so he opened the closet in our bathroom, pulled out our TP stash and did a little redecorating.  The picture doesn't really do it justice and clearly I need to teach Charlie that he should wear black when TPing and should run like heck once the job is finished...not dawdle to admire his handiwork.

The weather here last weekend was great so we took Charlie for his first zoo experience.  I'll be honest, Copper frequently spends time behind a baby gate when Charlie is on the loose (for both of their safety) so for all I know going to the zoo and looking at the animals on the other side of the fence was the equivalent of Charlie staring at Copper.

We rode the train, which wasn't that exciting, but Charlie liked waving at all of the people that we passed.

The highlight of the trip - feeding the goats.  Charlie could have spent all day doing feeding the goats and letting them lick his hands, but I only had enough Purell to last us around 20 minutes.

On Tuesday night, Molly and the girls came to spend the night before their outing at Adventureland on Wednesday.  True to form, Charlie basked in the attention and even had his first Oreo experience with them...looks like I'll have to be buying two packages from here on out.  One for him and one for me.

The next string of pictures are completely random but Charlie was being very goofy tonight during my dinner (he had already eaten but wanted to sit next to me).  At first, he kept pointing at me and saying my name, so I would do the same to him which he found hilarious.

The pointing soon gave way to leaning in for a smooch...and possible a bite of my spaghetti.

Next, Charlie started repeating everything I was doing which worked well until I wiped my nose in an effort to persuade him to wipe his nose.  Turns out, he figured out pretty quickly when to stop playing the "copycat" game.

Finally, in a picture that I am certain that I will regret posting tomorrow...I decided that it would be fun if Charlie and I sat in his crib.  I'm not sure why this made sense at the time, but BJ heard the giggles and snapped a picture.  I think it was due to a combination of a very long week at work, not a lot of sleep and the fact that I am leaving for a trip this weekend and will be missing my boy that I felt the need to act like a complete fool for a few extra smiles tonight. 

Other than laughter from Charlie, the other benefit to this little adventure was that I realized it was pretty tough to get in and out of his crib so I think we have at least 3 more months before he'll figure it out.

Long Weekend

We had a pretty quiet weekend at home, which is nice because it seems like most of the weekends in June or July will be busy with visitors or taking a few small trips.

On Saturday, Grandma Jan and Grandpa Steve (and about 8 plants) came to our house to help finish our landscaping project.  As usual, Charlie loved the one-on-one time with them but I failed to take any pictures. 

Steve and Jan left for a few hours to go to a graduation party and a wedding reception, so we headed to our friend Birdie and Zinn's house to a pizza party.  Well, the guys had a pizza party and Zinn and I went out to eat.  We figured that after spending Friday night golfing and celebrating their golf game together, BJ and Birdie could entertain the boys while Zinn and I had a "girls only" dinner.  Charlie loved playing with Zach, Drew and Jake, as evidenced by the picture below.

When Steve and Jan came home from the wedding reception, BJ and I decided to go to a late movie.  The 9:30 show was sold out so we bought tickets to the 10:15 show.  I knew that I was pretty lame (I eat frosted shredded mini wheats and listen to NPR), but I had no idea that the general public still engages in social activities after 8:00.  I kept asking BJ if he was as shocked as me that the 9:30 and later movies were sold out - how crazy is that?  He was not as shocked and quickly tired of my need to discuss the amount of people at the movie theatre.  For those of you reading this post, no, you will not get these few minutes of your life back. 

On Sunday morning we woke up and all marveled at how the back of Charlie's head forms perfect curls while he sleeps.  I would have loved the ability to generate these curls in high school.  I even bought hot rollers and a large can a Vavoom in an attempt to create curls and the only thing I ended up with was a slight burn on my finger from the curlers and highly flammable hair from using too much hair spray.

One of Charlie's new toys is a little vacuum cleaner and he is obsessed.  BJ and I keep thinking that the batteries have got to die pretty soon because ironically, a toy vacuum cleaner makes an as annoying sound as a real vacuum cleaner.  If Charlie's current obsession with vacuuming and mowing the lawn are any indication, we'll be set for a few years of child labor when he gets older.

Before Charlie got his tubes, I worried that he might have a hearing problem because of the multiple ear infections and the fact that he seemed to like my singing.  I no longer have any worries about his hearing.  Earlier today we were heading home after running some errands and I began to sing Wheels on the Bus to kill some time.  I looked back and Charlie was shaking his head and covering his ears.  Well played Charlie, well played.

I don't have any pictures to go with the following memories but still feel the need to share these stories.  For the last few weeks, there have been two ducks that have been regulars at our lake.  We would always point out the ducks and tell them good morning, etc., but did not form a particular attachment to them.  On Wednesday night, we were on our nightly walk and we noticed that one of the ducks was sitting near the sidewalk but on the bank of the lake.  We were surprised that (s)he was not moving as we got closer and closer and then we saw it...his/her friend/spouse/partner was floating in the lake a few feet away.  It was very sad.  BJ and I stopped to assess the situation and before we knew it, Charlie was muttering "dead duck, dead duck"...not the word combinations that we've been working on. 

After our walk we were playing in the front yard when our neighbor Miss Patty came by to ask if we had seen "Mr. Quackers."  I asked if she meant the dead duck or the duck that was grieving by the side of the lake.  Patty informed me that Mr. Quackers was the duck that was grieving and that it was Mrs. Quackers that had kicked the bucket.  Patty continued by explaining that she had been in her basement (you know, because her husband has chronic pain and she sleeps downstairs) when she began watching the ducks on a regular basis (and to make sure that those neighbor dogs that are labs weren't frequenting her yard to much) when she...(I started to zone out at this point because BJ and Charlie abandoned me and were in the garage while I was getting unsolicited updates on landscapers in the area, her two dogs and other neighbors).  Fast forward an hour and Charlie was in bed and I looked out at the lake and saw that Mr. Quackers was still watching Mrs. Quackers floating.  It was very sad so amidst BJ giving me a hard time, I walked out to give Mr. Quackers a piece of bread.  I justified that ducks can't be too different from humans and we typically drop off a casserole and what-not when a loved one dies so how was this any different?  Anywho, the sun had almost set so it was difficult to see the water but I quickly found Mr. Quackers and he was very pleased to see me because although I gave him a few feet distance, he waddled over to me and began eating pieces of bread.  I couldn't stand there and NOT acknowledge that he lost his soul mate, so I started talking to him telling him that it will be ok, he needs to find a new lake and a new friend when I hear, "Are you alright?"  I look up to see a woman standing on the sidewalk a few feet away and I hear BJ laughing from the deck of our house.  Apparently this woman walked up behind me and had been eavesdropping on our conversation the entire time.  In trying to explain what I was doing, I ended up sounding like a crazy person.  I started by saying, "Mr. Quackers...well, I didn't name him, I'm not that crazy, is here grieving because his wife is dead, do you see her floating?"  [No, it was too dark to see anything floating] "So I thought that I would bring him a piece of bread because that is what we do when humans are grieving..."  Silence.  "That is my husband up on the deck and he is laughing right now because he knows that I've made a fool of myself."  Finally, the woman gave me a half smile and said to have a good night.  And to think that an hour earlier I was thinking that Patty had the title of crazy neighbor.

The next random memory also involves Patty.  BJ had Friday off and was working on our landscape project when he realized that Copper was gone.  We have an underground fence and Copper is so scared of it that we haven't been using his collar lately.  Well, don't let your guard down around old Squirrel Pup because he apparently saw a chance to escape and went all Shawshank Redemption on us.  Anywho, BJ started walking up and down our street (probably crying) yelling for him when he heard Patty yell "Are you looking for your dog?"  Turns out, Copper was in her backyard (two houses from our house) when she coaxed him into a kennel with a treat.  First, I'm not sure how long Patty was planning on keeping Copper in that kennel, but if the homeowners association had any say, I'm sure that it would have been indefinitely.  Second, I doubt that the treat was on the "Copper's allergic to everything except kangaroo meat" approved list of foods so the treat alone probably shaved 2 years off of his life and the fact that he was placed in a kennel probably shaved another 6 months off of his life.  Third, I wonder what Patty named him since she's established herself as the neighborhood namer of all wayward animals.

Finally, yesterday was my dad's (Grandpa Bill) birthday.  We hope that you had a great day and we'll see you in a few weeks.  Here's to hoping that there aren't any more impromptu duck grieving sessions this week.

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.