Spring is coming...right?

We have some serious cabin fever!! It has been so nice out the last few days but Charlie and I have both been getting over a cold so we haven't been able to get out and enjoy it much. I'm really looking forward to this summer with Charlie. He'll be able to play in the park now and hopefully enjoy a few Twins games. We didn't realize how easy it was last year just bringing him in the carrier and he'd sleep through 90% of the game. We know we're not in for that easy of a time this year...

Charlie is also in a "nook" phase so it seems as if a lot of our pictures - especially the ones around bedtime - has the permanent nook in it. I think part of it is that he's been sick and the other part is he is getting his molars towards the back of his mouth and they are giving him fits so anything in his mouth is good. We've been giving him ice chips - thanks Grandma Pat for that idea! - and that seems to help too.

He often uses Sasha to stand up. She's such a good sport. Stella has no tolerance for wrestling or pulling on ears, etc.

BFF's.

He was trying to crawl on Stella but she takes off so he starts to lean on
Sasha - who is just gazing at Brian.



Charlie is so goofy when I go get him up from a nap. He's so excited to see me, and then he falls to the mattress and rolls around giggling like it's a big joke that I "got him". So goofy.



Plus he has some wicked cool hair when he wakes up!






I don't think I've posted a picture of the damage Charlie did awhile back to his crib rail. I did get a cover for the front rail but didn't order the side one in time and now he's pretty much down with that. Good thing when it converts into a big bed, we don't need the side rails!

Charlie is officially now a walker. It's his preferred method of transportation but when he falls, then he usually just finishes crawling to where he is going. He's getting pretty fast too. I'll have to get a video but he always claps when he pauses. I think it's because we always go "yay" and clap when he walks. He must think we're idiots that we clap and cheer every time he walks. He's going to think we should throw him a party when he rides a bike!

This is what Brian showed Charlie how to do while I was traveling. Now Charlie is obsessed with getting up on the counters or standing on a chair so he can reach the counters. Maybe he'll be a chef like Daddy.

He also loves when we let him up into this cabinet and he gets the tomato paste can- it's just small enough for his hands.

After every meal he crawls underneath his highchair - not sure why but it's pretty cute. You can see his black eye from a few weeks ago in this picture.

Homesick

I'm traveling for work this week. It's actually a pretty short trip. I left on Monday afternoon and I'm flying back out tomorrow morning but now that we have Charlie, days away from home are hard. I try to remind myself to ENJOY the quiet and the reading but especially now that Charlie sleeps through the night, it's not as much of a treat and really I just miss being home with my boys and the dogs. On top of that my pity party is not being helped by the fact that Charlie started to WALK while I was gone!! That little stinker! Brian said he's been taking up to 5-6 steps at a time all of a sudden both at home and daycare. He and my daycare lady were discussing whether to tell me or not or let me think he did it when I got home. I thought I had told them to push him down if he got close to taking a step!! Darn them!

I was watching Teen Mom 2 last night - hey traveling is a good way to get in shows that Brian won't even let me put on the DVR - and even watching those dumb girls made me miss Charlie! I was in my office this afternoon and started looking through pictures of Charlie on my laptop and I just love looking at how much Charlie has grown. It's really fun to see glimpses of his personality in the earlier pictures too.

Here are a few of my faves. that I just have on my desktop.

He looks like sloth in Goonies. I can say that because I'm his Mom. :)

His adorable Rolling Stones shirt from Anne and Michael. We got this awesome toy from Grandma Pat for his birthday. It's a magnetic alphabet singing toy. He LOVES it and it's saved us from having to get out the tupperware (and then wash them every night).

Last Saturday I don't know what happened but Charlie fell 3 times in 5 minutes. He's just in such a big hurry to get everywhere he doesn't even pay attention to where he's going. So he got his first shiner! I have a few better pictures on my camera at home but you can still see it here. You can also see his new tooth. He's up to 8 now. 2 more have come in on the bottom since his birthday.

His eyelids look bruised but I think that is just a trick of light.

This is a video I took the week after Charlie's bday. I was trying to get a good shot of him dancing but he only does it at the beginning. It's kind of uneventful but I love when he reaches back to start the music again. You can also just see the wheels in his head turning to see if he can reach the table without dropping first.