Hide & Seek

One of my absolute favorite things to do with Charlie is play hide & seek.


I took the camera along with me and snapped a few pictures. I want this to be something I always remember. I hope he always thinks I'm fun :)


It starts in my room, where I set him down and take off crawling.


Charlie bursts in a squeal of excitement when he realizes we're playing his game.


I usually hide behind the couch first.


I change spots a few times because he thinks it's funny.

Charlie and a sweaty mama

The game always ends in a hug and a few spins.

I took a little video. He was a little distracted by the recording light (as always) but I still think it's cute.

My Little Shadow

If I'm ever on the computer while Charlie is awake, he most certainly will be right here....
Underneath the computer desk, hanging out by my legs.

He likes to wedge himself between the computer and the stool we keep underneath: the smallest place he could go.
There he does a little balancing act.

This kid is all boy.

Mr. Mom

I've had a bit of a cold the last couple of days. One of those things where it really only bothers you right before you fall asleep and when you get up in the mornings. Today it just did not go away and all I wanted to do was sleep! Tony took Charlie and I ended up sleeping for several more hours this morning. When I did wake up, I came into the kitchen to see Charlie very happy, Tony mopping the floor, dishes done, stove scrubbed and counters clean. He is so nice to me and now I think he's better at staying home than I am!

Not much is going on this week! Thought I'd post a few pictures from the last little bit :)

Getting ready for church

....I'm looking forward to this upcoming weekend. The 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays!

8 Months Baby!

Charlie turned 8 months yesterday! Time is flying by faster than I can take it in. He has changed so much in just the last week! It seems like he is learning something new everyday.
A little bit about Charlie:

-He is crawling on his hands AND knees now (he started this yesterday)...which means he is faster than ever

-He now crawls from room to room. No more leaving him with a few toys on the floor. He will come find me!

-He monkey crawls along the furniture a majority of the day

-He clicks his tongue when he's in a happy & content mood

-He likes to spit out food and blow bubbles with his lips as soon as he has food in his mouth (this was funny the first time, but now not so much)

-He has quite a sense of humor! He tilts his head to the side and shakes it back and forth (like he's saying no) when he wants to play around

-He thinks it's funny when we play and put things on our head

-He likes to be outside

-He doesn't mind his carseat as long as the sun isn't in his eyes

-He's beginning to get into everything! Pulls books off of bookshelves, tries to get into the dishwasher while I'm unloading, etc

-Every once in a while he'll give an open mouth kiss

-Does not enjoy getting his diaper or clothes changed.

-He likes to feed himself puff crackers & drink juice

-Enjoys reading books with me & likes to turn the pages himself


It's fun seeing his personality as he gets older!

Someone Loves His Daddy

Tony was mowing the backyard while inside a little someone was watching his every move.

I think these pictures are so sweet.
Charlie loves to watch his daddy!

Back At It

It has been quite a while since I've been able to post anything. We had a lightning storm that blew up the power box for our home and a cluster of homes around us. The storm came so fast I didn't have a chance to turn the computer off! Unfortunately, the explosion fried our computer modem, router and ethernet card. I guess it's not a lie that you should turn off your electronics when a storm comes in. Lesson learned.

We have had a good week. On Saturday I hosted a baby shower. I was so excited because it gave me a chance to make these....Are these the CUTEST things or what?!
I found the tutorial for them here That Martha thinks of everything!

Tony and I stayed up the night before watching a movie and made them (so nice of him...the movie was even a chick flick) I was surprised at how easy and cheap they were to make! Each one costs about a dollar. They really add depth to a buffet table.
I also made a cake...check that off of my summer live list....

Two layer chocolate cake with strawberry filling, cream cheese frosting with a hint of coconut. It was fun to have an excuse to make a whole cake!A cute Charlie picture just because :)

I've decided that I absolutely HATE the tredmill. I can't take it anymore!!! These last two weeks have been miserable trying to make myself run like a lab mouse on one. I give up. Last night I figured out a schedule to run outside and avoid the 95 degree heat. It will still be mid 80's outside but I can handle that. I'm excited to enjoy myself again.
I'm trying to get some extra walking in so I took Charlie along and we went for a walk this morning. I love being outside in the morning. It such a great start to the day, especially since we are usually indoors enjoying the air conditioning during the day.

Yesterday was Father's day. I hate to be sappy, but Tony is the best father and husband. I was excited to have a day to tell him how much I appreciate him. We had a special lunch and he opened a few presents that both Charlie and I picked out.
Father & Son. Aren't they cute?
Charlie just lights up when his daddy comes home.
Tony makes marriage & family easy and enjoyable.
We are lucky to have him!

Weekend Highlights

This past weekend we were planning to go to the temple. We live four hours from ours and it has been a long time since we have been together. We had everything planned, a babysitter set up, directions printed, etc. The night before, we were laying in bed and Tony popped up remembering we never had our recommends renewed!!! How could we forget that?! So our plans to go to the temple were a bust, but hopefully we'll be able to go in the next month. Such a bummer, but we still had a good weekend!
We decided to go to the library for story time with Jesse. Jesse is a therapy dog and comes to the library every second Saturday. What a beautiful dog! She is a pure lab but only weighs 60 lbs and is quite short for her breed. She comes with her owner to the children section of the library. The owner reads stories and afterward takes Jesse to each child and lets them pet her. Since we don't have dogs, we thought this would be a good experience for Charlie--especially since Jesse is trained to be around kids.
It was so cute!
Charlie absolutely loved it!

After the library, we did a little shopping and then decided to be adventurous and try a new restaurant. We've been driving past a sign for Greek & Mediterranean food for quite some time. I love, love, love Greek flavors, but the building looked a little sketchy so I've been hesitant to go in. We finally gave it a chance and I'm so glad we did! It's a family owned restaurant and is AWESOME! It kind of reminded us of My Big Fat, Greek Wedding :)We ordered warm pitas and tzatziki sauce for an appetizer. I had a gyro and Tony ordered a dish with rice, meat and grilled vegetables. So good! I was in heaven.

It was overall a good weekend. I'm sad we missed our chance to go to the temple, but am excited to go soon. If you are lucky to live by one, take the chance to go!

Anybody Home?

Yesterday Charlie's highchair arrived in the best box!

After he went to bed, I recreated a childhood memory and turned the box into a little house. We've been playing in "Charlie's house" this morning. He loves it!

Taking in his luxurious surroundings

This house is equipped with two working doors, six windows, planted flowers, window flower boxes and shutters.

I guess I made more of a mommy house with the flowers and blue shutters, but he loves it still.

So fun!

Haircut.

Charlie had a hair cut this morning. It was about time! If his hair was combed straight forward it rested on his nose. Yes, he had a comb over for quite a while.

He is starting to look like such a little kid--it makes me sick. He is growing up so fast!

Is he a looker or what?!

Just a little video I thought my family would enjoy seeing :)

Hello Megan.

This morning I looked in the mirror and I don't know who I was looking at!

"Hello Mrs. Frump with your black sweatpants, grey t-shirt and messy ponytail."

What on earth has happened?! I looked like I went through a tornado or something!

During Charlie's nap I went through my closet. Pulling out the beautiful clothes I used to wear. Some things, obviously, I'm not going to wear around the house-- I don't feel like scrubbing spit-up out of them.
That being said, does that mean I have to wear the uniform of old pajamas everyday?

I put on a cute pair of jeans...oh hello legs, a black collared shirt with little white polka dots, and had my hair in rollers while I put on my makeup.

All of this took maybe ten minutes?

A sigh of relief..........."Hello Megan. I've missed you."

Standing Up

It was an EARLY morning! I woke up at 4 AM to Charlie screaming from his bedroom. Terrified screams. I rushed into his room to find him like this...
Except he wasn't smiling and it was nighttime. This photo was taken this afternoon when he was happy!

He has mastered standing up on furniture. However, he has yet to figure out how to sit down once he's up. This results in him being terrified, tired, & stuck standing up until one of us helps him. This afternoon we have been practicing standing up and then sitting down. I'm hoping he'll figure it out soon. I would be scared too if I thought I was holding on to dear life with just a few fingers!

Caught in the act...if only he knew how to fold laundry

He was so shaken up, it took him more than an hour to go back to bed. I ended up going to the gym afterwards since I was too awake to go back to sleep. Who knew so many people were up and running at 5 AM?

Yesterday we removed his bumpers (he just pulls on them to get up) and lowered his mattress so he can't fall out. It made me sad! His crib looks more like a little kid bed than his baby crib.
I guess it's just time to have another one....kidding, kidding :)
I love this kid.

Summer Live List: Half Marathon

My mom used to have us say, "I can do hard things," when we complained that something was "too hard." I think she started saying that when I was a teenager? I can't quite remember, but recently it is a phrase that I have come to recite in my head over and over.

I put on my summer live list that I want to train for a November half marathon. This past week I finished my 1st week of training. I've started going to the gym and using the tredmill, which I have mixed feelings about. Yes, the tredmill is nice because I can see my time & distance, but sometimes that isn't encouraging and makes the run seem way longer. But when it's 80 degrees in the morning, I have no other choice but to run inside otherwise I feel like I'm pushing my way through a wall of humidity. It is nice for my skin but I feel like I'm drowning in a pool of lotion. It's just gross.

Yesterday was a 4 mile run. After I had passed the mile 3 mark (my normal stopping point), I started thinking, "I can do hard things, I'm tired, I can do hard things, how much longer?!, GOSH DANG IT, I CAN DO HARD THINGS!" Eventually it was over. I survived. It wasn't really THAT hard. It just seemed hard while I was doing it.

For me, running is a mental challenge just as much as a physical challenge. It takes clearing my head, positive thoughts and a whole lot of self motivation to keep going. I think all of that is what makes running so satisfying. When you reach that point where you think you can't go any further, but you keep going, there's a feeling of self mastery--complete control over your body. I love that feeling.

I'm following Hal Higdon's half marathon training program. It's a 12 week program so I'll be doing each week twice. I think it will be a nice way to gradually warm up to 13 miles.

Have you made a live list? Have you completed anything on it?

Communication

This face says it all.

You can see he's thinking, "seriously, how many more pictures are we going to take today?"

I started laughing and told him "just one more I promise!"

That one more was this one....I snapped the picture and he crawled away.

Sometimes I think we understand each other perfectly.

Mama's Boy

It's no secret that Charlie is a huge mama's boy. I like to think he cries when I leave the room because I'm such an AWESOME mom. But I know it's not that, well maybe a little bit :), but he's just spoiled. Lately, when we've been playing and I can see that he's doing well on his own, I run out of the room AS FAST AS I CAN! I want him to have some time to himself without me entertaining him. I find him doing the funniest things as I spy from behind furniture.
Yesterday I found him like this....
In the corner of the kitchen with my tennis shoes on both sides. Just having the best time with my shoelaces. He cracks me up!

Summer Live List

I love having something to look forward to. I like to plan out my weeks with a few things that I can be excited about. It makes the days/week go by so much better. I love this quote, "One of the secrets of a happy life is continuous small treats."--Iris Murdoc

I compiled a list of "small treats" that I can do over the summer. I'm already doing a couple of these and have really enjoyed it.
I'm sure I'll think of new things every once in a while and will add them to the bottom of the list. I'll do posts about each of the things I do on here and will keep this list on the side of my blog, highlighting things that have been completed!

My Summer 2010 Live List

"Above all, try something." --Franklin D. Roosevelt

*do a family service project
*take Charlie swimming
*camp in the backyard
*buy vegetables from the farmer's market
*share my testimony
*train for a November half marathon
*feed the ducks
*make fruit tarts
*read a new book each month
*learn something new each month
*bring treats to our neighbors
*go to the temple
*make and decorate a cake
*make homemade popsicles
*bring a picnic lunch to Tony
*catch a lightning bug
*hike a trail
*do a puzzle
*watch fireworks
*go to a yoga class

You should make one too! Let me know if you do :)