Santa Claus

We saw Santa twice this weekend! Charles did very well with him, too. We first saw him Friday night at Johnson's Farm. When Santa and Mrs. Claus arrived, Charles was very excited. When it was our turn to see him, William jumped right up and had a great conversation with him. Then Charles sat on his lap for a picture. No tears! No worry! William made sure he let Santa know what Charles wants.

Santa also came to our church for our celebration. The Sunday School performed our pageant and then there was a big brunch. When Charles saw Santa arrive, he jumped up in my lap with a huge grin and clapped his hands together. Santa gave him a book, The Poly Little Puppy. Charles "oohed" with excitement and showed it off to everyone. Very cool.

Disney World!

We took the boys to Disney World for the first time this month. Charles was so cute! He slept from the airport to the hotel, so he didn't get to look around until the next morning. That's when he saw our connecting door to the next room. He walked over and swung it open to find Bee Bee standing there. He got the biggest from in his face and spread his arms wide for her to pick him up.
When he met the first few characters, he was nervous and pulled away from them. But the third day when we went to Hollywood Studios, we met Stitch, and that changed it all. He grabbed for Stitch and was then gone to meet Woody and Buzz later that day and all the others after that. He really liked the pretty princesses, too.
Charles also liked to fly. He rode Dumbo, Aladdin's magic carpet, rockets, flying dinosaurs. He loved it! He tried to join the musicians in frontier land and danced to their music. He stared at Jack Sparrow's pirate training, listening to every word.
His favorite were the parades! He loved the music and seeing all the characters. He got so into them and clapped enthusiastically! It was great!

Flying trains

The boys got a surprise present from their elves this morning--more track for their trains to go around the Christmas tree. While William busily set to work constructing a new track, Charles kept taking the trains off the tracks send carrying them around. Suddenly I noticed as hd carried his engine, Charles had it flying through the air and was making a "swoosh" sound as it flew! Amazing! At 15 months, he already knows how to make sound effects.

Mema's hat

Charles found Mema's red cowboy hat in a bag that was sent home with us yesterday. Charles loves hats and was soon wearing it around the house. William saw Charles wearing the hat and laughingly started calling out, "Mema! MeMa! Oh, it's Charles."

little jedi

Charles is in early training for his Jedi position.  He and William had a light saber battle yesterday. 

pumpkin carving

Charles got to help with his first pumpkin carving tonight!  He really enjoyed reaching into the pumpkin to pull out the seeds and guts.  He is adorable with his curiosity and enthusiasm!

loves the blondes--missing Mema

At drop-off for William in the mornings, Charles will give the biggest smiles to the blonde mommies.  There is one in particular who is expecially sweet and bubbly, but Charles does seem to notice the blondes.  It was at a party last Sunday, though, that I started to think there may be more to the blondes than just their hair.  A heavier set blonde woman was at the party and sat down in a chair near Charles.  When Charles turned around and saw her, his face broke into the biggest beaming smile and he reached for her almost as if he recognized her and was happy to see her.  Did he think she was Mema?  Maybe he has more memories of her than I thought.  He hasn't had to fight through the sadness of her being gone because he doesn't understand what has happened, but he did seem really happy to see someone who looks similar enough to her return to his life.

Charles the dragon

Charles is going to be a dragon for Halloween this year, so Mommy took him to Castle Park behind our local library to take some pictures of him.  A dragon and his castle, plus a pirate ship!  Now it is time for Mommy to write a new story just for Charles.

just the two of us

While William was at pre-school, Mommy and Charles went to a hayride and pumpkin picking event for a moms' group.  It was nice spending the morning just the two of us so Mommy could focus on Charles and spend time introducing new objects and experiences to him.

cute boys and super grover

William and Charles are the cutest little guys together.  They enjoy chasing each other, jumping on the toddler trampoline together, and spinning on their sit-n-spin.  All is good until William tries to take one of Charles' toys or tries to undress him so they can run around the house in their underwear.  Must be a boy thing.

While William was at school, Charles had some alone time and enjoyed watching Sesame Street.  He was intrigued by Super Grover, so I brought William's toy downstairs.  Charles looked back and forth from the tv to the toy trying to figure out how the toy he was holding was alive on tv.

pumpkins!

We had a fun couple of days for collecting pumpkins.  On a chilly Sunday, we went to a local farmer's market and picked pumpkins, gourds, and sweet potatoes.  The next day, we went for a hayride to the pumpkin patch and played in the playground.  Charles loved playing in the little houses--especially the hen house with the colorful eggs.

pony ride

Charles got to ride his first pony on October 6 at the Ocean City Block Party.  At first he was a little nervous, but he soon found the fun in lolling back and forth on a fuzzy beast.

water baby

Charles really loves going to William's swimming lessons and wants to dive in with him so badly.  While he is not allowed to take lessons yet, he can wear William's extra goggles and happily does so all day.

Chocolate face

Charles loves bread! He had toast for breakfast. After lunch of Alfredo pasta, he begged for William's chocolate (Nutella) sandwich. When I wouldn't give it to him, he grudgingly settled to a piece of bread. After his nap, Charles saw William's sandwich still sitting on the table and nearly jumped out of my arms to get it. Alright, since William had only eaten half in three hours, I gave it to Charles. He wolfed it down!

Backyard exploration

Charles is such a big boy now at 13 months old. He wears little sneakers and no longer looks like a baby. We went for a walk in the backyard and he had so much fun picking up nature. He picked up acorns and tasted them. He found a stick with a seed pod on it, dipped it in dirt and popped it right in his mouth. He also crunched leaves. He really enjoyed himself!

Milk

Charles has learned to say "milk" very well. Instead of whining and pointing, he now says a pretty clear "mmmilk." Tonight at William's swimming lesson, one if the other babies had a straw cup just like his. Charles saw it, pointed, and strained to get out of my arms to get "mmmilk." He could not understand why the other baby had his cup!

first sentence

Charles just said his first complete sentence: "Put down the water."  He had been eating maccaroni and cheese and then finished with a teething cookie.  The cookies were thick, and he begged for water by pointing at it and grunting.  I held the cup to him and said, "water," a few times.  When he was finished gulping the water, he pushed it away and said his sentence.  I repeated it to him, "Put down the water?"  He replied, "Yeah."

New Shoes, New Clothes

Now that the air has turned cool in the mornings, Charles is wearing shoes--and he looks so big!  Last week we flew to Litchfield to be with Bee Bee for four days before most of the rest of the family arrived Thursday night.  The weather was absolutely lovely, and Charles was still barefoot in summer clothes.  We got back to chilly evenings and mornings.  Jackets are now needed, and tootsies must be covered, so I dug out William's old sneakers for Charles.  What a transformation from baby to little boy!  He seems proud of himself as he walks around in his big boy shoes.

With the cooler weather, I have also had to buy some new clothes for Charles.  Since William was a May baby, his 12 month clothes were all summer, and his warmer pajamas were 18 months.  Charles wore the 12 month shorts this summer, put long pajamas just won't do in 18 months.  When trying to fit his new clothes in the closet, I was quickly running out of room.  I needed to start clearing the 3-6 month and 6-9 month clothes out.  It is always so sad!  All those darling baby clothes go away, reminding me my baby is no longer a baby.  But then I find other cute clothes in bigger sizes, and I get excited about Charles wearing those.

Mickey phone

Charles loves electronics and wires. He sees a cord and has to grab it. He sees a cell phone and tries to call someone. To save our phone bills from unwanted calls or charges for devices he opens, we bought him a play Mickey Mouse cell phone. He loved it! It made the sound of dialing buttons, photo snapping, and Mickey Mouse would talk. Notice, though, that it is past tense. A little munchkin William left the toilet seat up and the bathroom door open. (Not good--the new rule is all are closed) Charles took advantage of the breach in bathroom security and swirled his cell phone in the toilet. William just giggled hysterically until he learned why we need the bathroom closed off. Electrical toys do not work after being put in water. Charles still pushes the buttons trying to get a sound, but he does still like to talk. He holds the phone up to his ear and says "hello" to his pal Mickey.

so brave

Charles had his one year well check on Monday and had to get two shots.  The doctor gives them to his patients, and it looks like he really jabs them in!  He holds the syringe in a fist and POW! rams the needle in the little baby arms!  Well, Charles didn't even flinch.  Not a single whimper or tear came out of him.

Today, Charles had to get his well check blood work.  We went to the lab, and Charles sat in my lap.  My instructions were to hold the body and the arm not being drawn.  They tied the tourniquet around his left arm and poked at his vein, but they didn't like that one, so they tied the other arm and poked and poked at the vein until they were happy with it.  When they were about to insert the needle, the vein disappeared, so they went back to the left arm.  They got the needle in, and Charles again did not cry!  He started talking very matter of factly.  I guess he said it hurt a little and talked about what they were doing to him, but he was so calm and cool.  Very impressive little man!

Happy 1st Birthday!

Charles turned one yesterday!  He has accomplished so much!  He is running and chasing William.  He adds a new word often and visibly puckers his little lips to try to copy words he would like to say.  He asks (with his eyes) what things are called so he can learn the word.  The other day, he wanted to know "sleeves" and thought they were very cool on his shirt.

Since Christmas, Charles has grabbed his Very Hungry Caterpillar toy at night.  It is the perfect diameter for his little hand.  When I painted the boys' rocking chair, I added the caterpillar to the back.  So for his first birthday party, Charles had a Very Hungry Caterpillar party.  There were lots of colors and fruit everywhere!

Happy birthday, Love!



Charles, his baby friends and their older siblings painted their own colorful worlds.





"I ate it all!"