Speed Bump

There is a park close to our house that has the perfect pint-sized playground for Charlie. He can climb to the top and go down the slide all by himself. He did this yesterday over and over and over. Even the other parents of busy toddlers noticed and said "he must wear you out!" Uh, yeah. You could say that. Roxie was with us and he was very concerned about her sitting across the park on her leash. Other kids would go say hi to her and he would watch, pat his leg in the sign for "dog" (he was making the sign in the pictures above and below) and crawl over to her. He also found several sticks on the ground and took them over for her to chew on. He was taking care of his buddy. Charlie picked up a million of these sweet gum balls and handed them to me. Although I don't think he believed me when I said it was a ball because he tried to bounce one on the ground, unsuccessfully. Spring is going to be fun!

I love a quiet afternoon with Charlie. We do simple things like look out the window, and have a snack while sitting on the stairs. Then again, most afternoons with Charlie aren't quiet at all and end up looking something more like this...

Charlie loves berries. Blueberries, strawberries, and his current favorite, blackberries. He usually makes a pretty good mess with them, but this day was extra messy. He has been working on playing peek-a-boo. Sometimes he covers his ears, sometimes he gets his hands to his cheeks. This day he was working extra hard to find his eyes and after several misses, he did it...

When Charlie was really little, we put his car seat in the jogging stroller and he faced backwards, looking towards us while we ran. I always enjoyed seeing his smiles or watching him fall asleep. Now that he's bigger, Charlie faces forward in the stroller and this is all I see when we're running... I like watching him kick his legs and put his feet up like he's lounging. Plus, now he talks to me while we run. And if I sing a song he recognizes, I get applause!

But not facial expressions! I took this top photo of Charlie swinging on our last trip to the park before it got really cold last fall. I took this second picture just about two weeks ago at the park. Same kid, same expression, a little more hair. He really does like to swing, I swear.

I love this picture. Every time I see it, it makes me smile. This was taken by Charlie's cousin Mitch when we got together to celebrate December birthdays. He wanted to take some pictures with my iphone and this is the picture he took of Charlie from his seat across the table. You can barely see Charlie behind all the drink glasses! Kids see the world from such a different vantage point, we forget how it might influence their thoughts and behavior. Would you want to sit still through a long meal if this is what you saw across the table the whole time??

Not only is Ryan the best husband/Dad for doing the grocery shopping every week (among other reasons)...but this week he also took Charlie along with him! He really should get a medal.

Charlie and I recently discovered the KC Public Library. The Plaza branch has a beautiful area for kids with floor to ceiling windows and lots of space to move (crawl) around. Charlie was not very interested in the books scattered around the space but he loved watching the cars on the street below. He loves looking out the window in his room at home, too. Longing for spring and the outdoors, like the rest of us...

We took Charlie to the Brookside Saint Patrick's Day parade on Saturday. Despite the cool and damp weather, Charlie had a great time. He watched all the people go by and would point and grunt when something caught his eye. He especially liked watching the dogs in costume and the bands with drums.

Charlie is loving the chance to get outside these days. They have been playing on the playground and going for walks at school. I picked Charlie up in the jogger yesterday and we stopped at the park to swing. Despite his expression in this picture, Charlie loved the swing and laughed, smiled and kicked his legs in the air. Of course when I went to take this picture, he was intently watching some kids play behind me and refused to smile. That's my boy!

Charlie has a new carseat and a whole new perspective while riding now that he can face forward. I think he looks so little in his new throne! Checking out the sunroof... He watches my every move, studies the blinking lights on the dashboard, and watches cars and people go by. The car is so much fun now! That makes both Charlie and Mom happy.

Ryan had to leave for work early this morning so in order to eat breakfast myself and pack a lunch, Charlie was allowed to help himself to some yogurt. Guess we have a ways to go with this self-feeding business.

Ryan and I just got back from a weekend ski trip to Vail. We had a great time and took in some downhill skiing, cross country skiing, a bit of snow shoeing and even a ride on a snow mobile. Despite our fun in the snow and sun, we really missed our Charlie. He was in good hands with Grammy and Papa Manies and also got to spend some time with cousin Haley. Charlie still doesn't know the meaning of the word gentle, and poor Haley is going to be one tough little girl thanks to him.