Speed Bump

We helped Mark celebrate his 3rd birthday a couple weeks ago. Always a good time with the Geiger cousins! Charlie was very interested in Ho-Ho the cat and Ryan tried to get Charlie to very gently pat the cat. Lucky for Charlie, this cat has been pulled and poked a few times in his day... Lots of toys to play with at Mark's house! The birthday boy was in constant motion. Ryan and the birthday boy share a rare quiet moment. Everyone gathered to watch Mark open presents. (Note the streamers on the wall in the background - Macy did an awesome job decorating!) Charlie got a present for Mark's birthday (a Dickson grandparent tradition to give one gift to the non-birthday kids). A laughing dog that Charlie found very amusing. It wouldn't be a party without a little wrestling! The birthday boy held his own. And the big birthday gift....Mark's very own John Deer jeep! (Note to Gram: when the time comes, we do not have room for one of these). Mark's face says it all! ...

At Charlie's school, the kids have to be sitting to get a drink. So every morning at home Charlie sits patiently on the floor while we get his milk for him. I love mornings that involve bare feet, short pajamas, and sleepy cuddles. Speaking of cuddles, Charlie has been hugging everyone lately - at school and at home. Roxie was eating, which is one of the only times she will stand still long enough for this to happen. Just a short post while I work on putting together posts from Father's Day and June birthdays...

Charlie has lots of plans for Dad this weekend...let the fun begin!

Finally updated some older blog posts from Easter and Charlie's Baptism. You can find them here  and here . Once Ryan finishes the zoo post (still coming!) we will be all up to date. Yea!

Last year was Charlie's first Memorial Day Celebration at the Station ( http://maniger.blogspot.com/2009/06/memorial-day-celebration-at-station.html ) when he was only a few months old. This year he made a repeat performance. We needed more gear and more energy to get through the event but it was still a great time with family and friends and the KC Symphony. Looming storms (both the weather and Charlie's own) caused us to miss the fireworks this time, but we'll be back next year for this can't miss event. Charlie had his own chair this year and both sets of grandparents, great-aunts and uncles and many friends to visit with during the show. There was a really big turn out in spite of the forecast (it never rained in the end!) But Charlie let us know when it was time to go...until next year!

Summer with Charlie is so much fun this year. There is so much he can do. He loves the swings, but he doesn't stay in one place at the park for long. So much to do! We've been to the pool recently and Charlie is getting used to the water. Ryan likes to splash us both - he is getting ready to do just that in this picture (swimming towards us under water) Grammy and Papa have a mini-coup at their house for Charlie and Haley. Haley was happily cruising in her car on Memorial Day. Taking turns works pretty well for now... Charlie sat on Aunt Kara's lap while she fed Haley. I'm pretty sure he was planning a move for Haley's dinner. Baby Haley is all smiles!

While Paige was busy at work one weekend in May trying to finish up a grant, Charlie and I decided to head out to the zoo. The llama's seemed as good as place as any to start. But Charlie soon saw something else and off we went.... The parrots were colorful, but not active enough for Charlie... who wanted to try out his own animal skills by scaling a plastic log. Now these guys were more like it. The muskrats (or are they meerkats ) seemed to share a lot of characteristics with Charlie; chiefly insatiable curiosity . Since Mom wasn't around to police our activities, I decided to drop him over the edge of the bear cage so he could explore the natural habitat. Nothing like a little monkey business.... Of course no trip is complete unless we can find a jungle gym. Worn out and taking a breather under a shade tree. Then off to see the big cats. And then some hands on fun with the sheep. By the end of the day everyone was pooped. And ready for a nap.

We took Charlie to the Kansas half-ironman last weekend in Lawrence. We're hoping to inspire him to be a future triathlete. Charlie was a bit grumpy in the heat and with nothing much around for little ones to do. Kevin was a great sport and put up with more crying than any single guy should ever be exposed to. Sorry Tut. Charlie met some interesting characters at the finish line, like Glenda, the good witch and the cowardly Lion. This lion had Charlie pretty freaked out. Charlie cried so hard as we were leaving that the athletes (the ones completing a grueling 8+ hour event!) were distracted enough from their pain to look our way and wonder why some poor child was being tortured. It was a LONG walk to the car. Charlie rallied for a burger at Dempsey's, but by the time we got home, Ryan and I felt like we'd run the race ourselves. It just wasn't our day.