Charlie - 3 years old

Charlie can:

- sing songs (Twinkle, Twinkle, Ring Around the Rosie, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Row, Row, Row Your Boat, London Bridge, Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes)
- says anything you say, answers some questions, can name fruits, vegetables, body parts, hundreds upon hundreds of objects, asks to go to the grocery store, Walmart, church, library, etc. He says anything and everything it seems!
- has just started learning how to play games; Uno, Memory, Chutes and Ladders, a Thomas the Train Birthday Surprise game, dominos, (Charlie has been playing a memory card game since Christmas, but that's all)
- I would give him a D+ in sharing. Always room for improvement!
- goes to bed at 8pm; still (mostly) takes a 60-75 minute nap during the day. If he doesn't fall asleep, his room is usually destroyed when he comes out; decorations off the wall, humidifier dismantled, blankets and pillows all over the place, race car pajama hook off the wall, etc.
- loves to read books and can often recite passages from his own books or books we check out from the library
- LOVES to play outside. Anything outside. Everything outside. He would probably never come in if it weren't for meals and bathroom breaks.
- can put on pants, socks and shoes, but still needs help with shirts
- can do the big ladder at the park (it's really high!)
- started nodding his head instead of saying yes about 3 weeks before his birthday. Not that he couldn't nod before, but he has been nodding frequently lately. It's pretty cute!
- loves to help make anything in the kitchen
- his favorite foods are probably noodles with butter, breads, all kinds of fruit, pancakes/blueberry strata/baked oatmeal/rolly pancakes/all things with syrup, cheesy scrambled eggs, cheese, milk, and of course, anything sweet
- loves to play any kind of chasing game with whomever will play with him. Currently, Alanna's playing, too. "C'mere, Alanna!" :)
- plays with his friends Logan Paschall, Caleb Kube, Emmett Sturgeon, Ava Kolman
- goes to the nursery during church, but now that he's 3, will probably go to children's church very soon
- loves, loves, loves the word no. He even says no to the things he actually wants to do. I think it's a habit at this point.
- sits fairly still for haircuts, so after the first 2 in the salon, I've been doing them all at home
- plays semi trucks, cars, trains, shopping cart/food, etc.
- has been potty trained for 4ish months
- sleeps with his blue blankie, brown blankie, and two little ribbon blankies; the most important can't-sleep-without-it one is the blue blankie
- wears size 3T pants and shirts, size 8 shoes
- weighs 34 pounds and is 37 1/2 inches tall
- can do 24-piece puzzles with ease, and really likes to sit down and pound out a few puzzles
- likes baseball, basketball, football, soccer, but especially baseball
- prays at night; often it's 'thanks for mommy, daddy, Alanna, Charlie, Charlie's house, Mister Kathy's house (our neighbor - and he doesn't pronounce the 'th', so it sounds like Mister Kaffy :)
- laughs and smiles a lot
- is so polite, saying thank you, Mommy for meals, drinks, toys that I get down, etc.
- is starting to understand the concept of time (tomorrow), and knows the names of a few days of the week (mostly out of order: Tuesday Thursday Wednesday)
- knows his birthday, phone number, where he lives (though he often says Colorado Springs for some reason), how old he his, his full name
- can count to 30

The other day, I made him some hot chocolate, and he picked up his mug, slurped a sip off the top, and said, "It's coffee!" Haha! It's so funny because he's imitating Matt - whenever Matt makes a latte, he sips (slurps, actually) it down so he can put the lid on his mug. Apparently Charlie has caught on to this trick!

Charlie calls the game Memory, Numbery. As in, "Should we play Numbery?" :)

He often does a little 'hmmm' sound after asking a question: "Should we play horsie? Hmm?" It's seriously adorable.

He calls his sister Ananna. Occasionally, it's Alanna. Most of the time he shortens it to Nana. Why waste time on a third syllable when he needs her attention right now?!

3 years old... 3 years of joy from this handsome little guy!

First Half of March

Wow - this month has gone so fast! Here are a few snapshots of our month so far...

3-2-13 - a beautiful, beautiful day in Canon!

Charlie found a pretty uncomfortable looking spot to nap. Under the wooden chair? Huh. Whatever works! He had the humidifier going for a few weeks trying to get rid of a wet, phlegmy cough.

Post-nap outside play! Look at this little sweetie in the wagon!

That night, we had a family bonfire. The kids are in their light-weight jackets, and Matt and I sat by the fire in just our hoodies. Charlie had a s'more and Alanna settled for a marshmallow and graham cracker separately. Those two would have eaten the entire bag of mallows had we let them. (M and I gave up sweets for Lent.)

Roasting a marshmallow... ah! The smoke! :)

We had a fun family evening by the fire. Always nice to do something different, and we hadn't had a fire for a while!

3-3-13 Sunday after-church park time! We spent nearly 2 hours at the park after church just to get out and enjoy the weather. It was a little breezy, but not enough to chase us inside.

Charlie's playing defense! (Or something like that. :)

3-4-13

Good morning, Sunshine Girl! I usually open up Alanna's bedroom door and greet her with, "Good morning, Sunshine! How's my girl?" Charlie has since taken both phrases and shortened them to, "Good morning, Sunshine girl!" It's pretty sweet. Alanna's hair usually looks a fright in the morning due to rolling around in her blankets all night. It's getting super shaggy if it's not pulled back in the front, but I'm not cutting bangs, so she'll just have to power through. It's usually only like this for a few minutes until I get her changed, dressed, and hair done before breakfast.

Upside down pacifier? She still doesn't care one bit.

Ahh! Ponytail - much better!

3-11-13

Charlie taught Alanna to dump out all the Bristle Blocks and use the container as a helmet of sorts. She looks a bit alien-like - especially with the terrible lighting! It will be a fun game for them until the day that one of their heads gets stuck in the container. :S

Alanna managed to cut her chin on the edge of the bathtub when she misjudged how close she was to it and bent over to pick up a toy. She cried, and it bled for a bit, but she was fine. I just put this picture in to show her little Hello Kitty bandage!

3-13-13

Another gorgeous day meant a trip to the zoo! I thought it was so cute how both kids were standing the same way while checking out the zebras!

3-14-13

Little Sis! Those pigtails are irresistable!! Having a little snack on the front step after her nap.

Ohhh, for cute!

Playing around with the fun options on the camera. Again.

3-16-13

A quick snuggle with the kids. Seriously, quick. Probably 14 seconds worth.

Edamame

Last night at supper:

Charlie: "Are you eating green beans, Daddy?"
Matt: "No, I'm eating edamame."
Charlie: "Daddy, are you eating Mommy?"

:)

A Matt and Julie Update

Matt:
- really enjoyed his long weekend in MN; got in some quality time with his family
- has been running 3-4 times a week; usually one 10-mile run a week
- just finished our 2012 tax returns :)
- has been working a lot in the office lately; steady stream of things to do, but I know he's getting antsy to get going with some warmer-weather projects
- is still a YoungLife leader and goes to club every Monday night
- has been taking care of the kids a lot by himself in the evenings lately (see my list for the reason why)
- goes to (what I call) Mens Club on Sunday nights at 9; usually heavy conversation, but the most important part is that it's a group of guys who love Jesus

Julie:
- I got asked to accompany a musical in town (The Fantasticks) so I've had 4 nights a week of rehearsals with two weekends of performances (starting tonight)
- is still a leader for YoungLives and goes to club the last Tuesday of the month
- gets together with BFF Karen at least once a week :)
- has other stay-at-home moms and YoungLives girls and babies over frequently
- has 4 piano/voice students that I teach from my home
- is still doing kids choir at church
- goes to a Proverbs 31 small group on Fridays; a really neat time of transparency and accountability

This month seems extra busy with the musical, Charlie's birthday, and my parents coming out for a visit at the end of the month. Where does the time go? Before we get turned around, it will already be April!

February 2013

2-3-13 I was working in the kitchen making sweet potato wedges and this little monkey climbed up on the cooler, stood up, and was playing with some stuff on the counter. Are you kidding me, Smalls? How long was my back turned?! No, I don't normally keep a cooler in the kitchen like this but I happened to be making yogurt. (Just FYI; not trying to brag up my stay-at-home mom skills. I have none.)

A walk in the wagon before grilling for supper. We happened to be in front of this house, which I do think is lovely, but it doesn't mean anything. 

Playing in the back yard. The kids get so many slivers from these railroad ties! :(

2-4-12 Alanna's Valentine pants are hand-me-downs from my very good friend Debbie. Her daughter Macy wore them 5 years ago. 

The result of me saying to Charlie, "Give your sister a kiss!" Haha! :)

Pretty handsome little guy!

 2-5-13 I took the kids to CMZoo for a quick outing since the weather was so nice. We had to make one return at the mall, so we stopped for a quick ice cream truck ride and a peek at the puppies. Then, off to the zoo! I think we were at the mall for a total of 13 minutes.

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo! I love this jumbo-sized Adirondack chair! It had some serious chicken poop on it since it's up in the barnyard where those chickens freely roam...

Gawking at the chickens!

Still squawking... er, gawking....

2-8-13 Still wanting to help make things, Charlie's eager to push over a chair and insist on helping - even if it's simply dumping pasta into boiling water. He's all about it! Tonight's activity was crushing graham crackers with a rolling pin. I wish more recipes called for crushed graham crackers; not only are they delicious, but Charlie had a blast!

2-9-13 Alanna faces forward in the car seat! Ok, I actually put her in the front seat for a second while we switched her car seat around. You can see our garage wall through the driver's window so you know we weren't out driving around (or even faking it in a parking lot) with our 15-month-old in the front seat. What kind of parents do you think we are? Don't answer that.
Funny enough, a few days before or after this picture was taken (and we flipped her seat around), Matt actually weighed Alanna on a "certified" scale at the front of the grocery store. Apparently it's used to weigh ice. And small children. :) According to the scale, she weighed 21 lbs, meeting the minimum requirement to be able to switch her to a forward-facing car seat.

(Side note: At Alanna's 15-month well child visit, which was actually on February 26th, closer to 16 months, she weighed in at 19lbs, 13 ounces. What a petite little one! We kept her car seat facing forward, thinking that she'd boycott the rear-facing seat now that she's been facing forward for a few weeks.)

Heading to COS to spend the day with Karen and Kurtis; a trip to Costco (we're not members, but they are!) and a stop at the zoo. Yes, more zoo. Why not?!

She had a different reaction to the new car seat than Charlie did. She seemed to not really care at all, while Charlie sat in his seat and grinned the entire first 20-minutes of his forward-facing trip. Funny!

2-10-13 A few after-church pictures.

2-12-13 More pigtails! Alanna's hair is growing, growing, growing!

2-14-13 to 2-18-13

Alanna and Daddy head to MN! Yep, Matt and Alanna took a weekend trip to Minnesota to spend the weekend at the new Rustand Chalet. (Rustand as in Mark and Jean Rustand. We wish!:) Charlie and I spent the weekend at home together. It was strange having so much one-on-one time with Charlie since that hasn't really happened since Alanna was born. It was a fun time for everyone, but we were all really glad to be back together as a family at the end of the weekend.

Alanna's first airplane ride!! Matt said she did really well. She sat super still in Matt's lap from COS to DEN, and for the flight to Fargo, Matt had an empty seat next to him. Yay for more space! What a little traveler she is!

Playing in the terminal.

Her tiny little stick legs barely make it to the end of that seat!! :)

A peek at the Rustand Chalet. That really was the purpose for the trip; to see the finished product and spend some quality time with family. Katie and her girls were there a few overlapping days, so Matt got in on some Gould time as well. Alanna got to spend a whole day with Grandma and Grandpa Legge, too, which was so nice for everyone involved. Seriously, one-on-one time is hard to come by. I'm glad Matt took advantage of a long weekend and a cheap flight.

The originals.

A semi-ridiculous picture of some of the cousins. Justin, Hannah, and Charlie are missing, Sophia's eyes are half closed, Alanna has a funny scrunched face... awkward!

A MN winter sunset of (presumably) one of the west decks.

Flying back home!

Having a snack and looking adorable. All in a day's work for this sweetheart.

Haha!

2-28-13 I took the kids to storytime at the library, and they happened to be celebrating Dr. Suess' birthday. The crafy was this Cat in the Hat hat, which Charlie proceeded to wear very proudly for most of the rest of the day. Whenever I take the kids to the library (about every other week), the rest of the day is centered around the new books we check out. They are spread out everywhere! Totally worth it!