Charlie's Crawling!

Well, Charlie started officially crawling today. He has been scooting on his knees a bit the last couple of days, but today, he put it all together and was moving his hands and legs to crawl. Yeah Charlie!

Thanksgiving

My Thanksgiving "Helper"

It looks like he's using the spoon to call Grandma or something, but it's a total coincidence. He doesn't know how to do that yet.

Charlie's first Thanksgiving was pretty fun! I SO wanted to get him a onesie I saw at Walmart with the words Baby's First Thanksgiving on the front. The cute part was underneath that: different jars of baby food (peas, sweet potatoes, etc.)! It was adorable, but they didn't have his size. Anyway!

We were invited over to some new friend's house for Thanksgiving, but due to the fact that she didn't have any fixin's for a meal and I already did, we swapped and I invited them over instead. It worked out well! I made a 15 1/2 pound bird, mashed potatoes, gravy, green bean cass, carrots and croutons, and a blackberry salad and Karen (my new friend from MOPS and they live 2 blocks away!) brought sweet potato cass and a pumpkin pie. After she brought her food, she said that the marshmallows needed to melt onto the sweet potato casserole, so I stuck them in the oven. Well, those little things wouldn't brown! Karen suggested I turn on the broiler, and hardly 2 minutes later, I opened the door and BLACK SMOKE POURED OUT. Oops. Real nice, right? "Wanna come over for Thanksgiving? And can I burn your food?!" It actually was still really tasty, burned mallows and all. She and her husband have two kids, so it was super informal and relaxed. We were able to get some good conversation in and get to know them better, too. Karen and I have gone walking a handful of times and I think that I might dare say that I have a friend here! But don't tell her that. I don't want to scare her off. :)

Right after Karen and her family left, we ventured out in search of the perfect Christmas tree. Matt bought a permit from the Forest Service and scored some tips on where to go, so he packed up the saw and we hit the road. It was pretty fun! It was a bit chilly and if it would have been nicer out, we would have hiked longer and searched harder. We found one pretty close to where we were parked - less hauling for my lumberjack! I'm pretty sure this will be our tradition on Thanksgiving day - big meal and chopping down the Christmas tree.

It looks like Matt isn't getting any credit because there's no pictures of him cutting or anything! It was a little hard to juggle Charlie all wrapped up in a blanket and take pictures at the same time. But he was there! Without him, we wouldn't have a tree! Matt hauled that thing around like some kind of Christmas tree wizard; sawing it down quickly, throwing it up on his shoulder, strapping it to the car, etc.

(Note: Did you notice I mentioned bringing a saw along? You didn't think we'd end up like the Griswold's, did you? You know, with the huge tree roots hanging off the car? We kept waiting for the bright lights to shine down on the one we were supposed to cut, but it just didn't happen. :)

Garden of the gods

A few weekends ago, we headed to Colorado Springs to check out Garden of the gods. I'd been there before but it had been years. We spent an hour walking along the paved trails while Charlie rode in the stroller. It was cool, but the sun still has so much power that it balanced out. It was fun to see something new and enjoy the sunshine!

So far, this has been the only trip/outing where Charlie has lost a pacifier! I can't believe it, especially considering all the places we've been. It was in one of those pictures, and the next time I looked, it was gone. We even walked back to see if we could find it, but no luck! I'm thinking that someone's dog picked it up and kept it as a chew toy. Or choking hazard. I'm HOPING some other kiddo didn't grab it and just start sucking!! YUCK!

Sweet Cheeks

Lots of things make me smile, but one that tops the list is bare baby butt cheeks.
Top or bottom cheeks. Take your pick! They're BOTH sweet!

Matt and I usually take turns giving Charlie a bath, and he still loves it. Daddy lets him play more than I do, something I didn't know until I was in the bathroom taking pictures!

Guess he likes to have some covers up over his ears like his Mommy... I was nervous the first few times when I went to check on him and he had blankets over his face, but now they mostly stay around his head, leaving his nose and mouth in the open air.

Guess Who Came to Visit??

Hint: Two blonde-haired North Dakotan beauties.

Tanna's making sure I'm doing a good job - quality control. :)
A precious moment where Uncle Matt is reading bookstories to Tanna Paige.

THIS is why I want a nice camera.

"Hey, Charlie, can I borrow your hat and shoes? My luggage got lost." (Thankfully it didn't, what with it being a carryon and all...)

At Royal Gorge
W - we took the incline railway down. Super fun! (Only a little scary.)

Tanna's modeling my flip-flops. The one is literally around her ankle. Hilarious!

Hmmm... I might as well jump in! This looks cozy!
Cousin Love

I promise Jill was here, too! Sadly, we didn't get any close-up shots of just the two of us. One distant one from the Gorge with the kiddos, but nothing else of us. Can you tell where the focus has shifted to? Thanks again, Team Swen, for the visit! (Their fam was spread out over 3 states while they were here - B in WI, D in MN, and the ladies in CO!)

Clear the Fridge...

because it's about to be covered in Christmas cards!

Christmas cards have always been a highlight for me. I enjoy getting cards and pictures from family and friends we haven't seen in a while and reading about the latest happenings in their lives. No other time of the year does our mailbox see so much cheer.

This year will be our first Christmas card with three members in our family! I'm going to have to figure out the balance between pictures and text. I guess that's why I'm looking to Shutterfly to help create a card that's memorable and affordable. I could spend hours and hours of time immersed in the world of Shutterfly, especially with all these holiday cards and photo Christmas cards to choose from! Isn't this one great?

Classy, easy to make, and personalized. What's not to love about that? (Obviously, I'd switch out those girlies for a favorite photo of my sweet son!)

In addition to their Christmas cards, Shutterfly has many other great products like the photo books, which my BFF has gotten me hooked on. Online scrapbooking. What will they think of next?

So which design will I choose? Watch those mailboxes to find out!

7 1/2 Months

Charlie likes:

• eating vegetables more than fruits
• sitting and playing on the floor with his toys
• rotating in circles on his butt and/or belly
• jumping in his jungle hopper
• remote controls
• 5:00 when Daddy gets home
• soft, fuzzy blankets and his pacifier when he sleeps
• walks in the stroller
• Mommy's hair (ouch!)
• to know what you're doing
• baths
• when Mommy tickles his ribs while changing diapers
• toys that make sounds
• his Baby Einstein cd
• talking and babbling like he has the most important things to say
• when Daddy and Mommy steal kisses and hugs
• "chewing" when he eats (even though he only has two bottom teeth and his baby food is practically liquid)

Charlie dislikes:

• getting dressed or undressed
• riding in the car seat for long periods of time (short rides, he's ok)
• when something tickles his tummy (like on airplanes)
• getting his bib on for meals (didn't know it could be a big deal, but it is!)

I could go on and on with things that Charlie likes, but I'm glad that I ran out of things that Charlie doesn't like. He's such a happy boy, smiling all the time. Lately, he's been talking a lot! Lots of little squeals that sound so thought-out. We think that he's accidentally said mama, but it's in with all the other babbling, so we don't think it counts. However, he's getting closer! What a sweetie. We'll keep him. :)