The Cousins

Being able to introduce Charlie to Dalton and Jack was magic. The Cousies are finally together...and all I have to say is "ohhh so cute!". The older boys have been so gentle with the baby and have done well with entertaining him. Jack has minute long conversations with Charlie and even pauses to make sure that Charlie has a chance to respond. So funny! On our first day together, we took a trip to the Dairy for ice cream.

We're goin' back to Cali...Cali

We started our adventure on Father's Day, Sunday the 17th and had planned to get an early start to get down to Oregon by the morning. Everything would have gone smoothly had we finished our laundry and packed before the very same morning we were going to leave. About 2 hours into our drive, we got a call from Meg. "Where you guys at?". We could have lied, but we decided that honesty was the best policy, "Renton". We left our house a little after 9 am but made the following stops before hitting the open road. The Bank. My office. Starbuck's. The local parking lot for Charlie's breakfast. Gas. And I'm sure there were a few others that escape me.

We drove the coast most of the way and stayed in hotels both Sunday and Monday nights. We stopped in Monterey and had coffee with our dear friend Kelly Baker, whom we hadn't seen since our wedding. After almost three days of travel, we made it to Mae's Mae's and have really enjoyed our time here so far.

Dinner last night

We have a great neighborhood restaurant/bar just 5 blocks away. The Barking Dog is a fantastic place to take kids. It's a casual environment with large tables inside, great picnic tables outside, good food and terrific staff. We've only been there two times, but both times we've met other parents and babies. As Auntie Meg always says "you guys are totally members of a new club". It's true, having a child automatically gives you a free pass to talk to any stranger you choose. Typically it's other parents, but I've had many conversations with grandparents that love to coo over Charlie or young adults that comment about how cute he is...and it's true. He is very cute. Last night, Charlie met Gabriella and Elsa. Gabriella was at the restaurant with her two Dads (love Seattle!) and Gabriella was taking a stroll with her parent, hoping she'd fall asleep for the night.

Auntie Meg met us at our house and we walked to the restaurant. We sat outside, which proved to be a little cold, but made sure to bundle the little guy up. Charlie is such a good baby and did really well until we got our food. KC's convinced that this is always the case and I'm beginning to think so too. He started to get a little fussy so I fed him until KC was finished eating and then he took over by walking Charlie around the block. My halibut sandwich was yum. Here are a few pictures.

Funny face

KC took this picture a few weeks back. I think it's hilarious. I was given a Nikon D80 for my first Mother's Day and we were playing around with the settings. I'm enjoying the camera so much and have really enjoyed taking tons of pics of Charlie. A photography class is definitely in my future, there is so much to learn. We're heading out on Sunday for a road trip down to California. I'm very excited and looking forward to getting pictures of him with the Cousins, Auntie G and Uncle Hap, Mae Mae, Great Aunts and Uncles and the rest of the California gang. We'll see you next week!

Our little Houdini

Charlie's been having a tough time getting to sleep at night. He was doing so well up until about 2 weeks ago. KC would swaddle, shush and rock him to sleep with relative ease. He now cries, like I've never heard him cry before (he's definitely found his voice), and struggles to release himself a la Houdini, from his blanket that binds him. After about half an hour of, what sounded like a battle in our bedroom, KC got him down. Go KC! When I walked into our room to go to bed around 11:00pm, this is the sight I saw.

Oh my goodness! I couldn't stop laughing and had to leave the room as not to wake him. I grabbed the camera of course, I couldn't resist capturing this. It looks like he did a good job freeing his legs, but Dad did such a stellar swaddle job, Charlie just couldn't compete. I think we're nearing the end of our swaddling routine.

We miss you

We lost someone very dear to us last week but are so greatful for the time Charlie had with Great Grammy. We have many priceless pictures.

Rough day for Charlie

Today was Charlie's 4 month check-up with Dr. McMahon. Knowing I could barely handle his 2 month appointment alone, I asked KC to come along. The last time I took him to the Doctor, I was completely unprepared for the nurse to stab, yes I said stab, my childs legs with four very large needles. I learned three very valuable lessons from that appointment. One - Give him tylenol before the appointment. Two - He's a bleeder and the tiny one inch round bandaides simply won't work, they just slide off. Three - I repeat, he's a bleeder. Don't dress him in his cutest, most adorable, heirloom outfit. He will get blood all over it.

Luckily everything went well today and without further ado, here are his stats.

Height: 24 inches (25 to 50%)

Weight: 12 lbs, 6 oz (10%)

Head: 42 cm (50%)

We were tickled to hear that he's a healthy boy. We knew he was thriving but there's just something about your Doctor confirming the facts. He's doing so well, we don't need to introduce new foods quite yet and he can continue to nurse 100% until 6 months. Yeah! I was planning to leave the room when the nurse returned, but then felt guilty, I needed to support my boy, to be strong for Charlie - I know, so dramatic. So I stayed. He cried, he screamed, he bled. He's a bleeder. Poor Charlie.

I should have done this 4 months ago

Charlie was born on January 28th, 2007. Since then, I've been telling myself that I needed to write down every little development, every little smile (god, he has adorable smiles), every little...he rolled over for the first time yesterday, for goodness sakes. I even bought a beautiful blue leather journal to document my first childs every move. Good intentions. That's what I feel I'm full of lately. So, knowing the enjoyment I get in reading the blogs that I've come across on the web and coming to terms with my addiction to my laptop, I've finally decided to start blogging. Why not. Why not? Well...I'm a terrible writer, not sure others would be interested in reading about Charlie, our little lives in Ballard and our three naughty kitties. But here it goes.