And he's off!

A few days after Charlie's birthday, a package arrived for him. Inside was a Radio Flyer Trike from Uncle Rick and Aunt Jean. I couldn't wait for KC to get home to assemble it, so I did it myself. With little encouragement from the parents, Charlie's taken to it very well. We took it outside yesterday for the first time and look at him go!

Some additional photos in black and white.

Thank you Uncle Ricky!!!!!

Oh boy aprons!

You want to bake with Mama? You want to fingerpaint? You want to work with Dada outside? No problem! These overall aprons from Beansoup via Design Mom, look like the perfect addition to Charlie's play clothes. They look sturdy, fashionable and easy to get on and off. Now...to buy or make my own, that's the question.


Hey, if he wanted to wear this adorable Orange Creamsicle Cobbler apron, that would be fine too. The colors and patterns are too cute.

One year

Charlie turned one year old today. We celebrated with a snow day and stayed indoors snuggled with Dada, Mae Mae and Auntie Meg. His party on Saturday was so much fun and I think a hit with the guests. Here are some shots from the party.

I made a birthday banner for Charlie and one that we can take out year after year. It was made with ribbon and really fun fabrics I found at a local fabric and craft store. It turned out better than I thought it would and my Mom had the ingenious idea of adding "celebrate" to the other side. Brilliant!

We gave small plants to each guest.

KC and I were up all night cooking chili and baking Charlie's cake. Buttermilk orange cake with homemade lemon curd and white chocolate cream cheese frosting. I would love to take a cake decorating/frosting class.

Charlie was so delicate with the cake and as you can see from the picture above, tickled to be sung to and be the center of attention.

The gifts Charlie received were wonderful. Books, animal puppets, funky t-shirts, rain boots, toys. So generous. Thank you everyone!

Focus

One new year resolution that I've made is to find a digital photography class. Oh, how I wish this picture was in focus. Charlie looks so much like his Grandpa Yount in black & white pictures, especially with the dress shirt on. We miss you Pop!

Our Stars

Between work and the holiday madness, I haven't had an opportunity to post pictures of our trip to California for Christmas. Here are a few to buy me some time to edit and post the others. Thank you Auntie Gigi for the star jammies! Charlie wears them all the time.

What Mama wants...this room.

It's gorgeous. I love the colors and the contrast of old and new. I adore it and wish I could go in this direction in my home. Mae Mae...is it possible?

Babyhawk

Charlie and I set out for a brisk walk yesterday. It was very cold and windy, but I just had to get out of the house and Charlie very much enjoys the outdoors. We made Gracewinds our destination, which is only a few blocks away from our house. Gracewinds is an incredible resource for new mothers and family's, but one that I didn't use when Charlie was a newborn. They have childbirth, parenting and nursing classes as well as classes on baby wearing and infant safety. While at Gracewinds shop Peapod, I tried on a Babyhawk baby carrier and both Charlie and I loved it. They are surprisingly easy to use, come in great colors and patterns and best of all are extremely comfortable. We can no longer use the Bjorn that was so thoughtfully given to us as a gift, as the weight requirement tops out at 22 pounds and Charlie's just about there. The babyhawk goes to 40 pounds. 40 POUNDS! Isn't that like a 6 year old or something? I doubt I'll be letting him hang off me for that long, but he's still at the age where carrying him is still needed. I didn't care for the fabric print on the last one they had, so we headed off to Birth and Beyond in Madison Park. Birth and Beyond is such a great store and has 10 times the amount of products than Peapod. The woman that helped us was gracious and knowledgeable and we ended up buying a babyhawk. I wore it around the house and I think Charlie thought I was pretty strange to strap him to me in the house, when he probably preferred to be crawling on the floor playing. When I called KC to tell him I purchased a carrier, he asked "did you get one of those hippie sacks?!" Too funny. For what it's worth...I love it and I think Charlie does too. I'm off to knit a hemp scarf and stir fry some tofu...tata!