Six steps or more

Charlie walked tonight for the first time. Well at least I'm calling it the first time. KC said he took three steps last night, but I wasn't there to witness it, so it didn't happen as far as I'm concerned. We were hanging outside waiting for KC (Dada) when I decided to try to get him to walk. He's been standing up with "look mama no hands!" for a few weeks now and about two weeks ago he started standing up on his own from a sitting position. Well, long story short. He walked, our boy finally walked! KC wasn't there but our neighbors saw it and made sure to really rub it in when they saw KC. Speaking of our neighbors...they have a brand new baby and she's precious! Little Josie will be Charlie's girlfriend.

Strike up the band

The house I grew up in was located on a direct route between a Rose Parade float warehouse, where they create many floats each year and Colorado Blvd. Every year on New Years Eve, we would have our own mini Rose Parade in front of our home while 10 or so floats were being driven to the starting point. We loved it and were lucky if we walked away with a few flowers thrown by the workers riding the floats. I had a similar feeling tonight. Our local High School is about 6 blocks away. When they're preparing for a parade, they use the streets of Ballard as their practice route. KC and I were getting Charlie ready for bed when I heard the music. I ran outside and saw them about a block away, moving in our direction. All the neighbors came out and many decided to join the "parade" by walking the sidewalks with the band. Charlie was dancing around and having a great time!

Where's my sharpie?

The day has come. I've dreaded it for 14+ months now and it's finally arrived. Charlie's going to daycare. KC and I are starting our "program" tomorrow and Charlie gets to be a "sea turtle" for 4 hours a week while mom is busting her bum on the treadmill. I sharpied his food containers, lunchbox, diaper bag, blankie and extra clothes. I know I'll have separation anxiety. I hope he plays well with others.

Update: Charlie did really well. I met KC in the hall after our workout and we picked him up together. I cried when I dropped him off but the teachers were so kind and told me to give them a call from any phone in the club if I wanted status. I only thought about doing that twice...or many three times.

Garbage Day

Wednesdays are a big deal in our house. Wednesday is garbage/recycle day and Charlie's favorite day of the week. He is in love with the huge, dirty, stinky, loud trucks. Regardless of what we're doing, playing on the floor, eating breakfast in the kitchen, changing a diaper, etc. etc. - Charlie must get to the front window immediately when he hears the rumble of the truck creeping up or down our street. It's so funny to see his eyes get even more enormous than they already are and for him to look at me like "window, Mama - STAT!". The garbage men (er...waste management coordinators), know him and make sure to wave every time they pass. I don't think it's a coincidence that they always choose our house to stop, raise the bucket, dump the trash and run the compactor. They do it for the boy, for sure. If it's nice outside, which up here means it's not raining, we'll sit on the front steps or our stoop by the sidewalk for a closer more personal look at the action. I caught a few shots of Charlie's usual hangout at approximately 7:45 and 9:00 AM every Wednesday.

Hello mounted flat sreen!

I originally posted the below pictures to show my mom that we *finally* mounted the damn flat-screen, after almost a year. My husband has been getting tips from his father on how to best hide the cords, which I believe we'll be threading through the wall and into the closet to the right of the tv - so I think that will be solved soon. Does anyone have suggestions for the room? With Charlie toddling around, we have to keep it a bit sparse. The table with the lamp is actually a nesting table with the smaller of the two temporarily supporting our cable box. I bought the two barrel chairs the day before Charlie was born and loved them at the time, but now think the black laurel print is way too Crate & Barrel - which isn't a surprise because they came from where else but....Crate & Barrel! I blame it on my delirium of being 41+ weeks pregnant. Any suggestions on how to warm up the space, what to use as a coffee table (ottoman?) or how to liven it up would be appreciated. Oh - and I almost forgot...is the flat-sreen mounted too high?

bye bye round table

Charlie and Dada

A few shots of Dada and Charlie on the front porch. We had a few days of "warm" weather, so bare feet were in order.