Catching Up

Hard to believe May has come and gone! We finished up the month with a few more birthday parties and a nice new milestone - we've kicked the bottle habit! (OK, Evan and I, not so much.) We finally got tired of dealing with nipples (OK, Evan not so much) and decided to force the issue. There were a few tears on day one, but relative calm since then. In memoriam, here's the last shot of Charlie with a bottle:



But, to be fair, he's picked up a new bad habit:


Since his birthday, we've been spending lots of time with the new loot. He's a big fan of the Shrek doll from Aunt Niki, and has warmed up to Donkey after an initial freak-out. He (Donkey) just recently came out of the closet.


Tandem lawn mowing with the bubble mower. Charlie calls this his lawn-lawn-lawn-lawn-lawn (which really sounds more like "yawn"), and the more he repeats it, the more emphatic he is about playing with it.




Sitting at his new table, and making a most disturbing face (maybe he could sense the bottle weaning was coming?)


His buddies Isabel and Zayveon have the same birthday, so we had a busy weekend of parties. Isabel loves Pooh, and her parents asked a neighbor to dress up for the party. We were fairly certain Charlie was going to be freaked out, but he ended up liking Pooh pretty well (though not enough to sit in his lap).



The "more cupcakes please" pout


Playing in the sandbox at Isable's


Zayveon's party was the next day, and I love their table for three dinner date!

Happy Birthday!

Charlie's birthday was May 7th, and we celebrated the following Saturday. Here's the birthday boy on his actual birthday, when he got to open presents from mommy & daddy.



We bought him a dressing doll, which actually looks a little like him, and he immediately called him Little Charlie.


We had his 24-month check-up on the 9th, and the boy weighed 33 lbs, and was 37 1/4". The accepted pediatric lore is that doubling the 2-year old height is a fair estimation of adult height. If this is true, Charlie will be 6' 2 1/2", just like his Opu!

Saturday, we had Charlie's buddies over for a sand and water spectacular. Evan picked up a truckload of play sand, we filled the sandbox with water, and set loose a crazy beach ball sprinkler. Hopped up on juice boxes and cupcakes, the kids ran around like maniacs and generally had a pretty good time.

The pre-game show, which involved unloading A LOT of sand, and transforming our backyard into a kid-friendly oasis:






The birthday boy enjoyed having an hour or two lounge poolside before his guest arrived:








Gabriel and Charlie having lunch at the new picnic table.


The giant beach ball sprinkler, which Charlie wasn't a big fan of. Meanwhile, all of the girls at the party loved it, and were totally fearless!!


We'd been singing "Happy Birthday" to Charlie a lot after his actual birthday, at his request. When his party guests sang to him, he all of a sudden got shy and took off around the corner! Thankfully we were able to coax him back with the promise of more sugar.







Opening presents, with a little help from his friends:


Loving his new lawn mower! I can't help but laugh because he is going to HATE mowing the lawn 10 years from now . . .


Grandpa & Opu, exhausted by the many projects assigned to them by their overzealous daughter.


We took a similar photo last year at his birthday, and the big question is: How much longer will we be able to pick him up?

At the Strawberry Farm

In order for Charlie to fully appreciate the yumminess of strawberries, I felt a little child labor was in order. We met our buddies at a local strawberry farm and spent some time picking/smooshing berries. Charlie did a pretty good job helping pick berries ("no pick white ones"), but his favorite thing to do was take a bite out of each berry and then throw it aside.



Heading back to the loot


Charlie & Isabel take a break


Cutest little berry in town


A little distraught about sharing the strawberry with Zayveon

Viva Las Vegas

Evan's sister, Lauren, got married a few weeks ago in Vegas and we were able to head out and celebrate the nuptials. Here's a little photo tour of the weekend:

On the way there


Having a heart-to-heart with Ryan, Evan's cousin


We stayed in a resort casino, which had a great pool and a bowling alley. Surprisingly, when we went to bowl at 7 am, there were already a few folks there. Truly, Vegas is bizarro world.





We also spent a lot of time lounging at the pool with Omi, who came along as our wedding babysitter. Charlie got in a horrible habit of flinging himself into the pool, without necessarily making sure we were ready! But we had a great time, and are looking forward to taking him to the beach this summer.



With Daddy & the "big pineapples" - which is what he called the palm trees


Sharing Omi's ice cream








Bachelor/bachelorette parties - we old folks decided to bow out, but had a few drinks in the lobby




At the rehearsal dinner, with Evan's mom


We brought Charlie to the wedding a bit before-hand to take some pictures. He found a Shrek doll and was completely in love with it!


With Grandpa & Lauren (and, of course, Shrek)




On our way home - Charlie insisted on pulling this suitcase


Charlie got a hold of my mom's dental floss on the way back to the airport - but at least he decided to put it to good use!

Miscellany

We've been pretty busy lately, April was kind of a blur. Charlie's in between day cares right now, so we're doing some juggling between family and friends to keep the boy attended to. We also went to Las Vegas for Evan's sister's wedding (more on that later) and are now gearing up for the C-man's 2nd birthday tomorrow! In non-Charlie related news, I was accepted to a distance MPH program here at UNC, and will graduate when Charlie turns 4. I find this completely horrifying and try not to think about it. Here are a few random shots, and a video (I mean, hell, it is sweeps season.):

At Pullen Park, feeding the ducks and (apparently) practicing for a catalog shoot


Thoroughly enjoying strawberry season


Helping us put out mulch


Date with teddy


Maniac construction driver


Water weasel - our first day warm enough for diapers-only cavorting


I know they're my boys and all, but this is hilarious