The Little Gym

Charlie participated in a sports class at The Little Gym this spring. While the emphasis was baseball, hockey and golf - he picked up a few "gym" tricks as well. (Click to see photos)

The Annual Mulcay Visit

Scott and Jill came for their annual visit and we had a great Memorial Day weekend. Click on the link to view our photos from Mt. Ranier and Northwest Trek.

It's Good to Be a Boy!

No more baby bath photos. He's growing up!

Dude Day - Off to see the Mariners

Spring Fair

Bunny Day 2009

Sugar Overload!

Easter 2009

Easter's on It's Way!

We joined several friends for Breakfast with the Easter Bunny this week. The kids got to meet the EB and have breakfast, crafts and fun. They all joined the EB in a parade around the mall while doing the bunny hop. Charlie and Anna Lee waited patiently for instruction and then held hands while doing the "hop, hop, hop". Charlie informed us later that the bunny was really someone dressed up. Not the real Easter Bunny! We'll post new pics after "the real EB" comes.

Our little Picasso

If I had to take a guess at what Charlie would be when he grows up, right now I would say an artist like his Uncle John or just a housepainter. Lately he has dabbled in toothpaste, nail polish, bathtub crayons and anything else that would risk staining carpet, walls and furniture. After almost losing my mind, I thought "maybe he needs a creative outlet". I purchased washable kids paints and let him paint our glass sliding doors until his heart was content. Surprisingly no more "oops" for Mommy to clean up (for now).

A few of our fav photos with a few of our sweetest friends.

It's not all about the girlfriends. Here's a great dude pose.

Two months behind (I know already)!!!

Yes, I haven't posted in two months and I don't have a great excuse other than we've been finishing up our winter here and the weather has not offered great lighting for good photos or enough sun to inspire me. We've had a crazy winter with lots of snow, but lots of sun mixed in as well. We've experienced several milestones over the last 2 months, some fun, some sad and a 7 year anniversary. Wow! Now that Easter is on it's way and spring is beginning to show up, I hope to have many more photos and stories to share. And while many of you have already heard this story, I have to post it for our memory keeping...

Charlie: You have pretty hair Mommy (while rubbing mommy's head). You're going to get married soon.

Mommy: Really? Well I'm already married to Daddy.

Charlie: (Giggle) No! Boys don't get married, just girls!

Mommy: No, boys marry girls when they grow up. Who do you think you'll marry when you grow up?

Charlie: (brief pause) I'll marry you Mommy!

We celebrated Daddy's birthday.

Mommy went to ATL for the annual birthday party.

We said goodbye to our beloved Bailey dog. We miss her terribly.

Me and My Super Special Big Boy

Laura took this candid picture on Saturday and it's my favorite new photo. I'll admit it's possibly because I love that he looks JUST like me here and as he gets bigger he's really looking more and more like his daddy. I'm holding on to those few fleeting baby moments as hard as I can. I just love this little guy "more than all the world" as we say at our house. And I'm so glad that I get to watch him and help him grow.

Today Charlie and I were walking through Wal-Mart and he's trying to stay close to mom, but typically straying and stopping and begging for me to look at this toy, that snack, etc. He's not paying attention to where he's walking and an elderly man almost hits him with a shopping cart. I'm explaining to my wandering child that he must stay close and I apologize to the old gentleman for getting in his way. The man stops me, laughs and says "Honey, he's just a boy. That's what boys do." He tells me that he had 3 boys and 2 girls. "The boys were always being boys and the girls were always being princesses. That's just the way they're made."

The rest of the day, I thought about this and told myself to remember to be thankful. Every jump, growl, howl and roar. Every pillow fight, wrestling match and hotwheels race. All of these are what make boys... boys. And all the princess dresses, Dora movies, screams of drama and fits of giggles are what make all of our sweet little girlfriends... girls.

Making Cookies!

The Meyers family invited us over for a fun afternoon of homemade soup, snacks and cookie decorating. Charlie and Anna are adding the frosting. Mommies supervised while Daddies played Wii and enjoyed some freshly decorated treats. Thank you so much Scott and Laura and thanks for sharing the photos.

Avery enjoys a pretty cookie too.

Serious cookie decorating!

Charlie's latest mean face. We call this one "the mean eye".

Oprah

(This story has to be prefaced, so bare with me. My mommy schedule is hectic! 2 playgroups per week, preschool 2 days a week, hosting church group, attending birthday parties, participating in Mom's Club events, helping friends, visiting the library... And then there's the 5 to 6 dinners per week I prepare for my family, healthy breakfast/lunch/snacks that must be prepared for Charlie, laundry, laundry, laundry, 3000 square feet of house to be kept spotless, does Daddy have his dry cleaning before he leaves for his flight? Groceries, Target, Costco, pet supply store, and can I squeeze in a little gym time?!?!... Do you get the idea? So the point of this is that I NEVER watch daytime television. However, I do record Lost, American Idol, watch our share of Netflix videos and of course I do record OPRAH.)


Charlie and I are in the pharmacy this week and I'm making a quick run to pick up one item. I stop near the magazine rack to look at something and my favorite little voice comes from behind me and yells "Look Mom! It's Oprah!" He sees the "O" magazine and continues to point to "It's Oprah! It's Oprah!" The entire pharmacy staff and all 6 people waiting in line turn and laugh (loudly) looking for the precocious child and of course to see the "Mom" who obviously sits around all day doing nothing but eating bon bons and watching OPRAH!

Child Dedication

I'm a bit behind on this post and forgive the photo (I obviously wasn't the one with the camera). But last Sunday, our church http://www.designcc.org/ held our Child Dedication. Since we've only been at our new church home less than a year (they've actually only been meeting for just over a year), we decided that Charlie wasn't too old to "dedicate". Twelve children and they're families were recognized in all! For those that are unfamiliar with this, it simply means that we as a church recognize these children as being entrusted to us as parents and as a church family and we will pray for them, teach them and raise them up according to God's will. Hopefully you can see us on the right and the family on the left are friends James and Jamie with their 3 little boys.