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August 31, 2010
two points
We thought it might be nice for Charlie to have something to do with all those balls he is constantly carrying around so we got a little basketball hoop. Everything from shoes to food went through this hoop today.
Posted by jill at 08:51 PM | Comments (0)
August 30, 2010
sandbox!
Charlie received this sandbox for his birthday back in January and we finally got sand and set it up today. We have been worried that Charlie would eat the sand. Audrey had fun playing in it during Charlie's nap. My worry now is that Charlie will throw sand, since he throws EVERYTHING.
Posted by jill at 04:30 PM | Comments (0)
August 29, 2010
happy (belated) birthday, Nana!
We were only two days late for the big day when we arrived in Sycamore. Papa was off giving a tennis lesson so we had the birthday girl to ourselves for a bit.
We told Nana to pick a hot spot for lunch and she chose an old haunt just a few blocks away. Audrey entertained us all with stories and animal sounds.
Charlie entertained as well, but mostly he was just excited for pancakes.
A good time was had by all until a certain birthday girl closed a car door on this poor author's thumb. Despite the injury we had a great time - happy birthday, Nana!
Posted by Thrillmer! at 10:16 PM | Comments (0)
nineteen months
At Charlie's 18 month check-up the pediatrician and I discussed Charlie seeking some help for his talking - or lack of talking. He was saying quite a few words but had still been getting easily frustrated and we thought maybe progressing his speech would help. Well over this last month, he has been learning new words like crazy without any therapist's help.
Charlie still loves balls and his stuffed dog Bandit and has now acquired a love of trains. We can hear trains from the nearby tracks and the faint sound of them gets him all excited.
For now, Charlie is a better sharer than his big sister. If she is fussing about wanting a toy that he has he always gives it to her willingly. He is such a sweet boy!
Posted by jill at 09:28 PM | Comments (0)
August 28, 2010
helicopter
Charlie and Audrey love watching Todd fly his remote control helicopter.
Looks of amazement.
Audrey likes to try and catch the helicopter. She didn't get this one.
Posted by jill at 08:51 PM | Comments (0)
happy International Read a Comic in Public Day!
Posted by Thrillmer! at 12:02 AM | Comments (0)
August 27, 2010
Do you like mustaches?
While drawing, Charlie in inadvertently marked his upper lip and it looked like a mustache! I may have embellished it a bit for the photo, but really it was mostly Charlie.
Posted by jill at 09:42 PM | Comments (0)
August 26, 2010
imitation
Charlie can be so funny sometimes. Susan was standing leaning against the wall drinking her coffee and Charlie walked up and stood just like she was to drink his juice.
Of course Audrey had to get in on it, too.
Posted by jill at 09:26 PM | Comments (0)
August 25, 2010
sprinkler
Audrey and Charlie had a great time in the sprinkler at Sarah's house today.
These two are so cute together.
Posted by jill at 09:55 PM | Comments (0)
August 23, 2010
wild at the zoo
I like this photo of Charlie crossing his fingers at the entrance of Brookfield Zoo. The promise of a fun day spread out before him, what could he be wishing for? If the lad was hoping not to spoil the trip with a tantrum the likes of which we've never seen before, well, perhaps next time he'd have better luck crossing fingers on both hands...
The day started out nicely. We arrived at the zoo early ready for fun. Audrey and Jill hit the butterfly house right away while Charlie and I waited outside. As Audrey tried in vain to get the butterflies to land on her finger, I pushed Charlie in his stroller until he started to get antsy. I let him down and we waited outside the exit of the butterflies. When he finally saw Mama, he lost it and started screaming and crying. All attempts at consoling the boy were met with further frustration. Jill offered to take him outside the park to see if a drive would cool him down. As it turned out, she drove all the way home and put him down for a nap.
Aud and I bravely carried on, determined not to let misfortune spoil the day for all. We paused briefly to recreate a classic scene; I can't believe how big my little girl is getting!
Jill and I were worried about Charlie's ability to handle himself at the Dolphin show, so his untimely departure made it an easy decision to make it our first stop. I wish he could have been there as I bet he would have loved seeing them do their tricks. Audrey sat very quietly next to me the whole time, but talked about them quite a bit once the show was over.
Audrey has been talking about the goats since our last visit, so we made sure to spend some time in the goat pen again this time around. She was a little shy at first, but I think she may have brushed nearly every goat in the place by the time she was finished. We even witnessed a goat milking session too.
I'm not sure what is going on with these cut-outs, but we couldn't resist a few shots.
After a tour of the primate house I received a call, Jill and Charlie were back for another attempt at zoo fun. Charlie was in much better spirits this time around and we all marched over to check out the new wilderness exhibit.
The kids loved the bears, especially watching them cool off with a dip in the water. It was pretty amazing how close those bears were.
After the disastrous start, it was great to get a second chance. Charlie enjoyed himself and we were all glad to tour the zoo without any further drama.
Posted by Thrillmer! at 09:18 PM | Comments (0)
August 18, 2010
water park
Audrey's friend Sarah and her nanny invited us along to the local park district pool today. We'd never been there before and it was a lot of fun. The zero depth part of the pool is huge and there is a sand area and kid water play area.
Posted by jill at 05:01 PM | Comments (0)
August 16, 2010
honk honk
Posted by jill at 09:00 PM | Comments (1)
August 15, 2010
attack of the cousins!
Audrey and Charlie had a nice surprise today - a visit from cousins Imani, Jeffrey and Jaila! Audrey raced around the house while Charlie demonstrated his throwing skills to Uncle Jeff. After we all said our goodbyes Audrey plopped down on the couch and told me that she needed a rest because "my friends got me too excited!"
Posted by Thrillmer! at 03:41 PM | Comments (0)
August 14, 2010
touch-a-truck FAIL!
When Jill told me about her latest discovery I thought we had a winner. But touch-a-truck day wasn't meant to be this time around.
Charlie was excited, looking around wildly at the ambulance, fire truck, police car, etc. But he got jumpy when he heard sirens. Audrey was interested too, but the sirens made her cover her ears and demand that we go somewhere else. We traveled across the lot to see a dump truck and a tractor, but some super-dad honked the dump truck's horn making his own kid cry. Once he broke the silence every kid in line had to climb up there and honk the horn which brought about more ear plugging and more demands to leave. We left without touching any trucks!
The day wasn't a total loss - we took off to Pockets for their customer appreciation day and once everyone had eaten and chilled out a little we stopped by the zoo. Audrey was excited to show me the Mastodon she's always talking about. And Charlie was happy he had me around to do some heavy lifting.
It was ungodly hot, but we had a fun time checking out the animals as they beat the heat. I don't think the otters have ever come this close to us before; the kids were thrilled to get such a good look at them in action.
Posted by Thrillmer! at 03:27 PM | Comments (0)
August 13, 2010
a cat and a dog
I don't know how it came to be that Audrey is obsessed with cats/Meow and Charlie with dogs/Bandit. Here they are each looking at books about their favorite animal.
Posted by jill at 09:30 PM | Comments (0)
August 12, 2010
poolside
We had another swim day today at Channy's.
Erika, Seth and Grant were there too.
Charlie is really getting better in the water. Today he was happy in the floating turtle and the innertube. Check out that kicking!
Audrey didn't even bother with her lifejacket today. She is becoming an old pro.
Posted by jill at 10:33 PM | Comments (0)
August 11, 2010
pasta shake
Today I didn't mind when Charlie and Audrey raided the cabinet and pulled out boxes of food. They had so much fun making music and dancing to the sound of dry pasta.
After all that activity they needed to rest.
A rarity - sitting still and looking at the camera at the same time.
Posted by jill at 08:19 PM | Comments (1)
August 09, 2010
hurry, back inside!
We attempted to have some outside fun after dinner, but it wasn't meant to be. I don't know about your backyard, but ours has become mosquito central.
I think the boy's face tells the tale better than I can.
Posted by Thrillmer! at 09:33 PM | Comments (0)
August 08, 2010
okay barbie let's go party
That's my boy having the most fun playing with Barbies. I love that guy.
Posted by Thrillmer! at 08:55 PM | Comments (0)
August 07, 2010
and Charlie is number 101
We were going for Billy Idol. Not sure we got there, maybe we were close?
Posted by Thrillmer! at 08:11 PM | Comments (0)
August 05, 2010
the queen of accessories and the king of the ball
Who needs to actually fill the pool with water? Today Audrey, Charlie and I sat in the shade in the empty pool and blew bubbles and tossed the ball around.
Then they went down the slide again and again and again.
Posted by jill at 05:17 PM | Comments (0)
August 02, 2010
bedtime stories
One of the things I am most excited about these days is Charlie's new found love of bedtime stories. I about died recently when he grabbed a book from his shelf and then plopped himself in my lap, but I was even happier to see him do it to Audrey tonight! She read him Goodnight Gorilla and Books are for Eating Reading all on her own. He still gets a little squirrely, which she countered by hugging him tight every time he tried to make a break for it. So fun, I could not be more thrilled to see this become part of his nighttime ritual.
Posted by Thrillmer! at 09:27 PM | Comments (0)