Enjoy!

It is so hard to catch Charlie on camera or video but here are a few attempts:

During the past month

Well, we've kept busy! The weather has warmed up and we've been away from our computers as much as possible. Things we've been up to:

Over Memorial Weekend we made a quick trip to Kansas City to celebrate the life of a dear friend and mentor-type. Once again, Charlie proved to be a rock star traveler! I'm seeing many countries in his future! :) We enjoyed visiting friends and their meeting Charlie for the first time. It was also great to get some Gates BBQ, Sheridan's Frozen Custard, and yummy Mexican food.

Mark was accepted into the St. Paul Citizens Police Academy. He's gone Wednesday evenings and is learning the basics of becoming an officer in a very condensed version. The purpose of the course is to create a stronger relationship between the community and the police department. Maybe he'll share more one day.

We planted our garden on June 1 (picture from 6/21)! We have 7 varieties of tomatoes (Roma, Grape, Cherry, Brandywine, Mortgage Lifter, Celebrity, and something else). We've got lettuce, green & jalapeno peppers, sweet corn, several basil varieties, cilantro, and mint. We've also planted raspberries and a Honeycrisp Apple Tree in the yard!

We've started a small group with others from our church. We have been attending Church of the Cross since a few months after we moved to the Twin Cities and have been helping start a sister church on the east side of the city (much closer to our house). As a part of this new community we are co-leading a small group. It's been great to connect with new people and share our faith and life.

Charlie started rolling over a few days after his 5 month birthday. Within days he was rolling with intent - spotting something he wanted and rolling to get there. We have to keep a pretty close eye on him! Just a week later he was up on his hands and knees, ready to move. I wouldn't necessarily say that he's crawling but he is definitely on his hands and knees and making forward progress. He doesn't quite have the arms down yet as he often does a big "whale flop" when he tries to lift a hand to move forward. But, he's happy and we so enjoy watching him grow and change every day!

We spent the past weekend making a quick trip to Iowa to celebrate our niece Whitney's high school graduation. It was another great opportunity to visit family and test Charlie's travel skills - he is a trooper! We do our best to break up the trip with stops at parks and on our way home hit the jackpot in Decorah, IA with Phelps Park. It has on a bluff (with hiking trail) overlooking a river and a big grassy/shady area to lay down on a blanket and play.

Keeping busy and enjoying every day we're blessed with!

Nature vs. Nurture

I'm seeing more and more of Charlie's personality take shape as we play, talk, and just enjoy time with him. A couple of nights ago I started blowing "raspberries" on Charlie's face. This is something I've done since his birth. Every now and again he'd accidentally blow a raspberry himself, typically drooling everywhere! But on this particular night, he got the hang of it. And this tickled him to no end. Boy did we get big smiles! I would blow one and he would do it in response. All the fun sure makes it difficult to put him down for sleep! He happened to wake up that night a little upset and while Mark was holding him and trying to work a burp out Charlie again began to blow raspberries and laugh! Mark did his best not to laugh as I've instilled a "no fun interactions during the night" policy. :)

This got me thinking about a conversation we had with some friends last week about the personalities of our babies. Charlie is definitely "into" people. He is quick to smile, coo, flirt...And, now that he's gaining more dexterity, he's kind of a show off! Grabbing toys, toes, fingers (yours or his)...we believe he is a big E on the Myers-Briggs (E for Extroversion). And, if you are doubting me, please see previous post and picture. It's crazy to see in just four short months how much of "Charlie" has taken shape! I know he will have years of interactions and experiences that continue to grow and shape him but it's really wild to already see that he is so comfortable in his own skin!

Everyone imagines what their child might grow up to be and I wonder all the time! Charlie's got a pretty great grasp with his left hand and amazing hand-eye coordination (anyone have an infant baseball glove?). But he also has the most expressive face, particularly his eyebrows and mouth (Broadway, Hollywood?). Everyone tells us, "he's such a cute baby" and boy does he have charisma (President?, CEO?). I know, I'm just a blathering mom! But he is pretty amazing and I continue to enjoy this journey on which we've embarked!

Caught on film

This is strangely one of the first of a few smiles caught on film of Charlie.  We used to take the camera out when he was smiling, but he'd immediately stare at the camera in wonder and amazement (and hence lose the smile).  Today I was able to snag a few pic's - and it seems that he's following in his more photogenic footsteps of his mother.   I wasn't sure if he intended to smile for this photo or think about what office he'd like to run for?