Charlie’s 2!

Dear Charlie,

Time is going by way too fast.  You are becoming such a big boy!  Whenever I take you out to run errands with me, you love to chat it up with the people around you (especially the ladies).  Then people always ask me, “How old is he?”  When I tell them, “He’s two,” they’re shocked.  They say, “He speaks so well for a two year old.  My (grandson, nephew, etc.) was barely talking at two.”  This always makes me smile.  I love having a boy with language skills.

On September 23, 2013, you turned two years old.  Your Daddy was away in Texas for your actual birthday, so we had a small celebration at home.  We ate your favorite dinner of spaghetti, which everyone enjoyed.  Then I made you some cupcakes with little a little sugary Elmo on top that you saw at the store and had to have.  Unlike your first birthday, you enjoyed the cupcake a great deal. 

  

 

Later on that evening, your birthday twin and favorite babysitter Emily Keltner came over and gave you this cool Monsters Inc. stuffed animal Sully.  You were scared of it at first because he roars when you press his tummy, but now he is your favorite and you sleep with him every night.

 

Your favorite movies: Cars, Monsters Inc., and Rango

You call all shapes squares

You have a thing for brunettes

You are the best big and little brother any girl could ever hope for!

You are a big-time Mamma’s boy, and you tell me many times a day, “Mom, I want to hold you.”

You call all trucks “Monster Trucks”

You love to play in the dirt and pour it on your head and the heads of others.  You love dirt so much that you eat it on a regular basis.

You’re very afraid of heights, but Daddy is determined to break you of it.

Your favorite places to go are the park, Nana and Papa’s house, and Grammy and Pa’s house.

You are very good at making me laugh when you are doing something naughty.

You are the son I always dreamed of having.

 

Happy birthday Charlie!

Love,

Mom

That Was Fun

Dear Charlie,

In August of 2013, we went to San Diego for Ella’s 3rd birthday.  While we were there, I thought it would be a good idea to take you to a park near Grammy’s house that has a train ride.  Right now you are totally into Thomas the Tank Engine.  They even have a little shop at the train station that has Thomas toys to play with while you wait for the train.

The train that was running on the day we went was just a little train with some box seats (like the kind of train on Big Thunder Mountain).  We waited for about 30 minutes to get onto the train, but you were happy playing with the Thomas toys.  Then when we started to board the train, you started squirming out of my arms.  You screamed and flailed about, “NO, NO, LET ME GO, LET ME GO!”  With tears running down your cheeks, you made it clear you did not want to be on the train ride.  I tried to distract you by pointing to the birds and the scenery of the park, but I don’t think you could hear anything I said over your screaming.

Finally, the train came to a stop at which point you turned to me and casually said, “That was fun.” 

One Sunday morning while Daddy was in Texas training with Kay, you had another good idea: lock Mommy out of the house.  While I was in the backyard taking care of Cabo and the chickens, you switched the latch on the back door.  Being the good mother I am, I had bolted the front door shut to keep you kids safe.  Your Dad also pad locked the garage door before he left to keep us safe.  I was completely locked out of the house, and none of our friends or neighbors had a key to our house.

Fortunately, I had my phone with me, and I was dressed.  It really was a miracle that I didn’t go outside in my under garments like I normally do.  During the month of August in Yuma there is very little motivation to put on any extra layers of clothing. I used my phone to take this great picture of you freaking out after being separated from me for 45 minutes.  (See my reflection in the upper left-hand corner?) I was able to call our friend Stafford and he helped me to open a window and climb into the office.   Why do crazy things always happen on Sunday mornings?  Lesson learned: we now have two neighbors with a spare key to our house. Oh Charlie, “That was fun.”

Love,

Mom