Halloween 2012 – You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown

Dear Charlie Brown,

Ever since you were first born, Charlie Brown has been one of my nicknames for you.  Ella has picked up on it too, and sometimes she will come into your room when you wake up and say, “Good morning Charlie Brown.”  You have a large, adorable noggin’ with just a little bit of hair on top just like him.  I decided that this would be an easy, fun Halloween costume for you this year.  Unfortunately, I was only able to find one costume online that was your size, and it was $30!  I thought to myself, “I can make that for much cheaper.  I will just buy a yellow shirt and iron on the zig zags.”  I came to find out that no stores sell plain yellow onesies or shirts in the fall, so I found a white polo that you already had, dyed it yellow, and ironed on the zig zag.  Now I know that many moms go to great lengths to create elaborate costumes for their children, but I am not yet the artsie-craftsie type, so this costume was a great accomplishment for me.

We also had our second annual Griffiths family pumpkin carving.  You were interested in the pumpkins for about 10 minutes, but then you were distracted by other things.  Your dad and I had such fun carving the pumpkins, we didn’t care that you and Ella were off doing other things most of the time we were carving.

I felt like a rockstar when we were done carving because our pumpkins turned out so awesome.  Mine is the one that says Welcome, and your dad’s is the one with the hand coming out of the tombstone.

I can’t wait for the day that you are big enough to carve pumpkins with us.  I love spending the holidays with you my little Charlie Brown.

 

Love,

Mom

Pumpkin Patch

Dear Charlie,

I am terribly behind on my letter writing, so for the next few posts I am just going to put a lot of pictures down with a few brief words.  As the saying goes, a picture is worth 1,000 words . . . right?

 This play area was the coolest thing!  Instead of having a sandbox, it was a black-eyed peas box.  I didn't even care that you wanted to put all of the beans in your mouth (even though I'm sure they have just as many germs as dirt).  It still made me happy that you were at least putting food in your mouth instead of the usual fistful of sand.

I love you, son!

As we were walking around watching your cute smiling faces, I kept telling your dad that it was the best day.  I love being able to go out together as a family and hearing you and Ella laughing.  Thank you for such a great day!

Love,
Mom 

Your 1st Birthday!

Dear Charlie,

Yesterday, we celebrated one of the happiest days of my life, the day you were born.  I can't believe it's already been one whole year that we've had you in our family.  You bring so much joy to my life. 

Since your birthday fell on a Sunday this year, we started out the day by going to church.  I had Ward Council in the morning, so you went over to Sis. Moore's house and hung out with her in the morning.  I heard you made a big, stinky poop that looked like chocolate pudding for her.  Thanks for sparing me that one!

After church, we came home, and I started making dinner for you.  Ok, I confess that I did not actually make the homemade mac n cheese.  I have made it before, but I had one in my freezer from my freezer meals group (which ironically was made by Sis. Moore), and I thought that you wouldn't mind who made it.  I was right!  You were so happy with that mac n cheese.  You gobbled it up.  Ella liked it too.  She had a hard time waiting until after the prayer to eat some.

Next you had your own birthday cake.  It was funfetti with chocolate frosting (per your dad's request).  You were much more interested in grabbing the candle than you were in actually eating the cake.  I don't know if you were too full on mac n cheese, but you did not want to eat the cake at all.  You gagged on the first bite, and then cried as you smeared your hands in the frosting. 

After everyone had their cake, I took you into the bath tub.  You LOVE your bath, and were smiling and giggling as soon as I put you in.  Ella decided that since you were not going to eat your cake that someone really should.  She climbed into your high chair and pointed at the cake on the counter.  I caved and let her have it.  All she really wanted was to eat the chocolate frosting off of the top though.

After cake we opened presents.  Ella saw that you could use some help opening presents, so she offered her expert help.  You got a little car and some finger puppets from Lindsay Adams. Your Dad and I bought you an automatic bubble maker, but unfortunately it didn't work.  You were happy to go outside anyway while we tested it out.

We will have a big party with your grandparents and some cousins next week, but we sure had a great time celebrating your special day with you.  I love the way you light up when I come to pick you up, and you are the best snuggler ever!  You're my little Mamma's boy, and I hope you stay that way forever.

Here are some of the cute things you are doing right now:

You love to pretend that you're swimming in your bath water.  You lie on your tummy and kick your feet and make the biggest splashes.

For a while you were shouting, "Ella!  Ella!"  as you were scooting across the floor.  You haven't said it in a while, but it was super cute when you did.

When we're at the river and my shoulders are bare, you like to give me zerberts on my shoulder.  Sometimes you bite my shoulder though, and that really hurts!  Your teeth are like little razors.

You love your sister Ella bunches.  She and you are best buddies and love to play together.

You like to climb onto things.  You think my big round belly is your own personal jungle gym, but you will also settle for the bench in your room or the kitchen chairs.

I think you would prefer to eat dog food over just about anything.  It's funny that there was a time when I was pregnant with you that I thought the dog food smelled so good, and now you love to eat it.  I'll take your word for it.

You also like to shake your head No.  I love to ask you questions and then watch you shake your head no to anything I ask.  It's a fun game we play.

You have eight teeth, which means that you can eat almost anything.

You also like to chew on your sister's shoes, which is totally gross.  (I think that's why you like it.)

 



I always told your dad that I wanted a little boy with blonde curly hair,bright blue eyes, and kissable cheeks.  I am so blessed to have just what I wanted.  You're such a sweet boy, and I love you sooo much!

 

Love,

Mom



Griffiths Family Reuinion 2012

Dear Charlie,

You are so blessed to have a family that makes an effort to all get together. I feel closer to the Griffiths extended family than I do to my own because they have a family reunion every other year where your Great-Grandmother, Nana Griffiths, and her nine children and their families all try to plan a few days of fun together. This year we were very fortunate that the reunion happened to be planned in Vista where your Nana and Papa live, and it is nice and close to us. Your Dad had to work, but I took you and Charlie because I wanted you to be able to play with your cousins, and I was excited to meet all of the new babies (Devin, Lena, and Liam).

We arrived at the reuinion on Wednesday, August 8th just before lunch. Your Papa decided to take everyone to Upper Crust Pizza. We all thought he was crazy for wanting to eat at the restaurant with 9 children under 5, but we went along with it to please Papa, and you all did very well. Later that evening we spent some time at the campsite where the whole Griffiths clan was staying.  They had a park at the campsite where your cousins Reese and Adelyn pushed you in the swing.  You loved it!

The next day we all went to Mission Bay. I was worried this whole week about how I was going to be able to watch you and Ella with so many other little ones around, but everyone helped out, and we had a great time.  You mostly hung out under the shade, but you still managed to get a sunburn on your back.  I felt so bad, but you took it like a champ.  (I'm so sorry, but I didn't get any pictures of you at the bay.  We'll have to go again and get pics.)

Friday was beach day, and you LOVED the beach.  I thought you would just spend most of the day trying to eat the sand, which you did eat your fair share of, but your favorite part was standing with me in the water and letting the waves crash over your feet.  You would get so happy every time the waves would come.  It makes me so happy that you and your sister love the water so much.  After all of the fun you had been having, you finally fell asleep, and you slept under the shade for several hours.  I find the sound of crashing waves relaxing too.

Saturday was the last day of the reuinion, and we all had a pool party at your Nana and Papa's house. You had fun splashing in the water, but you only wanted me to hold you and you did not want to sit in any of the baby floaties.  I held you most of the time and let you splash in the shallow end.

Your cousin Tyler getting ready to make a splash

Auntie Kari and her boyfriend Alec

Auntie Alex and Uncle Kurt enjoying the sun

Before we left, we took some pictures of all the Griffiths grandchildren together.  You were so happy most of the time, but by the end of the photo session all of the kids were a little grouchy.  The first picture is my favorite because it shows how much you love your little cousin Liam and what a happy little guy you are.  The other two are ones that your Aunt Alex took, so they are much better quality.

We had to leave that night so that we could be home for church in the morning, but we had a wonderful time. I really appreciate all of the hard work that goes into planning these reunions. So far, I have been able to just show up and enjoy the festivities, and I hope to be able to continue to attend in this fashion. We are so blessed to be part of such a large, close-knit family. I am proud to wear the name Griffiths . . . most of the time.

Love,
Mom