First Haircut

Dear Charlie,

I want you to know that all of the ladies went wild for the little blonde curls in the back of your head.  I kept them as long as I possibly could, but there came a time where your hair was just getting too long.  Dad kept saying, “He looks like Farrah Faucet!  Cut his hair, or I will shave it all off!”  We decided that since Dad’s grandpa gave him his first haircut, that your grandpas should give you yours. 

 

Even though I miss those little blonde locks, you still look adorable.  I love you my little man!

Love,

Mom

Christmas 2012

Dear Charlie,

This was your first Christmas where you were big enough to open your own presents and actually play with all of the toys you were given.  One of the benefits of having you and Ella so close together is that it’s like getting twice the presents!  You both like the same things, and you two, reluctantly, share all of your toys.  Here are some highlights of your adorable face on Christmas.  I love you so much my blue-eyed boy!

 

Love,

Mom

Baby Llllllillllll

On December 14th 2012, you fell in love. Your baby sister Lily was born, and you have had little hearts in your eyes ever since.

This picture was taken when you came to visit us in the hospital.  I know baby Lily isn’t featured here, but I just love your cute smile in this picture.

 

 

 

 

 

You can't say her name yet, but that doesn't stop you from trying. Whenever you see her you get a big goofy grin and cheer, "Llllllllilllllll." I can't leave you alone with her because she gets completely smothered with your kisses. If I’m holding her and I don’t give you a turn to hold her too, you start throwing a fit until I put her in your arms.  As soon as you’re holding her, you get this great big smile on your face and then you kiss her over and over as you say, “Lllllllilllll.”

Lily is lucky to have a big brother who loves her so much.  I know that you will always look out for her and protect her.  Sometimes I think you knew she was coming to our family before I did.  Now that she’s here, it’s as though you’ve reunited with your friend.  I can’t wait for all of the fun you two will have together.

 

Love,

Mom

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