Last night we had a blast. Charlie took a long nap and woke around 4:30. After a little dinner we all bundled up to go for a walk. Jack, only 4 months old, takes little convincing and little prep. Charlie, two years old, is another story. He was busy running around playing with trucks and during fly-bys would make some comment about going outside. Around 6:30 or so we finally got outside and started walking down the street.
After getting only a couple of houses away, Charlie turned around and started saying "home," "home, please." I asked if he wanted to go back and play in the backyard and he said yes. We turned around and headed back, Charlie leading the way running and saying things like, "C'mon guys."
In the backyard we dug around in the garden, loading up Charlie's dumptruck and dumping it out. We did this for about an hour. Both Kit and I were reflecting with admiration my mother's ability to work in the garden with Charlie. The two of them often play out there for hours during her visits. Charlie directing the effort as they work armed with their child sized shovel and hoe. It is adorable. Well, this went on for a while and we were getting cold and wanting a change of scenery so we persuaded Charlie to come inside where he could watch his Wisconsin Badgers on TV. Once inside, Charlie ran into the family room, jumped up on the couch and started hollering "Watch badgers...watch badgers, please." So we turned on a recording of the Packers on Monday Night Football. This entertained Charlie for about 5 minutes and then he was on to other things. So we turned the TV back off.
This is when the fun began. We were all laying on the floor and Charlie wanted to play ball. He got his big yellow beach ball and started lining up and kicking it. I was lying on the floor right in front of him and Kit and Jack were between Charlie and me. Charlie recognized right away that in order to have full kicking fun, he would need to clear out the lane, so he asked Kit to "Get out of the way, please." Then he began an hour of kicking the ball over my head or into my head and cracking up. He would say "Watch this" and kick the ball and then bust out laughing. He kicked it while it was sitting still, he kicked it while it was rolling toward him, he picked it up and bounced it, he ran into it and ran with it. He must have taken over 2000 steps during the whole thing. Hollering, laughing, and announcing all of his antics. It was super-fun and he was adorable throughout. His cheeks were bright read and his head was sweaty and hot. Around 9:30 I asked if wanted to brush his teeth and he said yes. We then headed toward the bathroom and upstairs to bed. Charlie is still asleep and I expect he'll try to recreate the fun we had last night at some point today.
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Friday, November 2, 2007
Welcome
This is our first post to our new blog. We don't have any grand plans, just an outlet for writing and sharing that writing with friends and families about our lives. We really want to keep a record of the crazy and adorable things that our boys do as we navigate our way through their childhood.
So, we just experienced our first Halloween with a kid aware enough to know what was going on. For weeks, Charlie had told us that he was going to be a peacock for Halloween and we even purchased a really cool peacock costume. But, he simply would not wear the costume! We'd ask him what he was going to be for Halloween and he'd say, "peacock." Then we'd ask him if he wanted to wear his peacock costume and he would immediately say "no." So, come Wednesday evening (Halloween) we started talking about how tonight was the night that we could walk around to all of our neighbors' houses and get gifts, but that we'd have to wear a costume. Charlie was very interested, and started talking about going outside. Then, I'd mention that he would need to wear his peacock costume and he would cool to the idea. Then, he'd say he wanted to go outside again. This went on for awhile until finally, it looked as though Charlie might agree to wear his costume. I encouraged him to go get it and we could put it on and quickly go outside. He did bring it to me, but then, after saying "Yes" to wearing it, he quickly said no, again.
At this point, it seemed hopeless and we really wanted him to enjoy the holiday. So, having tried unsuccessfully to strong arm him into his costume I suggested that if he didn't want to wear the peacock costume he could go as a baseball player. This was a high-percentage offering because Charlie regularly runs around the house wearing a red batting helmet and telling us that "This is how the guys stand" and "I'm going to slide like the baseball guys" and "This is what the guys wear." Not surprisingly, he agreed.
I then pulled his socks up over his pants to just below his knees. He agreed that his sneakers would be the most appropriate shoe for the costume and fetched them eagerly. Laced up, he donned a couple of sweatshirts and his ball glove, ready to go outside. He looked absolutely adorable in his yellow Packers sweatshirt, red batters hat, and goofy socks. No mistaking his efforts to be a ball player.
At first, he was pretty uncertain about the process. We walked up to a house and rang the doorbell. When the neighbors came out Charlie just stared, holding on to his cup, and wondering what to do. Of course, we had gone over the process a ton, but implementing it was daunting. Once he saw the candy, something he had never eaten, in its tempting, bright wrappers he grabbed a bunch. After a few efforts, he began to run to different houses and say, "Happy Halloween!". He never quite said "trick or treat" but definitely got the idea. He absolutely loved looking at all of the other kids in their costumes and walking around with mom and dad. We loved it too.
Back home, Charlie was very proud of his mug full of candy and kept wanting to open new pieces of starbursts and red licorice. With bulging cheeks and barely manageable saliva, he ate a few pieces of chewy, fruity, candy. And, when I tried to pack it up he told me, "Don't take my candy." After a little distraction the candy was packed up and we all went to bed to dream about sweets and the sweet things of life.
So, we just experienced our first Halloween with a kid aware enough to know what was going on. For weeks, Charlie had told us that he was going to be a peacock for Halloween and we even purchased a really cool peacock costume. But, he simply would not wear the costume! We'd ask him what he was going to be for Halloween and he'd say, "peacock." Then we'd ask him if he wanted to wear his peacock costume and he would immediately say "no." So, come Wednesday evening (Halloween) we started talking about how tonight was the night that we could walk around to all of our neighbors' houses and get gifts, but that we'd have to wear a costume. Charlie was very interested, and started talking about going outside. Then, I'd mention that he would need to wear his peacock costume and he would cool to the idea. Then, he'd say he wanted to go outside again. This went on for awhile until finally, it looked as though Charlie might agree to wear his costume. I encouraged him to go get it and we could put it on and quickly go outside. He did bring it to me, but then, after saying "Yes" to wearing it, he quickly said no, again.
At this point, it seemed hopeless and we really wanted him to enjoy the holiday. So, having tried unsuccessfully to strong arm him into his costume I suggested that if he didn't want to wear the peacock costume he could go as a baseball player. This was a high-percentage offering because Charlie regularly runs around the house wearing a red batting helmet and telling us that "This is how the guys stand" and "I'm going to slide like the baseball guys" and "This is what the guys wear." Not surprisingly, he agreed.
I then pulled his socks up over his pants to just below his knees. He agreed that his sneakers would be the most appropriate shoe for the costume and fetched them eagerly. Laced up, he donned a couple of sweatshirts and his ball glove, ready to go outside. He looked absolutely adorable in his yellow Packers sweatshirt, red batters hat, and goofy socks. No mistaking his efforts to be a ball player.
At first, he was pretty uncertain about the process. We walked up to a house and rang the doorbell. When the neighbors came out Charlie just stared, holding on to his cup, and wondering what to do. Of course, we had gone over the process a ton, but implementing it was daunting. Once he saw the candy, something he had never eaten, in its tempting, bright wrappers he grabbed a bunch. After a few efforts, he began to run to different houses and say, "Happy Halloween!". He never quite said "trick or treat" but definitely got the idea. He absolutely loved looking at all of the other kids in their costumes and walking around with mom and dad. We loved it too.
Back home, Charlie was very proud of his mug full of candy and kept wanting to open new pieces of starbursts and red licorice. With bulging cheeks and barely manageable saliva, he ate a few pieces of chewy, fruity, candy. And, when I tried to pack it up he told me, "Don't take my candy." After a little distraction the candy was packed up and we all went to bed to dream about sweets and the sweet things of life.
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