Better Late than Never

I meant to write this BEFORE going on vacation, but not surprisingly I failed to do so. I was in Atlanta for my last pre-maternity leave trip and then we left for Martha's Vineyard. But here are a few shots from the California State Society picnic we went to with the Nicolettis. Unfortunately I did not get to take advantage of the all you can drink wine selection and given the 100 degree heat, most people seemed to be drinking beer. However Charlie did get to take advantage of the face painting and the games. He was sweating so much that the paint ended up all over everything! After that we watched the heartbreaking US/Ghana world cup game.

Charlie also enjoyed the folklife festival on the mall where he got on stage with some India Bhangra dancers. I'm not sure he is going to take up the punjabi tradition just yet, but there is still hope...

And finally here I am at 33 weeks.

Family Naps

Everyday I tell Charlie not to grow-up, but he doesn't seem to be listening. I love him so much at almost-two years old. He is so happy and tries to help us with everything. Yesterday at the store I let him sit in the front of the shopping cart because he only lasts 5 minutes in the seat. He organized the food in the cart, put everything on the counter at the checkout talking the whole ("and this and banana and this and tomato and this...") and swiped my card to pay. When the woman put the reciept on the counter he took up the pen (with his right hand) and signed it! I burst out laughing. The woman took the receipt like nothing was weird about a 2 year old standing in the shopping cart and signing the receipt!

This weekend we went to visit Aunt Mary (whom Charlie calls Mia) in Waterford as she packed up her house. It must be hard to pack up 20+ years in a house. I'm emotional about not being able to go to Waterford anymore so I can't imagine how it is for her. We spent Friday night there and of course Charlie didn't sleep well. My frequent evening bathroom trips didn't help because he woke up and decided he also needed to pee. I stood him up in the dark on the toilet and hoped for the best with his aim (which is never very good). He was up and ready to go at 5am. Carlos and I reluctantly got up and then actually enjoyed a beautiful walk around Waterford as we watched the sun rise. Here are a few shots from our 5am stroll.

We packed the tiny car with a few of Mary's treasures she was willing to part with and headed back to DC. We all passed out when we got home and woke up just in time to make it to Aidan's birthday party. Charlie had a lot of fun playing with Aidan's toys and shoving his face with yummy italian food.

For father's day we went to Strathmore for a brunch with live music. The music turned out to be an amazing ukalale player. Who would have thought that ukaleles were so great.

When we made it back home we all passed out again!

Charlie tried on his new glasses and when he saw it he exclaimed "FUNNY CLOWN!"

Strawberry Picking for Blueberries

Last weekend we went strawberry picking because Charlie loves strawberries and I have a tough time finding organic ones in the store. He picked a few and ate them, but he mainly just walked behind me as I bent over breaking my back to get him some tasty berries. He jumped on my back and tried to play horse or told me to sing the Old Macdonald song. He was quite content to have me do the work. And after all that when we went to pay he saw blueberries in the farm store and went nuts. He ate blueberries the entire way home and left the strawberries for me....

We also went to the Moms on The Hill picnic which featured an amazing girl band comprised of 12 year olds! I was shocked and told Charlie that he better get moving because he only has 10 years to catch up. He really liked the picnic - especially the food, the chalkboard (definitely right handed!) and the fire engine, but he was too shy to get on the inflatable toys. I liked the food too, but I especially liked that my raffle ticket got me a $50 gift certificate to a local restaurant.

This weekend we went to another Truck Touch event which featured a helicopter and lots of tractors and trucks. Charlie liked them all, but after driving a few he insisted that they were "too big" for him to drive. By 10:30am it was 'too hot' for me so we left and spent the afternoon being tourists on a Potomac boat cruise.

I'm really impressed by Charlie's visual memory. It seems to be a lot better than Carlos' or mine. For instance he remembers a restaurant we went to with his friend over a month ago. When we pass by Mr. Henry's he says "num-num with Brett!" He calls the ice cream truck the "muck truck" (muck is his word for music) and the other day he spotted a food truck with similar pictures on the side and inquired why it wasn't playing music. I guess I'm just hoping that means he'll have a better memory than mine...

Here I am at 31 weeks! Despite the gasps and the "you're HUGE!" comments by all the men in the office when I was in Atlanta last week the doctor said I was measuring small. To ensure the baby was okay I had a sonogram done which is always fun. Supposedly he is weighing in at 4lbs now which is exactly average so there are no concerns.

Lake Taco Pictures

Finally some pictures from Tahoe! Charlie still talks about Lake Taco.

Here is Charlie trying desparately to lick his plate.

He loved the lizards.

Charlie as part of the BBQ

Lake Taco

Last weekend we celebrated Carlos' birthday with his family in Tahoe - or Lake Taco as Charlie called it. Charlie had a blast because he got to see his abuela, hang out with FOUR dogs and see my family too. Poor guy didn't get any attention....Unfortunately we didn't end up taking any pictures so we'll have to wait until we get copies from other people to post them.

Abuela had gotten an electric train which fascinated Charlie. He figured out how to make it run, but he was even better at dismantling it. He took off all the train wheels and then would get frustrated that it wouldn't run. But he had a great time with it so I may need him yet more trains. His other favorite toys were the dogs. He couldn't quite get the names right - Louie was Luli and Mariah was Maya. He loved to make Luli dance with him and play catch with Maya.

We rented a house on the lake and celebrated Carlos' birthday with a bbq on the beach. Charlie's favorite part was the musician that abuela hired. Charlie made everyone sit together and clap our hands. He even dragged my mom up to dance. It was hysterical. His second favorite part of the evening was the cake. We generally deprive him of sweets, but let him have a taste of the birthday cake. He literally tried to lick his plate. Poor kid.

In terms of new things he is putting sentences together more and more and he officially speaks spanglish. He says things like "wash manos" or "sit down aqui." Since spending time with his abuela he says "papito" which I find hysterical. I still adore "i lub u" and "Charlie hambre." When I put him to bed he stands up and says "I lub u" multiple times. In the morning the first thing we hear is "Charlie HAMBRE" - which means: I'm hungry, make me some oatmeal now. He still likes to take lots of photos so here are a few that he did take; self portraits are his new thing.

Charlie the Photographer

It has been 2 weeks since our last posting! Time is flying! We've been having lots of fun now that the weather is nice, but the bugs are not too bad. It makes me remember how much I can't stand cold weather. My favorite part of good weather is using the BBQ as often as possible. And Charlie's favorite activity seems to be taking pictures. He aims the camera, but by the time he takes the picture he usually only captures the bottom half of his target. Here are some of his masterpieces....thank goodness for digital cameras!

Last weekend we went to Philly to see my mom for mother's day. Charlie loved seeing grandma and as always he loved her toys. It's sad that she has better toys than we have here. Here he is mowing the lawn and waiting at the train station. He waited patiently to see the trains go by.

And speaking of trains we also went to National Train day which was more like National Train Wreck for me. WAY too many people. The only enjoyable part was an electric train display at which Charlie kept screaming "The caboose that loose" (he forgets the full title: The Caboose that got loose"). In fact 'the caboose that loose' is one of signature sayings these days.

This weekend we went to farm day to see animals, aunt Mary and play with Isabel. Here he is feeding chickens and playing at Isabel's house. I'm not a big fan of moving outside of a city, but having spent the evening at a barn with hills as far as you can see I am about ready to move. It was unbelievable.

Charlie still hasn't taken to baby #2 in the belly and gets mad when I bring him up. For his part, Baby #2 seems to be asserting himself by breakdancing 24 hours a day. I don't remember Charlie moving around this much. Here is BB2 at 27 weeks:

In terms of the house we re-seeded our grass patch in the back in hopes that we'll have something usable for summer. And we finally got a table for the porch so we enjoyed our first real outdoor meal

Trucks, Trucks and More Trucks

It turns out the lost camera was my fault! Fortunately Carlos found it and so I don't have to rely on my blackberry...until the next time I lose or break it.

Charlie is talking much more these days- repeating words and sentences. My favorite is that he started saying "I love you." He is also working hard on his ABCs. It's so much fun to listen to him. Sometimes I think I can rationalize with him now that he can say more, but that really isn't the case. In fact he is starting to have temper tantrums. If he doesn't get something he wants he goes boneless and flops on the ground crying. I usually let him be and it seems to pass in a couple of minutes, but I don't think that is a good sign given that he isn't even two yet!

This weekend we met up with some of his buddies at the "Truck Touch" where trucks, buses, police cars -basically everything that little boys seem obsessed with - were open to toddler fondling. It was hysterical. Unfortunately, despite his obsession Charlie got nervous when I put him in the driver seat of the trucks. He did however like riding on a toy train train and listening to the music.

He also had fun hanging out with Ellie who was in town from Boston. Here they are enjoying appetizers on the deck. Charlie really likes hummus and is starting to take to guacamole too. He needs to work on his manners though as he usually dips the same chip into the hummus 5 times.

And a quiet moment alone...

Sunday we went to see the drum circle in Meridian Park. Charlie and I had fun, but there were too many hippies for Carlos. Here he is enjoying the beat with Ehrin.

And baby #2 is really coming - here I am at 25 weeks