Happy Valentines Day Charlie.

Every time I say good-bye to Charlie we go through a this ritual.

Mommy
I Love you to the moon and back.
Charlie
I love you moon and the back.

Mommy
I love you like crazy.
Charlie
I think you're crazy.

Mommy
I think you're something special.
Charlie
I think you're sometin special.

Mommy
I'm really proud of you.
Charlie
I really proud you.

Mommy
You're the most important little boy in my life.
Charlie
You most immmm-mortant my life.

Mommy
I LOVE you Charlie.
Charlie
I LOVE you Mommy.

Dawn of a New Era

Charlie & his love for the PETA. When he was a baby his pacifier was quickly nicknamed 'peta' - short for chupete, spanish for pacifier. He (& we I suppose) carried it everywhere. We tried to limit usage to just sleeping...but how can you say no to something that brings such peace. I always joked he turned into a bird on his back as soon as he put it in. But as we approached 3 and as those sweet little teeth started to buck out, it became apparent it was time to hand it over to the Peta Fairy. An overwhelming thought for us all.

The plan was simple.

Step 1. Pack up all of Charlie's petas and mail them off to the Peta Fairy, who in turn would gift them to a new baby.

Step 2. Go directly to the toy store and give Charlie free reign to pick out a toy of his choice as a symbol of him becoming a 'big boy.'

Step 3. Hold our breath that it works.

How the plan unfolded.

I shipped Maggie off to the zoo with a friend to give Charlie & I the morning together to say good-bye to the peta. The idea of going to the post office and mailing the petas off to the fairy was definitely intriguing. You can see here that he is a bit apprehensive, and not entirely wanting to let go.



...but a little reminder of our trip to the toy store & the promise he could hand it off to the mail truck was all he needed.

We popped up to Ambassador Toys in West Portal, and Charlie didn't have any interest in picking out a toy. His only care, playing at the train table. 30 minutes later & a little coxing he made his way to the Tomas the Train display. He picked out a new train & off we went.

Oh wait, bribe #2 - M&Ms.



and bribe #3 - Blue Bottle Hot Chocolate.



It's been a few days now, and he has been a CHAMP about it. He has asked a few times, but nothing he hasn't been able to quickly move past. I think the biggest lesson for us was how easy it is to build up anxiety around thinking it would be harder than it was.

Now onto potty training....

1st Trip to the Emergency Room

School called me today to say Charlie had fallen and bit his tongue. They were able to stop the bleeding, and Charlie didn't seem too bothered by it as he gobbled up his lunch and went down for his nap. Based on the report, I assumed he was ok and that I would pick him up normal time.

When I arrived for pick up he was walking around with his tongue sticking out. I took a look at it and was a bit shocked at how deep it was....so I quickly made the call to take him to have a Doctor look at it. I was worried it would get infected and wasn't sure if he would need stitches.

The entire Leu crew converge on the pediatric ER, only to find out that he was just fine. Gave us an antibiotic and a 'you won't even see it in a week.'

Whew.

Happy Halloween!

This past few months Charlie & Maggie have just fallen in love with the movie Ponyo. So in an effort to put them in coordinating costumes, Maggie decided to be Ponyo and Charlie was Soscai. Grandma Leu made Maggie's costume - it was beautiful! Here they are at Charlie's Halloween party at The Crayonbox Preschool.






Charlie's Halloween artwork.



And the never fail entertainment of bubbles (with his buddy Jack in the background)!



But, at the end of the day the back-up plan went into action for trick-or-treating on Halloween. He was a FIREMAN...who was more into the idea of going up to houses & getting candy than eating it.

A Summer Vacation in Minnesota

I took the kids to Minneapolis for a week to soak up that much needed summertime-midwest-warm weather-ice cream truck-giggles with cousins goodness. It was Charlie's first time visiting my home town, and I am pretty sure he looooooved every single moment. Some of his highlights: the ice cream truck, bowling for the first time, feeding Grace's geckos crickets, roasting marshmallows over the fire, watching the cow milked at the zoo, jumping on the 'jumpoline', POPSICLES (Aunt Red spoiled him with 2 each time!), chasing the girls, napping at the pool, and belling up on the kitchen bar stool for snacks! Several weeks later and he still keeps asking for Grace, 'Mommy, where Gracie???'

He adored the trampoline, and in his excitement combined the word jumping with trampoline. So, by the end of the week all he had to say was 'jumpoline' and we knew.



Charlie had his glory moment after we filled the pool in the backyard and got to splash the girls. The more he splashed, the more they giggled & screamed. A very happy 20 minutes!!!!



We rode several rides at the Mall of America - this one was Thomas the Train, which he threw a complete fit once I tried to literally peel him off of at the end. Driving home I asked him which ride he loved & he said the School Bus - which was funny because that was the ride he literally spent tucked into my bellie shaking from pure terror!



Filling the pool (or watering the grass) was a favorite.



His first ever banana popsicle brought many smiles!



The upside-down show with Mommy NEVER disappoints!



Oh Minnesota. How you treated my little Charlie Bear right! A giant thanks to Aunt Red & Uncle Dave for introducing him to so many new and exciting things. We can't wait to return next summer.

4th of July - Lake Tahoe

We spent the week up in Tahoe, enjoying the summer warmth & a little time together as a family!

At Kings Beach...







Pool time...







Of course all Tahoe journeys are not complete without a ride on the Gondola. We ventured up the mountain, picnicked & hiked around.





Air time at the condo...



We took a sunset cruise on Lake Tahoe - here is Charlie enjoying a lollipop.

Memorial Day Weekend 2010

We spent the weekend exploring our own backyard and finding little adventures here & there in the city. First thing Saturday morning I pulled out our tent & set up camp in the backyard. All the blankets, dolls, trucks...and random toys deemed 'needed' while camping by the kids found their way in the tent.



Lola & Vivi spent the morning with us on our camping adventure. Soon after the girls had finished up their tea party Charlie moved in. Quiet happily he sat gobbling up the homemade lemon poppy muffins (or rather licking off all the frosting).



While Maggie headed out to a movie with her buddies, Charlie & I spent some time hanging out in the tent. A highlight from the weekend as we both laid there looking up at the sky talking about airplanes, the stars & finding the humor in just about everything.



Sunday was a beautiful day so we headed to Crissy Field with a bunch of people to soak up the sun and WARMTH! Charlie of course stuck to what he loves about the beach, eating sand. Although, he is a little less obvious these days. Instead of handfuls he just isn't bothered when his watermelon piece drops in the sand - perhaps on purpose? No need to wipe it off!



A quick peek through his sun glasses. Not a fan of wearing them, but conceptually thinks they are super cool!