Happy New Year 2009!

We're back at home now and almost settled in to normal routines. Charlie did great on the trip back from Houston-- slept nearly the entire plane ride home. He and Oscar were the only two in the room at daycare on Tuesday, but they seem to have made the most of it. We had a great holiday dinner over at the Bohls' that evening-- delicious as usual. Today Charlie was at home with John (P&G Holiday-- daycare closed!) while I was at work.

This evening we decided to stay in for New Years Eve-- better on Charlie's sleep schedule, since we had not arranged a babysitter. With John having been sick, and me having to work today and Friday, it's just as well we have a quiet night at home.

We taught Charlie to "toast" at dinner tonight. This may have backfired-- now he wants to clink glasses all the time. I bought him a fancy cupcake at the grocery today for a treat, and we had lots of fun taking photos of him eating it after dinner. He has gotten into the habit of saying "cheese!" and sort of smiling sometimes when he knows we're taking photos. So cute!

Charlie has also started to enjoy brushing his teeth before bed. The other day, he saw me brushing mine, and started to say "ahhh" (which is what I have him do to open his mouth for brushing). He still likes just eating the fruity toddler toothpaste most of all, but he's getting the idea.

Charlie seems to have changed his favorite fruit from bananas to mandarin oranges. He's not even too keen on peaches lately. Just when I think I have him figured out...

Happy New Year to all!

Update from Houston

Charlie has been a pretty good boy during our Christmas trip to Houston. He did not sleep on the plane on the way down, and he had a rough time sleeping through the night the first two nights, but other than that, he's been very well-behaved.

Charlie has been attempting to repeat the last word of almost any phrase we say to him. If we say "do you want me to sit here, too?" he will say "too." If we say "do you want a snack?" he will say "snack." He's got a couple of new words that are starting to be distinguishable-- pillow (sounds like "bibbo") for example.

Charlie also will walk to a box of tissues and say "nose" when he thinks his nose is runny or stuffy. He doesn't yet know how to blow really well, but at least he does recognize what the tissues are for and when he needs one. Still, I think he really likes the part at the end about throwing them in the trash best.

His other new habit is to point next to him on the sofa or the floor or a step where he is sitting, meaning that he wants us to sit there. The only problem is when he is sitting on a rather small chair and wants us to sit next to him, but we don't fit. Then he gets really upset because we won't do what he says.

Charlie discovered that he likes mushrooms tonight at dinner. At least mushrooms cooked in a tomato sauce. So there is one Cincinnati Robenalt that likes mushrooms.

Charlie's favorite gift here in Houston was a Handy Manny tool box. He clearly recognized the tools, even before it started playing one of the songs from the show. He got many other nice things as well. I think he enjoyed looking at the Christmas light display here, but he fell asleep about 5 minutes into our drive around last night, so I can't be sure.

We're headed back home tomorrow, and I'm sure that Charlie, like John and myself, will be very glad to be back in his own bed.

A Very Merry Cincinnati Christmas

We've just completed our first Christmas Eve celebration here in Cincinnati. It's hard to believe this is my first, after having lived here for 17 Christmases now. John started the day at Urgent Care, getting some medication for his sinus infection turned bronchitis. We're hoping he's better by the time our flight leaves for Houston tomorrow. Other than that, we had a great day.

This afternoon we had Grandma Robenalt over for presents and dinner. Charlie was thrilled with his new tricycle that Grandma and Grandpa Knepper picked out for me to order (that was our first pre-Christmas assembly job last night). Now we just have to keep him from killing himself on it (our little daredevil came home with a split lip this week from standing on a chair!) The Curious George from Kohl's that Grandma Knepper suggested was a hit as well. And of course he liked the new Little People that I got him. But his favorite gift of all was probably the little pretend camcorder.

After we opened our presents, the sun had come out and the rain stopped, so we decided it would be a good break to take Charlie out for his first outdoor ride in the new wagon I bought on Black Friday.

Soon after that, our dinner was ready and we had a nice meal. We were all pretty tired after dinner, but we watched Charlie play with his toys for a while, had some brownies and ice cream for dessert (even Charlie got some!), and then Charlie played some more. We had a good time jamming on his new crocodile xylophone from Grandpa Robenalt along with his drums. Soon, though, it was time to take Connie home and put Charlie to bed. Tomorrow it's off to Houston to celebrate with the Knepper side of the family.

In other news, Charlie has started to mimic us by blowing when we say the food we're serving is hot. He has also discovered that he likes turkey-- Boars Head Maple Glazed Honey Turkey, of course! He had never really taken to it before. And his latest word is "pippo" (for hippopotamus!)

Charlie's minimalist period

Charlie has been bringing home lots of artwork from daycare. It seems as if he likes pulling things off the paper more than he likes putting them on. Oscar's cubby is right next to Charlie's, and it seems when I glance over there, Oscar's paper is always full of stickers or feathers or whatever they were gluing that day. As you can see below, Charlie's work is what we like to call "minimalist."




Last weekend Charlie helped me make cookies for his teachers and the staff at daycare. He had been sick overnight on Thursday, but he seemed to be fine as of Friday morning. He spent a good amount of time over the weekend cuddling with Daddy. He has become quite attached to his pooh bear, too.

Charlie is very curious about how things work right now. He likes to drop things down chutes and through holes to see where they go. He's gotten much better about not throwing food from his high chair. But he is in a new phase of not liking baths at all. It seems it's been like that since we stopped using his little baby bathtub inside the tub. We also finally found slippers Charlie will keep on his feet, which is good since it's so cold out now.

Wednesday we will celebrate Christmas Eve with Grandma Connie, then it's off to Houston on Thursday for a visit with Mommy's side of the family.

December is here

December is here, and with it the crazy traffic patterns and nasty, variable weather that is typical in Cincinnati for this time of year. But aside from dealing with all of that, and busy work schedules, Charlie is bringing us much joy.

This past Saturday it snowed most of the day, so we bundled Charlie up late in the afternoon and took him in the backyard to see what he would do. He mostly just watched Daddy throw snowballs for Lucy dog to chase and catch. But you could tell he enjoyed being outside. We took him to the local Indian buffet for dinner that night, and as usual, he stunned us with how much he ate. Pretty soon they'll start charging us for him!

When we left the restaurant on Saturday, John was impressed that he identified a baby that was covered up in a carseat. Without seeing it, he knew there was a baby inside. His ability to reason and understand things that he cannot see or hear is really great.

He's using a lot more words now, some even in two syllables. He asks for "ogg-oggs" to eat (hot dogs) and calls more of his new Busy Bee classmates by name (Audrey, Anna, and Kacy in addition to Oscar, which he's had down now for some time). He asks for "Boo" right before bedtime, which means he wants to watch a little bit of Monsters Inc. before going to sleep. John plays it for him on his iPhone and it calms him down.

We've also shown him Nemo and a couple of other new movies and shows to add to the arsenal. Handy Manny is taking a much needed break. But having the videos on the iPhone comes in really handy, especially for situations like when John took Charlie to get his haircut on Sunday. Instead of taking him to the kids' place, John took him to Sports Clips, where he gets his own hair cut. Of course, the ladies working there were just goo-goo over Charlie.

Charlie is getting much better with crayons now that we got him some big fat ones to use. He more easily makes marks on the paper-- although it's still just scribbles for now. One of his favorite toys at daycare are some hot pink pompons that he shakes around while he dances to music. He's now easily going up the ladder on the indoor climber and knows how to go down the slide by himself.

Instead of just saying "bye bye" and waving, Charlie will now routinely blow kisses at you. Sometimes he will even come up and give you a hug when asked to (which is really more like him leaning his body up against you and letting you hug him.)

Altogether we're really quite pleased with how he's adjusted to his new room, teachers, and classmates.

This was not our first rodeo

The Cincy Robenalts had a great Thanksgiving weekend.

Thursday I made our traditional cheesy potatoes and we headed over to the Piedrahitas' with John's mom for turkey dinner. I brought the potatoes, green beans, and stuffing. Teresa took care of the turkey, cranberry relish, yam casserole, and pies. Everything was delicious!

Before dinner, we took family photos for their family, so they could use them on Christmas cards. It was great fun, and the kids did great. Charlie and Oscar were not on coordinating nap schedules, but they sure enjoyed the time they spent awake together, chasing each other around the house, and playing on the climber downstairs. Charlie was really good with Mia, and he kept shushing us because she was sleeping.

We were exhausted by the end of that evening, and put Charlie right to bed when we got home. I looked through the ads from the paper one last time before bed, and Beth and I made our plan for shopping on Friday.

We decided not to get up in time to go to Best Buy when they opened, but were at Target 15 minutes before opening. Our plan was well executed, and the walkie talkies were extremely helpful, especially in Target. I even had someone stop me and ask me a question because they thought I worked there! After Target, Staples, and Lowes, we had to stop by home to unload. I had bought a TV and a wagon for Charlie at Target, so the car was full of big boxes.

We stopped to bring John breakfast and then unloaded the car at home. John went right to work assembling the wagon for Charlie. Charlie spent the rest of the day getting in and out of the wagon. It has cup holders and he knows how to use them. What a great buy! It wasn't on my "list" but I'm so glad I bought it.

After eating, it was off to the mall. I had no idea how long we had been there until I started to get hungry. After filling up the car again, we stopped to pick up a pizza to bring home and eat. Beth rested for a while, then she was off to finish her last couple of stops on the way home. I stayed put, and even got in a little nap in the afternoon. All in all, the shopping trip was a success. We had lots of fun conversations with people working in the stores, who either thought we were crazy, or were admiring us for our planning and preparedness. Our favorite was the cashier at the Container Store, who told us that it was "clear this is not your first rodeo!"

On Saturday, John had band practice in the afternoon, and then we hosted a dinner party for 9 people that evening. After dinner we watched Iron Man and then some folks played Rock Band for a while. I went to bed a little after 2, but there was still a foursome up playing cards. It was nice to relax and visit with some folks we hadn't seen much of in a while. Charlie went to bed as we started dinner, and did a great job of sleeping through all the noise.

Today we're watching football and relaxing. It's cool and rainy outside, and John is understandably exhausted from staying up way too late. What a great Thanksgiving weekend this has been. I just wish I didn't have to go to work tomorrow!

Festival of Lights

Today we picked up Charlie from daycare a couple of hours early so we could go to the Members' only preview of the Festival of Lights at the Cincinnati Zoo. We stopped by Skyline first for an early dinner, and Charlie ate nearly all of a cheese coney.

The weather was pretty good for being out there in the cold, but it did get chilly after the sun went down. The crowd was hard to navigate with the stroller down by where they were doing the tree lighting, so we headed back out without seeing those festivities or visiting Santa. But we got to see the baby cheetah at the children's zoo, as well as the polar bears (who seemed just fine with the cold!), and the elephants (who were inside their house).

Charlie is watching Monsters Inc. on John's lap right now. He seems to really like it. He said "baby" when he saw a baby, and went "shh" when they did on the screen. Soon it will be time for him to go to bed.

Tomorrow we'll be enjoying Turkey with the Piedrahitas. I'm sure Charlie will have a blast playing with Oscar. Friday it's off to shopping with Beth for me. This year we have walkie talkies (thanks to John for selecting those as his 10 year anniversary gift from P&G!)

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Charlie and I had a great trip to Houston last weekend. Charlie slept on most of the plane ride down-- I think the turbulence rocked him to sleep. He had lots of fun playing with Grandpa's hats-- having us all try them on in turn, and wearing them himself. He enjoyed sitting next to Nathan for meals-- whenever Nathan was in his highchair, Charlie wanted to sit in the booster chair next to him. We went to the grocery store with Grandma, and Charlie watched Grandma feed the birds.

Charlie also spent a good part of the weekend telling everyone to "shhhh" while putting a finger on the side of his nose. He must have picked this up from his new room at daycare, when they tell the kids to be quiet for naptime.

Yesterday we had people over for the Ohio State-Michigan game. The game was a bit more boring than usual, and by the time it was over there were cries to play Rock Band. Charlie joined in the fun on one song, banging on one of the drum pads with Beth's lip gloss and messing up her good score. He also enjoyed playing with the microphone and bopping to the songs while sitting in his rocking chair.

Charlie's newest word is "uck!" (when something is yucky-- like fuzz on his binkie) He's also saying "blocks" and "jacket." He's also learning to tell us that he's about to make a dirty diaper. This morning, he walked up to John and said "poo-poo," then we saw him grunt and make a face.

Daycare is also teaching Charlie how to throw things in the trash when he is done with them. He gets very excited here at home when I ask him to help me throw something away. I just hope we don't end up missing something important that he has thrown away as part of a game!

His first full week of full days in the Busy Bee room went well. He had a couple of bumps on the head, but all normal in the week of a toddler. All the extra activity must have worn him out, though, because he took two 2-hour naps on Saturday, and still went to bed an hour early!

We're looking forward to Thanksgiving dinner with Grandma Connie over at the Piedrahitas' house. I'm sure Charlie and Oscar will wear themselves out chasing each other around while we're making dinner. Happy Thanksgiving to all of our readers!

Signs of the season, signs of the times

Red cups at Starbucks. Dark when I go to work, and dark when I come home. Christmas displays in the windows at Macys. And Christmas music playing in the elevator lobby of my parking garage downtown. Isn't it a little early for the music? Actually, driving home in the dark, with it so cold outside, gives me the urge to stop and do Christmas shopping on the way home.

As if to hammer home this economic crisis, the Skyline Chili across the street from my office has started to charge for oyster crackers when you buy take-out. Apparently the bottomless bowls of the crackers are still free of charge when you eat-in, but for take out they are 20 cents a piece. That's when you know times are getting rough.

It's off to Houston today for me and Charlie. I hope the people on the plane are understanding parents themselves.

Full Time Busy Bee

Charlie had his first full day in the Busy Bee room on Friday. He did great. He started saying a few new words this week, including "thank you" and "jacket." I also first saw him blowing kisses on Monday when I picked him up from daycare. He doesn't really get the blowing part, but he'll put his hand up to his mouth.

I'm finding that my job of doing laundry has become more difficult since Charlie started spending more time in the toddler room. Meals are messier, because he's sitting at a table feeding himself, and they use regular cups and plates. Activities are also messier-- more paints, playing in sandboxes, and new things like playdough are the order of the day. Nearly every day there is some sort of unidentifiable stain on at least one of his sleeves. I am learning not to send him in in any really nice clothes!

I'm turning in soon-- it has been a long week with the election and all. John and I both spent the day on Tuesday working to "get out the vote." I've got to recuperate and get ready for our trip to Houston. Charlie and I leave in just a few days!

Monkeying Around at 18 Months

Charlie had his 18 month doctor appointment on Thursday. It wasn't originally scheduled for a couple of weeks yet, but the rash on his face had gotten so bad that we wanted to get in a little earlier. The pediatrician couldn't really do anything to get us into the special dermatologist faster, but he did give us a new steroid ointment to try for 2 weeks.

At the appointment, Charlie weighed 26 pounds (55th%), was 31.5 inches tall (30th%), and his head was of course huge (19.5 inches-- or 95th%). Definitely built like his Daddy! He got three shots, and otherwise everything was great.

Late in the week, Charlie started trying to say Busy Bee, the name of his new daycare room. He does a pretty good job, and if you ask him to say it, he'll usually get out something that sounds like "bizee-beh" or "bizzuh." He's continuing to do well with the transition.

Halloween went great at the Robenalt house. Charlie put up with his monkey costume for almost 2 hours. He loved walking around out in front of the house, and seeing all the other kids. He got into the process of walking to other houses also- we just went to four. He enjoyed pointing to the doggies that he saw. And of course, he loved carrying around a little treat pail. He inspected all of his candy several times. At the end of the evening, I split a small Kit Kat bar with him. He had 4 small bites, and he seemed to really enjoy it. What a treat after a long hard night of walking around! Pictures from the evening are posted on my flickr site.

Bubbles and Busy Bees

Yesterday when I picked him up at daycare, Charlie picked up a big bottle of bubble solution to show me and said "bubble." It was very clear that he knew what was in that bottle! They tell me that he's also saying "busy bee" (the name of his new room) but I have not really heard it yet. He's getting close to saying "eyes" also.

It seems like he is saying more words every day now-- learning them at a much faster pace than he had before. He tries so hard to make the sounds, repeating them over and over.

He still doesn't really say Mommy and Daddy, but he did scream "mah-meeee!" this weekend when he was upset. I guess maybe that counts?

His transition so far has been going well. He painted his pumpkin today during his visit to the Busy Bee room. By the beginning of next week he'll be spending about half his day there, from mid-morning through afternoon nap.

Busy boy

Charlie has been a very busy boy. Last Sunday he spent most of the day walking around with things on his head. Didn't matter if it was a blanket or a bucket, he wanted to try it on and walk around. I guess it's just a phase.

He made several trips to the Busy Bee room this week. There he participated in some pumpkin activities, and apparently kept saying "wow." His friend Oscar has a new baby sister, born on Wednesday night, but he was still at daycare and the two got to chase each other around some.

Charlie starts his official transition to Busy Bees tomorrow. We have to take in a small pumpkin for him to use in activities this week. I'm sure he'll adjust quickly, since he's already been going down there some. He's taken to the one nap per day schedule pretty well, and has no problem sleeping on the cot. We'll have to see how drinking from a cup goes!

Charlie has been saying some new words, also. He now points to his nose and says "nos." He will also sometimes pat his belly if you ask him where it is, and most of the time he'll touch the top of his head if you ask him to. He's getting really good at saying "milk" when he wants some. He'll even go to the fridge and hang on the door handles while saying it.

Charlie seems to like spicy foods. On Friday night he had some salsa on a chip at Chilis. He sucked it all off, then handed us the chip back so we would dip it in again.

Yesterday we bought Charlie some new shoes. He's still wearing wides, now in a 5 1/2. We wanted to get him some shoes to have as an alternative to his Nike tennis shoes now that the weather is getting cold and he can't wear his sandals.

This will be another busy week for all of us. I've got a lot going on at work. But we're looking forward to taking off a couple of hours early on Friday for Halloween.

Hallzooween

We just got back home from visiting the zoo. We got to see some bears try to get into some pumpkins, and elephants eating pumpkins. Charlie was really interested in the rhinos today, and he loved picking out a small pumpkin at the "pumpkin patch" they had in a picnic area. We also rode the carousel with Grandma Connie, but Charlie was wearing out after about 2 hours, so we skipped the train ride. Maybe Grandma can take him on the train next time.

Charlie had another great meal last night at the Indian buffet. This time he not only loved the saag paneer, but he couldn't get enough chicken makhani. He topped it off with some watermelon and cantaloupe, along with a little garlic naan. A big meal for a little guy.

Charlie was able to visit the Busy Bee room a few times this week, and he started taking his nap on a cot in the Hummingbird room in preparation for his transition. His primary teacher, Mary, is back after some time off for surgery, so she is making sure that he gets some extra attention and time outside and down in Busy Bee, so he can stretch his legs and burn off some of that energy. He will officially start his transition up to the toddler room in just one week.

We're sitting down now to watch the Buckeyes on TV. O-H-I-O!!!

Fish, cheese, and stuffed animals

Charlie got another haircut this past weekend. While we were there, he said "fish" while watching Finding Nemo. Later that day, he clearly said "cheese." He's really trying to say lots of new words.

He is starting to get the concept of the ball and glove (with velcro to make for easy catching) that Grandma and Grandpa Knepper gave him. He loves to throw the ball into the glove while we hold it (he still has a great arm!) And he occasionally will put his hand in the glove, although he's not coordinated or strong enough to really hold it out and catch anything in it.

Charlie has also started to go to the toy shelves and pull down stuffed animals to play with. I don't know yet which one he may attach himself to as a favorite, but it sure is cute to see him hugging his giant old fashioned Pooh bear.

We played in our first broomball games of the season on Sunday. I had played some over the summer, but John was really sore after his game, having not played since the winter season ended in the spring. Before the games, we had Grandma Connie over for lunch, and Charlie demonstrated his love of baked beans for a second time.

It's been unseasonably warm lately, but it's looking like it will cool off later this week. Maybe I'll finally get around to cleaning up in the yard. We plan to go to the zoo on Saturday with Grandma Connie-- all the animals will be playing with pumpkins for Halloween. We're also looking forward to some trick-or-treating fun in a couple of weeks.

His father's son

Charlie is definitely a little John. Tonight he ate his crackers, then his hot dog, then all of his banana, then his cheese. Just like his father, eating one food at a time.

Charlie got bit again at daycare today. This time he was trying to take a toy from another child. He has gotten to be somewhat aggressive in the room, and I am concerned that it is because he is bored in the infant space. We're trying to work with the management to get him started on transitioning to the toddler room more quickly, since he is clearly ready and almost of the correct age. There are some licensing issues with the capacity of certain aged children in the room at one time, but we're hoping to work around that. (It does not help that their accreditation inspection is coming up in the next few weeks.)

I spent most of the day at Ault Park, volunteering for the Obama campaign. He was in town for a speech on his "American Jobs" tour of Ohio. I had to show up at 11am, and I was there until almost 5-- longer if you count getting stuck in traffic trying to get out. Because I was out working the line, I didn't get inside in time to get a great spot on the field, and as a consequence, I didn't get to hear very well. But it was still a great experience to be out in the crowd and seeing all the people who showed up. Now I'm paying for it with a sunburn on my left arm!

What a week!

So we had a great time in Chicago last weekend. We drove up Saturday and got there in time for Chris's open house. After visiting with folks there for about an hour, and getting a tour of the place, we headed to our hotel to check in. Once we'd gotten oriented, we headed in toward town to have dinner with the Rosenows. Charlie had a blast playing with the other kids. And he was so well behaved for us, after a long day in the car.

On Sunday I went to Chris's wedding and the brunch reception-- the food was delicious! And I loved the location. I am so happy for both of them. Charlie napped in the car for most of the time I was at the event. After John picked me up, we headed downtown, managing to avoid some of the driving snafus that we had encountered on the day before. John had quickly tired of dealing with Chicago drivers, while trying to find highway entrance ramps that didn't exist, and following internet directions that weren't always quite right!

We checked into our hotel just off Michigan Avenue, and went out for a walk to check out the location. We had a nice anniversary dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, where we both got to have a drink because neither of us had to drive home! Because the weather had turned colder than had been predicted when I packed on Friday night, we stopped and got Charlie one more long sleeved outfit while we were out.

On Monday, our day to walk around town and be tourists, it poured down rain most of the day. It calmed to a drizzle long enough for us to make our way down Michigan to the Art Institute, stopping a few times to do a little shopping here and there. We bought Charlie some new shoes at Nike Town, and John got a new rain jacket. The rain jacket came in handy by the time we left the museum, when the rain was coming down in buckets. Charlie had fallen asleep while we were checking out the O'Keefe's, and he completely slept through our dash to the subway station, our misguided attempt to get the stroller through a non-handicap-accessible station, our subsequent success at getting to a different station, the ride back up toward our hotel, and the rest of the trip to our room.

After a couple of hours relaxing and letting Charlie play in the hotel room, we noticed the sun had come out. So we got ourselves together and headed out for Chicago style pizza for an early dinner. Along the way, Charlie started going "oooh ooooh" when an ambulance would pass us on the street, as if he were imitating the siren. He seemed to love the crowds and the city streets. We also stopped at Lego town (where I successfully discouraged John from buying a $600, 10,000+ piece Millennium Falcon.) Charlie got fussy during dinner, so we headed back to the room pretty quickly-- although we did stop at the Ghiradelli shop for some great ice cream. By 9:30, we had put Charlie to bed, and I was falling asleep to Monday night football. So we called it an early night!

Tuesday was a beautiful day, and we were sorry to have to leave town. We packed up the car, and headed to the Museum of Science and Industry on our way out of town. The kids' area at the museum was wonderful, and Charlie had a great time. We only got to see small pieces of the museum because we wanted to get on the road, and I definitely would like to take him back there when he's older. I was impressed with what they had done to upgrade the U-boat display since I had been there about 15 years ago. John took the extra $5 tour of the sub, and determined that he was not built for being a submariner. Six hours later, we were home and picking up a very happy-to-see-us Lucy dog.

All in all, the trip was great. Our choice of hotel downtown was perfect, and Charlie was well behaved most of the time. And the rain didn't hamper our plans too much at all. In fact, it provided many extra laughs, as we attempted to shield Charlie in the stroller with our giant Ikea umbrella while walking down the street and avoiding giant puddles and crazy taxi drivers.

The rest of the week was busy at work, as we tried to catch up with the short week. Friday night we took Charlie out with us for Indian food, where he again displayed his fondness for saag. He couldn't get enough! Saturday night we enjoyed the company of the rest of the band, who stayed after practice to watch the Ohio State game.

Yesterday, I took Charlie to Gorman Farm, about 10 minutes from the house. Their Sunflower Festival was kind of a dud as far as the sunflowers go (due to recent drought), but Charlie loved looking at the farm animals, and climbing around the pumpkin displays. He was especially interested in the cows and the sheep, but the goats and chickens also got his attention. I've posted some photos on my flickr site.

Blackout strikes again!

Tonight, Entertaining Lucy was to play outdoors again at Oakley After Hours. However, when they showed up, after setting up all of their gear, they realized there was no power feeding the outlets on the square! After a couple of hours of waiting around, playing a few songs acoustically, and explaining to passers by and friends who came to see them why they weren't playing, they packed up and came home. The word was, due to the recent blackouts, the timers on the power outlets had been out of sync. Ugh! I had been looking forward to seeing the band play with a drummer and enjoying the fall weather. This is one of the few venues that I can take Charlie to and see them play.

Charlie had a pretty good week. On Sunday, the Kramers brought Cora over for a play date. They played well together and Charlie had a great time. We will definitely have them over again.



We're off to Chicago tomorrow, to attend Chris Jackson's wedding and act like tourists for our anniversary. Better finish packing and get to bed!

Blackout!

Well, Cincinnati still has almost 200,000 without power as of today. The windstorm on Sunday knocked out about 90% of Duke Energy's customers in the area (or about 700,000). It is taking them all week to get it all restored. As it turns out, we were some of the lucky ones, to only be out an hour and a half or so on Sunday afternoon. John's mom is still without power as of this afternoon.

At work, I've been holed up in our Emergency Control Center, working on getting supplies and motor vehicle service for all of our technicians working on repairs out in the field. Every day has brought a new challenge.

At home, we've had several folks come through our house, borrowing internet access, freezer space, or even just a few hours in electric light for their kids to play and watch DVDs. Luckily, in addition to having our power on, I had just been to the grocery on Saturday morning. It's been madness out there with people trying to get supplies. Unlike down in Houston, where my folks had days to prepare and stock up, people here were caught by surprise with the storm. If you had been counting on doing your grocery shopping or filling your car with gas on Sunday night or Monday, you found yourself out of luck! Most stores had no power, either, and it took long enough for it to be restored that any perishable foods were destroyed. Lines for gas were as long as 20 minutes or more on Monday night.

Then, on top of all of this, there was a water main break under a major interstate here in town on early Tuesday morning (I-71, which we both usually take to work downtown). It was not repaired until right before the morning commute on Wednesday. So we took a very long route around town to get home that night, just to avoid the long line of traffic that had backed up all day.

I am looking forward to a nap at some point this weekend. I will need it before we go to see Amadeus at the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company on Saturday night. Charlie, who I have now personally heard say "duck" and "quack," will have one of the ladies from daycare over to watch him.

Is this a hurricane?

We are getting gusts of wind here up to 60 mph. You'd think we were in Houston! Our power has gone off and on several times today. I just turned the AC completely off because I didn't want it to get damaged with all the surges. About an hour ago I was thinking, how crazy is it that Mom and Dad have power down in Houston and we don't!

Maybe the power outages were a blessing-- I didn't have to watch the Bengals lose.

Charlie has not taken a nap today, except for a 30 minute catnap while the power was out. Last night he was up about 2 hours past his normal bedtime, and then he was up again in the middle of the night. I don't know what has offset his sleep schedule, but I wish it would go back. I know we want to try and get him on 1 nap a day before he moves up to the toddler room, but this is ridiculous!

Mom and Dad had no major damage to their house due to hurricane Ike. None at Grandma's, either. They had power restored very quickly-- it was back on last night-- and have had just a few problems with phones today. We are all very thankful.

Tracking Ike

Tonight I am sitting at home, watching news coverage on Hurricane Ike in the Houston area. Mom and Dad and Grandma are "hunkered down" at home, waiting for it to hit. I feel so helpless here, miles and miles away and unable to assist.

Entertaining Lucy is off playing at a new place tonight. I am disappointed that we did not have a babysitter so that I could go to watch.

Charlie is doing well. After a rough end to last weekend (he went on a 24 hour temper tantrum on Sunday) he seems to be doing better now. I suspect he was either bothered by his teeth, allergies, or a bit of a cold (maybe more than one of those!). We received his pre-transition progress report from daycare and he's right on track with his development. I met the teachers in the Busy Bee room this week as well. Getting ready for his move up to toddlers is so exciting! He really is starting to be bored with where he is-- just as he gets bored with us at home on the weekend if we don't take him out to play somewhere.

We're gearing up for the big game tomorrow-- Ohio State and USC. I hope, for John's sake, that it goes well for the Buckeyes! (Who am I kidding-- I'm the one who has to live with him the rest of the season!)

Football time

John is getting ready to enjoy the Browns game this afternoon via NFL Sunday Ticket. He is very excited.

Charlie has two more teeth poking through on top, bringing him to 14 total. He's getting to be such a big boy. His latest words include "baby" and "go."

We now know that Charlie's transition to the toddler room at his daycare will be mid-November. Charlie and Oscar will both be moving up to the Busy Bee room. We are glad that they can move to the same room, since they have become such good friends and playmates.

Handy Johnny

MAKESHIFT CAPO
Originally uploaded by robenalt

My husband is so handy. Look at the ingenuity displayed in this photo. Having forgotten his capo for band practice, he fashioned one from a velcro cord strap and a pen.

Busy Labor Day Weekend

On Friday night we got to go to the Reds game, courtesy of my employer, and sit in our suite. That meant that Charlie got to go (since he could run around inside and we could still enjoy the game). It was quite a fun game to watch-- we even got to see a grand slam, and the Reds won. Afterwards there were fireworks. John had already taken Charlie home to bed by that point, but I got some decent pictures, using the tips that John had gotten at a photography workshop.

Last night Charlie and I went to a friend's birthday dinner while John had band practice. Charlie ate all sorts of food at the Indian restaurant, including some chicken (which he usually doesn't care for), and some saag (which he has enjoyed previously).

Today Charlie got his haircut. It's not as good as his first haircut, but he needed it badly. This afternoon we went to the pool after he had a late afternoon nap. John is off with the band playing a party for the annual Riverfest fireworks. I got to sit at home on the comfort of our couch and watch them in HD.

It seems we put the doorknob covers on our basement and garage doors just in time. Charlie is really trying to reach them now. He's also making a new face just this week. He sticks his lips out while making an "eww" face when he's upset-- not quite a pout, but still a little pitiful. Don't know where he got that one.

We're starting to plan for Charlie moving up to the toddler room at daycare, which means only one nap a day. We'll have to see how that goes!

A weekend of firsts

Charlie really expanded his horizons this past weekend. He spent his first real extended quality time around a cat at my cousin Leigh's apartment in DC, where we stayed for the extended weekend. The first evening was a bit frightening to him, but he was really tired from the flight. By the end of the weekend, he was excited to see the kitty and would actually look for where it was in the apartment. He even made a good effort at saying "cat." Another day or two and maybe they would have been cuddling up with each other.

To partly pay her back for her hospitality, we took Leigh to dinner on Friday night. It was during that meal that Charlie tried his first guacamole. I dipped a bit of his cheese quesadilla in it, and to our surprise, he not only ate it, but he sucked the guacamole off first, before even touching the cheese or tortilla! He also ate some beans from John's fajita platter, and couldn't get enough!

It was also during this meal that Charlie began a new activity-- wiping his hands with a napkin. He had gotten quite messy, and when he got a hold of one of our napkins somehow, he wrung his hands with it and then used it to wipe the table in front of him! Thus started a trend that we observed the rest of the weekend.

We had a great time visiting with the Nelsons on the Mall on Saturday morning, where Charlie had his first carousel ride. John and I enjoyed Mike and Eve's reception that evening while Charlie stayed with Leigh. On Sunday morning, Charlie had his first exposure to Dim Sum. He seemed to like the couple of items that he tried before he got fussy and had to be taken out into the hall to run around.

Altogether, Charlie really enjoyed his weekend. Leigh was a great hostess, and Charlie just loved playing with her and her pots and pans.

Roll out the paper

Charlie has discovered how much fun it is to spin the roll of toilet paper in his bathroom. I am going to have to start hanging it so that it comes off the roll in the back, to prevent him from unrolling it completely when he spins it forward.

We are off to DC this afternoon to visit cousin Leigh and go to my friend Mike's wedding reception. We have not seen Mike, or any of the other attendees we will know, since our wedding almost 6 years ago. It will be fun to catch up.

Big Head Charlie

Charlie had his 15 month check-up this morning and got just one shot. His head is still big (19.25 inches, or 90-95%). He gained almost a pound, coming in at 24 pounds 11 ounces, or 60th%. He also grew 1.5 inches to 30.75 inches (45th%). So he's leaning out a little.

He still has his rash on his face, which flared up again a couple of weeks ago. But we'll just continue to follow-up with the dermatologist on that. Otherwise, there were no health concerns. The doctor did note that his teeth were a little crowded up on top, but that's no surprise given the family history.

Weekend fun

Today we met up with Oscar and his mom at the playground at Sharon Woods park, near our house. They have a splash area with little fountains for the kids to play in. I wasn't sure Charlie would take to it, since he hates to get water in his face when he's in the bath, but after a bit of hesitation at the start, he loved it! He played a little on the playground also, checking out the small slides and climbing through a tunnel. He also said hi to a nice dog who was there with his family. Charlie practiced his new word "dog" while pointing at it.

Speaking of words, Charlie is getting pretty good at saying "shhzz" for "shoes" and he'll also point to my toes when I ask him where they are. He'll pick out the ball and the dog in one of his books when you ask him to point at them.

Charlie's 15 month appointment is on Tuesday, so we'll have more news then.

John's flickr site has some good photos of today at the park.

_DSC0198-16.jpg
Originally uploaded by robenalt

Big Boy on a Big Trip

Charlie was a really good boy on our trip to KC. He did not sleep on the plane on the way out, but kept to a good sleep schedule once we were there. He even took a nearly 3 hour nap on Saturday afternoon, completely missing the birthday party! That allowed me to be able to take lots of photos and videos for Christine and Todd.

Over the weekend, Charlie started to say "hi" in addition to the "bye bye" that he has been saying for a few weeks now. He is also trying very hard to say "dog," but it often comes out as "gog" or something like that. It won't be long before he's calling for Lucy.

On the way out to KC, Charlie made me laugh by turning down part of a cheeseburger and fries at the airport McDonalds in exchange for some multigrain Club crackers and wholegrain cheese puffs. Silly boy!

While we were in KC Charlie also ate pasta for me for the first time. I'd given it to him before, but he never seemed to like it. This pasta had tomato sauce on it. He pulled the ground beef back out of his mouth, but the pasta went down. Tonight he followed that up by eating macaroni and cheese-- also the first time he had eaten that for me. Maybe because it was the kind we were eating, and not something made specifically for toddlers. He is really getting to be a big boy, with particular tastes.

Will Charlie eat Barbecue?

During my morning visit to Starbucks this morning, the cashier asked me if I had any big weekend plans. When I said I was going to Kansas City, they told me to enjoy the barbecue. That got me thinking-- would Charlie eat barbecue?

We tried fish sticks with him at home again the other night, and he was definitely interested. Funny, though-- he liked eating the insides and throwing the breading to Lucy! I may try getting some filets next time instead, so there is more fish.

This afternoon I'll pick up Charlie a little early, and head off to the airport to fly to KC. I am anxious to see how he does in the airport and on the plane, now that he's walking around. It may be a challenge for me, since John is staying home and I'll have him all by myself.

He's getting pretty good at walking himself in to Daycare in the mornings. I'll carry him to the sidewalk from the car and then he'll walk from there. It's hard to believe that it is exactly one year since he started there in the Hummingbird room.

Laughing with gusto

Charlie has been developing quite a little personality. He has this really loud and forceful laugh when he is enjoying himself. He's also starting to throw some minor tantrums on occasion in an attempt to get his way.

One of the activities that causes him to laugh so powerfully is when he follows me into the laundry room. He loves to take clothes out of the basket as I'm folding them and throw them on the ground. It's frustrating to deal with, but I had to laugh myself when I caught him running around with a pair of my underwear.

More often his object of interest in the laundry room is our swiffer broom. He just loves to pick it up and carry it around, as if he's mopping the floor for me. It's funny, because I usually clean the floor when he's napping, so I don't think he's ever really seen it used. So he can't just be modeling our behavior.

Right now he's quietly looking through books in the corner of the family room. Soon it will be time for bed.

First Professional Haircut

Charlie had his first professional haircut today. He was really good. I shot some video which is posted on my flickr site. He sure looks a lot more like John now-- his head looks less round. His cheeks show up more, also.

Little Carnivore

Charlie has suddenly turned into a little meat eater. He especially loves hot dogs and corn dogs and anything of that sort. Every once in a while he'll even eat a little chicken.

As far as words, he still mainly says:
"bah" (for "bye bye" and everything else),
"wow" (in a whisper, and usually while he's pointing at something, which is very cute),
and "mah mah mah" (which we think means "thank you for the yummy food" and not "mama").

Walking is no big deal these days, except when I want him to walk himself back to his room at daycare. Otherwise, he much prefers walking to crawling, and will do it automatically. Just not in any particular direction you may wish him to go!

Charlie is mesmerized by certain cartoons we put on the TV, but we try not to do that too often. Just when we really need him to settle down. He's still very into music, so the ones that have cute little tunes really get his attention the best.

He really needs a professional haircut (the trims we've been doing at home just don't cut it-- no pun intended!) But we are still scouting out good places to take him for that.

Our big event this week was going down to Fountain Square to see the Obama speech at the NAACP convention broadcast live on the big screen. I took some photos of the crowd that I hope to get loaded out there soon. I didn't do a great job at it, since I had Charlie all by myself, and I had to keep him moving in the stroller to keep him entertained, but it certainly was an interesting experience being out in the community like that. There was a really good feeling in the crowd, like a friendly neighborhood gathering (although folks there were from all over). Neat to see that many people excited about what's going on in this country and getting involved, in whatever their cause or concern might be.

Dinner by flashlight

Last night Charlie had his dinner by flashlight. As we approached the house coming home for the evening, a major storm hit. By the time I had food out on Charlie's highchair, the power went out. It came back on before it got too dark out, so we weren't too bad off.

Later that evening, I went down to the basement to get something out of the freezer, and noticed that we had some water down there. For the second time this year, we had water in the basement, but not from the basement. Instead of coming down the chimney this time, the trickle of water appears to have come in from around the front door.

Charlie's first visit to Lima

Charlie made his first visit to Lima this weekend for the 4th of July. We went up to see many of the Robenalts, and especially Charlie's Great Great Aunt Sally who was up visiting from Florida, and who I had never met. We had been out of town the past few years when she was up for a visit, so we didn't want to miss out on this chance to see her. Charlie had fun running around with all the kids on Thursday evening, especially watching them play ball, and sometimes getting to play a little catch with them. As if to prove he was having lots of fun, he got quite muddy from the knees down. It was my first laundry challenge as the mother of a young boy! Of course he was wearing nice light colored shorts!

On Friday it was a little cool to actually go in the pool, but we all got together at the club to visit and play games at poolside. They had a baby swing on the swingset, and Charlie really enjoyed swinging next to the other kids. We were awfully tired upon our return to Cincinnati, and since the weather was threatening rain, we decided to skip the fireworks and festival that we had planned to attend that evening.

On other notes, we finally got in to the dermatologist on Wednesday this past week. We got a prescription for some steroid creme, to be used only when the rash on his cheeks and ears flares up. Of course, the day of his appointment, they looked better than they had in months! We'll go back in to see her in a few weeks. The other instructions were just to watch what he's eating, and to stay away from scented soaps and detergents (which I do, anyway), to make sure there are no allergies involved.

Charlie has also formed a cute relationship with Ryan in his daycare class. Just as Henri acted sort of like a "big brother" to Charlie, Charlie now seems to do that with Ryan. Apparently Ryan also looks up to Charlie.

The little guy continues to eat more meats-- he chowed down on some mini corndogs at dinner last night with his Grandma Robenalt. He still seems more willing to eat meat at daycare and when we're out at a restaurant than at home, however.

John also had to use his first "time out" with Charlie yesterday. He's been awfully ornery, pulling on Lucy's ears and poking her in the eyes. So far he only laughs when we say "no" in a stern voice. So we're trying some other things to get the message across.

Reunion weekend

This weekend we traveled to St. Louis for my 20th high school reunion. As usual, our trip was dominated by stops to eat at all my favorite places-- Lion's Choice, Imo's, Ted Drewes, and Fitz's. We were even able to buy a case of ginger ale at Fitz's with no hassle this time. I added a new twist to the food theme this trip, and purchased a gooey butter cake at the Dierberg's bakery. It didn't quite taste the same as the ones I make at home, and I think it may be because the ingredients listed margarine instead of butter. That just doesn't seem right! But it was nice to find one at a bakery, instead of having to bake it myself.

Charlie apparently decided that our food fest trip was time to turn over a new leaf as well-- he ate meat three times on Sunday. He had almost an entire sausage link at breakfast, ate some roast beef from my sandwich at lunch, and eagerly nibbled on some cheeseburger at McDonald's Playland when we stopped on the way home.

Charlie also has a new wave going on-- instead of just opening and closing his fingers, he actually bends his arm at the wrist and gets the whole hand waving. He's also getting used to swimming pools. Beth, who went along with us on this trip so that she could watch Charlie while we were at my reunion, took him to the hotel pool while we were out on Saturday night. He likes to splash with his hands, just like in the bath, but does not like to get his face wet (same as with the bath). One of his favorite activities during the trip was to play around in the closets at our hotel. They had mirrored doors, so when he wasn't running inside the closet, he was banging on the outside.

We visited the City Museum on Saturday, which was new to me. It was hot, so we didn't explore much of the outside, but it definitely looked like a fun place to take Charlie back to when he's a little older and can enjoy it more. We also took Charlie to his first major art museum on Sunday. There was a Gordon Parks photography exhibit going on that we enjoyed before heading out of town.

The Reunion itself was fun, although I missed seeing some of my closer friends. I was glad to see at least one or two folks that I had lost touch with, though, and hope to stay in touch with them more in the future.

Random sighting

Today at lunchtime I got a text message from a co-worker that John McCain was eating lunch at Skyline across the street from our office building. Three of us looked out the window and sure enough, we spotted his bus parked on the corner. We grabbed our wallets and headed over there for lunch, since we were hungry, anyway. We were being checked through the security screening process as he started to get ready to leave. We were standing right there while he said goodbye to the staff and a few other customers at the doorway.




Our general impression of him was that he definitely seems smaller in stature in person than he does on TV. Although none of us plan to vote for him, we definitely respect him, and were impressed with the way he handled the crowd. He was very warm and open and signed several autographs. Even though we did not speak to him, I somehow felt more "involved" in the political process for having been so close.

Finger Lickin' Good!

Last night, Charlie ate chicken for dinner! I am so happy to finally find a meat product that he'll eat at home. It was leftover Extra Crispy Shake n Bake on chicken tenderloins-- John's favorite.

Not much else new going on here-- Charlie continues to explore with his walking skills. And he tries to climb up anything that stands still. We need to get him one of those climber things, so he can practice on something that's meant for that purpose, instead of chairs and stairs and baby gates. But we don't know where we'd put it!

Off and Running!

On Thursday at daycare, Charlie was sitting on the small sofa in the room, and suddenly looked up at everyone, stood up, and walked to them. Of course, they all applauded, so he did it again, stringing 6 or so steps in a row. At home that evening, he was proud to show off his new skills.

Most of the time, he still holds on to something to walk, but he'll now walk across open spaces without too much prompting, until he happens upon a shoe, or a dog, or something else that either trips him up, or distracts his attention. I'd say that he's now "officially" walking.

The rash he got this past week is all cleared up. He was only home from daycare one day. It did eventually spread to his tummy and a bit on his back, but after the first day the awful swelling in his face had gone down. By Thursday we were starting to see the smiley Charlie come back.

We're off to Columbus tonight to visit with the Zimmermans. Yay for their babysitter!

Cooling down and taking off

Well, the weather cooled off for a bit today, which is a welcome relief from the heat and humidity we had been having. Last Monday, I worked at the Anthony Munoz Hall of Fame Celebrity golf outing, benefitting his foundation. As feared, it was HOT! I was out there for 14 hours, escorting big shots for two rounds of golf. I got through it okay, but on Wednesday I started to develop a rash on my arms, due to some sunscreen I had used on Monday. By Saturday, I had to go to urgent care and get a steroid shot and some pills to take to get the itching and swelling down.

It was hot on Thursday, as well, when we tried to take Charlie to the Reds game after work (to see them play the Cardinals). We didn't stay through the game, because Charlie was too antsy. We decided it was a waste of money to try and take him to any more games for about 2 years, until he can learn to sit still for longer. Right now he just wants to get down out of your lap and explore. Not good when you're trying to sit out in right field catching home runs! Turns out I didn't need to worry about that on that night, anyway. After two great wins by the Cards earlier in the series, they bombed out that night, as typically happens when I attend the game.

It was also hot on Sunday, when we took Charlie to the zoo for a brief Fathers' Day outing. We wanted to see the new giraffe exhibit. After looking at a few animals, and taking a short train ride, we headed out. But it may have been too much on Charlie. Monday morning I got a call from daycare that he was blotchy and sluggish. Long story short, by the end of the day when I picked him up to take him to the doctor, his face looked awful! It is my belief that he had an allergic reaction to the sunscreen that was on his face, where he was sweating around his hairline and on his forehead. But the pediatrician said it was likely a viral rash that he has picked up early in the weekend. He had a rough night, and we kept him home today (Beth is watching him for us), so he can try and recuperate. We're just treating his discomfort with Motrin and waiting to see.

The poor little guy had gotten bitten again at daycare on Friday afternoon, also. Just a small bruise on his arm, but it's starting to get annoying. Wish we could do something to stop it.

But on a positive note, the little guy is really starting to take off with the walking. Last Wednesday at daycare they said he took 3 steps on his own. At home, he's reaching up to the edge of the kitchen table (time to start moving things away from the edge)! Last night we got some good video of him taking 3 or so steps at a time, walking between John and Beth. They're not big steps, but he's getting there. He's really motivated by Lucy sometimes, and tries to walk to her.

We've also had some luck with some new foods. Apparently he's been eating hot dogs and fish sticks at daycare, so we have some meats to try out.

John and I both have busy weeks at work this week, but we're looking forward to a weekend trip up to Columbus to visit with the Zimmermans. Then next weekend it's off to St. Louis for my 20th high school reunion. And of course, my usual trips to Imos, Ted Drewes, and Lion's Choice. It's all about the food! (Maybe Charlie will like some of those!)

Fat Feet

I took Charlie to the mall yesterday to buy him some real shoes, now that he's on the verge of running around on his own. Turns out, he has fat feet. I got him some double -wide tennis shoes, but I was not able to find him any sandals that fit him correctly, even after going to two Stride Rite stores. We'll try again in a couple of weeks when maybe they'll have more sizes in stock.

He's getting used to walking with the new shoes, but it's obvious that he's struggling a bit with how heavy they are. They're kind of big and clunky, too-- compared to his tiny feet! He takes just a step or two before grabbing on to something, but it won't be long before he's stringing more steps together. He cruises along pretty fast behind his push wagon or his push car.

We finished off the last of the baby formula a little over a week ago, and he's getting used to drinking his milk from cups instead of bottles. We still use a couple of bottles a day, but mostly it's cups. He also seems to really like some of the yogurt and fruit or vegetable juices that they make for toddlers. It's almost the only way I can get him to eat vegetables, now that he's on finger foods and not eating the jarred stuff any longer. He still won't really eat any meat, but I got him to eat some ham and cheese quiche this morning, and he managed to get a little egg and ham in with the crust, so at least he got some protein that way.

After a week of heavy storms last week, the weather here is in the 90's. I wouldn't mind so much, except that I have lots of spring yard work left to do, and it's too hot and humid for that! Plus, tomorrow I'm volunteering at a golf outing all day, and I'm afraid I'll pass out from the heat!

The cicadas are also creating quite a racket right now. Lucy keeps chasing them when she goes outside. I was going to get a car wash this weekend, but I'm glad I didn't bother yet!

John has posted 13 month photos of Charlie on his flickr site, so go take a look at Charlie in his new shoes.

Catching our breath

We spent this past weekend catching our breath from the events of the past two weeks. Just after I wrote last, I went on a three night work trip to Memphis, leaving John at home with Charlie. The boys survived their week together, although John's attempt to cut Charlie's hair met with mixed success. On Friday I returned home and rushed off to the grocery store to prepare for our weekend guests and our annual Memorial Day barbecue.

Friday evening, my sister Christine and her family, and my parents and grandmother, all arrived into town. Saturday we took the kids to Sharon Woods park for a picnic and some play time. Saturday evening we had a May Birthday dinner-- Charlie, Christine, and John all have birthdays in May-- and we celebrated with some steaks John cooked on the grill. John's mom joined us for dinner. The birthday folks all opened some gifts after the meal, and then we had cake and ice cream.

On Sunday, we made last minute preparations for our annual grill-out, including sending Todd and Dad on a trip to the store to buy a new picnic table for the kiddies. After he finished mowing the lawn, John helped them assemble the table-- a bigger job than we had expected! The grill out was quite a success, even though we had a few last minute no-shows. Christine and Todd got packing that night, as they were slated to leave first thing on Monday morning.

After the Brewoods left on Monday morning for their drive back to KC, the rest of us trekked down to Krohn Conservatory to see the Butterfly show. I got to use my new video camera (a Mothers' Day gift) for a little bit. On the way home, we stopped and had lunch at Maggiano's. We rested some that afternoon, then made a trip out to Jungle Jim's to hunt for Brooks tomatoes (no luck!) and stopped for Steak and Shake malts on the way home. By then it was time for Charlie to go to bed.

The Houston folks left first thing Tuesday morning, and I took a half day off to rest up and get myself together before going back to work for the week.

Charlie had an eventful week at daycare. He was bitten-- twice! Once on the leg on Tuesday, and once on the arm on Thursday-- apparently by the same child. We, too, had a busy week. We traded movie nights-- John went to see the new Indiana Jones movie on Thursday, and I went out with some girls to see the Sex and the City movie on Friday.

Saturday morning I took Lucy to the annual Doggie Dash (a fundraiser for the Cincinnati SPCA) and she had a great time. It was looking like rain, so John stayed home with Charlie. Saturday evening we celebrated Beth's birthday at a dinner with many of her friends. All the commotion was a little much for Charlie, and he slept in pretty well on Sunday (no complaints!) Sunday was a good day to relax.

I think that catches everything up for now-- see the flickr sites for recent photos.

Take me out to the ballgame

We took Charlie to his first Indian's game on Friday night. He was very excited, although I'm not so sure he knew what was going on. It must have been the bright lights, music, and other sounds that got him going. He started waving his hands and "shouting" as soon as we got to our seats.

We were smiling to ourselves during the national anthem, because Charlie "sang" along with the music. I wish I'd had a video of it. But he tuckered out quickly-- he was asleep by the end of the 5th inning.



We left in the 7th, and listened to the rest of the game on our way home.

Oh that dog!

Lucy has recently found ways to sneak out of the backyard. A few weeks ago, the neighbor was out getting ready to put steaks on his grill, when he looked down and Lucy was standing there on his patio. She's no dummy-- she must have smelled the steak!

This weekend, another neighbor came over and rang the doorbell because he thought he saw Lucy running around loose. She had gotten out a small hole in the fence next to the gate on one side of the house.

Then Monday night, I was out in the front yard, pulling a few weeds and trimming some low branches off a tree, when I saw Lucy run out from the other side of the house. Turns out, there was a hole next to the gate on that side, also!

We've attempted to block up the holes, for now, but we will have to do some patching soon. She's never strayed too far, but we don't want to take any chances. You never know what she'd do if tempted by that darned chipmunk that she chases under our patio every day, or the dogs across the street, or some other distraction.

One Year Old!

I am a little late with this post, but Charlie had his 12 month doctor visit on Friday last week. He measured 29.25 inches long (40th%), and weighed 23 pounds 14 ounces (70th%). His head, of course, was in the 95th%, at 19 inches! Charlie got two more shots, and everything checked out just fine. The doctor said he was really strong. We also got some advice about trying to clear up the rash on his face, so we'll see how that goes.

Our little guy is really a "climber." He loves to climb up onto anything he can, whether it be a box of diapers or the Lucy dog. This past weekend he also discovered the fun of jumping on the bed-- our bed. We had him in bed with us in the morning as we were getting ready to get up, and he decided to bounce up and down while holding onto the headboard.

He still won't eat much of anything in the meat family, but he's a big fan of fruit and crackers and yogurt. He has less and less patience for you feeding him with a spoon, because he wants to feed himself. We're working on getting him used to milk, and he's only having 4 or 5 small bottles of formula a day, instead of 5 to 7 larger ones.

We had a nice little birthday party at daycare on Charlie's birthday. Photos from that celebration, as well as the party the weekend before, are posted on our flickr sites. I hope to get birthday video out there soon. You can see video on my flickr site now of Charlie "talking" on the phone. He does not hold anything else to his mouth to talk like that, so he must really know what the phone is for, based on watching us. He has another new trick with sound-- running his fist back and forth across his open mouth while holding an "oh" sound. John taught him that one with only one try this past weekend. I think I got some video of it, so I'll have to get that posted.

There are also photos posted of Charlie out in the grass in the backyard with Lucy. This was his first time sitting in the grass, and at first he wrinkled up his face and held his arms up, parallel with the ground, as if he didn't want them to touch the grass. I guess it was prickly (it was a little long) and felt strange to him. After a while he got comfortable, and even started to pull at the blades of grass. But he never did start crawling around in it.

When Pigs Fly

The pigs do fly in Cincinnati once a year. I volunteered at our company-sponsored water station at mile marker 5.5 at the annual Flying Pig Marathon on Sunday. I kept an eye out for Beth, but she still surprised me when she came by to drop off her sweatshirt on her way to completing the marathon. As usual, it was a fun event to take part in, and it was a gorgeous day for it.



Over the past week, Charlie has been really progressing in several areas. He has started putting blocks in to containers, instead of just dumping them out. He also learned how to put the rings on the post, instead of just taking them off. And he is almost starting to stack blocks, instead of just knocking them down. Most impressively, he has started to put shapes in a sorter, actually recognizing the right holes to put them in.

Charlie is also trying to say "uh oh"-- but mostly it comes out "uh uh". This is usually heard after he has thrown something to the ground. He has taken a liking to throwing everything else, in addition to balls. John is nervous about our TV!

Charlie continues to amuse himself by standing on his own and raising his arms for a few seconds at a time. But he's yet to really try taking a step while doing so. He's pretty good at taking steps while pushing a car, or holding your fingers, though. It won't be long!

Charlie's First Birthday Party

Charlie had a great time celebrating his birthday with several friends. In fact, he was so happy to have other kids around, he wasn't nearly as interested in helping to "open" his gifts as I had expected, based on how much he loved his Christmas presents. Of course, he had a great time with his cake, and the resulting bath. Grandma Connie and Great Aunt Debbie had great fun watching him take a bath in his newly decorated bathroom full of monkeys.

As the party was wrapping up, Great Uncle Bob and cousing Michael from Columbus stopped in after a tennis tournament they were attending down in Cincinnati. After Charlie went down for a nap, the "boys" went down to the basement to play a little music on the guitars and hand drum.

Charlie thanks everyone for their presents and for sharing his special day!

Big Day Tomorrow!

Charlie's "official" first birthday party is coming up tomorrow afternoon. This will be followed by a celebration on his actual birthday in his daycare room, as well as another celebration when the Knepper side of the family comes to visit over Memorial Day weekend. But tomorrow is the "official" event. We're looking forward to sharing some cake and punch with a few close friends and some family.

I can't remember if I'd mentioned this before, but Charlie is up to 7 teeth now. He added a new one on the bottom sometime in the past week and a half. So it will be easier to "chew" his cake tomorrow. (Ha ha!)

He's been climbing all over the place-- really likes to get on top of anything he can, even if it means stepping on you (or the dog) to get there. He has also started to try standing on his own of his own accord (not just when we "trick" him in to it). It is highly likely that he'll be walking by the end of the month.

We visited the zoo again this past Sunday, this time with Oscar and family. The weather was great and the tulips were out (although nearing the end of their blooming period, they were still pretty). Lots of pictures are on flickr.

More news after the party tomorrow!

Full on Spring

It finally feels like spring, because this evening we grilled out for the first time this year. We pulled Charlie's high chair outside so he could enjoy the weather, also. Lucy was thrilled with the event, since she knows it usually means a few table scraps for her. While we didn't go this year, it's also Flower Show week, which always says "it's Spring" to me.

I spent my first full night away from Charlie on Wednesday. It was supposed to be a two night trip, but I had a change in plans at the last minute and flew back after only one night. You'd think I would have enjoyed a nice evening with a good night's sleep, but I actually slept less than I do normally at home, because I stayed up working online. Charlie slept in later than normal at home, but I was up earlier.

I did enjoy my first plane trip in almost a year and a half without a squirmy child in my lap, however. It was a pretty easy trip since I was on my own-- I'd forgotten what that was like! Next month I'll be away on a trip for 3 nights-- I think I'll really miss Charlie then.

Charlie has been playing with his tongue since last weekend. He sticks it out a lot, and sometimes grabs it. Every now and then he stands on his own (without holding on to anything) for a second or two. It won't be long before he realizes he is steady enough to do that more often, and that will lead to taking a few steps. He's also being more picky about his food, now. Instead of eating anything we feed him, he'll make faces and refuse to open his mouth for some items-- mostly meat dishes and some vegetables. He's also not fond of cheese, but he likes some cheese flavored crunchies. So I'm wondering if it's a problem with the texture of cheese.

We finished out our weekend in Iowa with a visit with Melinda, who came up from Lawrence, Kansas to see us while we were in Des Moines. You can find photos of the visit on my flickr site. Melinda and her mother got a good dose of broomball, also-- I hope they enjoyed the experience!

Two for One

This weekend we are on a trip to Iowa, sort of a two for one. John is playing in a broomball tournament here in Des Moines, and we came a day early to go out to Perry to visit my Grandma Knepper and Aunt Kathryn. We had a long drive out here yesterday-- 11 hours total, a little over 9 of that in the car. Charlie did real well, considering he's now at the point where he wants to get out and crawl around. We stopped at his first McDonald's play land during our second break. He's technically not old enough to play on the slides and all of that, but he got a chance to crawl around a little and watch other kids (which he loves to do).

Once we got to the hotel last night, we took about 20 minutes to childproof it the best we could. Suitcases blocking access to electrical outlets, chairs blocking dresser drawers that pinch fingers, etc. Charlie stayed up a little later than usual, since he had slept so much in the car, but we got him down to bed at a reasonable time and sacked out ourselves.

Today we went to Perry and spent the day out there. We had a nice lunch with Grandma and Kathryn at Spring Valley, where Grandma lives. One of the workers there took Charlie from us and walked him around to all the tables. Everyone enjoyed seeing him smile and wave-- he got lots of compliments on his hair and cheeks! Several folks remarked on his cute bare toes, also! We had a chance to see the house that Aunt Kathryn and Uncle Mel had built, which was a great treat. It was a dreary rainy day, but the house was still beautiful to see. We also watched some videos of Charlie playing with Lucy, and shared many photos we had brought with us. Charlie played ball for a bit, showing off how he can throw it.

Tonight we took Charlie for his first adventure in a swimming pool at the hotel. He didn't seem fond of it at first, but he enjoyed watching other kids jumping in the pool, and he did relax a bit and seemed to enjoy parts of the experience. It was nice to get him exposed to the water like that.

Tomorrow the games start early, so I'd better get to sleep.

Burning Down the House

On Wednesday night, before we left for Iowa, I attempted to burn down the house. Well, that's what John says. In reality, I just accidentally turned on the wrong burner on the stove. I had set Lucy's dog bowl up there as I was getting her ready to get packed up (to stay at John's Mom's place while we were on our trip), and when I turned on the stove to make our ravioli for dinner, I turned on the burner under her bowl instead of under the pot of water. Of course, although it was a metal bowl, it had a rubber rim, which then caught on fire! John lept to action, and using the fire extinguisher, got it out. Then we grabbed the baby and the dog and ran outside-- to get away from the odor!

After airing out the house for a bit (luckily it was a nice day), we went back and and cleaned up the powdery mess so I could finish cooking dinner. I had to wash all the pots and pans twice that day! I'm sure we'll be finding that powder from the extinguisher for quite some time.

Trip Down South

Last weekend I took Charlie to see his Grandma and Grandpa Knepper and Great Grandma Bovier in Houston. Entertaining Lucy had a gig on Saturday night, so John stayed home. We enjoyed great weather while we were there-- it was not even very humid (unusual for Houston). We spent lots of time sitting on porches, watching fish ponds, and looking at the flower gardens. Charlie even got to go swing on the swings at a local park.

Charlie started a new habit of smacking his lips while we were in Houston. One of the highlights of the weekend was when Charlie tried to figure out how to get through Kacy's doggie door on the patio at Grandma B's house. I've posted lots of photos out on the flickr site.

I've also started to post a couple of videos out on Flickr, now that they accept those for posting. They'll be short clips, but they should be entertaining for those of you who don't get copies of the DVDs that I make of Charlie.

The Monkey at the Zoo

Two weeks ago, the day I last wrote here on the blog, we took Charlie to the zoo for the first time. It was a beautiful day, one of the first nice spring days we'd had on a weekend when we had no other plans. I had been planning to take Charlie out for a walk with Lucy, but when John's softball game was cancelled, and then we got a mailing from the zoo in the mail, we decided to make a family outing to the zoo instead. John's mom went along with us-- her first time at a zoo since she was a child!

We were treated to 3 elephants sounding off back and forth, and later two lions roared at each other for quite a while as we were walking through their area. I guess everyone was happy it was spring and wanted to announce it to the world. Charlie was clearly engaged by looking at the animals, pointing and following them with his eyes.

As part of the Zoo Blooms event, there was a daffodil show going on that day as well. We enjoyed taking some photos there during a break from the animals.

Charlie did really well, finally falling asleep in the stroller at the very end of the long day. We were at the zoo for about 4 hours! We were all pooped by the time we got home. We did not see all of the animals, but we bought a family membership so there will be plenty of chances to go back and see what we missed.

Busy Week!

We've had a busy week since I last wrote, so there is much to catch up on.

First, the Charlie update. His teeth seem to be bothering him less now, but the spots on his cheeks have not yet cleared up. The ointment seemed to help on one side, but the other is still nearly as red as it was before. We may see about going back to the doctor and/or going to a dermatologist.

Charlie is also starting to use his car for walking across the room. He uses the walkers at daycare quite a bit as well. Occasionally he will also take a few steps while holding on to my fingers.

On Saturday afternoon Beth took Charlie to the mall while we went to the Wine Festival. We met up with Rick and Jodi and compared notes several times during the afternoon. We were a bit disappointed in some of the places we were anxious to sample during the first hour. But by the end of the session, we think we found a couple worth looking for to buy at home. After the festival, Beth picked us up and took us to the CBA party for a couple of hours before Charlie had to go to bed and Beth had to go home to rest up for the Heart Mini Marathon the next day.

On Monday night, John went to play up in the Dayton broomball league. He came home bragging that he had again scored a goal. He is still the league leading scorer, and he only played 2 of the 3 weeks! (Click on the image below to see the details.) Now only if they would spell our name right!

On Tuesday, Beth watched Charlie so we could go to a free sneak preview showing of the new Rolling Stones movie, Shine a Light. It was pretty good, but they didn't have the sound on in the theater for the first few minutes, so I'm sure we missed a lot of good stuff. It's clear those guys are not as young as they used to be. It seems crazy to me that I went to see them 10 years ago, thinking that it might be their last tour. And they're still going!

On Wednesday night we dog sat for Tashi and Foster while John's mom went up to Dayton for Debbie's retirement celebration. There was quite a bit of commotion around, with 3 dogs and a baby, plus band practice was that night. But Foster did really well with Charlie. Charlie really liked chasing Tashi around.



On Thursday afternoon we received word that the whole family (all 5 sisters) wanted to come down and meet us for dinner to see Charlie. We met up at Chili's, and Charlie put on a show. I'm not sure he knew what to make of all those women wanting to hold him! Everyone had a nice visit.



Aunt Barbara and Uncle Pat brought Charlie a new wagon. He took to it right away when we got home. Unfortunately, Aunt Annette got stranded going home on Saturday, because she had taken Skybus from Milwaukee to Columbus. Apparently those fares (she paid $50) were just too good to sustain the airline for very long, and Friday was their last day of operation. Aunt Debbie managed to get her a ticket back home, so we hope she got home safely.

Well, the daffodils are back out again, which means it is one year since I started this blog. What a journey we've been on! Happy Spring!

New Teeth!

Charlie was not himself at daycare on Tuesday, and Tuesday evening he had bouts of unconsolable crying, where we just had to hold him and rock him until he calmed down. That night, he woke up a couple of times, just crying miserably in his crib. Normally when he wakes and cries he would be standing at the side of the crib, reaching for us to pick him up. But he was just lying there, almost moaning as he cried. We gave him a bit of Tylenol, and that seemed to help. But when John tried to rub under his left ear, he pulled away.

Thinking it was an ear infection bothering him, I took him to the doctor on Wednesday morning. I also wanted to get the rash on his cheek checked out. Turns out, his ears were fine. But a look in his mouth discovered his 1 year molars coming in! On the top left side, there was some blood under the gums, either from the natural teething process, or maybe because his mouth had been bumped and bruised the area. Either way, that is clearly what was causing him pain!

We were advised to continue the Tylenol or Motrin, which we have, and he is doing much better. We were also given a prescription for some antibiotic ointment for his cheeks. We're not sure what the cause is of the spots, but hopefully this will clear it up.

Shopping Adventure

We decided to check out our new IKEA store on the Good Friday holiday last week. We arrived just as they opened. We spent a total of 3 hours walking through the store, including eating lunch. Charlie did not much care for the kids mac-n-cheese plate-- he only wanted to suck the cheese sauce off, and then pulled the pasta back out of his mouth! We were very impressed that they provided bottle warmers and disposable bibs in their restaurant. And it was nice to actually "try out" the high chairs that they sell there at the store.

Charlie fell asleep in the stroller by the end of our walk through the store, gathering lots of compliments on how "well behaved" he was. He was just plum tired!

We did end up spending over $300 at the end of it all, and then John spent a couple of hours assembling items on Friday and Sunday. I'm sure we'll be back soon. Maybe after the crowds start to die down a bit.

Cattywampus?

We had a big debate last night over whether "cattywampus" was indeed a word, and if so, what it means. According to Websters, it IS a word, and it's listed in the Wiktionary, but I did find multiple versions of spellings on the internet. It seems "cattywampus" is the most common spelling.

Speaking of spelling, I participated in a corporate spelling bee last week in Northern Kentucky. I had placed in the top 3 at our company spelling bee, so I made it on our "team." Yes, it was a team event. We did not win, but we placed tops out of any of the corporate teams, in 6th place. The only teams that beat us were from libraries and schools, so I think we did pretty well. I still don't know what halieutics or heliophobous mean. But I did learn a few new words!

Where's the Beef?

Charlie had his first real taste of meat on Friday. We fed him a chicken and veggies meal from a jar. He seemed to like that okay. The jar of ground turkey and broth did not go over so well on Monday, though.

Charlie also went to his first birthday party on Sunday. Connor Patrick Tunning was turning 1 year old on St. Patrick's Day, so the celebration was all decked out in green and gold. Charlie did not have any cake, but he watched how it was to be done (we'll see how he does in 6 weeks with his own birthday cake!)

He may not have had cake at the party, but on Saturday we went to Dairy Queen with his Grandma Connie and Great Aunt Debbie, and I shared a small spoon of my plain ice cream with him. He made a funny face, probably because it was cold.

Charlie's first blizzard, looking sharp!

Charlie experienced his first blizzard last week. On Friday morning it started snowing and blowing, and didn't stop until Saturday afternoon. Charlie's daycare was closed early on Friday, but before he was picked up, he got to have what they call a "sensory experience" with snow and ice cubes. Apparently he was more interested in the ice cubes than the pile of snow that was placed in front of him-- I'm sure because the ice cubes made sound when they were shaken in the cup!

The snow was up to Lucy's belly by Saturday morning. We hired a couple of kids and their dad (who had a snowblower) to help us clear the drive on Saturday. It was well worth the money. I had already scooped most of it once on Friday, just to prevent having to do it all at once at the end of the storm.

On Saturday afternoon, we decided to give Charlie his first haircut. It was a lousy job, since he kept moving his head. But it had to be done-- his hair was in his eyes! We took his 10 month photos that afternoon as well-- you can see some on both of our flickr sites. John also has the "before" and "after" photos of the haircut on his site.

Later that night, we had Chrissy come over to babysit, so I could go watch Entertaining Lucy at Liars Club. I had not been to see them play out in a few months. We weren't sure how the crowd would be, with all the snow that had fallen. It was awfully slow at first, and we wondered if the band should even unpack their things. But then the crowd picked up, and some people we never would have expected showed up. The place kept hopping until they closed down.

On Sunday the sun came out and the snow was half gone by the end of the day. Today it is at least 60 degrees outside. It would be a great day to take Charlie out for a walk after work, but I have to go participate in a corporate spelling bee, representing Cincinnati Bell. More later on that!

First Bite

I received my first "incident report" from Charlie's daycare this week. Apparently in a struggle over a toy, Charlie was bitten on the arm. It didn't break skin-- you can see a photo on John's flickr site. I'm not surprised-- Charlie has such fun playing tug of war with Lucy and her toys, that he probably thought it was funny to pull back when someone tried to pull a toy away (or maybe HE was the one doing the stealing!) Apparently it didn't phase him much. I'm not sure you can even still see the mark on his arm.

Grandma and Grandpa Knepper sent Charlie a "car" that he can push as he learns to walk. So far, he has figured out how to run all the sound buttons and lights while sitting behind it. Now we just need to teach him where to hold on so he can stand behind it and take a couple of steps. I'm sure it won't be long-- they said he let go and stood on his own for a couple of seconds yesterday at daycare.

Charlie continues to love the Hummingbird room and playing with all of his friends there. The other day, he fell asleep on a buggy ride! He's been getting to taste lots of interesting new foods there, also, like grilled cheese, broccoli, and tater tots.

Go Obama

Next Steps

Charlie has been making those next steps toward walking. When I picked him up from daycare on Friday, he was standing holding on to an exersaucer near the sofa. I sat on the sofa and gestured for him to come to me. I held out my hands, and one by one he grabbed them. Then he took two steps toward me. It was the first time I'd seen him do anything but shuffle his feet a little while he was standing and holding on to something.

He definitely has 3 teeth on top now. John's already brought up the fact that based on family history, he'll be needing some braces! I agreed, especially since it looks like he inherited the Knepper mouth (small jaw) and his Daddy's teeth (big)!

In other milestones, Charlie had his first pancakes (at least outside of what he may have had at daycare) on Saturday at the Original Pancake House. He sure did enjoy them. He also went to his first carwash on Sunday, and seemed to enjoy looking through the windows at the machinery.

At home, we've had to remove Lucy's bell from the back door. It was hanging from a ribbon on the doorknob, and with Charlie getting around now, we're having to tie up all the loose cords hanging from the window treatments. I'm going to have to sew a bell in the end of a sock or something, and hang that on the door. Right now, Lucy keeps nosing at the cloth we have hanging there to wipe her paws with, and I think she is confused that it makes no sound.

As for the adults in the household, John's band has a gig again this coming Saturday night, and this time I've arranged a babysitter so I can go to watch. I also did my civic duty this afternoon and went to vote in the presidential primary. This was an early vote, since I'll have a schedule tomorrow that would make it difficult for me to get to my polling place. Since I've lived in Ohio since the first presidential race I was old enough to vote in, I've never felt like my vote counted as much as it does this year. We also had a couple of issues to vote for, so it was well worth the extra time and effort to go out of my way. I'll be interested to see what happens in the coming days.

Cheeseburger?

So while I was out playing broomball one night last week, Charlie had his first meat. John decided to slip him a bit of his McDonalds cheeseburger. I wish I'd been there to see his expression. I wonder what else the boys did while I was out?..... I was out a lot-- our Fountain Square team made it all the way to the championship game before we lost, so I had 4 games downtown last week.

Charlie is now pulling up to stand on anything that will hold still long enough for him to do so. Poor Lucy has had more than a fistfull of hair pulled on as he tries to use her to steady himself. He has also discovered the back door. He likes to crawl over to the door, pull himself up, and look out the window, often banging on it for emphasis.

It looks like Charlie is getting at least one of his top middle teeth, so he's been drooling like crazy. He's also sticking his tongue out a lot, probably feeling the different feel of the teeth.

The separation anxiety that typically sets in at about 9 months is definitely taking hold. There are some times that I just can't walk through the room without picking him up, or else he starts screaming. There are still times when only John can comfort him, though, so I don't worry too much about him being only mama's boy.

Grandma Connie came over this weekend to spend time with Charlie for her birthday. He showed her how he gets food all over his face while eating with his hands, and then we cleaned him up in the bath. They had lots of giggles together, and she saw how fast he moves on all fours now.

I'm taking Charlie back to the doctor this afternoon to look at his ear, which he's been pulling on again since yesterday. He wasn't sleeping well at all this weekend, and I wonder if the infection hasn't returned.