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!