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.