February comes to a close

As February comes to a close, I realize that I have forgotten to write here for almost 2 weeks! Charlie has been so busy in that time.

For starters, he continues to add new words daily. Some new ones include arm, finger, brush, elevator, and giraffe. Since we visited the zoo in Atlanta, he's caught on to the word panda, and uses it frequently (when he wants to watch Kung Fu Panda). He's also starting to combine two words together-- as in "this one," "this way," "more milk" or "more cracker." He has learned to call Beth by name (sounds like "beff") and when he has a "boo-boo" he shows it to me and says "kiss."

He's been complaining a lot about his mouth having a boo-boo. We're convinced that he's getting his 2-year molars. He puts his fingers way back in his mouth a lot, and he wants to eat a lot of really soft foods most of the time (yogurt and applesauce are common).

There's a new friend in Charlie's classroom at daycare. Lauren, who was in his infant room, has been moving up to Busy Bees. Yesterday when she was dropped off she was very upset. I told Charlie to go pat her on the back and tell her it was okay, and he did go over and pat her on the leg. It was very sweet. He also likes the girl Charlie in his room. Apparently she calls him Charles, and he calls her Charlotte, even though everyone else calls them both Charlie. They both have the same big cheeks. It's very cute.

Last weekend John took Charlie up to Columbus for Ryan Zimmerman's birthday party. Charlie had a lot of fun bouncing around at the play place, driving little cars, and playing with hula hoops. He did fall once and bump his chin, but it barely got a bruise and he was fine. He came home with a hand-me-down pirate ship, and that has been a favorite toy this past week.

On Wednesday of this week, I had a work event at the Cyclones hockey game. Charlie and John got to come with me. We had great seats for the game, down in the 3rd row from the ice in the corner by the goal where the Cyclones were shooting in the first period. We only stayed for one period because then it was Charlie's bedtime. But he enjoyed it while he was there. When Twister, the team mascot (which looks like a grey funnel of a tornado wearing a hockey jersey) skated out onto the ice, Charlie shouted "Elmo!" I guess to him, anything furry is an "elmo." He also pointed at the skaters and said "hockey" and slapped his hand on his knee to the beat of the music when it would play. I was concerned he would think the noise was too loud when the played the horn when goals were scored (usually with a loud noise he covers his ears), but he was fine with it. Thank goodness he did not seem to pick up any of the bad words the die hard fans were shouting at the refs and the other team!

This morning Charlie was digging through his toybox and found his phone (the spare cordless phone from which we've removed the battery). He took it and climbed into his rocking chair (which was his Grandma's when she was little) and pretended to talk to his Grandma on the phone. He kept saying "bye bye bomma!" ("Bomma" is how he says "Grandma.")

With all the cuteness, there are also some tantrums. He has picked up a behavior from his classmates at daycare-- to lay face down on the floor and pout or cry. So far it does not come along with pounding fists or kicking feet, but I'm sure those are coming. Sometimes he also just goes and stands with his face to the wall to pout. We try not to react, and usually it does not last long.

March will be a busy month. We're looking forward to a trip to Florida to see family, and also make Charlie's first trip to the beach. Mommy has two trips out of town this month, also-- so Daddy will be on his own with Charlie. The first is for work and is just one night, but the second is for three nights over the weekend.