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.