Tanglewood Farms

I had heard about a miniature animal petting farm from our friends, The Hardys, and I have wanted to take Charlie for the longest time. The rain kept us from going in October, and we have been super busy every weekend in November. Finally, this weekend we were able to make a trip to Tanglewood Farms in Canton. We couldn't have picked a more perfect weekend. The weather was gorgeous, and we had the entire place to ourselves.

I was not quite sure how Charlie would feel about the animals, but he was so brave. He walked right up to all of them, big or small, and was not afraid to feed and pet them. Charlie liked the chickens and roosters the best. He enjoyed chasing the birds around the pen trying to pet them. Nick liked the miniature cows, and I was worried that I wasn't going to be able to get him to leave their pen. I have decided that I want to adopt a miniature goat because they were my favorite.

It was just such a great day with my boys. I can't wait to take Charlie back next year. It is definitely a place worth visiting again.

Look Who's Talking Now

Charlie is talking up a storm these days. He is still probably behind most children his age, but Nick and I could care less. We are so proud of the progress he has made in the past few months, and we are happy to brag about his accomplishments. Here are a few of the words that Charlie has started to say since our last update:

on

off

milk

hi

moon

book

eye

nose

duck

dog

it's dark

two

car

bear

apple

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family. Our little family has so much to be grateful for this year...health, the love of our families, new life, Nick's job, being a stay-at-home mom, the list goes on and on. Although we may not reflect on these blessings as much as we should, Nick and I know how truly fortunate we are, and we are so thankful for another great year!

We went over to Granddaddy and Oma's in the morning to spend some time with everyone before they ate. Charlie had a blast playing outside with everyone and really liked sledding down the hill in the front yard on a piece of cardboard. After we visited for a while, Charlie and I headed back to the house for a nap, and Nick stayed to eat with the family.

After nap time, we headed over to Grandpa and Grandma's house for round two of Thanksgiving. My parents have been renovating their kitchen for months, and Thanksgiving was the big reveal. What a beautiful kitchen indeed! We played for a while and then sat down to a lovely meal. Our picky eater even ate the turkey and a roll!

It was a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Tis' the Season

Oh my, I do love Christmas! More specifically, I love decorating for Christmas. I decided to set up our holiday decorations the weekend before Thanksgiving so that we could get some other things done over Nick's time off. I had to do some creative rearranging of my normal displays considering Charlie can reach just about everything these days.

It was fun introducing Charlie to the tree for the first time. He immediately called the ornaments balls and wanted to touch all of them. I told him that none of us could touch the ornaments with our hands, but that we could look at them with our eyes. Before I knew it, Charlie was getting his face as close to the ornaments as possible to get a better look with his eyes....too funny! For the most part, it has been pretty easy to keep him away from the tree because it is set up in the living room at the front of the house (out of sight, out of mind). We'll see if that continues to be the case as the month goes on.

Thanksgiving with Friends

Last weekend we met up with about two dozen of our college friends, their spouses, fiances, and kiddos to celebrate Thanksgiving. This has become an annual tradition ever since we graduated in 2002. Our friends, Kim and Carl, always graciously host the event at their home. They provide the turkey, and everyone else brings their favorite side dish. It is a true feast! It is also a great excuse to get everyone together at the same time. Nick and I look forward to this special time every year, and we are so happy to be able to share it with Charlie.

Last year Charlie was the first baby out of our group of friends, but this year he had some company. He was joined by his three month old pal, Cayla. It did not surprise us at all when Charlie headed straight for Cayla. He got some more big brother practice and even got to help try to calm her down when she was sad and hold he bottle when she was eating. When he wasn't helping out with Cayla, Charlie was busy Swiffering Kim's floors and raiding her Tupperware cabinet. Charlie also had a great time hanging out with all of the big boys. He took a particular liking to our friends' Dave and Clay. He was not the least bit shy about demanding to be picked up and insisting on their attention. He really was a perfect little guy considering he was in a totally unbabyproofed home and was out past his normal bedtime that night.

Pumpkin Rolling

While I was hosting the shower today, the Shaw boys (Charlie, Daddy, and Grandaddy) hung out at our house. When I got home from the shower, I found the boys rolling our old Halloween pumpkins down the hill in the front yard. Charlie thought that this was just about the greatest game ever invented and was squealing with joy when I got out of the car. As soon as the pumpkin hit the bottom of the hill he went running after it. Poor Grandaddy and Daddy got quite a workout carrying pumpkins up and down the hill for Charlie. I am sure they will all sleep well tonight after all of the pumpkin rolling fun they had this afternoon.

Congratulations Dani!

Today I had the honor of co-hosting a baby shower for my beautiful sister-in-law, Dani, and my future niece, Rylee. This is Dani's first baby, and she is due on December 20th...only five more weeks!

I hosted the shower with Vicki, my other beautiful sister-in-law, and Abby, the girls' best friend. My in-laws' generously lent us their home for the shower, and we had a great time filling it with everything pink and brown (Rylee's nursery colors). I had way too much fun getting the decorations ready for the shower, and I made at least six trips to Joanne's Fabric in the past two weeks for supplies. I LOVE planning a party...especially for someone I love. The day went just as planned, and Dani got a ton of supplies for her new baby girl. Rylee now has more clothes than I do, and she is the proud owner of a pack-n-play, high chair, stroller, car seat, and other various baby gadgets. What a lucky and very loved little girl!

BIG Brother in Training

Think what you will, but Charlie now has a baby doll so that he can practice how to be a good and gentle big brother. The doll is actually one of my old Cabbage Patch dolls from way back when. Grandma had suggested bringing it over a while back, but I was not so sure about giving my son a doll. Actually, I was more concerned about what Nick would think. I ran the idea by Daddy to see what he thought. He wasn't trilled, but he said that my mom could bring it over for him. Later that week, I read an article about how to prepare your toddler for the arrival of a sibling, and it suggested using a baby doll. So, I decided to introduce Charlie to the doll.

Well, let's just say it was love at first sight. I've mentioned before that Charlie adores babies, and it was no different for the doll. Within the first 24 hours, he had to sleep with the doll and even chose to bring it to the store with us instead of Lovey (gasp). I started to get a little worried at that point, but the initial obsession has died down. Now, he will see the baby and give it a quick hug and kiss or take it with him somewhere, but most of the day that baby doll goes untouched.

I have to say it has been very reassuring to watch him with the baby doll. He really does try to be gentle and just wants to love on it. I pray that the same will be true when his little brother arrives. Charlie really is a little lover. He has always enjoyed cuddling more than most of his little buddies, and he has become very generous with his hugs and kisses. I hope that we can make him feel secure enough when the baby is born that he will continue to shower all of us with love.

I snapped this picture the other morning. While I was preparing breakfast, I looked into the family room to see Charlie hugging the baby doll and rubbing its head sweetly. What a wonderful big brother in training!

The Simplest Things

If there is one thing that Charlie has taught me, it is that you can find immense joy in the simplest things in life. Today, Charlie was thrilled to play in a pile of fallen leaves. He jumped, rolled, kicked, carried, and threw those leaves for over 30 minutes. Oh, the simple things!