Charlie...

Wow! Look at me!! Twice in one month. I wanted to write a bit about what Charlie has been up to. He is such a big kid now. It's hard to remember sometimes that he is just 2 and 3 months, some days I have to verbally remind myself so I have a little more patience. But I wanted to share with family and friends some of the fun things Charlie is saying and learning.

He has learned his ABC's and what they say. He will say "Mommy, the H says *pants like a dog*". He has something for each letter. He has a board with letter magnets, plus some on the fridge. He also points out letters everywhere we go. It's so fun.

Joel and I are having a war over certain types of words. I got him saying 'soda' instead of 'pop', so Joel wants him to say 'samich' instead of 'sandwich' (so 'he has a little white trash in him'... haha!). Random little things that keep life interesting.

Some of my favorites right now are 'thanks' not 'thank you' anymore, the way please sounds like 'peas', and if you ask him 'why?' he will say 'cuz' accenting the c with a southern type drawl. It is so cute! Last night when we were leaving Joel's parents house he said "no way Jose" to Joel's dad and it was so funny!

He has been speaking in understandable sentences, too. For a while he would just babble between 2 words and expect everyone to understand, but now they are pretty clear. We went for a walk on Thursday and he said such things as "airplane flying in the sky" and "they flying a kite". May not be 'perfect', but for a 2 year old it is great.

In other information, he loves riding his bike, now outside. He still reads his books, but has his letters too. He loves sliding, running, and any type of ball he can throw, hit, or kick. He is very active, but very sweet and helpful, too. He likes to clean up his spot at the table, including putting dishes in the sink and wiping the table and floor. He will remind others to do the same. He loves to throw stuff away, help take out trash, really help with anything I do. He will help move and fold laundry (really that last part isn't very helpful!). I have to clean bathrooms and such when he is asleep because he doesn't understand why he cant help spray cleaner. He is good and cleaning his toys and always has his room pretty clean. He is so fun!!!

Well, that is my update. Now I need to print this and put it in his baby book to save myself some time. I hope you enjoy. I will try to update more often like this. It allows me to tell more details instead of summarizing months at a time.

Not too much exciting news going on here, but I am trying to keep posting, and we had family pictures, so bear with me. :) I hope you all enjoy the pictures I chose. Amy is an amazing photographer, and you must know that all these were taken in her livingroom while her twin 20(ish) month girls were playing, and poor Charlie wanted to join in. If you want to see more, check on facebook, or let me know and I will send them your way. I will be printing some for our photo album, our wall of family pics, and then for family members. If you want one, let me know which one and what size. If not, and you are family, I will choose.

In other news, it is finally starting to warm up here in the freezing midwest. It is 37 degrees at the moment, supposed to be in the 40s all weekend, and maybe even 50 on Monday. I know it doesn't sound to warm to my Cali friends, but after this horrible winter and constant white, I am looking forward to getting outside with Charlie.

Charlie is doing great! Growing too fast! He can count to 13, knows all his colors, knows all his animals and sounds (including some odd animals that I didn't try to teach), and has about half of the letters in the alphabet down. Though he calls "P" "popcorn" because his letters video he loves has that as the reminder. It's really cute.

Joel is working a lot this week, but after not working a single solid week yet this year, it is good. Between the cold, the snow, and running out of materials, it has not been a good few months for any construction. He should stay busy through the summer with this job, though.

I am just busy being a mom and wife. I love staying home with Charlie, but I also got a job doing housekeeping every other week. It's not a lot of money, but even a little helps, and it gives me something to do where I can take Charlie. I have also been reading a lot, working on scrapbooking our wedding, and trying to clean out the spare room.

In a final note, the adoption is going along as planned. As of now, Charlie legally belongs to me and his guardian ad litem (sp?) from West Des Moines. That part was completed in December. It's about a 6 month waiting period in Iowa for the adoption to be complete, so around the end of April we will start the final paperwork and sign up for a court date to be right at the allotted timeline. Joel has to have a lot of interviews and we both have to sign a lot of papers, but really there is not much to a step-parent adoption. It is just a lot of waiting, and a lot of money. Totally worth it all, and more, though. As for us as a family, we are wonderful! Joel is an incredible father, and Charlie is an easy going and fun child (most of the time). He sees Joel as his daddy and knows no different. It has been an easy and wonderful transition. Thank you to all those who have helped and supported us, and continue to support us. :D