Happy First Birthday Charlie!

Well we made it a year! Charlie is one now. Dr. measurements are 31.5"and 27 lbs 7 oz. The birthday boy got to have a party at Nana's lake with super-special duck cake and a party at home with his brothers. Fun fun fun!

More fishing pictures.

Charlie likes him some birthday cake.

The boys playing toys on Charlie's first birthday.

What a face.

Well, it is definitely summer-time in NC. The boys are loving getting to go to the YMCA waterpark and are starting swimming lessons on Monday. Summer is going to be busy!

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We're Back!

Well- I had better hurry and get a quick post in before Charlie turns one tomorrow! It has been a hectic time since Easter and lots going on. Our one week trip to Oklahoma turned into a one month trip. After much updating and supervising we have the house in Rose Hill on the market now. Now let's see if we can sell it!

Now for some video. Easter at Grandma and Grandpa Newton's was a lot of fun. Big hugs to all our big cousins for hiding eggs for us. Andrew and Aden are now hard-core egg hunters. Here's the proof!

For Memorial Day weekend we took a quick trip to Nana's for some fun on the lake. The boys had a blast. Daddy took them fishing and they got an adventurous boat ride from cousin Alex.

We had a really great time! So fun to spend time with our Michigan cousins.

Rub a Dub Dub

Here are the three boys in the tub. Charlie's having a big boy bath with his brothers!

Charlie showing off his svelte figure.

Aden blowing some bubbles and rocking his cowboys boots.

Aden and Andrew in the helicopter at the NC zoo.

The big boys playing at the Kernersville Chick-Fil-A.

Charlie LOVES his Daddy.

Our sweet Charlie.

And last here is a little video of Charlie yelling 'hi' to everyone. He is going to be one loud kid!

Charlie is getting pretty good at crawling too. I will try to post a video in the next week. I know I missed all of February, but I will try to make up for it.

Charlie Rides

Here is another quick video of Charlie, 'riding' his car he got from U. Randall and A. Sandy. He wants to go so bad!

Christmas Fun and More

Well, we survived Christmas. We got to spend a very fun and special Christmas morning in North Carolina with the boys. It was definitely one of my best Christmases ever. So fun with all the anticipation and excitement. They were thrilled with every single thing. We put out milk and cookies for Santa, hung our stockings on the staircase and sprinkled magic reindeer food in the yard. Aden and Andrew must have been very good to get MONSTER trucks from Santa Claus. Andrew's 'faborite' is the Pirate's Treasure chest, chock full of teeny tiny pieces.

The day after Christmas we drove up to Michigan for a week. It was good getting to see everyone up there, but we hated the way we all got sick! (except for Charlie)! Sadly being sick seemed to dominate our time up there, BUT we got to go ice fishing anyway. Thanks Aunt Kathleen and Uncle Joe for an unforgettable experience. Here's what I learned: you really need a shelter and a heater! WOW was it cold on the lake. Andrew couldn't get enough, but I finally convinced him to stop fishing and get in out of the 20 degrees and wind. And if you are wondering this is after our stomach bug bout.

Happy Charlie- ready to eat at Nana's

Nana and the boys

Andrew was a little disappointed that they didn't actually catch a fish.

Gabli Cousins - We missed you Grace!

Nana and Charlie

Happy after a bath.

Alex on the lake. Brrrrrr!

After we got back from Michigan, we finally made good on the promised trip to Chuck E. Cheese's for going 2 weeks without a potty accident. Good times. Aden and Andrew loved every minute of it. Well, right up until we had to leave...

Andrew is all business shooting peanuts into the animal's mouths.

Charlie had fun too!

Aden driving a MONSTER truck at Chuck E. Cheese's.

We managed to get a nice day here and went out to the 'new zoo'. Andrew and Aden love taking pictures. This is so cute how Andrew got his reflection while photographing the meerkat.

Best Buddies (at least for the moment!)

We have gotten back into the swing of things at home, but there is a bit of a Christmas 'hangover'. It is a never ending battle of organization and new challenges. It is a wonderful adventure and we are lucky to be in it!

I'll leave you with Charlie sending out kisses to all.

Fun in the Snow

We recently had a snow storm here in Kernersville. I think there must have been around 6 inches! Everything was shut down. The boys got to use their snow clothes and our inflatable snow sled (thanks Aunt Kathleen!). There is a house for sale (the 'giant's house') that has a great hill/backyard for sledding. It was getting pretty worn out by the time this picture was taken. The boys thought it was great fun!

Here is the little snowman Andrew and I managed to craft. Andrew was very upset that I used leaves for the eyes. "Those not eyes! They leaves!" as he tried to scrape them out. Poor little blind snowman.

We got to take Daddy with us the the 'new zoo' (Greensboro Natural Science Center). That was really fun in the snow! Here's Daddy as the praying mantis and Aden as the hungry ant.

Charlie is just growing up right before our eyes. He now has 2 bottom teeth and is a happy hungry boy.

Aden aka Mr. Inquisitive- couldn't leave this Christmas package from Grandma alone. Here he is using a flashlight to peek into the hole he made. Oh how hard to wait until Christmas morning!!

We have had a pretty good Christmas day. Pretty crazy and messy, but still fun. I will post some more Christmas pictures when we get back from Michigan! Merry Christmas all!

Christmas Card Preview

This year when Paul put up our tree and the boys and I were to decorate it. Well, the only decoration I could find was a roll of tinsel in the box with the tree. So we put it on the tree with the lights. Aden and Andrew found some red crepe paper so we put that on the tree. Then Andrew found a balloon we had been playing with and put that in the tree. So we decorated our tree this year with balloons. And we think it's great. A fun new tradition I hope. And there are also some random Blue ornaments on there too. I want to find the box with the other decorations though. There are some new 'classics' in there I wish we had on the tree. Oh well, one of these days I will live in one place...

The balloon tree in it's first edition.

Chucklin' Charlie.

He digs the W the P crowd.

Just before the drool took over the front of his shirt

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I could not get a consensus on footwear, they had already been dressed in their new shoes 3 hours and somewhere they got taken off.

My favorite

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We have been getting ready for a very exciting Christmas! The boys are so fun and enjoying all the anticipation. We have sent Santa a letter, gotten a response, visited Santa, put up our tree, put up our Nativity scene (Thanks Aunt Michell!) and taken some pictures for our Christmas card.

What do you think? I think they look great in front of our Andrew's all-original idea balloon Christmas tree. Also about Aden's forehead; he does have a small scratch on his forehead. The band-aid was all his doing. He found it, opened it and put it on his boo-boo all by himself. Pretty proud of himself on that count. And I think it was a world-record for continuous band-aid wearing in our house. Almost 36 hours! Good job, Aden!

Aden is all about Santa Claus!

I'm not sure what Charlie is thinking. Maybe 'what is it?'

This is the only picture I could get of Andrew while we were at 'Breakfast with Santa'.

He did not sit on Santa's lap. ;-P

Charlie is trying so hard to catch up with the boys. He is a great babbler and 'says' mamama and dadadada, but blowing raspberries is his favorite pastime. I think we really might be getting close to a tooth. I think 6 months old is a fine time to get a tooth. Plus he has actually been cranky lately.

Trying to post more and more often. Inspired by my BFF Lisa to create a memory book from the blog postings! You can thank her if you are reading this in a book!

Charlie Barley

Charlie is growing up so fast! He is finally rolling over, and trying to get somewhere, somehow. I am content with him staying where I put him. I will just get the twins consistently out of mess-making and he is going to start up! I can't wait.

Charlie on Grandma- She better keep eating her Wheaties!

GROSS ALERT!

For those that can stand a little gore I am including a picture of my MRSA wound. This is 8 days after picking on an ingrown hair. The sore is about the size of a quarter. I am all better after 9 days of IV Vancomycin and 6 more days of Bactrim.

I am now an official germophobe!