Summer Pictures

Our Summer

So as it turns out, we have been having way too much fun this summer. Playing with Charlie has become so much fun that I have severely neglected updating the blog. My apologies for that. I am going to try to do better this fall, because you all should see how adorable he is on a regular basis.

Charlie has become a happy, babbling, running kid. He loves to play with anything that moves, especially trains, cars, trucks, motorcycles, and boats. He is learning to sing, but currently only sings key words in the song. He "talks" all the time, repeating everything we say. Sometimes that is hilarious and other times it makes us realize how ridiculous our words are. Funny how a 20 month old can make you rethink how you speak. He is running most places and loves to dance. He can recognize and say all of the letters in the alphabet, and most colors. He is learning to count, but currently skips 4, 7 and 8 when counting to ten. After accomplishing any of these things, he enthusiastically cheers for himself and expects others to do the same.

When we ask him what his favorite parts of the summer have been, he answers "beach, sand, shovel, boat, seashell, water, seagull." He loved going to the beach with his Pop, Nana, and Uncle Pratt. Playing in the sand was a huge hit. He wanted to dig and play in the sand for hours, sometimes even eating the sand. He was not sure about the ocean at first, but loved it by the end of the trip. I was sorry to leave the most perfect, constant entertainment of the beach. No day was ever dull and Charlie was so tired from playing that nap and bedtime were a breeze. We are already counting the days to the trip next year!

If he does not tell you about the beach when you ask he what he liked best about the summer, then he will tell you, "monkey, giraffe, shovel, digger." We spent a long vacation in Columbia with Grandpa, Grandma, and Aunt "CC" Thompson. Charlie got to ride in one of Grandpa's big machines and couldn't stop smiling the whole time. We also had a very fun trip to the zoo where we got to feed the giraffes and "play" with the gorillas. Grandma made a sandbox for Charlie that was a huge hit as well. It was a wonderful trip!

We are sorry to see the summer end and school begin, but we are so excited about all of the new things Charlie will continue to amaze us with. We are so thankful to have him in our family and cannot even remember what we did before he was around.

Charlie's Sounds

Charlie's First Snow

Charlie experienced snow for the first time in January.  To be honest, he was not all that fond of it.  But really, who would be if all you did was sit in it?  He tolerated the cold under his bottom for a few minutes, long enough to take some pictures, but then was more than ready to get inside the warm house.  Please note the Ziploc bags on his feet.  This is the Southern, "It never snows here" attire.  

First Haircut

While I hesitated to admit it, it was becoming blazingly obvious that Charlie needed a haircut.  For evidence, please see prior posts and note the long pieces of hair hanging in his face or floating in the breeze.  Corey had been wanting to cut Charlie's hair for a while, and I had resisted.  When Charlie himself would grunt in frustration at the long pieces that were irritating his eyes, I finally gave in to the idea.  We decided that taking him to a salon was out of the question because he would never sit still and let a stranger mess with his head.  So we decided to open Thompson Cut 'n' Style in our own bathroom.  This is normally a full service salon de spa, but for this event, we allowed one cut with no shampoo, color, or style on the books.  This client was particularly difficult and resisted being wrapped in a towel.  When the fancy clippers emerged and turned on with a buzz, he really became rather uncontrollable.  You would have thought we were hurting the child the way he screamed.  We have never experienced such a client in all the years the Cut 'n' Style has been in operation.  Finally, we had to remove him from his seat and I held him while Corey finished the trim.  The final result was breathtakingly handsome if I do say so myself.  By far, our best cut ever.  And Charlie looked so grown up, I almost didn't recognize him.  He now admits that he may have overreacted to the haircut and is much more subdued when we have to trim it again.  Deep down, he knows the ladies love it, so he will suffer for them.  Please note, no photos were taken of the actually cutting, to protect the reputation of the client.

Charlie loves trucks!

Charlie absolutely loves anything with wheels, especially trucks.  What a great treat that his Grandpa works for John Deere and sells big trucks!  We took a field trip to Grandpa's office where Charlie test drove every one of the trucks.  His glee was evident in his face, the constant clapping, and the continuous "buurrrr" sounds he was making.  This was better than Christmas!  We can only hope his fascinations with big trucks is one that he will outgrow....