Abe Lincoln

Sometimes my kid just blows me away.  On the way to school this morning, he was reading out-loud to me from the back seat.  Here is our conversation:

Carter: The books says that Abraham Lincoln died 100 years ago, but that means he died when he was 103.  That isn't true.

Me: (after checking the copyright and showing it to him) This book was written in 1965, so he had died 100 years before they wrote it.

Carter: Oh. Granddad was 13 when they wrote this book.  And Danny Ainge was 6.

What? You don't have Danny Ainge's birthday memorized? I didn't even know that Carter knew who he was... let alone could calculate his age at the 100th anniversary of Lincoln's death.  This kid is awesome.

11 Months Old!

Yesterday was Charlie's 11 month birthday. It has been a crazy month, settling into our temporary home with my parents, adjusting to the ridiculous heat, and getting back into the swing of our new "regular" life. I'm so happy that the packing and moving is over for now... It is much easier to play with Charlie without boxes towering overhead! Charlie has been busy this month!

This month...

• Charlie has had separation anxiety, especially with strangers. Dropping him off at the YMCA's daycare for an hour each day hasn't been possible... he cries until they come and find me 10 minutes later. Let's hope he gets over this before fulltime daycare starts next month!
• He's been learning some new words. His vocabulary is: dada, brother, get it, ball and the sign language for "more" and "all done". In the mornings, he signs more and says brother over and over until I bring him to see Carter. Precious! 
• A favorite game is "Goodnight, Wake-up!".  Charlie lays his head down and pretends to go to sleep until we yell, "wake up, wake up!"... it is super adorable.
• Some new teeth are in! Charlie has 7 now, and hopefully he will have a little break before number 8 and the molars start coming. Teething was super rough this month. 
• Charlie loves to climb the stairs. We have to watch really closely, or he will scale the entire staircase when we aren't looking - eeek! 
• He still loves balls more than any other toy. He loves to put the balls in a small basketball hoop, or sit in the pack&play and throw dozens of balls out onto the floor. It's a fun game! 
• Of course, he is still eating lots. He's a carb-lover, and particularly likes bread and goldfish crackers. Frozen cherries and frozen peas are a close second. 
• Charlie refuses to sleep through the night. He is still waking up 2-3 times every night and often takes some convincing to go back to sleep. We will be working very hard on this, so he can sleep through the whole night before I return to work next month. 
• He seems to think he can pull up and climb on everything. Who is this little monkey child?! He hasn't been interested in walking - just scaling furniture. Sigh.loves to swim! 
• We have been taking advantage of Grandma and Granddad's pool, and he especially enjoys the waterfall. He is trying to figure out how to grab the water. So cute! 
• He has been enjoying having so much family around. Aunt Kiki is here, visiting before her wedding next weekend. He loves her!! He has also had visits with Grammy, Aunt Jessica, Uncle Ryan, and cousin Grayson, and lots of great friends. It is so good to be back with so many of our loved ones! 

Charlie's personality is really developing, and it is fun to see how his little mind works. He is so interested in figuring out how things work, and putting things together. He is starting to get much more vocal to try and express what he wants/doesn't want. I'm excited to start planning a celebration for his birthday, but a little wistful that my little one is already getting so big. I wish I could have just a little more time with my baby, but toddler-hood seems to be sneaking up quickly.We sure do love our little almost-one-year old!
 

Oh Yeah... I Have Two Kids.

It appears that in the hustle and bustle of preparing for our cross-country (north-south, obv.) move, I forgot to blog about something major.  Charlie’s monthly birthday blogs have become an easy little habit... but I seem to have forgotten that I have TWO kids. Yeah, oops.

Carter just had his 6th birthday (on May 10th), and it is really hard to believe how fast time is passing by.  He is an AMAZING kid.  He drives my up a wall, but I love him fiercely.  He knows how to push my buttons, he manages to make me laugh constantly, and he is a crazy smart kid.  Have you ever wondered how much older/taller/heavier you are than Minute Bull or President Obama?  Those are the kind of things that are constantly on Carter’s mind.  So, like any resourceful 6-year old, he googles it.  He knows the most insanely random facts (the year John Wilkes Booth was born? The shortest player ever in the NBA? Easy!).  I’m obviously one of those super braggy moms, but rightfully so.  He is a math whiz - calculating ages, comparing weights, and solving problems faster than most adults can... and he’s already reading beginning chapter books on his own.  His little big brain is so busy that it can be hard to concentrate on things and listen to his parents/teachers/everyone, but he is so absolutely amazing and is improving every day.

On his birthday, I interviewed him.  I’m hoping to make this a yearly tradition for him and Charlie.  It’ll be so cute to look back over the years to see how their answers change.  Thanks to my trusty iphone, I recorded our interview... and I’ll write his answers exactly as he said them.  They are so him.

Me: What’s your favorite thing about school?
Carter: About school? Books.

Me: What’s one new thing that you want to try this year?
Carter: I would like to try shooting longer baskets.

Me: What is the best thing about being 5?
Carter: I had a really good memory.

Me: What makes you most excited about being 6?
Carter: Because it’s on my birthday and I’m so excited! I might be able to make longer baskets, really long baskets.

Me: What are you scared of?
Carter: I’m scared maybe of fire or lava because it might come in our house.

Me: What is your favorite sport?
Carter: Basketball

Me: What is your favorite thing to do?
Carter: Play the Playstation.

Me: What do you like most about our family?
Carter: I just love you so much. Yeah, that’s my favorite part about my family.

Me: What is your favorite book?
Carter: My favorite book is Amelia Bedelia.  It is so funny!

Me: What is your favorite color?
Carter: Red.

Me: Who is your favorite friend?
Carter: Layla.  You know Layla. (she lives around the corner in Vancouver)

Me: What would you like to be when you grow up?
Carter: A basketball player.

Me: On what team?
Carter: Well, I don’t know who I’m going to be drafted for.  I can’t decide.

Me: What’s your favorite food?
Carter: Potatoes and gravy or sweet potatoes or mashed potatoes and gravy and turkey and Thanksgiving dinner is my favorite food.

Me: What do you hope to never eat again?
Carter: What do brussel sprouts taste like? What is cabbage? I hope to never eat brussel sprouts again.

Me: What makes you the happiest?
Carter: It makes me the happiest when I make my brother laugh and when you do the love egg. Crack, crack, crack!

Me: What is your favorite game to play?
Carter: Quirkle.

My kid is awesome. In case you were wondering.
A very belated Happy Birthday to my first baby.