Kat's Wedding

We got back last night from our trip down to FL for Kat's wedding. We had an awesome condo right on the beach that we stayed in with Nate and Renae and their kiddos, and we had a great time seeing family and taking part in all the wedding festivities. It was sunny for the first 2 days we were there and we got in some quality beach time, which is good b/c a storm blew in Fri night and it was pretty rainy and overcast the rest of our stay. Alec was so excited about the wedding and getting to stay with his cousin Reid on the beach, so we were all really bummed when he got sick. He started to feel bad on the morning we left and by Friday he was a sick mess. He had a terrible fever, he couldn't sleep, he got a croupy cough, etc. It stinks to see your kids sick, especially during times like this, but he was a trouper and managed to still have a fun time despite feeling pretty crummy. We took him home after the rehearsal and left him with a sitter, which was great b/c he got a lot of sleep the night before the wedding. He did make it through the whole wedding and still managed to run around like a crazy man at the reception. I think he was just too excited to let the cold get the best of him. He, Reid and Quinn were adorable in the wedding! My camera got locked in a trunk during the ceremony, so I have almost no pictures, which is killing me b/c everyone looked so cute, but hopefully the photographer was able to capture some good shots of the kids. It was a really nice wedding and Kat was a beautiful bride. Sickness and all, we had a really fun time and we're bummed that it all went so fast.

Alec learned to boggy board with Dad

Aunt Kat and Charlie




This little man loved the beach





Cousins - despite some squabbling over toys, they had a wonderful time together. They are really good friends, despite their long distance relationship

Charlie laughing at his cousin

Headed to the rehearsal


After getting soaked in their clothes at the beach

Aunt Paulette and Charlie

Charlie and Jules, Kat's new step-daughter

These are the only 2 pics I have of the boys:( They look SO cute!


Some dancing with mom

One beat down boy

cousins





the last day was too cold for the beach, but bot for the hot tub



What a fun trip!

Savannah

The boys and I headed up to Savannah after the wedding to spend a few days with my Dad. Loretta is on vacation in Europe, so it was just us and Papa Randy. Alec got his very own set of real golf clubs from my Dad and Retta for his bday, and they were waiting for him when we arrived. He loves them, and got to play on the real course with my dad two times. The first day they played two holes and the second day they played three. Alec actually did really well, on one hole he made it in 7 strokes from the kids tees, and is really excited about golf. He couldn't wait to show Matt his new clubs (and pink golf balls) last night when we got home. Unfortunately, Charlie got Alec's cold, and we had to make a trip to the ER with him while in Savannah. He had croup and an ear infection, and was a pretty sad guy for a day, but the antibiotics, breathing treatment, and steroid shots worked wonders and he was a happy baby again by the time we left. His cough still sounds pretty bad, but otherwise he is back to his old self. Other than golf, we had fun riding around in the golf cart, swimming, playing basketball and t-ball, and running while on our short trip to Savannah. We are already looking forward to the trip back for Thanksgiving. Thanks Dad, we love you!

Headed to the course

Alec loved the golf cart


Maybe they will show these photos on TV one day while Alec is playing in a major:)



I love this one

Charlie thoroughly enjoyed the jumper my Dad had from when Alec was a baby, and decided that it worked well as a bed too.

If you look closely you can see the baby deer that was right up in my Dad's yard.

We discovered that the golf cart also has a perfect seat for Charlie

I attempted to play a little too

and our future golfer in training

Happy BDay Alec

(On the first day of school last week)
Hard to believe it, but our first baby boy turned 4 years old today! We had a fun b-day weekend, which started off with picking Grammy up at the airport! Then we had a small party with a few friends and neighbors on Saturday evening. Alec had a ball playing with the kids and we had a pinata in the yard, which was a big hit. Today he celebrated his actual b-day today at school. I had called a few weeks ago to see if Veolia (our trash and recycle company) did any sort of tours or anything, which they don't, but the plant manager was super nice and said he would do a private tour of the facility for Alec, so my mom and I surprised him with a trip to Veolia for his own private tour of the trash facility after school. It was quite possibly the cutest thing I have ever seen. Alec got to tour the dumping zone, he got to climb up in an actual truck, and check out the whole facility. It's funny b/c as he was telling the manager Jim about how he was a recycle can for Halloween last year we realized that Jim was actually the same guy we ran into last year who gave Alec his vest. Anyway, he ended up totally remembering Alec, which was cool and a very strange coincidence. It was a really fun thing to do and Alec really enjoyed it. He also had his first t-ball practice this afternoon and we ended the day with a quiet dinner at home where Alec got to open presents and play. All in all a great day!

Some stuff about Alec at 4:
* He has more energy than any other kid his age that I know. He is literally running circles around the house, climbing things, and jumping off of things w/i minutes of waking up every day and he never stops. He is SO physical and athletic. We struggle with ways to burn all of his energy and he is only 4. He learned to swim and ride a bike without training wheels this summer, he now rides his bike 3-4 miles with me each time I go for a run, and he has just started to run with me. Yes, run with me. We are signing him up for a little 1K race over Thanksgiving when we go to Savannah and I have been telling him about it and about how it is a long race and that the point of it is to run it all and not to win, which is a little hard for Alec to fathom b/c he is also very competitive. Anyway, it's a 3/4 mile run, so we decided we would do a little training. I took him out for the first time a few days ago and thought we would go 1/4-1/2 mile, but of course Alec never stopped and made it .8 miles on his first trip out. He was drenched in sweat and huffing and puffing, but he is so tough and determined. Matt laughed when I told him and said, "Great Erin, just what we need, Alec to be in even better shape." We know it will be really hard for him come the winter in Illinois b/c he does not do well with being couped up, but we are prepared and have him signed up for soccer, t-ball, indoor hockey, gymnastics and swimming. Wow, seems like a lot when I write it down, but believe me, even that won't tire out our little maniac.
* He loves his dad more than anyone in the world, he loves Charlie (although sometimes a little too much, we certainly have to work with him on being gentle with the baby,) he loves to mow the lawn and take out the trash, he loves to play with friends, he loves his toys (preferably his lego planes, his trash trucks, building track, and his doctor kit,) he loves to read stories before nap and bed (the only time of the day he sits still,) he loves to play games, he loves school and he loves the song "Urgent" by Foreigner.
* He sleeps 12 hours at night and about 70% of the time he takes a 2-3 hr nap (there are some perks to his craziness.)
* He is incredibly brave and adventurous - he is not afraid to do or try anything new, thus his diving this summer.
* He is very tough - we discover cuts, bumps and bruises on him all of the time and never know where they come from. He has taken a few really bad falls off his bike, one just last week where he went over the handle bars, and he always gets up, gets back on, and keeps going.
* He is very strong willed, opinionated and stubborn (unfortunately he got these traits from both of his parents) and this makes parenting him very challenging at times. He does not like to be wrong, he doesn't like to say he is sorry, and he will battle wills with us often, especially when a time-out is involved.
* He got a clean bill of health at his 4 year appt. He weighs 39 lbs and is 3 ft 5" tall. 75%. The doc said he looked great, and actually told me he was advanced, which may be a nice way to say a fearless lunatic, but he called it advanced:)
* He is very chatty and has a really deep voice for a 4 year old.
* He is very intuitive and perceptive and surprises us with a lot of the things he says, remembers and figures out.
* Like his dad, he has a great memory.
* He is wild, crazy and adorable and we love him so much.

Happy birthday Alec Randall aka Beanie Stout, Chonie Lonus, Chonie Bop, Bop and Bopster. You are exhausting and irresistibly lovable all at the same time:)

With his buddy Morgan at his party on Sat

My pics of the pinata didn't come out well

He got to open one present this morning before school, his own running/biking watch

Headed to school, Grammy has b-day treats for his classmates in her bag

With Jim at the trash center


I didn't get his first name, but this trash man's real last name is Dumper.




He got to keep all this stuff, plus a few Veolia baseball hats and a real pair of trash gloves.

Opening presents this evening

He got his own digital camera

and Operation

and lots of legos, Daddy is in heaven!

1/2 Year

I can hardly believe that little Charlie is half a year old today:( He is such a sweet and lovable little boy and he truly brings nothing but joy to our lives. We, and mama in particular, love him to pieces. We couldn't have asked for a better fit. In addition to my sap, here's some info about Charlie at 6 months:
* Still not crawling correctly, but he has the lunge from all fours down, and he can move across the floor.
* He sits up on his own, but not usually for long b/c his preferred position is on his belly. He also just figured out how to go from all fours back into a sit by himself.
* He started solids about 2 weeks ago and you would think he has been starving. He has inhaled everything I have given him (applesauce, banana, carrots, avocado, pear and oatmeal) and often cries when I am done feeding him b/c if it was up to Charlie he would never stop eating.
* He takes 2 - 3 naps a day and they vary in length. We usually get one long one, and he is super easy to put to bed - we just lay him in his crib and that's that.
* He slept through the night once, but has yet to since. He goes to bed about 7:30 and sleeps until about 7:30. I dream feed him before I go to bed around 10, and then he wakes up once a night to nurse. He is so fast and easy when he does wake up, that it doesn't bother me at all.
* He has gotten much more opinionated and will tell you, loudly, when he is bored with something, or when he wants something out of his reach, or when he wants to be picked up.
* Everything goes in his mouth.
* He has a huge, open mouthed smile and smiles all the time. He also has a great belly laugh.
* He loves to watch Alec and Brody, and Alec is probably the most successful at getting him to smile and laugh.
* He is super happy and he loves to be held, although he doesn't care who holds him. He is also such a people pleaser. I have been taking him to the gym with me for a few months and you would think he's famous there. They all LOVE him! Literally every time we go in people swarm him and there are always 3-4 people telling me how much he smiles or laughs at them. One girl told me that she thinks he likes her face b/c literally every time she looks at him he laughs.
* He had his 6 month appt yesterday. He weighed 19lbs 6 oz and was 27.25 inches tall. Only the 85%, which is crazy to us b/c he seems so huge. He did get two vaccines and a flu shot and he has been a little out of it since; just really sleepy and much more fussy than we are used to. Hopefully he will be back to himself by tomorrow.
* He is still a spitter, but he goes through phases, and sometimes has entire days when he doesn't spit up all (which is really amazing for my kids.)
* He is a trooper and has done great with all our adventures this summer. He loves to be in the jogging stroller, the baby hawk and the bike carrier, he did wonderfully at the pool, and he has been an easy and adaptable traveler. We are off to Kat's wedding in FL next week and then up to Savannah after that, so hopefully his easy going travel behavior continues.
Happy half year Charlie, aka Ruchie, Ruchie Pip, Pip, Beefcake Johnson, Beefcake Jones, Beefcake. Thanks for being such a perfect baby. We LOVE you!!




Some of his bizarre crawling antics







Another firework display after a minor league baseball game we went to - he loved every minute of it.