He's a walking man

Still haven't figured out how to edit video so sorry this is so long. If you are patient you can see Charlie practice taking steps, first around 2 minutes in and then again toward the end of the video. He also demonstrates a few of the tricks with his mouth - including his elephant noise that he learned at day care. Enjoy!

Eleven Months Old

 

Hard to imagine but Charlie turned 11 months old and his big birthday is a little over 4 weeks away. Big happenings - he took his first steps last week, walking for daddy last Friday and then showing mommy his stuff yesterday. He took 4 whole shaky, slow steps all on his own. It was exciting and terrifying all at the same time. When he is really walking there will be no limit for this kid - he is into *everything*. And he continues to eat very well. We are continually amazed at how much goes into his little body. All that much more fuel for when he starts running around the house. He is very interactive now, playing peek-a-boo and pretending to talk on the phone. He says "mama", "dada", "hi" and I'm not certain but sometimes it definitely sounds like he says "yep". He understands "no" but doesn't listen to it at all. And I am told by Randi (his daycare provider) that he engages with other kids more than most his age and sometimes more than the other children would like. Apparently he's not so into this concept of "parallel play." What can I say? He is a people person.

Charlie has been having a lot of fun visiting with friends. The picture above is of Charlie with Uncle Boyer. He is definitely a "guy's guy" as he always tends to gravitate toward men and loves to rough house. This weekend it is going to be a guy's weekend at 88 Pine Street as I head out for a girl's weekend with friends. I picture Charlie firmly planted on the couch watching Sports Center with his dad. Hardly! I picture Charlie crawling all over the living room trying to pull on all of the cords and eat everything on the floor until he eventually turns the TV off on Matt. Either way - good bonding time :)

The cutest penguin

 

Charlie dons his first Halloween costume. Too funny. And too hot for the Halloween party at mommy's work. He almost sweat to death! But the warmth will come in handy for the big night this week.

In Ohio, there are no rules!!

 

Well, we recently returned from another wonderful visit to Ohio. Charlie thoroughly enjoyed his family, especially since he clearly gets away with murder there. He played on the countertop with the tea kettle, in the cabinets and pantry, with all of the electronics. You name it, he did it. He now understands that his parents are lame with their "rules" and concern for "safety." He went for several walks with Papaw, who is clearly a favorite of Charlie's. Who gets a round of applause when they enter a room? He's no dummy. He hopes to get a car out of him some day. And Sammi bought him his first pair of shoes. Well, really Robeez slippers, but still. They are sharp! He ate like a king too. True to his roots, he loves Bob Evans and chicken and noodles. Charlie loves Buckeye country, but unfortunately he didn't bring them any luck as they lost to Penn State on Saturday. Bummer for Mommy and Daddy who went to the game. It was still fun though. Charlie loves his grandma, grandpa, aunts, uncle and cousins and can't wait to spend Christmas in the home land!

No major developments to report. He is moving faster and eating more every day. We really think he is close to that first step so keep your eyes out for a post to that effect. We are in huge trouble when this kid can run...

In Loving Memory

 

It was a very sad week for the Warner family as Phantom, our beloved dog for the last 14 years, went to doggy heaven. He was an awesome dog and obviously very much part of our family. We will always remember his quirky traits like how he used to sleep on his back wrapped around a corner in the house, or how he loved carrots, or how he used to take off sprinting like a mad man through the house sometimes when he got excited. He loved sitting in dad's chair with him watching TV and he loved going for walks. Even more than that, he *loved* Christmas. He was like a little kid so excited about all of the presents. Even though he wasn't a big dog, he was a great watch dog as he had an intimidating bark that made you think a Rotweiler was behind the door.

I am very sad to know that he won't be there to see us on our next visit to Ohio, but he was struggling in his old age and so I'm glad to know that he isn't suffering and I'm thankful for the years we had with him. We love you, Phantom, and hopefully we can have Twizzlers and peanut M&Ms together in heaven some day.

Sammi Comes to Visit

 
 
 

We have been spoiled at 88 Pine Street as we had another wonderful visit with a grandparent this weekend. This time it was my mom, who goes by Sammi to the grandkids (long story for another day). Charlie loved every minute of it and is going to go through withdrawal the next few days. He ate even more like a king (even though we didn't think that was possible) and he got pretty much anything he smiled at when we were out and about - including a Red Sox balloon that he's been crawling around the house with. See the pic to the left. He also got his first Halloween costume and will go arctic as a penguin for his first outing. He also got his first snow suit which will come in handy when he and daddy go out in the yard to play in the snow. Charlie got to go out to dinner with Sammi and Grammy at the club and then had dinner with Grampy, Patty, Chris and Sam so it was a fun-filled weekend all around!

Charlie turned 10 months old today! Only two more months until the big 1 year. Latest developments include letting go of whatever he is leaning against when standing (balance is getting better every day), being able to crawl up the stairs, starting to shake his head "no" when you say it, and he seems to be associating da-da and ma-ma somewhat. He can also mimic the whistle sound his play train makes.

Watch out Cupboards

 

 

This week Charlie advanced to being able to actually open the cabinets in the kitchen. What a wonderful development! Our pots, pans, tupperware and cutting boards will be a little less clean for awhile. Charlie took a trip into the big city with me yesterday and had lots of fun at backup day care. He was mesmerized by the big aquarium with all of the bright colored fish and the day care workers were mesmerized by the amount that Charlie ate during the day. Apparently he happily ate lunch for over an hour. Good thing we bought a house with lots of cabinet space because it looks like we will need to buy lots of food! Another development is that Charlie is eating almost exclusive table food. While this is somewhat liberating, it has required far more cooking than I bargained for. Turns out he loves pizza. So he is definitely American. (He ate two whole pieces the other night!)