Halloween... Kind of....

Well... another Halloween has come... and gone... for Charlie. I am writing this post when we should probably be out trick-or-treating, but as you can see, we are not. It was yet another year of Charlie refusing to wear his costume. He put it on a couple weekends ago, practiced his trick-or-treating with us, and loved every minute of it. But, when it came time to suit up for some festivities on Saturday... it was a BIG, FAT no. I am still trying to figure out how to bribe him to get the costume on for one minute to get a picture because he looks so darn cute in it. Other than the not wearing his costume, we had a fun little day Saturday. We started off at the YMCA with my friend, Shannon, and her kids, Joe and Anna. There were games to play, treats to eat, and even a hayride. Charlie LOVED the hayride and even touched a horse for the very first time! After the YMCA, we went home for a nap and then headed back to Shannon's house to go trick-or-treating downtown. Charlie was very good at going up with his bucket, saying trick-or-treat, and thank you. We walked around for about an hour, and then we headed back to Shannon and Matt's house to hang out. We ended up getting carry out, let the kiddos play, and had some nice adult time with our friends. It was a perfect little day. So, onto next year... maybe we'll the hang of the costume thing then!

They hayride. The horse's name is Who.

Charlie and Anna bobbing for ducks to win candy.

Charlie won a cupcake in the calk walk game!

Trick-or-treating at the bookstore downtown.

Mr. Independent

Charlie is one of those kids who likes to eat breakfast right away when he wakes up in the morning. His breakfast of choice is usually a bowl of cereal, dry. One morning I was upstairs in the bathroom, for maybe two minutes, which was apparently too long. When I came downstairs, this is what I found. To give him some credit, he did get a bowl and it looks like he really tried to pour the cereal into the bowl... he just poured until the bowl was full.... and the box was empty. It was pretty hard to scold him, but at the same time tell him to stay still so I could take a picture. He just wants to be so independent these days!

Working on the House with Dad

Every time Pete or I get a tool out to fix something, Charlie always runs to get his tools to help. The other day Pete had to weatherproof our door, and his little helper was right there with him. It was just too cute to not take pictures!

Concentrating on what Dad is doing.

Fixing the doorknob while Dad works on the bottom of the door.

Apples into Sauce

It's that time of year! We ventured to the Farmer's Market early Saturday morning to get apples to make some applesauce. Charlie really liked turning the crank and smoothing the applesauce out in the pan afterwards. We also made blackberry jam with the berries from our yard, but Pete and I did that while Charlie was sleeping. Good thing too because we made a big enough mess without Charlie being involved!

Charlie's Got Some News!

Bye Bye, Stitches!

Charlie got his stitches out this morning! YAHOO!! Hopefully it won't be so itchy any more. I was a little worried about him going back into the emergency room and freaking out, but he was as cool as a cucumber. We went back to a room, and the doctor who did his stitches just happened to be there again, so she came in to check on him. He got a big smile on his face when he saw her and was perfectly fine. She said his cut looked good, gave us some further instructions, and then it was time for the nurse to take the stitches out. He had to lay down on the bed, which he wasn't crazy about, but we pulled Rocky out and he was just fine. He laid there perfectly still as the nurse cut each stitch... we didn't even have to hold him down! When she was done, he had a big smile on his face again, and he waved goodbye to the nurse and doctor.

I couldn't have asked for this whole experience to go better. Charlie took it all so well, considering he's only two-years-old!

The Day After . . .

Here's our little man the day after his stitches. I looked at his nose this morning and thought it looked pretty good... then I noticed the rest of his face! He's puffed up pretty good, but he's so darn cute! He hasn't been in any pain, which makes me very happy. He still wants to run around, and I am so nervous he is going to face plant again. Oh, well. Boys will be boys, right? His little swollen face is so cute that I couldn't stop giving him kisses today!

First Visit to the ER . . .

Well.... I knew that I had a very daring, active kid, and I knew that I would eventually end up in the Emergency Room with him... I just didn't think it would be this soon! Charlie got up with Pete this morning (as he does every morning Pete goes to work), and was playing in his room while Pete was getting ready in the bathroom. I was awoken to the sound of a crash and Charlie screaming/crying. As I was getting out of bed, Pete called for me and I met him in the bathroom. As you can imagine, a lot of blood and one freaked out little guy. I quickly changed my clothes, and we were off to the ER. Charlie said something to Pete about jumping off his bed, and we think he lost his footing and hit his nose on the side of his wood toy chest.

He was such a trooper at the ER. The worst part was having to pin him down to do the stitches. I had his legs, Pete had his upper body, the nurse had his head, and the doctor did the stitches. I sobbed through the entire process, but Pete was a rock, encouraging and comforting Charlie through the whole thing. Charlie cried the whole time, but all he wanted was to have his arms out of the blanket and the bright light turned off. Once the doctor was finished, Charlie was in Pete's arms with 5 stitches and a smile on his face. He got stickers from the nurse (even bigger smile), and we were out the door. He was super chatty and happy all the way home. We are snuggled on the couch now and just relaxing.

I always wondered how I would do in a situation like that. I did good with the blood, but hearing my little guy screaming and crying out for people to stop just broke my heart. I am so lucky that Pete was home and that he is such a rock. I know if I was forced to, I could suck it up and be the rock for my son, but it's nice to know he has a daddy who is the absolute best!

Heading home from the ER.

Dan, Mary, Matt & Gwen Visit!

We were so lucky to have Dan, Mary, Matt and Gwen make the long drive to visit us this weekend. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate, but we made the best of it. They got here Thursday night, and the kiddos were able to play for an hour before they went to bed. We woke up Friday morning, had some breakfast, and then headed to the Children's Museum. We played there for a couple hours, had some lunch, then headed home for naps. Our afternoon was filled with playing in the toy room, coloring, and just enjoying quality cousin time. Sunday morning we tried to go to the rock beach, but it was closed because the wind was so strong and the waves were intense. It was pretty neat to see all the waves crashing on the rocks, and we even saw some crazy guys out in the lake surfing! We decided to head to the Dome to get out of the cold, and we watched some little kids play football and let our kiddos run around. We got sandwiches to take home for lunch so we could watch the Michigan/Michigan State game. The sun came out for a bit after lunch, so we got the kids out in the backyard to play some soccer and enjoy the slide. While the kiddos napped, we cheered Michigan State on to a victory! We ended the day with more playing and had a pizza party for dinner. They got up and left pretty early this morning since they have a long drive home, but hopefully the sun will stay out for them and it will be an easy drive. We are so happy they made the trip up. We know it's a lot for people to make the trek from Detroit, so we really appreciate when they do! It was so great to see how big and talkative Gwen is getting, and Charlie LOVED playing with Matt. We definitely miss being closer to them and wish we could get together more, but the great thing is that when we do get together, it doesn't seem like it has been that long. So, a big thanks to Dan & Mary for coming to visit. We love you all very much, and we can't wait to see you again in a month!!

The first night. Gwen LOVED Payton. Every morning she would wake up saying, "Doggie, doggie".

One of the crazy guys surfing off the banks of Presque Isle.

Cousins painting before dinner.

Gwen's best buddy for the weekend.

Riding the horse.

Enjoying the sunshine with Uncle Pete.

Snuggle time with Mommy.

Dan and Mary got a little competitive in the soccer game.

Gwen's turn to score on Uncle Pete...

... getting close...

... nutmeg!

Goofy boys bouncing on the balls.

And rolling around together.

Charlie loves this orange ball, but it's too big to play with in the house.

Enjoying the slide.

"Ready, Set, Go!"