First steps

First off: Sorry for the long absence of fresh posts. We were on vacation and returned to a pretty busy schedule. Some pictures and recaps of that coming soon.

Now, the exciting news: Charlie just took his first steps!

It happened very much like it did with Will. For our eldest, he was home sick from day care, and took about three steps toward me while a stuffed bear played Take Me Out to the Ballgame.

Just now, Charlie, home with an ear infection (but recovering nicely) was standing, propping himself up on the cabinet across from our basement door. I backed up a few steps, and he took three tentative steps toward me, wobbled, but then continued with two more steps before falling. I picked him up and he was so excited, beaming and giggling!

All along we've been telling people that we weren't exactly antsy for him to start walking -- he gets around quick enough as it is. But this was still pretty cool.

Hopefully we'll get video soon ...

Jump Around

Today I took Will to Madison. After stopping in Sun Prairie to see our friends Jim, Molle, and Ben, we headed to campus for kids' day in the McClain Center and the Badgers' spring football game. Will enjoyed all of it, but by the end of the third quarter, with rain drizzling down, he started getting the itch to leave.

Then he heard the opening strains of House of Pain's "Jump Around." If you're not a Badger fan: this is the song played before the fourth quarter of every Badger game at Camp Randall Stadium. It's quite the site to see tens of thousands of people jumping in unison. (Andy says he started it, during UW's win over Purdue in 1998; I'm dubious)

Anyway, Jump Around got Will going, as you can see from this picture. His vertical leap still leans toward Grandpa Ken's, but we're working on it. What a fun day!

Soccer

Well, we had our first soccer game last night, and it went just about as well as it could have. At the beginning of the week we were worried -- Will had major anxiety about never having played soccer before, not knowing anyone on his team, etc.

Tuesday practice alleviated most of those concerns, but Will also seemed to be under the impression that he wouldn't be playing again anytime soon. Wrong-o. Yesterday, our neighbor Megan was over before soccer, as we were going to give her a ride to her game. Before we ate dinner she asked Will if he's like to practice beforehand. "No, I already practiced once," he said. Can't imagine Tiger Woods saying that.

Upon getting to the field, Will saw his Yellow Jacket teammates running toward the playground. They ran for 20 minutes, then ran for their entire game, then Will ran with his teammate Brice for a half-hour afterward. I got tired watching him.

Our Yellow Jackets won 1-0 when the opposing goaltender booted a goal kick right to our Jacob, who along with Will and two girls had formed an impenetrable wall bordering the goal box area.

Will had a ball. Mostly just ran with the other kids in a swarm around the ball, which is pretty much what we expected.

Afterward, when we told him he'd miss our next two games because of our trip to Florida, he said "We probably won't win, because I'll be gone." Um, sure.

On the drive home Megan asked Will what positions he played, and Will responded, tentatively, "kicker" and "defenser teamer." We don't really have positions, but still, maybe we should so we could use those terms.

Will also wants his birthday party theme to be soccer now, so I guess he likes it. Too bad we'll miss the next couple weeks, but we'll be back in action soon enough.

Should that be "foniks?"

I clearly remember my very first class on my very first day in college. English 111.

Not because of the standard-issue T.A. donned in the typical-for-the-time itchy wool sweater, misshapen Birks and something approaching white-man dreads.

Nope. What I remember is his determined gait as he approached the blackboard for the first time. He quickly scribbled "P A S H O N" and turned around, arms spread wide, eagerly anticipating the inspired looks on our sweet young faces.

We weren't inspired so much as confused. "Pa-shawn?" some of us attempted to sound it out under our breath. Our heads collectively cocked to our shoulders when he raised his arms to the heavens and said clear and proud, "PASSION!"

Not sure if it was the crickets that made him look back or what, but he very mildly glanced over his shoulder at the blackboard, turned back to us and said, "Did I spell that wrong? I do that a lot. My parents had me hooked on phonics."

While I did end up learning a lot from this guy, I immediately became anti-phonics. I have since rejected every misspelling trend in our nation -- to the point of a near boycott. If there's any sort of a reasonable option, we will not be choosing Kwik Trip, Kountry Korner or Klassic Motors.

So it was bittersweet for me the other night when Will and I were playing our letter-riddles game and he came out with this gem:

"OK, Mommy. I'm thinking of a word that starts with "K". It's something that becomes a butterfly -- but first it's a chrysalis."

What an amazingly brilliant clue! Will used the word "chrysalis" in a sentence! Oh. No. Katapillar?

Such a proud moment ... and so devastating at the same time.

Appropriate dinner conversation?

Last night, after a bottle, Charlie let out a big burp all on his own, no back slapping needed.

"Good job!" Scott said. In response, Charlie belched out three more in rapid succession.

"Wow, Mommy!" Will said, as I buried my head in Scott's shoulder, mock weeping. "Charlie certainly knows his bad manners!"

Yay! (heavy sigh)

Here's a video of a recent dinner. Please note that after Will belches at the dinner table, he does say "excuse me."

Look how far we've come in four years :)

Shrek baby

When Charlie was just a month or so old, my friend Sharon called him "Baby Shrek" because he produced so many creative noises.

This past week, I've continually had the thought that there has never been a more appropriate nickname.

One night last week, Scott and I were looking at him as he was eating dinner and he put his finger in his ear, swirled it around and then put it in his mouth. (yuck!)

Tonight, Scott was changing his diaper and the stench was so bad he couldn't even put a sentence together. From the kitchen I heard something like this, "Bath. Needs. Old. Smell."

One of Charlie's daycare teachers once told me, "He just smells so nice." I beamed with pride, he was the cuddliest, cutest little thing. But now, I fear, he just smells.

I don't think that Charlie is going to stink his whole life, this is just a stage brought on by self-feeding -- made worse by a highly unusual amount of hair for a baby.



Every night at dinner we sigh as he runs his peach-covered fingers through his locks, creating the most amazing natural-and-organic rival to Aquanet imaginable.

He's incredibly aggressive about his food lately too. I had a container of Gerber Graduate puffs today and he snatched it out of my hands, threw his tiny fist inside, brought out a handful of peach stars and shoved them into his mouth. He looked A LOT like my dad with a bucket of popcorn.

One morning he was clean and fresh and his hair had curled so sweetly, I just couldn't bear to let him ruin it with banana goo. My solution? A hat. I put a hat on my baby while he was eating breakfast!

Yes, I'm desperate. But, he's still cute as a button. My filthy little button.

Leprechaun trap

On March 16, Will came up with the idea that we should make a leprechaun trap. This is what we came up with.

It worked, and it didn't. After luring the leprechaun with coins from around the world, we trapped him, but he apparently used his disappearing skills to escape from the trap. He did leave leprechaun dust, and turned the water in our downstairs toilet green.

Seen a trumpet?

At the New Dublin St. Patrick's Day parade Will bought a green trumpet. It was, in three words, loud and annoying. It was also sort of like the trumpet Bart Simpson had in the classic prohibition episode of The Simpsons, only Will didn't get drunk that day.

Then, all of a sudden, it was gone. Jana said she saw some kid take it. We exhausted every possible option for finding it, but couldn't get it back. Trust us, we did.

Aww, how cute

Random cuteness from Charlie ...

Cavity remedy

This morning at breakfast I told Charlie that I had a dentist's appointment in a few minutes, and that I hoped to not have any new cavities.

"Guess what Daddy? I haven't had any cavities since Christmas!"

Hard to confirm, since he hasn't been to the dentist in that time, but we'll go with it.

"Know why I don't have any cavities? 'Cause I stopped eating my boogers!"

So that's why I keep getting tooth decay ...