Buddies

This afternoon turned out rather well. Besides the little hiccup at naptime, we kept busy. We met my friend Smith and her little boy Greer. Greer is two months younger than Chuck and thought Chuck was hilarious. Chuck would do something and make a sound effect and Greer would just chuckle away. We went to a park that has about 6 soccer fields and then a playground. Chuck started at one end of the soccer fields and walked/ran all the way to the other. He also went to bed an hour late because we played on the playground until 6, so this mama may get to sleep in a few minutes tomorrow!

Here is a pic of the kiddos being goofy.

Animals Galore

It is just plain beautiful here. Chuck usually gets to go outside around 7:30 or 8 everyday so if we haven't left the house at that point, attitudes start flaring ( mine and his). So Chuck and I packed up and went to the zoo today. Does this child look like he wants to go to the zoo?

I think he would rather go to the circus but we went anyway. I was kind of regretting it on the way there because of the face in the picture. I thought "oh no, boy have I got it comin' " We are members but I have never taken him by myself. I know he wants to run some and you can't push a stroller with one hand, it is just so hard. I decided I would brave it and take him with the wagon. I thought if he wants to run, I can easily pull the wagon with one hand or just leave it. I took a bag that goes across the body/shoulders so I could just up and leave the wagon if needed. I have extremem anxiety about taking him places by myself because I know he is going to throw a fit at some point and I feel like people are looking at me like I beat him or something. When really it is the other way around, he beats me.... he is a big hitter.

He sat in the wagon about 50 percent of the time and held my had about 25% of the time and ran the other 25%. It wasn't too bad. He wasn't running away form me like he usually does. His favorite this time were the giraffes and the orangutans. We watched them eat their breakfast. Chuck just kept yelling "hey" to them and them blowing raspberries. I thought for sure they were going to do it back at him. He was really fascinated. That took up a good 15 minutes just watching them eat. We also rode the carousel ( we have to ride on the bench because we cry if we have to sit on an animal... even if the animal is not one that goes up and down). We also rode the train that goes around the big lake there. He was actually very calm and sat in the seat by himself on both rides without trying to climb out.

So our outing was a success.... except for the one instance where he laid in the middle of the walkway and wouldn't get up. Luckily we were the first ones there by a good 30 minutes.

This afternoon when we wake up form our nap we are suppossed to meet our friend Greer at the playground. Greer is two months younger but we haven't even gotten to play with him yet. I think Greer may be a little more subdued than we are. We are going to stop and buy some bubbles on the way since we like to wake up at 2 am and ask if we can blow bubbles.

Chuck watching the giraffes.

Chuck watching the chimpanzees.

We made it!

...without hurting each other. I am not going to say that today was a total success but we only had to sit in time-out once. We made it through our early morning grocery shopping without any hiccups, we did some crafts, went to the playground, and went on a wagon ride. We even took an hour and a half nap ( while mom did school work).

First of all look how high we can jump... I know... so impressive right!

Doped up on Ibuprofen and enjoying the swings.

Decorating a pumpkin with stickers

Making sure the stickers are in the perfect spot.

Apparently this is how we eat grapes now.

Chuck: he is his own person

Stacks of tires..... that's how you entertain an 18 month old at Sams.

This is why mama never gets any rest on the weekends. Chuckaroo always abuses the car rides. We did have a successful grocery trip this morning though! That is not usual.

18 months

Yep, he is 18 months today and we are still all civil and living under the same roof. Chuck celebrated 18 months with a bang today. From the second he woke up at 5:45, he was crying. Luckily daddy was home because if he wasn't Chuck would be home alone and I would be in a bar drinking or in the bathroom shooting cocaine.

I ran over some big bolt last week so we went to Sams to get my tire fixed. Chuck enjoyed running around Sams. I did not. He wanted to run as fast as he could but we still aren't a perfect runner. I think I aged another 10 years in that store. It took them two hours.... two hours with a 18 month old is not fun. Yes dad was there but we all know there is a little attachment problem so the thought of anyone touching the poor kid while mom is around is crazy. I did try and get a video of him running. Right when I turned on the camera, Chuck decided to stop running and sit down. Unfortunately the cart he tried to sit on was just bars on the side with no flooring in the middle so he took a spill. Somehow I got it on tape. You might have to play the beginning over and over.

After Sams we went to Wellsfest and listened to music. Chuck refused to sit on our blanket and insisted on sitting in his stroller and peeling bark off the tree. Apparently he didn't enjoy the weather as much as we did.

On the way home, Chuck fell asleep even though we tried everything under the sun to keep him awake. When we got home, he refused to take a nap. The crying and fussiness got so intense that we just had to put him in the crib and let him cry for a while. He finally got a little tiny nap.

Tomorrow daddy goes to work. Please pray for the two of us. If tomorrow is going to be anything like today we need several prayers or margaritas. I can totally see how there are housewives out there that become alcoholics. I think my job is the only thing that is keeping me away from the bottle. Fortunately, I don't have time to drink.

We will also need prayers for the month of October. Daddy works every single weekend.... yep, you guessed it. It is just the two of us for the month of October. "Just the two of us, we can make it if we (don't cry)." .... A little change to the words of that song.

Chuck and I may venture to Germanfest tomorrow.... If I am feeling brave and our teething is under control.

Stickers

Our new obsession.

No naps = no fun

Mr. Grumpy has been stationed at our house lately. It all started two weeks ago when Chuck was petting a dog and I thought it was going to snap at him. I pulled him away. He started crying because he wanted to play with the doggie. Ever since then he has been seeking revenge. It has been constant whining in our house. I am about to go crazy. Friday we got home from school and he was just extra whiny. Of course my day was bad ( have I mentioned I hate my students this year) and Chuck just kept going and going. He wanted me to pick him up but wanted to get down all at the same time. Ugh. I just went in the kitchen and sat on the floor and cried. Chuck came in and gave me a hug and laid his head on my shoulder for a good 3 minutes. It was just all too much for me. I composed myself and continued dealing with Chucks whining. Later, he didn't want to go to bed and I just burst out crying while I was rocking him. I think it scared him and made him sad so we were both just rocking and sobbing together. At least we are there for each other! HA.

The little tyke is fighting naps on the weekends. He has been such a good napper up until now. He refused to nap today. In fact, I got his entire nap on tape today. This is how long his nap was today....

Also, Laney drew us a picture. She refers to Chuck screaming. Fortunately, when he is at Granna and Bob Bob's, the screaming is not crying. His screaming when he is in Mobile is more of a explosion of joy. Not sure why we are frowning in the picture. Maybe Laney knows how we have felt lately!