Busy Weekend

Marshall and I thought that we would enjoy a nice down weekend. Hank was getting over being sick, so we were just going to take it easy. Charlie had other plans. Charlie kept us so BUSY! It rained Saturday, so we spent the day inside. Charlie made Mitzi a bed with an old box. He decorated it too! He was so upset that she would not go in the box. I helped him cut the top off of the box. She still would not go in her new bed. So Charlie and I found an old pillow, 2 pillow cases (one for the pillow and one for a blanket), and a toy. Finally, Mitzi approved and went in her new bed. Charlie moved Mitzi's bed all over the house by her bowls, by his bed, and on his bed.

Mitzi give Hank a kiss.

Charlie will not put his hand anywhere near Mitzi's face.

We took pictures off of the wall in Charlie's room

and he decorated. All his idea. He hung tools on the wall

from his toy tool bench.

He mixed paint to make purple and painted

purple polka dots with a potato.

My idea, but he loved it.

We baked a cake, Charlie and Marshall went to the grocery store.

They bought lots of fruit and spent the afternoon making various

fruit juices. As Charlie would say, "lots of flavors."

The ideas he gets from Curious George keep us busy.

We tried to take them to the movie, but Charlie was not interested.

The good thing is that they never turned the tv on all day.

We offered, but they weren't interested.

On Sunday, we went to Marshall's company picnic at Saluda Shoals Park in Columbia, SC. The kids had so much fun. Charlie loved the water feature. Hank liked the water feature, but he didn't enjoy the cold water. He was the driest kid in the water. He steered clear of all water, but still managed to play. The covered playground was a huge hit too. We all enjoyed a BBQ lunch.

We thought that they would be asleep before we got on the interstate, but an hour later they were still awake. We fed them again, played the quiet game several times, and finally, they were out.

Mitzi

Mitzi is our dog. She is a maltese that likes to bark. Since Hank was born, Mitzi has stayed with my parents on and off until it became more permanent until recently. Charlie has been fixated on bringing Mitzi home. He has her sleep with him, fills her water bowl and food bowl. takes her out, and wants her to play with him (she spends most of the time hiding from Charlie.) After the recycling idea did not work out, Charlie moved on to Mitzi. Marshall walked in just in time from work to be Charlie's helper. Charlie had decided that Mitzi smelled bad and needed a bath. He wanted to take her outside and wash her with cold water. Marshall tried his best to save Mitzi from a bath. He checked with me to make sure that this was not my idea. I told him that it was all Charlie. Charlie went upstairs and got shampoo and a towel. He had Marshall put Mitzi in the tub and bathe her. Luckily for Mitzi, Marshall made the water warm. Mitzi has been trying to lay low, but Charlie keeps finding her. Charlie wants to buy her a bed, so she can sleep on the floor in his room (ALL his idea.) and toys. Last night I went to check on them and they were cuddled up together asleep in Charlie's bed. I want to buy her a bark collar. She is a very sweet and obedient dog except when anyone comes to the door. We are going to PetSmart as soon as possible.

Recycle

This morning as we were leaving to go to school, the men came to pick up the recycling. Charlie asked me what they were doing. I told him that they came to get all of our recycling. We followed the truck out of the neighborhood and Charlie wanted to know where it was going. I explained to him that they take the recycling to a company with special equipment and make things like paper plates, napkins, cups, and lots of other things. He changed the subject and didn't mention recycling until 5:00 tonight.

So tonight, he practiced cutting paper with scissors, and then wanted to recycle it. It took me a long time to follow his train of thought because he didn't just say that he wanted to recycle the paper. He kept saying he needed to put the paper in a bag and squish it up. Finally, I got what he was talking about when he said he wanted to make a cup. It was the cutest thing. I spent the next thirty minutes trying to explain to him that we didn't have the special equipment to make new cups and plates. He is definitely a free thinker.

Yesterday we woke up at 4:30 a.m. to take Hank to get his second set of tubes and have his adenoids removed. Everyone was so nice and relaxed. The nurses explained to us that the procedure would not take long and once Hank was out of recovery, they would bring him back to the room. The nurses told us not to worry that they would rock him and comfort him. About 45 minutes later, we heard Hank coming. He was not happy. Two nurses came in the room. One nurse handed me Hank while the other held his IV bag. He was so mad. Once they got the IV bag on a stand, they left the room and closed the door. Marshall and I took turns trying to comfort him. He finally went back to sleep as I rocked him and sang to him. He woke up an hour later in a better mood asking for his cup. I guess Hank had no intention of letting the nurses cuddle him.

We were home around 10:00 that morning. Hank has been a really good sport. He has been a little crabby but overall, active and happy.

Charlie and Hank have a new calendar with all of the magnetic numbers, months, and LOTS of magnets to mark holidays, events, weather, etc. Charlie LOVES it! He spent at least an hour standing in front of the calendar telling us about what each and every magnet meant according to Charlie. He also planned lots of trips, practices, and events. Here are a few of my favorite parts of his LONG explanations of the magnets.

Charlie: Daddy we are going to go catch "goophers."

Marshall: Charlie, I think you mean gophers.

Charlie: Yeah, "goophers." We are going to catch "goophers" and then buy a cage to put them in.

Marshall: Charlie say go.

Charlie: go

Marshall: say pher

Charlie: pher

Marshall gopher

Charlie: goopher

I think that he was looking at the Groundhog's Day magnet.

Charlie: Mommy you are going to go to ballet like Kensington.

Me: I am?

Charlie: Yes, you are. Me and Daddy have to go buy you some BIG ballet shoes.

Marshall is in the other room laughing hysterically.

The conversation went on and on. We finally had to redirect his attention because he was so focused. If we weren't listening and participating in the conversation to Charlie's satisfaction, he would say, "Mommy, Daddy, are you listening to me?"

Mother's Day . . . with Boys

On Mother's Day we had a lot of fun together as a family.

We all went to the driving range and hit balls.

Not a typical Mother's Day activity, but it was so much fun.

Hank went and got Marshall to help him.

He went to Marshall and pulled

him by the arm to his tee as he yelled

"Elp Me!"

Hank, "one, two, three"

Charlie had so much fun. He wanted to hit the ball to the yellow flag.

He was disappointed that he couldn't get it to the flag.

He said maybe next time.

Gym Frogs

We had so much fun on Friday night. Charlie's gymnastics class performed at our local Relay for Life event. They all did a great job tumbling to music. They have grown so much since November when they "performed" on the square. They looked like little ants running around on the square with Charlie standing in the middle of them all. That was absolutely precious, I should have given Charlie more warning in November about the crowd because the next week when I took him to gymnastics, he asked, "Do I get to do gymnastics on the square today?"

He was very excited to tumble again for everyone. This time, Charlie was all business. He had so much fun, and we had the most fun watching Charlie and all of his friends. Thank you Mam-ma and Granddaddy and Gaga and Pappy for coming to share in all the fun.

Getting ready to go!

Mrs. Heather is so good with them. Thank you Mrs. Heather!

Charlie in motion

Our attempt at a family picture. Oh, Well!!!!