Great Smokey Mountains!

We are headed to the Smokey Mountains for a little getaway with the family. I may not have much time to write while we are there, but I should have a lot of good stuff to tell you about when we get back.

We are staying in the same cabin that Jamie and I rented for our honeymoon. We will be sure to have fun and take a lot of pictures.

See you when we get back!

Water Logged!

It was finally hot enough on my day off to take a swim. Charlie, Jamie and I had a fun day of splashing and floating in the crystal clear water. Charlie was not sure what to think at first, but he quickly became accustomed to the giant bath tub. He floated around splashing in the water that came up through his float and spent the rest of the time licking the float as if it was a giant strawberry. I am sure that it did not taste good, but that did not stop his curious tongue.

Charlie would kick and splash, but the water would splash into his face and he did not care for that too much. He would make a face like someone just dropped an ice cube down his back. His little legs are no quite big enough to produce a lot of propulsion in his float yet, but he can make one mean motor boat sound. I think that he may have a power steering issue though because he interjected a occasional squeal into his motor sound.

All of this excitement and physical activity wore Charlie out. He takes great naps after exiting the pool. I think that we may have to swim more often. I can't wait until he figures out how to really get himself moving across the water in the float. It will be hilarious to watch him paddle everywhere he can go.

Secret Sale!

Father's Day!

It is my first official Father's Day! I got a new disc golf bag, several disc, a picture of Charlie holding the letters D-A-D and a wonderful card. Charlie made an attempt to sign his name on the card which was absolutely adorable. He woke me up this morning by head butting me as usual. I was able to spend a few minutes with him before heading off to work.

Charlie may not understand the meaning of Father's Day yet, but I do. It is something that I have waited for, for a long time. I am so proud to be a father to such a wonderful little boy. I can't wait to teach him how to fish, hunt, play sports and support his dreams and goals. He makes everyday the best day of my life. I can have the worst day ever until I see his huge smile and hear his giggle.

I write a lot about mother's and the role that they play in our life, but fathers have a big role too. They teach us about being men. They teach us valuable skills about getting through life as a better person. They give us things that Mom won't let us have and let us attempt the crazy dangerous stunts that moms cringe thinking about. They help us build huge ramps for our bicycles, they protect us when we are scared and fix our toys when they are broken.

Fathers are heros. We look up to them, want to be them and we mimick everything that they do. We say what they say (sometimes not a good thing if they are working on something that is not going well). Fathers play catch with us, rub dirt on our knees when we skin them up and teach us to be tough.

Most fathers will even play tea party with their little girl. They will judge their boyfriends and freak out at the first sight of them holding hands. I hope to have a daughter in the future, but I dread the day that she begins to be into boys. I feel sorry for any of my future daughters future boyfriends. For now I will worry about teaching my little boy to become a man.

Happy Father's Day to all of the fathers out there and to the future fathers. 

Just Crawl Already!

For several weeks now Charlie has been rolling over to his belly. He plays for a little while, but when a toy is out of his reach he gets very upset. He draws his knees up and tries to push himself across the floor like a seal sliding across ice. He has not quite figured out how to use his arms to push his head up. He is a smart boy though. He has figured out that if he pulls on the blanket the toy will move closer to his reach.

The boy wants to touch everything. He is discovering new things everyday. I just wish that he would learn to crawl so that he doesn't throw a fit everytime he wants to move to a new location. It is kind of funny to watch him do a break dancing spin in the floor though. He can roll to his side and use his feet to spin himself around. He does not quite get the resuts that he is looking for, but he does get a change of scenery every once in a while.

We are blessed to have such a happy child, but when he throws a fit, he throws a fit. He grunts and squeals and pushes his two little teeth out. He stiffens up his body and planks very well. He kicks and bangs on the floor as if it is going to help the situation. I think that he gets that from his momma.

I have tried to help him get his elbows in closer to his body instead of out in front of his head like Superman. The poor boy is going to have rug burn on his face if he keeps doing the seal slide. I will say that he is very persistent. He keeps trying and trying so I know that he will eventually figure it out, but for now Daddy and Mommy will just have to keep the toys in range and roll him to his back when he gets mad.

The only bad thing is that Charlie loves to be on his belly and he rolls right back over after you flip him. This child is going to make my hair fall out faster than it already is. That is okay though. I love him more than anything and I understand that it takes time and patience. Please Lord, just let him crawl already! I will deal with the chaos that comes with a mobile child at a later time.  

Soft Serve!

Fatherhood is the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to me. We are so lucky to have such a happy child. He wakes up with a smile, plays all day with a smile and goes to sleep with a smile. He does have a few moments of grumpiness when he is hungry and very tired, but other than that Charlie is a bundle of joy.

Charlie loves to jump in his bouncer and stomp his feet in his step and play piano. Both of these items are very entertaining for him and it is a good way for him to wear himself out. Apparently the upright position and the ability to bounce around and move his legs makes these entertaining items a great place to work out a deuce. Charlie has a very distinct grunt and facial expression when it comes to clearing his bowels. If he is in the bouncer of the step and play and you hear the grunt, you better remove him rapidly because it could get bad.

Charlie woke up bright and early at 7:30 am and I took him down stairs to start the day. I placed him in the step and play and turned on Nick jr. I laid down on the couch to rest for a while he played. As I was laying there I heard the grunt. It only happened once so I did not think too much of it. I laid back down and continued resting my eyes while Charlie squealed and laughed at the TV.

A few minutes later I caught a whif of that unmistakeable odor. I moved in for a rapid extraction, but it was too late. The deed had been done. The problem is that the seat of the bouncer and step and play creates pressure that does not leave any room for the diaper to properly work so everything is pushed out the sides and up the back. This one was not the worst that I have seen, but I had no idea how bad it could get.

I began another toxic clean up and things got out of control. This was definitely not a three-wiper. It was up his back, down his leg, all over his onesie and now on the floor. I didn't panic. I just took a deep breath (bad idea), assessed the situation and methodically went back to work. Well, plan A failed. Charlie ended up covered from head to toe, literally. I ended up with radioactive material on my arm, shirt and I think that I even had a little on my lip. This was worse than "The Blowout". This was mega apocalypse blowout.

What a way to start the morning. Charlie was as happy as could be, but Daddy was not so happy after all of this. I got the situation under control and everything was okay. We ended up having a great day, but it was definitely a rough way to start.

Pulling An All-Nighter!

Now that Charlie is a "Supported Sitter" according to Gerbers definition on the baby food carton, we have been stuffing him full of green beans, squash, carrots, bananas, pears and apples. We don't try to really "stuff" him full, but he will eat every bite that you put in front of his mouth. When he is officially full his head hangs and the last bite of food comes rolling back out. Luckily we only let this happen once.

After a long day of jumping and squirming topped off with a full belly of pureed yummies, Charlie goes down for the evening and does not awake until 1 am when he wants to be flipped over in bed. He starts out on his belly, but wants to be on his back for the second half of his slumber. A quick flip and a re-insertion of his pacifier is all it takes for him to go back to sleep.

Now that Charlie is sleeping much better and longer at night, Mommy and Daddy are also sleeping better. Charlie still wakes up bright eyed and ready to go at 6:30 am, but it beats getting up every three hours throughout the night. Jamie is the primary night watch for Charlie and I have noticed that she is much better rested now that Charlie is sleeping longer and allowing her to catch up on some sleep. A happy Mommy/Wife makes for a much happier household.

Charlie has figured out that he can now use his hands to grab things and he loves shiny stuff and hair. He also knows when you are eating and he is like a little puppy sitting on the floor just waiting for you to drop something. We don't Charlie on the floor under the table. I am just describing his facial expression. Grandma buys into the pitiful "Mommy and Daddy don't feed me look" and gives him icing and mashed potatos. Spoiled kid. Grandma is going to be the one dealing with the upset belly if she keeps feeding him sugar all of the time. I'm talking about all of you Grandmas!

Charlie is growing so fast and learning something new everyday. He makes funny faces to get attention. He has replaced the fake cough with his lip smacking noises. He can pull his knees up, but has not figured out how to get his upper body up. He gets mad that he can not crawl and throws a fit. He is very persisent though. I flip him over to his back and he rolls right back to his stomach and tries again. They grow up way too fast.

Green Bean Monster!

Chrlie has been introduced to baby food and just like his father (Me), he loves anything that you put on his plates. He did not care too much for peas, but if that is the only thing that he won't eat right now, that is fine by me. He really loves green beans. They are pureed of course.

Since the introduction of baby food Charlie has been sleeping very well. With a full belly he doesn't have to wake up every three hours to eat. He still gets up at the crack of dawn, but with a full nights sleep it isn't too bad.

Charlie woke me up this morning by beating on my head with his hammer like fist again. I opened my eyes and he gave me a big smile. We laid in bed for a while until I was fully awake and we made our way down stairs to begin the day. I gave him the stuffed Elmo that I bought for him last night and he attempted to destroy it. Charlie played with Elmo until he realized that he could not him and decided it was time to eat.

I positioned Charlie in his, I think it's called Bumpo seat, and put his bib on him. He knew what was coming. He got excited and prepared his taste buds for the feast. He licks his lips and opens his mouth as wide as he can. You have to be a fast scooper to feed our child. He looks like a little bird waiting in the nest except he grunts instead of chirping.

I began shoveling the food into his mouth and he began sucking it down. He likes to bite the spoon and thinks that it is funny when you can't get it out of his mouth. I think that he might be part dog? The feast continued for several minutes and his face was covered in green beans. The green drool of a teething five month old has the consistency of 5W-30 motor oil. It slowly runs down their chin and dries into a crystalized crust on their face and body. Charlie always insist on chewing on his fingers with a mouth full of food too. That makes even more of a mess.

Between the grunting, the green drool and the love of green beans, I have deemed my child as the green bean monster. I will let the pictures tell the rest of the story.

Paying it Forward!

A few weeks ago I went through a drive-thru to pick up lunch for a co-worker and myself and the nice lady in front of me paid for our order. I was kind of caught off guard that there are still a few nice people left in the world. I was very appreciative of the gesture and even though it was only a few dollars it was a huge deal to me. I am lucky to get a friend to buy my lunch, let alone a complete stranger. Doing good deeds for others will hopefully lead to others doing good deeds for you. I hope that the nice lady that bought my lunch that day has received whatever she was praying for. "Sorry lady if it was a date with me, I'm married."

Today I again went to the drive-thru to pick up lunch and I decided to pay it forward. I drove up to the window and paid for my order and told the cashier that I wanted to pay for the person behind me. She looked out the window at the car behind me, turned back to me and said, "Do you know them?" I replied "No." and the cashier was stunned for a minute. She handed back my card and both receipts and said "Every good deed will come back as a better deed for you." I smiled and said, "I hope so."

As I was pulling up to the delivery window I could hear the cashier telling everyone around her what had just happened. Not only is a good deed recognized by the recipient of the deed, but others around them will be told about what happened and hopefully it will make them think about doing something nice for others. It doesn't take much to make someone have a better day. A little compliment or buying someone lunch can go a long way.

Doing a good deed can also make you feel better about yourself. Not because it is for personal gain, but because you may have somehow altered the battle of good vs. evil in the universe. Trying to stay anonymous is fun because the person that is the recipient of your kindness will start to think if they know you or what they did to deserve the gift. Stay close and watch their face. They may be perplexed for a while until they realize that you were just being nice.

Be nice today, compliment someone or pick up some one's lunch or coffee tab. You may change some one's life or at least put a smile on their face. We usually do nice things for our friends so do something nice for a complete stranger today.