Recent Happenings

Charlie just turned 6 months last week and Jenni and I have been even more picture happy than usual, so here's a quick run down of our recent happenings.

So Jenni tried putting Charlie in a basket to get one of those "look how small and cute" pictures, and I think that the cute probably worked out but the small thing probably backfired. Charlie also had a play data with Payson Lewis and started eating solid foods. You can check out the pictures on PWA or Facebook.

Charlie also finally learned to like tummy time, and was showing off his new "NASCAR outfit" (sorry I don't know who to thank for the outfit). He has also really started to enjoy sitting in his high chair and eating (and I'm sure that Jenni has also started to enjoy me helping out with the feedings/night time routine every now and then), and the little guy also enjoyed his toys so much that he just decided to talk a nap right on the floor. You can check out the pictures on PWA or Facebook.

We also spent my last Off-Friday hanging out and we took some pictures up at the La Encantada Mall. Charlie was having lots of fun and being really cute, so we got some really good pictures. You can check them out on PWA or Facebook, and you can get Jenni's perspective on this here.

We also got all dressed up (well, I put on an orange shirt) and went to the Ward Halloween Party. There were some great costumes and it was a lot of fun, but I swear that's a sucker, not a cigarette. You can check out all of the pictures on PWA or Facebook.

In addition to eating solids, taking a bath has become a part of Charlie's night time routine. He loves splashing around and playing with toys, but most importantly he has started to sit up in the tub. It usually turns into a wrestling match after a few minutes because he wants to roll over and play on his tummy (which is when he gets pulled out), but we're just glad that the kid enjoys being cleaned off every now and then (at least for now).You can check out the pictures on PWA or Facebook.

A few Sundays ago, we went to the park with Brian and Mindy, and Charlie was able to get his first ride in a swing. He really liked it and actually lasted a LOT longer than I thought he would. Brian also beat me at Boche Ball, and there was fun had all around. You can check out the pictures on PWA or Facebook, and you can get Jenni's take on this here.

Since Jenni already posted the picture of us, here's the picture of me and Charlie all dressed up. If you're wondering, we're supposed to be 50's guys to go along with Jenni's 50's girl costume (which won Prettiest Costume). The Elams did a great job and it was a blast to watch the little kids play musical chairs (and the adults weren't too bad either). I also recommend that you check out the picture of Incredi-Mom, because it was a GREAT costume and Mindy definitely deserves some recognition for being brave enough to really getting into the Halloween spirit. You can see the pictures on PWA and Facebook.

We went with Brian & Mindy and Patrick & Erica to Buckelew Farms. It's a Pumpkin Path west of Tucson with lots of interesting things to do. Unfortunately, Jenni wasn't able to hold a chicken again like last year, but Charlie was a good sport and was fine with being lugged around in the sunggly. You can check out the pictures from PWA or Facebook.

For better of worse, I'm a Raiders fan and that means that Charlie has also been cursed to be a Raiders fan as well. To help ease the pain of this curse, Grandma and Grandpa Johansen sent him some fun toysand his first Raiders outfits. He looks really cute (I mean hard core). You can check out the other pictures on PWA of Facebook.

Jenni already posted about this, but Aunt Mindy and crew made Charlie a cake for his Half Birthday. It was a really cute cake and Charlie loved grabbing at it and enjoyed the tastes that his Mom snuck for him. We even sang the little guy happy birthday (I'll post the video later) and it was a fun experience. You can check out the pictures on PWA or Facebook.

Jenni got a bit of a cold earlier this week and Charlie caught a bit of it. The two of them decided to take a little rest together. You can check out the other picture on PWA or Facebook.

Mindy already posted about this, but Charlie got to enjoy one of the benefits of living in Arizona (the wonderful fall weather). The summer can definitely be grueling at times, but when we're walking around in T-shirts and going swimming to weather reports of snow and cold across the nation, it feels like the heat was worth it. Most of the pictures actually aren't of Charlie, but Jenni's gotten pretty good with the camera and I just wanted to show off her picture taking abilities. You can check out the pictures on PWA or Facebook.

Something to scare the Grandparents

As I've discussed previously, I feel that it's my personal responsibility as Charlie's dad to mess with the little guy every now and then and to bring a little excitement to his life. So my new thing to do is to wrap him up in a blanket, swing him around, and then play with the little guy. Obviously, it makes Jenni get a little tense and I'm sure I'll be hearing about it in a phone call, but the little guy loves it and it always gets a good laugh out of him. You can check out the video below (or on Facebook).

Catching Up

I've been slacking off a bit from my regular Charlie updates, so here's a post to catch up the last month or so.

Jenni's Mom came out to visit for the weekend. There was obviously some mandatory garage saleing on Saturday morning and we spent a lot of time hanging out and having fun. You can check out the pictures on PWA or Facebook.

Then Charlie decided that he wasn't happy being rolled up like a burrito when he slept, which was fine, but then he figured out how to flip from his back to his front before he could roll from his front to his back. This made for some VERY long nights when Charlie would wake up screaming because he was on his tummy. Fortunately, some intense and focused tummy time sessions have helped remedy the problem to some degree and he only occasionally wakes up screaming. I'm sure the novelty will wear off (especially once we have to chase him around), but it's always funny to leave him in the middle of a blanket and then come back 5-10 minutes later to see him half way across the room. You can check out the pictures on PWA or Facebook.

Then one night, we decided to make churros. The first batch turned out pretty good, but the subsequent batches quickly went down hill (I thought the batter needed more water, but it turns out that it didn't). But we had fun and we got some really cute pictures of Charlie that you can check out on PWA or Facebook.

And finally, we got Charlie his first Halloween Costume. Jenni had found a really cute lion and lobster costume online, but they were both sold out in his size, but he makes a cute bat so we're happy. He has also started to sit up enough so we can put him in the stroller without a car set. He can't last too long, but he likes being able to look around and see what's going on. You can see for yourself on PWA or Facebook. Oh ya, he's also started to get shirts stuck on his head on a fairly regular basis, but I'll refer you to Jenni's blog for that one.