Happy 2nd Birthday Charlie!

I know I already posted most of this on Facebook, but I want to be better at posting here for our family's sake.  I want to preserve the memories and record my thoughts as well. The last two years, as Charlie's birthday rolls around, I can't help but reflect on the way this little boy has changed our lives.  We can't imagine life without him.  He is absolutely meant to be a part of our family.  We recently interviewed with our case worker (we're working on getting approved for adoption again) and she asked us to talk about Charlie and how we feel about him.  We could go on for days.  Jared said, "He lights up the room!" which is so true. You can't help but smile being around this kid.  We love him so much!

I saw this cake on Pinterest last year and wanted to make it but didn't, so I had a lot of fun making it for him this year.  There were a few failed attempts at the eyeballs, but my mom had a great idea to use Lindor truffles, which we happened to have on hand since it's Christmas time.  I was pretty happy with the results.

... and so was Charlie.  He kept saying and signing "more".

 The day before his birthday we went to Build-a-Bear with Charlie's birthmom and brother.  It was so much fun. I wish I would have gotten a picture with them together. Charlie was a little scared of the machine that stuffs them and then the little "shower" blowers.  He wanted to see, but wouldn't go too close.  Toby and Charlie both got monkeys. Jared named Charlie's George and Toby named is Hot Dog!

 This is the best picture I got with his carrier truck set from Grandma and Grandpa Rowland.  We have been having a great time pushing it all over the house!

 This is the only celebrating we did on his actual birthday, an ice cream cone at McDonald's, which he pounded like a champ!

Charlie is learning and growing so quickly every day.  Some of his favorite words are:  Momma, Dadda, Mammah (grandma), Boppa (grandpa), more, book, sssgock (sock), shoes (that was actually his first and favorite word because it meant we were going outside!), cracker, cookie, ot (hot),  wawah (water or drink), bobbo (bottle). He has a sign language video and uses signs a lot.  It's the cutest thing ever. He signs more, done, milk, go, car, and shoes.

He got a little drill set from Grandma and Grandpa Hadfield.  He wouldn't put it down.  He even wanted to take it to bed and was mad at me when I wouldn't let him!

His most favorite "toy" is my blow dryer and round brush.  I guess he watches me get ready for the day too often.  He also loves the broom and dustpan.  Hopefully that means he'll be really helpful in a few years.  We sure love this little munchkin! (Did I mention that already!)

It's been a while! :)

So, not much new has been happening, so here are just a few random, fun pictures.

I thought Charlie would love to ride the little car a Walmart... not so much!  He liked it until it started moving!

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This is the "milk dance" he does every night before bedtime.  He loves a bottle of warm milk every night and he dances in front of the microwave while he waits!

Nothing like reading a book in front of a warm fire!

The little guy has had fluid in his ears for several months, so he got tube in his ears in September.  He did so great and looked so stinkin cute in his hospital jammies!

Then, when we got home from the hospital after he got the tubes in his ears.  They told me he would be a little groggy for a while and may have trouble with balance and the first thing he did when we got home was fall flat on his face and get a fat lip.  I felt so bad, because I was warned and it still happened!

Our cute little Halloween duck!

Trick-or-treating at the rest home with his babysitter, Ashley. She takes such good care of our Charlie!

Bear Lake 2013

 We make sure to take a trip to the lake every summer while visiting Jared's family.  This year we decided to go up for the 4th of July festivities and we had such a fun time.  Charlie was mostly there for the good food Grandma Rowland cooks! :)

 We watched the fireworks from the front yard of Jared's parents' house and did sparklers with the little ones.  Charlie took no nap all day while we drove there and then stayed up past 10:00 for the fireworks.  He pooped out before we pulled out the sparklers. Good thing there were lots of other cuties to enjoy them with.  This is Nyah, Charlie's cousin.

Jared was the official sparkler lighter.

 Charlie's cousin, Maddox. His kept burning out before I could get a picture!

 The next day we headed out to the lake and Charlie had a blast.  He found a puddle in played in it with his bucket for about half an hour.  I couldn't get him to look up long enough for  a picture but there is sand all over his face because he kept eating it!

 Jared, being the cutest daddy ever!

I got lots of good snuggles because Charlie was freezing every time he got out of the water. 

 Just chillin in a Dora chair.  Ava wasn't thrilled about him sitting in her chair!

 Normally he refuses to sleep in the car, but we wore him right out. He fell asleep about five minutes into the drive home. He's so precious!  It is so fun to experience things that are new to your kids.  It's like experiencing them for the first time again myself.  I sure love my little family.

Summer Fun

Charlie is always trying to run through the sprinkler, fully dressed, so I put his swimsuit on and let him have at it.  He had a great time!

 Then we made pizza for dinner. He kept watching it in the oven. It was so cute, I didn't even know he knew  to do this!

 We're going to the parade this weekend and I was worried about keeping track of this little guy.  I was worried he would hate it, but he thought it was hilarious. We'll see how it goes when we're holding on to the other end!

 I took Charlie out to the garden to pick and eat fresh peas.  This was one of my favorite things as a kid, so it was so fun to do this with my boy. He loved it so much he'd eat them out of the dirt if they fell!

Lots of cute pictures!

Charlie's actually been Spiderman for a while now.

We were getting ready to swim and this little girl looked so, so cute!

Charlie loved his new pool.  The bottom was slippery so he'd take two steps and fall, over and over again.  It was hilarious!

Grandpa is favorite!

It took him a while, but this boy is mastering the art of climbing!  (I'm glad he's only just figuring it out!)

We love green smoothies for breakfast.  (Don't worry, that's Daddy's hand... mine aren't that hairy!)

Our sweet kitty is so patient with Charlie.  Charlie actually had him by the tail one day with both of his back feet off the ground and Templeton totally put up with it.  He actually really loves Charlie despite how rough he is.  We're working on it!

My boy's getting so big!

He wants so badly to master climbing this ladder. Too bad the rungs are further apart than his legs are long.  Lucky for me though!

I went to dinner the other night with my sister and we were both feeding him food off our plates.  Charlie decided she was going to slow and took matters into his own hands.  He literally picked up the plate and buried his face in it (Christmas Story style!). It cracked us up. 

Now that school's out, I'm not babysitting these little cuties anymore.  They were my little entourage all year and I'm so going to miss them.  I thought this little audience was super cute one day while I was getting ready.

Busy Body!

I don't think I even need an explanation for most of these... This boy is busy. And oh, how we love him!

 With his BFF cousin AJ.

 Obsessed with Grandpa's shoes.

 Finally got out for a walk with our friends. How cute are those two? I seriously love those little cuties!

 Charlie would spend every waking moment outside if I'd let him. So this is where I spend most of my days. I'm not complaining though. I love it too!

 He knows that you need the round brush with the blow dryer.  He watches mommy every day!