Charles is attacked by an everglades swamp creature, but wins the battle

livin near the swamps of the everglades in Florida is dangerous business...this here gigantic inch-worm done crawled out of the swamp and attacked Charles!!! See the fury and anger (i.e. confusion) brewing on Charles' face....





but Charles fights back...get'em Charles!! This was a hard fight to watch as a parent...but we knew Charles could handle his own...






after a hard-fought battle, Charles has managed to wrestling the worm into submission. This picture is taken right before Charles puts his devastating slobber-chomp on the worm...oh the agony for that worm...






And Charles declares his victory!!!! The slobber-chomp is of such potency that the worm even changed colors...and grew eyes. No fear of the everglades with Charles the inch-worm hunter at the helm...

the finger sucking has begun....

no thumb for Charles...it's the middle two fingers that taste especially good.


and it's amazing the sound produced from the sucking...it has awoken us many times in the night (slurp, slurp, slurp)

Happy Birthday Charles!!

Ok - a day late...

yesterday Charles turned 3 months old!! He had a super day with mommy and daddy...in the morning, he had minutes of fun batting some toy with dots on it and a bell. Then, we all got ready and went to church, during which Charles voiced his opinion about the sermon (it's his b'day - he was allowed). Charles then enjoyed a wonderful nap while mommy and daddy ate lunch (in celebration of his birthday) at Panera. The highlight came later in the day when Charles got to stare at the red poka-dot lamp shade in the bedroom - he laughed, and laughed, and laughed (and drooled - we can't leave out that he had an amazing day of drooling in celebration of his birthday...in celebration of every day for that matter). Then, mommy and daddy dressed him up and took some pictures, which went amazingly well (whew). And it all ended with Charles screaming because his birthday was over and it was time for bed (yeah for mommy and daddy - EVERY night, yeah for mommy and daddy).

Happy birthday Charles!!

Charles gets his first ride on daddy's shoulders...

right now, Charles is bringing tears to daddy's eyes with his supergrip on the hair...


mmmmm....but it tastes so good

and Charles and Daddy study Latin together...

I know Charles...it's too bad your daddy wants you to learn this stuff, too.

the side you don't normally see...

let's get some reality to this whole thing...Charles ain't all smiles and giggles...

a learning boy...

Charles is beginning to put two and two together - the fact that those things flying in front of his face are HIS hands, and the fact that he can do something about them. He spends hours (ok - a couple of minutes) batting at the toys and laughing himself silly.



but as you can see, it takes a LOT of concentration for Charles right now. I would say for Charles, trying to hit the toys is alot like swatting a fly - he throws his arm at the object and just hopes he hits it.

who is the real Charles?

We thought these pictures varigated Charles' look...can you pick the one that looks most like him in real life??

cutie pics of Charles..

Charles' measurements....

Today, Charles went for his two-month check-up, during which he received his vaccination shots. As you can imagine, Charles wasn't all that happy about the shots - at least until something very important on the wall distracted him, like a blue or red dot (or something).

And now for the measurements...

Charles hit the scales and weighed-in over 15lbs (wow) - which puts him in the 97% for weight! Length was 24 in. (which is just over average) and, thankfully, his head circumference has increased to the 50% (it was, at the last check-up, 10% - it worried daddy, but the doctor assured us it had no impact on intellectual capacity).

So, Charles is officially a "fat baby"! (which is a compliment for babies :) ).

loungin in the lazy-boy...

"dad, will you get out of the way of the t.v.? My favorite part is coming up...the little red dot just went off the screen and I think the blue one is about to come."




I saw Charles crankin-up for a sneeze and grabbed the camera...got it in action. You probably can't see the goube that flew-out his mouth...


but it doesn't matter cause I'm super cute, and with this cutie face, I get away with waking mom and dad at 2:30am in the morning without getting my head pinched off!! It's a cutie-spell I put on them...I get them all worked up, then I give them a smile and a coo, and they melt in my hands!!

Charles n Mama and Papa

Charles and his great-grandma...I can only pray he gets a chance to eat her cooking!


and Charles and his great-grandpa...he seemed to take a likin to Papa pretty quick (as we all do :) ).

Check out the accessories...

these little wristbands and socks not only have cute little characters on them for Charles' entertainment, but they make noise as well...when he gets his little arms and feet going, it's like a fiesta...



but dad is not sold on them yet...he thinks they make him look too much like a sissy...



and a few shots of mom and baby...