Camping: Part II

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We went to Enchanged Forest Water Safari one day while on vacation and Charlie had a blast. He loved the water slides and probably would have been happy to go down them all day.

Charlie's surfer 'do

Charlie was a little wary of the slides at first...

...but by the end of the day it was the bigger the better!

Uncle Jon would drop Charlie off at the top of this slide and then we would catch him at the bottom. As soon as Jon came in to sight again, Charlie would reach out to him ready to go again!

While the guys went on some of the bigger slides, we hung out on the lazy river. Mom and I were a little worried about getting out of our tubes gracefully. Thankfully we made it out ok!

9 months and (definitely) counting...

I must admit it's a little sad to be nearing the end of the days of just Charlie and me. We have so much fun together and, like all mothers, I worry about being able to give him the time and attention he needs with a newborn in the house. We're asking for God's strength and providence to help us to become good parents of two!

It's strange to be preparing for a little girl's arrival. I'm wondering how different this experience will be. Maybe she won't be as mesmerized by daddy's tools and mud pies? Maybe she will be able to make it through a 20-minute shopping trip without squirming and skittles?

We made a little nursery for Baby Beans (no, we haven't come up with a name yet...we have narrowed it down to 4 though) in our former guest room. Charlie is quite intrigued by the crib and all the little tiny outfits hanging in the closet. He does point at my stomach and say "baby" too...but, I honestly don't believe he has any idea what is in store!!

Here is our little girl at 8 months (is that Charlie's nose I see?). They told us at the ultrasound that she is "ahead of schedule" on most of her measurements including head size (how nice). Here's hoping I don't go overdue and deliver a baby bigger than Charlie's 8lb. 9oz. Yikes!!

It is a surreal and special time, these last few weeks of waiting. Mom, Dad and Charlie are so eager to meet you little girl--you already hold a special place in our hearts, we can't wait to hold you in our arms!

"Hi Ducks!"

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Camping: Part I

"So, this is camping huh Mom?"--Yeah, there was a bit of rain involved. We could only keep Charlie cooped up in the camper so long, so Grandma came up with this creative rain slicker and let the toddler run wild.

"I love you too Grandma, now how 'bout that Blow Pop?"

Hangin' out by the campfire with Gramps.

Charlie and I joined Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle Jon for a camping trip in the Adirondacks a couple weeks ago. Now, you may wonder why I be foolish enough to consider going camping at 8 months pregnant...with a toddler...without my husband to help. Yeah, I'm wondering the same thing too in retrospect!! Nah, it wasn't that bad...during the day anyway.

We borrowed a pop-up camper from Great Gram and Gramps and had a cozy set up at our campsite. The first day we went on a nice hike around Nick's Lake and Charlie fed the ducks near the shore. Ah, the great outdoors. Then night fell...

Charlie did some serious bonding with dear Uncle Jon

After we put Charlie to bed, we all sat out by the fire for a while. The loons were calling, crickets singing and then from the stillness came the sound of a baby crying--a sound not so natural and serene. Grandma and I tried to soothe him and it would work for a while and then he'd wake up again, stand up in his pack-n-play and spy the four adults who were so rudely sharing his room and not paying any attention to him--more crying. Finally in the wee hours of the morning, Grandma took Charlie for a car ride and then parked so that they could "sleep" until dawn. God Bless Grandma. We thought maybe it would be better the second night since he would be more used to the camper. Uh no. The third night, we traded the blue spruces surrounding our campsite for the Blue Spruce Motel in nearby Old Forge. Sleep at last!

 

 

 

 

Beach Boy

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"Good Boy Charlie, you ate all your peas!"

"Wait a minute, what's this...?"

Koepp Family Reunion

We joined the Koepp clan out in Albany a couple weeks ago for a reunion with the fam. We were sad that Grandpa and Grandma Adams couldn't be with us! Charlie had a good time rambling around Nana's farm; he especially enjoyed the cornfield.

Uncle Dave gave Charlie this dump truck, so when he needed a break from playing, he just coaxed Uncle Jon into pushing him around the yard for a while.

Checkin' out the tractors

Gettin' to know his cousins a little better... Matteo and Aiden are so sweet. Matteo pulled these boys around for a long time and they loved it!! Plus it gave mom and dad a chance to gulp down a hot dog.

16 going on 17 (months that is)

Hard to believe that Charlie's approaching a year and a half of life. He's saying so many words now that I've had to start writing them on the back of my list on the fridge. He loves to copy whatever we say too (so we have to be careful now):) Reading through a list of toddler personality descriptions in a magazine the other day, I had trouble deciding if Charlie was "the explorer" or "the spitfire." He definitely has a strong will and just loves to be on the move constantly. It's hard work keeping up with him, but it sure is fun watching his eyes light up when he discovers something new. Here are a few of Charlie's most-used words that seem to reflect his personality quite well :

no (this is the clear winner frequency-wise)
uh-oh (when one of his toys "falls" into the garbage, or worse, the diaper champ)
stuck (when he squeezes himself between the computer desk and the wall --again)
down (as soon as you begin to buckle him in his car seat)
please (when he grabs a box of cereal out of the cupboard and brings it to you in hopes of a snack)

A treat from Great Grandpa

Charlie is so blessed to be able to spend time with his great grandparents. At 89 and 88, they do more in their day than most 60-somethings! We stopped by after berry picking and Grandpa gave Charlie a ride on the lawn mower and the four-wheeler. Grandma picked some sour cherries from their tree for us to snack on during the ride home. Good times!

ALL ABOARD!! (for the blueberry patch)

Charlie and I joined some other moms and headed out to Brown's Berry Patch in Albion for some blueberry pickin'. My plan (which is always subject to modification with 'Charles in Charge') was to actually try and pick a bunch of berries so that I could make some pies, etc. I figured my best chance to accomplish this would be to hoist Charlie into the backpack since his "stroller window" is pretty brief if he's not experiencing a constant change in scenery. He was being so good at first that I was shoving the berries into my pail as fast as I could to take advantage. Then I noticed that he was grabbing at the blueberry bushes and shoving everything his fist could grab (green, white and brown berries included) into his mouth. Once I slowed down the smorgasbord he became restless pretty quick and started pulling my hair for entertainment. Needless to say I was happy to get one pie's-worth of berries out of the deal!

This picture may look innocent enough, but after it was taken Charlie started to vigorously pump the metal handle--so much so that it "spooked" one of the cows in this pen and the cow began booking around in circles and making a mournful noise. I'm surprised we didn't get kicked out of the petting zoo.

Charlie was showing the cows his plastic leopard. They didn't seem to be impressed.

Our poor boy continues to "bark" at every animal. I did catch him making a cat noise the other day, but as a rule it's barking for dogs, cats, cows, even llamas!

Charlie and his friend Benjamin were having fun running down the lanes in the blueberry patch.

"So what I do is I hide the cooked carrots next to me in my chair when my parents aren't looking, then by the time they start cleaning up and find them, they figure dinner is over and they don't bother to make me eat them."


"Keep squirming Ben, I think we're almost free!"

"Ok, bro, you do the pedals and I'll steer. Let's head for the ice cream stand on three! 1-2- ah shucks here come our moms."

"Hey Mom, can you grab my booster seat?"

Later at the wedding...

At every wedding, there is always one guest who gets out of hand...

...one rowdy freeloader who throws decorum to the wind and sees it as his mission to sample every free beverage he can get his hands on.

Although it may be a bit unusual for this rebel-rouser to be...a toddler

(belch)

Then, inevitably, this guest ends up on the dance floor...

...making a spectacle of himself with his other drinking buddies. Our sincere apologies to Rachel and Doug (he he).