okay, check that whole going to bellingham bit (daddy just called!), the baby has been there. we stayed with the horsfalls when we went to canada for the olympic games...whew well they say memory is the first to go with age. & i feel i've aged a good ten years in the past year!!

did i mention izzy has taken to his bed set quilt for his "blankie?" the heaviest, bulkiest blanket he has....!!!! he kinda seems to be the guy who goes for all or nothing! ya know, the do it up right if you're gonna do it type!!!

charlie is on a tv kick in the mornings. every morning now i think we turn on either sprout (a toddler channel) or the disney channel. i'm picking my battles here because in the mornings, he's become quite the pill. he's so whiny & sad...the rest of the days, we're playing thomas (with the four foot crane), or lincoln logs, little people, or the art set! or helicopters, and tents. i think that covers the toy scene currently.

the sun is out today as of an hour ago. pretty amazing. not sure when the last time i saw it was. i know it came out last saturday but i was inside working all day!!!

we know nothing yet on brian's job.

happy national kazoo day!!!!

hmm..i seem to have lost a post. the computer shut off on me a moment ago...anyhoozle...
i wanted to make sure to mention my "do it up right if you're going to do it at all guy" has chosen his bed set quilt is the blankie of choice for him. did i tell you that already? the biggest, bulkiest blanket of them all is his favorite!!!
last night, charlie cracked his head into izzys. i swear i broke out in sweats...it was such a "CRACK!"..today...isaiah's got a bit of a black eye..just a wee one, but still...OUCH!..charlie's granite hard head seems to be unscathed.
had a few more stories for you, but i'm being pulled away! will come back in a bitty.
the sun was out for an hour today. pretty amazing how it can change one's perspective of life. haven't seen it in a while. it was out last sat, but i was inside work all day!

an update for the little monster. ...
so, he's just a few days shy of a whole year. and what a year it's been. he's been to the NE, SE, & SW corners of the state. guess we'll have to get to bellingham soon eh?! the first months of his adventures were in grandma & grandpa barges home. they were wonderful help & support (okay, mostly grandma!!) (grandpa just sang him a circus song every time he held him!! sometimes it worked, for a moments distraction!!) anyways, we were very well taken care of there. then we moved back to vancouver, into the "big blue house". where he's had numerous firsts. when his first teeth came in, i (being the dork i am) cried for a couple days myself. being a little sad (a lot) that my baby is growing up. TOO fast!! even though that means more sleep is in my future, but still. there's nothing like a newborn ya know! i think he's got three bottoms & four tops as far as teeth right now. but he's been drooling the last few days...so..maybe another soon to pop? he started walking a few days after turning nine months. both he & charlie exhibited the homo erectus siluette at nine months. he's had lots of practice since then & now runs the cutest little run you've ever seen! he started saying "mama" just to melt my heart a few months ago, but now everything is "uh-oh!"
his favorite foods...well, he's pretty good about eating anything. he's spit out green beans a few times. but he loves salmon (who doesn't!?) and ritz crackers, animal crackers. juices, cider. he devours almost any soup & chili. this morning he found the bread bag, pulled it off the counter & helped himself to a piece of bread! i've caught him climbing the pantry shelves a few times. he puts (still) everything in his mouth. any & everything...this is not good for my blood pressure! luckily, his gag reflex functions well!
ha, one funny thing he does all the time. he'll grab something (usually something charlie is playing with like something from the thomas set or lincoln logs) & get a snarky grin on his face & run away!!
oh, & he dances to everything, which i just LOVE!

ack-gotta run!! to be continued!

brownies anyone?

isaiah found the sugar bin....guess it's time to move that cupboards contents!!

sugared up!

he's constantly trying to help in the kitchen!

charlie surely has his daddy's sweet tooth!!..here we're making brownies for p-paw's birthday! happy birthday p-paw!!! we then video chatted to sing happy birthday to him :)

we've got a germy abode once again. charlie sounds like a seal when he coughs or sneezes at night. (no it isn't whooping cough). lots of sneezes & snot (an impressive amount of grossness) this morning. so i asked if he wanted some hot apple cider. he says "no thanks. hey! i'll see if some hot chocolate will make my sneeze go away!"
isaiah slept in today ! yay! he sometimes doesn't go back to sleep after a feeding about 530. but about half the time now, he's not getting up until about 730! loving that! he loves & adores his older brother. charlie makes him laugh & play :) will update later today~off to barefoot this morning for a quickie :) love you

i know it's hard to see, but one of my fave pics of grandma matchey-she's smack dab in the middle of it! i'll find some other ones within a few days of some more fun times on laddieland!!...

grandma matchey...thinking of you & all the wonderful memories :)

alrighty angels....please send good thoughts & helping hands to grandma matchey. also gg & ppaw...and to grandma barge & eric. (they're in minnesota currently driving through winters gift of blustery & freezing weather! hoping to see great grandma & grandpa pete & betty who also need prayers!)

in nine days, this cutie is going to be a one year old!!!

some other cute things worth mentioning about charlie bear. he'll say "hey everybody!" (let's do this or that or come here!) & he'll wave his hand at you..he'll also run up to isaiah's room when isaiah wakes up & says "hi there!" "how was your nap?" super cute. he'll say " i'm not quite ready yet" when it is time to go to bed or bathe or something he's not quite ready! the book he's writing in was a gift from nancy & scott! he loves it & i love that he loves it. there are tons of tracing cars & letters & mazes & numbers...it is just fabulous! it is a dry erase book...so he can do it over & over!!! thanks guys!

thought i'd better log a few things that crack me up about charile right now..
he'll look around the floor or room & if something is out of order or messy "look at this floor/room! it looks ridiculous!!" ("reedickuwus". i've also caught him saying (thank you daddy!) "dammit isaiah!"....once i heard this a few times, we had a wee chat..i haven't heard it since ;) and after we had a touch of the flu last month. his tummy "doesn't have time" to get to places...this one is still a bit wobbly to me...i think he picked it up when we talked about throwing up & kept a bucket by the bed in case we didn't have time to get to the loo. but he'll say things like, "i was going to go upstairs but my tummy didn't have time" or i "was going to pick up my toys but my "tummy didn't have time?!" ????
he also calls us "bri" & "jenn"....usually when he's calling one of us from a different story/floor. for example, if he's downstairs & i'm upstairs, & the timer on the oven goes off..."jenn! jenn! it is done jenn!"....
also, he loves his "school" he forever looks forward to seeing what his "job" is. they have chores every day that are charted on a chart.

playing with a flashlight and the camera !

ps, he was accepted into the speech therapy program with the public school! we're thankful! :) probably 30min a week for a while. they say he's smart, just need to work on articulation :)

this one decided the snack cup is for his foot to go in, not his hand. i have been trying to get him to reach in the cup for a cracker. but he keeps insisting his foot goes in the cup!

charlie had measurements at school last week...they say jan 2011, 43lbs 3'7". ...

there is a very special girl in my life who is in the midst of tragedy right now. if you have a moment, please spend it sending her prayers & love. she is one of, if not the most adored girl i know. this weekend she found her partner's body after his passing in their bed. unexpectedly. please send her love. i am so very sorry she has to go through this. she turns 40 on tuesday. i was planning to give her birthday money for her & her honey to go out to dinner. once in a blue moon, my tendency to procrastinate comes in handy i guess.