Do you have a favorite place in your house? Perhaps it is a comfortable chair in a quiet place with a good lamp, where you can read or think without interruption. Maybe you like the kitchen, with shiny new appliances and regular smells of nourishment and enjoyment. Or is your bedroom your favorite, with a down-covered bed, stacks of pillows, and a blackout curtains for hours of blissful sleep?
Charlie, now mobile for nearly a month, has learned his way around the main floor of our house and now has quickly discovered a favorite place: the short hall where the dog bowls are kept! Set Charlie down anywhere on the ground floor and walk away; it won't be long until you hear the splash of water in Coco's bowl, followed by sloshing as the water is dumped out, then clanging as the two metal bowls are picked up and clanged together. How fun!
Alas for Charlie, his parents aren't terribly fond of mopping up water from the same spot on the floor multiple times a day, so Coco's bowls have been moved farther down the hall, behind a door that can be closed to block them. Poor Coco has to time carefully her water breaks now, and Charlie is padding off across the floor in search of a new favorite place. I think I hear pages rustling in my library........
Monday, February 23, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Brothers
"Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero."
--Marc Brown
Charlie is blessed to have a loving brother to help him grow up. Parents can provide guidance and instruction to a son, but there is something special about having a brother who can help him learn "street smarts" and show him how boys operate in the world.
Tripp would love to teach Charlie how to tackle, but for now he is contenting himself with helping Charlie learn the basics of crawling, and catch, and how to scream loudly. This last one is not part of the approved curriculum, but somehow keeps sneaking into the lessons anyway.
I still remember Christmas morning 2007, when we opened the envelope from the nurses that told us whether the baby we were expecting would be a boy or a girl. When Tripp announced "It's a boy," Sophie and Molly both threw their arms in the air and cheered for Tripp. The value of sisters is a topic for another time, but how sweet it was for the girls to recognize how vital it would be for Tripp to have the pleasure of a brother.
Charlie is lucky to have a good example of how to act as a boy, and Tripp is lucky to have a baby brother to bring out his softer, caring side. They are both better because of the other--isn't that what brothers are for?
--Marc Brown
Charlie is blessed to have a loving brother to help him grow up. Parents can provide guidance and instruction to a son, but there is something special about having a brother who can help him learn "street smarts" and show him how boys operate in the world.
Tripp would love to teach Charlie how to tackle, but for now he is contenting himself with helping Charlie learn the basics of crawling, and catch, and how to scream loudly. This last one is not part of the approved curriculum, but somehow keeps sneaking into the lessons anyway.
I still remember Christmas morning 2007, when we opened the envelope from the nurses that told us whether the baby we were expecting would be a boy or a girl. When Tripp announced "It's a boy," Sophie and Molly both threw their arms in the air and cheered for Tripp. The value of sisters is a topic for another time, but how sweet it was for the girls to recognize how vital it would be for Tripp to have the pleasure of a brother.
Charlie is lucky to have a good example of how to act as a boy, and Tripp is lucky to have a baby brother to bring out his softer, caring side. They are both better because of the other--isn't that what brothers are for?
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Kisses
Charlie has started giving "kisses." Last night he wasn't quite full after his bedtime bottle, so he was restless in his crib. Sylvia asked me to give him another couple of ounces, which I gladly did while rocking him gently by the dim yellow light of his Pooh night light. I could see his big round eyes staring across the room while he drank, and sure enough he finished the bottle before he had drifted off to sleep.
I held him to my shoulder and began gently to pat his back, not so much because he needed to burp but because sometimes the rhythmic motion soothes him and he drops off to sleep. This time however, he leaned away from me, eyes wide, to observe my face in the dim light. After a few moments of staring at me, he opened his mouth and slowly moved his face in next to mine, gently touching his cheek against mine. We held it a few seconds, then he pulled his head back to look at me again. Back he came, this time touching his lips to my cheek. The third time he rested his cheek against mine for a few seconds, then let his head fall to my shoulder, his eyes closed.
I laid him in his crib and quietly walked out of the room, my cheek still warm from his touch, my heart even warmer from experiencing this first explicit expression of Charlie's love.
I held him to my shoulder and began gently to pat his back, not so much because he needed to burp but because sometimes the rhythmic motion soothes him and he drops off to sleep. This time however, he leaned away from me, eyes wide, to observe my face in the dim light. After a few moments of staring at me, he opened his mouth and slowly moved his face in next to mine, gently touching his cheek against mine. We held it a few seconds, then he pulled his head back to look at me again. Back he came, this time touching his lips to my cheek. The third time he rested his cheek against mine for a few seconds, then let his head fall to my shoulder, his eyes closed.
I laid him in his crib and quietly walked out of the room, my cheek still warm from his touch, my heart even warmer from experiencing this first explicit expression of Charlie's love.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Fashion Tip
A nice warm bath is a popular way to relax, and one way to enhance the enjoyment is to be sure you have the appropriate apres-bain attire. Here, young Charlie models the hooded toweling robe, the perfect way to dry off on those cool evenings when a little head cover will go a long way toward keeping you warm and toasty. With lounge wear like this, anyone can be on his way to sleeping like a baby....
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