Pink Sheep Cake

We celebrated the October birthdays on my side of the family, and I designed this beautiful pink sheep cake. “Why a pink sheep cake?” you ask. Well, I will tell you.

We celebrated two birthdays: my cousin’s and my brother-in-laws. My cousin’s favorite color is pink, and my brother-in-law’s family has a sheep ranch. Viola. Pink sheep cake. I’m a genius.

My mom actually made the cake and frosting, but I put it all together. The brown frosting for the sheep’s face and ears is not the typical chocolate frosting we usually make; we used Hershey’s Dark Chocolate Cocoa. This was my first experience with it, and I thought it was delicious! Personally, I love the wiggly eyes. They may be my favorite part of the cake, and I will be using them again in the future. And I used a peanut M&M for the nose.

It may not look exactly like a sheep, but I think it’s pretty close, and it was a lot of fun to make.

Honey Lime Chicken

chicken
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons honey
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
4 tablespoons chicken broth
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

1. Place chicken in crock pot. 2. Melt butter in a small saucepan, and add lime, honey, and garlic powder until warm. Add chicken broth, salt and pepper. 3. Pour lime mixture over chicken. Cover and cook on low 8 to 10 hours.

I had my first experience with honey lime chicken just after Charlie was born when my sister-in-law brought us dinner: honey lime chicken enchiladas. They were awesome! The leftovers were even awesome! Mmmm. Unfortunately, I never got the recipe from her, but I found this recipe online and think it would make excellent enchiladas.

I have used this recipe, and it is good. My side of the family got together for dinner and did our own version of Cafe Rio (for those of you who don’t know what that is, it’s a Mexican restaurant in which you go through a cafeteria-like line and they build your burrito/salad/nachos to your specifications—fresh and delicious). The honey lime chicken was a huge success, and I definitely recommend it. Enjoy!

Housing Madness

In May we started house hunting. It’s a buyer’s market, and we decided that instead of spending our money on rent, we wanted to invest it. So the house hunt began, and it was exciting! We saw lots of great places (and some crappy places) that were more than reasonably priced.

We put in our first offer! It didn’t work out. We put in our second offer, but had to wait and wait and wait and . . . wait and wait some more, because it was a short sale. In the meantime, we put in our third offer on another short sale and thought we’d have to wait, but—whammy—two weeks later our offer is accepted! Hooray! Rejoicing! We start telling people that we’re going to be homeowners. I start looking at appliances. I start looking at wood flooring. I make decisions about paint (without purchasing). We schedule our inspection. We meet our loan officer and get the ball rolling. Whammy. The property doesn’t actually qualify for the conditions of our loan, which is the opposite of what the original listing stated. Whammy. We’re back at square one.

I cry.

I dry my tears and put on a brave face.

I cry some more.

Damn you, brave face!

I cry again.

Our realtor, in her infinite wisdom, doesn’t waste any time and just a few hours after the incredibly depressing news has a new long list of properties for us to check out. We decide not to wallow but to jump back into the hunt with both feet. (I wallow a little.) We see some crappy places. (I wallow a little more.) Then we see some really great places. (I wallow a little less.) Then more crap. (Wallow.) But we decide to put in our fourth offer (on one of the great places). Yikes. Anxiety. It is NOT a short sale; short sales are of the devil. Hooray? They counteroffer. Yikes. Anxiety. We counteroffer. They accept. Anxiety. Hooray! Anxiety. Hooray!

ARGH! I’m going crazy!

We’ve scheduled to meet with our loan officer to get the ball rolling—again. Hooray! Anxiety. We’ve scheduled our inspection. Hooray! Anxiety.

This is the current state of my life.

If all goes well, at the end of November we will own a beautiful, spacious townhome.

If I’m lucky at all, at the end of November I will still be sane.

(Was I ever sane?)

Fablehaven

I recently finished the Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull. While the completion is recent, I think I started reading the series a couple years ago. Why did it take me two years to read five preteen/young adult books? Excellent question. Well, there are a couple reasons. First, I didn’t find the first one interesting enough to quickly pick up the second one. Second, I borrowed them from my mother-in-law who was also loaning them to a friend. So I had to wait until her friend finished, and then I had to wait until either she or I remembered to give/ask for the next one. And third, I was simultaneously reading another, more interesting, series (which when I finish I will blog about, but it’s like 15 books long, and while I’m on book 11 or 12 they’re each at least 600 pages, and I’ve still got a while).

So why didn’t I find the first one interesting enough to quickly pick up the second one? The scope of the book was narrow. For those who don’t know the premise of the series, allow me a quick summary: the books follow two young siblings who discover that their grandparents are caretakers over a magical preserve, and then these two kids proceed to have a variety of adventures interacting with the magical community. So the scope of the book was narrow because all the action in the first book was centered at the magical preserve, Fablehaven, which for a first book introducing the reader to a new world is kind of understandable. But at the same time, the first book didn’t leaving me anxiously wanting more.

The next question is: did the later books get any better than the first? Yes! And I would say the rest were all significantly better than the first and all at about the same quality as each other. The later books very rapidly began integrating characters and events from outside Fablehaven, and then the two main characters themselves began encountering magical creatures in the “real” world (outside of Fablehaven)—and throughout the world. Which satisfied my dislike of the narrowness of the first book.

Personally, I think the series’ greatest strength is the pacing. Brandon Mull gets things started and keeps things going. I may have encountered passages that made me want to stop reading maybe once or twice after the first book. But while the books are set at a good pace, they aren’t so intense I couldn’t ever stop if I needed to do something else. And it was easy to get back into them once I put them down.

The series greatest weakness is that the books tend to be a bit didactic. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy learning from literature and I appreciate books that support good morals and values, but I don’t like it when an adult character gives a kid character a lecture on how they can improve (which probably happens a little more than once per book in this series). I see it as a failing of the author. A good author should be able to show good morals and values and principles like repentance and redemption instead of just talking about them.

Now, I must concede that in my mid twenties I am not the author’s target audience. The books are intended for preteens and young adults. If I try to imagine twelve-year-old me, I think I would have devoured this series with reckless abandon.

Overall, the books are entertaining and fun to read. I would recommend the series to anyone looking for a fun bit of light reading.

Crawling on All Fours

Warning:

Lower or mute your volume control before watching this video;

there are bursts of white noise that could be painful to the unsuspecting ear.

I’m pretty confident that I’ve established in previous posts that my baby is a little bit . . . differenter. And here is yet another example: the all-fours crawl.

While Charlie usually crawls on his hands and knees, there are certain circumstances that lead him to crawl on his hands and feet. In the above video you can see him doing this on grass; he also does this on hard wood, tile, and linoleum. While I guess he’s doing this for the comfort of his knees, crawling on all fours looks kind of weird. He also moves slower. But to each his own.

Charlie’s been crawling for about a month and a half now, and he’s getting closer to walking every day. In fact, he stood up completely on his own—in the middle of the lawn, he just stood up. And then proceeded to fall on his butt. Of course. But he got full leg extension, supporting himself by himself. It was impressive. (But then, I am his mom and prone to bias—I even think his snot bubbles are impressive, so . . . )

Anywho, I don’t know if standing on one’s own is actually connected to walking, if it is a precursor, but it’s another exciting development, so I thought I’d share.

Breastfeeding in the News

In the news last night there was a segment about a woman who was breastfeeding her son in the grocery store and a store employee asked her to cover up or go to a more private area of the store because her breastfeeding uncovered was making the other customers uncomfortable. Apparently this request was extremely offensive to this woman.

Really? That is offensive?

I am a nursing mother, and I appreciate that my state makes it legal to breastfeed in public, even uncovered. But to me, this is a modesty and courtesy issue. I do not think the benefits of breastfeeding make exposing your breast modest. A breast that can produce nourishment for a child is still a private body part and should be kept private.

Also, isn't it common courtesy to change your behavior when you learn that behavior makes others uncomfortable? I think it is. And in this instance no one asked her to stop breastfeeding or to leave the store; they simply asked her to breastfeed more privately.

Dogs, Caves, and Horses

We've had some fun adventures in the last couple weeks. First, we went up to Idaho for Chad's mission president's homecoming—which was lovely—and while we were in the area we stopped to visit my grandmother. We had a nice visit with her, and while we were at her house, my uncle pops in and insists that Charlie "ride" his two-year-old great dane named Tank. A very appropriate name. The dog is huge.

So we give it a try, and Charlie is totally cool about the whole thing. He acts like it's no big deal. Tank on the other hand was pretty reluctant. After that, I help Charlie stand in the grass, and my uncle's little-bitty yet fat, one-eyed chihuahua (also named Charlie) approaches and softly puts his paw on Charlie's chest.

Charlie freaked out.

Apparently giant dogs that could swallow Charlie whole are totally ok, while tiny dogs that could barely eat Charlie's toes whole are terrifying. I do not understand. My baby is a weirdo.

A few days after our Idaho adventure, we went to visit my newly-married sister and her husband who have settled down in a small town nearish Park City, Utah. They took us to see Cache Cave (a popular spot along the Mormon Trail) and to do some horseback riding. The cave was really interesting; the pioneers who stopped there on their way to the Salt Lake Valley carved their names into the rock wall, and dozens of names are still easily legible. However, I was sad to see that some modern visitors had vandalized the cave by adding their own carvings.

The horseback riding was also a lot of fun—despite a sore tush for a couple days after. My brother-in-law's family owns the horses we rode, and we were able to just wander around his family's sheep ranch enjoying the beautiful day. I also got to see some lambs. Baby animals are always so cute—no matter what species.

Vegas Vacation

This month we went to Las Vegas for a big family reunion and had a great time. Between getting some good old fashioned R&R, we were able to go see and do some pretty fun stuff.

Day 1. We went to the Spring Mountain Ranch in Red Rock Canyon. We enjoyed a picnic lunch with the family at the pavilion and then hiked around. There were several 1800s buildings and a "lake"—apparently in Nevada they have a very generous definition of the word lake. The red rock mountains in the area were also beautiful to look at.

Day 2. We took Charlie on his first swimming adventure! In an attempt to be extra safe, I bought a baby floaty for Charlie before we left for vacation, and it worked out really well. The adventure had a rough start. I'm not sure if the pool temperature wasn't quite to Charlie's liking or if he was just freaked out 'cause it was a new experience, but after only a few minutes of wining, Charlie seemed content to watch the other kids swim around while he floated in his inner tube. I think by the end he was enjoying himself.

Day 3. We took family photos, barbequed, and played games in the park. We had a good time visiting with family and eating some delicious chili dogs.

Day 4. In the evening, we went to see the light shows on Freemont Street in downtown Las Vegas and the water fountain shows in front of the Bellagio on the strip. The theme for the light shows was all about the '80s—lots of '80s music and even some classic video game footage. The light shows were pretty cool, but Freemont Street itself was pretty grimy. The water shows at the Bellagio were pretty cool, too. We stayed and watched three. The first was set to Luck Be a Lady, the second was set to something instrumental I didn't recognize, and the third was set to the music of Simple Gifts—it was weird hearing a hymn on the strip, but also cool.

Day 5. We went to the Venetian and enjoyed our first taste of gelato in their replica of St. Mark's Square. We bought the gelato at Cocolini, and however expensive, it was delicious! The gelato was smoother, creamier, and had richer flavors than the regular American ice cream we are accustomed to. St. Mark's Square and the other Grand Canal areas were also really interesting. We have never been to Italy, but when we walked into these areas it felt like we had left Vegas. The vaulted ceilings were painted with partially cloudy blue skies, and with the lighting, I really did have to do a double take that I was still inside the Venetian.

All in all, our trip to Vegas was a lot of fun. It was great to get away from the daily grind, rest and relax as much as we wanted, and go do some fun things that we hadn't done before.

Independent Movement

Charlie has begun figuring out the basics of moving his body by himself. He is good at rolling, and I'm pretty sure he's started scooting—pretty sure because he only does it when I'm not looking. So in honor of this momentous occasion, I would like to list the pros and cons of this milestone:

Pros
1. Charlie has another means of entertaining himself.

Cons
1. Charlie can move by himself.
2. At some point during sleep Charlie positions himself in the corner of his crib (evidenced by the above photo) despite me placing him in the center, and then wakes up horribly upset and screaming as if to say, "How dare you put me face down IN THE CORNER! You are such a jerk!" At least now I know that when he gets older putting him in the corner may actually be an effective punishment.
3. He tries to roll over during diaper changes. Poopy bum plus rolling. Need I say more?

Chicken Lasagna

2 T. olive oil
lasagna noodles, cooked according to package directions
4 medium chicken breasts, boiled and shredded
1 jar sauce, Ragu Roasted Garlic Parmesan
2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
3 eggs
16 oz. cottage cheese, small curd
Italian seasoning, to taste

1. Mix chicken, 2/3 jar sauce, 2 eggs, and 1 cup cheddar. 2. Mix cottage cheese, Italian seasoning, 1 egg, and 1/2 cup cheddar. 3. Spread olive oil in bottom of 9x13 pan, coating evenly. 4. In pan, layer: lasagna noodles, 1/2 chicken mix, noodles, cottage cheese mix, noodles, 1/2 chicken mix, noodles. 5. Top with remaining sauce and cheddar. 6. Bake at 375° for 30–45 minutes, and let cool 5–10 minutes.

This was a fun experiment for me, and I think as a whole the experiment was a success. The lasagna turned out pretty good—not mouthwateringly fabulous, but pretty good. However, I think the concept has the potential to be mouthwateringly fabulous, but I don't know what the recipe needs to make it so. The lasagna was just missing something, so if you have any idea on what ingredients I could add or change, please leave a comment.

PS: For one of the side dishes with the lasagna, I had some cooked baby carrots, and unfortunately there were leftovers—I HATE veggie leftovers, they usually warm up overcooked and gross. Anywho, I had tacos for dinner tonight and was reminded of going to dinner at a Mexican lady's house while serving as a missionary. We had tostadas at her house, and for toppings she served the typical ones but also cooked carrots and potatoes. So, tonight I warmed up some cooked carrots, sliced them, and put them on my tacos. They were delicious! So the next time you've got cooked carrots leftover, I highly recommend trying them on tacos, or tostadas.

Something AWESOME!

So, as the title of this blog indicates, I was recently exposed to something AWESOME! And instantly had a desire to share it with the world. I now share with you the awesome dip & squeeze ketchup packets made available at Chik-fil-A. With three times the ketchup as a foil packet and shaped like unto a ketchup bottle, this delightful new condiment container can easily fulfill all your fast-food ketchup needs. Either tear off the cap and enjoy squeezing a steady stream of ketchup onto your chosen food product or peel back the foil lid and enjoy dipping your chosen food product into a fabulous pool of delicious liquefied tomato goo. Whether you're a dipper or a squeezer, I hope you enjoy these as much as I do.

Homemade Baby Food

Since Charlie's been tolerating his oatmeal and rice cereals well over the past several weeks, I've decided to get him started on veggies and fruits. And in an effort to avoid buying expensive baby foods and to satisfy my control freak tendencies, I've started by making my own baby food with the help of a fantastic book my sister gave me, Cooking Light First Foods.

There are two specific things I really love about this book. First, it shows that you don't have to buy any expensive equipment. When discussing the tools needed to make baby food, the book gives a list of items ranging in price from as little as $2 to as much as $150. And thus far, none of the recipes I've looked at require the expensive baby food makers. Second, it offers lists of food choices beyond what I would have thought to feed my baby. After all, my thinking is just because I don't like a food doesn't mean I shouldn't expose Charlie to it; he may love foods I don't usually eat or enjoy. There are two lists I like to peruse, one that breaks fruits and veggies into color groups and another that groups fruits and veggies by seasons.

So, with my handy-dandy baby food cookbook, I got started by making Charlie some carrots. Now the recipe given is super simple and also kind of obvious—you may be thinking, "she needed a cookbook to figure THAT out!?" But I do find the book helpful. So here's the recipe:

1. Steam 1 pound carrots for 20 minutes or until very tender. 2. Blend, process, or mash until smooth, adding cooking liquid to reach desired consistency.

Since I already had a really awesome blender, I used that, and it worked great. Now obviously a baby isn't going to eat a pound of carrots in one sitting, so I spooned my carrot puree into an ice cube tray and put it in the freezer; when the puree was frozen I took the cubes out of the tray and am storing them in baggies in the freezer. One serving for Charlie is about two cubes.

All in all, the experience of making baby food was a success. I found it to be quick and easy. Plus, now I feel all thrifty and domestic—hooray for esteem boosters!

Tulip Festival

This weekend we went to a Tulip Festival and had a great time. For some reason I had it in my head that at the Tulip Festival we would see fields of tulips. It was not like that. We walked on winding paths through a massive garden—we were there for about three hours and could have easily stayed longer—and saw the tulips arranged in beautiful flower beds with a few other kinds of flowers.

There were also some special arrangements of the flowers, such as "the secret garden" and "the fragrance garden." The secret garden was very much as its name suggests. It's a walled garden filled to the brim with flowers, and it was gorgeous! The fragrance garden was also very much as its name suggests—fragrant. Although I don't know that it was any more fragrant than other parts of the festival, but the fabulous smells coming from the flowers was delightful!

This was technically our first family outing, and I was a little anxious as to how Charlie would behave. But he was an angel! He was perfectly happy to sit in his stroller and be pushed around. All in all it we had an excellent time—even Chad who thought going to see a bunch of flowers would be totally lame.

After all that, I am now completely ready for springtime—bring it on! Too bad it's cold and rainy today, but May showers bring June flowers?

Easter

Happy Easter! Yeah, I know I'm a little late, but better late than never. Our Easter this year was pretty good. We took Charlie to an egg hunt at Aubrey's house and to color eggs at Kevin and DeAnn's. While Charlie didn't necessarily know what was going on, he seemed to enjoy being around the family, especially his cousins, and sucking on plastic eggs—try as he might, he couldn't get the whole egg in his mouth; maybe next year.

First Foods

Charlie got his first taste of solid foods this week! I started him on oatmeal cereal because his pediatrician said that or barley might help with Charlie's constipation issues. But it's either not working or he hasn't gotten enough in him to make any difference (the latter being VERY likely).

His first attempt went pretty well if not extremely messy. I thought I was pretty good at feeding infants, I've had a bit of practice with my nieces and nephew, but I found out it's a different ball game when the infant hasn't ever eaten from a spoon before. As a result of our combined clumsiness, I got a significant amount of oatmeal up Charlie's nose. Don't worry. He sneezed it out. And yes, it was just about as gross as it sounds. But by the end of the attempted feeding, it seemed as if Charlie was catching on despite a lingering tongue-thrust reflex, and I think he actually swallowed down a couple spoonfuls.

His second attempt went differently. I had the brilliant idea (at least I thought it was, but it may not have actually been) to start out with feeding him oatmeal using his oral syringe—to guarantee he would swallow some down. I use his oral syringe to give him medicine, and he takes it really well. Any who, I did indeed get 0.5mL of oatmeal down his throat, but after that he didn't eat from the spoon nearly as well.

His third attempt went differently yet again. For the first two attempts, I included his liquid, baby vitamins with the oatmeal, because I thought it would give the oatmeal a familiar flavor. Well, I measure out his vitamins with his oral syringe, which was dirty. So, being too lazy to wash it, I didn't add his vitamins in the oatmeal for this attempt. It didn't go nearly as well this time. Charlie kept scrunching up his face like the oatmeal tasted terrible, which he hadn't done before, and he didn't last as long—I only got to try three or four spoonfuls. His mood may have been a big factor in this attempt, too, because I don't think he was as happy as the other two.

So, to make a short story long, I think it will take Charlie and me a little while to figure out this solid food feeding thing. But we've started out, and it will certainly be an adventure!

Charlie’s Baby Blessing

We finally blessed Charlie! And it was great to have so many family and friends there to join in the occasion. Chad gave Charlie a wonderful blessing, and even though I can't remember it all, I do remember that he blessed Charlie to always be able to recognize the Spirit and to continue to be a blessing in the lives of his family members—such good things. Unfortunately Charlie freaked out a little which really surprised me. Usually Charlie loves being in big groups of people, but apparently when he is the center of everyone's attention it's a very different story. So in all the pictures that we got there, he is very upset. But when we got home, we were able to get some cute photos of him in his adorable white tux. We've got such a cute boy!

New Dress

 For my sister's wedding, I sewed myself a new dress. My sewing experience has been pretty sporadic, and my last attempt at a dress, during my senior year of high school, turned out pretty laughable—just ask my mom, I can guarantee she will laugh. So for this attempt I not only made sure to purchase an easy, beginner pattern but I also proceeded under adult supervision. And it turned out to be a great success! At least I really like my new dress. And I had the opportunity to learn a couple new sewing skills; I can now successfully make gathers and tack down lining. (The gathers is an especially good skill to know since my first attempt at gathers is the main reason my last attempt at a dress was so laughable.)

Hidden Kiss Cookies

1 cup butter or margarine, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa
48 Hershey's Kisses, unwrapped
powdered sugar

1. Heat oven to 350*F. Beat butter, sugar, and vanilla in large bowl until creamy. Stir together flour and cocoa; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until blended. Mold scant tablespoon dough around each chocolate piece, covering completely. Shape into balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.
2. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Cool about 1 minute; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. Roll in powdered sugar. Roll in sugar again just before serving, if desired.

Photo courtesy of hersheys.com.

My sister Jennifer is getting married next month, and for her bridal shower we had a kiss cookie theme. We had some traditional peanut butter blossoms and two varieties of what I call hidden kiss cookies. I made the above chocolate variety and my sister Andrea made an almond variety. Both were delicious! I was feeling lazy, so I didn't roll my cookies in the powdered sugar, but I was thinking that for holiday occasions, I might roll these cookies in colored sugar sprinkles. I think that would be fun.

Also, I tried to find caramel kisses but failed. But I think the caramel kisses would be extra delicious. Although in their absence, one could use rollos or even mini peanut butter cups--yum!

Baby Feet

Charlie has officially discovered his feet and toes! I think it's certainly about time. I mean, should it really take three months for a human to discover that "holy crap those wiggly things down there are a part of me!" I think it's a feat that should be able to be accomplished much sooner, but apparently not. Oh well, at least he's not still in the dark. This particular discovery has come in handy quite a bit. For example, now during diaper changes, I don't have to hold Charlie's feet up because he does it for me! He's such a helpful boy. Also, now during playtime when Charlie loses all his other toys because he's dropped them, he still has two that he not only can't lose but can't get enough of. Excellent. I know this seems like a very small milestone, but it's one I've been looking forward to since Charlie's birth. So, hooray for Charlie!

Growing

Despite the fact that Charlie is a big baby, I have been hesitating to put him into his bigger-sized clothes. After all, he is barely more than 2 months old, so he should still fit into his 0–3 month clothes. Right? Well, sort of. If "fit" means that I am able to get him in and snap the clothes shut, then yes, he still fits. But "fit" doesn't seem to be a very good descriptor when the clothes are stretched tight around his body.

So, I have finally upgraded Charlie's wardrobe to his 3–6 month clothes, and I have mixed feelings about it. On the good side, he has a lot of super cute 3–6 month clothes (including the above dinosaur number with the cute dino prints on the footsies). On the not so good side, this upgrade means that my little bitty baby (who wasn't ever really that little bitty) is getting bigger and bigger, and before I know it, my baby will be a toddler then a kid then a preteen then a teen then almost a man then a man—weird!

But I guess I shouldn't get too far ahead of myself, and at least for now he's still my cuddle buddy. I'll just have to enjoy Charlie's babyhood while I can.

Playtime

Charlie is moving right along in his development; he's starting to reach out and touch things, grab things, put things in his mouth (he loves the feel of his burp cloths in his mouth), etc. All very small accomplishments, but to me they are awesome! Especially since these accomplishments mean Charlie is starting to entertain himself upon occasion. Hooray!

So Charlie's playtime has become more get-things-done time for me. And with Chad at work and school (he's taking two classes at a local university) most of the day, it's been great. I now have more time to work on my last college class via independent study (bring on graduation!—finally), and I've also taken on a freelance editing project for a local author, Rachel Nunes. Having published dozens of novels, Rachel is well established in the LDS market, so this will be an excellent experience for me.

All in all, things are going well for our little family!

Smiles

Hooray Charlie is starting to smile!

After a month and a half of negative reinforcement (poop, crying, spit-up, and more crying), we are finally getting positive responses. Phew.

It's amazing just how much easier parenting is to handle when I can look forward to those adorable moments when my baby smiles at me. I was beginning to wonder just when the "parenthood is so rewarding" and "it's all worth it" aspect was going to come in to play (hence my lack of posts over the last month and a half), and it is finally here. What a relief!

We're trying to discover more and more things that will make Charlie laugh, but so far we've got pinching/poking his cheeks, poking/wiggling his nose, and blowing puffs of air in his face. And, naturally, accompanying any of those actions with weird noises helps. We're working on getting him to smile when we tickle him, but he still doesn't know what to think when we tickle his belly or sides, and I'm not sure he's even aware of his toes—he better watch out when he finally does realize those little wiggly things down there are his, because I can't resist tickling baby toes.

Life is good when baby smiles.

:)