Budding artist

Getting Charley to hold a writing utensil of any kind is a challenge.  Getting him to print letters is damn near impossible.  I could give you a full essay about Aspergers and the related fine-motor deficiencies, but just know that this is kind of a standard issue for these kids.  Actually, I just came back from a meeting at school where his team discussed how we can get him to write out words in his daily journal.  He's such a clever little monkey that he's managed to convince them to read him a book every time he writes out a 4 word sentence.  Manipulator alert!

He has, however, discovered drawing recently.  I know it must look like a feeble effort for a 6 year old, but, trust me, this is amazing stuff, relatively speaking!  Plus, the stories he tells about the drawings are always good for a laugh.

 Notice all the vegetables growing in our garden.

 Love the detail.  And the multiple heads.

 The Lorax

Possibly Mom as a horse.  Or a giraffe?

I love kid art.  I'll have to do a post of some of Sam's stuff soon.  It's awesome too!

November ho-hum

I think November must be a very boring month, because I don't have anything to update for you!  It's getting to be cold now, with frost appearing regularly in the mornings.  No snow seen yet, but it can't be far off now.

The boys, with the help of school/peers, seem to have caught Christmas fever already.  I had to make a countdown calendar to show them that there are still many, many days until then.  It seems like a million to them, but of course isn't nearly long enough for me to get everything done.

A few weeks ago, we went out for a hike in Millbrook and did our annual 'scattering of the milkweed' for the benefit of the monarchs.  In the absence of snow, it certainly made the surroundings look quite festive.

That's the (boring) update from here.  Happy November to you!

This makes me very, very happy

Superheroes have tea parties too.

Big O!

My sweet new nephew, Owen James, was born on Monday morning.  He weighed in at 10 lb 5 oz, which makes his lovely mother my new hero.

Everyone is doing well and I wish the whole family sleep and peace and ease.  (It could happen!)

 My cute nephew and my cute brother.

Here's a picture of Ben, aka Daddy, on his birthday.  I think there's a little similarity there, don't you?  At least, the giant hands are the same!

Busy, busy week

Chris has just arrived back after a 9 day trip, so things have been a bit crazy around here.  I'm adding a photo from Easter so that you can see just HOW crazy.

Poor Uncle Ben.  No one should be attacked by that much cute!

Also, can we talk about just how naughty that little boy looks?  Henry went from being a sweet baby to a cheeky little menace overnight.  Good thing he has that dimple.

More to come!

Just 'cuz they're cute

Just a wee love post, because my family looks so darn cute in these shots.

Okay, well, Chris looks a bit like a grizzly bear.  He goes through this 'long-hair' phase every year, and every year he finally get it cut and say "why did I leave it for so long?".  I think we might be nearing the shearing.  Or maybe this is the time he sticks it out and lets it grow long enough to have Willie Nelson braids.

Either way, aren't those kids cute?! 

You know what time it is, right?

It's BOWL TIME!

My big, sweet, crazy, silly boy is 6 today.  I can't believe it.

Here are some Charley facts for you:

• He was born nearly 6 weeks early, but weighed an impressive 6 pounds.
• He wants to be a train driver when he grows up.  (Huge surprise there).
• While on vacation last week, he heard Sam and Evy playing in the other room and said "Oh, little kids!  They're always up to something!".
• He was named after John Steinbeck's dog Charley, and thus the alternate spelling.  
• He's obsessed with anatomy right now, and can give you a 10 minute, very accurate lecture about the human cochlea.   Also, the intestine is a popular topic at the moment.  
• He's a weird, quirky kid who remembers every fact he's ever read or see or heard, but can't remember to look for traffic or share toys with friends.  His report card came home today and under the 'physical education' section, it praised him for finding his own space in the gym and not running into his classmates.  At least, not very often.

He's awesome.  And he's growing like crazy.

Here's the proof.  Bowl shots, 2006-2012, comin' at you!

 1 week

 1 year

 2 years

 3 years

 

4 years

 

 5 years

And now!  6 years old!!

Isn't he just huge?   And grown up?  And, seriously, that poor bowl might not make it through another year of abuse.  Might need a back-up for photo ops.

Happy Birthday Charley!

Charley's Christmas card

I can't take credit for the idea... I saw it used on a Valentine's card somewhere along the way.  It sure was a cute way to hand out some holiday cheer though!

Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays to all.  I hope you have a happy mix of peace, crazy, joy, mania and fun.  At least, that's what I"m hoping for.

Mini- DIY notes:  Obviously, you just take a picture of your kid with their hand up in the air, to the side of their head.  Print off a bunch.  (I used Picasa to add the text before I sent the shot off to be printed).

Use an exacto to cut slits on either side of the fist.  Insert stick-like candy of your choice.  Candy canes being a good Christmas choice, but suckers would work well too.
Hand out to friends and family and listen to them 'oooh' over it.
Finished!

The Christmas pageant

Charley's Christmas pageant was yesterday.  He did as well as I imagined, meaning he only did one vigorous lap around the auditorium while he was supposed to be singing at the front.  I call that "success".

The teacher asked me for a stuffed animal a few days ago, thinking that holding something might distract him long enough to get through their two songs.  I sent Grover, who is a particular favourite at the moment.

I tied a festive bow around his neck and off he went. 

This is what Grover looked like as Charley entered the auditorium yesterday:

 Yep, nothing says 'festive' like Grover, noose'd up for the holidays!

 If you enlarge this shot, you can see the moment immediately preceding the 'victory lap' around the gym.  The pondering face is especially adorable.  har har

 Here he is, returned to his spot, after his brief exercise.  They sure are a cute bunch!

And here's the wee man, proud as punch, at the evening performance.  Grover has been re-bowed and there were no jogging shenanigans.  His hat is a bit jaunty, but, hey, I'll take it!

It's an exciting place, here in Charley-world!

Big boy!

So, it's happened.  Yep, my kid is a BIG kid now.

You see that missing tooth?  Happened last night.  Tooth Fairy left a bag of coins, despite the fact that we never found the tooth.  Charley didn't even know it was gone until I screamed and said "where's your tooooooth?".  He feels pretty cool today, let me tell you.

Sam spent part of last night valiantly trying to loosen a tooth by vigorous wiggling.  Haha, little brother, you'll just have to wait.

In other news, it's one of my favourite times of the year.  It's not a holiday or a great weather day, or anything like that.  It's class picture time!

One of the great joys of having a kid is awaiting the delivery of the photo proofs.  It's not because I'm expecting Charley to just smile and be cute... oh no no!  I was awaiting the ever-present 'pirate face'.  (Seen here and here and here and a million other places.) 

Well the new photos have a 'pirate-face junior' thing going, but are also about the cutest thing ever. 

Pose #1 and #2 (same shot cropped) classic Charley... crooked smile, half-squinty eye and slightly forced. (Chris thinks he looks like Alfred E. Newman).  You can just see him thinking "I'm supposed to smile now.  Here I go!"
Pose #3, #4 and #5 (again, same shot) is possibly more traditionally "cute", but there's less of the Charley-quirk factor. (A good thing?)

So, which should I order?  Let's be clear, I love my kid, but I'm not ordering the darn package twice.  Vote away!

Familial cuteness

Five cute cousins, sitting on a couch.  

Five first cousins born in 5 years... and 4 of them crazy boys.  I think, though, you can see that Evy really has no trouble holding her own.

Monkeys in black and white

There is no use trying to get a traditionally 'cute' photo of these two, you know, sitting and smiling at the camera like angels?  You gets what you gets.  In this case, monster faces and more!

Thomas and Superman:  Those are my boys.

Post school pick-up

When Sam and I picked up Charley from school today, he asked for my sunglasses, lay down on the school yard and looked up at the sky.

When I asked him what he was doing, he said "Don't you just love cloud gazing?"

I have know idea where he gets these things from.  But he's super-amusing.

Big boy's first day back

SK started up officially yesterday.  My big man was ready to get in there and help 'school' the tiny JK's who also started yesterday.  I wonder how much help he'll be for his teacher this year?  "Some" would be nice.  Oh, another adventure has begun!

Oh good!  A reprise of the pirate face made famous last year.  Nice to know it's at-the-ready for photo ops.

Isn't he just adorable and grown up?