The Best Christmas Present Ever

After a nice church service, we headed to my parents house for Christmas Eve. We had a wonderful Christmas Eve with the Glacken family. Charlie was dressed in his Santa suit and he loved all of the excitement of cousins, aunt, uncles, and Grandma and Poppy. As with all babies, Charlie was more anxious to play with the boxes than the presents inside the boxes. He even climbed in a box. I think he is taking too literally what John and I keep telling him: that he is "the best Christmas present ever".

A Big Family Thanksgiving

It has been a very busy week. We hosted Thanksgiving at our home and we had a house full of family. My Grandparents came in from St. Louis and Charlie met his Great Ma Ma and Pa Pa Mueller for the first time. Also from St. Louis came my Aunt Ellen (mom's sister) and Uncle Frank. It was nice to have them here with us for the Holiday. After Thanksgiving dinner, we had a family poker game which I'm only writing about because I won!!! On Friday, the boys went golfing (ask John about the "Great Quitting of 09") while the girls went to Cannon Village for a Christmas fair and carriage rides. Charlie loved the carriage. Our St. Louis family headed home on Saturday. Charlie had a hard time adjusting on Saturday...I think he was used to all of the people and excitement...he had a hard time settling down and was very grumpy. All was well again on Sunday!

Charlie the Christmas Moose

We put the Christmas trees up today. John found this set of reindeer horns in the Christmas bins. We bought these at the pet store for the doggies (a few years back). I guess John finally found a head that they fit. Check out our little Rudolph (complete with a red nose).

Who's a Little Piggy?

After his excercise it was time for some lunch!! What a cute and messy boy!

He's on the move!

John and I were convinced that our little boy wonder was going to skip crawling and go straight to walking. He showed no interest in crawling but loves to stand. We tried everything to motivate him to crawl but to no avail. Well, there is one thing that Charlie loves best of all...the tv remote control (in addition to moving cars, balls, dogs, and pretty girls...he's all boy). As he was trying to steal it from his daddy, we thought maybe just maybe he would crawl to the remote. We put it on the floor and put Charlie about 3 feet from it and sure enough, he did it!! Yeah for Charlie. I guess it's time to start baby proofing!

Answered Prayers

Woo Hoo!!! Great news yesterday for Charlie....his kidney looks great. It is markedly improved since his last surgery and we're good to go! We will continue to have follow ups to make sure it continues to drain properly but we don't have to see the Doctor until February. Praise God for answered prayers!

Well, so much for that meteor shower. I went out at 2:00 am and there was a tiny patch of sky that was not covered in clouds. I watched that patch for about 1o minutes and never saw anything so I went to bed. Oh well, what can you do. I still remember this fabulous meteor shower when John and I were first married. We lived across the street from a church so we (John, his brother Bob and I) brought a blanket and some beer and sat on the church lawn watching all of the shooting stars. It was awesome.

I took these shots of Charlie, Murphy, and Guinny yesterday evening. Charlie was standing up holding on to the back of the sofa when he fell right on top of Murphy. I thought I would make it a photo op and get some shots of my three boys together.

Today, we go to the Dr for a follow up ultrasound to see how Charlie's kidney is doing. Fingers crossed. We then make a stop at the pediatrician for a catch up shot..oh joy. This should be fun!

I heard on the 11:00 news that there would be a meteor shower tonight starting at 2:00 am. I love this type of thing so I decided to stay up for it. This left me with one problem...what should I do between 11 and 2?

Well, I could finally create a blog! It's something that I've wanted to do but I haven't been able to find the time (until tonight!!).

It's been a very busy year! Charlie is almost 8 months old already. He is growing up so fast. His height is off the charts and his weight is about 70%. He is a clone of his Daddy. He is doing something new everyday. Oh, he makes us laugh!

Well, it's almost time for that meteor shower...let's hope I see some shooting meteors soon so I can hit the hay!