Things tend to change when you least expect them to ... it is God's way of putting things into perspective.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Man's Best Friend!!

Charlie has really started to take an interest in our English Bulldog, Huey. He loves when Huey comes to see him and is always up for a "conversation."
Here lately, Charlie is all about "petting" Huey. Thank goodness Huey is good with him. He will come right up to Charlie and sniff at him and they just lie down and let Charlie touch and "pet" him. We have to be careful, though, as Huey still thinks he is Charlie's size. He sometimes will sneak a nibble in ... Charlie doesn't mind though!

Charlie is working on pulling up ... we don't have a lot of places in our living room to practice so he decided Huey was just as good. He didn't make it up on his feet here ... Huey wasn't up for providing kiddie rides that night!

Charlie's newest fascination ... Huey's cage. We have always used Huey's cage as a "safe spot" for him and this is his little home. He sleeps here throughout the day while we are at work and at night. He loves his cage!! Even when he is free to roam the house when we are home in the evenings and weekends, Huey will sometimes just hang out here. We leave it open so that he can get in and out as he pleases. Charlie is absolutely intrigued with it, especially the door. He has learned how to open and close the latch now and will sit there as long as I let him and play with the door. Thank goodness there are two latches on the door -- the higher one he can't reach.

Huey just sits calmly and watches Charlie play ....

Thursday, January 22, 2009

My Parents Sent Me This ....

The Price of Children

This is just too good not to pass on. Here's something absolutely positive for a change. I have seen the breakdown of the cost of raising a child, but this is the first time I have seen the rewards listed this way. It's nice.

The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140.00 for a middle-income family. Talk about price shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition.

But $160,140.00 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into:
* $8,896.66 a year,
* $741.38 a month,
* $171.08 a week.
* A mere $24.24 a day!
* Just over a dollar an hour.

Still, you might think the best financial advice is; don't have children if you want to be 'rich.'
Actually, it is just the opposite.

What do you get for your $160,140.00?
* Naming rights. First, middle, and last!
* Glimpses of God every day.
* Giggles under the covers every night.
* More love than your heart can hold.
* Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
* Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.
* A hand to hold usually covered with jelly or chocolate.
* A partner for blowing bubbles and flying kites.
* Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.

For $160,140.00, you never have to grow up. You get to:
* finger-paint,* carve pumpkins,
* play hide-and-seek,* catch lightning bugs,
* never stop believing in Santa Claus.

You have an excuse to:
* keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh,
* watch Saturday morning cartoons,
* go to Disney movies, and* wish on stars.

You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for Father's Day.

For a mere $24.24 a day, there is no greater bang for your buck. You get to be a hero just for:
* retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof,
* taking the training wheels off a bike,
* removing a splinter,* filling a wading pool,
* coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and
* coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.

You get a front row seat in history to witness the:
* First step,
* First word,
* First bra, (let's hope not with Charlie!!!)
* First date,
* First time behind the wheel.

You get to be immortal. You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren and great grandchildren. You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college can match.

In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God. You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits, so one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost. That is quite a deal for the price!!!!!!!

Love and enjoy your children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren! It's the best investment you'll ever make!

Friday, January 16, 2009

Healthy and Happy!

Charlie visited Dr. V for his 9 month check up yesterday. We are happy to report that he is happy and very healthy!! He weighed in at just over 22 lbs and was 30 inches long. That puts him in the 82nd percentile for weights and 93rd for height. His head circumference still measures in the mid 90s as well :) She was very happy with his progress and thinks that he will continue to top the charts given his genetics (despite his early start).

He is going to be moved into his big guy car seat this weekend, but will have to remain backwards until his first birthday. He is also getting to eat more solids. Yesterday he had his first taste of Cheerios and he loved them!! More soft meats and cheeses are on the way for the big guy.

Although he is not crawling on all fours yet, he has NO problem getting around. He loves army crawl into the bathroom or kitchen each morning as I get ready to go and Ms. Candi said that he is always making his way to where the action is. He continues to be an extremely happy baby!

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Little Fishy!

Charlie has been taking baths in the bathtub now for a couple of weeks. No longer is he confined to the "baby tub," but now he enjoys the plentiful space of our master bathroom tub. The first couple of baths he just sort of sat there and let me wipe him down, but with each new bath, he is gaining increasing confidence. Tonight, he took a step that I am not sure if I am ready for. He decided that it would be fun to try and "swim." He went from a seated position to his belly and tried to work his way to the other end of the tub to get the boat that was floating down there. Granted, I was sitting right there and he didn't go under or anything, but wow!! I couldn't believe that a 9-month old would really enjoy the water that much. I can pour small amounts of water down his face and he loves it. He will close his eyes and just blow the water away. His left arm really gets going on the water as he loves to splash! It is fun to watch his enjoy the water -- I just hope that he keeps enjoying it!!! Bathtime is much easier when he enjoys it!

Thursday, January 8, 2009

A few pictures

Charlie's first MBB game -- KU vs. Tennessee

Lovin' Bath Time ...

9 Months Old!!



Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Updates!

For a brief moment, I thought maybe it would be necessary to go back on bed rest so that I could update friends and family with what is going on in our lives .... but, only for a brief moment!! I know that is something I NEVER want to go through again. So, here is my attempt to catch you all up ....

**Charlie is back home (where he belongs). After spending nearly a week with my parents, they returned him and it is great!! He had a fun week in IL with my family, but I think he is happy to be back home with us and back at Ms. Candi's house with all oh his little friends while Eric and I are gone during the day.

**My parents were out this past weekend. They brought Charlie home on Friday night and then spent the weekend with us. They were able to see my game vs. NMSU on Sunday afternoon before heading home. While they were successful at raising their 6 kids, they admitted that keeping Charlie was tiring :) Not as young as they used to be ... haha!

**We play our last non-confernce game tomorrow at home vs. Fairfield. We are currently 10-2 and will open conference play with Kansas State Saturday in Manhattan. They are one of 6 Big 12 teams to be ranked in the top 25 so what a great way to kick off the conference season!!

**My holiday clinic on New Year's Day was a great success! We had over 260 participants (nearly 100 more than last year). I got alot of great comments from parents so I am very happy!

**Charlie turns 9 months tomorrow ... check back for his monthly picture!!

**Eric's work has slowed with winter upon us .. keep your fingers crossed for limited snow. Snow means early mornings and late nights and we don't like those during bball season.

**Finally, we had a great Christmas holiday. Following an extended delay on my flight from LAX to Chicago Dec. 23/24th, I made it to IL to meet Eric and Charlie and celebrate with my family. We also trekked to Kentucky to spend a couple days with Eric's side. We were so excited to meet the newest member of our family ... Justin Harlan Capps. Our new nephew was born Dec. 14th ... very healthy and sweet baby!