Late Night!!

This weekend was a busy one!! Friday marked the first official day of practice and at KU that means Late Night in the Phog. It is a CRAZy celebration in which the men and women perform skits and then scrimmage to get fans ready for bball season. This year was really fun and I thought our players did a GREAT job.

My younger sister came out for the weekend. She has been to games and other KU events, but never to Late Night. She arrived early in the afternoon on Friday and then left early this morning so she got some quality time with us. Unfortunately, I had to be gone quite a bit as I had recruiting responsibilities much of the day, but she was able to tag along on some things. During the other time, she hung out with Charlie and worked her majic to make sure Charlie sees her as his favorite Aunt :) He loves her that is for sure .... she loves to spoil him and was able to give him LOTS of attention. Theresa also took lots of pics of Charlie this weekend .. especially some of him in his Halloween costumes.

Free time for me will be scarce for the next several months. We get off one day a week now, but most of our days off from practice are during the week so we are still in the office. This year might be a little bit easier on me now that I am not pregnant ... we will see :)

The talking has begun!

Charlie has really started to use his voice! Only problem is that the one who get to hear it most is HUEY, our bulldog!! Everytime Charlie sees Huey now he wants to carry on a "conversation." Huey will sit there with him and just look while Charlie tells him all about it. When in his exersaucer, Charlie also likes to "pet" Huey and give him the occasional tug of the jowl. It is certainly cute to watch!

This morning, however, was hilarious. While I was getting ready, I put Charlie in his exersaucer, which was in front of the bed. Like normal, Huey will roam around it just to check out what is going on and to keep an eye on things. This morning, he decided to sit there and just listen to Charlie "talk" for about 10 minutes. Finally, Huey got bored and went and laid down in the closet. Charlie was devastated! When he realized Huey left him, he started to scream bloody murder ... waterworks and all. I, of course, was trying to figure out what he had done. Was he caught somewhere? Was he hurt? Did he hit his head on one of the toys on it? What?!?!? Then, sure enough, Huey made his way out of the closet to see what the commotion was about and when Charlie saw Huey, the racket stopped!! Charlie was fine ... no more tears. He started his conversation again like Huey had never left.

Eric and I had discussed the possibility of getting another dog so that Huey has a buddy since we spend so much time with Charlie. But, Charlie has made it CLEAR that he plans to befriend Huey whether he likes it or not. This poor pup is not going to know what hit him.

I am going to get the video camera out tomorrow morning and see if I can catch the "chat" on camera!!

Lil Punkin!

We had a great weekend ... very relaxing and lots of family time! On Saturday, Eric got up and worked on the yard for a little while. Charlie and I took advantage of the time and made our way to a local dog show so that we could check out the Bulldogs in the ring. It has been a long time since I attended a dog show -- gosh, the last one I remember was when we got Rudy in Michigan. We had to PLEAD with my parents to let us get him, but we all agree, he was an awesome dog. Saturday, though, I wasn't puppy shopping --I just wanted to see some of the different dogs. Charlie got a kick out of it too as we were able to sit fairly close to the ring. He sat and just cooed at them before falling asleep.
Saturday afternoon, then, we made our way to the Pumpkin Patch here in Lawrence. We went with some of our neighbors (whose kids are older than Charlie). There wasn't much for Charlie to actually do, but he enjoys people watching and there were LOTS of people to check out. It was fun and it got us into the Fall season! We did go out into the "patch" and pick some pumpkins for our front porch. We got a big one, a white one, and two small ones. Last year was the first time Eric had ever carved a pumpkin so maybe we can get a repeat and see another of his "creations." Charlie was asleep in his stroller before we even made it back to the car so I think it is safe to say that we wore him out. I am excited to see how his reactions will change to as he gets older and we take him on "fieldtrips" like this.

Today, then, we spent most of the day at home. We did venture out to return a couple of movies and grocery shop at Wal-mart. The rest of the day was spent at home cleaning and enjoying some time off. This was my last "free" weekend for awhile as basketball season starts on Friday and from now on, I will be in the gym most weekends until March Madness.

Charlie -- 6 Month Update

Charlie with his Uncle David getting ready for the wedding!

We ventured to the doctor earlier this week. Charlie weighed in at 18.5 lbs and measured 27". He is in the 67th percentile for weight and the 75th percentile for height. The doctor is very happy with his progress and is astounded at how "fast" he has caught up! We are looking at some things to try and help prevent RSV (as is it really bad for infants -- especially premature infants). Other than that, it was a great visit.

I wish that I had my camera on me when we went because Charlie was FASCINATED with the mirror that was next to the doctor's table. It was right at his level and at one point, he had his head sideways trying to get "closer" to that face looking back at him! It was really cute.

Speaking of my camera, it came back from the repair shop. It last about one picture and then broke again. So, it has been sent off yet again to be repaired. This happened with our computer a few weeks ago too. It took 2x as long to get it fixed because DUMB customer service people did not want to listen to the full extent of the problem I was telling them. Frustrating!! Eric lets me handle that type of stuff as he knows I will get what I want (most of the time).

No big plans this weekend! We are going to try and make it out to the pumpkin patch tomorrow and pick out some pumpkins for the porch. I think that some of our neighbors are going to join us so it should be fun!

More on the wedding!

Well, I am happy to say that the new bride and groom, Alisa and Bobby, are enjoying their honeymoon in Costa Rica. It has been nearly a year in the making, but the time has come for them to enjoy all the planning and headaches that go into putting on such a big event. There wedding was a bit "different" than they expected, but absolutely unforgettable!! We all had a great time at the reception and are glad to see them FINALLY married :)

Their photographers also do a BLOG and here are some of the photos they have shared. I am not sure if the bride and groom have seen these yet, but I am sure they are anxious to share them with everyone. They are great!!

http://rbrownweddings.com/recent/?cat=1

Six Months Old!!

Our little man is getting BIG!! Today marks six months old for Charlie. He actually goes to the doctor tomorrow for his six month check-up and shots so I will have more "stats" then, but for now you can enjoy his ever-thickening hair and that sweet smile.



You will have to excuse the "crumpled" sign. Charlie has found paper to be a fun toy lately. He loves the sound of it as he crunches it and tries to tear it to pieces.

Wedding Weekend!!!

I have lots of stories to share from the wedding this past weekend ... those of you who were in attendance know exactly what I am talking about. Overall, though, it was a BEAUTIFUL day and Bobby and Alisa are now officially married. We had a great time and it was wonderful to be part of their day. I am back in the office now and have lots to catch up on!! More soon, I promise!