Fun at the Huffs

Today we went to the Huffs to play with Peyton and Jen (and Dave for a little while, when he wasn’t working).  We had some very nice book time…  As always, it’s “Different strokes for different folks” (or babies): book-time for Peyton is turning the pages, looking at the pictures, and doing a little reading…  For Charlie, book-time means taking the books out of Peyton’s hands and trying to eat them.  The important thing is they both had fun, and seem to be getting more used to each other’s company.

Jen captured the single moment Charlie was interested in reading a book more than eating it

After book-time, Peyton went to play outside/in the garage with bubbles.  Though Charlie occasionally seemed to enjoy watching the bubbles float around, he can’t really chase after them (which is the main reason Peyton likes them).  However, he did find another way to entertain himself, and even moreso, his Daddy.  I’ll have to remember this little trick next time we need to get him to the East Coast and there’re no seats on the plane!

I think he wanted me to join him in there (he's not too good with spatial relations)

All work and no play makes Charlie… very popular

Charlie went with me on a catering gig yesterday.  Every year my dentist throws a “patients appreciation” party, and I cater it.  My friend and partner Cassady was doing most of the work; Charlie and I just showed up to take in some air (and Margaritas, as it turned out!), enjoy the company, and lend a helping hand.  Charlie sat on the table where we were taking orders, and loved everybody talking to him.  Though there were more requests to hold Charlie than I could accommodate, our good friend Wendy Piccus was there (she is a fellow patient) and took care of most of the baby-holding while I did have to actually work…  Thanks a bunch, Wendy!

The big highlight for Charlie was the “bouncy house”.  He didn’t go in, obviously, but we stood outside looking in through the clear plastic siding.  I am not sure if it was the colors, or the movement, but Charlie was totally enthralled.  He just giggled and grinned for twenty minutes straight.

I feel a little guilty about using Charlie as my catering front-man on account of his cutie-ness, but he had the time of his life, so it was a win-win day!

Please, sir, can I have some more?

Charlie’s meal repertoire is ever-expanding.  Recently, it finally came to include mear: turkey, to be precise.  Jean and I first tried to cook some ground turkey and then puree it.  This is exactly the same method I use for the many foods Charlie already eats like pears, carrots, bananas, peas, apples, sweet potatoes, and others I’m forgetting.  The turkey, however, was just gross!  All three of us thought so, so we just threw it away.  However, we have since started giving him store-bought baby-food that includes turkey (“vegetable turkey dinner”) and it is going well. 

He likes to eat!

For each new food you give a baby, you have to wait 3 days to determine that there is no allergic reaction before adding another new food to his diet,  If you try several new foods at once and there is an allergic reaction, you do not know to which food the baby is allergic.  Anyhow, after turkey, we will be adding zuchini, which Jean made a large batch of a few days ago, and then after that is chicken.  Soon I want to give him non-pureed food — such as small pieces of soft fruits – but there is no specific time-frame in place for that yet.

On a separate note, for anybody reading this blog, please feel free to make comments.  They are the only way we know that anybody’s reading, and believe me, that makes regularly setting aside time to blog MUCH easier!

A renewed blog effort

Jean and I have decided to try — again — to blog at least a little bit more regularly.  Hopefully we’ll stick to it, and the Charlie fans out there who haven’t been experiencing “All quiet on the Western Front” can get a little glimpse of what our little guy is up to.

Obviously, a LOT has happened since our last post, and I’m not even going to attempt to recap all that.  However, more recently, Charlie and Dad went to Boston, and then I left Charlie in the care of his Boston aunts, uncles, neices, and Alex, while I went to visit my daughter in Virginia (which was great, by the way).  Charlie had a fine time; I didn’t do so well, being apart from him for 2 days for the first time, and his poor Mom, who didn’t get to see him for EIGHT days, was very relieved when we returned home.  I think if I’d called her the day of our return and said I could save a thousand dollars by taking a flight the next day, she’d have said no.

This weekend was pretty uneventful, but in a good way.  On Saturday, we ran some errands and had an overall relaxing day.  The highlight was when we stopped at a local park on the way home, and Charlie really loved the swings.  He’s been on swings before, but this was the first time the reaction has been so euphoric.  (The picture above is from Charlie’s first time on a swing; unfortunately we didn’t have a camera with us this time.)  Also, Chalie got to sit in grass for the first time, and he was intrigued.  The challenge, predictably, was to keep him from grazing, but we managed successfully.