Science and Industry

The week after Christmas Charlie was a busy boy. He visited two Chicago museums and went to Champaign to ring in the new year. On December 30th we took him to the Museum of Science and Industry and we will have to go back! At the museum he checked out the model trains, airplanes, water exhibits and even pretended to drive a tractor. The museum was a hit! (There are more pictures in the gallery).

Field Museum

It was museum week for Charlie. The week after Christmas he visited the Field Museum and Science and Industry.

Nana and Papa had planned to take him to the Shedd Aquarium, but when we got there the lines were miles long and it was much too cold to wait outside. Luckily, directly across from the Shedd is the Field Museum so we changed our plans. Charlie enjoyed the museum, although at times I think he was confused when the animals did not move like they do at the zoo! (See the gallery for more pictures.)

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Christmas Cookies

I have been trying to find holiday activities for Charlie to enjoy and today I thought decorating cookies would be fun. He loves cookies, why wouldn't he love decorating them? He loved the cookies and he loved the frosting (he must have inherited the frosting gene from Aunt Colleen) but he did decorate any cookies. Instead of decorating the cookies he put the frosting on the cookies and then ate them!

Choo-Choo

Last weekend we took Charlie to the Wonderland Express exhibit at the Botanic Gardens. The exhibit is a collection of miniature Chicago landmarks with trains breezing through each neighborhood -- it even snows! Charlie (not surprisingly) loved all of the trains and throughout the exhibit kept saying, "more choo-choo"? He was exhausted at the end of the day and was asleep less than 5 minutes after we left.

Santa and Charlie

We took Charlie to Macy's again this year to see Santa. He was not as willing to sit on Santa's lap as he was last   year, but still managed a smile. (There is one more Santa picture in the photo gallery)

Christmas Lunch

Last week, Charlie went downtown to the Chriskindle Market and for lunch in the Walnut room, a tradition that started when I was little, with Nana and Papa Horner. We had a great table at lunch right next to the Christmas trees and Charlie ate the world famous chicken potpie (a Marshall Field’s favorite). Charlie had lots of fun running through the stores and checking out all of the decorations downtown. There are more pictures in the Christmas 2011 photo album.

Polar Express

Grandma and Grandpa Dobry took Charlie on a ride to the North Pole via the Polar Express. The train picked us up in Downers Grove and headed to the North Pole. During the ride we sang Christmas carols and Charlie ate Christmas cookies and drank chocolate milk. Once at the North Pole he even got to meet Santa! There are more pictures in the Christmas 2011 album.

Trick or Treat!

Charlie kicked off Halloween weekend in St. Louis. We visited a pumpkin patch and Charlie had his first pony and hay ride.

On Halloween night Charlie went trick or treating for the first time. We went with Emma who was dressed as Abby Cadabby and was the perfect compliment to Charlie's Elmo. Baby Brendan also joined us, but he just took notes for next year.At the first house Charlie was not quite sure what he should do, but it did not take long for him to figure it out. He ran down the neighborhood streets with Emma and was thrilled every time someone gave him a piece of candy. At one house he tried to trade and give a piece back, but the woman kindly refused.

I forgot how much fun Halloween could be! There are pictures in the Halloween album.

School Days

Charlie's first school pictures are here! (Grandparents, we have pictures for you). Check out the 19-24 month album in the photo gallery for his first class picture.

Beep, Beep

Charlie was driving the big rigs today. Charlie visited Papa's shop and got to drive the forklift and play in all of the big trucks (or "bus" as Charlie calls them). He even got to beep the horn...over and over and over!

1-2-3 Jump

Charlie loves to run and jump onto blankets and pillows that are on the floor. You can see the video of his favorite game in the video tab.

Charlie Sings!

Charlie has discovered his true talent – singing! All day I asked him to sing to me and he did. He would finish each song by clapping for himself and saying “yay”.  However, when I brought out the camera he got stage fright. Check out the video section to see Charlie being silly.

A Cloudy Day On the Farm

Charlie spent the day with Grandma and Grandpa Dobry at the pumpkin farm.  We visited a farm in Bolingbrook that was complete with apple cider donuts, a petting zoo and pumpkins!

Charlie was (of course) drawn to the animals. He loved feeding the donkey, the goats and the rabbits. After feeding the animals and taking a train ride we took Charlie into the children’s area that had two bouncy houses and a slide. Charlie had a blast! We left the farm with an apple pie and three pumpkins, so despite the weather Charlie had a great day. There are more pictures in the photo gallery - Halloween 2011.

Charlie's Obsession

Charlie rarely sits still, he is an active boy. He rarely watches any DVD for longer than ten minutes and most he does give most DVD’s the time of day. But that has all changed with Elmo! Charlie has a new obsession with all things Elmo. He wants to watch his new Elmo movie several times a day (we are averaging 3 to 4 times a day). When he woke up from a nap earlier this week he pointed to the door and said, “Elmo” which means “I want to go downstairs so I can watch my movie”.  For the first time since Charlie started crawling, I can unload the dishwasher in peace while he watches Elmo and has a snack.

Thank you Elmo!  

(This is Charlie, 2 Elmo's, Scout and Pig all present for an Elmo movie screening)

Daddy Love

No caption needed...

Brookfield Zoo

We spent a beautiful Sunday at Brookfield Zoo with the Martin’s. Emma and Charlie enjoyed running through the zoo and looking at the lions. Charlie’s favorite part of the zoo was the goats in the petting zoo. We used lots of hand sanitizer yesterday!

Charlie had so much fun, he was out before we made it to the car!

In Memory of Uncle Eddie

Last week we lost someone very special. Uncle Eddie always lived his life to the fullest and was always up for a good laugh. After the blizzard last February, he was at an Italian restaurant enjoying dinner and drinks with his many friends. The restaurant had an original cow statue from the famed Chicago Cows on Parade exhibit. He tried unsuccessfully to get someone to take a picture on the cow.

Six month later, this restaurant happened to be around the corner from where we said good-bye to Uncle Eddie and during his wake last Tuesday we went over there for a drink and Charlie did what no one else could do that night -- he took a picture on the cow. I know Uncle Eddie would be proud!

Five Guys and Charlie

Charlie and I were on our own for dinner last week, so I thought I would treat him to his first Five Guys hamburger. It started out well (as you can see), but ended with him throwing fries!  

Charlie in a Box - Part II

Charlie is always ready to pose for the camera-- even while relaxing in a box!

Meet the Scarecrow

During a recent visit to Oz Park, Charlie met the Scarecrow.

Charlie driving the Corvette

Charlie loves driving Papa’s corvette! He is not quite big enough to see over the steering wheel, but he likes to beep the horn.

Ice Cream Truck

Who does not love an ice cream truck? I can still hear the music booming from the truck even when it is blocks away. Charlie had his first ice cream from an ice cream truck last weekend. It was a push-up and I think it is safe to say that he loved it too!

Water Play

Last week we took Charlie to a nearby park that has sprinklers and waterslides. I think he was overwhelmed at first by all of the kids, but once he warmed up he loved the water. There are more pictures in the photo gallery.

I need a minute...

On a gloomy Monday morning, Charlie and I went to Barnes and Noble for story time. Unfortunately they recently moved story time to Wednesdays. Instead of listening to a story Charlie ran around the kids section and through most of the store. As we were leaving I made a stop at the magazine rack and Charlie decided he was done and needed to rest.

Cruising at the Jewel

We took a quick trip to Jewel and Charlie saw another boy get into a grocery cart that had a car attached. He was so excited I decided to let him try the car too. He was a natural turning the wheel and honking the horn. He was driving through the store cruising for deals!

Cleaning up his spills

Charlie was in a rare mood last week. There were broken dishes, toys used as weapons against his mom and lots of spills. One of his spills was a result of my dropped water bottle. When he was walking around the house he lost his balance and fell to the floor and so did my water bottle. There was water everywhere. Charlie went into emergency mode to help me clean up the water…he decided the most effective clean up method was to start licking it off the floor while I got a towel. Anyone who wants to know why we are a shoe free household, see pictures below.

What a ham!

He could not resist hamming it up during bath time.

Charlie's One Year Photos

We have the pictures back from the photographer! We were not sure how they would turn out because Charlie was not in a great mood on the morning we took pictures, but he is a professional and made it work. There are additional pictures in the photo gallery.

Good Hygiene

Charlie has 6 teeth now so we started to teach him how to brush. He still does not really understand why we are trying to scrub his teeth, but he likes to put his toothbrush under the water and suck on his toothbrush to get the water out. This morning, he was on my sink practicing good oral hygiene.

Easter - A Week Late

Charlie is finally feeling better after 2 weeks of illness. I had been saving his Easter basket because he was not up for anything last week, let alone his Easter basket. He found it on Saturday and dumped it out immediately. He loved the paper grass, but his favorite part of the basket was the eggs. He likes to open and close them. He does not care that there is nothing in the eggs; he just wants to open and close them!

First Haircut

Today, I finally gave in and we took Charlie for his first haircut. Once his hair was in his eyes, I knew I had no choice. Charlie did great in the chair and in 5 minutes he went from looking like a baby to looking like a little man.

There are more photos/videos in the 12-15 month album on the gallery page and on  the video page.

Opening Day

Matt celebrated opening day with all of his college friends. Although Charlie is still too young to partake in the fun, he was in gear representing the north side. Unfortunately, it did not help them win.

Charlie's First Birthday

March was a busy month for us. We celebrated Charlie’s first birthday! We actually celebrated Charlie’s birthday twice, once with friends (Charlie has 3 other friends with March birthdays) and once with family. He was sick the week leading up to his big day so we did not know what to expect, but as always he was happy and thrilled to be surrounded by all of his family. He enjoyed his first taste of cake, as you can see from the picture. It was a day we will remember for a long time to come.

You can see pictures in the gallery under “Charlie’s First Birthday”. As soon as we can figure out the camera we will get video up too.  

Rolling, rolling, rolling

Charlie loves to walk across the room while pushing furniture for support. He moves chairs, high chairs, and toys....anything that can slide across the floor and support his little legs. To save our floors we bought Charlie a toy that was actually designed to assist new walkers. The good news is, it worked! He grabs on and he moves with reckless abandon. There are pictures of him with the walker in the photo gallery and a video on the new video page.