The best toys money can buy...

A glimpse at Charlie's favorite toys these days...

Measuring cup and spatula at Grandma's

Dad's glasses

Dad's nose

Receiver lights

Marley's ball (his is the orange one being ignored)

Comb and brush (but no "bowl full of mush" for you Goodnight Moon fans out there)

Funnel and measuring cup

And finally, a real toy! We bought this little table for his 9-month mark yesterday since it seemed like he was sick of all of his older toys (see pictures above of the top sought-out items in the house these days).  It is a big hit so far... when he spotted it this morning from the kitchen, he dropped his measuring cups and made a bee-line for it :)

Bedfellows

So a strange thing to me about parenthood is that you are just supposed to "know" when it is time to introduce or encourage new things.  We try to do our best keeping up with reading about milestones and activities from BabyCenter but sometimes you just don't think of everything.  When we were in Atlanta two weeks ago, my dad commented that he thought it was sad that we didn't put anything in Charlie's crib during naptime or bedtime... no blanket, stuffed animals, etc.  He has never been into those sorts of "comfort" items and since at birth they warn you not to put things in their crib, we just didn't think to let him have anything.

Before sticking anything in there, we looked it up and technically they say not to put things in their crib until a year old.  He is so mobile that it is hard for me to imagine a scenario where anything would actually present a danger to him though.  James and I debated and after he displayed to me the manner in which a blanket could be a choking hazard (picture James flailing around on the bed with our sheet to demonstrate), we decided to give him his stuffed monkey but no blanket.

He seems to really love having the monkey in there. Waking up from naptime is now such fun as his buddy is right there ready to play... through the monitor we hear shreaks of joy when he discovers the monkey in there... like it is still a fun surprise even a week later.  Then last night, I went in before going to bed and found this...

He found the monkey at the foot of his bed and was snuggling with it with his rump in the air.  Heart-melting.

Spring Break 2010!

For James' Spring Break we had a whirlwind week travelling up and down I-95, visiting many folks and places...

On Saturday, we drove down to Raleigh to celebrate Easter with the Lanes.  We played outside, had a great Easter dinner and Charlie got an Easter basket with lots of goodies from Granny and Grandpa Lane.

Swinging with Granny in his new hat

Pretty boy

Easter basket

Posing in the adorable Easter outfit from Granny!

Playing with his new loot

Later that night, we headed down to Atlanta.  James and I then headed to Miami for a few days while Charlie spent time with Grandma and Grandpa Grover.  Miami was beautiful and very relaxing.  We missed the little guy A LOT but enjoyed having the time together as a couple and knew that he was having a blast back in Atlanta.  We also enjoyed spending a day at the front and back of the trip in Atlanta with Grandma and Gramdpa too.  Our friend Phil came over for dinner the first night and we also got to celebrate Grandpa's birthday with a nice dinner out later in the week.  While in Atlanta, Charlie...

...took his first real sink bath...

...ate well...

...experienced grass (and didn't really like it)...

... rode in his first swing...

...played with some new toys...

...and cruised around a new house.

We headed back up north the following Saturday and stopped in Charlotte to visit friends Emily, Colin and Marley's brother Beans.  It is always so cute to see the two of them together.  We stayed the afternoon and had a nice visit and great dinner then headed back to Richmond later that night.

Sister and brother after a long afternoon chasing balls

Charlie with his new friends Emily and Colin

Back at home, we had the most beautiful day in Richmond to settle in before getting back to the grind on Monday.  Charlie and I made the long trek down to the Lombardy Street Park to check out the swings there.  He really loved it and had fun watching the big kids play too.

So happy... this could be my favorite picture of him yet :)

He would do this all day if we let him...

(the quality is pretty bad but you get the picture)