zoo pics plus

Here are a few photos taken over the last few days.

We had a day at the zoo. Which as you will see Charlie paid absolutly no attention to anything.

We did get a good share of vitamin D. The weather was a sickeningly hot for November in the high 70's.


Here Charlie is watching the polar bear. No wait .....he is sleeping.

Here is a photo of Charlie exploring Bird world with his mother...No wait he's still sleeping

Somebody wake up that boy! I guess all he needs is a good diaper change and someone to explain to him how much fun the zoo can be.

As you can see at least Kandace is awake.

Look at how far she can jump!

Look Charlie ......a bear!

And the fearsome "GIANT ELEPHANT SHREW!"

okay not so fearsome, not so giant and not so much a shrew but still one of my favorite animals at the zoo

How about the new baby red pandas. Uhhh Charlie are you awake?

Here we are after the tiring day at the zoo getting some fish and chips at our favorite fish and chips stand "GB's" Kandace is rooting for Manchester on the soccer game playing on the television (not seen in photo)

We do have a great suprise coming up but I just couldn't help sharing these photos our friend Heather took.

I love this one of Michelle and Charlie

I like this one too!

Kandace continues to hog Charlie. Sure hold him all you want but when it comes time to change him she disappears.

I close here with this artys fartsy fall photo.

We are thankful today to everyone for all of your love and support.

We are thinking of you this fine thanksgiving day!

Kandace is here to eat turkey with us!

Hi Everyone! My big sister Kandace is here for a week. She is really cool and goes to college too!
She's a Coug and so am I. I'm not sure what that means but it sure makes Dad proud of her. I'm not really sure just yet what college is but I think from listening to Mom it has something to do with making cheese.


We're having lots of fun. But I'm getting ahead of myself here a little.











Mom and Dad have a few photos to share as well. Below are a few from the bath I took before Kandace got here. As you can see Mom and Dad have perfected the system a little. Dad can get in the tub with me.

Dad has promised to keep me covered a little better.

As you can also see I like this method better. Happy tub time is great for everyone!


































Kandace has been holding me quite a bit. She is very helpful and finds great excuses to steal me away. She's got some cool piercing and later this week I'm going to get some too. Mom say's "like hell you are." so probably not.

On Kandace's first morning here I came into her room and woke her up. She is on break from college and she is kind of sleepy. I guess college is a lot of work. Someday I am going to go to college too. Art school or maybe join the circus.
















I love my dad. He sings to me, dances with me, makes funny faces and noises, and he is really good at getting rid of my hic-ups.


















Here we are riding a horsey in the messy office. I guess I should really let Mom and Dad get some cleaning done once in a while. It's not my fault I'm so cute and they can't help themselves from playing with me












In other news around the house. Our cat, Pogue, has figured out how to jump over the gate at the top of the stairs. Dad is really mad about this.



Last night I let mom and dad get some good sleep. I really like waking up with them in the mornings. Dad made me smile really big the other day and he keeps trying to get me to do it some more.



We will try to post some pictures of my first Thanksgiving. I probably won't get to eat any turkey (directly from the bird anyway) but mom needs the calories so I am sure that she will be trying everything on the menu..Lucky me!


I'm getting bigger and mom seems to be getting skinnier. She's not complaining but says she will have to watch out and keep trying to bulk up a bit.

Mom was also complaining to dad that there haven't been too many pictures of her on the blog. So dad took one of her this morning. No guarantees how long this one will be up though. I think she meant pictures of her and me together and not in the shower.

If the picture to the right isn't of mom in the shower that means that dad probably had to go to the hospital to have the camera removed from somewhere not so nice.


I'm sure we will have a whole posting dedicated to just mom and me soon.




Well that's all for now folks. Check back in for Thanksgiving pics and update (probably around Friday)

Peace out....
Charlie

(Kandace taught me that...She's so cool!)

Letter to Santa

Santa,
For my first Christmas please deliver stuff that will help me learn. There is so much stuff that I don't understand yet and my parents just talk jibberish all the time. I have shelves full of books and drawers full of clothes and Mom and Dad seem to have been pretty well prepared for my arrival so I don't think that there is anything I NEED. I hear that I'll have to start eating different food in a few months... maybe there are some things that would help with that? I do like toys but my daddy hates plastic... he says that it is bad for the planet. I don't know what plastic is but maybe it would be better to avoid it so Dad stays happy. He is lots of fun when he is happy!

Mom and Dad said that we are going to start making some stuff for you to deliver for us if you have room in the sleigh. Dad doesn't want me to think that the holidays are just about 'getting'. He says that it is more important to give and he seems pretty smart so I guess that I'll listen to him. Dad sure does have lots of opinions!

More than anything I would like it if you could bring Mom and Dad some REM sleep and please bring Dalai a warm coat and some treats. Pogue wants me to let you know that he would like to be allowed upstairs again but I don't think Mom and Dad will let him... even if YOU ask them.

Thanks for thinking of us Santa... even if Mom is Jewish!
I promise that I have been good (Mom says I've been 'great' but I don't want to sound too cocky).

Charlie Vander Houwen
The weird house with the green brick chimney
Bates Ave., Denver

Monday, Monday, Monday..Better post!

Charlie in fussy mode!

It's been a longish week for us here at the Vander Houwen household. Michelle and I have been feeling the long term effects of shortened sleep patterns. Bless here heart though last night she gave me an extended sleep period. How will I ever pay here back? I can certainly take over some feedings tonight perhaps. We have a pretty good stock of milk in our freezer now. Not that we can stop storing up.

Charlie in sleepy mode.

Charlie continues to be the best baby in the world. I have been trying to catch him smiling but to no avail. He did smile at me...A real smile yesterday morning. Really not a gassy smile like he usually does but one that I inspired with funny noises. He is definately bigger than he was when we brought him home. His cheeks are filling out a bit and his hair is growing. We've decided to let him grow it out for a while.

Last night he did something funny too. As I was changing his clothes for the night and pulling his outfit off he wrapped his arms around my arm and wouldn't let go..Like a big bear hug on my arm.

Here he is in his Ergo Carrier

...Thanks agian Leonard and Isabell. Charlie and I both love this!

Charlie and I have had a pretty busy morning so far just hanging out together playing.
This morning was bath day and he isn't yet completely convinced that baths are a good idea.

I am sure these will get better as time goes by.

Bundling up to go get grandma and grandpa from the airport.

I plan on spending much of today sealing the house up and tuning up the furnace... if I can get the part I need for the furnace pump that I noticed wearing out the other day.

We are all excited about Kandace coming out to see us next Saturday for a week. She sounds really excited too to be coming to see us and meet her brother Charlie. I'm sure we will be posting photos of her visit later.

Still sleepy!

Well that's unfortunately all we have for you this week so far. Maybe there will be some time to post a few more photos later this week.

Photos from this week in the World of Charlie.

We know that it has been a little while since our last posting. We are going through the motions of learning our system and working out the bugs. Today we took some photos and then also downloaded one from election day.

As you can see Charlie is happy with the outcome of the election!

Here he is today looking out the window over his mom's shoulder. The weather has been nice but we are sure to get some snow soon!

Today Charlie got another bath. This time with more water in the sink. As you can see his umbilical cord has fallen off leaving a nice little belly button. And dare I mention his circumcision ring has fallen off neatening up things a bit.

Here's the boy and his dad after the bath.

Here we are just a little later catching some Z's

I've been keeping fairly busy with work and December promises to have a few decent holiday party bookings. My time in the office is short and I've had to be very deliberate in my office work and management. I will have some time to work a bit more on organizing the basement tomorrow. (Knock on wood)

The night feedings are going fine but I am feeling a little weary from time to time. Heck I should be in bed right now.

It's hard to start new sleep habits. I'm used to staying up late but not so used to getting up so late. This is a delicate balance I am finding between not enough sleep and sleeping too late and getting my day started too late.

This is not to say I have any grudes about getting up with Charlie for the pre-dawn feedings. I am cherishing these morning moments together. It is a special bonding time for just he and I. After the feeding and a diaper change we usually crash out in the guest bedroom and let Michelle get a little more rest.

Michelle and I continue to follow most of the advice the baby books are giving. Most are telling us to take it easy and figure out how this is going to work for us. We forget sometimes that we are in a learing cycle sometimes and things do get a bit tense at times. We do appreciate everyone's support, suggestions and inquiries. We feel the best way you can support us at this time is by letting us get ourselves worked out. We are trying to savor and enjoy the many once in a lifetime moments that we can. I enjoy posting the photos and keeping you all up to date and we will continue to post photos about once a week but please understand that we are doing all we can with the energy we have just to keep ourselves balanced, healthy and stable.

Finally, I will leave you here with a small milestone in Charlie's developement . Michelle found him today in his day crib twisted over onto his side. He'll be making the transition to the full turn over in no time.

He is wearing a size 3 months outfit here and it fits him perfectly. Somebody should tell him he's only 3 weeks old.

Love you all ...

Dennis, Michelle and Charlie!

Mom's Version

After fifteen days I finally have found a few free minutes to sit down at the computer. It is about time you all heard from Mom. Charlie is amazing. He has the most wonderfully goofy little expressions and he is a doll. I think he will look like Dennis with my roman nose and lips and, I like to believe that behind that strong Goodman brow there might be genius lurking.

Being a mom is all that I hoped it would be and yet nothing that I expected. Who knew that I would be so crazy possessive and protective. I have had some very emotional moments and sometimes I don't even know what the emotion is. Poor Dennis. It has been hard for him to figure out how to deal with me... I'm not sure that I am the same person I was sixteen days ago so, the rules have changed. I know that only other moms are going to really understand that comment but, at the same time, I think that every mom's experience is different. Charlie has had so many visitors and he, Dennis and I have received so much help and support. I can not fathom doing this without our families, our neighbors, our friends and, most importantly, each other. For those of you who have raised kids alone... I have a whole new level of respect!

If you are only reading Dennis' version of the last few weeks one would think that life is perfect at the Vander Houwen house. We have the perfect baby (and we really do), the perfect relationship, we had the perfect delivery and, we have all the help we could ever need. In reality, that is pretty near accurate. I do, however, have a few comments that need to be added. I was amazed with my OB and my recovery has been much smoother and faster than I ever would have hoped but... oh my G-d!- the actually surgery was bad. PAIN! The anesthetic wasn't really doing all it was supposed to, my blood pressure spiked and, they knocked me out as soon as Charlie was out. I will say that ten minutes of the worst pain I've ever felt is still a whole lot better than 36 hours of it! Also, Charlie, as perfect as he is, is a big baby with a big appetite. Keeping him satisfied is not easy. All I had heard was that your nipples become soar if your baby doesn't latch correctly. No one said that you're going to be in lots of pain no matter what... (dreaming of piranhas). Breastfeeding is not fun. I imaging that this will change and Charlie and I will gradually get on track but, for now, keeping him happy is a painful and exhausting task. I am a long way from giving up on breastfeeding but, I now understand why so many women do.
On that note... Charlie is hungry so, I must go (no, I am not making that up).
Just for the record... my favorite picture thus far is the one of Charlie in the laundry basket. I think that this is because he was sleeping for a long enough stretch that I was able to accomplish something... even if it was just the laundry!

My eyes are open wide!

Look into my eyes!

We were looking at the past photos of Charlie and noticed that his eyes have pretty much been closed in most of the photos. So I thought we would start today with a few great photos with his eyes open. Michelle and I are waiting to see who's color of eyes he will have. Sometimes they come off in that smokey blue color that Michelle's eyes are and 0ther times they seem to have the slight green tinge leaning towards my eye color.


Grandma Cheryl finished up her 2 week stay with us and we all took a trip to the airport to see her off. Don't worry grandma, Charlie will be out to see you in the spring! Until then expect to see lots of photos both here and by e-mail.

Charie continues to be one of the best babies I've ever seen. Sure he has occasional outbursts of crying but otherwise he is content and as this photo shows..flexible.

We went out to breakfast the other day with our friends Steve and Heather and their girls Megan and Madeline. Heather took this picture that I thought was a really funny pic of the boy and I looking silly together.

I can't beleive how much fun this is. Sure it is a lot of work still but I am loving every minute of this. Here we are just napping together on the couch. Thanks michelle for seeing and taking this wonderful picture of us. We really love you!

Charlie's closet is an amazing aray of clothing and accessories. Here we see his Teva shoes. Unlike many of his other clothes they adjust with him as he grows. We're finding that many of the clothes that Michelle purchased for him he may not get to wear because he is a bigger baby. At 2 weeks old he is already wearing 3 month old tops and his feet are big enough for 9-12 month socks.

This has been a great exercise in teamwork for Michelle and I. Our communication skills as parents are developing quite well and I love sharing all of this with her. Michelle is doing such a wonderful job. I am so proud of her as a mom. Here she and Charlie are getting him dressed for the day in his nursery.

Everyone told us we would go through a lot of diapers . They were right!

I don't think that we were expecting it to be as many as he has. He's a bit of a trickster. Once you think he has done his buisness you change him and then he immediately fills it sometimes just as you fasten the diaper tapes.

Our bundle of joy is also responsible for a lot of laundry around here. Blankets, shirts, outfits, socks, burp rags, and whatever he occasionally hits when he pees during an open diaper change. In addtion to the fun of laundry we are also doing a lot of bottle washing and pump sterilizing.

Well, I hope that tides you all over until we get a few more photos taken. Today is Sunday and we have set our clocks back...This is a real blessing for us as new parents as we think we took full advantage of the extra hour of sleep last night.