up to Steamboat for the Weekend

I wanted to quickly post some photos since I have a minute and Charlie hasn't given Dennis much time to get to it this week.

Two of these photos have little to do with Charlie except that they are proof of his Dad's photography talents... which he might be lucky enough to have inherited.
The final shot here is the long awaited one of my dad playing the guitar for Charlie. He was singing a song he used to sing to Karen and I. While he was singing Dennis and Karen were in the kitchen making crepes!!! Lucky moms.
Thanks Dad! Great Mom's day gift!
And thank you Karen for letting us come up and enjoy your sunny porch (and for the super cool organic gardening book).

An update with photos..

We know it has been a while now since we posted so we thought we had better get everyone caught up. So here goes...

What we've been up to in general...
Michelle, Charlie and I have all been keeping fairly busy. Michelle is working on her second of two big mural jobs at two different daycares. She is putting in a lot of hours and I am sticking around with Charlie during most of the days. On the days that I work at the University of Colorado Denver Health Sciences doing my standardized patient work Charlie gets to spend some fun time with his Grandma Pat. As for magic shows I have been working my restaurant shifts on Monday and Thursday nights and taking whatever work I can on the weekends. My buddy Steve and I are working on doing several public shows this summer so there is plenty of planning and stuff to do there too. But enough of that...

It's all about time management isn't it?

(That and trying out new foods like carrots and bananas)

We are really having a time of time management but we are slowly working out the details. For instance I am up tonight doing the blog while Michelle goes to bed relatively early. She will get up at 4am to do some mural design projecting and prep for her day at the daycare while Charlie and I sleep until about 7am. When we get up she will get a little time with Charlie while I grumble and turn on my coffee pot and then perhaps take a shower or mix up some cereal for Charlie..This part of the morning I must admit is still a little fuzzy for me until that first cup of coffee kicks in. I'll feed Charlie a little cereal and then change him for easily the 3rd time that morning he'll have a small bottle and then hopefully take his morning nap for (hopefully) at least 40 minutes, but as long as an hour and a half if I'm lucky. This is my window to do any computer work, kitchen clean up or household chores. More likely I will post my status on Facebook and then get caught up on my e-mails. I have to take what oportunity I have to get as much done as possible. This is where I'm trying to be more efficient. The rest of the day is spent playing with Charlie, changing diapers, feeding him, putting him down for a nap, etc. When Michelle comes home we sometimes get some good family time in. It's not a perfect system but it is shaping up. If I work that evening I get ready for work. If not hooray and we can talk about our day, get some yardwork done, make some dinner and see what netflix has sent us. This system as you can probably tell is still in flux and is working out some...well...let's call them "Challenges" for now.

All this being said..

Charlie continues to grow and develops his skills more and more every week. I was just noticing tonight that he is getting much better about putting his pacifier into his mouth right side up. He had his 6 month check up last week and his doctor tells us he is still a brilliant "genius" however he is dropping back in his percentiles on growth. He weighed in at 19.5 lbs. We have started to feed him solid foods (slowly at first) for 3 meals a day. This is kind of hit and miss lately as he sometimes just can't get in the mood for He is grabbing for things and using his hands so much. Of course everything goes into his mouth. He isn't crawling yet but likes to roll around from belly to back and he gets frustrated when he can't reach a toy. Those knees will start propelling him soon I fear and then look out!

A visit from Charlie's best baby buddy!Last Sunday our good friend Chris Campbell finally brough over her 4 month old son, Nicolas for a playdate and "get to know you reception." We have been trying to get Chris, her husband Mathew and Nicolas over for so long now. They are every bit as busy as we are. The visit went wonderfully. The boys really hit it off and got to know each other a little. The day included a walk over to Chipotle for lunch with the moms while I was away at a birthday party. It was a fun afternoon for everyone.

Take your family to work day...
This last Tuesday Charlie and I went to work with Michelle so I could help her out with the mural job a little and so we could have some time together even if it was working. It was a lot of fun actually. Charlie continues to be the best baby in the world. Happy as can be on his blanket and with a daycare full of toys he had plenty to do. We got quite a bit done that day. Charlie and I think we would like to do this again sometime in the near future.
Here is a sneek peak at one of Michelle's murals

Thank goodness I don't have to go to a daycare but they sure are fun to visit!

Finally...

We hope to get away for Mother's day weekend. We are heading up to Michelle's Sister's house in Steamboat springs for the weekend where we will meet up also with her parents. I am hoping to catch up with an old high school classmate who lives there and just take in some mountain air.

Michelle really deserves the break. She is working so hard for our family these days. We feel fortunate that she has had this current work as my business stuff has slowed a little. We're working things out day by day. That's all we can do anyway right? Until next time...Oh and I've added a few more closing pictures to satisfy your Charlie cravings for just a little while longer.

this has got to be one of my all time favorites now..>

That's all for now Folks!