We can see spring from here I think!

Wanted to throw a few more recent pics of Charlie up for everyone to see. Spring is almost here in Denver much of the snow is melting and the days are definately getting warmer. This makes for some great oportunities to get out and do some stuff outdoors with Charlie. We'll start with a trip Charlie and I took to scout out the location of the Waterton Canyon Trailhead. I am going fly fishing there tomorrow so of course we had to know where the parking lot was. There was plenty of mud to play in and as you can see Charlie found a few puddles to break his suede shoes in on.
















It was a little windy but that didn't stop charlie from running around and finding sticks to put in his mouth.















Baths are a big hit still at our house with Charlie. He can't get enough of them and after our muddy trip he kinda needed one.

Michelle made some cookies from a store bought mix this is only one of maybe threee that actually got eaten the rest ended up in the compost pile as unedible. Best just stick to making them from scratch.


Naps are still a requirement around here. Charlie is now fully settled in with his stuffed animals all around him. Yeah he's got his dad's belly and his mom's bed head.








The last bunch of pictures are from our morning walk today. We have two great parks near our new house to choose from. This is what we call the "Big park". It has some great toys to play on and is a little further from us than the "little park". Charlie loves the slide and this is a great oportunity for him to see other kids his size.

The boy loves a good stick.

That's it for now...We'll be posting some picks of the new house very soon. Still getting some things out of boxes and pictures hung on the walls. The backyard is starting to hint at hidden plants and flowers that are about to come out. I got our mini pond and fountain up and running and will now need to get a fence to run around it to keep Charlie from swimming in it. Oh and we think we are going to set up swimming lessons in April so look for those pics to come soon too.

Its about time....

Charlie will be 16 months old in a few days! He is walking, running, climbing, chasing, pulling tails, head butting (hard), throwing the occasional tantrum and generally exceeding expectations in very area but speech. Still no words (unless you count the occasional Dada or Mama).

Things have been crazy here at the Vander Houwen house... mainly due to the Vander Houwen house being a new Vander Houwen house! Pictures soon to come but first, and more importantly, pictures of the boy.

Charlie has to wear a lot of different hats around here....

Misc. other photos...

And now for some "walking in a winter wonderland!"

We got a good dump of snow last night and the timing couldn't be better. I had spent the whole day yesterday plotting and scheming on how I was going to make Charlie a really cool Christmas present. I had been out the day before and looking at all the crap that is made in China and just didn't have the personal touch I felt a gift for Charlie should have. I didn't want to buy him something that would just get tossed out later. I wanted to give him something that each year as he got older we could make just little better. So I built him a sled.

Here he is with Michelle

today she is playing the part of

the green booted sleigh horse.

I added the bolted on rubbermaid bucket for now but it will eventually come off as he gets older.
Charlie fits perfectly and was comfy with his blanket and pillow.

Here he is with his other sleigh horse.

We have a nice slightly steep grade (but not too steep) on our street that really put the sled to a test.

A trip around the block was fun!

mmmmm. This tastes like candy!



Well the snow is soon supposed to melt but we're sure to get more later. This is Denver afterall. We hope that you and yours have a wonderful holiday season. We're taking it easy for now and waiting things out until January when we get our new house. I haven't looked yet but I wonder if there is a good place to go sledding there.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM

DENNIS, MICHELLE AND CHARLIE!

Let's get everyone caught up shall we?

So in the last few months we have gotten a little distracted. Both with work and big life changes happening all around us. I have been seriously scolded my many of you and in reply will now post a whole bunch of photos for you. Please be aware that our lives are in huge flux right now and we will try to keep you all posted with the changes as they occur.

Pumpkin patch

Out of this world Birthday Bash!

Some other random fall pics... note the cute plaid pants Michelle made

HE IS WALKING!!!!!!!!!

Charlie took his first series of steps yesterday... he walked about five feet before falling but was not deterred. He kept trying so I have no doubt that within a few days he will crossing the room.

(Dennis is working on getting some video downloaded).

Charlie spent about three days this past week with his Aunt Karen. Below are a few photos from our excursion to the Denver Aquarium with Grandma.

We also spent a few days with our friend Dave... for some reason there are no pictures but I'm sure that he will be back soon for a bit more fishing so, never fear... there will be photos of Charlie and his Uncle Dave soon enough. Thanks to Dave Charlie (and I) had our first tastes of fresh rainbow trout.

I did manage a photo from last night's dinner with Andy and David. They are moving to LA (today) so we had to squeeze in one last trip to to our favorite pizza place before they left. I suspect the next pictures of Charlie with them will be at Disney Land - Hooray. They have generously offered us a place to stay anytime we want to go visit the big mouse.