Beamin' Babies

Every Thursday for the past few months was the highlight of Charlie's week. He and all his little buddies were in the "Beamin' Babies" tumbling class together. They played on the slide, danced with bells, walked on a balance beam, and jumped on the trampoline. Life does not get better than that. Charlie with teacher Dayle, quite the hoot!

Charlie's face says it all! (Actually, I think teacher Dayle's face says it all!)

Adam came to class to visit one day.

Charlie and his buddies. (I am laughing so hard because as we were taking this picture teacher Dayle came running up saying, "I want to be in it!" So Adam (the photographer) said, "Okay, you can be in it but you have to pose on your side..." and he proceeded to show her how to pose for the picture (see below). So funny!

LA Zoo

We hit up the LA Zoo over Thanksgiving weekend with Grandma Graham and Uncle Stevie. Charlie loved seeing all the animals. It ended up being a pretty sunny day so Grandma bought Charlie a hat. He tried on many... ...but ended up with the monkey!

What a crack up!!

Someone was being a bit naughty at the zoo (he hit me) so Adam took Charlie to "time out" on the curb. We all could not stop laughing but Charlie was a good boy sitting there with his arms folded.

Fun with Grandma and the giraffes.

This giraffe was coming up so close to everyone trying to eat from this plant. Before long Adam and Steven got the idea to break off the plant and have the giraffe eat right out of their hands. All the while, Adam is snapping away while Steven is holding Charlie over the fence to get the perfect picture. Charlie's shoe fell off into the bush and as the guys are trying to get the shoe, feed the giraffe, and take a picture the "Zoo Patrol" came and put a stop to it all. Did you know feeding the giraffes is a federal offense?

Oh Happy Day.

Gandolfo's has arrived in Southern California!

I randomly passed by a Gandolfo's while I was out shopping with my mom this weekend. I thought I was seeing things. So I surprised Adam with his favorite sandwich, the Empire State...

...and he was OVERJOYED!!

This was a serious surprise! Just so you know, the last time we were in Utah Adam bought a disposable cooler and transported three Gandolfo's sandwiches home so he could enjoy them in the days that followed. This was his favorite place to eat in Provo and now he doesn't have to drive over 650 miles to get one. Oh happy day!

Giving Thanks.

After our Thanksgiving dinner we were visiting with family in the living room when we spotted a little swiper trying to sneak some pie. Charlie had been eating the entire night but as soon as he thought the coast was clear he decided to go back for the good stuff. Too funny. Actually, these are the only Thanksgiving pictures we have because Adam and I were too busy eating ourselves. What a great holiday centered around giving thanks for family and food!

18 months

Charlie was officially 18 months on the 26th of November. I cannot believe how fast time is flying and how big our boy is getting. The little stinker started biting his nails last month and he has had to have numberous time-outs for hitting. Every morning when Charlie wakes up he "gets cozy" on the couch, drinks his sippy cup of milk, and watches Sesame Street... affectionately known as "Mel-mo."

Charlie language:

"nigh night" = the name of his blanket, good night

"pippy" = sippy

"New-null" = Mr. Noodle (from Sesame Street)

"pssss" = please

"kssss" = thanks, keys

"May-men" = Amen

"bay-ball" = baseball... and football

"MOW" = MORE

"nack" =snack

Charlie LOVES: baseball, hiding under his blanket while we say "where's Charlie", keys, trying to "unlock" doors, going to get the mail, playing chase

Charlie knows most of his animal sounds and when we ask him "What does mommy say?" he answers: "No, no!"

When watching football with Adam, Charlie yells:"touch down"

Funny farm.

Adam and I took Charlie to Centennial Farms, a small petting zoo that is part of the OC fair grounds. He is not a huge animal lover so we were surprised when he started feeding the goats, petting the sheep and walking around saying "moo... moo!" Our little farmer boy.

As Charlie was feeding this goat she confused his hair for a piece of hay...

...then he realized what was going on!

The day ended with a good hand washing that was just as exciting as seeing all the animals. Charlie was so proud to be washing his hands without any help.

Sea Lion Tour

Last week we took a little trip to Balboa Island to go on a tour of the harbor and see the sea lions. Thanks to Jolene, the party planning queen, we set off for an afternoon of excitement!

Charlie loved the sea lions, he just stared out the window in amazement.

We had to stop in for a Balboa bar after the tour. Charlie is pointing to his teeth because I told him to say "cheese," and yes, that is ice cream on my nose! Such a fun day!

Tricks.

Trick-or-Treat

We had a fun HB Halloween. It started off with a walk down to Main Street with friends. We got some dinner at Smokin' Mo's BBQ and then set off to take part in all the exciting festivities downtown had to offer.

There was a mini-petting zoo that Charlie was not a fan of. Not a huge animal lover, at least not in such close quarters!

There was even a "cookie station" that Cookie Monster LOVED!

Trick-or-treating with Dad. I am not sure who was more into getting the candy, Adam or Charlie.

Post trick-or-treating games. Don't ask!

Happy Halloween.

Cookie Monster and his two favorite cookies!

Here are a few pictures from the ward Halloween party. Charlie was mesmerized by all the costumes and of course loving all the candy! More pictures from tonight's festivities to come...