Sunday, June 14, 2009

One for Granny

Charles' Granny has always been quick to advise that we need to post more pictures. We can leave the narration (and, reading between the lines, weak attempts at humour) behind - she just wants to see pictures of her gorgeous grandson!

Here you go!




These next three are from our road trip to Russell (so Dad could go tramping).



Sunday, June 7, 2009

Charles' Favourite Toys

Look, it's another post! Who woulda thunk it?

We thought it would be nice to show Charlie with a couple of his favourite 'toys'.

Like most babies/children in this consumerist world (I know, there is a lot of irony in this particular pair of parents commenting on the consumer led orientation of modern society), Charles is spoilt for choice when it comes to toys.  Friends and family have been generous at every opportunity (though we are still dreading the day that Suzie and Chris follow through on their promise to buy our first child a drum kit as revenge for the Chicken Dance Elmo we brought for Danielle many years ago) and we live just up the road from a toy library.

It always amuses us no end then that the 'toys' he returns to time and time again are the phone on Mum and Dad's bedside table and a wooden spoon that Sam made in high school woodwork (his talent shone bright but was brief) that Charles likes to hit against one of our pots. Toymakers everywhere would be horrified.


No comments are necessary on the artistic merits (or otherwise of the spoon)!


Just to prove that we do provide him with real toys occasionally, here is a picture of Charles on an electronic bike thing from the toy library. He was very funny on it at first, going into a state of absolute concentration that seemed to be neither panic nor enjoyment. Once he got used to it, he thought it was OK.

Monday, June 1, 2009

Final Catch-Up

This should be our last 'catch up' as such. We think from here, we can pretend to be current.

So, what's happened in the period after Easter? Well, we've had a few visits from Granny and Papa Charlie from Wellington. (Baby) Charlie has enjoyed the time he has been able to spend with his Wellington grandparents. We talk on Skype quite a lot, but he hasn't been able to figure out how to get in to the computer screen for a proper cuddle, so the visits are real treats.

Charles has also graduated to the full bath! The writing was on the wall when we had to fold him in three to fit him into the baby bath, but our water pressure here is so low, we had been putting off the inevitable as long as possible. Charles' new bath-time game is to try and get the plug out while we try to restrain him long enough for some of the day's grime to dissolve.

Finally, as is obvious from the photos, Charles is pulling himself up and standing! We decided it was time to lower the base of his cot when Granny walked in to find him casually standing with one leg thrown over the side (sorry, no photo - sometimes panic comes ahead of child photography)