Snow!

Last week we got about 6-8 inches of snow. Beautiful.

Rob kindly came over and blew our walkways with a leaf-blower.

Jamie came to help too!

That afternoon a friend of mine came to play in the snow with Charlie and me. I had flashbacks to his "enthusiasm" for the pool...

A smile!

And it's gone.

The dog enjoyed herself, though.

Not even a smile in the afterglow!

Dog Pile

Recent Antics

A common sight these days...

Charlie loves the dishwasher.
Perhaps this fascination will turn into a sincere desire to help mama with the dishes?

Don't let this charming smile deceive you. Can you see what he has left in his wake?

Here's a closer look...

And this...

Better on the bottom than on the top, of course. But nothing is safe anymore.

Jude's First Birthday

The birthday boy

When we finally got together to celebrate despite sickness and bad weather,
we had a wonderful time celebrating little Jude.

Charlie was what we might say "in" to all his toys.

It's hard not to imagine a future friendship with shots like these,
and even harder not to wonder who will be the mastermind and who the executor.

This photo makes me smile. It looks as if he's thinking to himself,
"Oh, this is from Grammy!
She didn't have to give me anything!"

Charlie may have forgotten a time or two just whose birthday it was.

One of the best gifts of the night was a book about the Tickle Monster that came with a set of Tickle Monster gloves to be worn by the reader. Both Jude and Charlie got a sampling.

The cake, I must say, was a success. Good job, Mom!

And happy birthday, Jude! We love you!

Christmas at Grammy's...

...started with a bang!

Thankfully, Jude had already demonstrated an onion fascination,
and Grammy was mentally prepared.

As always, we kicked back and relaxed.

Christmas morning:

Alas and most regrettably, I finished Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Book 6) that morning. I wept periodically the rest of the day (I just finished the series a couple days ago...if anyone wants to discuss I'm game!).

The Packards and Noltings came for the afternoon and evening.

Jude had to adjust to Charlie's helmet...he backed away from him in concern at their first meeting. It was very funny to watch.

Helmet wearing, we found out, has made Charlie a good hat or other head-gear wearer.

Love these:

The Noltings with the babies

Wee Willie Winkie's cousin

After awhile, the boys seemed to enjoy each other.
Charlie's excitement may have something to do with the fact that I had just got him up
after a failed attempt at putting him down for the night...it was Christmas, after all!

Sunday it started to snow. We didn't get what New York got, but it was fun nonetheless.

The Deys came to see us one afternoon. Pop Pop seemed to enjoy himself...

Mainly, we enjoyed Grammy's beautiful tree and evenings together.

Charlie investigated everyone, and had a wonderful time doing it.