Charles 30th Birthday

We celebrated Charles 30th birthday last week with a barbecue at our house.It was a bit more chaotic with little ones around, but it was great to spend time with friends. Not only were we celebrating Charles birthday, we were also celebrating his graduation -- he completed his MBA at KSU in May. Charles good friend, Harlan, even flew down from New York to surprise him for the weekend. We have not had the opportunity to visit with Harlan for the last couple of years, so it was great to catch up with him and Charles was thrilled to have him in town. With Father's day this past weekend, Charles won rights to sleeping in on the weekend (Carson is a pretty early riser so we usually take turns getting up with him on the weekend). We also spent a lovely day at the pool together. Carson has really taken a liking to the water this year.

As my little guy (he'll be two years old in August) continues to grow so quickly, I am really trying to make mental notes of all things that he does that amaze, inspire, and mostly entertain me. The best memories usually sprout from quiet (relative term :) ) afternoons playing together at the house. For instance, I have learned that if he is trying to get my attention, he will begin by saying "mommy, mommy," and if that doesn't work, he then resides to saying "Jana, Jana, mommy, Jana." I know he means business when he refers to me by name :). He loves singing the Alphabet song, but for reasons unbeknown-st to me, he has replaced "L-M'-N-O-P" with "elmo" so his alphabet song sounds a little like this: abcdefghijelmopqrustuvwxyz. I guess it does sound similar. My sister, Julee, has been teaching him some dance moves, so he has really been busting a move with the robot and some form of salsa dancing (to tell you the truth all his "dance moves" look pretty much the same). My favorite moments with him occur shortly before bedtime. He's pretty worn out from a full day of play and enjoys cuddling with me while we read a book or two. When I pick him up and give him a big hug, I give him a few pats on the back ( I think out of habit from burping baby days) and he has now decided to start "burping" me and gives me a few pats on the back during our good night hugs --what a funny kid!