And now, this special report from the Iowa Caucuses

For those of you looking for a summary of some of the candidates, my political correspondent in Iowa (Mom) sent this in an email the other day, and I just had to share it because it made me laugh:

Only 25 more days. . .Chris Dodd is the only Democrat that is a veteran, John Edwards doesn't want our generation to be the first one not to leave a better life for the next generation (his father was a miner for 30 years. . .), Hilary will fight for us every day of her term in the White House and her mother would vote for her even if she wasn't her daughter, Joe Biden has the only plan to get out of Iraq that is supported by both parties, Mitt Romney will work toward every child that is born having a mother and father (Dad gets a kick out of that one!). . .

And she didn't even get started on Obama and Oprah. I was so sick of political commercials after just a week in Iowa over Thanksgiving, I can't even begin to imagine how they must be feeling by now.

Charlie and Cody

Charlie and Cody had a fun playdate yesterday (at least their mommies did!) It was the first time they seemed to actually notice each other; it was cute to watch them taking each other in. They're about 3 1/2 weeks apart in age, so it will be fun to watch them grow up together.

Sitting Up

We hit another milestone today. Charlie can sit up! But perhaps the biggest milestone was Momma finally figuring out how to import the videos from her camcorder!

Viva Las Vegas

Sue and I had a great time in Vegas this weekend. We have such great husbands to do this for us. (Thanks guys!) We enjoyed shopping, checking out all the casinos, and eating a lot. One word: buffets. On Saturday we had a great dinner at an amazing Italian restaurant at the Venetian and then went to Wayne Brady's show. The show was good; he did some improv comedy and singing, but we could have used a little more comedy. It was a big fight weekend, and a rodeo was in town, so it was a pretty busy place.

Look close: these are made of pecans.

Portraits by Doug

My brother-in-law Doug took these at Thanksgiving. Aren't they great?

Feeding Fun

If you look closely you can see the cereal all over his chest and face, including a glob next to each eye. This is a result of the flailing limbs, which you also see in this picture, that bump Momma's hand. Hence the naked feedings...much easier cleanup.

I forgot about another "first" last week

Charlie's first trip to the American Airlines Center. We didn't stay for the game, but Daddy got to introduce Charlie to his coworkers, and he even has a literal run-in with Dirk. It will probably be a season or two before we take Charlie to a game. Can you say: "Overstimulation?"

Victory!

After 2 1/2 weeks of waking up at 3:00 or 5:00 a.m., Charlie finally slept 12 straight hours again last night. Hooray! He woke up at 4:30 a.m. on Sunday night, but I stood my ground and didn't feed him. I just stood over his crib and rubbed his belly for about 15 minutes before he finally calmed down. Then last night I was prepared to do the same, but did not need to. Now I just hope this sticks. Makes me wish I would have stood my ground earlier. But with us being gone for a week and then him being sick, the last thing I wanted to do was deprive him. Now we're working our way back into our routine. Yay!

First feeding

Charlie got some rice cereal for the first time this week. He knows just where the spoon is supposed to go, but he hasn't figured out how to get the cereal off the spoon, so once I get it in there I have to practically poor it into his mouth.





Once I figure out how to get video off my new camcorder, I'll be sure to post it, too.

Thanksgiving

Charlie and I had a good time in Iowa for Thanksgiving. It was a houseful with about 20 people, but it was fun to see so much family that I don't get to see too often. My dad's brothers and most of my cousins made it down to celebrate. Dave was traveling with the Mavs, so he unfortunately couldn't make the trip. It's the first Thanksgiving or Christmas that we haven't spent together since we've been married, but I'm surprised it hasn't happened sooner.

5 Months

Another month has flown by, and Charlie turned 5 months old on Wednesday. He continues to make every day a joy.

This was a pretty big week with some "firsts" for Charlie: first sickness, first time in the exersaucer, first solid food. He came down with his first cold and ear infection during our last days in Iowa for Thanksgiving. We got him in to see the doctor, and he's doing better. Tuesday was probably his worst day. He had this sad, pathetic little cry and a nasty cough. But he's back to his old self now, except for a lingering cough. There's nothing like seeing your child sick.

I got the exersaucer out of storage along with our Christmas decorations, and he loved exploring it. He seems pretty comfortable in it and is mastering turning to get to all the toys. He looks like such a big boy in it!

And on Thursday we started him on cereal. I was wanting to put it off a little longer (mainly out of laziness), but the little guy has stopped sleeping through the night. My wise aunts suggested starting solids, so I decided to go ahead in hopes of it helping him get though the night again. (So far, no luck.) I'll post photos of the first feeding soon. He seems to like it and opens his mouth wide in anticipation of each spoonful.

Charlie's eyes remain the prettiest blue I've ever seen. All of his hair fell out at about 3 months, but it's all grown back now and is getting longer. He still has his dimpled chin, which was the first feature I noticed about him when he was born. When he smiles he also has a little dimple on his left side. So far the consensus seems to be that he looks like Dave (or his mother or sister).

He's sitting in his bouncy seat next to me right now trying to get my attention, and he laughs every time I look at him. He is so much fun!

Charlie meets Booger

I love this picture of Charlie. You can kind of see the dimple on his left cheek.