Christmas in Minnesota

We traveled to Janesville for Christmas this year to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa Garms and Great-Grandma Hultquist. Despite predictions for a "storm of the century," the weather managed to cooperate the whole way from Lakewood to Janesville. The worst roads we drove on were in Colorado on the way to the airport. Of course, the malfunction of windsheild wipers caused Travis to drive with his head out the window "Ace Ventura style" for a portion of the drive. Yikes!

Once we arrived in Janesville, it was like stepping into a time machine that magically transported me back to Christmas Past. The Garms household was decorated with all the Christmas decorations I remembered as a child and the smell of cookies hung in the air....well, it did until Amy and I ate all the sugar cookies! Charlie was the guest of honor of course as Grandma/Grandpa Garms hadn't seen him in quite some time and Great Grandma Hultquist had never met him. Charlie warmed right up them, reaching out for Great Grandma Hultquist and snuggling into her lap as all the rest of the grandchildren did during their childhoods. It was pretty amazing to see.

Santa did arrive, and Charlie again was the primarily beneficiary. Guess we all know who was good this year! There were so many presents that we had to open them in three shifts, crazy. Highlights of the gift wrapping included (i) a cell phone from Charlie's cousins in Washington that he liked so much he immediately put it in his mouth (a real sign of approval for the Chaz), (ii) Charlie getting a teddy bear from G-G Hultquist (just like his dad did 33 years ago), (iii) Mom getting a veggie brush that I think was meant for Coco, (iv) Charlie getting a walker that makes some really annoying noises (that charlie plays with nonstop), and (v) Dad getting a t-shirt from Amy that has a squirrel on it. You will have to ask Denny about the shirt. The picture included is of Charlie with all his presents, as you can see, he is pretty happy about the whole thing.

Too much else to include in one post, but overall it was a phenominal time in Janesville. Despite the weather, Charlie managed to get outside to make his first snow angel. It was really Dad doing the work and Charlie wondering what on earth was going on, but we captured it on video for Mom and Dad to watch for years to come.

Four months

So Charlie is four months old on Saturday, my how the time flies. Few thoughts on recent mannerisms below.

• He is starting to slowly ween himself off of the pacifier. Once he realized how delicious his own hands (and everything else in the world around him )are he has seemed much less interested in the pacifier. His main comfort mechanism seems to be his index and middle finger on his left hand. Very odd in that both Amy and I did the same thing when we were young too!



• About a month ago, Charlie started finding his feet. Pretty funny in that he usually starts talking to his feet as soon as he puts his hands on them, sort of like a baby version of "this little piggy." No feet in the mouth yet, but no doubt that is sure to come.



• He continues to love his man-chair and spends hours kicking away in it. For those of you that have had the pleasure to see Charlie working out in his chair, you are aware of the little man's stamina and determination. Will be interesting to see if he ends up being a runner or cyclist. He has started standing for very brief points in time, but not for extended periods. Charlie likes to stand for a couple seconds then pull one foot out and do his stork imitation. Standing will come very quickly I have a feeling.



• The most recent habits are related to his voice. Charlie has done a great job of cooing/talking to us most mornings, but has recently started to add in a nice high pitched scream to his repertoire. This, of course, was displayed prominently when we were at Jason's Deli two nights ago and the ladies around us were wondering if Charlie was crying, screaming in pain, or screaming out of joy. I have a feeling the screaming will come in handy when we want to budge in line or have some room to ourselves in Chipotle.



• Charlie continues to sleep like an absolute champion. We are very lucky in that he typically is sleeping by 9pm and doesn't wake up until 6 in the morning. See a picture above for him in the Tigger PJ's. The other one is wearing Mom's Fat Tire hat, pretty cute.

All for now, Charlie continues to be a happy and healthy baby. We are very blessed to have him in our lives.

Four month checkup

Charlie went in for his four month checkup this morning. Here are the stats, story to follow:

Weight: 13lbs, 5 oz (25th percentile)

Height: 24.5 inches (25th percentile)

Head: Big and Round (88th percentile)

So, our little guy is growing out and up quite nicely. Further, he has nearly ascended into the 90th percentile for head size, which means he is still pretty much an orange on a toothpick. I'll keep to that joke and not going any further by calling him Stewie Griffin or anything else that may cause him irreparable damage to his huge noggin.

A British scientific group did a study a couple years back and said that there was positive linkage to size of head and IQ, so this is a great thing for Charlie as I would much prefer a brilliant child to one that is not (duh!). I only hope he doesn't have to become British to reap the benefits of the study. If he does, I guess that means we will be watching a lot of the premier league, replacing "z" with "s" for everything except Zebra, using words like "blimey" and "guv-na", turning normal foods into pies and probably picking up an occasional lawn gnome for the garden. Stay tuned.

Anywhoo, the dr's appt. So, after the little man spit up on Dad, the floor, Mom, the carseat, and the dr's table, he was ready to be weighed and measured. Everything went great, Chazz was so excited that he gained that much weight, he peed all over the scale - he gets that from his Mom...

Amy and I always guess on weight before we go into the Dr's. As you probably guessed, Amy is nearly always the victorious party in these little wagers. However, I guessed 13.6 today to capture the Garms Family Guessing Game Crown. So, as the victor, I held down Charlie as he got his four shots and tried to comfort him afterwards. As Amy learned in the 3 month check-up, the shots are much harder on the parents than they are on the child.

So, Charlie is four months and a happy/healthy baby boy. We are very lucky and blessed to have him in our lives. All for now.

Cheerio Guv-na

Travis

Two-month checkup

Charlie went to his two-month checkup last week. Here are the details:

Weight: 10 lbs, 4 ounces (25th percentile)

Height: 23.75 inches (50th percentile)

Head: 75th percentile

He was in the 13th percentile of weight after 1 week so Charlie has been doing a great job of packing on the pounds and growing like a champ.

I won't say too much about his head, other than he takes after his mom and has a huge head - all the better to hold all of those big brains. Here is a picture at two months, very happy sitting in his chair. Most of the time he has full head control, but with that huge head its going to take a little bit before he has all the necessary muscles to control that thing. Seriously, its like an orange on a toothpick! Just kidding little buddy!

Sorry for the delay

So sorry for the delay, there are no good excuses. We have been quite busy over the last month. Travis returned to work, but hasn't been traveling too much. Amy is doing all of the hard, yet enjoyable, work at home with Charlie.

Charlie has been doing great, figuring out all of the important things in life....mainly sleeping, eating and pooping, and he has become very prolific in all three!

Here is pic of Charlie at two months sitting in his man-chair. One of the best gifts we received, thanks Grace, Jeremy and Lorali! Charlie loves to sit in this chair and kick his legs for exercise.

It takes a whole village to raise a child

It does take a village to raise a child…never did that charming little saying mean as much as it has the last four weeks.

Travis, Amy, and Charlie would like to write a brief note of thanks to all of you that have helped support us in this new chapter of our lives. We had no idea of the vast endeavor that we have taken on, and all of you have been there for us. Some of you have lent us your time to give Travis and I a break, and many of you have lent a kind ear (and voice) to let us know that everything we’re experiencing is ‘normal’, that all of us will in fact get through this challenge, and to keep our spirits up.

Your words of wisdom, your support and love have gotten us through this initial four weeks are genuinely appreciated and our sincere gratitude for everything you have done. Many thanks to our families and friends, especially the Logan’s (Grandma, Grandpa, & Julia Logan), Grandma & Grandpa Garms, the Wells family, Nicole Pudwell, Lisa Hackard, and Grace Kunde. Your friendship and love mean the world to us.

Bath Time!

I love chilling out in the tub! Well, Dad calls it a tub but I think it sorta looks like a metal bowl that they use in the kitchen. Either way, its kinda cool hanging out in the warm water!