The Latest

So I'm just 2 days off in updating once a week. Not too bad! Rob's been encouraging me to blog some of my opinions on topics like gay marriage and abortion, and I may get around to it sometime but not right now. Not only would it take a while for me to organize my thoughts, it would take a good couple hours to write it all out. Once Rob returns from London I'll take a shot at abortion. Should prove interesting and maybe even cause some controversy. Yeah!

While Rob has been gone, Charlton has been very busy. Honestly folks, I really do watch him. He only needs a few seconds and he's into something. He is extremely resourceful and can find ways around most of my barriers.

When we were at the grocery Charlton picked up a glass jar of spaghetti sauce and it fell on the floor breaking and spreading sauce all over him. He was very upset at his "yucky" pants but he had to wait until I was done shopping. By the time we got home he thought it was funny.

One night we had some pizza that was leftover from pizza night at a friend's place.


Oops, it fell.


No worries! It still tasted good!

Charlton is definitely an aspiring chef. He LOVES the kitchen and everything that has to do with utensils, bowls, pans and preparing food. He is constantly in there messing around. I take much of the blame for this. When Charlton was about 8 months old I read this interesting book called "How to Raise a Brighter Child." In one section they describe a study where they asked mothers of overachieving children what types of environment they created for their child's play. One of the similarities researchers discovered was that these mothers let their children play openly in the kitchen. Of course, they all created a safe environment, putting away knives, cleaners and other dangerous items, but generally they left most cupboards available so the child could explore. At the time I read this, I had already been giving Charlton free reign of our kitchen but not because I was thinking it would help his development, rather I was too lazy to stop him every 15 seconds. I think this the first time in my life that my laziness has worked in my favor! At first it was just pots, bowls and lids. He's advanced into foods now, which I actually do try to stop (most of the time).

This is one of his latest masterpieces. I was thrilled to see his patriotism. His own Iwo Jima. He was also trying to clean up. What a good boy!

He actually got in trouble for this one. I was away for a few minutes sorting the laundry and I came into the kitchen to find him. He wasn't there. I went to look in his room. He wasn't there. I started calling his name and looking in his hiding places - the shower, under his crib, a cabinet in the kitchen - he was not answering. I was starting to get very nervous. Finally I found him hiding in the corner with the powdered sugar, a spoon and a measuring cup. He had to get a timeout for not answering me when I called him. Still, he was very proud of the end product.


Now this one scared me. I was filling the dishwasher with soap when he ran in and got his stool. I heard him run into the bathroom in my room and thought he was going to brush his teeth with my toothbrush, his latest past time. When I walked in there 30 seconds later he was holding a pill bottle and pointing happily at the sink which was filled with white pills. I had no idea what they were and was completely panicked. Turns out they were Rob's Vitamin C. I guess the makers of Whole Foods Vitamin C don't feel these are dangerous enough to put a child's cap on but they did have a warning in bold advising to "Keep out of reach of children." Once I discovered what they were and that he hadn't taken any, we put them all back and talked about opening bottles and pills. I took these bottles off the shelf when I was cleaning the bathroom but hadn't finished cleaning yet so they were on the counter. I always think I am careful about keeping things out of his reach but I forget how quickly he can get into something. I'll have to double my efforts.