Charlie is 10 Months Old!

 Our Charlie is ten months old.  He is a lot of fun.

These pictures were taken when Charlie was eight and nine months old.  He had discovered crawling in a major way and loved coming over to the kitchen.  There are always crumbs to be found in my kitchen.

It entertains him for a long time.  

He is our little vacuum cleaner.

Once, Charlie got caught in a stool and couldn't figure out how to get out.  The chairs are much easier to navigate.  He grins delightedly when I peek in on him, then he often abandons his quest for finding interesting things and scurries over for some kisses.

The kids love manhandling, er, holding Charlie.

Charlie has started to wisen up to the pattern of attention.  Now that he is highly mobile, he generally prefers to be left alone.

He cannot hang out--in whatever wacky position he is choosing--on his own for too long before someone comes to scoop him up.

Charlie is usually pretty trusting.

He does like the attention.  The kids can get quite a bit of laughter out of him.

Charlie is not as trusting of James.

Even though James shares his prized possessions with Charlie, 

Charlie will loudly complain when James gets too intrusive.

Everyone loves to teach Charlie new tricks.

 Now, at ten months, Charlie is even more mobile and even more fun.

 He can race up the stairs.  He loves to cruise along the furniture.  He knows how to open all of our cupboards.  He delights in reaching the keys of the piano and turning random knobs.

Charlie laughs very easily.  He is a joyful little guy.  He also gets scared easily.  He hates loud noises.  We have a train toy that creaks loudly and Charlie panics every time he hears it.  He has recently gotten over his deadly fear of the vacuum cleaner, but for a while he'd bawl, horrified at the noise and commotion, and shout "Mama!  Mama!  Mama!" while escaping from the room as fast as he could.  He'd settle immediately when I'd pick him up.

Charlie also hates baths.  He cries if I bring him to close to a sink or bathtub with running water.  He gets nervous when I take his diaper off for more than a few seconds.  And he screams and screams for as long as a bath lasts.  I've gotten good at dunking him and washing him quickly.

Charlie has learned to clap, much to the kids' delight.  They encourage him for longer than his attention span lasts.

Charlie is a really lean little guy.  He is in the 25th percentile for height and head size but only barely got back on the growth chart (to the 1st percentile, wahoo!) for weight.  He is always moving, and he must have a hollow leg because he eats constantly.  I think Charlie would live on graham crackers if we'd let him.  

He looooooooves table food.  He eats whatever we are eating and protests very loudly when we don't share with him.  Charlie will not accept crackers or cheerios when he sees the rest of us eating something different.

Joel and I recently took Charlie with us on a lunch date.  Charlie spent the entire time at the restaurant shrieking despite my shoveling food in his mouth as fast as possible.  He ate two graham crackers, a nutrigrain bar, and as many bites of my food as I could give him.  Joel and I rushed through our lunch and got out of there as fast as we could.

He also loves it when we cover and uncover his mouth repeatedly.  He shouts out and loves to hear his vocalizations go on and off with the movement of our hands.  If we pull our hands away, he pulls it right back again so he can hear more of the noisy trick.

Charlie is a big Mama's boy.  He is also a great sleeper.  He sucks his little thumb all night long, and often during the day.  When I pick him up, he leans his head close to mine, puts his left hand along my shoulder and his right thumb in his mouth.

He is always game for snuggles.  He leans all the way into me, his head on my shoulder and his forehead against my cheek or neck.  I love feeling his soft little belly go out and in with his breathing.  When he is breastfeeding, he loves to stroke my face.  

I have a huge soft spot for this little guy.  I admit it.  I can't help it--he always laughs at my jokes!

He has taken to a fleece quilt my grandma make him.  He strokes the edge and rubs it against his face.  Charlie is our little Linus.  He loves cuddling but if he can cuddle with me AND have his special blanket, he is set for a very long time.

Charlie loves going to Joel, too.  He loves to come in bed with us and crawl over to his papa.  

We all love Charlie.  He is doted upon and cherished.  I think he's in a pretty good spot in life.  We will see if he says the same when he is old enough to resent everyone telling him what to do!