Charlie's Baby Blessing

Charlie had his baby blessing at church on Sunday. Ben gave him a wonderful blessing, to have a healthy mind, strong conscience, and to have a heart full of compassion and charity. He was also blessed with courage in these turbulent times. Charlie was perfect during the blessing and was awake, but didn't cry.

Here he is in his onesie before getting dressed (I love his chubby rolls)

Charlie loves getting his diaper changed - he coos and smiles and is very interactive

Charlie was blessed in the same outfit that Eli was blessed in - we were hoping for nice spring weather, but we woke up to snow on Sunday. So Charlie wasn't really dressed for the weather, but that's okay :)
Here we are with both Ben's parents and my family after church. Eli having fun with Ben's dad:
My dad talking to Charlie
My mom and Charlie (She's lost 17 pounds now! My dad has lost a lot as well but I don't know his official total as of this week. Good job to both of you!!)
Eli being crazy on the couch with Ben before we attempted to take a family picture

Eli was not in the mood to sit still :)

Oh well, we tried, right? :)

We had a yummy dinner with green salad, fruit salad, lemon garlic chicken, brown rice, and broccoli.

Here's Charlie in Ben's arms during dinner being mellow

My Gram turned 84 last week, so we celebrated her birthday on Sunday as well. Eli wanted to blow out a candle too, so we stuck one in a muffin:

My mom made a chocolate cake out of her low glycemic diet cookbook, so it was a very healthy version. Gram insisted on 85 candles on the cake :) (she always has one to grow on)

She blew them all out in just a few puffs. Thankfully the smoke alarm didn't go off!

Ben's mom with Charlie

Our family room isn't well insulated, so Ben is always wrapped up in a blanket

Gram tried on Ben's snuggie, which kept her warm :) She loves to tie bows and ribbons around her head when she opens presents.

And finally, a picture of me and Ben with Charlie. He was crying and tired by this point, but I still think it's cute!

Field Museum

Ben's parents flew in from California yesterday! They are here for Charlie's baby blessing at church this Sunday. Today we all went to the Field Museum (a huge natural history museum) with my friend Heather and her 1-year-old daughter Tabitha. (Ben was working so he didn't come along, unfortunately)

There is a fun hands-on learning lab for little kids on the bottom floor of the museum. Eli had fun playing with these wooden frogs (we have one at home too):

Here he is walking with Cheryl - he has been really sweet with Grandma and Grandpa from the start of their trip - he recognized them from the picture we have of them in our living room - it was cute.

Here are the boys and grandparents in front of the massive elephants on the main floor of the museum. Eli was happier than he looks :) This is Charlie in his first outfit... later he spit up/threw up all over me and soaked us both. Unfortunately, I only thought to bring a change of clothes for him! So I walked around wet and smelling like spit-up for the rest of our time at the museum.
Here are Eli and Cheryl looking at Sue, the largest, most complete t-rex in the world:
Eli and Larry (I don't know why I couldn't get pictures of Eli smiling!! It was pretty warm in the museum - hence the flushed cheeks :)
Tabitha and Eli at the end of our trip, both looking a little tired and dazed:
Here we are in front of the big gorilla.

Tonight Eli had fun sitting on his grandma's lap while she played some songs on the piano.

It was a fun day!

Charlie at 2 Months

Charlie's faces at 2 months:

Charlie had his 2-month appointment this week. He's measuring 22 3/4 in length (50%), 12 lbs 8 oz in weight (75%) and 15 5/8 for head circumference (50%). He talks (coos) a lot and is very expressive. He's definitely mellowing out and is less fussy, though his massive spit-ups are becoming more frequent. Zantac wasn't helping, so we're hoping to try the medicine Prevacid next week if our silly insurance will approve the charge (it's very expensive and they are making my doctor fill out a form saying Charlie really needs it - ridiculous!!). His pediatrician thinks Charlie's ongoing congestion is totally related to the reflux (since his body is producing mucous to combat the reflux).

Anyway, Charlie loves his bouncy seat, getting his diaper changed, and looking at people's faces. I love kissing his chubby, chubby cheeks and seeing his dimples when he smiles. Last night we had the best night yet - he slept from 9:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m.!! (it's too bad Eli woke up crying at 1:30 a.m. and 3:30 a.m. - so it wasn't the most restful night, but that's okay) But it was a nice treat that Charlie slept so long - he had some bad nights earlier in the week and I was feeling pretty worn out.

My Greek Grandfather

My Greek grandfather, Phokion Karas, passed away today. He lived in Boston, and Ben and I visited him there five years ago, which was a fun experience. I'm glad Ben got to meet him. He visited my family a handful of times while I was growing up, but he always sent me a Christmas present from Filene's Basement in Boston. He loved shopping at Filene's. His gifts usually smelled like moth balls, which is kind of a funny memory.

My grandfather was an architectural photographer and was also a very good cook. He liked to ride his bike around the city and was a regular at the outdoor food markets to pick up fresh produce and fish.

He was very proud of his Greek heritage, so I think it's neat that he passed away today, on Greek Independence Day.

It's strange to think that both of my grandfathers have passed away within just a few months of the other.

Sad the Weekend is Over!

We had a fun but productive weekend, doing yard work, running errands, playing with the kids, and enjoying being together. Monday morning is almost always hard - Eli wakes up crying for DADAAAAA and it takes a little bit before he's adjusted again to the weekday routine.

Here's Charlie still getting used to the bumbo seat - he likes it for very short amounts of time. You can sort of see the dimples in his chubby cheeks...

I usually get the boys dressed first thing in the morning, but on Sundays I leave them in their jammies until right before church. I can't get enough of the matching pjs :) I thought it was funny - when I put Charlie in the bumbo this morning, Eli ran over to it and said, "Cheese!" I had to run and get my camera since he was actually eager to take a picture.

Love these boys!

Cool Handmade ABC Book

I felt like I was dragging today after a night with very little sleep. However, getting the mail totally made my day!! There was a package from my diva friend from college, Brooke. Inside was a darling frog blanket for Charlie, along with a handmade ABC book!!

I have loved the wonderful and thoughtful gifts friends and family have sent to Charlie, but I wanted to highlight this since it's such a unique idea for a baby gift.

Brooke used pictures from my blog for some of the pages, which is so fun. Eli loved looking at the book with me, especially when there were pictures like this one.


Brooke is quite talented in Photoshop...

Eli loves that Thomas is in the book.

It even features Brooke's dog, Whopper :)

Thank you Brooke! I was really touched by the time and thought you put into this darling book. Charlie will love it as he gets older (and Eli loves it too!).