Charlie is certainly at one of the most darling stages of life.  His enthusiasm for life is so contagious that one almost can’t help but think seeing real trains driving down the tracks is the coolest thing since sliced bread (…or iPods?!).  He’ll say things like, “Hummus!  Yummy, hummus!”  after I tell him I going to make it for lunch.  And he almost always says thank you.  It’s so endearing.  He’s also started to greet strangers while we’re out walking or running errands.  He will happily tell them about his plans for the day, forcing the person to nod and comment generically enough to please Charlie, since often they have no idea what he’s talking about.  Current favorite activities include being silly with just about anything, setting up train tracks and making the trains crash, playing with playdoh, and going to the playground.  Charlie has also begun to play really well with other children, not just side-by-side.

We had two moments this week that melted my heart.  The first was a playdate with a boy his age who has some similar personality traits, language skills and play abilities.  They had multiple conversations about the “choo-choo tracks” and played with them side by side.  They also made each other laugh.  It was such a delight to watch them engage with each other and enjoy it. Our second outing was a walk to the neighborhood coffeeshop with a slightly older girl (six months wiser, I believe) from the neighborhood, whom Charlie adores.  I don’t know if it’s too early to call it a crush, but she’s definitely the first girl that I think he’d do just about anything for.  They made snow angels together a week or two prior and held hands while doing so.  Also, Charlie held her hand walking up the sledding hill, “because Zoe tripped so I helped her.”   At the coffee shop, after perusing the pastries and each choosing wisely, they held hands again.  They also sat at their own table and talked about the obvious over a raspberry scone and chocolate crossaint while their moms talked about home births, raising sensitive kids and vaccinations.  Then they went to a rock pile and threw rocks for at least a half an hour.  It was mama heaven…lovely weather, good conversation, coffee, treats and happy kids.

All of these lovely moments couldn’t come at a better time.  They are frequent glimmers of beauty during an emotionally gut-wrenching season.  We are facing another round of intense decisions and potentially another move.  And, of course, we’re having a baby in April!  I think we’re going to be kept on our toes for the next few months…

“Hi Steve.  Would you like to come over for dinner tomorrow?  [pause]  Oh, okay [happy tone].  I would love that.  [pause]  Okay.  Talk to you later.  Bye-bye.”

Find Your Strongest Life is a self-help book for women that encourages one to focus on the moments of your life that strengthen you, analyze what it is about these moments that are life-giving, and produce more of them by choosing your career, activities, etc… accordingly.  It challenges the notion that we should do what we’re best at.

I believe this book is a good fit for women in transition or for women who feel stuck.  The quality of the writing leaves something to be desired, it’s redundant-repetitive-redundant, and definitely has the feel of a sequel, written “especially” for women.  However, the content has enough unique suggestions to make this quick read worth it if your goal is a fresh start.

When I started to write this post I was actually going to share about Charlie’s dinnertime requests, but thinking of his love of food made me think of mine and the friends who fostered this in me, and yes, I’m pregnant.  And I ate a half a pint of delicious Coconut Crunch ice cream just prior to writing this.   Anyways, while the oven was taking it’s sweet time preheating to 400, Charlie was apparently super hungry because he couldn’t stop whining and asking to be held, so instead of putting a band-aid on the bleeding wound I sliced up some tomatoes (still from the garden, hooray!) and threw a few slices of bread on a plate for him.  I made the adults some salad while Charlie ate.  Spying our balsamic vinaigrette, Charlie requested balsamic vinegar (he always emphasis this because of his clear preference between the two).  I asked if he wanted it for his tomatoes or something else and he requested tofu.  Yup.  My little boy eats uncooked tofu straight up, with balsamic vinegar on the side.  Sometimes he dips them in sesame seeds with little bits of seaweed mixed into them, too.  Then, when asking Harry whether he’d prefer Kashi’s mushroom & spinach or margherita pizza, Charlie said, “Spinach sounds good to me.”  I LOVE my son’s eating habits.  While he still has plenty of growing room (he wouldn’t touch the soup I made Tuesday telling me,  “I don’t like soup”) and would eat mac & cheese every meal if we’d allow, he’s got an amazing palate for a toddler.  I have a feeling that to keep me humble our next child will refuse all food except for some odd thing like pickles.  More likely, salsa.  I want it with almost every meal, but it has to be peach or mango.

While we try to eat reasonably healthy here, we also have a deep love for good baked goods.  At coffee shops Charlie has grown so comfortable as to request his own treats directly from the employees.  “Um, we’re going to get a treat.  I’d like a blueberry scone.”  The shocked cashier or barista usually looks at me to clarify whether this is alright and happily complies to what will certainly be the cutest request they get all day.  Today at Spruce Confections, my favorite spot to sit in Boulder, Charlie also batted his blue eyes at the woman taking our order.  She was smitten and told her coworkers to look at the cute boy.  He works it sometimes.  He also walked down half of the Pearl Street mall with his face covered by his knit hat.  He could see alright, even managing to avoid the loose bricks that often make him trip, and all passing adults walked a little lighter in their step after seeing him.

Since I’m sharing about food, mostly, let me not pass up the opportunity to guide you to a great food blog.  Angie’s friend Sarah writes at inpraiseofleftovers.com and her cookies (Mrs Murphy’s Chocolate Chip Cookies) are the best I have ever had.  The roasted tomatoes were divine.  The Asain Noodle salad was a stand-by this summer and I am determined to make a gallette sometime soon!  To top it off, she always encourages you to think praiseworthy thoughts.  A great message to read on a regular basis.

Did you notice that my last post was about food, too?

*Red Mill
*Trophy
*Molly Moon
*Frans
*Snappy Dragon
*Bakery Nouveau
*Mango curry from any decent Indian Restaurant will make me very happy
*Dahlia Lounge
*Lulu
*Javasti
*Zoka, if my stomach can handle coffee again

Nice additional options:
*Palisade
*Gorditos
*Any good Thai joint
*And for good measure, Canlis. Why not?

First, the second and third. While driving to PawPaw and Mimi’s, a bird flew into our antenna and windshield. I startled and cried quietly, hoping that Charlie wouldn’t notice since he’s behind me in the card and I have sunglasses on. How weird is this? Why would I want him to think I don’t have emotions towards other beings’ pain?! Charlie didn’t say anything right away, but after a minute or so he asked me what happened to the bird. I told him that he flew into our windshield and got an owie. Charlie didn’t comment. About a half hour later, after we’d briefly stopped at a friend’s house, Charlie asked me if the birdie was going to get a band-aid and be all better. I went with it. Sure, “the birdie’s going to fly back to it’s nest and the mama and papa birds will give it a band-aid.” Why not. I think he’s a little too young for the harsh reality that the bird probably won’t recover and what that even means. And yet, I have a feeling he sensed my hesitation. I realize this is just the beginning of deeper parenthood questions…

The third crash came on the way home. We passed an awful accident, involving at least four cars. Charlie seemed rather concerned. “Mama, are the cars going to be all better?” Oh my. I was so relieved he didn’t ask about the people. This was one of the first times I was really thankful for Cars and Trucks and Things that Go. I quickly referenced Mistress Mouse’s tow truck and alerted Charlie that a tow truck would take the cars to the mechanic to be fixed. Problem solved. No more accident talk.

After getting home and before making dinner, Charlie and I went to get our mail. This is very routine for us. Charlie always rides his bike with me walking close-by. We stop at the mailbox and take a spin around the block. Charlie is delighted when THE puddle is still there and he bikes through it multiple times before we return home. Today was different. He wanted to walk through the puddle after biking through it. Sure, why not? Well, I’ll tell you why not! The puddle might as well have been a slick floor covered in banana peels. Charlie’s feet went right out from under him and he crashed flat on his back and head. I am so glad he had his helmet on still because I think without it we might’ve landed in the ER with a mild head injury. He bawled while I carried his dripping body, our mail, and his bike home. As we got close to the house he was calming a bit so I asked if he had any owies. He immediately stopped crying and said, “No, I don’t have any owies!” He actually almost smiled. Phew!

Into the bath he went to wash away the crashes of the day. And I am going to bed.

Charlie’s love of music has been bubbling over lately. Today I heard, “Row, row, row your boat, gently down the street” multiple times. I like the imagery that one brings. He’s also been singing songs from a worship cd we keep in our car but his words are incomprehensible to me, barely resembling the cd, apart from throwing “Jesus” in there every once in awhile. I can’t wait to figure out his replacements.

On a totally unrelated note, but something I want to share so that I remember it forever, when I ask Charlie if there’s anything he wants to do he’s consistently replying that he wants to go to the grocery store. It might be driving the cart cars, but I think it’s the cheese samples.

Charlie adores crossing railroad tracks while driving, and I’m pretty certain he knows where every track crossing in Boulder, if not Larimer, County is. “Go this way, mama, this way!” “Here comes another one!” (And I’ve yet to see any signs or tracks, but lo and behold, there is one!) Yesterday he asked me to make the choo-choo come and I told him I couldn’t just make it happen. He said, “I could make the choo-choo come if I had a screwdriver.” (Several days ago he could do it with a stepstool. He’s clearly improving his tool choices.) Then he muttered off something to the effect that he’d get behind the choo-choo, turn the screwdriver, and it would come.

C: I’m going get you some coffee, mama. Here it is. [Exits car and walks to me with open hand] Is it yummy?
K: Yes, it’s delicious. Thank you.
C: I’ve got some gas for you, mama. I’ve got some gas. Now I get out of the car. [Exits car] I brought some gas for you. [Hands me pretend gas, because that's how we get gas of course] Now I’m going to get back in the car. I’m going to get back in the car. [Sits back down in it] Oh my goodness, there’s me in the car.
K: [Typing away...doesn't say anything. Whoops. Bad mom, ignoring child while documenting his life.]
C: [Turns key] Look Mama. Can you do that noise? Can you do that noise?
K: That’s pretty cool!
C: [Drives away] Mama, I’m going to honk the horn for you. Honk, honk. [Pushes horn]
K: Thanks, honey.
C: [Drives into another room...I believe headed to the grocery store given what follows]
K: Hello again!
C: Hi mama. I was driving the car. I was driving the car and… Look what I have for you…I have some red peppers. x3.
K: Thanks, Charlie. I like red peppers.
C: That is red peppers.
K: They are spicy.
C: They are spicy. Mama, do you want to get in my car?
K: I’m too big.
C: I put my feet in and then I go “wooooo” [while pushing car].
K: I can’t do it, sweetie.
C: Mama, can you put your hand in right here?
K: OK, sweetie.
C: I can ride in it like this [now backwards in car]. I am a little too big, but I can do it. Whoa. whooooaaaa. Look, mama. I’m backwards.
K: [Left to take pictures, no longer able to type]
C: [Exited car. Moved on to another new toy, "Muziek TV", given by a dear Dutch friend]

I need to learn how to type faster!

Charlie’s own language skills continue to explode, with little surprises on a daily basis. He’s starting to pose his own arguments and make more sophisticated requests. I tell him no and he says, “Mama, did you hear my answer? I said yes.” Harry installed a new ceiling fan today; Charlie asked, “Can I have a ceiling fan in my bedroom?”

The mistakes are getting funnier, too. He’s really into using “cause” (short for because) lately, and his conditional clauses are often reversed and sometimes expanded. “I was hungry cause I eat strawberries cause I was hungry.” “I was cold cause I was crying.” “I fell down cause I got an owie.”

Finally, I write this so as to not forget about it in ten years, I love that Charlie is making up his own songs. He’s mostly inserting his own lyrics into familiar tunes, but sometimes makes his own harmonies, too. These songs are usually about food, sung while he waits for something to arrive on the table in front of him. And they’re often just a word or two, like “blueberry, blueberry, blueberry, blueberry.” Maybe someone taught him the watermelon trick already.