Ten on Tuesday (ish) | Fun with Charlie.

...today's topic is things we like to do with our best friend - I'm taking a little license here, because my post is Ten Things I Like To Do with Charlie. right now. just a little bit past twelve months old.

checking out the toy box

1. Eat breakfast. Charlie is all about the food right now. And fixing breakfast and lunch and snacks (yep, he eats every 1-1/2 to 2 hours) for him has made it easier for me to eat better. He had toast and peaches for breakfast. I had avocado (well, actually leftover guacamole so it was too spicy for Charlie) toast. But we ate breakfast together...and that was the fun part.

2. Next we head upstairs... I make the bed while he checks out the toy box. He only plays with these toys on Tuesdays and it's fun to see him unpack the layers...and find his (for now anyway) favorites. I'm happy to see that he still loves the sorting box and the stacking rings. and he claps when the pieces come together!

3. Read. no news here.

4. Dance. I'm not sure you can really call shaking your leg(s) and bobbing your head dancing, but it's moving to the music (we typically listen to the kids station on U-verse) and that's good enough for me!

4. Visit the library. A new favorite as in we did this for the first time today. Our local branch just reopened in a brand new space... and it's awesome! We got there at 10am when they opened and had the entire kids section to ourselves. Charlie explored and chose a few books - which I read out loud (in my quietest out loud voice) ... and then he explored some more. We checked out two CDs for the car - Sesame Street and Arlo Guthrie.

5. Cook. It's always fun to cook for someone who likes to eat. I've known for a while that Charlie loves scrambled eggs and today I cooked those (which is a big deal. I really really dislike eggs)...and it was good. Because he loved them! I thought there might even be enough leftovers for Marc to snack on ... yeah, no.

6. Climb the stairs. This was another first time today thing. Because 17 steps with two landings is scary. I spotted him the whole time and he did great. He even wanted to do it again. (I'm not sure when we'll be ready for climbing down the stairs).

7. Walk. He likes to hold my hand (which is really just one finger in his whole little fist) ... or not. He's getting really steady on his feet and I think he likes my finger more for comfort than stability.

8. Explore. Looking out. looking around. Katie tells me we need to be practicing pointing and talking ... all the time. Done! (and tippy toes!!)

9. Share him with Holly. Honestly, this is a bit of a stretch right now because Holly doesn't like him nearly as much as I do! but she's learning. and so is he. and I really need these two to become friends, so we work on it every week. At this point, she's a lot more nervous around him than he is around her (until she barks, and he cries, and ...)

10. Share him with my friends. Today was the prayer shawl meeting and we had a full house. Most of the ladies hadn't seen Charlie in a few months. He didn't disappoint.

It's pretty special that I get to have this little guy all to myself (more or less) for one day each week. Looking back over this past (almost) nine months of Tuesdays with Charlie is another blessing...and a reminder that I need to keep writing and sharing the stories. Thank you to Carole and all you Ten on Tuesday folks for letting me "ish" a topic every now and then!