God bless painters! Thanks to a painter who was painting our bathrooms this weekend, we went on a mini vacation yesterday! We had to get out of the house Saturday because of the smell, so we headed north en route for Campbell River then found a nice little place just 20 minutes away in Parksville! We checked in just before noon and set out on a nice walk along the beach enjoying a BEAUTIFUL day....ALMOST made us NOT want to move back home!!!!

So, here's Charlie at the beginning of our journey....January 27th, about 10 degrees and sunny, setting out for a walk on the beach!

Lovely family photo....ahhhhh!!!!

Then....the fresh air got the best of him and out he went....sleeping! He was soooo relaxed that he was actually snoring!!! I guess Dad really has the touch!

Now we're at the end of our walk....about an hour and a half later and here he is STILL sleeping!

This one was taken just before supper from outside our room....check out the view! The beach was fantastic and I guess you can't quite see them here, but the mountain range in the far off distance was breath-taking.

Finally, here is a cute photo of Charlie holding his bottle. I have water in a bottle mostly for hiccups, but sometimes just for him to chew on .... teeth are coming! Anyway, he looks like such a big boy in this picture it's frightening. We are in awe of him daily with how much he's growing and all the new things he accomplishes. David has started calling him "sonny" because he "brightens his day"! I have to agree!

We hope you all had a wonderful weekend! We sure did!

How Cute am I? Charlie writes.....well, I asked Mom to take some photos of me yesterday and today because I was feeling rather handsome and thought you should all have the chance to "check me out!" I'm feeling pretty good these days, my cough is almost gone and I'm sleeping longer at night (so Mom's not so cranky as she's getting a bit more sleep!!!) We have to go see the pediatrician this afternoon, so I'll get Mom to fill you all in on how that goes later. Anyway, here I am, in all my glory, smiling as usual, lovin' life!!!!

I went on the web cam with Mom yesterday and got to talk to (and see) my cousins over in Scotland. Mom is holding me up in this picture (see her arm there?) but I'm standing up! I put on my T-shirt they sent me for Christmas so they could see that I liked it and just how much it likes me....I think it really brings out the blue in my eyes!!! what do you think?

And here I am sitting up on my own! I'm getting to be such a big boy!!!!

And here I am falling over just seconds after the photo above was taken....hey....I'm ONLY 5 months old, how long do you think I can hold a pose like that?

Now this one was taken today just as we were heading out this morning. I know, I know... I could be the poster boy for baby Gap, right? I get my good looks from my mom! or is it my dad? or maybe it's my grampie? nana? I don't know. all I know is they're going to have to nickname me "charmer Charlie".

....Just in case you wanted a closer look!

Have a great day! Thanks for "checkin' me out!"

5 Monthiversary! Time sure does fly when you're having this much fun! Yes, you read correctly, Charlie is 5 months old today and he's turning into a little man right before our very eyes. He is now (as of 2 days ago) 15.5 lbs and 27" long! We went to the doctor yesterday for a follow-up from hospital discharge last week hoping to get a clean bill of health....well....not quite yet, but getting there. He still has some rattling in his chest and not quite breathing as easily as doc would like to see, but we're back to giving him his puffer 4x per day whether he needs it or not, and then we'll see on Monday if that made a difference or not??? If not, we'll go see the pedietrician next week and go from there....praying that it's not asthma or allergies!!!!

Here are a few recent photos of our handsome little guy!!!!!

This one was taken the other night while watching the Canucks game with Dad! He's happy to be sporting his team's t-shirt that he got from "Cousin Minny" while he was in the hospital. He's already quite the sports enthusiast!

This was just a photo I took the other day because I thought he looked like such a little man in this outfit...brought tears to my eyes!


Finally, here he is today....on his 5 monthiversary. He loves to sit up (propped still, but sitting nevertheless) and loves to stand even more. It won't be long and I won't be able to put him down and find him in the same spot 30 seconds later. I guess that's how I'll lose the last 10 lbs...chasing him around soon!!!! aahhhhh....can't wait!


Other than that, not too much else to write about. We have someone coming tomorrow to give us a pre-sale inspection on the house and then we'll get things done that we feel will improve to the value of the house in the next couple of weeks so we can list it around the first of February. Once we have a buyer, then we'll have a closing date and therefore a departure date! Sometimes I still can't believe we're going to leave Nanaimo (so many good friends!!!) but we're also very excited to be going home to family and friends.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend... take a minute to comment and let me know how you're doing!!

Home again, home again, riggiddy-jig!!! Yes, it's true, we're home from the hospital...again...and hopefully not going back for a LONG time! We actually got home on thursday morning, just haven't had a chance to post. Charlie is definately on the mend, just still coughing a bit, and quite "needy". He's up every 2 hours (on the dot) in the night, wanting to nurse and be comforted basically, so we're not getting a whole lot of sleep around here. But....glad to be home nevertheless. Doctor says we should still lay low for a couple of weeks until he's completely recovered, but he sure seems to be back to normal....see for yourself.....

This is Charlie (while still in the hospital) doing his daily "tummy time" exercises....doesn't look too sick here, eh? Now you can see why the nurses thought he was "too damn cute for words"!

As soon as we got home on Thursday, I went out and got him his Christmas present...a Jumperoo (aka...Jolly Jumper) He LOVES it!!! He will bounce, but mostly likes to run in it...you know .... left, right, left, right...so he mostly goes back and forth rather than up and down!

And finally.....here is our very advanced son, reading! yes, reading!!!! He will sit and look at these books and amuse himself for quite awhile. He likes to chew them too!!!





That's it for today, thank you for all your "healing" thoughts and prayers....they were GREATLY appreciated. Take care!

We're still here!!! I know it's been about 2 weeks since my last post....BUT....I have an excuse...a good one!! Here's the scoop.....while in NB, Charlie developed a cold, then a bad cough, took him to the doc, said it was "viral bronchialitis" ( I have NO idea how to spell that!!). Anyway, gave him a puffer and sent him on his way...said it would be better in a few days....didn't get better, seemed to get a bit worse....so....i made an appt for him to see our doc here on Thursday AM (we got home on Wednesday night) Anyway, the doc sent him to outpatience to have his oxygen saturations checked, they were low (92), so the pediatrician admitted him to the hospital thursday afternoon....they tested for RSV (negative), did a chest X-ray for pnemonia (negative) and ran some blood tests for other stuff (all negative too)....so....just a little virus that has to run it's course.....we went home from the hospital on Saturday afternoon! Then, Charlie seemed to sleep much of the day and night and only woke up to eat a bit and cough a LOT!!! So when I came home from church on Sunday I called the BC nurse line and she recommended I take him back to have his oxygen levels checked out again and they were very low (86) so once again he was admitted to the hospital - only 24 hours after springing free!!! However, it was a VERY cute doctor who checked us out in emergency that time so i didn't mind sitting there as much!!! Now, if Mom is reading this I'm in BIG trouble because I didn't tell her Charlie was back in the hospital because she and Dad are in San Diego and I didn't want her worrying .... so.... sorry Mom...but he's OK!!!! Anyway, since Sunday he has been on oxygen 24 hours a day until today when he came off it and only requires it when sleeping. So, if he can go for the next 24 hours without it, then he can come home tomorrow...but the doctor wants to be sure this time, so he's being extra cautious...which I'm happy with! don't want to go back once we're home! Anyway, I'm just home for a quick shower and thought I would update the blog as many of you are wondering how he's doing. So....here are a few pics from Christmas/New Years and a couple from the hospital!

Here is our BIG boy walking with the assistance of auntie Heather....he's sooo advanced!


With Dad on New Year's Day watching sports desk! (David will love this photo!!!!!)


Here's Charlie with his good friend Michael who's going to teach him how to ride a motorbike, fish and play hockey! He can't wait!!!!

Having a final snuggle with Papa before heading back to BC

Now....can you believe that this happy little cutie is sick??? I can't either! All the nurses think he's just too cute for words, they all want to come in and check on him because he smiles at them and flirts lots!

And here he is in his hospital bed sleeping soundly.

So....keep us in your prayers and we'll keep you all posted! Love you and DON'T WORRY MOM!!!!!