He's Growing Up So Fast!

I know that every child probably does the things that Charlie does, but this is all about Charlie!

He seems to understand the difference between "Hi" and "Bye bye". When we pass people at the store, he looks at them, gives them a big smile, and says, "Hi!" When I go over to Becca's house, he gets really excited and crawls over to me, faster than most people walk. He climbs up my legs, and holds his hands up while he says, "Up." As soon as I pick him up he looks around and says, "Byeeee" while he opens and closes his little fist in the "baby-bye-bye" manner. He's ready to go bye-bye with Grandma!

One of his favorite things to do is "drive" the car. He stands behind the steering wheel and makes that little boy built-in motor sound, while he turns the wheel back and forth. We have a routine ... he gets to drive and then he wants to see the baby in the sun visor mirror. After he gives the baby and smile and a kiss, it's time to try out all of the buttons and levers. Then, since I don't want to make him cry, his mommy has to be the one to take him out of the driver's seat. (That's just one of the perks of being the grandma instead of the mommy!)

If I were the jealous type, I would be quite envious of Charlie's Papa (Dave). Charlie lights up like Time Square on New Year's Eve when he sees his Papa. I have a picture of Charlie and Dave on my computer desktop. When Charlie sees that picture come up, he becomes all excited and says, "Ooooooo ... Papa!" Then he says, "Papa? ... Papa? ... Papa?" over and over until you answer him or distract him. Of course, his Papa gets just as excited about seeing him, too!

Charlie is a very polite young man. He regularly says "thank you" ... okay, it's more like "gack coo" - but the message is still very clear. He asks for his "baba" (sippy cup with juice or milk), always phrasing it in the form of a question. "Baba?" I have decided that sometimes food is also called "baba". He says, "Up" to be picked up, and "out" to be taken out of his highchair or car seat. He tries to mimic words that he hears, and actions that he sees ("Be careful, little mouth, what you say." "Be careful, little eyes what you see." - from a child's song Rebecca used to sing.)

And, now for the heartbreaking stuff ... He still won't say "Grandma"!!!!! But, that's okay ... he will say it soon enough, because he is growing up so fast.