All growed up

Today we took Baby Charles to the surgery center where Dr. McBride clipped his tongue all the way back. Ok, not the tongue, just the frenulum that attaches it to the bottom of the mouth. We are hoping that now he can eat a looooooot better, and that he won't have to eat as often, and mommy will feel better and therefore be more excited to feed him! He had to have sleepy gas, which made Joshua a little  worried (ok, me too!), but he came out of the procedure just fine - ready to chug some milk! He was a little cranky today (unusual to his normal perfectness) and a little extra sleepy (mom didn't mind that so much), but otherwise doing great. He relayed his positive attitude about the whole ordeal by giving mommy a nice big smile this afternoon. Good job, little man. 

This is Baby Charles showing off his new skill of grabbing things. Don't worry, we will be updating you with new skills frequently. He has begun to smile (making mummy and poppy very happy), which we will document here shortly.  And yes, we sound like the ridiculous parents of a newborn in this video . . .

Happy First Month.

It's been a good month.

True Blue Mom.

A sad day for the Wheatley clan- baby's first tear.

Sometimes Baby Charles cries

But not very often. So when he does cry its kinda cute.

cutie pa-tu-ti

Thankful

I am thankful for everything! We spent Thanksgiving together - lounging around, watching "The Snowman" and taking a walk to our friends house. The weather was beautiful. We made some food; our mashed potatoes were definitely sub-par, but at least we had turkey candles.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Baby Charles got here just in time for the holiday season. Daddy likes finding all the festivities around town, and Mommy likes dressing Baby Charles up in seasonal garb. :)

 First we went to the [2]Canopy of Lights in Downtown Bloomington on Friday the 25th. We visited the museum with free cider and pastries and then found a perfect spot on the courthouse lawn. The place was packed! We were proud that we got there early enough to get a good view and not have to maneuver a stroller through the crowds.

 Saturday was the Holiday Market - with TubaSantas and carriage rides! Keri and Spencer came to visit us, and we all enjoyed carrying around Baby Santa.

 When Baby Charles grows up, he wants to be a TubaSanta too. 

There was a real-life pirate playing a ukulele.

Reindeer! Don't reach for their heads, said the reindeer lady. Good

advice.

Keri and Spencer and Baby Santa

Mmmm, Siam House red curry for dinner . . .

Monday we decorated our Christmas tree (our favorite part is the plastic color-changing angel on top). Don't worry, we are getting another string of lights.

Orange angel

Baby Charles Loves His Aunties

Aunt Glinnea do you remember this bear?  Now a whole new generation is playing with him!

This a very important monkey.  Baby Charles is mesmerized by this whenever we change his diaper.  It helps him take his mind off the discomfort.  Thank you Aunt Kathy!

Love, YOUR NEPHEW/GRANDNEPHEW

Baby Charles is curious

First Bath

Hoosier Baby

This is where I put the baby while I'm in class...JUST KIDDING

First we visited SPEA, the School of Public and Environmental Affairs where I have all my classes.

Baby Charles took this photo...he's so advanced for his age

Hoosier Daddy?

Grandparents

MEETING THE GRANDPARENTS

Baby Charles has liked all three of the grandparents that he's met so far, including Grandma OdaLisa pictured here.  I'm sure Grandpa Jim will bond with him just as well when we visit California...

Grandpa Charles got sprayed while changing baby Charles diaper...

but it wasn't anything personal.

Grandmother Shauna.

Glad to be here!  Charles Enoch Wheatley was born at 7:26pm on November 9, 2011.  He was 7 pounds and 6 ounces at birth.  His hands and feet were a little blue, but nothing too out of the ordinary, the nurses told us.  Baby Charles, as you can see by this photo, has had an agreeable disposition from the start.  He rarely cries, and when he does, he cries softly.  I've almost slept through the night a few times already (as the food source, Erica is not so lucky)

You know what they say.  A video is worth a thousand pictures.  Here is the first-ever video of Charles, just minutes after birth.  Mercifully, his mother was not included in the footage...she was getting sewn up at the time, I later found out

To reduce risk of infection, fathers-to-be may want to wear surgical masks during the birth

Spoooooktacular :0

I took Erica on a spooky date for Halloween. Verrrrrry scarrrrrry songs for Halloween.  The videos and photos explain most of the rest.  One of many great musical events at IU that are free and open to the public.  Now if only we could find somewhere to park!  I think I will petition someday to get Bloomington Transit to extend bus service on the 7 route until at least 10.  9:15 is just not quite late enough sometimes--only for dates, I'm neeeeeeeeever on campus studying that late!  :)

Here I am looking thoughtful at a colorful demonstration of how an organ works, which was provided gratis after the conclusion of the performance.  Not pictured: there were also free treats in the "green room," which, as I learned from my telecommunications expert-wife, is where the performers wait before they go on stage

Rumbly in my tummy

Baby boy did not want to come out in time for Halloween, so I was the "tubby little cubby all stuffed with [baby] fluff." And, of course, we had our pot of pure gold escorting us to the trunk-or-treat. Happy Halloween 2011!

p.s. We won for most creative trunk at the church trunk-or-treat party. :)

No children were stung by bees when they reached into the tree to retrieve their candy!

Jonathan and Robin like Bison too.

Bison Trek Down City Streets

There is much to document from our epic trip across the United States. But the most memorable, and the best in pictures, has to be our encounter with the bronze carvings of Nebraska wildlife.

"The stampeding herd of larger-than-life bronze bison runs down Omaha’s sidewalks, ripping through planters and even a building. The bison in the park are headed toward the flock of geese, to flush them out of the fountain. “The bison ran here on the open plains for centuries,” Ullberg says. “Their spirits are still with us today, paying no heed to our modern cities and structures.”

http://www.boodyfinearts.com/WA_UllbergArticle.pdf

Join us for our journey around a city block of Omaha . . .

Crafty things

Today I went to Kayleen's house and we ate baked potatoes for lunch. Dessert consisted of Coco Wheat Brownies and homemade ice cream - both of which are not too great on their own, but together are quite tasty. After lunch we ventured into the beauuuutiful outdoors we painted chairs and worked on Halloween costumes. We were glad the sky waited to rain until we were good and done.

Then I came home where Joshua and I made pumpkin waffles. Mmm they were so yummy! One of them turned out looking quite villainous:

Then I spent the whoooole rest of the night making baby booties. Thus completing my baby blessing outfit. Quite proud of myself, really . . . Just don't look too close, and especially don't look on the insides! Joshua said our baby will look like a little Amish boy. :)

 
                 
                                    Ahh, cute!

Fruit flies

In our lovely little apartment, we have a fruit fly infestation. Joshua likes to kill them. Sometimes when I wonder where Joshua went, I will find him in the bathroom. Smashing fruit flies against the mirror.

Mecca and the Covered Bridges

Last weekend we went to the Covered Bridge Festival  located in Parke County, about an hour and a half drive north from us. During the week of the festival, vendors from all around come to sell their wares. We enjoyed the free samples of dip, pork rinds, jams, and breads. We smelled alllll the candles, admired the model cars made of super-polished mahogany, and watched the chain saw guys turn tree stumps into bears.

     

Abraham Lincoln played tunes on his saw with a violin bow and there were some crazy boys running around with dead chickens on their heads (just hats, don't worry, it was sanitary). Both novelties disappeared before I could snap a picture, so you will have to take my word for it and enjoy my illustrations:

The main draw are these beautiful bridges, set in the rural country side. We went on a driving tour and saw about four of them (there are maybe 20-something!). All but one were still in use. The Mecca one was our favorite because, since it was no longer in use, you could get out and walk through it. Joshua liked the windows :). The bridge was very long and set over a pretty big creek/river. 

After visiting the Mecca Bridge we thought it adventurous to drive into the little town of Mecca; we like looking at old buildings. There was not much to the town, a few wooden bus stops and a tavern.

Wooden Bus Stop at Nighttime.

Well, we did see one other cool thing - a large old schoolhouse turned combined General Store and Gymnasium. It was a beautiful building, and while Joshua was admiring the architecture of the place, my eyes were reading the signs: "Haunted House. This way -->." Yep, so we went to the haunted house. It started in a half-hour, and dinner was included (delicious hotdog, popcorn, chips and a drink).  For a mere $8 each, we had quite and evening. 

"This is a Haunted House, not a FUN House. No refunds will be given if you chicken out."

 

The group we went through with consisted of 4 elementary school girls and a dad. By the end they were hanging onto Joshua and I, "I don't know you but I am staying right here with you!" I can't recall going to any haunted houses before, but even if I have, this one would still top the list. It took a while to get through all the pitch-black mazes, work your way through the crawl space in the basement, run from the nasty-scary clowns and grim reaper, lay down on the butchers block and get carved open, and stand trial on the gallows. They really put a lot of work into the thing (whoever "they" are). We had a blast. My heart was racing, and some people there were scared it would put me in labor. I survived, although every time a scary monster jumped in front of us, Sydney screamed and hugged my stomach so tight I thought she was going to pop me. :)

And those were our adventures in Mecca and Parke County last weekend. Stay tuned for my sewing projects and Halloween greatness.