Airplanes, Boats and Bison

Party at the beach with the Wheatley family!

Charles loved the airplane ride, especially looking out the windows at the airport excitement.

Waiting at the airport:

Stop by Morris Farms for some fresh fruit and free candy samples. Mmm. And some good fun.

Basketball with Uncle Caleb.

Romantic walks at sunset.

Love this guy. What a hottie.

Another stud.

Playing all day really wears a guy out:

Alissa on our bike ride to get some delicious donuts!

I think we should stay here forever.

Nursery

The nursery at our church welcomes children ages 18 months to 3 years. They are old enough to play nice, eat snacks and be separated from their parents for two hours (at least theoretically). Despite the best efforts of very kind nursery leaders, it is still a trial and tribulation for Charles every time we drop him off after sacrament meeting.  We are told that he cries for a minute or two after we leave, then calms down and plays with the cars. But whenever the door opens and somebody new comes in, Charles is reminded of his parents and gets very sad and tries to escape.  This photo was taken by a friend as he walked in to pick up his niece and Charles runs toward him (and the open door), car in hand.  Charles succeeds in making a pouty face that is almost as cute as his smiley face. 

Westward June

We went back to California for a long weekend, for the wedding of Erica's dear childhood friend Beth Cruze (now Griffo).  Then Erica stayed for a few more days in CA with Grandma and Grandpa, plus a few days in Utah for a Fackrell family reunion and some cousins bonding time for Charles and Peter.

A Country Wedding

 Erica and the Bride

The day my wife was a bridesmaid--in my opinion at least, this beautiful babe in baby blue stole the show! 

Country Interlude

Between all of her time with the Nelsons and Fackrells, Erica also squeezed in a little time with my side of the family.  Unfortunately, I had to bypass Utah in order to return to New York and earn a living.  Baby Charles and Erica, on his first real horseback ride, with the indispensable assistance of Grandpa Charles.

Fracas at the Fackrell Family Reunion

Meeting of the cousins at the Fackrell family reunion.  Peter is the son of Erica's brother Jonathan and his wife Robin.  The introductions started innocently enough, with a handshake.

But then their interaction quickly devolved into what passes for a hug among one-and-a-half year-olds.

At least Charles was having fun....

Eventually Peter said, "Grandma Odalisa get me out of this headlock!"

Charles and Peter did get along some of the time, primarily when Erica kept Charles occupied bestowing gifts to Peter of anything that was handy.  When Erica tried to hold Peter, or tote him around in Charles' baby-carrier, or heaven-forbid, let Peter ride in Charles' stroller, Charles got quite jealous.  He needs a little brother or sister to help him learn to share Mom and Dad!

May

I don't have any creativity right now to think of an original and descriptive title, but most of these photos were taken during the month of May.  Hopefully Erica will have some time when she finishes her current graphic design project to edit this post and come up with a new title.

Romance on the High Line

(Probably some of the babies out there can empathize with Charles in this picture)

My Mom visited us this past week and we explored many great places together.  More on her trip in future posts.

Lobster tank at the grocery store

Charles Likes to Climb

Case in point: this is what he did when Erica was setting up the futon today.

When it's warm and sunny outside, he does his climbing at the playground:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUR1-LJRFP8

Spring

We've had a nice, cool spring here in New York City.  Charles liked to go outside before, but now wants to be outside constantly.  His love of the outdoors is only eclipsed by his love of playing "washing dishes" in the kitchen sink.

Drawing with chalk on "our" driveway.  We don't have our car, but our landlord does have one and they have a driveway out back. It's not quite the same as a backyard, but it'll do.

Erica's family came to visit us.  Here are some initial pics.  More on their visit later.

A Visit from Aunt Tara

Charles and his aunt, bonding

Tara Verrazzano

We went with Tara to the Museum of Natural History.  Erica was excited about the self-guided "Night at the Museum" tour (all the characters that come to life in the movie).  I was excited about the historical Teddy Roosevelt tour.  Tara was excited come along with us--it was a lot of fun!

Erica, Charles & Teddy

Subway on the way there. Or was it on the way back?  Wall tiles are decorated with a lot of animals, very fitting. 

What a great photo!  Tara and Charles had fun resting around the house, too.  

Tara and the Brooklyn Bridge, at the park near my work.

We'll post more pictures from this trip as time goes on.  We are trying out some thematic (but not necessarily chronological) posts.  But for now, I need to get back to watching John Wayne fight the Comanches.