A very HOT Memorial Day weekend...

So why not take a swim!! On Monday while daddy golfed, Henry and I enjoyed his new pool! He cracks me up, he played in the water for a little more than an hour and the entire time he was trying to catch the water in his hands...well that and drink it! It's such a great pool because it only gets a few inches deep and he LOVES the sprinklers! Needless to say, he took a very long nap!

We had a very busy weekend! We had 3 couples over Saturday, 2 of them also have babies (5 months old) so we played all afternoon while the guys golfed. We cooked a big dinner for everyone Saturday night and 2 of the couples (with their babies) stayed over! What fun it is to wake up to a house full of babies! Everyone left Sunday around 10:30 am and we went to church. After church we hit the grocery store once again, because my hubby decided to invite all of our neighbors over for a BBQ Sunday evening! We had a great turn out with about 20 people. We just did Beer, Brats and Burgers...and a few salads and such. Sunday night I was exhausted from our weekend!

Love his laughs...they are so contagious

Henry's newest love; washing his own hands after he eats! He gets so excited when I'm carrying him over to the sink, feet kicking and all! It's so much easier than having to torture him with wiping his face and hands with a washcloth, especially since he's Mr. Independent and LOVES to be able to feed himself, he gets quite sticky!

My mom's off of work tomorrow so we're making a trip to see her. Henry's super excited since Grandma said she has a treat for him...can't wait to see what it is this time :)

Have a great week!!

Big week here at the Charltons

We hit some big milestones this week!! On Tuesday, Henry showed off his skills by going up the stairs all by himself for the first time. It's amazing to me how they just know what to do! Also on Tuesday, Henry was playing with his LeapFrog musical table and he leg go and stood up all by himself. He has started to do this more and more for longer periods of time!

As you can see in the photos, we also had our first 'big' tumble. I was watching my friends 4 month old and I was sitting on the couch feeding her when Henry went over to his work bench toy and it tipped over and his face hit the basket where all of his toys are. I think I was more scared than he was. He cried for a second and then continued to play. I felt so badly. When I told my mom, she just said, "Get used to it!"

One more for the week...we officially have our bottom 2 teeth coming in...FINALLY!

(My lil ham)

What a big boy!

Happy 9 months lil guy!! We missed you!

(Spending his 9 month birthday with Grandma...doesn't get much better!)

It always feels great to be home from vacation in a way, however this time I just couldn't wait to get home. Not because it wasn't an amazing time (because it was absolutely amazing and relaxing) but I missed out little man SO much! It's so hard to leave him behind, he's my life! We left our house Wednesday morning at 2 am (we flew out of New Yorks JFK so that we could have a direct flight both ways) so we said our goodbyes Tuesday night. We made it home safely Sunday night, but didn't get to our house until 10:30/11pm ish. I couldn't resist the urge, so I went up and just rocked Henry for a couple of minutes. He's such a snugglebug and I can never get enough. What made it even harder was that I had to be a work this morning for a class, so I left the house before he wakes up. He's a smart kiddo because just as I was getting ready to head out the door, he started to whine/cry so I had to give him a hug. Thesmile on his face when he saw me just made me melt!

Luckily we got out of class 2 hours early so I rushed home to be with my mom and lil Henry! I swear he got so much longer since I left! I was so afraid that he was going to sprout his first tooth when we were gone, but he didn't! He must have listened to me, I mean I stay home with him all day so that I don't miss anything! I did feel his gums this afternoon and sure enough....it's FINALLY coming through!

If that isn't enough, today marks Henry's 9 month birthday!! How

crazy is that?!?! As far as milestones go;

• he is a speed crawler...seriously fast,
• he is pulling himself up on everything and cruising around while standing,
• he is a nonstop talker and I love it when we giggle together,
• he has the best appetite I've ever seen and will eat anything, and
• he will chase his soccer ball for hours around the house

I'm sure there are many things I've forgotten, but you get the point, I'm one busy momma!!

Back to our trip.

I can't even describe in words how wonderful it was. We hiked the mountain, relaxed on the beach with our cool mint towels and lemongrass water :), we ate at places that were no more than shacks with some of the greatest food I've ever indulged in, we snorkeled in the middle of the ocean, we visited 2 original sugar mills of the island and slept almost 10 hours each night! It was much needed and only healthy for us to get away for a vaca!

(Dinner at Mangos)

(Enjoying a cocktail on the Catamaran before we snorkel)

Back to unpacking and laundry, always the worst part of a vacation!

Easter Weekend...a little late

It's been awhile since I've posted...sorry. We've been quite busy here at the Charlton Household, the little guy is surely keeping me busy! He's such a fast crawler, I can't even turn my back and he's out of site! He's also pulling up on everything, so I have to follow him around everywhere just so he doesn't fall and hurt himself! Our kitchen floor is not a very forgiving floor, being that it's made of stone, so it scares me to death when he's in there!

Also, daddy was home ALL last week which is a very rare occasion, so we soaked up every minute of it! Yes, he was still in his office working from home, but he's usually gone 3-4 days a week, so we really enjoyed spending our evenings together! It was also gorgeous outside, so we enjoyed a cocktail out on the deck each night! Wednesday Henry's boss came to our house for dinner which was a treat! We cooked him dinner and just enjoyed the company.

This past weekend we traveled to Baltimore to attend Mr. Cullen's baptism! He's the son of one of Henry's best friends from elementary school. Let's just say it was a long day and Henry slept SO well last night!

Ok back to my original plan for this post - Easter Weekend!

We are blessed to have both set of parents so close to each other, they literally live a mile away from one another which makes it great for holiday weekends, or any time we go home! We went home Holy Friday afternoon and were able to see my mom and Henry's parents. We typically stay at Henry's parents since my mom and dad are remodeling their house. It's very convenient since Henry's sister has 10 children, his parents have all the necessities for a baby,

making it easy to travel there. We were both exhausted from our week, so I think we were in bed by 9 or 9:30pm Friday night. The little guy was very generous and slept until almost 7:30am, giving us a great nights sleep!

Saturday we lounged around for the morning and just enjoyed our time together. Henry's brother Thomas and wife Asia arrived in the afternoon and my parents came over for a nice dinner. That was pretty much the extent of our evening!!

Sunday was a big day. We went to Easter Mass with the family, including all of Henry's sisters kiddos! We were very fortunate to have amazing weather, which helps by allowing the kids to play outside and us adults to enjoy our time together. It truly was a great Easter, with great family, friends and food!

My parents

Henry enjoying Asia's dog (and yes his pants were falling off ;))

Henry's side of the family

The cousins (Mary's 10 and Henry)

My family

Alison and I (baby Adrianna is Henry's girlfriend!!)