The early afternoon started with, “Hey, want to watch a movie tonight?” I said, “Sure!” A little bit later I asked, “What do you want to watch?” Brad replies, “ Well next on our list is Metropolis.” We are watching the top 100 movies from AFI in order so it did not surprise me that I had never heard of it etc. A little bit later I ask, “What is it about?” Brad hesitates for a moment then responds, “ It is a science fiction film.” I am okay with that but my wheels are turning and I am thinking surely we are to the point now where movies have words so I ask and the answer was, “no”. Brad does share though that it is suspenseful. I am thinking in my head, “How in the world can a movie without words be suspenseful?” I let it go for a bit. A few hours pass and Brad just volunteers the information that it is a foreign film but it will not be bad for me (I cannot stand reading sub titles) because there are no words. I process this as the time approaches closer and closer for the movie to begin. Pretty late in the evening he says, “Oh”. Which can never be good when we have had this conversation going all day! Very matter-of-factly Brad says,” Did I mention that the studio does not have a full copy of the film because it has been lost?” My mind is going, ”Hello! What it the world did we buy then?” He says, “A good portion of the movie is there but there are parts that are missing where they just fill you in on what has been lost.” By this point wouldn’t you be dying to see the film? I just had to laugh and give him a really hard time about it for the rest of the evening. We got to tired to actually watch the movie so I will have to fill you in on it later. I am sure that I will think it is the best thing ever since I have given Brad such a hard time about it.

I think that I can recite the whole book of Goodnight Moon now. Since Charis has been sick she has really enjoyed sitting on my lap and reading Goodnight Moon over and over and over again. If you close the book she cries and if you choose a different book she gets mad. I did try to read a different book to her in the same rhythm of Goodnight Moon but about two pages in she figured it out and talk about mad! In the past it has been hard to read her books, as she loves to just go. Never wanting to sit too still because she might fall asleep. It has been a first for us to sit and read for a long amount of time granted it is the same book. These times have been sweet and precious to me but I must admit that I am ready for a new book or two.

Well, Charis has a little cold. This is our second cold and just as sad as the first. You just feel so bad for her little nose and oh how she hates the suctioning of the nose! She does not really care for tissues either so the runny nose becomes a battle but one that must be fought before the yucky takes over. Poor Charis woke up with a crusty face from having the yucky from her nose rubbed on her face all night (when her nose runs she rubs her hands in it and then it is everywhere). That is so sad to me! It took several warm washcloths to get the yucky off. She still is in a good mood for now so that is a blessing. It is just her pitiful little runny nose.

One of the most exciting parts of my day is getting Charis out of her bed in the morning. She is usually awake bright eyed and bushy tailed. She will smile and start kicking just ready to start the day and so excited that you came to see her even though you never left her. Sometimes after I have picked her up out of her crib she is still a little tired and will lay her head on my shoulder for a few moments. That warms my heart and is a sweet moment. Generally though she is up looking around and ready to eat. The Lord has really used Charis to teach me so much about how He loves me and this is just another instance. The Lord has shown me that every morning He is there waking me and I can choose to greet him with a roll over in the bed or an joy to meet with Him and spend time in His word. It would crush me if I went to get Charis from her bed and she rolled far away from me refusing to come with me and venture into our day together. How many times have I rolled over not wanting the adventures of the day that God has given me? A lot! He longs to meet with us and to feed us spiritual food (His word)! He longs to let us lay our heads on His shoulder when the day seems like too much and when we are too tired to make it. What a sweet sweet picture of His love that He longs to give us all. He wants to be with us

I can remember when we put Charis in her excersaucer for the first time. We had to use a pillow to keep her from falling over and she could barely touch the bottom with her feet. Well, those days are long gone. Brad moved the excersaucer up to the last setting this past weekend. She has learned tricks from it such as when she does not want to go into it she can just spread her legs making it near impossible for anyone to maneuver her into the seat. Charis has learned that she can throw her toys from it and someone will eventually pick them up if she cries long and loud enough. She has also learned as I have mentioned before that she can scoot the excersaucer around the kitchen by rocking it back and forth. She is a smart and stubborn little cookie sometimes. J I am so excited for her growth and all the movin’ up that she is doing but there is a little part that is sad, as she has grown so quickly. Soon the excersaucer will be put away and there will be something new for her to learn from though. Everyone tells you when you are pregnant that the baby will grow so quickly but I never believed them until Charis was here. It is such a sweet time but it does fly. Each stage more exciting than the last even though you think that is impossible.

This crawling thing keeps me a little busier than I had expected. My big plan was to just put Charis in a room and let her explore around. Well, let me tell you that she is the best explorer ever! She can find the sharpest most dangerous hardest off limits things and surfaces in no time fast. It is so amazing! You constantly have to stop what you are doing get up and get her out of something that she should not be doing and place her across the room only for her to be back where you do not want her by the time you go sit down and start what you were doing again. It is so amazing! I feel the Pack-n-Play coming back out of the closet very soon. Just to be able to accomplish a small task for instance posting a blog. In the course of writing this I have retrieved Charis about 5 times and that is not including the times that I had to get her unstuck from a corner. She is so amazing! Even though this whole new world will take some getting use to I still love it! It is so incredible to watch her discover and learn about every little thing. Every stage and milestone is incredible to watch. I love having a front row seat even if I have to get up and down a lot from it!

My brother Scott bought Brad a Su Doku book for Christmas. I thought it was a great idea for Brad but I was not too interested in it. I really got intrigued by it the longer it sat around the house though. I had Brad explain it to me (the direction reader of the fam) and I do not think that I have put the book down yet. Brad keeps asking me not to work all the puzzles and to save some for him but that is very hard as I am quite addicted! I think that a lot of people think that it is a math game but trust me if I am playing it, it is not a math game! Everyone should try it just once but be careful because you will become addicted! Thanks again Scott for Brad’s Christmas gift!!!

www.sudoku.com

Charis is not so much crawling as she is scoot bootin’! This morning she was sitting up and kind of knocked herself over then just started scootin’ across the room to get to me. She uses her left leg to just push herself along as well as her arms. She is kind of like a snail at this pace dragging her tummy along but it is incredible all the same.

I made my first bag!!! I am not so talented at sewing but I really wanted to make a little diaper bag for Charis. I have had my heart set on this for some crazy reason for quite sometime. I found a super easy sewing pattern at Wal-mart and decided to really attempt it and with Brad’s help I actually did it! Brad is the instruction reader in the family and a WONDERFUL explainer! He is not so much for sewing but he was very patient to help me understand.

Charis has figured out how to click her tongue this week. It is actually quite cute as you hear her start to click click click from the back seat of the car or in her high chair etc. She is pretty proud of herself as well. When you start clicking back she gets the biggest smile on her face. It is super cute!