the S's

 

 

 

Samantha came to play.  Samantha is Schuyler's teacher's daughter and they go to ballet together so we alternate carpooling every week and usually keep Samantha for a playdate afterward.  They tend to get along really well and live nearby which is really great.  After a day of princess dress up and baby care (could they be more girly on this day?), we dropped Samantha off.  Schuyler and Samantha on the swing are singing Row Row Row Your Boat and the laughter in the second photo is them singing "if you see a crocodile, don't forget to scream!"

big boy

 

2nd year stats:
28lbs 5oz
30.5"

sunday lunch & treats

La Salade like Kim gets... I'm pretty impressed a four year old chooses salad for lunch!  Thank you, Kim.

Of course, when it's followed by ice cream, it's a little easier to choose.

So Charlie saw Schuyler bite into her cone and decided to do the same.  unfortunately, we had ordered his in a Styrofoam cup... which, strangely, didn't taste as good as Schuyler's cone seemed to.

happy #2 Charlie!

We used Charlie's second birthday as an excuse to test drive our new house in party mode and it passed with flying colours.  In an almost impromptu party, we had the Davis's, the Carpol's, the Pitmans x2, and Auntie Ardleigh all over for some afternoon fun in the pool, cupcakes, and pizza.

Charlie:  I'm so proud of you.  I'm so glad you're here and that you are happy at Baby Jail with Ms Tina and all your buddies.  You already dig the ladies which is interesting - only the girls in your class make you smile hard when we talk about them (especially Dallas and Mia).  You absolutely adore your big sister and, typically, want to copy everything she does and be involved in absolutely anything she is doing.  If only we could get her cleaning the house then you guys would be perfect!   You are a textbook two year old in many ways - you try sooo hard to express yourself and say what you want but we don't understand you most of the time and it frustrates the heck out of you.  You have a megawatt smile and you are a rambunctious little thing who loves a lot of typical boy stuff like throwing things (anything really and you have a dangerously good arm), kicking balls, riding your bike (see below), climbing furniture, hammering anything in sight, and generally doing anything that makes a lot of noise.  Oh, and you will stop at nothing to hear "Old MacDonald" or "BINGO" for the seven thousandth time.  But you're not all noise and destruction.  You're cuddly with a sweet strong hug.  You take care of les poupees, Dee Dee and Alex, and dress them and push them around in the stroller.  You really love the new house and having a room where you are no longer irradiated every night by our computers.  You love your new bed ("Charlie bed!") and simply cannot get enough books read to you.  We dig all these things, little man.  And we dig you.  We love you both so deeply - I'll work hard my whole life to make sure you know that every day.  Mama and Papa are always here for you and no matter how old you get, on some level, you'll always be our little boy in soggy paper underwear.
 

 

I think he liked the cupcake...

...but did he like it as much as Schuyler?

 

 

 

"hold on to the balloon, Charlie.  Hold on tight or it will fly aw-

Oh dear.

"My balloon!"

first haircut

 

 

 

 

So the day finally arrived when Charlie's Robert Redford 1974 haircut had to go in favour of a more modern look that didn't tend to part down the middle all the time.  So Papa took him to Caroline at what used to be The Bosun's Chair.  It was a great moment when Caroline said "I cut your grandfather's hair, I cut your Dad's hair, I cut your hair, and now I'm giving your son his first haircut".  That's one of the great things about living in Bermuda:  There's a history here, a real and personal history that connects you to places and people in a way that living in Boston or London never could.  The fact that Caroline cut Pop's hair and was now cutting Charlie's hair connected Pop and my son somehow.  I miss that man and I'm glad Charlie could have some connection to him.

working

 

Schuyler hard at work at Mama's desk.  It was one of those many days when there's no school and no camp and nobody but her poor parents to care for her so the natural conclusion:  Set her to work.  She programmed some .NET components, normalised a database, and ate a whole bag of junk from the vending machine... just like any other employee.

a swim of sorts

Charlie contemplates getting in on the action.

Papa playing a rather dangerous game called "jump over the kids"... not recommended.

 

 

A beautiful, hot Sunday and we were invited to Baby Beach... unfortunately, Mother Nature decided there would be much more beach than anticipated so we all wandered out the 500 ft to where the water was deep enough to swim.  Initially, Charlie was a little clingy and shy and didn't like the squelchy sand but eventually he was racing around chasing the other kids.

sunday drive

 

 

Want to own a little piece of Bermuda? 

In an effort to get our son to nap a little on the weekend, we drove around sightseeing in St. David's... the little dude didn't end up napping - I get the airplanes on the airstrip were just too darn entertaining.

secrets & salad

Do you want to know a secret?

"I'm going to get une salade like Kim!"
(how many four year olds order salad?  Maybe lots - my sample size is one.)

Charlie grazes on more typical toddler fare - devoid of leafy greens.

 

yoga

Our downward dogs

 

The joy of still having boxes around

We almost taped this up and shipped him to Gramps.