Rollin', Rollin', Rollin..............

Happy Mother's Day to me! Mother's Day morning as Charles and I were getting dressed for church and the "big day", Charlie was playing on his activity mat - I came out to check on him and WALLAH! He had rolled over off the mat and onto the carpet. OKAY - so we missed it and thought it wouldn't happen again.....just a fluke, right? NOT! As we were getting him dressed in his gorgeous Baptismal gown, he tried hard to do it again but his feet kept geting caught in the slip. By the way, my most special Mother's Day gift was him being able to wear the gown but Renee, as always, showered the day with other special touches - she had already monogrammed Charlie's name and Baptism date on the slip along side Landry's name! It warmed my heart and was a glorious way to begin the day. The day was in fact glorious and Charlie was such the perfect little boy......all throughout the day even with no nap. I experienced one of my closest moments to Christ and will write about it this week. So it's time to head back to work this week - with mixed emotions as we adjust to new things in our lives. It's not a fear of leaving him, it's just being without him. I want to soak him all up each and every day. Fortunately I have a job where I am home 2 days of the week so I have to keep telling myself it won't be so bad. I'm thrilled with Miss Kandice who will be keeping him and I know the first week will be an adjustment for all of us so I ask you to keep us close in prayer. He will be fine and likely won't even know I am not there - I just don't want to miss one whimper or smile and now that he has so many expressions and sounds he makes, it is going to be tough. The pictures I am posting were taken last week. He was playing like a wild man on his activity mat and I was in the laundry room folding clothes. Not 5 minutes later, I turned the corner and he was all tuckerd out. I thought it was a precious moment to capture so I got on the floor to take pictures of him. As I moved to the other side to take pictures of his backside, I got down on the floor and the next thing I knew he was staring me in the face. He's got it down pat from back to tummy but gets frustrated when trying to get back over - it's coming though! Last week we had to remove the bumper pads from the bed and lower the mattress - I must say, it's looks so "empty" in his room now. No more of the cute little baby bed - just a shell of wood with an angel sleeping in it. I'll take that anyday. Enjoy and love, peace and prayers to all!

Charles, Julie and Charlie

Charlie's Christening

Hey everyone! It's me, Renee, again :). I knew Julie was going to be beat after today so I am posting a little video of Charlie's Christening photos that I took after we got him dressed. I was thrilled to see him in Landry's gown. It made this perfect day even more special to see him presented to the Lord in something that means so much to me. In the first photo, if you look fast, you will see his name and baptismal date hand embroidered into the slip. I hope you all enjoy!

Surprise.....................

Okay! So we've heard enough about the posts not being more frequent. We will try to get better but are having such fun with Charlie that the blog has taken a back seat. It's just that I have been trying to soak up all of Charlie I can get with my return to work being right around the corner - just one more week. Goodness knows, it does not seem like it has been 3 months but it's back to the "real" world sooner than I'd like.

Daddy said we could sell the house and move into a trailer and mommy could quit her job to stay home with me. Mommy says it's sounds quite tempting, but we'll see how it works out when I start staying with Miss Candace next week. I'm not worried about me - mommy is the one who says she will miss me SO much she will cry......not all the time but until we adjust to the new routine.

I saw Dr. S last week and she says I'm growing "right on target". I'm weighing 12 pounds 13 ounces and I grew another inch since last visit. I had to get 3 shots and this is the first time mommy has ever seen me cry. She tried so hard to comfort me but those stinkin' things hurt! Daddy almost had to leave the room because it hurt him to watch it. I didn't feel so spiffy for a couple of days and actually decided that my bottles were of no interest to me on the day I got my shots - I didn't eat for 13 hours and it had my mommy worried. The next day I picked right up where I let off and all has been good since then. I love to play on my activity mat and kick around - recently I have started trying to grab the animals and bring them towards my mouth although my hand-to-eye coordination is still just a little "off", although I have no problem getting my hands, fingers and thumb in my mouth when I want. My thumb is still longer than the inside of my mouth so I almost choke on my own thumb - so for now the side of it will do. Mommy has bought me several different pacifiers but I really don't care for any of them. My favorite thing to do is laugh and "talk" when you talk to me. I will talk back and yesterday mommy and me had some "big" conversations. Mom says it's these times that you never get back! I am "blowing raspberries" and think it's the coolest thing - mommy and daddy sure do look funny doing it though!

I've got a big day coming up on Sunday - my first trip to church and I am getting baptized! It's also Mother's Day and mom says it will be doubly special for her. I'm the BEST Mother's Day gift anyone could ever give her - a long awaited answer to prayers. The baptismal gown I will be wearing is so sentimental to mommy. You see, Landry's mommy made it for her sister Sophie but she never got to wear it. Lil' Miss Landry, the future Mrs. Crump, wore it when she was baptized in January on my big brother Nelson's birthday and now it's my turn and I get to wear it. It will be a glorious day as two mommies celebrate the life of their children on Mother's Day, Landry and Charlie, never forgetting the lives of their first born children, Sophie and Nelson, who are no watching over all of us.

The pictures today are from a recent visit from the Georgia Crump's - it was the first time they saw me live and in person, of course, they think I am just adorable! They came for MeeMaw's birthday and we had a family get together on Saturday at my house - I was such a good boy but daddy said no hotdogs yet for me - next year for sure!

Thanks for checking in on us and we'll update again after I get baptized! Love to all!

Charles, Julie and Charlie

Daddy Says Lefty..........................

Things are finally getting into a routine in the Crump Household. We've had a couple of weeks of "adjusting" as Charlie has decided he no longer likes to nap in the morning.........maybe 30-40 minutes tops! Then he turns around and takes a 3 hour nap so as the book says, "they will sleep when they need to sleep". I'm good with that but my OCD tendencies want it always to be at the same time so I can plan.........guess God is showing us to slow down and let him work. We humans try so hard to control it all and never relish in the moment. Charlie is enjoying all his books he has gotten..........we read 2-3 a day. He would rather just look at the windows across the back of the house.......such simple things in life give him such pleasure. He's "talking" alot now and loves seeing himself in the mirror during diaper changes with the ceiling fan going round and round in the top of it. He just laughs and coos and it makes my heart go flutter, flutter. As Chaplain R always told us, "Laughter is like a good medicine!" Proverbs. How true it is! Since our last post, at 1 month Charlie was 10.5 pounds and 23 1/2 inches long. I'm betting on 12.5 pouns and 24 1/2 inches long at our 2 month check-up - and yes, the first shots.
The pics I have chosen to post are ones we have taken in the evening over the past 2 weeks with Charlie outside by the water pond. He can't see the fish yet but absolutely loves the sound of the waterfall - he will sit and look around, laugh and make all kinds of expressions - a delight to see. As you can see, he throwing his left hand most of the time and daddy says he's going to be a "lefty" pitcher and play for Mississippi State. Personally, I think he's smarter than that. At any rate, Charles is already dreaming of the day when he's playing ball with his son - something he never had the opportunity to do before. As with our new son, healing is in the works. I never thought I would be able to love again like before - only this time it's much deeper.
Thank you all for your continued prayers and being a part of our journey. I promise the posts will become more regular.
Love to all,
Charles, Julie and Charlie

Blessed Easter!

What a glorious day for a celebration of our risen Lord! This Easter gives new meaning to our lives with the birth of Charles Jackson, a day I was not sure would ever come. Praise God from whom all blessings flow...................

Charlie had an eventful afternoon with visits from our friend Ricardo, Aunt Karen, Meemaw, Cousin Laura, GranJan and Godfather Lynn Huhn. They all arrived with gifts in hand, some from them, some from others and we enjoyed opening them all. What a spoiled (WITH LOVE, of course) lil' boy Charlie already is. I planned on taking more pictures of him in his First Easter bunny outfit because it was so darn cute but when I got ready to do it, GranJan said she felt her leg getting quite warm - you guessed it.....so we took some quick snapshots and got him out of his wet clothes. That's one thing I'll say he does not like is having on wet clothes. We hope you all had a beautiful Easter today.

Enjoy my pictures!

Charles, Julie and Charlie

The Bunny is Coming.....................

It's Easter Weekend with gorgeous weather! Charlie has been enjoying being outside in the fresh air................he so cute with his squinted eyes to shade the sun and that beautiful smile.

Mom says I have SSSOOO many Easter bibs we have to wear them 2 a day for the weekend to get them all into play. I don't spit up much so they are really just for looks. Here's a sneak preview of the one's I have had on yesterday and today. Stay tuned for my Easter Sunday outfit.....hop, hop, hop!

Night! Night!
Charles, Julie and Charlie

Crump Household Update

Well, we are settling in to a normal routine after Charlie's little manly sugery last week. The first 2 days were the worst and Tylenol helped us out with that delima. There was really only one day when he was uncomfortable but it broke momma's heart to have to change his diaper. Daddy wasn't fond of it either and wouldn't look - it took both of us to hold his legs down and change the diaper since his cute little foot always wanted to bump up against it - OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!! He never missed a beat on eating though. Charlie is beginning to recognize his voice and develop his own little personality. He is such a calm baby - he is starting to play after his feedings and have more "wake time" and then will gently settle down for sweet slumber. He's still sleeping 5-7 hours a night although the time is getting earlier when he "retires for the evening" so he is getting up between 2-4 to eat and then returning to sleep for 3-5 hours. God has truly blessed us with an easy child. Some say we followed God's command with Nelson and now He is rewarding us. I tend to agree. Dr. Sethi saw him last week and the entire office was ooohhhhing and aaahhhing over him and how much he looks like us. Another testimony to God's handiwork. Charlie is growing good having grown 1 3/4 inches longer and up to a whopping 9.5 pounds. We go back next week for another growth/weight check and we'll report back to you. He did have to get another heel stick but he didn't cry for long - Utah State Dept. of Health requires it or I would have never subjected him to it. She went over his shot schedule and told us she really didn't want him out if he doesn't have to be out. We're taking walks up and down the driveway and spending time on the deck for fresh air and he loves being outside. There are just too many "bugs" out this year that he does not need to be exposed too. Ssssoooo, Easter Sunday church is out. He'll have to sport his cute outfit and Pottery Barn bib and burpcloth (Thanks! Aunt Karen) around the house and we'll take lots of pictures.

I promise to get better at "blogging". All my friends have these "luxury" pages so I guess I've got to keep up with the Joneses. Pictures and video will be our beginning point of learning but we'll get the hang of it! We are enjoying each and every second of our adorable son Charles Jackson and he is adding daily laughter to our lives, only the kind a child can give. Just makes mommy and daddy silly sometimes.

And as for the mini-van......................it coming just like Renee, LeAnna and Jennifer! Never thought I'd do it! Guess it seals the deal..........

Love to all! Charles, Julie and Charlie - our Gracious Gift from God