Charlie's first haircut

We finally decided to take Charlie for his first haircut.  I think it's gotten quite long enough!

Our little hippie!  Look how long his little ponytail is!

Unfortunately, the trip didn't work out as well as I'd like.  Instead of one crying kid, we had two!  Yes, Graham was getting his hair cut as well and he did not like it either.  Even a toy was not going to help:

Poor Charlie was shaking by the end of it, according to Bobby:

But all was well once we got our cookie!

It's crazy what a cookie can do!

And the toy isle.  The boys love their toys!  Thankfully we were able to walk away with buying something.  Phew!

Well, hopefully our next hair cut will not be as dramatic.  Perhaps we could have cut the boys' hair out in the yard today since the sun is out and it's nice and actually warm!  Oh well...
By the way, Grandma - your grandson's first locks are coming your way! :-)

Notepad no more

I'm so sad to retire my favorite notepad as I type on my new one, which actually doubles as a tablet - pretty sweet!  But at the same time there are a few quirky things that I'm still trying to adapt too.  Sometimes it drives me quite nuts when I can't control what I'm doing, which makes me miss my old notepad even more!
But by April 8, 2014 (not January, honey!), Microsoft is no longer going to support Windows XP.  You can still use your laptop but it will be more vulnerable to security risk and viruses, which prompted Bobby to get some new hardware for us.  I still think that's quite a scam since new computers are not cheap! Oh well, better safe than not. So goodbye notepad!

Happy Anniversary!

7 years!  I can't believe it.  Somehow, it feels like we've been married for a much longer time. Ha!  I mean that in a good way :-)
Since it was our anniversary, I figured I'd bust out the pasta maker for some fresh pasta.  Graham helped me make the pasta and that showed as he gobbled them down during dinner!

Charlie was not as enthusiastic but he did have a good dinner as well.  He's quite good with using his utensils now.

As for anniversary gifts, we didn't have any for each other.  We were so busy with just settling back into our routine from our Phoenix trip that we even forgot to get each other cards!  I did get a couple of things I really wanted for Christmas - some really nice measuring spoons and a cute panda ball marker for golf. 

 Plus, I did get a nice ring from a popular robin eggs blue-colored box for Christmas too :-)

Charlie is 17 months old

17 months old and he's actually almost running now!  Charlie loves to be chased around the house.  Loves the way he giggles!

Click to see video

Charlie has been saying a lot more words too.  His favorite word during our trip to Phoenix was "fei zi" which means airplane in Chinese.  Then, there was "hot dog" while listening to the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse music CD in the minivan.  And when we returned to Tulsa, it was "huo" for fire in Chinese (for the fire in the fireplace) and tonight, it was ice-cream (or sounding more like i-im!).

He is quite the little character now.  We obviously still wonder what he's thinking at times!

Silly little fella!

Sunny Arizona in Dec

It was soooooooooo nice in Arizona for the past 2 weeks, we really didn't feel like coming back to Tulsa.  There was the usual eating - by the way, Charlie discovered that he loves Mac n' Cheese on this trip!

Watching TV on the couch:

Crying:

Sleeping (new Stuffies for Christmas!)

Standing around:

Scrounging for food:

Our annual visit to Phoenix Zoo lights:

We keep buying those same lights that keep breaking down after a few days.  Why??!

Then, there's the usual trip to the park to feed the ducks.  We obviously need some practice holding hands:

The boys love the ducks!  Charlie kept saying "quack, quack":

Then, Graham does the mad dash to the playground:

While Charlie strolls along behind:

The boys still struggle with the big excavator:  Someday they'll be able to lift those levers!

While in Phoenix, we try and make a trip to the zoo during the day as well.  Time to test out those binoculars that "Santa" bought:

Good effort by Charlie :-)

Still need to practice holding hands!

Meanwhile back at the house, there's "mowing" to be done:

Sitting and looking adorable:

Swinging and trying to keep little brother on the swing:

Poking the fire. Wait... is that a golf club? Seriously??!!

Oh, we can't forget watching TV:

 By the way, Happy New Year!

Yes, starting another new tradition for the New Year meal.  Yummy broccolini!

Charlie was asleep when we were eating so when he finally awoke, he got to start his meal with homemade holiday shortbread:

As usual, we can't forget reading:

Or just plain being silly:

Never a dull moment with the boys!

Merry Christmas!

Ok, so it's already past the New Year but we have been busy spending time in Phoenix, Arizona that we probably had about 3 Christmases!  We opened some presents in Tulsa before Christmas since we weren't able to bring all our presents to Phoenix.  The boys helped, of course (well,... Charlie tried):

We thought our new storm glass was pretty cool!  Changes in the crystal formations can indicate different types of weather pattern:

Well, off to Phoenix!  Graham has a new mode of transportation:

It doesn't take long for the boys to get into their toys:

Indoors and out!

We had to improvise on the tree :-)

Santa was busy on Christmas eve!

Christmas morning and Graham was quietly opening one of the presents while the rest of us were asleep.  So there was lots of crying before we finally all opened presents as a family:

An obvious theme to the presents:

Can you figure it out yet?

The boys love their excavators!  By the way, did I mention how nice the weather was in Phoenix?

The boys really enjoyed the sunshine:

And Daddy finally got to use the new outdoor grill!  No ham for Christmas, but we did discover broccolini.  YUMMY!

We are starting new family traditions as the years go by!  I think we did start having the boys dress alike when we travel.  Charlie is starting to be quite the traveler now too - here he is saying "hi" to the passenger sitting behind!

When we finally returned back to Tulsa this past Saturday, the Christmas tree was obviously still standing and it didn't take long for Graham to find the switch to turn the lights on!

Quite a Christmas to remember for 2013!  Thanks to all (I mean, Santa) for all the wonderful presents!