Day 202: Bonus picture

On the drive home today we stopped at a sheepskin outlet in Pennsylvania. I got this hat. Very chic! Mom says I can grow into it.

Day 202: Ham at Breakfast

My dad titled this one, and I'm not sure why. I think it's just a cute picture of me smiling at breakfast. (Ed. note: I try not to interject here on Charlie's blog -- it's his, after all -- but I feel the need to point out that just seconds before this photo was taken, the subject was whining/crying between every bite of his food, as if he were so sad that each bite might signal the end of the joyous event that is breakfast. If you look closely, you'll see tiny tears in the corners of his eyes. So I actually aimed to take a photo of our son crying, because it has been noted that we only post photos of him smiling and though he is indeed mostly smiling, he does have his moments. And I was going to capture one of those on film. But what should happen when I picked up the camera and aimed it at his face? This happened. Which is how the post got this title. Once the camera disappeared, the whining/crying resumed. Until I picked it up again. Guess what happened?

Day 202: Family excursions

One of the best parts of the weekend was our trip to the caverns, which are really dark holes in the ground where bats live. We saw bats. And my cousin Drew asked lots of questions, mostly about bats. The only annoying part was this baby on the tour who kept whining. It's very rude when baby's do that. I try to lead by example, but sometimes it doesn't work. What can you do?

Day 202: Doggies!

I also got to play with this cute doggy, Zoe. She's very sweet and was afraid of me at first but when she realized that I can only pull on her ears and her tail if she sits still for too long she wasn't so nervous and we played -- well, I squealed and she sat quietly a safe distance away. You should see her when she's out in the woods. So fast! Next time I'm bringing a saddle.

Days 200-202: I'm Back!

Wow, that was the longest I've ever gone without Internet. Almost 3 whole days! Which explains my absence. But I'll make it up to you guys with a whole buncha pictures. I'm sorry I haven't updated but the truth is I didn't miss the Internet much. I was out in the mountains, in West Virginia, at my Uncle Eric and Aunt Heather's log house hanging with my cousins. I guess there is no Internet in West Virginia, only trees and football. Anyway, it was fun, especially playing with the other Dean boys. That's Drew there on the right. And these are his sweet green goggles. You put them on and the whole world turns green. Hilarious!

Days 197-199: Happy Thanksgiving

I know I'm a day late on this but Happy Thanksgiving everybody! I'm told that I should say what I'm thankful for so here's a short list: milk, bananas, the jumperoo, car rides, story time, Dr. Seuss, cartoons, sports, stroller rides, swings and family. Especially family. Both the part I got to see yesterday and the part I didn't get to see. I'll see the rest of you soon!

Day 196: Soccer practice

I got my own soccer ball the other day. It's soft and big, like the size of a grown-up's head. Dad says I need to practice if I'm going to have a chance at making the 2026 World Cup but I think that'll be easier once I can stand up. Oh, and the monkey says hi.

Days 193-195: Well, hello there

Sorry, slow weekend. No car trips, for me at least. My dad was off playing with dogs again so mom and I just hung around town having brunch and enjoying the nice fall weather. We didn't get much photography done, but I did find this picture of my new WVU jersey. It's like a real one - with holes and all - plus a snap crotch! Seeing their shirts get pulled up sometimes, I wonder why the grown-ups don't use this technology.

Day 192: This is more like it

I can already stand (sort of), so I might just skip right to walking instead!

Day 192: Crawling practice

So mom fooled me by getting out this yoga mat. I thought we were going to do yoga but instead it was crawling practice. She would place these tantalizing objects - a remote control! an iphone! - just out of reach and I had to try and get them. Only to get there you have to move and I can't move. So I didn't enjoy this very much. I tried to teleport them with my mind and that didn't work so I just giggled a minute, then got mad, put my head down and cried until someone picked me up. Works every time. I guess this is supposed to make me "crawl." We'l see about that.

Day 191: Green guys

Just a couple of guys in green t-shirts.

Day 190: Breakfast

So I got a new chair - a tall chair! They call it a high chair, I guess because it's high. It's from this place Ikea, which is a big blue place where people from Sweden make sweetrolls and giant wood puzzles that make grown-ups really mad. I eat breakfast in this high chair - all kinds of breakfasts, including pears, bananas and apples. Also sweet potatoes. Those are orange. Like the lady who does traffic on NY1.

Day 189: A new design!

Trying something new here at Charlie HQ. A new composition. Though now that I look at it, and think about it, I'm not sure this works unless I write a whole bunch of words and I am only 6 months and I don't know very many words. So that won't work unless I just repeat myself over and over and over and over and over.... Okay, I know. That's annoying.

Here are a few pictures of some people I visited. The first one is me and my Grandma Miles. We are talking about the Ravens, her favorite team. I don't have a favorite pro team yet but their main color is purple and that's pretty cool. Also I have a Ravens hat she bought for me. So, I guess, Go Ravens! In this other picture I am in Frostburg with Granddad and Grandmom. This was right before I left for the long trip that I slept almost all the way through. We had a nice visit and it was so sunny and we even went to a big house built on top of a waterfall. It was cool but I wasn't allowed inside so I just walked around with Grandmom. Well, she walked around and I slept.

Days 187-188: Back home again

That was quite a trip — 3 stops in 5 days with many relatives to meet and cuddle with. Thanks to Aunt Jenny, Uncle Conrad, cousin Emma, Grandma Miles, and Granddad and Grandmom for spending time with me. It was nice to see you all and I will see you all again soon.

Today, it's back to the 9 to 5 grind in Brooklyn. It's good to be in my own bed again, and to have all of the important necessities of home so close — my own crib, my new high chair, my giant pile of books, my jumperoo, and especially my easy access to sushi, dry cleaning, and the corner deli that sells overpriced imported goods. Sometimes, a baby just needs a fair trade chocolate bar or some Mexican soda made with cane sugar.

Day 186: Brushes with greatness (maybe)

Don't look now, but is that Brett Favre? Or maybe all guys with salt-and-pepper beards and camo hats look the same.

Day 186: My favorite trick

Here's my favorite trick. I call it Floating Baby. Or sometimes Levitating Baby. Either way, it cracks me up. Look, I'm floating! And also levitating! Yay!

Day 185: Frostburg!

Hi! I'm in Frostburg! It's a town in Maryland! In the mountains! Where Granddad and Grandmom live! This is the Princess Diner, where my dad used to eat - always the same thing: grilled cheese, french fries and a cherry Coke. So what did he order this time: some weird ham thing, onion rings, and a cherry Pepsi. He wasn't happy. To which I say: don't fix what ain't broke, dad. I eat the same thing every day - milk! - and do I seem unsatisfied? Only when it runs out.

Day 185: Antlers!

Here's a bonus picture I found on my dad's iPhone while I was browsing my stock results. Maybe I'll be Rudolph for Christmas! People dress up for Christmas, right?

Days 184-185: Technical Difficulties

Oh, boy. It's so hard to get good help these days. My IT department has misplaced a critical piece of equipment that enables us to upload new photos. So I have a whole bunch from my trip to pick from, but they're stuck in the camera. Darn. Meantime, we have a few iPhone back-ups. Here's one. I'm visiting Granddad and Grandmom in Frostburg, which is a small village in the mountains where my dad grew up. It's very nice and sunny. And there are lots of birds! But so far no bears or lions. I hope they show up soon.

Day 183: Carts!

Have you guys ever ridden in one of these grocery carts? It requires some sort of animal to push or pull it but wow - FUN! Here I've temporarily misplaced my pack mule but I think she's just off buying make-up.

We're on stop number 3 of our family road trip. First we saw Aunt Jenny, Uncle Conrad and cousin Emma. That was fun. And I'd like to apologize for being a little grumpy last night. I was tired. And constipated. That's no fun. Then we saw Grandma Miles today and that was also fun. She has cats. CATS! They're like stuffed animals that move. Only they don't love it when you pull their fur. Toughen up, kitties. Just now we arrived at Grandmom and Granddad's house. It's dark so I'm not sure where we are. Maybe New Jersey. Or France. Those are the only two place names I have memorized.

Days 181-182: On the road again

Apologies for being a little flaky lately. My team of photographers has been slacking off. I'll try to whip them into shape over the next few days while we're touring around to visit family members. In the meantime, here's a photo of bath time. That's me, the one without the beak. And that's a rubber duck. His name is Ducky. I came up with that.

Days 179-180: Things that are not awesome

I got my first cold. It's not awesome. My eyes are watery and my nose is sniffly and I keep sneezing, which is annoying because sometimes I scare myself with these things. They're very loud.

Speaking of loud, we watched the NYC Marathon today and it was very cool. Lots of people running in the road and loud music and cheering and...well, honestly I feel asleep after that but it was still fun. I blame the cold.

Day 178: Happy Birthday to Me!

Hey everybody. Guess what day it is? It's my sixth (month) birthday! But you already knew that. Wow, that went fast. Much faster that the six months before that, when it was a little dark and claustrophobic. Things are much more exciting now. Anyway, I know your cards and gifts are on the way — please please please I hope someone got me my own live baby monkey and also a hot tub — so it's no big deal if they're a little late. I think I'll celebrate by putting away a bottle or two and bouncing around on my jumper. I might even eat some sweet potatoes. It's a party.

Days 176-177: On disappointment

Considering the disappointing events of the past few days, I thought I would dedicate today's post to West Virginia football. Me and my little buddy here are very disappointed in this team (which should be so good!) and they disappoint my daddy, which is very disappointing to me. No one likes to be disappointed, America!