Merry Christmas! And Merry Christmas Again!

One of the best things about having two sides of a family is having two Christmases. And not only that, but I get to celebrate in two climates!

Here's me at Papa and Mum's house, in Florida, on Christmas:

And here's me at Grandad and Grandmom's house, in Maryland, today:

I can't even imagine what tomorrow might hold! Except maybe more presents!

Happy Holidays, Everyone!

I'm not sure if I'll get to post much in the coming days. It's an exciting week and I'm pretty busy being all festive. So in case we don't talk: Happy Holidays!

Editor's note: my guest assistant lost track of the day count so I guess we're going forward without them for now, because we lack math specialists here at Charlie HQ. Oh, well, we can start over at my third birthday!

WHEEEEE!

I love carousels so much that I had to ride again.

 And again.

 And again.

WHEEEEE!!

Yes, it is another carousel ride!

I'm sure you're thinking, "Have I seen this photo before?" The answer is yes and no. I take a LOT of carousel rides. Other than Chuck E Cheese, it is my favorite thing to do. This was my latest spin, down on Jane's Carousel in Dumbo, Brooklyn over the weekend. The nice things about having two parents is you get to go on these things TWICE in a ROW, once with each of them.

Christmas!

This is our Christmas tree! We had lots of fun decorating it last week. The bottom is drooping slightly because I put most of the ornaments down there. Since then, I've had a very good time putting random things I find around the house on or in the tree. A few things I've added: My Mr. Potato Head; a crazy straw; a bunch of tape that I pulled out of a tape dispenser; my mama's hair ties. She laughed when she realized I hung a bunch of her hair ties on the tree, but she must think it was a good idea because each morning she takes one off and pulls her hair back with it and thanks me.

More school time!

This is the back view of my school trial day outfit. I am wearing my monkey backpack from Auntie Stephanie. It has healthy snacks in it. I love this thing!

School time!

Now that I'm 2.5, it is time for me to try this thing called school. Luckily my best friend Leo's school had an opening, and I'm going to start going 3x a week in the new year. It's called Honey Birds, and is a family-run, Waldorf-inspired cooperative. I don't know what that means, but there are no plastic toys and we do yoga and will hopefully bake bread. Our snacks are for sharing and have to be healthy. Mama says it is "Very Brooklyn," but she is really happy about it. All I care about is seeing Leo, Leo, Leo 3x a week! This was my trial-day outfit. I insisted on wearing the hat that daddy bought at a craft fair upstate. Mama said it is "Very Crazy-Lady Crafty" and she seemed less happy about how much I like to wear it.

Day 964: Your Moment of Zen

Just a couple of animals, checking each other out.

Days 960-964: Contagion!

I'm not sure if you've heard, but it's flu season, and I think I caught something. Does it look serious?

Just kidding! I ate a blue candy cane! Those things do some crazy stuff to your tongue.

Days 957-959: Santa!

Hey, you guys know about this guy Santa? Weird outfit. Tremendous beard. And he has a remarkable ability to cover a lot of ground in a short time. Last weekend, I saw him twice, in two locations, in a matter of minutes. He must have a motorcycle.

 What do I want for Christmas? How much time you got?

Why is Santa hanging out with a giant strawberry? And why does he look so sad? 

Days 952-956: Yay, Winter!

Winter is so great, at least when it's snowing. We went to the big mountain this weekend, and I did a little sledding while Momma and Daddy were riding those snowboard things.

The only problem is that the next day the snow was all gone and we were back to sloshing around in the mud. Winter is confusing.

Days 950-951: Where's Charlie?

If you've spent much time around me, you probably know I like to hide. It's a favorite game of mine, and I'm so good at hiding that I like to help people find me by giving hints. For instance, I'll yell -- very loudly -- "DADDY, WHERE'S CHARLIE?!?!?" And then he has to try and find me. Sometimes I'm just right there, under Lamby!

That's not what's happening here, actually, but this picture made me think of it. This is just Momma's way of wrapping me up for a walk when it's cold out. As crazy as Daddy is about heat, she's just as bad about cold. The two of them are like parrots or robots or robotic parrots -- "It's so hot!"; "It's so cold!" Maybe we need to move somewhere where it's spring or fall all the time. When I grow up, I will appreciate all temperatures. Maybe I'll just walk around proclaiming: "It's so mild!" "It's so pleasant!"

Day 949: I Am Helpful!

I don't like to brag (too much) but I'm not sure I get enough credit for all the work I do around the house. In fact, I would like to help MORE. Given the chance, I would turn on every light, retrieve every object from the cabinets and drawers, turn on all appliances and machines, etc etc. I am a pro at folding laundry, and I really love to cook. See, just look at me making pancakes! They were so good.

Day 948: Snow!

Hey, look. It's snow. No, make that SNOW! I love this stuff. There's not much, yet, but I'm hopeful this is a good sign of things to come!

Days 945-947: Turkey Coma

Hi everyone. I hope you're all waking up from your turkey comas. I'm back home after a nice trip down to Aunt Jenny and Uncle Conrads. Granddad took us all out for a big dinner with lots of fruit and cake, also some turkey. I even got to see Drew and Patrick, but not for long enough. Drew and I have a lot in common -- we both especially love cats, even this one, Jesse, who hissed at me. I forgive him, though. Apparently, he's old. Like Daddy.

Uncle Conrad found Cousin Eric's old Big Wheel and I loved that thing. I just need to work on steering a little.

Finally, we all went to the zoo and saw a giraffe! Also some really loud monkeys, and sheep and donkeys and goats. I love all those guys, as you probably know. I could feed animals all day, only breaking occasionally to feed myself. Maybe I should learn to eat dog food too, to save time. Those guys sure do love it.

Days 943-944: Happy Turkey Day, People!

I hope you all spend the day with your favorite people, and that you get to hang out sometimes in a cardboard Choo Choo train while wearing a buffalo hat. Also, save me some pumpkin pie, please.

Day 942: Frostburg!

A few more pictures from my weekend at Granddad and Grandmom's house. Thanks for a great weekend, guys. And sorry I don't have any pictures of Grandmom this time. My personal photographer was slacking this weekend.

One of my favorite parts of the weekend was going to see the train with Momma and Daddy and Granddad.

Here we are waiting for it. Also, one of my least favorite parts of the weekend was when I wasn't allowed to get on the train. The man on the train just shut the doors and wouldn't open them, even though the train just sat there. This seemed unnecessarily cruel, but such is life. 

 It was so loud. And smelly! But also cool

Afterwards we went to the playground. As you can see, I am winning the race. Daddy almost broke that duckling, so Granddad must weigh less.

Days 936-941: Delays, Delays

At this point, I should probably switch to a weekly schedule. I'm just so BUSY and it's been ages since I actually put up photos every day. I'm sorry about that. I try to make up for it with multiple pictures, when I do get around to updating. We just got back from a weekend out at Granddad and Grandmom's. It was really fun. So sunny and nice. That explains my shades.

Days 932-935: How Was My Weekend?

Great, thanks for asking! I always have a great time up at the big house, especially when there's a dog around to play with and give orders to. Zuzu is cute and old and blind, which made it very hard for her to escape my hugs -- another reason I loved her!

I need a dog on a leash. Mark that on your Xmas lists!

As usual we went hiking. And it was so warm I didn't even need a jacket!

Different hike, different day. Hence the coat. And hat.

Can you believe that a beaver did this?! That's just crazy. Now I think I might also need a pet beaver.

It's possible these gloves do not fit. Or maybe I just need to grow into them.

Day 931: Big Shoes to Fill

I'm growing up so fast! Or at least that's what all you grown-ups keep saying. I guess that means I need some bigger shoes. Either of these pairs should do the trick.

And now, a special bonus picture of me trick or treating with my new baby cousin, Ellie! (I was a turtle, though without the head I sort of look like Spider man covered in algae, with the flu.)

Days 928-930: I voted!

Ok, technically I didn't vote. I don't even totally understand what it means and it seems really boring because you just stand in a long line to wait for the chance color in a few circles. That's not exactly the payoff I'm looking for when I'm patient. But you adults are silly. And I guess you're happy about this vote? So, YAY!

As an overall experience, I have to say the zoo is way more fun. The carousel by the zoo, though -- I'm on the fence about that one. It's just so...fast. Slow it down, people! We're kids on here!

Days 918-927: Look Who Popped Up!

It's me! Charlie!

I know, you all thought I vanished on you. I'm sorry. SO MUCH HAPPENED. Probably you heard about the big storm and how it made a huge mess in New York and caused both Momma and Daddy to get stuck in some other places. I missed them but I managed to make the most of it. Luckily, Auntie Claire was here to save the day. Also Greg and Molly and Bro. And Alma. She even took me to a Halloween parade. We recycled last year's costume and I think it was even cuter this time around!

We made out OK here in our part of Brooklyn - we didn't even lose power - but I do feel pretty bad for all the people in Staten Island and the Rockaways who weren't so lucky. If I wasn't two, I'd be out there cleaning out basements or cooking food. It's bad and not gonna get much better for a long time. You guys should think about donating some money.

Day 917: Dancing Machine!

Maybe you don't know this about me but I love to sing and dance. Here are some of my favorite songs, which I will gladly sing for you at any time:

1) Rumor Has It
2) The "Hey" song (Editor's note: "Little Talks" by Of Monsters and Men)
3) Call Me Maybe! (see below)

Days 916-917: Calisthenics!

It's important to get your daily exercise, even on the weekends. Here's my Sunday morning workout with Momma and Auntie Claire. I think they call this jumping jacks, but I consider it practice toward my eventual goal of being able to fly like a bird.

Days 912-915: Pumpkins

People keep asking me what I'm going to be for Halloween. The truth is, I'm not sure yet. Maybe I'll just wear an orange trash bag, and this hat, and go as a pumpkin! But probably I won't do that. I'm still mulling my options. I'll get back to you once I've made a decision.