3 Week Round Up and Charlie's First Easter Egg Hunt

It's been a very busy few weeks at House on Strathmore.  A few recent happenings, which still aren't an excuse for not blogging, include:

• John returned from attending the SXSW music and interactive festival in one piece (which is saying something)!
• Charlie and I went to Atlanta to visit our friend Hara
• A cruise for Aunt Kitty's 60th birthday with the O'Connells and friends. You can check out some pictures here! 
• My 30th birthday (a blog post is coming about Charlie's first experience making a card)
• Charlie's first ear infection (a double one)
• A complete obsession with the "50 shades" series, which actually is probably to blame for the lack of blogging--the 3rd and final book was finished last night!  If you haven't read the books ladies, you should--they are so addicting, romantic, and super intoxicating! 
• Orioles Opening Day, which John attended but Charlie was very enthusiastic about his support for the home team! Here's a great picture of him cheering on the O's (remotely)! 

and I guess that about sums up the past few weeks! 

So, today's Easter--Happy Easter and Happy Passover!  I must admit we didn't give today too much thought in terms of it being a "first" for Charlie, since clearly he's a little young for the Eater Bunny and all the other holiday festivities.  We started our day off by checking out the Baltimore Farmer's Market for the first time this year.  There really wasn't much going on, it's been so warm recently I guess you forget that it's still really early for any crops.  We still enjoyed ourselves and partook in some delicious mini donuts.

Mom and Charlie at the Farmers Market

We were really excited to have Granny and Pop-Pop (the O'Connell grandparents) make a trip up yesterday to bring Charlie his Easter present and we enjoyed a delicious lunch at Clementine's!

We are so lucky to have such a big and loving extended family, but that also means that finding time to see everyone can be a bit challenging.  Since Charlie's arrival we've been trying to do just one side of the family for each major holiday and have found that it results in more quality time and less stress.

Easter was spent with the Laurs which meant we were at Aunt Ann and Uncle Nelson's house.  I'd estimate there were about 60 people there and lots of kiddos.  Charlie was the youngest and everyone was really anxious to "see him in person."  John's Grandmom oversees the Easter Egg hunt which includes 3 eggs for each child and 4 special eggs which the big kids go all-out searching for, each one found is turned in for $5.  Here's some shots of Charlie finding his eggs, with a little help!

Getting some help from cousin Jenna

Charlie is totally enamored with his cousin Alana; however, sometimes Alana isn't so keen on his displays of love and affection.  Evidence:

And, finally a family shot, courtesy of cousin Maggie!

Peas are pretty gross and Charlie agrees!

Charlie is still doing a fantastic job as a eater. So far his favorite food is Sweet Potatoes and we discovered lastnight that without question his least favorite food is peas. Here's some evidence:

Here's some additional evidence that we are still raising the happiest baby on the block!

This was taken this past weekend when his Aunt Katie finished her first half marathon!

Chelsea and Charlie Bonding Day

Chelsea the pup has had a general attitude of "what's the big deal," since Charlie's arrival to House on Strathmore.  She's never shown any aggression or anger towards the baby but you can tell she's a bit frustrated at the shifting of attention away from her.  However, lately as Charlie's been a bit more active she seems to be more interested in seeing what he's all about.  Our biggest problem with her is that she LOVES to lick his face.  And since he's spending more time in the walker and exersaucer which happen to be right at her eye level, the phrases "enough Chelsea," "no more licks Chelsea" and just "CHELSEA, seriously" are pretty common around here.

I think this video captures their growing appreciation and interest in each other.  We know they'll soon be best buds!

Later this afternoon we went for a long walk at Herring Run and took this great shot of the two of them.  This was also our first time using the more compact stroller, which was definitely much more convenient.

Herring Run Trail

Great day for overalls

These days it feels a whole lot more like mid April than mid February, but we'll gladly take it!  We've been getting out and enjoying the weather as much as possible.  Here's a few shots of Charlie rocking some overalls today!

Oh and thanks to Papa John and Gigi, Charlie is rocking his first mohawk or "spiked hair!"

Charlie's First Spoon Feeding

The decision of when to start "solids" has been debated heavily within the House on Strathmore the past few weeks.  The debate concluded following our 4-month check up when Dr. Bucci said, "the kid is ready." We are going to attempt to make our own baby food, we'll see how that goes, but in sticking with the "plan" we started with Oatmeal first. We weren't sure what to expect but definitely didn't think he'd catch on so quickly.  At this rate we'll be processing and pureeing by weeks end.

Check out the video:

Now here is the step-by-step photo breakdown

The product

Charlie is curious . . .

. . . then says "Ok, lets do this!"

Mom goes in, with dog keeping a close eye
First taste

Ok, that's weird . . .

. . . but yummy

Give me more
Ok, I'm full.

4 Month Photo Shoot

Today our little man turned four months old! Since he seems to be growing and changing so fast, we decided it was a good time to break out the camera once again and snap just a few shots of him. Out of the 326 pictures we took, here were our 7 favorite:

 

Video of Charlie Giggling

Things have been pretty hectic around House on Strathmore lately and the blog has been feeling the pain. Here's a little video of Charlie giggling. I know parents always say this but I swear he's the happiest baby I've ever seen. He is smiling from ear to ear all the time. It takes him a little to get into it on this video but it's worth the wait :)