Bowman West

ICE DAYS

For the third day in a row I'm snuggled in my pjs and blanket with no intention of leaving the house. I can't tell you how much I love it!! We've had some pretty bad ice here and while it hasn't been completely necessary for my three-day stint as a hobbit I sure have enjoyed the quasi-justification by our over-zealous local weather guys. It's their "go time" and they get very excited about all the blue on their super doppler HD3 displays. I love the intensity and while I know that it's probably safe to drive they told me to stay home so I do! Our church even cancelled services yesterday which is a pretty big deal if you ask me. I think the higher powers knew that if they opened the doors of the building there would be plenty of folks who would sooner risk their lives skidding on over than miss a church service. It did feel weird not having church. Don't get me wrong--I've missed church before, but that's usually due to illness or being out of town. I don't remember another time when I missed because it was cancelled. I missed it and my peeps (shout out!) just as i knew I would. That's a good feeling though too.

ANYWAY, I don't know when Andy, Charlie and I had this much unadulterated family time with just the three of us. It's been so wonderful!! We've been chasing Charlie around, playing ball and generally laughing our heads off. We've discovered that he knows how to do a few things that we've never even taught him (thanks to the parents' day out folks!). He can blow kisses, throw a ball, twinkle his fingers to "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and get off the couch by himself. He's changing SO fast!

We've also gotten the chance to catch up on tv and watch a few movies. We watched "The Devil Wears Prada" and "Little Miss Sunshine"--two very different yet enjoyable movies. We had Melody and Michael over for dinner and that's always fun. It's so great to have family close by.

In other news, Charlie's 1st birthday is coming up and I can't believe it! I realize that I'm being cliche here but I don't care because it's true. One year ago today I was complaining about being big and uncomfortable and getting very impatient for him to arrive. Now he's here and has grown into this precious little person. What a blessing!

Because I stayed in my pjs, Charlie wanted to stay in his too. He also got a little chilly and asked if he could wear his funny hat and mittens. Who am I to deny him such a simple request? I went ahead and left the hat on him for several hours because it was just that funny.

Carley kindly invited Charlie over to play last weekend. They didn't really pay that much attention to each other except when they needed to fight over a toy. Charlie did need to stop and make a phone call though. I don't think Carley approved of him making phone calls during their date. I guess I need to go over cellphone etiquette with him.