These Are a Few of His Favorite Things!

So, at three months Charlie is having a lot of fun cooing and talking to us, trying to eat his fists, and soaking in the world around him. He repeatedly flashes his amazing smile at us, loves to snuggle, and is an all-around good natured little guy.

He's getting stronger! He's doing a really good job now up on his arms.

He gave the bumbo a quick try. After about 20 seconds, he decided it wasn't for him. Oh well. Maybe later!

Here are a few of Charlie's favorite things:

First up, his milk. Our man is quite the guzzler.

Next is the bathtub.

More specifically, this is the "Whale of a Tub." Charlie is in baby bliss every night during bath time! He waves his arms and kicks his legs like a wild man, splashes everywhere, and coos/tries to giggle. 

WE LOVE WATCHING THIS!!!!

It is one of the highlights of our day!

I mean seriously... who doesn't love a tub with eyes?!

A rare peaceful moment in the tub.

Okay, next favorite thing: his bassinet with his jingle-y toys.

Once he has had his bottle and morning playtime on the floor, Charlie rides around in his bassinet while I shower and get ready. Apparently, he thinks this is really cool. As he does in the tub, he waves and kicks and tries really hard to talk to the animals hanging above him. He gets so excited! 

And while we're talking about his morning adventures, here is another favorite:

Our boy loves to rise early! Unlike his parents, he is all smiles at such an early hour. He might make morning people out of us if he keeps this up! (We are trying to work towards a wake time of 5:30, or even 6:00! but we have not achieved this regularly yet.)

Now for the "Woodland Friends" mobile.

You probably can't tell what these animals are, but they are a super cute fox, racoon, owl, and hedgehog!! 

He is fascinated by this, especially if we wind it up for him.

Finally, pretend there is a picture of his stroller here. It is in the trunk of the car right now, and alas, I cannot be coaxed to go out there, bring it in the house, and take a picture. 

Anyway, I am ecstatic that he finally stays awake now when we take him on walks and seems to really enjoy them! On two occasions we have taken him to Duke Gardens, and he has looked around very attentively each time. He even seemed to chuckle a bit when we were strolling him over gravel near our house one night (a future ATV-er?)!

Last night, while I was fixing dinner, Charlie started to get fussy. He had taken his bottle, been burped, etc., and we didn't know what the problem was. I took him outside, and BAM, he was quiet. Well, he did burp again, but instantly he stopped crying and started looking around (Okay, so I'm sure the constant hum of the interstate traffic had something to do with it too, but I like to think he already loves being outside...). The sun was setting, and he looked in that direction for quite a while! At one point when Jimmy tried to take him in he cried again... so the boys went back out to the porch. And yes, you guessed it, he was quiet again! He sat under a little blanket in Daddy's lap and watched the sun go down!

Who can blame him for wanting to do that?!

We hope he will grow to treasure God's creation and love being in it as much as we do!