Charlie - 3 years old

Charlie (25 months old) - Jan 2013

Charlie turned 3 two months ago (December 9) and where has the time gone! Life is fun with this little guy and he brightens up my day with each sweet smile, when he holds my hand, and when he says randomly "I love you, mum." He is quite a complex boy with such a big heart and huge emotions. He doesn't do things half-way - he's all in, or all out, which is why he loves so big.

Charlie (26 months old) & Papa - Feb 2013

Last year was quite a challenging year for Ben and I, I think, just trying to figure out how to best parent Charlie. It was quite evident from the beginning that he is very different from his sister and his needs are his own, so we are learning all over again how to raise a child. Two years old held a lot of rough mornings, but I think we learned how important consistency is in the life of a two year old.

Charlie (2.5 years old) & Adelaide (4 years old) - June 2013

Charlie is so smart! He has known his alphabet for quite some time now, can identify all of the letters and their sounds, and can count well - I'm not actually sure how high, probably past 20? He speaks in perfect sentences and sometimes takes a few seconds for his mouth to catch up with his brain, so Adelaide (well, all of us) has to try and not speak for him before he gets a chance :) Charlie is very LOUD, he is as loud as Adelaide is quiet. This is also just a part of his nature. He can be shy at times but makes friends quickly. He isn't usually happy leaving Ben and I at church or at mom-to-mom, but his teachers say he always calms down quickly and enjoys his entire time there. He is happy when we pick him up and his teachers all brag about how smart he is! He has a great memory - he still talks about going back to Henry's house in Australia, who we visited last summer, and keeps asking when it will be Christmas again.

Adelaide, Charlie & Oma - June 2013

Charlie will start preschool two days a week in the fall and he is eagerly awaiting this. I know he will just love it. I will miss having him at home all day with me though. Thursday morning is our time that we get to spend together while Adelaide is at school and Malachi takes a nap. Charlie LOVES: play-doh, painting, and cutting with scissors. He is very good with scissors, too. He sits at the table for an hour doing any one of these activities. He is also doing well having play time in his room once a day for about 40 minutes, as long as I am consistent about it. If we miss more than a couple of days of it, we have a hard time getting back into it. While he was two I was not good about being consistent with this but it has added so much structure back to our day since we have implemented it again (another great Babywise tip). Charlie has been daytime potty trained since he was 20 months old and is dry 9/10 when he wakes from his nap, although he does still wear a nappy for nap and bed time. We will probably work on eliminating this soon. He has been doing his poop in the toilet 100% for about 6 weeks now. (Yay!!) He sleeps in cloth diapers still.

Charlie (2.5) - June 2013

Charlie doesn't like the cold so we are really looking forward to the summer! He also isn't a fan of the water, but he does keep asking if we can go back to the pool. He still sucks his thumb but only when tired or in the car. We are still holding onto puppy. We lost him for about 48 hours a couple of months ago and it was so hard - on the whole family! We finally found him 'in jail' under a step stool. He loves 'reading' books and being read to. His imagination is really blossoming over the past few months and he can make up storied of his own now. He often makes up Bible stories. Charlie sleeps about 11 hours at night and 2-2.5 hours during the day. He has never had a nap strike (unlike Adelaide at his age) and truly needs his sleep.

Henry, Adelaide and Charlie - Australia, July 2013

 Charlie loves eating and will try just about anything we put in front of him. Amazingly, one of his favorite things to eat is salad! He loves eating handfuls of raw spinach (no, I'm not making this up) and has been doing this for the past few months. He loves raw vegetables, especially carrots. He loves pasta, bagels and muffins. He also loves fruit - watermelon is his favorite, but I don't think there is any kind of fruit he won't eat. He also loves meat, especially bacon! He loves breakfast (like his mama), and most days we eat oatmeal with blueberries but on the weekend I like to make pancakes or waffles and he loves both of them. He does like sweets, probably cookies more than anything, but is so good about eating in moderation if we are at a birthday party or something. I love that he doesn't clean his bowl just because it's ice cream (unlike his mother).

Charlie on Christmas morning, 2013 (3 years old)

 We are beyond blessed to have Charlie as a part of our family. He loves to just be all together and when Ben or I try to take him on a special outing/date, he enjoys it but always comments about how he wishes Adelaide and the rest of the family were with him. Love you, Charlie Hockey!!

Hockey family, Claremore, OK, Sept 2013
(photo by TC Yates Photography)