18 Months Old Today!

Greetings, all! I've decided today is just as good as any to update everyone on the Fulton Family happenings lately.

First, I can't believe Hurricane Charley is 18 months old today! Though he's been perfecting his terrible twos tantrums over the last few weeks, today has been especially exhilarating! I'm not sure I ever fully understood bipolar disorder until lately, having now seen it on display so frequently! It doesn't help that the poor little guy has been cutting all of his molars and incisors at the same time. Eight teeth - yikes!

Anyway, to catch everyone up, a few months ago I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. This has been a relief and a source of frustration. A relief because sometimes, the medicines prescribed work; frustrating because it's a diagnosis that I'm battling denial that it even exists. Needless to say, it has been the main reason I have been on a blogging hiatus, choosing instead to focus what little strength I have on trying to raise a defiant toddler.

In other news, Charley will be starting a new school January 2nd. It is a mixed Montessori program that incorporates sign language, Spanish, and biblical teachings into its already academic heavy curriculum. Also, it's cheaper, and three days a week instead of two. Charley has done well on his visits, and I hope that he'll assimilate into the program within a month or two. We're all so blessed with this opportunity!

To catch everyone up, here are some pics of the last couple of months:

Happy Halloween! We were a trooper trick-or-treating this year. We started at Meemaw's...

Then went to Grandpa's and Daddy's work! Here, we're reorganizing Grandpa's snack drawer. Again...

We also went trick-or-treating with the neighbors in a fun neighborhood not to far from ours, but didn't last long. For one thing, we were really worn out from the big day. For another, there was a weird drunk guy dressed in a Sgt. Pepper's get-up that made Mommy and me really uncomfortable!

On to our next big event: the cousins reunion at the ranch! The day was busy from start to finish. We all hung out together at the ranch, and fellowshipped on great food, and even better conversation! Here are some pics:

The older boys hung out mostly by the jeep. Driving is serious business, as Cooper demonstrates.

The rock/dirt piles were a success, also! Even Uncle Ryan got in on the action, and was diligent about not spilling his drink - a true professional!

Two of my favorite pics of the day. Penny had just woken up from her nap, and like some of us, needed some space to recover. Charley, while the same way, didn't seem to understand, and had lots of fun chasing poor Penny!

As you can imagine, all the hard work and play required a drink. 

Not to be forgotten, Leah and Jocelyn photobomb! We were all so excited that they got to come! I even got to hold her, but she is quite the momma's girl! 

Thanks to Ryan and his camera, we were able to get a (mostly cooperative) group shot!

We had a pretty quiet Thanksgiving this year - Mike had to work, and he and Charley were battling colds. We stayed quarantined in our house. Here's hoping we have a better Christmas; though Mike has a busy holiday work schedule, we're hoping to spend some time with local family. After the nutty holiday season, the plan is to hit the road to see family and friends that we've missed so much!

Well, this has been quite the long-winded blog - sorry for that! I'll try to do better, though I'm pretty much not going to resurface until after the holiday season. So, from our family to yours, have a blessed, safe, and Merry Christmas! We'll see you in the New Year!

Love,
Ashley, Mike, Charley, and begrudgingly, Daphne, Olive and Roz

Back from the hiatus!

Since we've put Charley in school, we've encountered countless "bugs" and are fighting with allergies. Just when I thought we were free and clear for a while, the symptoms return. How do you keep a cranky toddler busy when he's sick? Here's a few things we did:

We did a lot of sleeping. On Mommy. It was that bad. And very sad.

Aquarium with Grandpa! Grandpa has Fridays off. By Friday, both Mommy and Charley were stir crazy. We went to the Aquarium early that morning. When everyone was outside watching the dolphin show, we went below. It was great because we were the only ones in there. We got a private show, and Charley got to run around and scream till his heart was mostly content!

Mommy and Charley went to Gill's Landscape Nursery with Mimi one morning because the weather was nice, and the nursery is usually serene. Case in point here - the infinity edge water feature. Very calming for a cranky boy.

You know Charley is sick when he tolerates being pulled in a wagon for more than 2 minutes without trying to escape. I think Mimi was grateful.

After Gill's, it was time for lunch and more fresh air and sunshine. One of Charley's favorite activities is the water sensory bucket at Mimi's! It was his first smile of the day!

We ended up going to the doctor, only to find out through a series of traumatic examinations that Charley was suffering from a double ear infection and a sinus infection! Mommy felt sorry for him and bought him the Snoopy "Beagle Scout" - it was the first stuffed animal he lunged at in the store! We hugged Snoopy all the way home.

Finally on the mend! Charley was experimenting with Mommy's phone. Mommy was teaching Charley how to take self portraits, and at the last minute he hit Mommy's arm and took this picture. I'm glad he did. :) (PS - more evidence of him feeling better are the scrapes on his nose. He acquired those while sprinting from the grass onto the sidewalk. Full face plant.)

First Day of School!

Okay, so we didn't start with everyone else...but that's okay! We got the call yesterday that Charley was accepted at Seashore Early Childhood Academy here on the Island, and that he'll be a part of the Tuesday & Thursday class. This is very exciting, because one of Charley's friends (our neighbor's daughter) is in the class too! Needless to say, Mommy was very excited...until reality hit this morning. My baby isn't really a baby anymore. This is his first day of school - and he'll be going to school for a very long time. No more 24/7 Mommy. This is it!
I actually did pretty well - no real tears while getting ready. And that's another thing...I thought getting ready would be so amazing - like when I would have my first days of school. I started labeling everything, getting all his belongings organized, picking out clothes...and then I just got sad. It really was surreal. Then I started getting scatterbrained and anxious, hoping everything was in order. God forbid I forget something. Because, you know, the school is *so* far away. Like, maybe a whole mile! Everything had to be perfect! Then I realized that I was ruining the experience for myself and probably Mike. Charley didn't really care. So I managed to pull it together enough to get us all ready and out the door on time. Here are some pics chronicling the morning:

Breakfast of champions! (Minus the oatmeal)

We LOVE drinking from a straw! We do it so that we get claps and cheers from Mommy and Daddy!

New lunch bag, curtesy of Mimi! We're packed and ready to go!

Well, we can't go before "Customs" has a chance to inspect everything...

We've discovered our new things! It's like Christmas!

Gotta have fresh breath for the ladies!

Morning ritual that includes watching the BBC with Daddy.

Capturing Mommy before she starts crying and looking crazy.

Such a ham!

That's better. He really was a Daddy's Boy this morning!

It didn't occur to me to take a pic of him in the carseat or in front of his school, or even in his classroom.  As I mentioned, it was all I could do to get out the door. Oh well...
Anyway, we got to school, and Charley immediately recognized his friend! She came over and said, "Hi, Chawy!" (super cute!!), and he started talking back! That made me feel so much better! I managed to sneak out to finalize paperwork, but he did eventually happen to see me and started wailing, and then...so did I. In front of everyone. Ugh.
I went straight to the gym and worked it all out. I knew some people there and when they asked how Charley was, I was able to tell them that it was his first day of school without crying. Victory! My friend told me to call right away to check on him. I actually said to her, "I didn't know I could do that!" How did that not occur to me??!!
Needless to say, I ran to the car and called. I actually was able to speak with one of his teachers (he has 2 and an aide in his room). Ms. Deanna said that Charley stopped crying about the time I left, and is doing great!
So, here I am, feeling a little lost, wondering what to do around here. I had all these grand plans about everything I was going to accomplish today, and all I can do is sit here. Amazing.
Well, I've certainly been long-winded today - my apologies. Time to get going and enjoy the peace and quiet while I can! I can't wait to see my baby this afternoon!

It's been a while...

Okay, so ever since Daddy got back, I've been preoccupied, and any free time has been used up hanging out with the fam. But, since we're now back in the swing of things, I can pick up where I left off!  The first part of this blog is what I intended to post closer to Charley's 1st birthday, but I guess now is as good a time as any. Here are some really old pics just for fun, so that everyone can have a blast comparing Charley to them!

Guess who??!!

This is Uncle Ryan on his 1st birthday.

Unfortunately, I have no baby pictures of Daddy. You'll need to ask Pawpaw why that is...(hint: it's a story he'll never live down as long as Nina lives, I think.)

My next photo scanning project is to find some baby pics of my dad to add, because Charley looked so much like him as an infant! It's shocking! Nina, if you're reading this, we need old baby pics of you and Pawpaw, too!

Anywho...this is what we've been up to in the last couple of weeks:

Charley and Macy both like to play in and drink from the dogs' water bowl. Charley will even push Macy's nose out of the way so he can get into the bucket. It's all I can do to sit idly by and watch...

Hello? Can you hear me? I'm talking to you!!

Practicing with the training cup. We actually do better with a big boy cup, and better still with a straw. Silly Mommy for wasting so much money!

One day, Mommy looked up and saw Charley mount and ride his Elmo plane toy! Very exciting! Wonder when he figured it out??

Last but not least, dismantling the keyboard and organizing the keys in the vacant kitty spot in the puzzle. No worries, this is a fried PC. No Macs were harmed.

Keeping busy (Part 3)

Well, we made it! Tomorrow, Daddy comes home after being gone! One of the key things, of course, was keeping busy. Charley and I are worn down, but we've mostly been happy and distracted. So, without further ado, this is our last post of busy-body-ness:

We visited Grandpa's work a few times, and helped him stay organized by sorting his stash of goodies! Some ended up in the trash can. Mommy rescued them, but Grandpa said it was okay.

Another Grandpa event - Mommy and Grandpa cleaned out the garage while Charley sorted rocks. Wonder where he gets it from?? No, Mommy's not entirely comfortable with this play idea, and yes, it was in the front yard where neighbors saw Charley running around in his pampers. Ugh.

This next section warrants its own introduction. When Mommy's back is against the wall, it's time to get creative and choose between Charley screaming like a banchee or making a huge mess. Since cleaning is soothing to Mommy, she votes for a mess! Hence, fun with rice:

I hate that for some reason, my picture quality wasn't as good on this blog as it has been. Not sure you can appreciate the extent of the mess by looking here.

Another vantage point. Again, the damage is far reaching and unknown, even to today...

I couldn't help but capture this on camera - he moved some rice to the top of his cup by meticulously placing a few pinches of rice at a time. I have to admit I was impressed!

Does this really need a caption? On the other hand, I can come up with several witty things to say...perhaps I should hold a contest to see who can come up with the funniest caption for this pic!

A picture only a mother could really love (and want to frame) - footprints in rice! :)

Imitating Mommy sweeping. He did surprisingly well! That's my boy!

I added this picture because you have to appreciate that this is (well, was) Charley's secret stash that he kept returning to.

Needless to say, we'll be finding and vacuuming rice till Kingdom come. But it really was worth it. He had a blast for about 45 minutes, which provided me with some much needed respite. And, as I said, the cleaning was therapeutic.

One last pic - perhaps my most favorite!

Skyping with Daddy during breakfast!

Since Mike is coming home tomorrow, I'm looking forward to a nice, relaxing, *not busy* weekend for once. Let's see what really happens...

Keeping Busy (Part 2)

It's been pretty hectic around here lately! Trips to the beach and museum, clothes shopping, interviews at potential schools, and lots of time at Mimi and Grandpa's! One more week till Daddy gets home! 

Here's what we've been up to this week:

Charley found himself in Mommy's cell phone camera view!

These are a little late, but some pics of Charley at his 1st birthday party!

And today, a visit to the museum! Mommy hadn't been there since the 7th grade, so it was fun to go back and see some of the same displays, but also all of the improvements made! Charley had a great time with his cousins, Penny and Cooper!

Stairs, our favorite pastime!

Only buttons can trump stairs!

Cooper showing Charley how to play steel drums.

Playing tic tac toe with Penny in the playhouse.

Organizing the checkers! Cooper cleaned the "sticky kitchen!" (One of my fave quotes of the day!)

Of course, what's a day downtown without hanging out at the Water Garden? It has it all - water, stairs, and vegetation with lots of dirt!

Hopefully next week's post will have pics of Daddy's homecoming! Stay tuned!