Bday and Chef Charlie

Last of the bday pics--Alex with many of his friends (staring into the bright sun!) and Charlie playing in his new favorite place--the kitchen!

More pictures (Greek theatre)

The last set that didn't make it up...

More pictures (3)

More pictures...

More pictures (2)

More that didn't make it up...

Charlie's Birthday Party

Charlie's birthday party...balloons, cupcakes, games, the works. He had a great time (although he would have probably liked to take a nap halfway through it!). He also really liked the candle--especially when it was lit--when we sang "Happy Birthday" to him. He almost got it a few times, but we fortunately got his hand at the last minute.

Link - Charlie's bday pictures

Link to web album with more pictures of Charlie's birthday!

http://picasaweb.google.com/cswestphal/CharlieS1stBirthday

Opening presents

Having fun opening presents... Too many pictures to show here; I'll add a link to a web album to show more.

Charlie turns 1!!!!!!

Hi! I'm 1 years old!

He loved the cake (the hat? not so much...) that daddy made for him, kept trying to grab the lit candle when we sang to him, and didn't like the "pinch to grow an inch".

Charlie really got into the holiday this year--from the bib to playing with the beads. The gate that we put at the top of the stairs has been especially frustrating to Griffin, who ends up getting trapped up there and can't come down. The last picture is of Charlie at daycare...once he transitions to his new class full-time(in 2 weeks), they sleep in mats on the floor rather than in cribs. So, that's his sleeping bag, and a picture of him the first time he fell asleep there (he transitions to the new class starting Monday, where he'll go for a couple hours at a time to make it easy on him). All the other babies in the class are walking, and he'll be a little man among 'giants'!!

Greek Theatre in Taormina

Wanted to show a couple pictures of the Greek Theatre in Taormina. It's in great condition given its age (sometime in the BC's I think), and the views were amazing. It was an overcast/hazy day; otherwise, Mt Etna would have dominated the background. It is still used today to host special musical events--the acoustics are supposed to be amazing. Alex had a great time playing around on the theatre stage, especially once he learned that gladiators were here at various times (although it was mainly used for plays). The 'pit' area in front held the gladiator and wild animal, designed to keep the beast from attacking the audience. As you can see, it was very tight quarters in there--much different from what we picture happened at the coliseum in Rome. The last picture is my favorite--although I wish I had a wide-angle lenses to capture everything. The theatre is one of the larger around, although somewhat smaller than what Jenny and Alex saw in Siracusa earlier in the week.


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