Pictures of Charli

On March 29, 2008, we met a new person that has changed our life. That's not totally accurate. Someone else said it best... This person did not change our life... instead, our life was taken away and it was replaced with a totally different life. The coolest part is that my wife & I know that she has not only impacted our lives, but she will impact the lives of so many more as she grows.

Introducing: Charlize Marianela "Charli" Goode

The best part of getting to know her has been the interesting quirks of her personality as they unfold. At first, she didn't do much in the way of facial expressions... just blank stares into your face as if she was waiting for you to do something entertaining. "Okay, dad... when are you going to jump, bounce or say some incoherent syllable?"

It isn't that she was totally unexpressive... Sometimes the gaze seemed to pierce beyond your soul.

Other times, it was just shear "Pissed off!" In the photo above, she was experiencing her first exam 5 minutes after she was born... She looks as if she could tell the nurse, "Get. Your. Filthy. Hands. OFF OF ME!"

When she got her first bath, it was an experiment for all of us. Charli had no idea what was about to happen. Rebekah & I had no idea either! Y'see, in a bath, the goal is to clean the entity being bathed. Most of the time, that requires the person being bathed not doing things that would further soil themselves while in the process of bathing. Well, warm water has a very specific effect on a person who has less control over their urinary & excretory systems.

Two baths were in order.

This is absolute proof of our inability with children! How was I supposed to know that Mommy-Milk was the equivalent of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Clearly, one bottle and she's far too impaired to operate heavy machinery.

Napping with Mom has become an olympic sport at the house. She loves to just hang out with mom and talk about stuff she sees around her. Unfortunately, we still need a translator, but we are very confident she'll pick up english quickly.

Charli has mastered a few different napping positions. One of her favorites is the: Pilates-Stretch contortion. This involves both hands above the head while twisting to one side. I believe this works the obliques and allows for maximum cuteness.

Amazingly, only 2 days after she was born, she had doubled her age. She's stopped doing that as often. But it is something we're proud of. Granted, half the time she's been alive she's spent doubling her age.

At a very young age, she made an important discovery: Opposable Thumbs! Unfortunately, they are quite uncooperative in regards to her using them as permanent pacifiers. But allow one to come within an inch of her face... she's like a pirana and will try to fit her entire fist into her face.

Charli's grandfather (Pappaw) loved her dearly. She was lucky enough to meet an amazing man in my dad. I can never express how wonderful it was to see my dad holding and rocking my daughter for the first time. I wish she could spend more time with him here in this life. She will simply have to look forward to a reunion later on.

Charli bores easy with cameras. I think she finally got tired of having me take a photo of every 28th second of her life. In the photo on the left, she's wearing an outfit from Megan Bustle. In the right hand photo she's flexing for the doctor on one of her check-ups.

This was the last day my dad got to see and hold my daughter. My sister was able to help dad feed charli one more time before he went home. This will be one of my favorite photos of all time! My dad, my sister & my daughter... I wish I could have gotten Mom and Beks all in the shot too... Donna would have been a nice addition.

I'm not sure if this is her favorite toy, but she has a little stuffed giraffe under her arm. We've lovingly dubbed him george the giraffe and have written a little song about George to the tune of "The lion sleeps tonight." I'm looking forward to the day she reaches out quickly and snatches poor george by the neck.