A Jolly Cholly Christmas...

First- congrats to Jessica and Sean! They heard their baby's heartbeat for the first time this week. We can't wait for the cousins to meet.

Here's Charlie's Christmas Schedule:

1. Open April Mommies Secret Santa gift from Simone and eat it.

2. Practice for the talent show.

3. Take lessons from Max on sneaking out of bed. (Christmas Eve)

4. Wake up with some wicked bed head. 5. Open stocking. Eat toys. 6. Go for a ride with Violet. Enjoy the beautiful weather.
7. Get dressed up. Hang out with Auntie.
8. Practice drinking from a big boy cup.

9. Open presents with Gatlin's help. Laugh. A lot.
10. Fall asleep on Mama.
Merry Christmas, everyone!

P.S. He did crawl this morning, too, but I didn't get it on camera. He's still honing that skill, so we'll get some video of it soon. By then Ted should be able to help me upload it.

new pictures

In case you didn't know that Lisa is an awesome photographer...

Who's got

big bue eyes and refuses to nap?

This guy!

Last night I was holding him thinking about how much he looks like Ted. Don'tcha think?

First Snow...

and we missed it!

We got a dusting of snow overnight that did stick. But Charlie slept until it had melted, so I could not get pictures.

This does give me hope that we will get some cute snowy pics this year, though.

He Wears a Lot of Hats

Here Charlie is looking ever so cute in Big Daddy's cap. This smile is the one he reserves just for Big Daddy.

Here he's a sleeping model for the new Sheepy Pants that I made him

And this sums up his mood lately- crabby. Teething is no fun.

Swim Lessons

Charlie had his first swim lesson today. He loved the water. He's already kicking, reaching for toys in the water, and holding himself up on the edge of the pool. Not too keen on floating on his back yet.

Also, a belated note to Daddy: "Hey, Daddy, happy birthday! I made you a present but I left it in my other pants!"

First Kiss(es)

In addition to our recent travels, we've been to a few parties lately. Charlie, ever the ladies' man, even got some smooching in.

Mommy's favorite little tiger

Kissing Princess Gabbi on her first birthday

Making a move on Violet

Violet, the birthday girl

Check out this awesome bed head

Houston, We Have a Tooth

I can't snap a picture because the babyman is sleeping, but he's got a tooth and a half! Ted got to feel the first one before he left for work yesterday. Today it is clearly visible above the gumline with its neighbor quickly gaining ground.

Six Month Stats

Well, he's still short but catching up with his peers. He was very good at his appointment. Again the doctor said he's perfect. We agree, of course.

6 Whole Months

I can't believe my baby is six whole months old today! It's a little bittersweet because he isn't my teeny-tiny baby anymore. He's getting so big. I love his funny, happy personality more and more each day.

Our celebration today included- a little visit with Mama, lots of belly laughs with Daddy, a 3 hour nap, a bike ride, and a bath.

Tomorrow is his checkup, so I will have stats and pics then.

Say Peas!

First things first- Welcome Baby Brenna! We are excited to announce a new cousin born Sept 28. Her pictures are adorable and we can't wait to meet her in person soon.

I never did figure out how to do the video. But I'll keep trying. Here are some long- awaited photos instead.

I was working on transitioning Charlie to the nursery for naps at least. This is what he did when I put him on a pallet on the floor.

And this is where he went when I didn't strap him into the bouncer seat.

Charlie started eating solids recently. At first he would only eat about a teaspoon every day or two. Now he's a certified chow hound. He does not care for fruits (except figs) and he loves peas and green beans the most. I think Ted has as much fun feeding Charlie as Charlie has eating.

I love this picture because you can see Ted coaching him to open his mouth.

Another great tub shot

Last weekend we celebrated Uncle Jer's birthday at a park festival. As we were loading up, some adults took the kids to the playground. Charlie loves to go down a slide, particularly when there is someone going down the slide next to him. After giggling at Maxwell sliding for several minutes, we walked over to the swings. There sat Violet all alone in a giant swing seat. That big space behind her was just begging for another baby.

The results:

I tried. I failed.

I edited some video of Charlie chasing Sid. It's really cute and I managed to cut more than 3 minutes of less-than-entertaining footage. Unfortunately, I can't seem to get it to upload correctly. I'll keep trying.

Labor Day Weekend

Gram, Popi, Charlie and I made the trek over to Franklin to visit Aunt Pat and Curt. We all had a good time. Aunt Pat commented many times on what a good and pretty baby Charlie is. He loved to make faces at her and Curt. He also really loved all the mirrors in their house.

Charlie is rolling over more and more and is scooting himself into some bizarre positions. As I type this, he is sleeping on the carpet in his nursery because he spun himself right off of the blanket I put him on. We're working on getting him to nap in the crib. So far I've only convinced him to nap near it. But since he is no longer allowed to nap on our bed, he's just going to have to learn. Oh, my little baby is growing up.

Our neighbor, Gabbi, no longer needs her walker so she brought it over for Charlie this weekend. He likes it even though his aim and control are still in the developmental stage. It's funny to see him walk backwards when he can't get his feet going the right way. I fear he will be mobile far before I am ready for it.

Who's a Lucky Baby?

Last week we had a photo shoot with Auntie at the site where she and Uncle Jer got married. It was so much fun and we got some fab-u-lous pictures. I'll share a few, but I have to save some for her to post on her blog.

We also visited Mama and Big Daddy's church for the first time. Charlie was a hit and made several new friends.

This week is jam packed with activity, too. I have joined a local mommies board, so we are going to go to some events this week. I am most excited about roller skating on Friday! A local skating rink is opening just for us and letting us take our strollers out onto the floor. It's going to be so much fun! And when we get home, Gram and Popi should be arriving.

Ta Da!

Cutest tushy ever

This bib plus this diaper just begged for a Superman reference

Cooing

That's one delicious fist

Feet, diaper... sweet

4 month stats

Yes, boys and girls, our Little Man is already four months old! As usual he is very busy doing New Things. Lately those Things include rolling over occasionally, sucking on his fingers/pointing to where his teeth are coming in, standing whenever possible (including in his new activity center), and every morning when he wakes up he tells the ceiling fan a joke and laughs.
Now for the stats:
His weight is 15 lbs, 1 oz which puts him in the 56th percentile for his age.

His length is 23.25 inches...
which puts him in the 6th percentile! Mama has nicknamed him SquattyBody.

Here's the dumpling in his new activity center, in which his feet almost touch the ground.

Fairly Useless Trivia

I wish I could take credit for this, but it came to my inbox courtesy of http://www.paperbackswap.com/. I found it entertaining, though not baby related, and wanted to pass it on. Enjoy!

Little-known fact about August: it is a thief! The months used to alternate between 30 and 31 days all through the calendar, but when the Romans decided to give Caesar Augustus a month, they didn't want to annoy him (= they did not want to be beheaded) by giving him a shorter month than Julius Caesar's month that fell before his. So, poor February shuffled up and sacrificed a day to prevent an Imperial Tantrum. And September had a day wrested away from her too, so there would not be four "long" months in a row. The Romans were all about symmetry. And um, not getting beheaded.
In modern times, August is the Dog Days of Summer, the last gasp before Back-to-School. It boasts National Wiggle-Your-Toes Day and National Blame-Someone-Else Day and National Book Lovers' Day! Not to mention Sneak-Some-Zucchini-Onto-Your-Neighbor's-Porch Night, which is always a rollicking good time.

Mama's Onto Something

I like her gear for bathtime. Charlie had a great time splashing her while I mowed the back yard.

Here's what Champ has been up to since the last post:

• one l-o-n-g car trip to PA to play with cousins (waiting on permission to post pics/video)
• one short car trip to F-ville to play with Shug and Violet
• first time in an exersaucer
• soothing himself to sleep
• holding his bottle when I put it in his hands
• telling jokes and laughing at them, he's very vocal these days
• baby Pilates- he loves backbends, situps, and standing and stomping his foot
• more hair loss
• rolling back to tummy a few times
• more teething- they are so close to breaking through!

His "I'm so excited you're going to pick me up" face

He loves the Jump Up but has to get his Detroit Lean on...

3 months!

Charlie turned 3 months old this week. He's been very busy being a big boy. In addition to the teeth he's working on, he's been:

testing the "Charlie Jump Up." He keeps one toe on the floor at all times.

sitting in the BebePod and showing off his muscles. He likes to watch me in the kitchen.

going to open knit night. He modeled his new ribby wrap and a few others.

losing his hair.

and hanging out at Big Daddy's company picnic. All the kids were a hit at the picnic. Charlie was all smiles before the Z monster got him. Violet was practicing acrobatics, Max discovered the chocolate cookies, and Gatlin made a friend from Mexico.

Here are the blueberries I made before. Don't they look yummy? Shug (that's Kerry) brought over a ton of pears and we made some more food for the babies. The Magic Bullet was awesome. We even made figs that came out a wonderful texture for little ones. The freezer is now stocked with bluberries, peaches, pears, plums, cherries, and figs. Hopefully we can stash some veggies this week before we head north for the weekend. Ranier cherries are in season now, too. I don't know if I can make baby food with them, though, because I would probably eat them all while pitting them.

We got news this week that Uncle Duder is moving back to PA. We're really looking forward to having him in the same time zone. He's already promised to teach Charlie the things that he shouldn't learn from us.