Charlie 4 Months

Charlie is FOUR months old! Time is sure flying around here these days. Feels like he was just born two weeks ago, yet it's difficult to remember what our family was like before Charlie.

Here's what Charlie has been up to this month...

Stats:

Height:
Weight:
Head:


Charlie is still a really mellow baby. He has his moments, like all babies do, but for the most part he is calm and sweet. He is usually perfectly content sitting in his bumbo and watching a movie with Jack or simply watching the goings on of our home.

Charlie did his first real laugh this past month, he laughed while Jack and I were singing the ABC's to him. It was so cute. Now, he laughs if I tickle his collar bone. Well, actually, he makes a noise that is laugh-like... but I don't think he's decided on if it's actually funny or not.

This month, Charlie has become SO interested in Jack. If Jack sits and talks to Charlie, he'll just coo and smile right back at him. Charlie lights up when he notices Jack. It makes my heart melt to watch them interact with each other. I just know that they are going to be best buds.

Charlie has started intentionally grabbing things this month. He particularly likes to hold those plastic rings that hook onto each other and he loves pulling his binky out of his mouth. I've even caught him transferring toys from one hand to another. Of course, anything he gets his hands on goes straight to the mouth.

He is SO close to being able to roll from his tummy to his back. He can kick himself all the way over onto his side, but he just hasn't figured out how to move that arm out from underneath himself so that he flips completely over.

Charlie had his first real sickness this month, a pretty terrible cold. Man, oh man, he was so pathetic. There is nothing worse than a baby who is sick and won't/can't eat... It's so heartbreaking. He sick for pretty much half of this month, and if he wasn't sick, then I was sick, or Jack was sick. It's a wonder that I had any time at all to watch him and notice his development with all of the sickness that was going on around here this month.

Charlie is SO incredibly easy to put to sleep. Stick him in his car seat, and he's out in two minutes flat. He's still waking up to eat at about 3:30 AM and 6 AM and most days, he takes short power naps of about 30 minutes or less. We're working on trying to remedy that. It's probably mostly my fault because I still haven't put him on a schedule yet.... I guess I'm just not ready to give up my freedom and he seems pretty content to sleep in the car seat while I run my errands. It's been working up til now, but I'm feeling a change coming on soon.... a routine is on the horizon for us.

Charlie has developed a lot of neck control this month. Typically, I can hold him up on my shoulder with a little support on his back. He still swings his head back uncontrollably every once and a while, but he's definitely getting stronger.

I think he's starting to develop an interest in food. He's been eyeing my water bottles and lunch lately, but he still has a pretty strong thrusting tongue reflex, so it's going to be a while yet before he starts on rice cereal.

Charlie isn't going to win the best hair contest any time soon... Still just peach fuzz up there. He pulls off the bald look nicely though, don't ya think?

He still loves cooing and blowing raspberries. Sometimes, when I sing to him, he'll kind of do this humming type noise along with me.

I seriously love this kid. He really is so sweet and mellow and never really causes us any trouble. I think that he's probably going to be the peace keeper of the family.

Thanksgiving

Since the boys and I were traveling these last two weeks, Gordy and I decided that we would make Thanksgiving a family dealio so we could spend more time with each other and less time worrying about a large group.

What was on the menu you might ask?

Roast Turkey, Cream Cheese and Herb Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, Cornbread Dressing with Apples and Sausage, Roasted Brussell Sprouts with Dried Cranberries and a Balsamic Reduction, Cranberry Pomegranate Sauce, and Pecan Pie with Maple Cream

Whew! That was a lot of work! Two days worth to be exact (not including the shopping). I spent a whole heck of a lot of time in the kitchen getting this meal ready, but let me tell ya, it was totally worth it.

This was the first time I have ever cooked a turkey, and the first time I have ever brined anything in my entire life. So I decided, what the heck? It was pretty easy for me to decide to go out on a limb and try something new because it was only our family. I was pretty anxious the entire time that the turkey was going to be too salty, so I cut back on the salt and crossed my fingers that it would be okay... It turned out pretty durn tasty, and oh so juicy,  if I do say so myself, AND not at all salty. Gordy actually added MORE salt to his. Doing the brine was a lot of work, but I'd do it again.

I also tried a new recipe for the dressing (much to Gordy's dismay). He says he's just so in love with my classic dressing that he doesn't know why I would EVER, EVER try anything else. I thought that it was pretty good, but I think Gordy didn't like the mild sweetness of it. Oh well. You live and you learn. It's a good thing Christmas is around the corner and I'll have yet another excuse to make more dressing.

We had a Thanksgiving day miracle. Our plan was to put Jack down for his nap and then eat so that we would have a chance to actually taste our food. Well, dinner was taking longer to complete than usual (as these things typically do) so our hopes of eating kid-free were slowly being crushed. Nevertheless, we hurried along and finished up cooking, and everything was even ready at the same time (SCORE!). We decided to try to hurry up and eat while we still could, certain that Jack would wake up as soon as we sat down. But he didn't. Bless that little guy, he just kept sleeping and sleeping. We ate our entire meals and then looked at each other with an expression that said, "now what?".

Well, we decided that we would try to clean up the kitchen, because man oh man was it a disaster... and that little Jack just kept right on sleeping. We got the entire mess cleaned up and had time to eat pie and take a little rest all before he woke up.

It was one of his longest naps ever and it was AWESOME. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my kid, but it is SO much easier to enjoy a meal when you aren't catering to your two year old ever five seconds...

Of course we have so much to be grateful for. Of note this year was the addition of Charlie to our family, healthy bodies, and a new job offer for Gordy.

Adam and Amanda's Wedding

I was so, so happy that we were able to be a part of Adam and Amanda's special day. They had such a beautiful ceremony, where Adam was so anxious to accept Amanda as his bride that he prematurely said his line. It was adorable.

You'd seriously be hard pressed to find a couple as cute as they are. They are just perfect for each other and when you look at them, you can totally tell that they are so in love.



I couldn't be any happier for my brother. He snagged a great woman.

The ceremony was beautiful and the weather was OUT-FREAKING-RAGEOUS! They seriously got married in the middle of a blizzard.  The previous two days were in the mid 70s, and then BAM! We woke up the next morning to a foot of snow. We were all freezing our poor little tushies off. Especially  poor Amanda in her short sleeved dress. It must have taken her ages to warm back up after all of the pictures were done. We were all hiding under umbrellas to avoid the snow, and thus we did not take any pictures. At some point in the day, both the father of the bride, and the father of the groom slipped on the wet temple square ground and fell down. Dad was quite the hero, as he was carrying the brides dress and sacrificed his body to keep the dress dry and snow free. Way to go Dad.

The snow definitely made things interesting, but it also made for some gorgeously romantic pictures. I've never seen pictures like their's before, and probably never will... I snagged this preview pic from their facebook page. Hope that's okay.... It was too gorgeous not to share.

The next evening we had the reception in Payson. It was a lot of fun to meet Amanda's family and friends, even though I was dealing with a fussy baby the entire time. And Amanda was such a good sport, because Jack didn't want to leave her side the entire time. He kept saying, "My Amanda!" and she was just as sweet as could be to him, even though it was her special night.

Oh, and did I mention they had the most GORGEOUS wedding cake!? It was to die for.

We had to bail early to catch our flight back to Florida, and its a good thing we did because after having to stop twice to calm Charlie down, and with driving through the blizzard, we made it just in the nick of time.

The next week was filled with lots of pre-wedding reception preparations, you know... shopping, cooking, and decorating. That kind of thing. Adam wanted cheesecakes instead of a wedding cake, so mom made SEVENTEEN cheesecakes. It's a miracle I didn't leave Florida weighing a million pounds after all of that.

Jack got to spend lots of quality time with Gramma and Grampa riding the golf cart and lawn mower, taking baths in their giant tub with bubbles and jets, going fishing, and horse back riding, and spending every possible second he could with them. He also got to play with his second cousins, and he even got to spend an afternoon with Cole.

The night of Adam and Amanda's Florida reception was FABULOUS! It started off a little hairy when a catastrophe with the meat left me alone to get myself and two grouchy boys ready (which I was not planning on). Once again, Adam and Amanda came to my rescue and pretty much dressed my boys for me. Those two should probably be sainted.

Anyway, the reception was so much fun. I got to catch up with so many people that I haven't seen in such a loooong time. I had more requests from people wanting to hold Charlie than I could accommodate and Jack just ran around with kids and followed Gramma around. That meant I was completely free to socialize. I can not remember when the last time I was able to do that. I just ate my BBQ and cheesecake and loved the entire night.

Since I was wrapped up in my childless- chatterbox euphoria, I neglected to take pictures once again. Whoops. Taking pictures would be SO much easier if I had a smartphone. One day.

It was a great couple of weeks. It felt so good to go home and be wrapped up in all that love and to witness the start of another eternal family.

Utah

Our family was lucky enough to be able to go to Utah two weeks ago for my brother's wedding which was in Salt Lake City.

Both of the boys did really well on the flight out there, which we were extremely grateful for.

We were able to stay with Gordy's Aunt Hillary and Uncle Sam at their beautiful home. It was so fun to spend  a little bit of time with them, and they were such gracious hosts. I could not believe how well prepared her house was for a toddler. She had a baby monitor and toys and everything. Jack had SO much fun there and so did we.

The first couple of days we were there, it was really warm, like 75 degrees. Then on the day of the wedding, we woke up to like a foot of snow. It was so insane.

Aside from going to the wedding, we were able to help Adam and Amanda get their apartment set up, we got to enjoy some time at the new City Creek Mall (amazing!), and Jack got to play in the snow with his cousins. We also got to go out to eat with all of Gordy's siblings (minus  Merrilee) at Pizzeria Limone. It was delish, and so much fun to just sit around and talk with them.

After lunch with Gordy's family, Gordy had to head back to the airport to catch his flight, and I headed down to Orem to see Whitney before the reception.

Before the reception was even over, we hopped in the car to go to the airport. We had to have extra time because there was a blizzard and we had to drive there going like 25 miles per hour. It wasn't the worst snow storm I've driven in, but it was pretty bad.

Luckily, we made it just in time to board our flight, and we barely squeezed on the standby list.

Our trip in Utah was such a whirl wind. There was so much to do, so many people to see, and so little time to do it all in. We didn't even get to see everyone we would have liked to see.

We can't wait for our next trip out there!

Sick

Ever have one of those weeks where everyday seems the same? It's been kind of like that movie, Groundhogs Day, except our everyday this week involves spit up, throw up, snotty noses, poopy diapers, crying, coughing, and sleeping in 30 minute intervals.

We're all bleary eyed tired here. Especially poor Jack. He's been so sick that he can't even sleep, gagging on his own phlegm wakes him up about every half hour. Lack of sleep only perpetuates the terribleness of the situation.

Of course the sickness struck right as Gord is supposed to be studying for finals. Poor guy. He's such a good dad, he slept with Jack all last night.

 I guess when someone else uses your shirt as their personal kleenex and you get coughed on constantly, it's bound to take a toll.

I also woke up with mastitis right in the middle of the worst part of my cold. Let me tell ya, having mastitis, a cold, and two sick babies is no fun at all.

Keep your fingers crossed that it passes soon. We could all use a good night sleep.

But, in other news, Charlie did his first real giggle this week while Jack and I were singing the ABC's to him. One of those moments that makes it all worth it.

Jack's Birthday Parties

Since Jack's actual birthday was going to be while we were in Florida, we decided to have a little cake and ice cream here before our trip to that Gordy could be a part of things.

Jack had a checkerboard cake with sprinkles on it and he thought that the lit candles were so cool. He kept saying "FIRE!" like it was the coolest thing ever.

We got him some Dr. Seuss books and a remote control police car for his birthday. Both of which are getting lots of use and love.

When we were in Florida on his actual birthday, I made a s'more dessert and we had some family come over to celebrate. Jack loved playing with his "baby cousins", all of whom happened to actually be older than him.

Jack's Gramma and Grampa bought him a toy semi truck that carries a bunch of smaller trucks and a toy tool set and he's been having so much fun with them.

Happy Birthday, little man!

Job!

Last week we accepted a job offer to work for Ernst and Young in Indianapolis in their tax division, a job that was at the very top of Gordy's wish list in terms of what he actually wants to do. Eeeeeeeeeeeeeee! We're pretty excited, can you tell? I'm so proud of all the hard work Gord has put into law school and finding a job. After all, finding a job ain't so easy these days....

Way to go Gord!

Jack, 2 Years

JACK IS TWO, PEOPLE! Can you believe it?!?!  Man, there is so, so much I could say about our little Jack, there is no way I'm going to be able to write it all in this blog post. I wish there was some way I could just freeze him at this age, or at least be able to remember every single little thing about him. He's just growing up too fast, y'all.

Jack is the most polite two year old you will ever meet. He always says "bless you" after a sneeze, "excuse me" when he needs to squeeze by, "please" when he wants something, he'll shake your hand and say "nice to meet you", and most recently he's started saying "no thank you" when he doesn't want something. The other night in his sleep I even heard him whisper, "thank you, you're welcome" as he rolled over in bed. I have a pretty incredible little boy.

Jack has an AMAZING vocabulary.... And I'm not just saying that because I'm his mom. He speaks in full sentences like, "mom, I need to go outside, for just a minute, and play in the rocks". It's been really helpful to be able to communicate with him so clearly. He is such a bright boy.

Jack has a really funny sense of humor. He says things like "holy guacamole", "oh nuts", "what the heck", and "oh my gosh", and most recently "holy cow" and "holy crap" (that's one I'm not so pleased with and have no idea where he picked it up). He'll use them in the proper context, and he will never hesitate to tell you if something is "hilarious", "embarrassing", or "awesome".

Jack is so, so loving. He's always trying to give someone a hug or a kiss. We're gonna have to watch out for him when he's a teenager. He's particularly sweet to Charlie, always wanting to give him loves.  One night last week, while I was singing his bed time lullaby, he turned around, put both hands on either side of my face, looked me right in the eyes, and said "I sure love you, Mama." Oh my gosh, it was just one of those moments when your heart melts completely into a puddle.

Jack's most favorite thing to do in the entire world is swing at the park. A close runner up is going to the mall and looking at the puppies in the pet store.

Sometimes, Jack will open the fridge and drink straight from the bottle of lemon juice, while simultaneously trying to convince me that it's "too tasty".

Jack loves the color yellow. He loves even more when he can spot a yellow tractor or car while driving.

He is SUCH a smart guy. He can recite entire books and songs to me. He can count 1-11 without missing any numbers and he can sing the entire alphabet.

Jack is really into matchbox cars these days. He spends a lot of time lining them up in pefect little rows. When he does this, he says he's making "a parking lot".

Jack finally started watching movies. He just wasn't interested in it before, but have to tell you that it came at the perfect time for me. Judge me if you will, but Disney movies have done a lot of babysitting for me while I've been nursing Charlie or cleaning. Jack will go in phases where he only wants to watch the same movie over and over. First it was Tangled, he would ask for "the girl with long hair" all. day. long. He was stuck on that one for a long time. I think Gordy and I could quote that entire movie and sing you all of the songs. We got pretty sick of that one. It took some convincing, but he finally moved on to watching Mega Mind, then Up, and now he's currently obsessed with Shrek.

Jack's favorite foods are pizza, cherry tomatoes, black berries, french fries, mac and cheese, and ravioli or anything "noodles". Mostly kid standard foods. He's also been known to enjoy a good salad too, so I can't really complain. He really does love his vegetables and fruit. He'll even eat tuna and onions... He has a pretty sophisticated pallet for the two year old.

Jack likes for me to sing Angel Lullaby to him when he goes to sleep.

His favorite books are "One Fish Two Fish" or really anything Dr. Suess, "Where the Wild Things Are", and  "I'll Love you Forever". With a little prompting, he can recite almost every page back to you word for word.

He is CONSTANTLY on the go. I swear this kid has more energy than any other kid I've ever known. He's always so, so busy. Which makes for one tired Mama.

We're still having a little bit of an issue getting him to go to nursery by himself. He has pretty bad separation anxiety. It breaks my heart because I never want him to be scared, but I do want him to develop autonomy and be independent. It's a struggle that I'm still trying to figure out.

While we were at my parents house last week, and after getting out of the bath, Jack ran upstairs with no diaper on, and peed right off of the cat walk. Unfortunately, I was standing right under him, but he had his back arched in such a way, that the stream was flying over my head. That kid had a full bladder, and he got some distance on that stream... but at least that allowed me to run under the cat walk without getting peed on. Of course, I screamed. My dad, who was on the couch yelled "what is it?" and I yelled back "He's PEEING!!!!" So my mom, who was holding Charlie, ran out of one of the bedrooms and tried catching the pee in her cupped hands. The whole thing was a hilarious disaster. Every time Jack turned his back we were all laughing. Having a little boy is such an adventure.

Jack has started this screaming phase. It's not necessarily a tantrum, although he does do that too. It's more of like screaming for the sake of screaming, or just to hear himself do it. It's SUPER annoying and hopefully this passes soon.

Well, the next six months are going to bring some big changes with Jack. We're going to finally get rid of the binky, move Jack from his crib to a big boy bed since he will be sharing his room with Charlie soon, and hopefully we'll be getting him potty trained (fingers crossed).  Like I said, big things in store.

Jack is such a smart, sweet, and energetic little boy. I am so glad he is our first kid because I know that he will set an amazing example for his younger siblings. I am so excited to see what the future holds in store for Jack, I believe the world truly is his oyster.

Charlie 3 Months

Our little Charlie is three months old! He is such a sweet little guy and we are all so happy to have him in our family.

This month, Charlie rolled over from his tummy to his back. I love when babies do that. It's like they lift their big heads way up in the air, and it's too heavy so they just kind of tip over. It's so adorable.

Charlie has ALWAYS loved putting his hands in his mouth, but this month he has actually been watching his hands. It's so fun to see him becoming more aware.

Speaking of aware, Charlie is SUCH an alert baby. When he is awake, his eyes are always wide open and focused, taking everything in.

Charlie took his first plane ride. We went to Utah for Adam and Amanda's wedding, then to Florida for the reception, and then back home to Indiana. He was a champ the entire time.

Charlie is still a MARVELOUS sleeper. Usually he wakes up at about 3 AM and 6 AM to be fed. He falls asleep pretty much every time we get in the car. This kid loves to sleep. For instance, last week while we were in Florida, I put him in the car and drove 45 minutes to Gainesville, went to Target, and then went grocery shopping at Publix, drove 45 minutes home, unloaded the car, and ate lunch and Charlie slept the entire time. I'm tellin' ya, he's a great sleeper. Remember how I said that he was a champ on the plane? Well, he slept every leg of every flight. However, he is getting to that age where it's starting to be a little bit of work to get him to sleep.

Charlie is a very social baby. If you talk to him, he'll coo back to you every time. It is so dang cute.

Charlie has the sweetest shy little smile. As soon as someone pays attention to him, he's all smiles. I don't know if I've ever seen a more smiley baby.

Charlie is CONSTANTLY kicking and moving his arms around when he is awake. He has a ton of energy.

Charlie's other favorite thing to do is blow spit bubbles.

I think Charlie might be double jointed in his toes. He could seriously use his toes to pick up things if he wanted to. Sometimes, when I'm feeding him, I can feel his little toes grabbing my arm.

Charlie's eyes are getting more and more blue. I love that about my boys.

He still looks so much like Jack. If you were to hold a picture up of both of my boys at the same age you would think you were looking at two pictures of the same baby. You can definitely tell they are brothers.

I am so looking forward to this next month with Charlie. He already has such a sweet and bright personality and I can't wait to watch him grow and get to know him even better.