Charlie - 6 months

{September 24, 2013}

Charlie girl! You are halfway to a year! In most regards I am SO looking forward to you getting bigger and doing more and moving forward every month, but some days you are just so darn cute that I hope it slows down just a little bit so I can savor each stage. You are still just the happiest, most mild mannered kid. Laid back and just happy to be around everyone. This month has flown by...at your appointment the doctor told me we could start introducing sippy cups and I swear I looked at him like he was crazy. Already? And now...more pictures than you ever wanted to see...

 

 

Stats:

Height- 28 inches - 99th percentile

 

Weight- 19.6 pounds - 96th percentile

 

 

Eyes- Definitely not blue, but they do look like a goldish/green sometimes if that makes any sense. I think they are probably just taking their sweet time to turn brown, but they are pretty none the less!

 

Hair- It's finally coming in!! Oh my goodness, I love her little fluffy head of hair. It definitely looks a little darker than Grace's and is a brown with maybe a little auburn depending on the light.

 

 

Clothes- 6-12 months in Baby Gap, 12 months in Carter's or brands that run smaller.

 

Diapers- Movin' on up to size 3's this month. It's crazy how small 2's are now.

 

 

 

Food- Practicing with purees (squash, sweet potatoes, green beans, peas, banana, applesauce), eating mum-mums - basically teething biscuits, has tried avocado pieces...she's getting excited about food...but still NO teeth to eat it with. At this point Grace had at least 2.

 

 

 

Sleep- Thank the sweet Lord, Charlie finally got back into her sleeping groove this month. It took a couple of nights of tough love, but we are back to sleeping through the night, minus a rare wake up every now and then. Charlie usually goes down around 8pm and sleeps until 6am, takes a bottle, and sometimes goes back to sleep.

 

 

Visitors during her fifth month- My mom and Jim came to visit over Labor Day weekend (also when C was sick).

 

Nana and her girls

 

Things of Note- Can sit unassisted, babbles a lot, still smiles ALL the time, laughs when tickled, tries to crawl. Army crawls around like its her job and is working on adding in the legs. Reaches out for everything, still loves her toes. Had her first ER visit early this month and spent 5+ days with a crazy stomach virus. Clearly this didn't affect her growth and we were just being overly cautious.

 

Sitting like a boss.

Being really sad and sick at Urgent Care.

 

Sister Status- Obsessed with her older sister. Wants to play with whatever Grace is playing with, tries to grab her blankie (doesn't go over well), and thinks G is the most hilarious of all of us. Actually, it gets to the point where Grace will be in trouble, or crying about something and Charlie will laugh because she doesn't understand what's going on. Oopsies.

 

Backseat Buddies.

 

Comparatively, Charlie is bigger than G was at this age. It was really fun looking back at Grace's 6 month update, because they are so similar in other ways. I am so happy that we ended up with 2 girls...I really am enjoying seeing them grow together. Right now things are pretty calm in the M household. We are at a point where we have both girls pretty much figured out and can function as a family of four with ease. Don't get me wrong, there are days where we are pretty sure they are ganging up on us and fussy, or just "off", but for the most part life is good. :)

 

"Hey Charlie, I like you."

 

See Grace's 6 Month update here! I think they actually look a lot alike in some of G's old pics- and everyone used to think she looked more like D, too. Maybe there is hope I'll look like Charlie's mother and not just her babysitter some day! ;)

 

Later, dudes.

 

xo,

H

See ya, September

Holy cow, I can't believe tomorrow will mark the first day of October. I'm excited. It actually is starting to cool down here and October is the month that D left for deployment last year, so we're looking forward to spending this one together.

Little weekend recap? Sure.

Friday we celebrated with pizza and beers, because momma doesn't cook on Friday's. Seriously. It's usually a take-out or go out night for us.

Saturday we got rolling early with a Target run (and Dunkin' D's on our way...oops.) and the park. We are park regulars, but it is so much more enjoyable when you aren't sweating like crazy while your kid yells at you to push them higher on the swing. Both girls had big park days- Grace tried out the "big kid" swings for the first time, and Charlie got in the little kid swing. Love pushing them side by side and G loved pointing out how much higher she was going than Charlie. Sisterly competition starts early. ;)

Never wears shoes...it's fine.

So proud of herself.

All my boos, with Grace going "so high!"

 

After the park we came home for lunch and naps. Daddy went to play golf with some buddies, and I had a friend and her baby over while our boys played. It was gorgeous day...windows open, a double batch of pumpkin spice cookies baked, and when G woke up from nap time she was happy to see our friend and her little girl. When the baby got changed, Grace would grab a toy and change her "baby's" diaper too. Super cute.

After golf/hangouts, we started prepping for date night! We tried out a new sitter and went to our favorite local restaurant on the water. We are trying to make dates an every other week kind of thing. We'll see how it pans out, but we need to make them a priority. It was really nice to sit and eat dinner without a kid on my lap or yelling at me for more juice. Fun times.

Sunday we hit our weekly brunch and made a pit-stop at the grocery store, then home to play before lunch and naps. During nap time I went out on a long run and did a little over 9 miles in about an hour and a half. I was home and showered before Grace was up and let D take some time to workout as well. I finally took Charlie's 6 month pictures, just a few days late and I'll have her post ready to go tomorrow.

In big sissy's b-day present.

 

Teepee. G says Daddy is "too big",
but mommy can fit inside. Muahaha....

 

We wrapped up the day with a new recipe before baths and bed...Lasagna Soup! It was ok, I'll rate it a B-. Kind of soupy, when I expected it to be more hearty. Soup Sunday's are going to be a Fall tradition around here...and I have a list of different things to try. Up next? Maybe a Chicken Tortilla or Chili. It is really a great way to end the week while watching football and hanging out- plus, there are leftovers to get the week started. Win-win.

Sneak peek! Unless you've already seen Facebook...

Another weekend in the books. This week we have a lot going on with work and life and our October is actually pretty crazy, but as always, we'll make it fun. Check ya tomorrow with my chunk of loves 6 month post.

xo,
H

Midweek Randoms

• I officially have a 6 month old as of yesterday! I know every parent thinks their kid is the cutest, but Charlie is just over the top adorable and I get so excited each month to break out the big kid camera and take pictures of her (and her equally cute older sis who loves getting in on the action).
• Speaking of pictures, we have plans to take family pictures with a friend's family...just basically trading off and getting some cute shots at our favorite local park. I'm excited because we so need a family shot and I also might have Christmas cards done early this year. Holla for productivity!

Remember these from last year?

Card shot.

• I just inhaled an entire bag of popcorn in one sitting...and followed it with a spoon full of almond butter. It feels good to confess.
• I've ordered some Fall clothes for the girls and I will have to post pictures of the cuteness. G's Gap boots? I die.

Source
 

• It's sad how excited I get over my favorite shows coming back on. New Girl, The Mindy Project, and Modern Family (which premieres tonight!) are my top 3.
• No one can make Charlie laugh like her big sister. Last night during dinner Grace would look at Charlie and say, "Peanut butter sandwich on my HEAD!" followed by a big raspberry sound and C would just lose it. We all were cracking up and G thought she was the coolest.
• I ordered the following Halloween costume for my nugget. Cross your fingers she fits in it, because the biggest size it came in was 6-12 and she's filling those out pretty well with over a month to grow...

Source

• Got a quote for some painting in the foyer, living room, and upstairs earlier this week. Excited to get moving on some more house projects in the near future!

Hope everyone is having a great week...I feel like mine is flying. Also, 3 posts in a row?! Who am I?

xo,
H

Let's back up

Yesterday, when I sat and posted something other than a monthly update for Charlotte, I realized that I haven't really written anything other than those updates since almost June. Shame on me. I even skipped out on the entire month of August...so I thought I'd quickly recap what's going on in the M household and how the past few months have gone. Then we can start fresh-- deal?

Good, let's go.

So we all know D came home from deployment July 6th and it was a day we will all never forget. He had the weekend off (how generous, right?) to get reacclimated with the fam, and then he had 2 weeks of basically out briefs before getting 30 days of leave. I think it was good he had "work" for those first couple of weeks, because it really is a big change to have someone back after they've been gone for 9 months. You're used to doing everything solo, being the boss, and it's definitely an adjustment to realize that you now share the responsibilities with someone else. In most ways, it's awesome- You mean I don't have to feed, bathe, clean up from dinner, get kids in pjs ,prep bottles and clothes for school the next morning, straighten the house, deal with the dogs, and finish up work from earlier in the day by myself anymore? Sweet. It also means that you have someone else's opinion to consider and changes that have occurred during the time they were gone that they need to catch up on and learn how to be a part of. Mostly it's little things, but it can throw everyone for a loop while it all gets ironed out. Yes, we have two kids now. (Kind of a biggie.) Grace can talk in sentences...let her tell you what she wants. This is how we do things with the baby. I know, it's crazy, you can absolutely take two children out in public...I did it by myself, so it probably shouldn't be an issue with two of us here together. HA. It's hard not to throw around the "by myself" thing, but I had to remember- coming home to an additional family member is sort of a huge deal. It absolutely took time to adjust, as easy of a baby as Charlie is.

Making herself comfortable.

Just trouble.

One of my favorite pictures ever.

 

Serious twins. She doesn't even look related to me.

By the time D was home for 30 days of leave, we had things pretty much settled and it was basically a second honeymoon period. I work from home, so we made time to take lunch dates, he got to enjoy doing house things, relaxing after working for 9 months straight, golfing, and enjoying getting to know our daughters (again for Grace and for the first time with Charlie).

We took some trips...Virginia the first weekend in August to see family in a whirlwind 3 days, and North Carolina the following weekend for a wedding that D was a part of. We had parents watching the girls and had a couple of days to ourselves. It was great, but of course we ended up thinking the location would be perfect to take the girls back to for a trip next Summer. :)

Cutest road trippers ever. Until the first of several car seat blowouts.

 

We rode a camel at the Leesburg Fair.
Grace was terrified, but still talks about it to this day.
I earned major cool points.

 

Mah boo and I.
Kid and cell phone service free in the mountains of NC.

The rest of August brought D back to work...that time off passed way too quickly, but allowed us to again settle in to what is our regular schedule. We've had several good friends have babies (all 3 girls!) and are enjoying our family life being a little less exciting for awhile. Our marathon training continues and we've learned that while we love working out together (give us a good WOD and we'll have a blast), we really don't run well with each other. Like I mentioned yesterday, this deserves a post of it's own and I'll elaborate more later this week, hopefully. We both are working full-time Monday-Friday and the girls are both at a Montessori school/daycare together. Grace is participating is both dance and soccer and it is a total peek in to what the future will hold when the kids are in school and activities and things get even more crazy, but I seriously love it. Most days I still feel like we have a million things going on and it never really settles down, but with D here, I think I embrace it a little more and am way less stressed. In short: we're really good.

Now September is wrapping up and my most favorite season of the year has arrived. We have more birthdays, holidays, some races, and our 4 year anniversary on the horizon. Lots to come. :)

xo,
H

A good one

Happy Monday! It's cloudy, and gloomy, and sort of awesome outside here...and while the South takes it's sweet time to really feel like Fall, I think it is slowly making it's way here.

Fall Uniform

We had a really great weekend. First and foremost, Miss G turned 3, so there was that coupled with just a whole bunch of other fun, starting on Friday.

I took the day off to get in a long run and prep for both a 31 party at our casa and Grace's birthday the following day. My marathon training plan had me scheduled for 16 miles and I went out keeping that in mind, but basically just doing what I could in the time I had to get it done. I hit 13, so basically a half marathon. I'm still undecided on what my race day will look like and whether I'll push for the full, but that is another post in itself.

Because I was so busy with party prep and house cleaning, I really didn't make much time to recover when my run was finished. It was sort of shower, make a smoothie, forget to eat anything of substance, make food for the party, and run to Grace's school for snack time with her friends. I brought cupcakes (they have to be store bought because of allergies- lame), apple slices, and cheez-its. The class sang to Grace and she acted shy, but you could tell she was pumped it was all about her. She also wanted to go home with me, so I brought her home to hang while I finished some prep.

My girl. <3 td="">

 

My 31 party started at 6:30 and my amazeballs husband hung with the girls upstairs and got them to bed while I hung with the girls and tried to stay awake downstairs. I was seriously dragging by the evening and in the future, probably won't schedule a long run on a day that I have lots to do. It was fun to have a ladies evening and I definitely want to do more in the future, probably minus selling something and just keep it casual.

 

31 party treats! Add cookies, cheese and crackers, veggie pizza,
and wine and that's about how we snacked.

 

Saturday we all started the day by packing into Grace's room and singing "Happy Birthday"! I need to do a post on having a 3 year old soon, because boy, have things changed in just one short year. We had a pretty lazy morning opening gifts and running last minute errands before it was nap time and I was rushing to get things ready for our friends to arrive. Rushing is a pretty common theme in my life these days, haha. We had people over at 5pm and really enjoyed the mix of our friends and their kiddos. We feel so lucky to have met such a great group of people here in Georgia. Grace had a blast and ended her day with some Nemo (movie obsession) and fell asleep holding some of her gifts. Rough life. I celebrated with a second cupcake and a glass of wine because that's how I roll.

Love these peeps.

Sunday was much like today, overcast and not so humid. Both girls decided waking up at 6 am would be a great idea, so we all were up soon after. Nothing like hearing your kid yell about her goodie bag from bed and asking to set up Elefun (new game) before the sun is up. We lazed around for most of the day, heading out only for our weekly brunch and some quick groceries and then playing outside later in the day. It was a nice way to wrap up a busy few days.

C and Daddy

Now it's back to the grind...my house is a hot mess...and as usual, we have big things coming up in the next few weeks with D's job, house projects, visitors, birthday parties, and Fall fun. I'm feeling inspired with the change of the season, cooler weather, better clothes (haha), and new opportunities to do things as a family that were missed during D's deployment last year. Here's to attempting to document more of it!

xo,
H

Charlie - 5 months

{August 24, 2012}

Umm. Hello. I'm embarrassed. Is anyone out there still? I'll keep it real, I just haven't had any interest in blogging lately. The one thing I have appreciated about the blog is having Grace's old posts to look back on and compare with things going on with Charlie, so I do want to continue posting these monthly updates. There is so much going on and so much to talk about, but after stepping away for awhile I'm not sure where to start. For now, here is Char's 5 month post. She'll be 6 months in a week, so either way, I'll be back with more soon!

 

 

Stats:

Height- Will be updated at 6 month well-baby appointment

 

Weight- ~18 ish...again, will be updated at 6 month appointment

 

Eyes-  Still slate blue...my babies eyes take forever to decide what they want to do. I'm still pretty sure they are going to be brown, but some days I swear I'll look at her and think, "you have blue eyes!" and then the next day they are back to slate. We shall see.

 

Hair- Still rocking the old man hair line. Looking forward to seeing what happens as she starts getting more hair in.

 

 

Clothes- 6-12 months Baby Gap. 9 month sleepers. Sort of wondering if I screwed myself over on baby clothes because I have SO many cute Fall things in size 6-12 and I'm not sure she'll still fit in them by the time things finally cool down here!

 

Diapers- Size 2.

 

Food-  Because C has spent so much of this past month battling colds and thrush (gross), we chose to hold off on starting solids. I'm planning on doing a baby food/baby led weaning hybrid, so I'd like to start her on a few things and then as soon as she masters sitting up unassisted and can use the high chair, we will begin some soft solids that she can use her hands to feed herself. Should be messy and interesting for sure.

 

 

Sleep- Now that Charlie is a rolling queen, she prefers to sleep on her side and unswaddled...although, "sleep" has been a relative term this month. After several rounds of the sickies (thanks daycare), we literally went 28 days without a solid night of sleep. I'm happy to report in her next months post, since I'm so late on this one, that things are back to normal now- but MAN that was a rough month of sleep.

 

Visitors during her fourth month: D's parents visited to watch the girls while we took off for a wedding weekend in early August. We also took a family road trip to VA/MD the first weekend of the month to see family and celebrate my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary. 18+ hours round trip in the car was definitely an adventure, but we survived and decided we will be spending a cozy Christmas here in Savannah as to not subject the girls (and ourselves) to another car trip for a little while longer!

  

Things of Note- Reaching out to grab EVERYTHING. Loves staring at her hands, playing with her feet and being generally adorable. ;)

 

 

Sister Status- I know I say this every month, but I am just blown away by what an awesome sister Grace has been. This month Grace has really taken an interest in bringing Charlie toys to play with. Now that Char is reaching out for things, G has quickly learned that unless she distracts the baby, her toys might be the next target haha. Smart cookie.

 

 

Every morning Grace will wake up and ask what "baby Charlie" is up to when I go get her from her room. As soon as she sees Char (who is usually already awake downstairs on her play mat) she will say in the sweetest little voice, "Good morning baby Charlie! You have a good nap?" D and I smile every time we hear it.

 

 

Just like I say every month, I feel so lucky to be this little girl's mother. I don't know what I did to deserve two sweeties, but I am very grateful. We are all having a blast together and really in a comfortable place as a family of four. Month 5 coming up soon! Can't believe I am about to have a 6 month old AND a three year old! Hold me. ;)

 

xo,

H

Charlie - 4 Months

{July 24, 2013}

 

 

Stats:

Height- 27.25 inches - above 97th percentile

 

Weight- 16.11 lbs - 86th percentile

 

 

 

Eyes-  Slate blue...I'm banking on another brown eyed girl! Doesn't look like they will get much lighter at this point.

 

 

 

Hair- Still sort of losing her baby hair. Interested to see what happens next. I was bald until almost 2, but Grace obviously didn't have any problems in the hair department.

 

Clothes- Barely still in 3-6. Lots of 6's. Some 9 month things. Sister is ruining my outfit planning for this Fall, which stinks because I have a TON of 6-12 month things that are super cute and I doubt she wears half of them. Grace was in 12-18 month clothes by 8 months and Charlie is 2 lbs heavier right now.

 

 

 

Diapers- Size 2.

Food- Upped bottles to 6 oz per feeding. Still taking 5-6 bottles a day. Going to start rice cereal or oatmeal this month.

 

 

Sleep- Aside from a week or two of sleep regression, we seem to be back on our normal schedule...taking a late evening nap, getting in a last small bottle around 9pm, and then out until 645-7am.

 

Visitors during her third month:

 

Daddy

 

Not that he is really a visitor, but Charlie got to meet her daddy this month!! Safe to say they are getting along like they've never been apart and are seriously twins. It's kind of weird. I don't think Charlotte got any of my genes. It's cool though, D makes a cute baby girl. ;)

 

Things of Note- Rolling queen. Rolls both ways, but spends most of her day rolling from her back to belly. Starting to try and sleep on her stomach. Drooling like CRAZY. On the lookout for teeth this month! Had my first two nights away this month on a business trip shortly after D came home. Everything went well and he got a good taste of what solo parenting is like with our two babes!

 

Sister Status- 

 

 

Grace goes between ignoring Charlie and being sweet to her. She has recently started getting toys to give Char and still loves to tell her how cute she is. Since D has been home, Grace has definitely preferred him to handle Charlie while I hang with G. We are working on spending quality time with both girls separately, in addition to family time together.

 

 

 

Another month down! Time flies with daddy back home. It's crazy how much more relaxed things are when you have another set of hands around. Although D has taken some adjusting to life with two babies, it never fails to impress him at how laid back Charlie girl is. I mean, it's just ridiculous. You'd think it would take some time to come to terms with the fact that we have another infant in the home, but really I think it's the "terrible twos" that have thrown him for a loop as we settle in as a family of 4. This next month we have a road trip that involves a 16+ hour round trip car ride and seeing a bunch of family in the span of less than 5 days...two of those being travel days. It's going to be a busy, fast visit, but I can't wait for more of our family to meet Charlie (and some will be seeing Grace for the first time!) and catch up! The following weekend D and I have a quick trip to NC for a wedding he is a part of and it will be our first two nights without the babies since he has been back. Actually, I think the last time we had some time with just us, Grace was 7 months old...so let's just say, this is very needed and hopefully becomes a more regular occurrence than once every 2 years. Woof. ;)

 

I'm trying to get back into posting-- hopefully sooner than Miss C's next monthly update!

 

xo,

H

The Best Day

After almost 9 months, we got to bring D home on July 6th at 1:20am. Even in the middle of the night, an Army band played patriotic music as families filled the stands of the parade field, waiting to get their loved ones back. Having never experienced a deployment, I had also never had the pleasure of attended a homecoming. It is like nothing else...just full of emotion and extremely moving. After an eternity (not really), white buses pulled alongside the field and the crowd began to cheer as a sea of green uniforms made their way into formation. Although there is a short ceremony, everyone is desperately scanning the group to find their special someone and as soon as they are released you can rush onto the field and into the arms of the person you are waiting for. In our case, I balanced two babies and D was able to find me before we even made it only the field! After months of worrying, Grace went right into his arms and in the most emotional moment of the night, he got to meet Charlie in person for the first time.  

 

 

Many friends described the feeling of a homecoming to me...some dealt with deployments while pregnant or completely solo. No matter what you go through in the months leading up to that day, whether your time apart was "easy" or difficult, being reunited with someone you love is like nothing I can compare. Wedding day, births of children...it ranks up there- and in some cases, is even better.

xo,
H