Charlie is two and a half

I think it's high time we check in on Charlie for a little update. It's been almost 6 months since I wrote about his happenings. I know I'm biased, but to sum it up, you're just plain adorable. Your red hair (and probably mischievous look) still gets attention all the time. You're especially popular with grandmas who once had little redhead boys themselves. It also doesn't hurt that you are sweet boy who can charm the socks off anyone (once you get to know them, of course).

You weren't such a fan of charming the pediatrician and nurses at your 2.5 yr appointment, however, but we did manage to get you weighed and measured. You weigh 35 lbs (92%) and are 39.5" tall (99%). No wonder most people think you are older than you really are! You wear 4-5T clothes right now.

Luckily, you were fine at the doctor's office once they were done with the poking and prodding. You also didn't shed a tear during the shots. You just don't love other people touching your head. Hats and sunglasses are still a hard no even though you HATE the sun in your eyes. Putting on sunscreen is not your favorite either. Haircuts have also become a disaster. We've literally had to hold you down to get through the last two. No amount of snacks or Elmo could make it better. You hate seeing the hair fall off your head - for some reason it seems to scare you.

You are affectionate and generous with hugs and kisses with people you know, but you are initially shy with unfamiliar people. It doesn't take you long to warm up, but it's not immediate. You can also be a little hesitant at first in new situations and skeptical of new places. While we were in Oklahoma, Abby took your hand to lead into nursery at their church. You are fine if you have a buddy by your side! You can also be scared of things that really aren't too scary - like noisy car toys, haircuts or Papa's tractor, which you talked about non-stop but refused to go near. These things don't send you into a meltdown, but you just kind of back away slowly and won't get too close.

You have made so much progress in the language department. At your yearly evaluation this spring, they determined that you are only behind in your expressive language - what you can actually say. Everything else is right on target! You are rapidly adding words and putting together more and more sentences by the day. The way you pronounce things is pretty darn cute. You have a sweet little cadence that is often pretty quiet or timid. I love the way your voice gets a little high-pitched when you repeat things, and how you always nod your head when you say "yesssss". Dada and I understand most of what you say, but we have to interpret for people who aren't around you as often. Some of my current favorites are "tank you" "baby weee-o" and "waffle."

With more words, comes more demands. Recent new sentences have been "Mama eat it" as you handed me a chicken nugget, or "Charlie push it" when you wanted to push your blue car all by yourself. "Chase, Mama!" has also been a favorite lately. I'm getting my exercise these days. Everything is about "owies" these days. Even inanimate objects cannot be saved. If you drop a piece of food, for example, you usually exclaim "Oh no! Owie." We are trying to harness the power of this into teaching you to be gentle and/or not to throw things that can cause injury.

We have the same conversation all day, every day. It's all about riding in someone's car. "Ride in Mama's car.....Ride in Dada's car....Everything is Papa's tractor and whenever we Facetime with Shi Shi the first thing he says is "Shi Shi's car." After we went to see the fireworks on July 4, you said "Ride in Mama's car *gibberish* Fireworks!" You always start and finish strong, but you don't always string together real words in the middle. So Mama's car was all about fireworks. Meanwhile, it was "Ride in Dada's car *gibberish* ice cream or donuts or air in wheel (because of the time you went to fill Jon's tire with air...the ice cream and donut associations need no explain - just envision me rolling my eyes right now).

The words you choose to say always makes me raise an eyebrow. For example, you knew the name of every construction vehicle before you could say milk. Washing machine, apple pie and vitamins were also added before more useful things like "thank you." For some odd reason, you call bugs "bunnies." You are adding words so quickly these days that it no longer surprises me when he says something new. You will also try to repeat just about anything we ask you to say.

You know how to fold your hands to pray before mealtime, and we're working on learning how to sing Jesus loves me. So far, you're got the "Me!" down and you like to flex your muscles and say strong too. You can name all the letters in the alphabet and count to 10.

You generally don't care what you wear if I don't make a big deal about picking out your clothes while you are distracted. If you take notice, however, you always insist on wearing your teal shirt with the banana on it and your yellow shorts. At bedtime, if given a choice, you always want to wear your Dory pajamas. You can help put on shirts and pull up your shorts/pants. You can do zippers, but not buttons yet. You like to pick out your shoes too, which you name by color. You can also put shoes on, but we generally do it for you for the sake of time.

You are still a champion sleeper. Going to bed around 7 (it's been a little later over the summer months) and getting up between 7:30-8. You nap from about 1-4. The first thing you like to do when you get up is stand on your fire truck and look out the window. It's kind of your own personal neighborhood watch program. You also like to give us the weather report and announce if it's raining, cloudy or sunny. You are still in your crib and sleep sack and I have no plans to rock that boat anytime soon. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Potty training is also a long way off. Some things just don't seem like they are worth the effort right now. I'll fight those battles later when we're both ready.

Things haven't changed much on the food front. You eat a lot of a limited number of things. Lots of fruit, yogurt, and carbs. Breakfast for dinner is a favorite. You love bacon, and often request waffles. You also really like sauces these days. I've seen you dip some ridiculous things in Chick-fil-a sauce, which you would eat by the handful if left to your own devices. As you've learned more food words, you have a little more of an opinion about what you want. "Snack, animal cracker, ice cream, waffle, donut, and fruit snacks" are all favorites to say, and eat, but only on occasion. At least you also finally learned to say many fruit words. Sometimes you go foraging for your own snacks. Within the last week, I've been upstairs with Leo and you've brought me a popsicle and animal crackers to open before 9:00 a.m. Mama said no.

You still love all things boy, and spend most of the day covered in dirt, mud, water, chalk, food, paint...you name it. We keep laundry stain remover companies in business. You love anything that involves transportation and/or construction. You like to point to things in books and ask me what they are (your "what's that" sounds more like "uhhhh-nat?"). You love all your trucks, trains and cars. You love lining them up and getting them organized just right. Nothing is more delightful than seeing these things out in the wild. You recently watched through the fence as a forklift delivered some shingles next door for a solid 30 minutes. You still like puzzles and can do multi-piece interlocking puzzles with ease.

You like anything that involves a ball, and you take to athletic things easily. You have pretty impressive hand-eye coordination for a toddler. You can swing and hit the ball, and you have learned how to catch. You also love being in the water and can "swim" around without any help with your floaties on.

Elmo still has a place in your heart, but your current obsessions are Finding Dory and Finding Nemo. You ask to "watch fish" almost every morning and you get to watch for about 30 minutes while Mama gets ready and/or feeds baby Leo and gets him ready.

You're a funny kid. You have the best laugh and can really get going while being tickled or playing a game of chase or even just making funny faces at the dinner table. Yet, you are also very serious. You can't be bothered when you are concentrating on something. It takes some work to get you to smile on demand. Yet, you'll be sitting quietly at the table and then all of a sudden you'll yell "Pickle!!!" with your arms up in the air (it started after Aunt Mae Mae used that technique to try to get you and Abby to look up and smile for a picture...somehow it stuck and you do it at random all the time). So it's really the tale of two Charlies. Quiet, methodical, and somewhat shy vs. silly, energetic and curious.

You definitely like routine and knowing what to expect, yet you can also be adaptable when necessary. Once you've made a connection, you think that has to happen every time. For example, when Miss Molly our speech therapist comes every other week, you head straight for the basement door because you know we always play downstairs when she is here. And the other day, we were going to the ATM when you spotted the frozen yogurt shop and declared it ice cream time. We have to be careful now what we say out loud to avoid you thinking it's about to happen. Cheers to practicing our spelling! :)

You are becoming more helpful all the time. You like to do chores. You help Dada gather the trash every week and pull the cans to the curb. You also like to help Mama put clothes in the dryer or bring in the groceries. And once you start something, you have to finish the job. We can never leave a room until all the cars are stacked on the carrier or you've flipped through every page in the book, etc. Every task must be completed before you can move on. Mama is learning to be patient about this.

You got a new play set this spring that is a big hit. The swings are your favorite part. You like riding in both of them (bucket swing and regular), and you've learned how to properly use the big boy swing. You just recently learned how to climb the rock wall and had no trouble climbing up it as soon as you decided you were willing to try. You like the stairs and slide too, but utilize them more when other kids are around to play with you. You went down the slide without abandon at first, but now you insist on holding someone's hand or having someone at the bottom to catch you. But, if we are at the park or someone else's house, you'll follow the other kids and climb, jump, slide without hesitation. You might be more timid on your own sometimes, but when you see other kids, you join right in without fear.

Speaking of other kids, you like to interact more and more with your friends. You know the names of some of your friends. You love chase, and will often jump right in with whatever other kids are doing or playing. You generally share pretty well and are willing to take turns or move on to something else until the toy is freed up. You even have a furry friend. You love when my friend Lindsay comes over with her dog Gilbert. You are always a little fearful at first, but it only takes a few minutes before you are playing ball with him or gently petting him. Just the other day, you learned how to ask to shake his paw. We gave you a treat to give to Gilbert, but you tried to eat it first. Lol!

Your adjustment to Leo has been mostly painless. We're so proud of how you've handled such a big change with ease. I'd say you had a little period where you decreased independent play a little bit, and you've had a few rare moments where you showed some signs of annoyance at his presence. But otherwise, you seem to really like him...when you decide you want to pay attention to him that is. You like to make him laugh and sometimes want to hold him or give him hugs/kisses, but most of the time, you go about your day without paying him much mind. It's nothing personal, you're just too busy playing. I think you're ready for him to grow bigger so he can play with you.

You do like to push the stroller, but that's always an adventure because you don't like us to help so we have to work to subtlety make sure you don't crash. Lately, you have asked me to put baby down when you want to read or sit in my lap, but you have been fairly patient with me and him. You are still always ready to let me know when the baby is crying (as if I don't hear him), and whenever he laughs, you say "Baby silly!" I'm so excited to see your relationship develop and grow.

I'd say you've had a much harder time lately with the amount of travel Dada has been doing. It's no secret that you are a mini Jon, and it's hard on you when your partner in crime isn't home. Probably because of him being gone a lot this summer, you've developed a little separation anxiety. I tried to drop you off at church nursery last Sunday, but you completely melted down upon arrival. They had to pry you off of me. I assumed you would calm down once I left (you've been perfectly happy to be there for months and months), but you did not. They had to call us back to get you. And then at playgroup this week, you were not thrilled with Dada leaving. He had to sneak out while you were distracted. The supervisors reported that you were sad for a minute when you realized he was gone, but otherwise did just fine. We are hoping this is just a short phase that you'll overcome when this busy travel season is over. And really hoping this isn't still a problem when you start preschool in September!

For a 2.5 year old, I'd still say you are incredibly easy-going with a pretty mild temperament. Full blown tantrums are still pretty rare and short-lived. But, of course, none of us are perfect, and you have been testing boundaries more often. When you aren't getting the attention you want or if you are upset, you will throw things. We've worked really hard to learn appropriate ways to ask for attention (if I had a penny for the number of times I now hear "Mama!" or "I need help" every day....), and to learn the difference between things that are hard vs. things that are soft vs. balls that can be thrown.

Your other fun behavior is when we have to force you to cooperate. For example, leaving a place, going upstairs for bedtime routine, or picking you up because you won't willingly walk to the car, etc. you like to express your displeasure by taking swipes at us. Of course this usually happens while you are being picked up against your will so the swipes generally hit us in the face. Lovely. We haven't come up with a great discipline routine for this yet, but we try to offer choices as much as possible so you have the opportunity to obey before we have to force you.

You also have a tendency to run away. In which case, we force you to sit down and be still until you agree to hold our hands and stay with us. Safety first. I'm sorry we are such mean parents that don't let you run wild in the street.

I do see our consistency starting to pay off in some ways, and you've just recently started to show remorse. When we have to be stern with you, a minute or two later, you usually give me an unprompted hug. Empathy is setting in too. You teared up the other day when Dada bumped his head and said "ow" and your little lip quivered and tears welled up in your eyes when you were playing with Leo and he started to cry (it was no fault of yours).

This could really go on and on. I keep thinking of things I want to remember! Every day you do, say or understand something new. It's such a wild ride to watch you grow and learn and discover. You bring us so much joy. We love you!

leo is 5 months

This will be known as the month your ankles disappeared. Happens to the best of us. If I had to sum you up in two words, it would still be fat and happy. And yes, I still affectionately call you Fatty Fatty. Your cheeks are still glorious, and a big hit wherever we go.

I would guess you weigh 19 lbs now, give or take. You wear 6-9 month clothes, but are rapidly outgrowing this size. Unfortunately, my clothes-sharing plan isn't working out so great. Your big brother stayed in 3-6 months for a while, and you barely spent much time in that range. We have a few warm months left, but you've started to outgrow all of your summer outfits because Charlie's 9-12 month stuff is mostly fall/winter. The other day, I put you in a 12-18 month Thanksgiving shirt - besides the sleeves being too long, it fit perfectly. I don't think you'll be wearing it come turkey day at this rate. I had to get out the box of Charlie's 12-18 month clothes to scavenge for anything we could make work. Oh well, this just means Mama will have to do some shopping. :)

You are desperate to be on the move. You roll both ways easily now, and I rarely find you in the same spot I left you these days. You easily grab toys, and you like to put things in your mouth. You have discovered your toes, and you've managed to overcome your fat rolls to stick them in your mouth too.

Sleep remains a mystery. We had a little stretch where you would roll onto your stomach and get mad because you couldn't roll back. I had to go on more than one rescue mission. Luckily, you finally learned to just roll back or better yet, be ok with sleeping on your stomach. Most of the time now, you do end up asleep on your stomach.

We've somehow managed to land on a schedule without much effort, but it's not exactly the schedule I would have chosen. Your day looks something like this:
8:30-9: Wake up
10:30-12: Nap
2:00-4: Nap
5:30: Nap
9:30/10: Bed

Naps have been great, and I'm thankful for that. You take three naps a day going down every 2 hrs or so. We've even had some success getting you to fall asleep independently in your crib. Sometimes even if I try to nurse you to sleep, you almost demand to just be left alone so you can fall asleep on your own. You sleep 1-2 hours each nap, but usually I have to wake you up after 1.5 hours to preserve your next nap. Whoever said you should never wake a sleeping baby, has obviously never known the joys of a baby on a schedule. Sure, it would be great to let you sleep 2-3 hours in the morning, but then you won't sleep all afternoon. Not worth it!

Nighttime, however, is another story. Partly because you are such a great daytime napper, you've become a bit of a night owl. You basically refuse to go to sleep until 9:30-10 p.m. No matter when I start your bedtime routine, you resist until you get so tired you finally give in. And there is no independent sleep at night - you always insist on nursing to sleep. The good news is that we have had a handful of nights where you've slept an 8+ stretch, and the late bedtime does mean you wake up late in the morning too (or rather I have to wake you up by 9:00 am!). The bad news is that bedtime turns into a marathon nursing session every night. And because you still (STILL) refuse to take a bottle, Mama basically can never, ever leave you. I see what you're doing here....

I'm not totally sure what the answer is, but we probably do have some sleep training in our future. We need to work on moving your schedule up to a more reasonable bedtime, and you need to learn to fall asleep without nursing. Of course, these things are easier said than done, and I'm still not sure how I want to tackle everything...or in what order. And on one hand, I kind of hate to rock the boat and potentially lose our late morning wake-up and it is pretty nice that your afternoon nap coincides with Charlie's nap.

Speaking of tackling things, one reason I have left well enough alone is because Dada has been traveling a lot lately. In fact, he is gone for some part of every single week in both July and August. Every. Single. Week. Mama is just trying to survive so enjoy your late-night partying while you can. It won't last forever, little buddy.

Charlie has taken much more of an interest in your lately.  He likes to make you laugh (and he definitely makes you laugh the hardest of any of us). When he succeeds in getting you to chuckle, he always says "Baby silly." He is happy to show you things when prompted - holding out his trucks for you to see or driving his tractor over to you. One day, you were getting fussy at the dinner table, and when I said it was because you needed to eat, Charlie held out his fork for you. The other day he brought me a book while I was holding you and said "Read a book. Baby down." But he was patient to wait until you were done nursing before climbing in my lap.

He's even been receptive to photos lately, happily holding you or laying down next to you when asked. One morning, when you were asleep in the pack n play in our room (after an early morning feeding when I was too lazy to put you back in your crib), Charlie went into your room looking for you, saw the empty crib and exclaimed, "Oh no! Baby Leo!" Apparently he thought Mama done lost the baby. It's so so sweet to see you smile, laugh and interact with your big brother. I think he's really excited for you to continue to grow up so you can be his play buddy.

You've spent a little time in your jumperoo, and you enjoy it for a few minutes before it gets boring. This could be said about all of your toys, playmats, etc. You probably still need a little time to grow into it to truly enjoy the benefits of jumping. You don't seem to have any favorite toys or books yet. You like anything you can easily hold or chew.

You love being naked and bath time never disappoints. Your drool game is strong, and you love chewing on my fingers and your own fingers and/or toes. There are still no teeth or immediate signs of any teeth.

You are quite ticklish. You like when we sing to you. You wiggle all the time. You still smile at anyone who smiles at you or gives you any amount of attention. You're happy whenever you are being held. You've pretty much outgrown your mamaroo and rock n play, but I still stick you in there every once in a while when I need to contain you somewhere.

This month, you went with Mama and Dada to the Home Run Derby and All-Star Game. Back to back nights out late - and perhaps the cause of your recent late bedtime preference. You did great both times. You were a big hit in your baseball gear and headphones. You slept through most of the events in the carrier.

There isn't a whole lot that makes you mad - maybe just being tired, going to bed at night, and anytime you just aren't getting enough attention. I always think this 4-6 month stretch is hard on Mamas and babes. It's not because you are difficult by any means. It's just that time when all babies start to develop ideas about how, when, and where you want to sleep, eat and play, yet aren't quite able to control any of that. You're just over the laying around phase of babyhood. You want to be up and on the move. We are working on sitting up every day because I think you'll be even happier and more content when you can entertain yourself and be a little more part of the action. Right now, you can tripod sit for a minute or so.

We've officially applied for your passport, and you're all cheeks in the photo. We're hoping there are many adventures in the future for you and your cheeks!

leo is 4 months

We're super late this month, but I have a good excuse. We spent the last 2.5 weeks in Oklahoma visiting Shi Shi, PaPa, Aunt Mae Mae, Uncle Boo and Abby. Today was actually my first day home by myself with both boys in about 3 weeks. I forgot how much harder this is without all the extra hands to help!

We had a crazy travel day getting home. We dealt with a delay, having to sit on a boarded plane for about 1.5 hours before takeoff, and a missing bag. You did pretty good on all the flights - only getting a little fussy at the tail end of a few legs, but man, those 15-20 minutes with a fussy, crying baby feel like an eternity. It wasn't a total meltdown with solid crying, but it was taking all my effort to keep the cries to an intermittent level. You could have been better, but you could have been worse. I don't blame you, though. Even the adults were pretty fed up when we arrived late in D.C. to find out we had to keep waiting because our gate still wasn't ready for us.

To make things even more fun, we woke up the next morning and went as one big happy family to the pediatrician - the 4 month visit for you, and the 2.5 yr visit for Charlie. It should come as no surprise that big brother was a bigger problem at said appointment.

You, on the other hand, were a perfect angel - spending a good portion of the time sleeping on mama. You got a perfect bill of health and bonus points for being extra strong. Your only demerit was for your continued rejection of the bottle. To no one's surprise, you are still quite the chunk, and you would probably look even chubbier if you weren't also so long. You weigh just over 18 lbs (90%) and are just under 27 inches long (96%). And yes, that head is still a giant. I affectionately nicknamed you "Fatty fatty" while we were in Oklahoma. It's no secret that I LOVE fat babies, and I'm pretty much obsessed with your wobbly cheeks - that literally shake at the slightest head movement - your chubby thighs, and those arm rolls. It's just the best, and all I ever want to do is squeeze you.

This update (and really all the monthly posts) will pretty much just cover the last one-two weeks or so. I honestly can't remember what was even happening at the beginning of this month...which is exactly why I write these posts. All I know is that your Dada went to trial in Charlotte and Shi Shi came to help us stay afloat, and we survived... barely. I think the second half of this month was much better. And luckily that's the part I can remember for purposes of this blog. :)

Let's start with sleep. Before leaving for Oklahoma, we had worked up to an 8:00 p.m. bedtime with an 11:00 p.m. dream feed, but you were still waking up to eat around 3:30 a.m. and sometimes again in the early morning (6-7ish). You basically did the same thing when we were in Oklahoma (save two nights when you just wanted to party from 2:30-5. Thanks for that, buddy!), but the last several nights I started to have trouble getting you to go down. From about 8-11, you just want to be eating. I nurse you to sleep, but you either wake right up when I try to put you down or you only sleep 30-45 minutes before waking up again. It feels a little like being back in the cluster feeding newborn days (although not quite that drastic). So that's been a bit frustrating BUT, on the plus side, all this extra feeding before bed has resulted in better sleep. The last two nights in Oklahoma, you only woke up once around 4:30-5, and then the first night home (after our epic travel day), you slept through the night for the first time EVER. I woke up at 8:00 a.m. shocked that it was that late and you were still sleeping. That's nine straight hours of sleep...and it couldn't have come at a better time. Of course, you haven't repeated that since, but you have been sleeping until 5-6 a.m. before nursing and going back to sleep until 8-9 a.m. I'll take it.

The plan had been to start some sleep training when we got home, and I do still think that needs to happen, but we might see how this plays out for a bit. I hate to rock the boat when I'm finally starting to get more consistent long sleep stretches.

You are no longer swaddled. We made that change right before leaving because you really just didn't fit in the swaddles anymore, and you were also starting to break free pretty easily. It was becoming more of a distraction than anything. Thankfully, we had already been working on taking naps sans swaddle so it was no big deal for you to sleep at night just wearing your woolino blanket. We didn't even have to use the magic merlin suit as a transition. And it's a good thing we pulled the plug because you started rolling over pretty consistently right after we ditched the swaddle. And no, we don't need to talk about how it pulls at my heart strings to no longer have a little burrito sleeping next to me.

The other big news is that you have also outgrown the bassinet. Do you see a theme here? You just did not fit anymore. I squeezed you in there for the last couple of nights at home, but then you slept in a pack n play in Oklahoma and enjoyed having all that extra room to stretch out. Now that we are back home, I've set up the pack n play in our room. We plan to move you to your crib at night soon, but we needed to get settled back into a routine at home before making that leap. Also, mama just ain't ready yet. I like having you close by at night.

One of the many great things about being in Oklahoma is that I was able to focus on your naps because there was always someone around to help out with Charlie. I made some great progress, and learned some valuable intel. For example, you like a really dark, quiet room and the sound machine is a big help. These seem pretty obvious - especially when this isn't my first rodeo - but you'd be surprised how hard it is to focus on all those things when juggling the needs of two kiddos. Also, it's only within this last few weeks that you've became more aware of your surroundings, and therefore, easily distracted while trying to fall asleep. We have definitely transitioned away from that newborn baby that can fall asleep anywhere at any time.

I also learned that 2 hours is about your max amount of awake time between naps. We aren't on a schedule per se, but the clock starts for the day whenever you wake up and I know that you'll need to be going down for a nap roughly 1.5-2 hours after that. I've been nursing you to sleep for naps, and so far it's working - although I know it won't work forever (and will eventually be part of your sleep training...but we'll tackle nighttime before naps). You go down easily as long as you are tired, but not too tired - hence that magic 2-hour window. You'll sleep anywhere from 1-3 hours. Whenever you wake up from nap #1, the 2-hour countdown starts again. By the end of the day, you've usually taken 3 naps.

If we aren't at home where I can nurse you to sleep and put you in your crib, the next best thing is standing and swaying or walking. You can imagine that my back is not a fan of this method, but on a plane or at church, etc. it's the easiest way to get you to fall asleep. You also love napping while I'm wearing you. Of course, even though it kills my back, I do secretly love having you sleep all cuddled up next to me. But when I can't keep holding you, I can put you down and you'll stay asleep. On the 4th of July, we went swimming, and you even stayed asleep when I laid you down on a towel on a beach chair. Even though you can be bothered by noise or light while trying to fall asleep, once you are out, you do sleep pretty hard.

You enjoyed your time in Oklahoma, which is not the least bit surprising considering there was always someone around willing to hold you. You are a pretty happy, content little fellow, but you definitely prefer to be held over anything else. You are also at that baby stage where you get bored easily because there's just only so much you can do right now. Every 10-15 minutes, you like to change locations or have something new to see. Like most babies, I think you'll be pretty excited when you can sit up and be a little more independent.

You've started grasping objects and can reach out and grab things as well. It's only a matter of time before you grabbing whatever you want and sticking it in your mouth. We've also discovered that you really love music. We have a little star that lights up and plays music and it's really helped to keep you happy in the car. You also like when Dada whistles for you, and a few times during your all-night parties, the only way I could get you to fall back asleep was by playing lullabies on youtube.

You smile at anyone or anything that will look at you. It's of no surprise that Papa was able to get the best smiles and biggest giggles out of you. Your big brother used to attract attention because he stared into people's souls. You attract attention because you're just so fat and happy. People love your cheeks, and you eat it right up by playing to your audience with big smiles and lots of chattering. For someone who is so smily, your resting face is quite the opposite. Your other expression is a look of mild concern like you just aren't too sure about us.

Speaking of those cheeks, you are outgrowing things at a rapid pace. While Shi Shi was in town, we got out the 6-12 month box of clothes and discovered several things in there were already too small or barely fit. Apparently Charlie was still wearing 3-6 months stuff past the 6-month mark so several things ended up in that box. I've put you in so many hand-me-downs already that are a solid "one and done" because it's a tight squeeze. I think you also had a growth spurt while we were in OK because by the end of the trip, you didn't really fit into any of the sleepers I had brought for you. You wear size 3 diapers, and are rapidly outgrowing 3-6 month sizes in favor of 6-9 month stuff.

You are drooling all over the place and chewing on your hands (or my hands!) in earnest. We'll see if this means any teeth are trying to pop up. I've learned that the only way you really know if a baby is teething is when you can see an actual tooth. ;) Still no pacifier, and still no bottle. I'm losing hope, but the pediatrician said there was no harm in trying sippy cups and/or just letting you cry while I leave the house. I'm hoping we can eventually find a happy balance where I can at least be able to put you down at night and know you'll stay asleep so I can leave the house in peace.

You went for your first swim in OK, and had a grand time. Even though the water was pretty chilly, you loved floating around. Oddly, you didn't really smile a ton, but you seemed to enjoyed it nonetheless. You still love bath time. You also like laying on your activity mat and playing with all the funs things hanging down. We tried out the bumbo seat for the first time today. I had to squeeze your thighs in, but you did like being able to sit up and lasted for a few minutes before starting to slump over.

As mentioned, you are rolling now. The first roll was back to front at the beginning of the month, but it seemed pretty accidental. Soon after that, you went from back to front, which seemed much more intentional. Since then, you've really mastered back to front, but have only gone front to back one other time. It takes a lot of momentum to get all those rolls to roll.

There isn't too much you don't like except maybe not getting enough attention or not getting to be held as much as you would like. You've been doing much better in the car thanks to your star music toy. You do get cranky if you get overtired, but otherwise, it's not too difficult to keep you happy.

I'm afraid to say that Charlie is losing interest in you. He doesn't seem to dislike you, but he also doesn't seem to particularly like you either. We've settled on complete ambivalence. He likes to point out things that belong to you (baby's sound machine), and he never fails to tell me when you are crying (as if I don't already hear you), but otherwise, he's indifferent. We have to bribe him to agree to hold you or sit next to you for a photo. I think he's waiting until you can play with him a little more or perhaps he's just finally realized that you're here to stay.

We, however, are not losing interest in you. Quite the opposite, in fact. It's so fun to start to see little glimpses of your personality come out. It only gets more fun from here, and we can't wait to continue to watch you grow.

why would i want this, mom? 

no more room in the bassinet