Charlie Girl

What can I say about this little one?  She is all contradictions right now.  She loves adventure, seeing new things, getting tossed in the air, swinging, trying to crawl.  But she is terrified of people.  Cries every night if any of the daddy's come to pick up their kids.  Even close friends and family suffer the screams of fear.  Sometimes it is better out in public then at home.  Sometimes complete strangers are easier for her to handle.  Although she seems to like people with glasses - its the sparkly light reflections.

Probably Charlotte's two most favorite things in the world right now are Addy and Biscuit.  This kid will stop a full on meltdown in order to gaze adoringly or laugh at her sister or the dogs.  Particularly Biscuit.  When Charlotte is on the floor and Biscuit makes an appearance she is enthralled.  Even if said dog's tail whips her in the face over and over again.  She loves it.  Sometimes she even starts drooling she is so happy.

She is very proud of the fact she just started clapping.  It is so cute.  She gets all serious and then starts smiling as we respond to her. Charlotte is so close to crawling and bening on the go.  She rolls around, scoots on her bottom a bit and was even rocking on her knees today.

It is hard to recall back 5 years, but if I had to say some of the differences between the girls . . . Charlotte is a bit less content to be held.  She wants to be going, going, going.  She is struggling to master food and that drives her crazy.  She wants to get those little bites into her mouth so badly and then once there she gags, chokes, snots, and weezes her way through and then she is ready for the next. It is kind of sad to watch because it is so much work and hardly looks fun, but she is slowly trying new bites.  She is a great eater with baby food.  But it took about three weeks to get her able to eat those puffy stars without completely choking.  Little sweetie only has her two little teeth and clearly hasn't perfected the gummy chew.  Although she is so proud of herself now that she can eat them.  :)

Charlotte is not the solid napper Addy was.  In some ways this is nice because we have more flexibility, but in others it is hard because we want to ensure she has enough sleep during the day.  She is a good night sleeper.  These next few months as she grows closer to the 12 month mark may change the napping thing.  But she is happy and its only in the last hour of the day between 6:30 and 7:30 that she tends to get cranky and sad - who doesn't really?

She loves to make faces and stick her tongue out.  She'll now "play ball" and giggles crazy when you roll it back to her.  At times she gets so excited she throws the ball into her own face.  Adorable.  She likes to play with her toys, but particuarly likes smaller toys she can manhandle around.  There is toy she hates and always gives me signals she wants to play with it and then about 20 seconds in she starts wailing.  My theory is there is a deep manly voiced elephant and it reminds her of all the scary daddy's picking up their kids at school.

Charlotte will be 9 months next week.  She is 20 lbs and gotta be close to 26 inches long.  I put this here so some day I can look back and remember how little she was.  Although we visited a friend at the hospital with her tiny 6lb baby and Charlotte looks sooooo big.  Charlotte loves kisses and enjoys being around her family, but she isn't much of a snuggler.  She gets bored and is ready to move on quickly.  Even for night time and naps she is pretty much all business getting a bottle and then off to sleep.

Even in the middle of tears and yelling, I find myself cherishing each moment.  Maybe because I now know how fast it goes, I don't get nearly as frustrated as the first time around.  I have my moments, but mostly I try to use those times to take a moment and connect with this precious little one.

I am in awe that I got this chance to have another little girl.  She is a lovely armful of energy, sweetness and soft plumpy goodness.  I love her baldy head that now has about 20 or so odd long hairs growing up.  I love her huge blue eyes that are always searching for the next adventure.  I love her big feet, chubby thighs and baby boobies.  I live to smooch her cheeks and neck, tickle her back and listen to her explosive giggles.  Her whole belly shakes when she gets to laughing and her eyes sparkle and crinkle - its impossible not to lose yourself for a few moments in that carefree laugh.

9 months already.  Its hard to believe that god willing in the months to come I'll be sharing her crawling, her first steps, her first words, tempertantrums and other milestones.

Party Time

Party with the Pelton's last weekend!  Celebrating success, birthdays and friends!  Brandy's famous sauce:

Banana butterscotch cupcakes for a lovely and very special 11 year old.

Shoveling in the food!

The delicate operation of preparing meatball subs.  Yum!

Twinsies.

The fashionistas.

How lovely is this girl?

One of Charlotte's favorite friends!

My Addy Bear

Its seems like the last few months Addy has become this amazing little person to me.  She is a great big sister.  She's remarkably patient with us when we can't help her because of Charlotte's needs.  She plays with her and is a worry wart about ensuring Charlotte is safe.  She has a note on her bedroom door that says "Do not Enter.  Choking Zone."  She is always gentle and thoughtful to her sister.

Addy loves swinging, biking, scooting . . . she's getting more patient about walks and things that take longer then 5 minutes. :)  She is probably close to getting her training wheels off although it feels like we don't get outside much to practice because of the rain.  Addy has really blossomed with her hand-eye coordination in the last few months.

We got the baby swing up so now both girls can enjoy some swing time.  Addy is not naturally inclined to hang out outside and I continue to work on developing a passion for being in nature.

Addy has declared that she has a crush on a boy in her class.  And Justin Bieber.  Yup.  She even sings one of his songs.  She is so funny.  Tonight she tells me that it would make her so happy to hug him and dance with him.  She's starting a couple of dance classes this summer.  We'll see if she likes them or not.  Itty Bitty Hip Hop and Tap.  Her favorite thing to watch is Michael Jackson's Thriller video.  Yeah, I showed it to my 5 year old . . . and got a little nervous . . . but thankfully she loved it.  Her favorite movie is Clue.  Love it.  She says quotes like, "Are you trying to make me look dumb in front of the other guests?"  Its so funny.

Addy reads like a champ.  If she has the patience for it she can make it through a chapter of a chapter book.  She enjoys puzzles and activity books more then coloring books.  She likes to solve things and create mysteries. Although she is nervous - she is excited to get to kindergarten.  She's been pretty bored the last few months in her pre-K class.  This summer we are trying to incorporate some fun activities and learning to keep her busy and engaged.

She is so affectionate.  I love that she wears her heart on her sleeve and is quick to be open with her emotions. She's sweetly sensitive to the world around her.

Addy is so inquisitive.  Simple questions have moved into complex questions about life and death, real issues in the world and her role in this life.  It is fascinating to watch her mind work and challenging to provide her with truthful and real life answers but to find ways to communicate them so she can understand.  She is always patient and will say "say it a different way Mommy" when she's struggling but wants to learn.

She is gaining quite the vocabulary and struggles with differences in appropriateness between words she learns from friends and words we let her use.  Addy is sharp and she is perfecting her manipulation and dare I say lying skills.  Although I hate to admit it she is pretty good at it.  If it wasn't for this particular smile she gets I'd fall for it every time.  She takes learning tough lessons hard, but bounces back quickly.

She still acts the artist.  Creativity is her specialty and she enjoys imagining the world in new ways.

The emotional side is coming out more and more and we struggle to manage her over dramatic antics at times.  Addy is strong and independent and the emotionalism is an interesting component.  I get frustrated at times dealing with it, but foster her independent and strong spirit - as I hope it serves her well as a woman in the world.

My Addy Bear is growing up.  She sings my songs now, plays on my phone and computer, she adventures more freely and makes her opinions known.  I love her more then she'll ever know.  She is my heart and soul.  I love her fun and her pouts, her tears and her giggles.  She is my sunshine.

Proud

Nothing better as a parent then when daycare takes the time to make a special note on Charlotte's sheet with a new accomplishment or special event for the day.

That's my girl!  And just to be clear they also commented up in the diapering section about this mounumental moment too.  Good stuff!

Happy Father's Day

Here's to the very best Dad's I know . . . Scott, Dad and Plumbly - Happy Father's Day!!

That is my Dad and his new Kindle Fire and Scott with the handmade gift he got from Addy.

How blessed we are to have these wonderful men in our lives.  Thank you!