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.
