3 Months Old

Time flies when you're having fun. I can't believe Charlie is 3 months old. I took some pictures of him on his 3 month b'day. I'm not a very good photographer, but the day was documented.

for some reason, this photo WILL NOT rotate

 This little booger doesn't stay still for long. It is amazing how active he is!
We don't go back to the doctor until January, but right now he is a little over 16 pounds and wearing 6 month (and a few 9 months) clothing.

We have had a relaxing time with not much on the agenda back in NC.  One lazy morning we snuggled with the dogs for a while:

 We stay in our pjs most of the time. Check out these awesome giraffe and monkey Hanna Andersson pjs from Lala:

 ignore the finger... it's his natural resting position :)

Charlie man loves his Baby Einstein toy

 and is getting used to his bumbo seat.. still not quite sure about it.

 We're slowly starting to enjoy tummy time (Hutch likes it too)

The first weekend of December we went to Cary, NC (outside of Raleigh) to a Christmas sidewalk festival. Not much to it, but we found an awesome Santa and a pretty scrumptious taco truck!

We took a family photo with Santa and it didn't turn out so well. I look like I rolled out of bed. I assure you I actually showered and attempted to look decent. My mom told me that I looked better after giving birth than I do in this picture.

Thanks, mom.

Last post I mentioned Charlie's super short naps. Well, we are trying to work on that. Today we started "CIO"... cry it out. I read a blogpost that suggested it's all or nothing. Well, I read that post after his morning nap, which was taken in his swing. I know, I know... that's a terrible habit to start and I should've started this from day one, blah, blah, blah. It's a lot less stressful in his swing, though!

This is how it's gone so far:

Put in crib at 10:50.

Cried until 11:25.

Fell asleep. 

Mom thought, "That wasn't so hard. Maybe he'll take a full nap."

Nope. Woke up screaming at 11:50. 25 minute nap. AWESOME.

Calmed himself down.

UPS man knocks on door and Hutch goes wild.

Mom let baby "CIO" again.

Not giving in. Not giving in. Not giving in.

Cries went from red-faced, sweaty hysterics to talking ahhhhhs.

Then back to hysterics, followed by more talking ahhs.

Mail woman puts mail in our mailbox. Hutch goes wild. REALLY, DOG?

Charlie has worked himself in a corner, diagonally across the crib.

15 minutes later, we're back in business.

I almost gave in.

He sleeps until 12:15. 10 minutes. UGH!

I'm giving in. But I don't.

He cried for a little longer, then slept until 12:55, another 30 minutes. I had time to eat lunch, start dinner in the crock pot, and sort through the mail. I'll take it.

He woke up happy as can be!

He slept a total of 65 minutes. Not too shabby. Maybe next time they will be consecutive! 

We're leaving to head back to Alabama on Friday. I AM SO EXCITED!!! We are having Charlie baptized on Sunday at our church in Auburn. The church called and said that Brother George and Charles have switched services, so Brother George won't be preaching. I was a little disappointed. Don't get me wrong, Charles is FABULOUS, but I have a special place in my heart for Brother George.  Luckily, Brother George said he'd come to the sanctuary to baptize Charlie and then head back over to the chapel for his service there. How special!! I'm really thrilled that we are able to do this while we are home.

We have plans to go to Auburn, Birmingham, and Bay Minette. Looking forward to spending the holidays at home with family!!

Merry Christmas!!

thankful

It's been a busy, busy month!

David and I headed to the loveliest village for our 2nd annual "Twelvegate." My college friends all get together for one big tailgate each season as our college reunion (6 years out...we felt so old!). Unfortunately, we were missing Leigh, Katelin, and Melissa this year. Blaire made it with a week left before her due date! We had a wonderful time catching up, laughing, eating, watching Bama lose (sorry Bama friends), and not really watching our beloved tigers get goose-egged.

Our tailgate (through the tailgate guys) was in an amazing spot and we really enjoyed the band coming right behind us for a pre-game show. Charlie had a wonderful time at his first tailgate! The weather was so random, he had 3 wardrobe changes as we went from hot to cool to really cold.

Pictures of our weekend:
The 9/12 of us with our husbands/boyfriends.

Family photo watching the Georgia/Auburn game.

Little man's first tailgate experience. Yes, our buttons do say "Beat Someone." It was that kind of season...

Dancing with the band

 Jill and Ryan popped by for a visit!

We posed with Emily and baby Arthur! We miss these guys!

 Hanging out with dad in his patagonia puff jacket.

We also visited with Kelly and Joseph, Ray and Joanna, and our sweet neighbors Clyde and Martha. After our fun weekend in Auburn, David came back to North Carolina and I spent some time with the family in Birmingham. We had a lot of fun!

Charlie and I went to Maggy and Masen's Birthday Party:

He napped in Carly's arms for a little while,

But then had to check everyone out.

We went to Tori and Dan's wedding and had a great time, despite the cold weather!

Charlie hung out in his new onesie from Emily, Kent, and Arthur

and had a great time laughing at Tempie.

We visited with Gigi and she took some pictures of us:

We had a great time visiting with Gigi. We also played with LaLa, Grump, and Uncle Dylan. We went down to Grammy's house to visit with her and some family that were in town for a funeral. We met Aunt Becca and her boyfriend, Peyton, at La Paz (yum) for dinner our last night. Jackie met us there for a quick visit and even though she doesn't "like kids," she took to Charlie pretty quickly! :) Uncle Josh was in town from San Diego, so we met Mamu and him at Urban Cookhouse for lunch one day. We also ate dinner at Mafiosas with Lacey and her little boy, Ford. Unfortunately, I was not good at documenting any of these events!

David came back to get us late Wednesday night and we headed to Bay Minette for Thanksgiving. We ate lunch with the Murphy family in Stockton and dinner at Dr. Palmer's sister's house in Pensacola.

Lunch with the Murphy clan is always so much fun! Charlie got to meet all of the aunts, uncles, and cousins. He was a little cranky from traveling, but overall, he was pretty sweet. It was such a fun afternoon with yard games, funny stories, and catching up with everyone. 

Back at the farm, Charlie spent some time with Doc. They walked around, looked at cows and horses, and swung on Laurel's swing set.

 Reb had a great time eating cow poop and being chased by horses and cows.

 Charlie got to meet his cousin, baby Hugh.

We had a wonderful evening with Aunt Mary and Uncle Ellis. Phillip, Tara, and the kids came and we all took turns eating while the others bounced a baby or listened to Laurel "play" the piano :)

On Friday night, we went to Kara and Jonathan's house to cook out. It was so fun visiting with friends we haven't seen in a long time! Will and Jessica, Nick and Jennifer, Caitlin and Clay, Matt and Mary Kate were all there. It's always funny to listen to the high school chronicles of Baldwin County.

Saturday morning we headed to Auburn to get a little head start on our trip back to North Carolina. We decided to make it an 8 hour trip instead of a 10 1/2 hour trip!

Charlie napped on Uncle Joseph.

We watched the first quarter of the Iron Bowl...boooo. It was so sad!

We left and took some tourist pictures for Christmas card possibilities:

 The poor trees at Toomer's corner were pitiful, but I had to get Charlie's picture with them before they are gone :(. I can't wait to share my love for this town with my sweet little man.

We had to get a trip to Laredos in while we were there! We met Ray, Joanna, Hollis, and Reed for an early dinner. 

 We are now back in North Carolina! I'm listening to Charlie fight falling back to sleep. His new thing is to take a few 20-30 minute naps. He is supposed to be taking 3 long naps a day by now and he just likes to do little cat naps, oh well. I don't think he is going back to sleep, so I better go!

3 month post coming next!

Two Months Old

I love mornings! Charlie wakes up SO happy. Some nights are wonderful with Charlie going to bed at 9, waking up at 3 and 6. Some nights, we go 2-3 hour increments, and those nights are not so wonderful. Regardless if we've had a rough night, it's hard not to be in a good mood when you get to wake up and play with this sweet angel.

Last doctor's visit (at 6 weeks), Charlie had some impressive measurements. His head was 40 cm (90th percentile), weight was 13 pounds 10 ounces (in the 95th), and length 24.5 inches (in the 97th percentile). Big boy!  

After our 2 month visit (which he was really 10 weeks), here are our stats:

Head:
Weight: 14 pounds, 14 ounces (95%)

Height: 26 inches (OFF THE CHARTS) 

Shots- Went well! 2 pokes and an oral vaccine. He screamed and turned really red, but as soon as I picked him up, he was over it. I had a Chick-fil-a milkshake afterwards. I felt like I deserved it.

Diapers: size 2
Clothes: 3-6 months

On his 2 month birthday, which just so happened to be his Aunt Becca's 19th birthday, we had some fun taking pictures. Well, mama had fun. Baby had enough after the 4th outfit. Here are some pictures off of my phone:

 This is Albert the Running Bear, given to me by my Papa when I was a baby. He lost his pants and had reconstructive surgery on his face, but he still holds a special place in my heart.

 Charlie's Halloween costume.

We went on a nice hike at a state park about an hour away. It was so nice getting out and spending time   with David, Charlie, and the dogs. Here are a couple of pictures:

Me with the children

Unfortunately, we couldn't get all 3 of us in the self portrait

Baby carrier is so convenient

Bundled up in his daddy's vest.

Charlie loves his play mat and Reb loves it too. Every time I pick Charlie up, Reb shifts to hog the entire mat.

Heading to Auburn this weekend for our annual twelvegate! Unfortunately, not all 12 will be able to make it, but I'm looking forward to spending time with my college friends! I can't wait to take pictures with Charlie at Toomer's Corner, Samford lawn, and all around town. There is sooo much I want to do while I'm home. I want to take the dogs to Conway and/or the Red Barn, go to zumba at Health Plus, get a quality haircut, get an adjustment at the chiropractor, stop by the old house, take Christmas card pictures, visit with my local Auburn friends, shop at the Pink Room and kids boutiques, eat at Laredos and Pannie & George's and Moe's BBQ, ooh or maybe Byron's... I could go on and on. I don't think one weekend will be enough...