Sun Suit

The very first outfit I bought Charlie is size 9 months. Early in my pregnancy I was at the beach with my friend Jill and we went shopping at the Janie and Jack outlet. I saw this adorable little sunsuit and couldn't pass it up. They only had one size left and I thought it was perfect! Never did I imagine that my 5 month old would be wearing 9 month clothes in February. The outfit is a bit snug, so I'm going to have to add some tabs to the side to extend the buttons. We're going back to the beach in March to celebrate my friend Melissa's wedding, so I started gathering some of his outfits and came across this one. It will be too cold  to wear it, I'm sure, but I'm packing it just in case with his little white sweater! Here's hoping for some sunny days in the 80's!

I've been playing with the new camera and editing features. I clearly have no idea what I'm doing, but I have such a cute little model it's fun to practice. I really should just read the instructions but I hate reading manuals. If they were more like children's stories with cute illustrations and maybe some rhyming words, I could knock it out. I don't think I'm shooting in the right mode and with endless possibilities, it will take a while to figure it all out. Some are too light and some are too dark and they are all too gritty, but here are the latest of little love bug.

I hate that I made this one too dark because it was my favorite!

I'll keep practicing and hopefully get some lessons from Pep while we're at the beach.

We'll be home for a visit in just a few weeks!

Weekend in Bakersville

For David's 4 day weekend, we went to a little cabin in Bakersville, NC. (I initially said Boone, but it was in Bakersville). It was about 5 hours away, but all of the boys seemed content on the ride.

 By "little" cabin, I mean 400 square feet. Little, but perfect. It was very nice and situated at the base of a couple hiking trails that were really pretty. According to David's watch, we were at an altitude of about 3600 feet at the cabin, so the top of the mountain was about 5000, I think. Either way, it was enough to make you winded when not used to the altitude! We arrived Friday at about 1:30 and immediately unpacked and went for a little hike. I'm so glad we did, because the rest of the weekend was WAY too cold and windy to get Charlie out for a hike.

We had a lot of snow flurries throughout the weekend with temperatures ranging between 19 and 30 degrees. It was cold, but beautiful! 

Charlie loved watching the dogs play and snow fall.

David and I took turns walking around with the dogs.

(I feel like there should be a baboon holding up a cub in this picture.)

On our last afternoon, David and the dogs hiked to the top. David said the views were beautiful, especially as the sun was setting.

Charlie and I stayed inside where we were toasty warm.

Some family photos:  

This would have been great, if not for that blade of grass blocking the lens :)

It was a relaxing and fun long weekend. So glad we got to get away for a little bit!

Next on our agenda:

Charlie turns 6 months on the 26th!

Transitioning into the crib. We'll see.

Quick trip to Alabama in March, and then on to Rosemary Beach for Melissa's wedding!

5 Month Photos

Charlie has been 5 months for over 2 weeks now, but again, better late than never! He is such a wiggle worm! He rolled from side to side while sticking every phalange he could in his mouth.

Here's what we got!

5 months kind of slipped by us...

Sorry for the lack of posts... We've been a little busy! I had my 4 1/2 year check up and CT scan and I'm still cancer free!! Yea!!! It was a rocky road with the new doctor and I really look forward to returning to UAB next year! You know how I feel about change, and then add in inconsistency and lack of communication and organization and you get me at my limit. Of course I kept ASSUMING they'd get things done (because they are "professionals") but, luckily, my mom and David were nagging encouraging me to call and stay on them about doing things. If I hadn't, I don't know if I would have ever gotten my results! Mom came to help with Charlie because I also had another procedure to do a few days later (which turned out fine as well) and I couldn't breastfeed while on the prep medicine or after anesthesia. I was really stressed about Charlie taking the bottle and all the results, but everything turned out really well and Charlie had some quality time with his Gigi!

Charlie turned 5 months old on January 26th! He is changing so quickly; it is amazing. He FINALLY rolled over from front to back the week before he turned 5 months and he rolled over from back to front  last week. Thank goodness. The nurse practitioner at our pediatrician's office made me feel like we were terribly behind. I talked to my friends and they comforted me saying that their kids were late doing some things and early doing others and NOT TO WORRY! After our 6 month check up, we're probably going to change doctor offices. I would prefer someone that has kids (I'm assuming she doesn't because she makes me feel like an idiot every time I go in there). I want someone that can relate to being a first time mom and being unsure about everything. A little reassurance every now and then would be nice.

Sorry, I digress... Anyway, Charlie is 5 months old and is so active!! He bounces and bounces and bounces all day long, whether in the exersaucer or in my arms, he's bouncing. He laughs and babbles and squeals and makes funny little expressions. He sucks his toes and fingers, but lately has really favored his thumb! I tried to make him a paci baby, but he's a finger baby for sure. It's easier to wean from a paci than a thumb, but we'll see what I'm saying when he's 2.

He is starting to really enjoy solids. He opens his mouth and leans towards the spoon in anticipation. We moved him to the highchair which is much easier than the bumbo. He can't lean over or thrust himself to try to escape while in the highchair! 

He is eating oatmeal cereal, rice cereal, squash, and sweet potatoes. We'll introduce avocado next.

Charlie is mainly in 9 month clothes and is still in size 3 diapers. He is still not sleeping through the night :(. I'm weaning him off of the travel bassinet, but it's not easy! He naps fine in the crib, but at night, he wakes up screaming after about 2 hours. Then it begins... waking every 2 hours. I've tried all sorts of things, but nothing seems to work. Hopefully he'll grow out of it.

We also started a new Kindermusik class. It's so fun!! The first grade teacher in me was way too excited to sing in circle time again. Charlie loved it even though it was during nap time! We sang songs and did motions and movements. It was so nice to get Charlie together with other babies. The class goes through April, so it will give us something to do every week!

Charlie lights up every afternoon when David walks in the door. David comes in and hugs/kisses us both, then takes Charlie with him for some one on one time. Charlie adores his daddy!

Charlie is mesmerized by the dogs. Any movement they make captures his full attention. He loves them so much! Now that he is eating solids, I think they like him a little more as well!

Any time I get down on the floor to play with Charlie, the dogs are right there. Hutch loves stealing Charlie's blanket during tummy time and Reb tries to sit in my lap when I'm sitting by the exersaucer. They are slowly getting used to sharing the spotlight, but they are never far away from it.

We're heading to a little cabin outside of Boone, NC next weekend for a little getaway. Looking forward to a mini vacay! It's supposed to be FREEZING, literally (Apparently I overuse the term, especially when it's 60 degrees outside and I'm FREEZING). We're staying in a quaint little cabin on 60 acres of land, so I'm looking forward to getting out all bundled up and exploring with the dogs. Should be fun!