Baby Charlie is 9 months old tomorrow! And what a little spitfire she is. When she was born and she was so quiet and easy, I figured that's how she would remain, but not so. This little girl loves being on the move, smiling with her whole face and is not shy about when she doesn't like something. She wants me to hold her constantly and if I'm unable to do so will scream until I pick her up. If she's in her walker, she'll follow me around with her arms held above her head indicating she's done and ready to be held.
We're sticking strong with 6 ounce bottles. She had a growth spurt awhile back and would bump up to 8 ounces but with the introduction of real food she doesn't really care for bottles anymore. We did find a food she doesn't like this month... fish. Which is weird, because she'll gobble up everything else. When we eat, I break off small pieces of our dinner and that's what she eats. I'll feed her pouches of baby food still, but she eats them so fast and wants more so it doesn't really satisfy her. I'm a little sad about her turning a year old in a few months, but am SO excited to be done with bottles and formula! She's bumped up to 12 month clothes now. They remain a little big, but her 9 month stuff is all summery and our early fall mandates some warmer clothes.
Charlie officially started crawling this month and right as she learned that skill, she started standing and pulling up. She even tried to take a step or two, but her legs just aren't quite sturdy enough yet, but she's on her way. By the time she's 12 months I feel she'll be walking (which is scary). I know with Luke we couldn't wait until he hit these milestones and with her, I want them to take a little longer. The less she's mobile the less she can hurt herself! She's already bumped her head a few times, just because she's moving constantly and I can't be behind her all the time.
We still have NO teeth. I thought for sure last week something was going on because she woke up at 4:30 on Sunday and just whined and cried constantly all day. Dillon stayed with her while I took Luke to church and she just was not a happy camper. Her sleep has been in the pits too, waking constantly at night and only sleeping when I hold her. Tuesday night we did some sleep training and I finally had to have Dillon take over because I couldn't handle it anymore. He was a champ and got her to sleep without being held. PS have I mentioned she'll only go to sleep if it's ME holding her. If Dillon tries to hold her she screams until I come in. While it's nice to be loved SO dang much, it's also frustrating because I'd like to get a shower in every now and then or spend some time with Luke. Oh well, it's only a period in time. This too shall pass.
I love her so. I call her sass and Dillon thinks it's so funny, but it's true. She's got a sweet little heart, but a sassy personality. Hold on to that sweet girl, don't let anyone stand in your way.
Dillon's mom said that Charlie smiles with her whole face and it's true. She'll have a terrible poker face.
Dillon called me one day while she was napping. I texted him and told him why I couldn't answer, then this happened. I texted back with "just kidding". Ha!
Luke in his dinosaur/monster house shoes!
A sneak peak of Halloween!
Yep.
Dillon's been playing his guitar more (which I LOVE). Luke wants to be just like daddy so he pulled his guitar out too. <3
Scaring daddy at bed time!
Oh, I love him.
We have a whole bedtime routine which includes Luke getting out of bed no less than 10 times. But it usually includes a hug and a cuddle so I'm ok with it.
For now, they love each other immensely. I just hope it's always this way.
We had planned a few months back to take our Labor Day holiday and go to Richmond to visit Dillon's sister, brother-in-law and their new baby, Indie! We made our way up there on Friday and spent the last few days seeing the sights of Richmond and snuggling with the new little baby.
Friday we arrived, in what seemed like a monsoon. We got some good food at an Irish pub downtown then took our sleepy and rambunctious children back to the apartment we had rented for the weekend (which was awesome! We had two bedrooms, a kitchen and a nice little living area which gave us everything we needed since we had to pack our whole house. Plus it was cheaper than renting a hotel room. Go Airbnb!) On Saturday, we woke up to more drizzle but we were determined to make the best of it. Kenzie & Wally live right downtown, close to everything so we walked down to the Poe Museum and then had lunch. The Poe Museum was really cool, but unfortunately, Luke wasn't into it. He kept asking if we could go do something else and finally when I snapped a little, he asked "Mama? Did I ask too many times to go?" ha!
That afternoon, Dillon's mom and step-dad came up to see all three of her grandbabies together! We spent some time at the science museum where Luke burned off some more energy, we saw an awesome Leonardo DaVinci exhibit and were only yelled at twice by patron's of the museum (it was crowded, a little overwhelming and people were on edge). We had a nice dinner together and then ended the evening. Notice there was no staying up late on this trip. Our kids all go to bed early and I think Kenzie and Wally are still reeling with being up several times a night. Debbie & Russ stayed with us that night and Luke was stoked to have a sleepover with them.
We returned downtown the next morning and the sun had finally come out. We took some nice walks around the city and had some delicious pizza. We also got to see Brown's Island and had probably one of the most disastrous meals in my entire parenting history. Charlie cried through most of dinner and broke a plate. Luke spilled his milk on the floor and I know the waitstaff probably hated us. I was never so glad to get back to the apartment and get everyone to bed. We were all so exhausted by the end of it. So it goes, I guess.
We were so happy to see the new addition to the family and we are so, so excited for them to begin their parenting adventure. We can't wait to get everyone together again and watch our babies grow together!
She was all over the place and found everything interesting!
