Lily, You're a Star!

My cute and vivacious niece, Lily, decided she wanted to be in a beauty pageant. 

Her wise parents found her a "natural" pageant where the kids aren't allowed to wear makeup, or wigs, or spray tans, or any of that other crazy stuff. But there was a fun luau theme.

 There were all sorts of prizes awarded and Lily ended up walking away with three of them, including the biggest one, making her queen of the pageant! Pretty good for her first one ever! She also won the "best photo" and her picture was on the cover of the program. I will toot my own horn here and say that I took those photos. :)

The winning photo

 More than anything, it was fun to have Lily and Kerry over and play dress up!

Friends

We've had some fun get togethers this winter, only a fraction of which we actually photographed. 

John's cousin, Dan, and his wife, Sarah and their little girl Charlotte stopped by to meet Baby George. They call her Charlie, too, so I had to get a picture of the two Charlies.

 We got together with Melanie and Carolyn and their families around New Year's while Carolyn was in town. I've been friends with them since junior high! We didn't get a group picture, but I did get one of the kids on my cell phone.

 L-R Charlie and George, Melanie's little boy, Bronco, and Carolyn's little girl, Zoe. 

 While Amy was in town visiting, we got together at her parents' house on a Saturday night. It was just like the good old days of high school, except for the half dozen kids between us now! We even called Madelyn on speakerphone to include her in the fun. 

(L-R Andrea (and baby boy Buley), Amy and Kate, Susie and Phoebe,
 me and George, Suzanna and Kennedy, and Liz (and baby girl Payne). 

Another get together, this time at my house in February with Kim who was in town visiting.

L-R Andrea, Suzanna, me, George, Susie, Phoebe, Liz, Kim and Elizabeth

Charlie's first haircut

In December, I finally scheduled Charlie's first haircut. His beautiful curls took a long time to come in (he was practically bald until he was 18 months old) but once they did, they were tight ringlets. However, Charlie's lifestyle isn't really conducive to keeping long hair. He's a rough and tumble boy! Right around the time I had George, I kind of fell behind on caring for Charlie's hair and ended up having to cut out a few dreadlocks that had formed. Whoops! After that little trim, I stayed on top of the detangling and conditioning but it was still time for a trim. 

A pretty good before picture- look how long his hair is!

For his first haircut, we took him to Cookie Cutters which was worth every penny. He got to sit in a race car chair and watch a movie during the cut and then afterwards got a balloon, a sucker and to go down the in-lobby slide a few times.

He looks concerned because he's trying to concentrate on the TV, he actually loves having his head touched

Again, a little scowly but not really upset

And here's a good "after" shot of Charlie's haircut (and showing off his beatboxing skills and toolbelt accessories.)

At first, I felt like I was Delilah taking away his Sampson super power by cutting his hair. It was a little shorter than I wanted. But now that's it's grown out a little, the trademark Charlie ringlets are back.

George rolls over

It's so fun to see how my children differ. It's so easy to compare their milestones, sizes, and personalities but every once in a while something reminds me that they are just as unique as they are similar. Charlie rolled over when he was 3 months old, so I've been watching to see when it would happen for George. He has been close for several weeks. He's strong and seemed to have most of the coordination needed to do it. I think what he was lacking was the opportunity! Between a very active older brother, more time spent running errands, and lots of hardwood floor, he doesn't spend *that* much time just hanging out on the floor, especially to how much Charlie did at his age.

The other week I was over at Aunt Kate's house helping her organize in preparation for Baby Jude's arrival. George was pleasantly hanging out on the carpet beside us as we went through boxes. As we were watching him, he pulled his little legs to his chest, tipped to the side and then started to straighten out his legs. Kate and I both noticed that he was so close to rolling over and then he just did it! It was so fun to have a witness to his accomplishment. I got a little bit of it on my phone's camera, too.

Charlie-not quite 3

Here's an update on our not quite 3 year old. He's smart and fun and vivacious and sweet and challenging and high-energy and strong-willed and focused and funny. Life is never boring with Charlie around.

His talking is improving every day. He's started paying attention to conversations around him and chiming in on them, which is definitely a new phase to adjust to for mom and dad! My favorite Charlie phrases recently include:
"Over a couch! Wash a show!" (translation- over to the couch, watch a show) he requests this first thing when he gets up in the morning or from his nap
"Put down me!" (put me down)
"Hmmm" (while tapping his forehead or chin thoughtfully)
"What happened?"
"Yeah" and "uh-HUH" or sometimes, "Uh-huh, yes."
"Oh my goodness" (he got this one from me)
"Bah-roken" (broken)
"Hey, not nice" (this is exactly what we say to him if he's misbehaving and now he says it to us if we do something he doesn't like)
"Stop it!" (Lovely. Again, I know where he got this one! We're all trying to learn "Stop, please" instead.)
"Check out" (check it out- straight from Johnny)
"Watch this"
"It's Sunday!" (To Charlie, the opposite of nighttime is sun-day. Makes perfect sense to me! When he wants to get up from his nap, he points to the sun shining through the window and says "it's Sun-day!")
He's getting the hang of pronouncing his own name and it sounds like Char-ree (which an improvement on  the previous Cha-ee).

His dad, some sticks, the park and Mount Olympus- what else does a boy need?

He's picking up mannerisms that make him seem so grown-up and clever, like coughing into his little fist
or shaking his sippy cup before drinking to check if there's any milk left in it.

He's delighted with his Mater and Lightning McQueen toys from Grandma Bev and Grandma Barb.
He's discovered chocolate milk and asks for it all the time.

He loves all things dinosaurs, cars, TOOLS, Kung Fu Panda, volcanoes and waterfalls, robots, ghosts, giants, and monsters. He often wants me to pretend I'm a big monster and chase him around the house.

loves his accessories

He has surprised me by knowing lots of words to songs and singing along in nursery or in the car. Some of his latest ones are I Love to See the Temple, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Old MacDonald Had a Farm and If You're Happy and You Know it complete with actions.

The other night my dad was outside in the backyard playing with Charlie and Lily. It was getting dark and Grandpa was pulling them around in the wagon while they both sang Twinkle Twinkle at the top of their lungs as stars began appearing in the sky.

Charlie requests (demands?) a back tickle at bedtime and a song, usually I am a Child of God or "Charlie's song" (which is Mother, I Love You with the words changed to Charlie, I Love You) but sometimes they make him feel tenderhearted and he cries. What a sweet little soul. So I'll choose a more upbeat, playful song which seems to help.

He still hasn't tried to climb out of his crib, though I know he's tall and strong enough to do it. I'm grateful he's still willing to sleep in the crib, I think it makes everyone's lives a little easier for the time being. He can get out of the pack and play in a hot second, so naps and sleeping places other than at home are non-existent. He now practices headstands in his crib when he's going to sleep and when he wakes up- I know he's awake when I hear the thump... thump... thump... over and over again.

He loves building forts with blankets and hiding in them with flashlights. Lately, he wants us to all "go a-seep a-gevver" (translation: go to sleep together) in the fort. John and Charlie and I (and sometimes George) will lie down on a big pillow under his semi-permanent fort in his room and Charlie covers us all up with one blanket.

Charlie created this road all on his own

He's working on doing chores- putting his dishes in the sink, brushing teeth, being still for diaper changes, getting dressed, putting his boots and coat away.

Still a very sensitive and reluctant eater of new foods. We've been trying my friend's kiss it, lick it, bite it method with some success (lots of choosing to "kiss"the new food and sometimes we only can get him to smell it.)

Likes to perform songs on his musical instruments, clap for himself while saying "Bravo!" then bows and says, "Thank you, thank you!"

painting a picture

more painting

playing at the park

Charlie and I made cupcakes together for the first time and he was such a great little helper!

George 5 months

George continues to grow and add chubby girth to his already substantial thighs. He weighs 20 lbs 7.7 oz and wears mostly size 12 month clothing (sometimes 9 months, sometimes 18 months- depends on the brand and how many times I've washed and dried it already.)

He had an his first (I hope his last!) ear infection. He cried and cried in the middle of the night from 10 pm to 3 am and couldn't be soothed. He refused to nurse (which really was a big clue that it was his ears) so I tried all my tricks to ease the pain: lavender essential oil, Tylenol, swaddling, unswaddling, and nothing worked. I just bounced and bounced him for hours and prayed. Every time I'd go to lay him down, he'd wake up again. The worst part is that John was in Belgium on a business trip. It was rough for both of us to go through that solo. I finally got him to sleep and we both slept huddled sideways on the bed the rest of the night, because I didn't dare move.

Likes to blow spit bubbles and has found his feet. Every time I change his diaper he seems delighted and surprised that his naked toes are within reach again.

I can't believe I've forgotten to write about this- when he's tired, he makes a low, whiny, grunting cry. It's like his own little expiration date alarm to say, "Hey people, I've had it!" He does it in the car seat or when I'm bouncing him before he falls asleep. It's so cute.

He's talking and babbling a lot and it's so fun to hear that his voice is similar to Charlie's.

He's getting interested in looking at (and gnawing on) books.

This month for the first time, he's started getting mad and crying if you take away something that he wants. He's also becoming pretty worried around strangers. Other than those two instances, he's very happy and pleasant and even-keeled. He's a good balance for Charlie at this age. :)

Kate's baby shower

Gotta love the thrift store

I picked up this treasure a few months before Christmas- a whole knit outfit- sweater, pants and hat- for only 2 bucks. I had Charlie wear it for our post-Christmas friends get together and he was the height of fashion. He's also sporting a black eye that he got on Christmas Day from being amped on sugar and excitement and no nap.

 

Featured on the news!

Last Wednesday, I got a phone call from my Hypnobabies coach, Marinda Lloyd, asking me to participate in a television interview featuring her business, The Doula House. The only catch was they were going to be at my house in less than an hour! Yikes! Marinda is a wonderful teacher and friend, not to mention that she showed up in the middle of the night on a moment's notice to assist in George's birth. So of course, I was happy to help her out.

Barb Smith from ABC4 interviewed me about my experience using Hypnobabies hypnosis for childbirth and I had a lot of fun sharing my story.

Here's a link to the article and video.
Hypnosis helps women deliver babies without pain


A special thanks to Grandma Sue who dropped everything at a moment's notice to come help me with the kids so I could be interviewed. :)

*cross posted on my other blog 3 Mamas Wellness.

Co-sleeping (originally published Feb. 28, 2010)

This post was originally published here in 2010. 

Bringing home my newborn baby was one of the most surreal moments of my life. Not only was I responsible for this little human’s survival and happiness, I had to make all the rules regarding his care. It was overwhelming to begin to make these decisions for Charlie.
One decision was where he should sleep at night. Holding him in my arms all night didn’t seem unreasonable to me! We had a crib in the nursery that adjoined our room, a mere eight feet away from our bed.

It was too far away.

We had a bassinet in our room that I placed next to my side of the bed, two feet away from me.

Still too far away.

I wanted Charlie right next to me where I could reach out and touch him in the night. I had spent over 9 months with no separation between our bodies at all and it seemed so foreign and strange to me to be apart from him.

After three sleepless nights, I found this co-sleeper and had it shipped overnight. I was finally able to rest comfortably, with my baby sleeping safely beside me where I could see, hear, touch and nurse him throughout the night.

As he grew bigger and I grew as a parent, co-sleeping continued to be our family preference. He outgrew the co-sleeper and I read up on safe family sleeping. I learned to breastfeed lying down, so Charlie’s night feedings barely woke either of us. I began to feel more rested. The peace of mind of having him near me allowed me to overcome a lot of my new-mother anxieties.

Sure, there were sacrifices in sharing our bed. We couldn’t read or talk before bed, we had to tiptoe across the incredibly squeaky floor, we had to be creative when it came to, um, connecting as a couple. Occasionally I got head butted or smacked in the eye by my increasingly mobile child. But these inconveniences seemed small in comparison to the benefits of closeness we gained.

Many people have asked me if my husband minded our sleeping arrangement.  Quite the contrary, he is a huge fan of family sleeping! He works long hours and having that extra time with Charlie throughout the night and waking with him in the morning has brought him so much joy.

After 11 months of co-sleeping, we began moving Charlie to his crib. It’s been slow, gentle, and baby-led. Most nights he ends up in our bed in the wee hours for an early morning feeding and we all fall back to sleep together. I love how gradually and peacefully he is learning to sleep on his own. And I love sharing my bed.

George- 4 months

18 lbs 11 oz (97%)
27.25 inches (98%)
head 76%
For comparison, Charlie at 4 months: weight- 18 lbs (94%), height- 27.5 inches (99%), head (83%)


George, you are getting to be more and more fun every day! You've started laughing at Charlie and Charlie loves it! He'll sometimes stop what he's doing when he notices you laughing and will try to get you to do it again.

You are still roly, poly and chubby. You love grabbing for your feet during diaper changes. Speaking of diapers, you moved up again and now you're wearing size 4!

Everyone comments on how happy, pleasant and social you are. You really are so chill and happy most of the time. Unless I try to leave you for very long at night, then you get really mad. You don't like binkies or bottles so that's part of the problem.

You are still a catnapper, taking between 3-4 naps a day.

Sometimes you get distracted from eating because you wants to just smile at me and coo and talk. It's very darling but kind of wet for both of us.

You think that anyone talking near you is talking TO you and you smile at them with a huge, gummy grin. You love being talked to- sometimes I can get big laughs from you just by talking to you.

You laugh in your sleep all the time, it's the most darling thing ever.

It's funny that some people say how much you look like Charlie because I think you two look SO different!

Enter to win a hand drawn portrait!

My friend, Jessica, writes a wonderfully fun and creative blog called The Blue Basket. She posts tutorials and crafts that she does with her 3 (soon to be 4!) boys. My favorite part is that when I read her blog, I'm left feeling inspired and capable instead of overwhelmed and imperfect like I do when I read some other creative blogs. Her ideas are fun, engaging and doable. Love it.

Today she's having a giveaway of a beautiful hand-drawn portrait for free to one lucky commenter (a $175 value). What a talented friend I have! Head on over and enter for your chance to win!