Month Three

Month three with our Charlie continues to be divine! We sure did luck up with an easy going, sweet as can be baby girl. She is just growing like crazy, too! We went from saying what a tiny little frog baby she was when she first came home, to calling her "Chunk" now. 

In Charlie's third month of life, we turned our little cozy at-home world upside down, and Mommy went back to work. Charlie started joining her sister at daycare, and so far it seems to be going quite well. She is always either smiling or sleeping when we pick her up and her teachers mark her "daily mood" as Happy just about every day. I take Emily in with me when I drop off and pick up Charlie, and she just loves going to "Tarlie's room". At afternoon pickup, Emily runs in yelling "Tarlie, Tarlie" and looking for her sister. She seems to be napping well there, and of course she eats well. And no illnesses yet (knock on wood!).

Over Labor Day weekend Mikey's Aunt Pat came to visit us from Wyoming. We had a house full of family and it was so much fun! Some how I didn't get all that many pictures though. What can I say, my hands are full almost all the time! We took Pat and the girls to the Dickson County Fair, and it was interesting to say the least.

Emily wasn't much in to riding things by herself, but we did take a train ride together.

We tried to stay for the demolition derby, but as soon as those cars started crashing, both girls started screaming and we had to take off out of there.

Since that was also the weekend before I was scheduled to go back to work, we decided to move Charlie to her own room at last. I was nervous, as usual, but she did great! She slept through the night both nights that weekend, and has pretty much done so ever since. She still sleeps on her tummy most of the time, and so she wiggles herself all around the crib, and usually ends up with her face squished against the rails. She will fuss a little, but if we go up and move her back to the middle, she will go right back to sleep. And, I will admit, I have no problem with bringing her in to our bed in the middle of the night if needed!

The girls and I made two trips to Atlanta without Daddy this month. The first one was just us three, and to say I was nervous about the drive down would be an understatement! I loaded the car with books and snacks and water, and I made a little diaper changing area in the back so that I wouldn't have to stop at sketchy bathrooms. 

Emily was really good! She read her books, and chattered to me about the "monkeys in the trees" that she said she saw out her window. When she says it, it sounds like she is saying "monkey cheese" but I know what she means. Charlie slept most of the way down, but she woke up about 45 minutes from Atlanta and needed to eat, so we pulled off the interstate and fed her. I let Emily sit in the front seat with me, and she thought she was so big - pushing all the buttons, opening the sunroof, all those fun car things. Every button in my car had greasy little fingerprints on it!

Our second trip to Atlanta, we took Grandma and went down to Katie's first baby shower. We had a fun visit but Emily developed a funky looking rash on her elbow and legs. She has always had eczema so we thought that was what it was. Also, Charlie decided sleeping was dumb and cried most of the night and all through the shower the next day.

We went to Katie's shower - which was lovely- and then headed home. Charlie had another rough night and Emily's skin wasn't clearing up. so I decided to take Emily to the doctor that next Monday.

As it turned out, the dreaded Hand Foot and Mouth disease was making its way through Emily's daycare class and she had gotten it, but instead of blisters in the normal places - her hands, feet and mouth - it had shown up on her already damaged skin in the places where her eczema normally is.

She had no other symptoms and didn't seem to even be uncomfortable. However, she did infect the one year old baby that she played with at the shower. Oops.

 I just adore the age Emily is at right now. She keeps us laughing every day with the things she says and the faces she makes.

Some bullet point updates on Miss E:

• She loves to have you sing the ABC song. She will yell "ABC Mommy" or "ABC Daddy" and if we don't burst in to song right away, she just keeps yelling until we do.
• She can also count to ten - she will say 1, 2, 3, 4 (she actually says Fork), 7, 9, 10. And she gets progressively louder as she counts, until the 9, 10 come out in a holler!
• She loves Mickey Mouse and Elmo and asks for both of them to be on TV constantly. 
• She pronounces her Fs as Ps, so that makes for some funny conversations. Have you ever met Mickey's friend "Goopy"? Or played "pootball"? Or eaten your dinner with a "pork"? We have!
• Her favorite person on Earth is her little sissy. She asks for Tarlie from the moment I pick her up at daycare until we get C in the car. She hovers over Charlie while she is in her swing and will say "she sleeping". When they take baths together, Emily pours the water over Charlie's legs and belly and only occasionally on her face.

Life with two kids under two years old is definitely non-stop and hard work, but it is also so much fun. We feel so lucky to have our happy, healthy girls. I go back and forth between wanting to freeze time and keep them little forever, and then also wishing I could see the future and see the young ladies they are going to be.

Two months old

Charlie is two months old!

Actually she has been two months for a while but I am a slacker and haven't found time to blog about her 2nd month yet.

Charlie, when you read this someday, please don't think that the lack of blog posts has any reflection on my love for you or interest in you! Honestly, I spend most of my days holding you and don't have a free hand for typing!

Miss Charlie continues to be a sweet, peaceful baby. She rarely makes a fuss unless she is really hungry and even then it's not too bad.

She is still a loudmouth though - always grunting, cooing, and just making her presence known!

At her two month check up she weighed 11lbs. 

She got several shots that day, but took them like a champ with very little tears.

Sleeping continues to be a bit of an issue, because she just doesn't like napping or sleeping anywhere but her swing or our arms. I know I need to get her used to her crib at some point, but to be totally honest, I like sleeping with her. And I know that when it is done, it is done  - so I am in no hurry to give that up.

She started smiling this month and it is about as cute as can be. She doesn't smile as much as Emily did at this age, but when she does - oh my, she lights up the room! She smiles alot at her big sister whenever she catches sight of her. She especially likes it when you "get" her nose and she will chuckle and give you a big cheesy grin.

We went on several fun family outings this month.

We took the girls to the Williamson County Fair, and to the zoo for their first visit.

Charlie spent both outings in a carrier on my chest, so she didn't see much of either one. And it was pretty hot on both occasions, so I am guessing that she didn't find them very pleasant.

But they were fun!

The girls and I also went to Atlanta to visit Aunt Katie and Uncle Tyler, while Mikey went on a Tunica weekend with his friends. I was very nervous about driving down with both girls by myself but it went smoothly. Charlie slept almost the whole way, and Emily was a little angel - she read books, ate snacks, and talked her head off the entire way.

It was a relaxed weekend but always fun to see Titi and Tyty!

Big Sister at 20 months old:

Emily is at an awesome / frustrating age. She is so funny and talkative and its just amazing to watch her grow and learn. On the other hand - she is growing and learning and testing her independence and that leads to some bratty behavior. She knows what she wants, but she doesn't always have the words to tell us, or the maturity and patience to wait for us to figure it out and get it for her. She whines ALOT.

But, I know this is a phase and we will survive it. And she is SO fun the rest of the time that it is really hard to stay mad about the whining!

Emily and Daddy took a few "swimming lessons" recently. It wasn't really geared towards teaching them to swim, more of just familiarity with being in the water. She did OK at it - she could do all the things the instructors said, if she was in the mood too. They actually left the last class early because she was not wanting to do anything and acting up. It was really cute to watch all those kids kicking around and blowing bubbles. The Y has a big slide in the shape of a whale and I think she liked going down that most of all!

She still likes her little sister but I think the novelty is wearing off.

She has hit Charlie a few times and will whine if Charlie is sitting in the bouncy chair and Emily wants to sit there. Mostly she is kind to her though  - she brings her the paci (and shoves it in her mouth) and she always gives her blankets back (after she steals them).

She has been asking to "hode her" lately. We always let her, but as soon as we put Charlie in her lap, she starts saying No No No. I think it is just her attempt to get us to put Charlie down!

I only have the rest of this week and then next week until I go back to work. I am nervous and excited and sad all at once. Nervous about what our days will be like and if I will be really stressed all the time, Excited to get in to some sort of real life routine and to begin finding our rhythm, and Sad because I will never have these days at home with a newborn baby again. Once Charlie goes to daycare, I know the days will start racing by and she will seem to grow even faster.

Even though we are very sure that we are happy with two kids and don't need more, I am still very aware of all the "lasts" and sometimes that makes me sad. I want to recognize and savor the moments as they come and go, and try not to always be looking forward to the girls growing up. 

Charlie at One month old

Happy one month birthday, Charlie girl!

Like most newborns, Charlie doesn't do much besides sleep. Our days at home consist of a morning nap, maybe running a few errands, chores, and an afternoon nap - with a few other naps thrown in as well.

At night she sleeps pretty well, if you don't mind sleeping next to a grizzly bear. This girl grunts and moans and groans all night long! The first few nights I hopped up so many times thinking she was awake and she was snoozing away, but making crazy noises. I am getting more used to them now and I don't rush to get her as fast until I am sure she is actually awake and needing me. She has been waking about every three hours, but last night (on her four week birthday) she gave us a stretch of about 6 hours of sleep.

During her second week of life, we went back to her doctor for a follow up visit regarding her jaundice issues. The doctor thought she looked great and didn't even test her blood again. She had surpassed her birth weight and just looked wonderful in general. Thank goodness!

I am beginning to think she looks less like Emily and a little more like me...maybe? Maybe that is just wishful thinking. I can definitely see a resemblance through the nose and mouth area. Her eyes are still dark blue and she still has her full head of dark hair. It isn't even falling out yet, because she rarely sleeps anywhere other than on our chests, so it doesn't rub off!

That same week we also had her newborn photos and our family photos taken by our friend Evin. She kindly let us come to her (gorgeous!!) home to take them, since Charlie doesn't actually have a nursery yet. They came out great and now we have the challenge of deciding which ones to order. We have started Emily sleeping in her big girl bed and we are ready to move the crib to Charlie's room. So Miss grizzly bear might be getting evicted soon!

Big sister has been sent home twice from daycare in the past month - once for diarrhea and once for having a temperature, which meant I had both girls home with me. (She's fine from both). I will admit I was nervous. Mostly I was just worried about how I would entertain Emily and meet Charlie's needs at the same time. Both days ended up being fine though and I am sure it will only get easier as time goes on. However, I have new respect for stay at home moms - and I already had plenty of respect for them with one child! 

A few pictures of our sleeping beauty:

Big Sis news:

Emily is as crazy as ever. Talking up a storm and making us laugh constantly. I mentioned above that she was sick with a temperature recently. She had one for about 4 days over July 4th weekend and she refused to eat anything except macaroni and cheese. She threw up her breakfast one day and was just kind of a pitiful mess in general. I took her to the doctor and they couldn't really pinpoint anything specific - probably just a virus. As usual, her recovery began right after I made the doctor appointment and she seems all better now.

We got her a swing for under the deck and she LOVES it. She would stay out there forever if we let her.

She has done great in her big girl bed. We take turns reading a story and putting her to bed. Some nights she whimpers a bit when we leave but she usually goes right to sleep. She is obsessed with shoes (she calls them "doos") and will often take a pair to bed with her. She loves to wear our shoes as well.

She is a very sweet big sister. She always asks "baby?" when she can't see her right away, and she wants to kiss her and sit next to her and give her a paci (which Charlie is not interested in at all). She doesn't quite know her own strength so we have to watch her carefully or else Charlie would be going on very extreme swings and getting not so gentle pats on the back! The other day at the doctor's office, Emily said she had a "boo boo" on her hand (she didn't) and I kissed it to make it better. She walked over to Charlie in her carseat and smacked her hand down on C's mouth so that she could kiss the boo boo as well.

She amazes me daily with how grown up she is becoming! Her almost two year old attitude is showing sometimes, and there have been some fits pitched already, but she is so darn cute that it is hard to get all that mad at her.

Hello Charlie - week 1 recap.

Charlie is here!  Arriving two weeks early, weighing 7lbs, 1oz and 20 inches long, she arrived in a much easier fashion than her big sister.

We were finishing up dinner last Monday night and I lifted Emily out of her seat and felt my water break. I hadn't had any contractions yet but we called the doctor on call and together we all decided better safe than sorry and headed to the hospital. After I sobbed my eyes out about leaving Emily for a few days, of course. 

When we got there and got checked in, I was having slight contractions but nothing unbearable. We hung out all night just waiting for something to happen and it never did so in the morning they started a pitocin drip. 

From that point things went fast! A few hours and 4 little pushes later and she was in my arms! She looks a lot like her sister as a newborn, but smaller and with a head full of dark hair. I am thinking I might have a shot at a kid that looks like me!

The epidural worked way more in my left leg than my right one for some reason so it took a few hours for that one to come back to life but when it did, we moved to our permanent room and settled in for the next two days. We were almost nursery buddies with Kelly Clarkson and her new daughter! As Mikey was going to load the car for us to leave, he rode the elevator with Reba and Narvel, on their way to see their granddaughter being born!

Charlie was a very sleepy girl for her first two days. She didn't want to wake up to eat, even going as long as 8 hours between meals at one point. As a result, she got pretty jaundiced - orange is not a good shade on your newborn! We have been back to the doctor twice since we got home and her bilirubin levels rose at first and then came back down over the weekend so we are good to go now.

first visit to the doctor

Daddy cuddles make it all better!

She is still a sleepyhead but I am being tougher about making her wake up for meals.

Sleeping beauty

She is so tiny! We agreed that we really have no memories of Em being quite this itty bitty. Emily was out of newborn clothes within a week or so but Charlie is swimming in them. 

So far her likes include her swing, and dislikes are diaper changes and being tightly swaddled. 

We have had several visitors at the hospital and since we got home - Erin, Heather, Abby and Will, Leslie and Paul and Shannon. Aunt Katie came from Atlanta and stayed a few days, Aunt Michelle and cousin Ryah came from Kentucky, and Grandma and Grandaddy have been over several times. 

We have loved seeing everyone! Emily especially thinks the company is for her and has been entertaining all the guests. 

Recovery for me has been easier this time too. I feel great, other than tired, obviously, and everyone keeps fussing at me to relax more. It's so hard when Emily runs up and throws her arms up! I just want to cuddle her but I'm not supposed to lift anything heavier than the baby for two weeks.
So far, so good around here! I still can't wrap my head around the fact that I have TWO kids! What a trip.
We took both girls to the doctor yesterday at the same time - Emily for her 18 month check up, and Charlie for a jaundice follow up visit - and it was chaos! No one misbehaved, but it was just so much going on at once and I can't imagine how anyone could have done that by themselves. Guess we will figure it out as we go though. We definitely rewarded Mom and Dad with milkshakes on the way home though!

Emily update:
Emily spent her week with a variety of amazing sitters who stepped in and helped us out SO much. Leslie came and spent the night with her when we went to the hospital and then took her to daycare the next day. We were worried how she would react to Mom and Dad not being there when she woke up, but judging from this breakfast photo, she was fine!

All smiles, always!

She came to the hospital Tuesday night to meet her sister. She was a little unsure at first - could be because everyone was staring at her and videotaping, but she warmed up quickly. Before they left for the night, she was giving her baby sister kisses and pats on the head.

Pointing to baby's eyes and nose.

Sweet kisses

And, I am out of here!

Aunt Katie got here Wednesday night and took Emily home and then watched her until we got discharged on Thursday. I think they had fun!

She loves taking selfies.

We call this her "crazy face"

She is very interested in the baby. Each morning she says "baby?" when she gets up, and wants to watch her in the swing (and maybe help her swing a little) and she tries to give her a pacifier or her toys. She is also very in to swiping Charlie's toys and blankets so that she can play with the tags. Emily has a bit of a tag obsession. She doesn't really chew them, just rubs them on her face. Weirdo.

The little hanging Monkey has a tag! Hooray!

I probably have said this at every age, but 18 months is my favorite so far! She is so funny! I think she grew up a year in the 3 days I was at the hospital. Her vocabulary grows daily. Her favorite phrase right now is "No, Mommy" and she says it in response to everything, no matter who is asking. She drags out the No to several syllables and it is so darn cute. She understands everything we tell her and wants to do many things for herself.
She loves shoes and drags them all over the house, always trying to put them on and take them off on her own.
She has been reluctant to swim much this year - she wants to sit on the stairs and pour water from cups, but she cries when you put her all the way in. That all changed when Ryah came to town! She was going off the diving board! Of course, her Daddy was there to catch her every time.
She wanted to copy every thing that Ryah did. This is one of the first time she really "noticed" Ryah as a playmate - before, she just kind of wanted to do her own thing. It was pretty cute to watch her try to be a "big girl".
At her doctor appointment, we learned that she weighs 24 lbs, and is in the 95th percentile for height. Healthy as can be!


We are so thankful for our healthy, beautiful girls. We know that things will be hectic around here for a while, but we are ready for the challenge and looking forward to the fun times ahead!

Emily on top, Charlie on the bottom

Naptime!