Friday, July 27, 2012

charlotte five months

five months.
we are up in syracuse for my little brother's wedding, so we don't have the monthly chair and pillow shots (that are always my least favorite anyway), but we did get some pictures outside in the perfect cloudy light.
  • personality - she continues to amaze me with her sweet smile, little giggles and attachment to her thumb & toes.  charley has started to get into this "i only want my mommy" phase.  most days i love it, but every now and then wouldn't mind if she would not scream at the top of her lungs when i pass her off to someone else.  thankfully she hasn't done it to the grandparents very much.  just the strangers on the street.  ;)
  • moving - i believe it was the day after i wrote her four month post that charley started rolling over from her stomach to her back.  she pushes up, turns to the side and flips.  no more tummy time!  she has also rolled from her back to her stomach, but i have yet to witness it.  i have put her on the play mat, walked out of the room to get laundry, and came back to find sweet charlotte three feet away from where i put her.  really, i think she doesn't do it because that would put her back on her stomach.
  •  clothes - pretty much all six month clothes.  size two diapers.  15 lbs and 25+ inches.  she's our little chunky monkey (chunkers for short.)
  • daily schedule - still sleeping like a, well, baby.  i think she is slowly transitioning from three naps to two, which actually makes my life a little easier.  longer naps = more time to get things around the house done = one happy mama.
  • fly boy - it's official. charlotte is a daddy's girl.  no doubt about it.  anytime fly boy is home, and charley can see him, she is all smiles.  as soon as he walks out of the room, she cries.  and not just a little wimper kind of cry, the "what-have-i-done-to-you-to-do-this-to-me" kind of cry.  it's adorable.  and fly boy loves every minute of it.






















then she got tired...




and cranky...




Wednesday, July 25, 2012

midweek confessions - mostly mommy issue



thanks e myself and i for the link up!

- we have a rock star of a sleeper baby.  i know we are lucky, and may never be this lucky again.. to be able to sleep through the night, it's a gift.  still, instead of being grateful, i find myself worrying that tonight might be the last night sweet charley sleeps without waking up.  or that if i tell one more person how lucky we are, that is what will end our streak of luck.  i don't even believe in "luck." waste.of.time.

- i usually go to bed before fly boy.  some nights, especially if i am in any kind of cranky, grumpy or selfish mood, i purposely sleep in the middle of the bed, hogging both pillows.  i know it drives fly boy nuts to come to bed to a warm pillow, and yet, i do it anyway...i love having that much more surface area to roll around and find the coolest spot.  sorry babe.

- lately, i have had a horrible case of wedding envy.  especially wedding dress envy.  it started with my future sister-in-law going wedding dress shopping, then was magnified by a friend's wedding a few weeks ago.  talk about beautiful brides.  don't get me wrong, i LOVED our wedding.  it was perfect.  and i am thankful i do not have to go through the planning again.  so obviously, it is a good use colossal waste of time to be searching dozens of designer wedding dress sites on a daily basis.

- i was dreading flying home to syracuse for our little vacation.  and now i am dreading flying back.  charley and i flew when she was only six weeks old, but my mom flew with us both ways.  i had to fly by myself with charley on the way up.  it wasn't too bad, she loves likes her ergo enough, we only had one stop, and she slept most of the second leg...but here i am, having an internal freak-out session every time i start to think about packing again.  fly boy will even be with me.  now i know why parents of babies/newborns don't travel very often.  also, i want to be the "i have it all together, this is no big deal" mom that isn't worried about flying with a five month old.

- tonight i went to dinner with some friends.  it was the second time in charley's life that i didn't put her to bed myself.  i was on the verge of tears the entire drive to dinner.  ridiculous.  then, when i got home and charley was long asleep, i went in to check on her, knowing full well that she was likely to wake up.  she did.  she cried.  and i somehow felt better about myself knowing that i still got to "put her to sleep."  attachment issues?  i think so.

- tomorrow charley will be 5 months old.  today a month ago, i started to worry out about her 1st birthday party.  today, i had the thought while brushing my teeth, "i only have SEVEN months to plan her party!"  someone, please...help me.  i'm turning into that mom. 

- i think that 30 minutes in a pool is 75% as good as a bath.  at least for charley.


perfectly pink shower

wedding season is upon us.
and with weddings, that also means showers!
i had the honor of throwing my future sister-in-law a wedding shower this past weekend.
it was a perfect day.











and the bride-to-be looked beautiful!


charley even joined in on some of the fun.


we can't wait for the wedding jess!!

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

simple dreams

after a some amusing texts with a friend today regarding lucy and charley's hopes and dreams for the future, i got to thinking (aside from the fact that i just used the phrase "i got to thinking," ...good grief i've been in the south way too long) about simple dreams.

lucy's biggest dream throughout the day really boils down to one of four things:
1.  play?  please play with me.
2.  did someone say walk?  something that rhymes with walk?  i want to go for a walk.  please take me for a walk.
3.  dinner?  yes, please.
4.  treat.  yes.  i will sit, lie down, or stay for a treat.




and charley's dreams i am sure revolve around six similar thoughts:
1. being held
2. when she will get to eat next
3. being held
4. having her diaper changed
5. cuddling
6. chewing on her beloved sophie.
7. being held


so simple. 


at first, i was feeling sorry for myself.  i am surrounded by such "simple minded" beings all day, everyday.  and yet, there is something profound in that lucy & charley's desires boil down to one thing..


to be loved.


don't get me wrong, i still love and cherish intellectually stimulating conversations.

but really, don't my hopes and dreams boil down to the same thing?  to be loved.  and to love?

so today i'm taking my cues from a 4 month old and a 1.5 year-old dog.
and really, i don't think i give them quite as much credit as i should.
i'm going to love them.

Monday, July 9, 2012

girls week

my dear friend, annie, came to visit for a week.
words cannot describe how sweet the time was.
there is something that melts a mama's heart to watch a girl she loves, love on her daughter.
we miss you already annie!