A happy valentine's day

My mom and dad were out of town, so we had no baby sitter but Bryce and I have found a new favorite date. There is this great store in Suwanee called Fresh Market. It is a bit like Whole Foods, but they also have scrumptious meals that are ready to bake. Bryce and I got Beef Wellington and potatoes, with cheesecake for dessert and brought it home to heat and eat. We really get the best of both worlds this way, we get a nice meal that we didn't have to create, and we get to spend time together with Charlotte. Valentine's day is always a special celebration for us because I invited Bryce to Kappa Delta's crush party on V-day and we have been together ever since. Plus, I'm admittedly a bit of a romantic and I just love the sweetness of the day.

My friend Mary has turned me into a Hallmark addict. They have such cute stuff and a gift for every occasion. Bryce and I picked out Bernice for Charlotte's first Valentine's day. She sings and flaps her wings and most importantly makes Charlotte smile. We had fun celebrating the day of love with our favorite love!

"The Scholar"

Happy Baby

We had such a fun weekend!

Bryce's Birthday Part III

Coming from the man who once told me "Beckie, a birthday is just another day", Bryce sure did get to stretch this birthday out. Having a child means you have to make multiple plans to divide events up into mini-sessions because a baby will never make it through one whole day full of activity without a meltdown. Charlotte was so much fun this weekend, she handled every bit of Bryce's birthday celebrations with a smile and we even got to catch up on some rest! Our families both came up this weekend to help Bryce celebrate his birthday some more. It was nice getting to see so many people love on Charlotte. Baxter and Lola loved all of the extra attention too!

Bryce's favorite....German Chocolate

Grandma Mickie and Grandpa Dave

Charlie

My Mom could not wait to feed Charlotte! Charlotte ate every bite!

We also ventured to the park with Charlotte AND the dogs. I was a little bit nervous when we started off on our two mile journey...it's a long way back with a screaming baby or a dog that doesn't want to walk any more but everyone enjoyed the fresh air and sunshine (although it scares me a bit that it is only February and it was warm enough for shorts and open windows). Charlotte even took a nap on our walk! Baxter and Lola have been asleep on our couch all evening, I don't think they've seen this much action since this summer. We had to take some time off when Baxter hurt his leg, and then Charlotte was born and the weather turned cold, so needless to say both dogs are worn out.

We definitely have a car load now!

Everyone that passed by said "AWWW...that doggy hurt his leg!"

Bryce INSISTED that we were using Charlotte's "big girl seat" that
attaches to the UPPAbaby stroller.

As we were walking and people kept passing us, it dawned on me....we take up a whole lane now!

Bryce bought Charlotte a "Johnny Jumper" this weekend too, Charlotte looks like she is being swallowed by it, but she totally enjoyed the new found freedom of being able to move in circles and feel her feet on the floor. All of the other standing toys she has are still too tall for her, but this one adjusts enough for her to rock back and forth. Her laugh was absolutely infectious when she tried it out!

Charlotte trying to figure this thing out...check out the video below!

Having a baby in our home has been the best experience of my life. Sometimes I hear Charlotte making noises while I'm doing dishes or folding laundry and I literally stop so I can hear her better or go play with her. Other times I look at her perfect face and my mind is filled thinking "God she is so BEAUTIFUL". There are so many moments in my day now where I am filled with God's grace, and I close my eyes to thank him for such a precious gift. I have never seen Bryce happier, I have never felt closer to Bryce, and I have never looked forward to tomorrow as much as I do now!

Like a champ

The very first bite!
Charlotte ate her first bowl of cereal like a champ! I have had two pediatricians reassure me that there are virtually no cases of allergies stemming from or being caused by RICE cereal, and the AAP recommends that children who are exclusively breastfed start a rice cereal after four months to increase their iron intake and calories as they are becoming more active. Charlotte looked at us with her little scrunched up nose for the first couple of "bites" but by the end of the bowl she was trying to grab the spoon and guide it to her mouth. She was working on opening her mouth wide and swallowing towards the end of the feeding, but I was so impressed with how quickly she caught on! I thought for sure that all of the cereal would be wasted on her chin or spit out, but I would say that she ate most of it. Tonight will be our first test to see if the extra calories help her sleep any longer, but at any rate she seemed to learn this new skill very well. I also have to admit that I didn't really know what all the fuss with this feeding thing is about, it seemed like there was a line forming at our door of people who want to feed Charlotte "real" food. She was so darn cute while she was eating though, I'm not sure who will enjoy her feeding time more....Bryce and I or Charlotte!

Charlotte's 4 month check up

Sweet girl!

Our Pediatrician's office has four doctors, but two of them have been out on maternity leave so we had to push her four month check up back two weeks. Charlotte is growing right on target, she is up to 13 pounds 14 ounces and 26 inches long. She has hit all of her milestones so far (smiling, cooing, holding her head up and steady, rolling over), and the wonderful Pediatrician answered all of my questions. She did recommend that we limit Charlotte's time in exersaucers and jumparoos since we have had problems with her hips in the past and she confirmed with the Nurse Practitioner at our last visit that we should start rice cereal any day now. The doctor said that the iron stores in breast milk start depleting around four months and it may take her a little while to get the hang of using a spoon and swallowing food. It is a little scary because Charlotte has had nothing but breast milk up to this point, but also exciting because this is one step closer to the weaning stage. I have not really felt burdened by breastfeeding yet, but it is so time consuming at work. It finally hit me why I feel like I am getting nothing done: I stay at work shorter hours than I did before I had a child so that I can be home with Charlotte, and I spend 45 minutes to an hour of my day at work pumping. My colleagues have been absolutely wonderful in covering my classes but it is starting to feel exhausting. I just have to keep in mind that this is what I wanted for Charlotte and it is only a little piece of her life that will be over before I know it. I can't wait to see how my little one takes to sitting up and eating food!
Charlotte handled her shots like a champ, though that pouty little lip afterward hurts my heart. She'll go back in two more weeks to finish out her four month shots and we will be on to the wonderful world of five month olds!


She wants to sit up by herself so bad!

Happy Birthday Bryce!

Bryce has finally caught up to the rest of us 27 year olds....

Twenty seven years ago Bryce was born in the hospital labor room with just a nurse present because Bryce wasn't going to wait for the delivery room or the doctor. Bryce still likes to do things his own way! A birthday is always a blessing, but I think this year it was a little bit sweeter! Happy Birthday Bryce, you are a wonderful man who deserves more than just one day to celebrate how truly amazing you are!







Charlotte was so interested in the presents this time around! She was grabbing the paper and trying to pull it to her mouth, but already so different from Christmas time!