10 months old

Charlotte has officially been in the world longer than she was inside me. She is looking more and more like a little girl and losing those baby characteristics. There is literally at least one moment every day when I look at her and think "Wow, she is really beautiful". She has a lot more hair now, not quite enough for a bow yet (much to the chagrin of many who shall remain unnamed!) but she is actually getting two curls in the back. Truthfully, her hair can take as long as it wants to grow, I am dreading the chore of fixing her hair every day! Charlotte went from army crawling to robotic crawling to speed crawling this month. There are actually times now when I turn away just to answer the phone or grab something out of her reach and I have to search to see where she went. She is pulling up on everything and gradually starting to take steps. We also moved from stage 2 to stage 3 in her foods and we are trying to just cut up some of our meals for her to eat. This is proving harder than it seems because Bryce and I don't always eat healthy, balanced meals. Charlotte can drink from a cup (with or without a spout), wave bye-bye, clap, and bounce and splash when asked to. She can also acknowledge different items around the house (where's Dada? where's Baxter? where's the ball?). We are still working on sign language but it is a hard habit to keep. I couldn't be happier with her schedule this summer, she lays right down for her naps and bedtime and has been sleeping until at least 8:00. Overall, we have a happy and healthy little girl. I am already thinking about her first birthday and what an emotional day that will be!


Where did she go?


Big girl reaching in her toy box.


10 months old today.


These pictures are getting harder and harder to take
now that she's mobile!

What's up?

We have worked ourselves into a sad state of affairs with Ms. Charlotte. Bryce is convinced that her top teeth are coming in and bothering her but I kinda think she's just trying to assert herself as an independent woman. It all started when she would not drink more than 3 ounces out of her bottle. I also tried a sippy cup, a cup without a lid, nothing worked. Without letting the panic set in (like I did last time when her bottom teeth came through) I decided to just let her "eat" the rest of that formula by mixing it in oatmeal and giving it to her with her meal. That worked for about a day, until she decided she wasn't going to eat oatmeal, rice cereal, or mixed cereal either. And don't even think about trying to sneak it in with my fruit and veggies Mom! I know it's there!
Ugh. So she is literally taking a bite of cereal now and holding it in her mouth until we get her to wash it down with water. I called the Pediatrician who basically said RELAX. If she doesn't want to eat it, don't make her. She suggested a vitamin (poly vi sol) to ease my fears that she isn't getting the nutrition she needs and told me to weigh her if I got really worried. She also told me that in two months time Charlotte isn't going to be drinking formula any more anyway, so why I am so worried? Her last suggestion was to let Charlotte feed herself as much as possible and try to give her what we are eating at our meals. I took this last piece of advice to heart and starting with dinner she ate what we ate.....pasta (I cooked her a separate sauce out of this recipe book), broccoli, and grapes (all cut baby fine). Of course she scarfed it down like a champ.





She has a slight fever (around 99.5) and seems a little quieter than usual but still plays really hard. One of the few moments of relief seem to come from this fresh food feeder by Munchkin. I put frozen peaches or mango inside this little bag and she goes to town. She has become a fast little crawler in the last week or so too. Hopefully this is another puzzling phase that will pass soon.

What I've learned from Gymboree

1. Charlotte really is a smart little girl.
2. Charlotte doesn't just look like her daddy, she acts like him too. She is very shy and reserved and prefers to sit back and watch until she is ready to join the action. Then she likes to show off.
3. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. For better or worse, kids act just like their parents.
4. You are who you are. The temperament you have as a baby is probably yours to keep. I saw a lot of personalities of my high school students in those less than one year olds.
5. You actually can have a song for every activity (i.e. welcome time, circle time, play time, bubble time, good-bye time). And then these songs get stuck in your head for the rest of the day! There are bubbles in the air, in the air, there are bubbles in the air, in the air...there are bubbles in the air, there are bubbles everywhere, there are bubbles in the air in the air.....
6. Once you empower your child their whole world opens up. Charlotte has become more confident (dare I say fearless), exploratory, and social because of this class.
7. Once you become a Mommy to one, you become a Mommy to all...if you see a kid about to fall you go for it whether they are yours or not. The kids also crawl up to you for a lap to sit in whether they came with you or not!
8. Every Mommy out there is just trying to do their best and wants what is best for their baby.

Dahlonega

Bryce and I took Charlotte to Dahlonega today. We have become more and more nostalgic for our college town and really look forward to eating at our favorite Mexican restaurant and driving through the mountains. I did learn that Dahlonega is NOT very baby friendly, I could not find one baby changing station any where we went and between the stairs and hills every where we ended up putting our stroller back in the car and just carrying her. It absolutely blows my mind that SIX YEARS have gone by since we lived there! I obviously has big hopes about where our lives would lead when we said good-bye to our old college and friends but I had no idea we would be this happy and this blessed.


Hanging out on the square....notice the leg
propped up outside of the stroller. That's
her new trick.

Our very first class

I have driven past a Gymboree sign at the Mall of Georgia so many times, but I never knew they offered classes there. I signed Charlotte up for a free "preview" class online, and we had our trial today. At first I was a little skeptical because Charlotte has been acting very shy around people she doesn't know or doesn't see often, but once we were out on that floor she did great. It was a pretty small class and Charlotte got to practice climbing up stairs, going down slides, clapping, crawling....I was actually a little worn out when the class was over ! I thought Charlotte would be tired too but she was totally revved up and ready for more. We liked the class so much that we decided to get a month's membership and go to class at least once a week until summer is over. It really was a very cool experience and I think going back a few more times will help Charlotte master some new skills. She falls right in between two age groups right now (6-10 months and 10-16 months) so we will actually get to do some classes in the lower age group and then move up at the end of our month for even more excitement.


Sliding down a ramp in a big tube


And...she's off! I want those bubbles!!


More bubbles! More bubbles!

If you are interested in classes at Gymboree, please tell them I referred you....we get a credit for more classes that way!

Week in review

Bryce and I took Charlotte to downtown Athens for a day trip. We've violated our policy of all naps in her own crib twice this week and we've paid for it with a fussy baby at night. We had such a good time walking around all of the little shops and having everyone tell us what a beautiful baby we have. Despite the face she's making, she really did like sitting on the bulldog!

We also took a little stroll by the University of Georgia and Charlotte looked TOO CUTE in her pink UGA hat!


After Charlotte's nine month check up we talked about changing her out of her carseat into an infant seat. We decided to go with the True fit by The First Years, because a friend highly recommended it and this blog sealed the deal. It also got great reviews on consumer reports. This car seat goes up to 65 pounds (so we shouldn't even need a booster seat), has a head rest that attaches to make it even taller, and rides forward or reverse. The APA recommends that babies ride in reverse until their second birthday and even though it is inconvenient we are going to leave her facing backwards for awhile. Just one video on the damage that happens to a baby's neck if they are in a car crash is enough for me.




Of course, the best thing about getting something new is the box it came in! Charlotte wants to open and close everything right now. Kitchen cabinets, dresser drawers, books, lids, etc. She has so much fun "opening and closing" this box!



Going for my first ride in my big girl car seat.



We went to the Marietta Square today for the 4th of July celebration. We got to see my parents, Bryce's parents at their booth, and my aunt and uncle. We officially became "those parents" with a red faced baby out in the heat that I always talk bad about, but we tried really hard to stay in the shade as much as possible. My Dad decided to treat Charlotte for handling the heat so well by sneaking her little bites of frozen yogurt. Of course Charlotte loved it!


More frozen yogurt Grandpa!!



Charlotte also fought me on wearing this hat, but in the end I won. One of the many battles that will be challenged between mother and daughter, I'm sure!



All the heat was worth it in the end, just for this lamp. I found it in a little store on the square, and I LOVE IT!! I had originally told Bryce that I was buying it for Charlotte's birthday, but it will look so cute in her room I'm not sure I can wait!!

I also spent some time at my parents house this week helping them clean out for a re-model. They are painting, getting new flooring, new cabinets, new appliances....going all out! I hope it is all done by Christmas time so we can see Charlotte walking around at their house!

Bryce and I are going to finish off this fourth of July with some Margaritas and sit on the back porch to watch fire works!

Wordless Wednesday