Twelve Months

Charlie,


Happy first birthday to my sweet, active, curious, little munchkin. It truly has been the greatest thrill of my life to watch you grow up from a tiny newborn into a little boy full of spunk and personality. A year ago you lay snuggled tight in my arms and I could only imagine what kind of little person God had sent me and now I can't imagine my life without your sweet presence.

A boy through and through, you are obsessed with anything with wheels. I don't know how little babies pick up on gender stereotypes, but without any prompting by your Dad and I, you discovered a little lego block with wheels and it has hardly left your hand since. Not long after you discovered this "car" I heard you say "vroom" as you pushed it along. Where do you learn this stuff?!

 You LOVE to be outside but I hate taking you outside because you get so dirty and either your pants get all worn out or your poor knees get all scraped up. Just yesterday, I took you outside and while you were enthusiastically crawling towards the dirt (yay!) your foot got caught on your pant leg and you face planted into the cement, scraping your poor little nose and upper lip. You cried for a moment but were more mad that I tried to keep you in my arms instead of continuing to play. The real tears came when I tried to take you inside.  I can't wait until we can explore outside together walking. No pressure though :)

Since you were such an early roller and crawler I was so certain you would be walking by now, but you still seem pretty content with crawling. Its actually hard to imagine you walking because you are so efficient and FAST at crawling. When you are not crawling, you are permanently attached to your walker flying around corners and navigating around furniture with reckless abandon but impressively managing to stay upright.  Walking on your own has little appeal when you can cruise around the house at high speeds behind your walker. The walker was loaned to us by a friend, continues to be the only toy you play with consistently every day since you were four months old. We may just never be able to give it back!

We had big plans for a combined birthday kickball game with your Dad but sadly we got rained out. We still had a great time moving the party indoors, eating and enjoying company with good friends. Of course I gave you your own cupcake to eat and as everyone anxiously watched, in true Charlie fashion, you threw the cupcake off your high chair. You've never been much for public performing.  Ah well. Happy Birthday anyway little boy!

Love Mama

Other Charlie Favorites: 
Cupboard DiscoveryWhile you are not racing around the house behind your walker or making car noises, you are busily emptying every cupboard and drawer in the kitchen and bathroom. It never gets old. You are especially excited to discover the kitchen aid and all its attachments.
Music: I sing songs with you all day and you like to bob your head along to the beat but you love when your Dad comes home and you two discovers songs on the computer together.
Blanket: You have slept with the same blanket since you were a new born but we don't bring it out of your crib so that it will remind you its bedtime. You have recently discovered how to pull it out of your crib though and you love to sneak in to grab it so you can snuggle on the ground with it. Too cute.

Obsessed with your walker

A friend passed on their old bouncer. You are a little big for it now but we had one afternoon of fun.

A future in modeling I think?

First Spaghetti dinner by yourself. Eating naked of course.

Birthday boys

I'm supposed to eat that?!

First nose scuff

Post nap happy baby

eleven months

 Little Boy

This month we spent 2 weeks in Utah where you could spend time with cousins, aunts, and grandparents.  Spending time with so many people, your talking exploded! You are now an endless string of babble, screams, yelps, and giggles. It may sound incoherent but your sincere enthusiasm shows that you are clearly trying to communicate. My favorite "word" you use? " Dog, "DA" which refers to all animals. The best part is that you always say it like a question and look up at me as if to say "Am I saying it right Mom?"

Your Cragun grandparents have a little Shih Tzu puppy, Sadie. You were a BIG fan of Sadie but I think she was less enthused. You loved to chase after her, giggling as you went along, while Sadie tried to find new hiding places to escape your chubby little baby hands. During the trip, we visited Hogle Zoo for the first time as well as the Thanksgiving Point Farm where your curiously took in all the animals. You are always such a quiet observer though as if it takes all your energy to soak in your new surroundings.

Although you are a very independent baby and have many little activities you enjoy doing by yourself, you are a snugly little guy. In between playing with your toys and reading your books, you will crawl into my lap where will stay 5 secs before leaving again. A few minutes later you will return for another moments snuggle. Bedtime of course is the snuggliest part of day. You still let us cradle you like a newborn as we sing Primary songs and hymns before you go to bed and you lay there sweetly gazing up at us with pure admiration. (We won't talk about the grouchy nights that you fight us every second until we stop short short of just tossing you bed to sleep off the grumps).

 Sometime in the past few months you have associated my hair with comfort. Whenever you are tired, hungry, hurt or sad you grab onto my hair. If my hair is pulled back into a ponytail or bun you will grab at it until you have pulled a few strands loose. Although I have probably lost a couple hundred hairs in the process, I find it very sweet. Also you only suck your thumb when you are holding onto my hair or your blanket. Hopefully that makes it easy to break the habit later on? We shall see.

Sure love you little man

Mama

Other Charlie Favorites:
Swimming In August, we frequent 100+ temps so we take many trips to the pool. You love to splash around in the pool. Its hard to take you though because you would love to crawl around in the baby splash area but you aren't very good about holding up your head so you keep dropping your head into the water dragging along until your choking.
Walker or Anything Else you can push:  You are obsessed with pushing around your walker. You hardly crawl anywhere but use your walker to get everywhere around the house. If your not using your walker you find anything else that you can push along; ie laundry basket, rolling chairs, strollers, to get around.

Finding some of moms hair to hold onto. 

"Da"?

Pushing the laundry basket around.

Skinny little baby belly

ten months

Char Char

After months of nearly exclusively hanging out on your stomach you have finally discovered the convenience of sitting up. You were always too busy to be bothered by sitting in one place but now you realize how much you are better able to play with your toys and you are quite pleased with the discovery.

These days you are infatuated with your books. I always leave a stack of board books in the corner  of your bedroom next to the rocker and you will spend hours spreading them out all over the floor; opening and closing the cover, flipping the pages, pointing at all the faces. Whenever you crawl off on your own, I know you are headed to your room to "read" your books. You also enjoy your books for non literary purposes using them for what I like to call the "book slide".  You put your hand on top of the book in crawling position and slide across the carpet.  I find it quite hilarious especially when your hand slips off to the side and you fall on your face :)

Right behind "Mama" and "Dada" your first word was ball or "BA".  We got you a big rubber blue ball and you love to chase it around the house, pushing it along as you crawl. Your Dad is thrilled that you are now able to play catch with the ball. We are still working on your aim and your technique but we're convinced you have a real future. In the beginning when you were still a little unsteady sitting up on your own, you would pick the ball with your feet and then bring it up to your hands. You continue to use your feet as another set of hands which makes me laugh.

When we put food on your tray you love to swipe everything off as fast you can. You know we will get a reaction from us so you always wait to will have your attention before the swing begins and you laugh. Little stink. Despite your meal time antics you are surprisingly a pretty good eater mainly eating whatever we are having for dinner but your favorites include sweet potatoes, black beans, roasted zuchinni, grapes and bananas. LOTS of bananas.

Other Charlie Favorites
Clenching your right hand while eating: You never relax your hand the entire time your eating and will only pick up food with your left.
Skinny Little Baby Bum:  Still in the 10% for height and weight, there is not a lot of chub to hold onto :)
Cheerios: You have mastered the pincer grasp and are loving being able to feed yourself
Chasing Dad:  Everyday when Dad gets home, he says "Where's my baby boy?" and you crawl around the corner as fast as you can and chase him around the kitchen island. Over and over again.
Crawling All Over Mom: At the end of the day when all else fails to beat the afternoon grumps,  I will lay on the ground and you crawl all over me, poking in the eyes and trying to put your fingers in my mouth, patting my tummy like a drum. It never gets old to you. Not gong to lie, it gets a little old for me :)

The I just woke up from a nap and can't decide if I should laugh or cry face

Clap clap clap!

Nightly routine. You are in bed by seven which means it is definitely still daylight

Nine months

Charlie,

You, little boy, are a mover and shaker.  I have heard rumors of babies that will sit and play with a group of toys at their side for long stretches of time but I don't believe them. Since you learned to roll over at 3 1/2 months old, you have been on the move. In fact you skipped sitting up altogether moving straight from rolling to army crawl. Neighbors and friends at church are baffled at the rate you can scoot around in your army crawl and you have become so proficient that I began to doubt if you would ever crawl on your hands and knees.

Turns out all you needed was a good reason. While visiting Schlitterbahn water park with Aunt Ashlee, Aunt Addy, and Daxton you were playing in the kiddie area with your Dad. Soon you realized that it hurt to crawl on your arms on the rough cement so you moved to your hands and knees. The only problem was that you got so excited that you kept crawling deeper and deeper, the water rising over your mouth and head. Clearly you are not to be trusted in the pool.

Not long after, I went to get you out of your crib to discover you standing up leaning over the crib rail ready to jump ship. Of course we lowered your crib that night to prevent a broken head and limbs, but thus began the weeklong Standup Saga. So amused by your recent discovery of pulling yourself up,  you began to wake yourself in the middle of the night to practice!  First I would hear a giggle of delight that you had pulled yourself up again, than cries because you had not figured out how to get back down. I would go into your room to lay you back down to sleep but you would wake your self up again 45 minutes later! This went on for several days before I finally had to teach you your first life lesson. Many hours of tears later, you learned that sometimes you have to learn how to fall down by yourself without Mom's help.

Other Charlie Favorites:
Blueberries- The only food we have to cut you off before you eat yourself sick.
Anything in the bathroom- Yes, especially the toilet. YUCK!
Reading with Dad before bedtime-Only the ten board books you approve of though
Helping mom with the chores -You love to pull out anything I put in the dishwasher and dump out             laundry basket while I fold clothes
The vacuum- off or on, you can't get enough of that thing
Your adorable crossed ankles when you sit in the stroller or your car seat
Your toothy hillbilly smile- one on top and two on bottom
How you say "mama" when your sad and "dada" when you are happy and excited- clearly you have already pegged who is the fun parent and who is the  save you in the middle of the night parent

Loving every minute with you little guy!

Love Always,

Mama

Blue eyed beauty

Blackberry Fan boy

Trying to change your wiggly bum. We have to pin you down!

Happy Helper

Little Climber

Practicing your pincer grasp

Splash pad fun with Papa

Eight Months

Baby Charlie,

You got your first two teeth! Although your Dad said this isn't anything to be proud of or congratulate since you had nothing to with the natural process of your teeth coming through (except endure many painful sleepy nights), I was excited nonetheless. Now I don't feel as guilty feeding you much of the food from our dinner (which you love!) instead of strictly pureed food most mothers feed gummy babies.

Earlier this month Grandma Ashton and Aunt Christyn came to Texas to visit. You were thrilled to have some new faces around the house to play and sing songs with (not as entirely thrilled to be sleeping in our closet however). One day in response to something funny my mom said you made this hilarious stink face scrunching up your nose and squinting your eyes. We immediately responded with enthusiastic laughter and you haven't stopped making the face since. You will now make the face on demand, mimicking your Dad and I whenever we make the face.

Figuring out your stink face was the mark of a whole new level of social interaction. You are now so anxious to communicate and play with us and love being able to make us laugh. We now spend our days playing hide and seek throughout the house, reading Helen Oxenbury's baby board books hundreds of times(you really will only read books with babies in them), and listening to your endless babbling while you scoot around following me like a puppy dog from room to room.

My favorite time of the day is going to pick you in the morning or after your nap. We recently put your crib bumpers back on, (having taken them off when your first started rolling around in your sleep) and you have found that when you pull down on the bumper you can see when I am coming to get you. I love seeing your little dimply hands pulling down on the fabric and your bright eyes peeking above. Makes me smile every time.

Love Always

Mama

Stink face with your favorite books.

Impossible to change your wiggly bum.

First time in the ocean

Still obcessed with propping your feet on on everything

P.S. You got your first taste of the ocean this month when we went to Galveston with some friends for the weekend. You were a big fan.

Seven Months

Baby Boy,
I knew you would be moving soon and sure enough the day after you turned six months you started crawling! A stomach dragging, worm-like army crawl with just your arms, but a crawl! Whatever you call it, you have become quite proficient and fly around our little apartment finding all sorts of baby hazards I wasn't aware of like internet cables, extension cords, and wobbly furniture. Dont worry, we haven't had any major disasters with long term damage, but only time will tell :) The first few days you ventured only as far as the kitchen and would stop to slap your hands on the tile but there is nothing holding you back now and you are thrilled to be exploring so much unchartered territory.Your dirty, stretched out shirts serve as my daily reminder of what a bad housekeeper I am. I thought I kept my floors relatively clean but you continually prove me wrong :)


 Since you went straight from rolling to crawling, you kind of skipped sitting up altogether. Why sit still in front of toys when you can move wherever you want?


This was a big month of firsts. Not only did you begin crawling, you experienced your first swim, your first hike (Lake Georgetown), your first camping trip (Lake Georgetown), and your first road trip (7 1/2 hours to Tulsa to meet aunt Maren). Following in your parents footsteps, you remain a big fan of the outdoors. Water, grass, leaves, trees, sun, bugs, you love it all. It is a delight to watch you explore new surroundings.

I guess now would be good time to break the bad news to you. Charlie, you are good at many things but you are not a good sleeper :) Since you were about 4 months old, you have consistently woken up 2-3 times to a night to eat, say hello to mom,  tell us about your nightmare, remind us you have a healthy set of lungs....we are not sure why.  We tried the whole "cry it out" thing but either you are much too stubborn or your Dad and I are too weak to make it work. After a couple of weeks of listening to you scream for hours, we decided to ride it out hoping you were just going on through a phase. Three months later and you are still going through a phase. You have teased us a few times by sleeping though the night but your nightly antics always return. I think you like to remind us who is really in charge around here.

Upon further discussion with your Dad, we decided you're worth keeping around depsite your bad sleeping habits.

Love Always

Mama

Easter Morning

Ready for Church Easter Sunday

Someone found his tongue!

Camping at Lake Georgetown

First swim 

When we are too lazy to put swimsuits on

Six Months

Darling Baby,

Happy half birthday to my little stomach sleeping(sadly you still wake up a couple of times a night), thumb sucking, rollie pollie! You don't leave your stomach much these days. Trying to change your diaper or get you into your car seat has turned into a daily wrestling match for the second I set you you down you flip your entire body over, ready to roll. Rather than sitting in my lap you would prefer to lie superman style across my knees, arms outstretched and legs kicking. I imagine you will be crawling in no time!

Since you were born, everyone has thought (myself included) you looked exactly like your dad. Its been fun watching other little traits you have picked up from your dad. One of the silliest little quirks is your obsession with fiddling with your feet.  You will roll across the room just you can kick your feet up on the couch, console, table or wall.  Putting your feet up and through the crib slats is your personal favorite. Even when I am leaning over you changing your clothes or playing a game with you, you like to put your feet in the air and wrap your legs around my arm. 

I was beginning to wonder what part of me you inherited. Looks like you cashed in big time and were lucky enough to get my terrible skin. A trip to the doctor tells us you have eczema and are very sensitive to any irritants. We have changed your diapers and detergent and lather you multiple times daily with thick skin cream but we still find you scratching your belly and legs. Itching has become such a habit that whenever you find my skin, you immediately begin scratching that too. So sorry little one! Luckily, besides scratching, it doesn't seem to bother you.

Your current loves: spending time outside, and playing with Dad. At the end of the day when you have become bored of your toys and I have exhausted all my songs and games ( I guess I should probably work on increasing my repertoire of 3) the only fool proof way to put  a smile on your face is take a trip outside.  We sit on the porch where you curiously soak in the scenery and passerbys, waiting anxiously for your Dad to come home. Once Dad is home, there is no separating you two. If I try and take you into another room, you head is constantly whipping back and forth, trying to figure out where Dad is and how you can go play with him. I don't blame you. He's a pretty entertaining guy and I can't wait to see what adventures you two will have together!

Love Always, 

Mama