Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Leading up to Thanksgiving

The weekend of the final Twilight movie finally arrived! Breaking Dawn Part II. You know, I enjoyed being a part of the whole Twilight Saga. I read the books, and for the most part really enjoyed them. I went to all of the movies when they were in the theaters and enjoyed them. Of course, the movies leave something to be desired when it comes to acting, make-up, graphics, a new Edward, etc... but I enjoyed being a part of the event. I can’t say the story makes it even close to one my favorites, but again I enjoyed the Twilight ride.

My aunt Erin invited me to join her and her family for the opening night and I had a blast. This worked out great because that way Jason had a good reason to skip out (to watch Charlie). I had dragged him to the other movies, and he was relieved to catch a break. We were still “tending” Bryan at this time, so Jason stayed behind with Charlie and Bryan. They had a great time playing Monopoly and watching Oceans Twelve?...Thirteen?...I don’t know, one of those. 



Aryana and Dylan


I have to say, I really liked this one. Breaking Dawn Part I was definitely my least favorite of the movies (which was expected since it was my least favorite of the books), so I was really happy with the way Part II played out. If you haven’t seen it yet and have read the books, I would recommend it...it has a nice way of bringing the entire saga to a close. I just might get Jason to watch it with me when it come out on DVD.

Okay, moving on.

The following weekend was Thanksgiving weekend, so I had a lot of prepping to do. Since my parents were getting back November 17th, they only had a few days until Thanksgiving would arrive. With that in mind, and with the stress and sorrow my mom has been dealing with with the loss of both of her parents (and the time away it has required), the Arbon kids decided to “put on” Thanksgiving for my parents. My mom usually takes it all on, or we go to Grandma and Grandpa Arbons...so this was a first for me and all of my siblings. Anyways, to prepare...Nancy (my mother-in-law) offered to help me and teach me how to make homemade cranberry sauce and strawberry jam. It was such a fun little “date” that we got to share with each other. Both the sauce and jam are super easy! I am so glad she taught me, because otherwise I would always be intimidated and would never try it! Thank you, Nancy! They turned out great...so yummy! My family loved them!

Friday, January 25, 2013

Charlie's Fifth Month



(written previously)

Charlie has reached his five month mark! He just keeps on growing. We have noticed a lot of change in this month between four and five months.

One of his favorite new “skills” is being able to stand from a sitting position (with help, of course). When he is laying down, I grab his hands and pull him to a sit, from there I continue to pull him as he straightens his legs. It went from a gradual straighten, to an almost automatic stand as soon as I start pulling his arms when he is laying down. We cheer for him each time, and he just loves it. He comes up with the biggest grin on his face. He loves doing it over and over again. Once he stands, he loves to go straight for my hands with his mouth, chewing on my fingers that are holding his hands.

He has also started to really reach for and grasp things. Laying on his play-mat has really become a fun activity for him, because he is able to hold and play with the toys that are dangling down. 


...just ignore the dirty diaper laying there next to him...see, bad mom...

At the beginning of the month, I was all excited that he could sit in the Bumbo, but then I got all freaked out because he started to arch his back so hard that it looked like he was going to fall right out and onto his head. He kept doing that for about a week or so, but finally stopped doing that by the end of the month (or at least not as frequently).

We got to hear his first real laughs this month! Such a delight! He is such a sweet little guy. Great Grandma Arbon was the first person that was really able to get him to laugh. It was the cutest thing, I couldn’t stop laughing. About a week later, my mom and Karl were able to get him to laugh as well. He doesn’t laugh too often, so when he does, it is super special.

He is napping so much better now!!! He can nap between one and two hours now. It is a miracle. I finally realized (came upon some literature) that recommended that babies do not exceed two hours of wakefulness. By that I mean, if Charlie wakes up at 7:30, he should already be put back to sleep by 9:30. With keeping up with that goal and pattern, his naps have improved tremendously! Before realizing this, I was just putting him down whenever he was getting fussy, staring off, and rubbing his eyes...which is fine, since they are indicators of being tired. But it is actually helpful to start helping him fall asleep before he gets to those levels of being overtired. It has given me a pattern that is easier to follow, helped him fall asleep easier, and increased his nap time. With that said, his night sleeping has suffered a bit. He continues to wake up once or twice a night. There was a week that he was waking up every two hours! We were so frustrated and exhausted! It is so lame that their sleeping can change so quickly.


He is doing a lot better in his carseat and in stores. It is not such an ordeal anymore. He might fuss a little bit, but it is not the total break down anymore that it once was. His baby acne has returned a little bit...what can’t it just go away!?! I don’t get it! His poor baby cheeks...oh well, we still love him and still think he is the cutest thing ever. We still can’t decide what his hair color will end up being. A lot of the time his hair looks light brown, but when the sunlight hits it, it looks more red. We think that he will probably have strawberry blonde hair. His eyebrows are so light that Grandpa Gruber says he will need to pencil in his eyebrows. Jokes. But seriously, you can’t even see his eyebrows because they are so blonde.

Charlie had his four month check-up (he always about two weeks behind his actual birth “date”) and these were his measurements:
Length: 26.5 inches - 85%
Weight: 14lbs 15oz - 34%
Head Circ: 42.5 cm - 40%

I have really started to notice that he can differentiate me from other people. He has become easier to calm when I hold him, especially compared to when other people hold him. He seems to be able to roll over pretty easy (he rolled over from his front to his back four times in one day, and continues to roll over each day).

He has become very interested in watching us eat. He will sit there with his mouth open, watering, and arms wiggling. Sometimes he gets to the point of eating his own hand. His own feedings have become shorter, he gets fussy quicker and is easily distracted by things going on in the room. One of my favorite times of day is after his morning feeding, I burp him over my knee and he immediately looks for the wall mirror that is directly across the room from where I am sitting. He is able to find me in the mirror and always has such a huge smile that spreads across his face. Love it! Melts my heart! He has also taken to biting that bottom lip of his. So adorable!

Picture time:

Just turning four months


Wee Willy Winkie





Biting that lower lip


 
First snow day - October 25th



Visiting/touring BYU campus with Aunt Erin and her cousin Chandra


Another snowy day


Chillin'...sliding out of the swing...time to use those straps.


An amazing side shot of Charlie's double chin...doesn't get more impressive than that!

Charlie's Five Month Photo Shoot (Thank you, Amy!):

















Love these pictures, Amy! Heart-melting!

I have other videos of Charlie from our "legit" video camera, but can't seem to get them to upload...I keep getting an error. If I ever figure it out, I will post more videos...but the phone videos will have to do for now.


Tuesday, January 22, 2013

My Parent's Disney Adventure


My parents celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary this year (well, in 2012)! Thirty years of beautiful, loving marriage! What a great example of marriage they are to me and Jason. To celebrate this special year, my dad took my mom on a week long cruise. They went on the Disney Fantasy cruise ship that went to the Caribbean and included ports like Grand Cayman, Cozumel, and Disney’s private island. They had such a blast, taking full advantage of the many excursions offered (like para-sailing, swimming with dolphins, and dune-buggies) and staying up late each night (most of the ship was deserted by the time they went to bed). I am so happy for them and for the memories they were able to create and enjoy. 



While they were enjoying their luxurious cruise, they asked that Jason and I come to stay with Bryan. This arrangement worked out great...my parents didn’t have to worry a single minute, because they knew Bryan was being well taken care of, and Jason and I got to enjoy the nice spacious house and master bedroom. Jason had work each day, but he would drive back to Draper for the evenings. 

 The day we arrived, it snowed so hard!
Lucky Mom and Dad...escaping the cold!

The first weekend we were there, Kim was home to visit. That was fun having her stay and hang out for a bit. We took them to Scheels (such an awesome new store) and enjoyed lots of “nutritious” food and snacks. Kim made homemade granola, and we had brought homemade chili and salsa with us to Draper. It was a fun “veg-out” weekend. We played Life and Monopoly...I know, totally random, but surprisingly really fun!




 One of the frogs died while we were there...how sad

During the week, Jason would go to work, Bryan would go to school, and Charlie and I would just hang out at my parents house. He loved laying on their bed and watching TV. Amy visited a couple of times and I went to visit Erin one of the days. I was also busy working on a project for some Thanksgiving table decor....that was just around the corner. 









He loves sitting to the side like this in his Bumbo


Bryan was so easy to "tend" (he is almost 14 for goodness sake). When he got home from school, we would have some kind of snack (usually a smoothie from my mom’s Blendtech, or something like that). He would then get right down to getting his homework done. When he finished his homework, he would watch one or two of his favorite shows (the show of the week was Adam-12). Dinner was really easy, because my mom had stocked the fridge and freezer with lots of delicious Costco food (including frozen pizzas, teriyaki bowls, philly cheesesteak sandwiches, burritos, and the list goes on). By dinner time, Jason would return from work and we would spend the rest of the evening playing Monopoly. We were addicted! It was so fun! We haven’t touched Monopoly since, but it was such a fun activity that week.Charlie was so good...just sitting in his Bumbo on the table, watching us play...almost the entire time each night.

We quite enjoyed ourselves that week...I daresay, not as much as Mom and Dad, but we had a good time. I told them, any time they would like to go again, we are down to come stay with Bryan.