Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Charlie's Tenth Month


(written previously)

What a month! Charlie is really starting to grow and change.


At his nine month appointment, the doctor could feel that his first tooth was starting to come in! Jason and I were both late teethers, so I figured nothing would show until twelve months or so. After the doctor mentioned the tooth I was able to start noticing some teething symptoms: he was getting more moody, he was drooling more, chewing on more things, he would have random runny noses, and his gums started looking a little transparent and swollen. His first tooth, however, didn’t break through until ten months.


Charlie’s nine month measurements were:
Weight: 19 lbs 14 oz - 36%
Height: 28.3 in - 49%
Head: 46.1 cm - 71%


We are raising a pretty average sized boy!


One thing the doctor mentioned was that I should avoid feeding him eggs (among other things) until he is one year old....oops! I knew about cows milk, honey, peanut butter, and shellfish...but not about eggs. Oh well, he loves them and has not had a reaction to them so I think we are good. (I was too embarrassed to mention that I may or may not have fed him eggs).


The day of his nine month birthday he took a terrible fall! I had him sitting in the Bumbo on our kitchen table. I was doing the dishes at the sink. A usual occurrence. All of a sudden I hear a loud bang and then giant tears! I look over, confused at what I was actually seeing. How did Charlie get on the floor? How is he still in the Bumbo? How is he sitting with his back to the floor? Charlie truly had an angel watching over him, because falling onto the hard tile could have been disastrous!  I never heard a hard smack of his head hitting the floor...more of a dull thud. He had no wound to show for it except for a tiny red mark on his chin. He must have leaned forward over the edge of the table with his head, started falling, and then the Bumbo must have hit the edge of a chair that was slightly turned and pulled out from the table causing the Bumbo to rotate, resulting in Charlie landing in the Bumbo on his back rather than face planting on the hard floor! I was so scared running to him to pick him up. He only cried for about a minute and he was fine...but I was still pretty shaken up. Our lives seem to be filled with moments like this, causing us to question our ability and decision to be parents! Time to get a high chair!


Still in the Bumbo during General Conference

Finally borrowed high chair from Grubers a couple weeks later

He is making progress on his crawling. He is starting to push up onto his knees, but can’t quite figure out how to crawl forward with them. He is thinking hard about it, but is still content scooting around on his stomach. He has started carrying things with him from room to room. Most of the time he is scooting, he has something in his hands. He has been able to pull himself up to his feet a couple times if he really wants something in our laps or on the couch...like a phone or iPad. He also likes to crawl in and over things from his knees...like into his carseat, over a pillow, or over Mom and Dad’s legs. Time to bring out the gate for the stairs! I feel so much better now knowing his path to the stairs is blocked! A lot of stress relieved right there!








Gate secured! 
We had to improvise with the body pillow since the wall does not come all the way to the top step.



Trying to get the knee action down



The things he has really loved in his short little life so far are: TV, cell phones, remotes, books (especially ones with paper pages he can crinkle or tear), balls, chain-link toys, spoons, mirrors (he can entertain himself for quite awhile after a nap by looking at himself in the mirror in the crib), tupperware, and sucking on washcloths. He loves to be outside and going for walks. He just takes it all in! He goes all quiet and gets in “the zone”.  He loves twisting his tongue around and sticking it out repeatedly while making noises. His tongue is quite flexible! He can twist it from side to side just like me...definitely did not get that from Daddy!


Some tongue action for you



Can I just say that I am really enjoying being a mother?!? I am loving our happy little boy! He is sleeping through the night like a champ! So nice! He has started to shake his head back and forth, but I’m not sure if he knows what it means yet.


Loves to be all wrapped up and cross his feet

Sometimes we catch him fast asleep up on his knees



Loves to kick his heels down



By the end of his tenth month, on April 13th, Charlie showed Daddy that he could legitimately crawl. He showed Daddy his skills while I was off skiing with Amy. He crawled on and off that weekend, but the following week he started to crawl on his hands and knees exclusively and hasn’t looked back since!



Crawling for Daddy while Mommy is away...some smaller pants would have helped

Trying to get him to crawl for Mama



Our little baby is becoming a little boy!


He came with me to a Relief Society Meeting...he was so zoned out! It was awesome!

Lookin' pretty fly...haha such a poor fit!

Dinner at Grubers with Jason's old bowtie


Olivia and Charlie visiting Aunt Erin

Just chillin'




Charlie's Ten Month photo shoot by Amy Stallings:











  




  



I LOVE how all of these turned out!

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Celebrating Amy

I was so excited for Amy’s birthday this year...because she was finally home for us to celebrate it! The previous two years, she had been away on her mission. The weekend before her birthday, we got to enjoy a fun day of free skiing at Deer Valley. Technically, this wasn’t a birthday activity...she was given the free ski tickets from her boss and she asked me to join her...but it was close enough to the big day, that it felt like a celebration.


Oh my gosh, I have to say I was really impressed with that resort. I LOVED it! It was lightly snowing (too bad Amy didn't have any goggles) and cloudy the whole day...but it was perfect for us! The snow was maybe a little icy in some parts, but what can you expect the last weekend of the season? I’ve always been a little skeptical with the high-price of the resort, but there was definitely a different feel there. The workers were nothing like your typical snow bums you would get at Brighton Resort. All of the lifts were well-maintained and comfortable (no worrying about your life being on the line as you ride up the mountain). Not to mention the number of runs....SOOOO many! The runs were SO fun! Especially for beginner skiers like us (yes, I skied since the resort does not allow snowboards). Each new lift brought a new favorite run. Too bad I had to make it home for something in the early afternoon, otherwise we would have stayed until nightfall. I’m telling you, I loved it there! I hope she gets some frees passes next year...because that is the only way I will get to ski there again. Regardless of how much I loved it, $100 is still too much to pay for a single day of skiing.










Being silly:






To officially celebrate her birthday, I took her to The Five Alls. I went there for my Junior Prom, and then took Jason there for his birthday a couple years ago. I was anxious to share it with Amy, because I knew it would be right down her ally. Because of the expense, we decided it would be a double birthday (celebrating both of our birthdays, each paying for the other). The Five Alls never fails. It was just as delicious as I remembered. The menu hasn’t changed...I got the same main course: New York Steak. Yum! Always a good time and a full belly!






Love celebrating favorite friends!
Happy Birthday, Amy!