The Other Baby

Charlotte is obsessed with the other baby who lives in our house, AKA her reflection.  We have a electric fireplace with a glass cover and our child is fascinated by it.  She smiles, waves, and blows bubbles and kisses to the baby she sees.  Yesterday she was especially enamored with her familiar looking friend:

That's all I've got for today :)

~Stacy

The Last Monthly Photo Session

I finally got around to taking Charlotte's 12 month photos.  Several months ago, I thought I might continue the month-by-month photography session until she turned two.  I have since decided that the best stopping point is now.  It's become nearly impossible to get her to stay on her blanket and then even more challenging to get her to smile because she's ticked off at me for making her stay put.  So here is the 12th and final set of month-by-month, "watch-me-grow" Charlotte photos:

The first set required props, just to keep her (relatively) still.  My grandpa gave her this keyboard that I remember playing with as a little kid and Charlotte thinks it's pretty cool.  She also loves that fish washcloth, for some reason:

After the props became too boring, I distracted her by asking her where various body parts are.  Here she is showing me where her nose is:

Then she decided that there was no use staying in her room anymore, so she started heading out...

...and left the photo shoot completely.

I hope you've had a great weekend.  I'm really looking forward to this fun but busy week and next weekend: one of my best friends is in town from Louisiana with her 2 boys, I'm meeting up with a friend I haven't seen in a long time (and her little girl whom I've never met) who just moved back to Ohio, and Chad and I get to fly solo for the whole weekend, thanks to my parents who are watching Charlotte.  Our anniversary is Sunday (also Father's Day) and we've got a bunch of things planned.  More on that coming soon...

Enjoy your week!

~Stacy

A Short Note on the Week

Hello.

This week is shaping up to be very busy.  I haven't taken any photos since Sunday (this is unusual) I've been so busy.  I think I've mentioned on here before that I work independently as an HR Consultant for the organization I worked for before I had Charlotte.  Due to a big project, my workload has increased quite a bit and will stay that way for the next month or two so my posts may slow down a bit.  Charlotte is no stranger to the office--several weeks ago she played with her doll in my former co-workers office while I made about 47,000 copies.  If only I could teach her the basics of payroll, Excel, and benefits administration we'd be off and running...

Also, I have a new groundhog.  Nope, not Gilbert, I got rid of Gilbert.  This is a new one, smaller, and with slightly different colored fur.  We shall call her Gladys.  She showed her face a couple weeks ago while I was sweeping the driveway.  I couldn't believe it, and as soon as I saw her she hid in the bushes.  Without thinking I ran over to her with the broom and yelled "Show yourself!", like a total freak.  She ran out and underneath the porch.  I've caught her running under the porches of 2 of my neighbors, so apparently Gladys thinks she has it made.  Gladys is wrong.  I am picking up my cousin's trap on Saturday and plan to show Gladys exactly how wrong she is.  Pack your things, G, you're about to get relocated.  What do groundhogs like to eat?  I want to make this trap very enticing.

In addition to Gladys, I caught a deer casually munching on my neighbor's tree branches that she'd trimmed.  The deer was standing in my driveway, leaning over in my neighbor's yard to enjoy her snack.  I didn't realize she was there until Charlotte and I were halfway across the deck, and we spotted each other at the same time and both froze.  She just stared at us while Charlotte was waving her arms and pointing, loudly asking "Waaassat??" over and over again.  I told her it was a deer and she replied "oof oof", like she does when she sees a dog.  I couldn't really explain to a one year old the difference between a dog and a deer at the time, because what sound does a deer make?  So I just let it go.  I'm counting on the confusion to be cleared up by the time she's in school so she doesn't embarrass herself.  I'm confident it'll work itself out.

I'll be back soon with more fun pictures and words that don't focus entirely on the wildlife living on my property.  In the meantime, here are random pictures of Charlotte having way too much fun after our Costco shopping trip.  Who knew giant packages of tissues and paper towels could be so entertaining?

 
Enjoy your week.

~Stacy

Party of the Year

Charlotte's first birthday party was a success!  Thankfully the weather cooperated and we were able to be outside most of the day, despite the warnings all week that it would be cloudy, rainy, and windy.    

The festivities started on Friday evening when we let Charlotte open her presents from Chad's mom and sister, who live in Maine, and had shipped everything earlier in the week:

Yep, she's wearing a tutu.  Thanks Aunt Colleen :)

Then yesterday we spent most of the morning getting ready and her party started at 12:30.  Chad took her to Trader Joe's to buy flowers and I ate a cupcake.  Good start to a good day.

I used Charlotte's footprints to make a butterfly!  I got the idea from Pinterest.

We gave her the bracelet--she liked it, but then it became a source of aggravation so it only stayed on long enough to get a few photos.

Howard behaved himself.  He spent most of the day playing Frisbee, hanging out underneath tables, and sitting in my dad's lap. 

Charlotte's gift pile was unreasonably large.  She opened clothes, toys, and books galore, along with this child-sized picnic table my dad bought and painted for her:

She loved her cupcake.  She didn't make much of a mess because a large portion of it ended up in her mouth.  That's my girl, already loves cupcakes :)

After cupcakes and presents the birthday girl ran out of steam.  She finished her party by napping:

When she woke up, it was time to play with some of her new toys:

Howard, on the other hand, pretty much remained in this state for the rest of the evening:

We had a wonderful day and it was so nice to have everyone here celebrating.  Now we can all relax and enjoy the lack of yard work, party planning, and everything else we've been working on for the last month or so.  Enjoy your weekend!

~Stacy

One

Charlotte turns 1 tomorrow.  I just can't believe it.  Everyone told me that the first year (well really all of them, but especially the first) goes by incredibly quickly.  They were right, but what's so interesting about that first year is how much changes in such a short time.  There's so much change that it can mess with your sense of time--suddenly three months can both fly by but also crawl at a snail's pace as you wonder when the baby will sleep thru the night, not need as many feedings, get on a regular napping schedule, etc.  Then pretty soon six months has gone by and that baby is a totally different person, both in looks and development.  Before baby, six months was a time period that separated winter from summer, bone chilling weather from sunny days outside, Crock-Pot dinners from barbecues.  This year it was the difference between a tiny newborn and a sitting, rolling, busy baby.

Last year at this time I knew I'd be giving birth on June 2nd.  Charlotte was stubborn and couldn't care less that her due date was May 26th.  After seeing that date come and go and no signs of anything changing, I was scheduled for an induction.  The days before were nerve-wracking, and the night before was similar to how I felt the night before starting high school but times 10: very nervous, very excited, very uncertain, and terrified I'd get lost.  My cousin Chris and his wife, Jen, announced their pregnancy at the same time Chad and I did.  It was fun to have someone to experience that whole journey with, someone who knew exactly what it was like to be just as pregnant as I was.  When we discovered we were both having girls it became even more fun and exciting.  I'd never had another girl in my family to bond with, so for Charlotte to have a built in buddy right in her own family was a great thing.  Jen's due date was about a week after mine, and all along she said our girls would be born on the same day.  I thought that would be extra special if they were, but I honestly believed Jen would end up giving birth sometime in May and I'd finally come around a couple weeks later.

Chad and I were told to arrive at the hospital at 5AM on 6/2.  They started the induction at 6AM, and for the first several hours I just kind of hung out, waiting for something to happen.  I received a text message sometime in mid-morning, maybe around 9.  It was Jen saying she was on her way to the hospital.  From the sounds of things, her little lady was on her way!  Fast forward to that evening.  I was holding my brand new, sweet, beautiful baby girl when my mom told me that Ellie had been born exactly 2 hours and 9 minutes before her cousin Charlotte.  She was in a hospital across town so we had to settle for picture messages, but both girls were perfect.  Charlotte and Ellie now have not just a permanent friend in one another but a really cool story to go along with it.

Here are the girls through the months:

Ellie & Charlotte, 2 weeks old

2 months!

2 months

3 months--and entranced by the ceiling fan

3 months

4 months!

November 2012--5 months!

Christmas 2012--6 months!

February 2012--8 months

May 2012--11 months

I have just one year of parenting wisdom under my belt, which isn't much but it is enough to compile a list for myself of things I learned during the pregnancy and infancy stages.  Maybe one day this will be helpful to look back to for Charlotte's future sibling(s) and will serve as a reminder of things I may "forget"along the way.

Dear Self,

• You are not one of those women who exclaim to love being pregnant, wish it went on forever, and feel beautiful the whole time.  You will likely feel nauseous for a good 2-3 months, have nerve pain that shoots down your leg like lightening and makes you walk like the Hunchback of Notre Dame, and enjoy heartburn and swelling for at least the final trimester.  You may be reduced to tears when your store bought pizza dough fails to fit the pan or while watching Florence Henderson's back story on Dancing With the Stars.  You've been warned.

• Despite not feeling cute in any way while pregnant, you will remember the time spent hoping to see that second pink line and being disappointed when it never came.  You'll remember wishing to feel morning sickness because it would mean that you were actually pregnant.  A piece of you will be thankful that the smell of coffee makes you gag and that you feel horrid because that means everything's working.  You will remember that it is absolutely worth it.

• You will not leave the hospital after delivering looking much different than when you walk in.  You will arrive home feeling 7 months pregnant with a giant bowl of Jell-O.  You might wear maternity jeans for three more months.  You might dare to step on the scale 3 days post-partum and be horrified that you've only lost 11 pounds, despite gaining much, much more than that.  You might go bathing suit shopping and feel like you're stuck in a funhouse.  Don't worry, you'll get there.  It might take 10 months and a subscription to Weight Watchers, but you'll get there.

• You'll be tired and more than a little absent-minded.  This may lead you to complete an entire shopping trip at Target with a bib stuck to your rear end.  Don't underestimate the magnetic pull of Velcro to those belly bands you'll most likely be wearing.  They can suck any wayward object onto them, causing you to be blissfully unaware that you just walked thru a store with a crustacean adorned bib stating "Crabby When Hungry!" dangling from your backside like toilet paper from a skirt.  Note to self: look in a mirror before you leave the house and make sure you turn around.

• Speaking of absent-mindedness, don't be surprised if you lose your keys or lock them in your car.  More than once.  All in the same week.  You're still a good mom, just make sure it's the keys you're losing and not the baby.

• You now understand the loss of words that comes with explaining one's feelings for their child.  You get it--there really isn't a description big enough to do it justice.  

• You will never tell a nervous soon-to-be mom that "it won't hurt" or "you'll forget all about it."  Neither of these are true.  Forgetting what labor and childbirth is actually like would be like forgetting your own name.  Or forgetting if a dinosaur came roaring down your street and lifted your house off the ground and someone brought it up later at a party and you said "Oh that, I totally forgot!"  No, you won't forget.  You just won't mind doing it again because the benefits grossly outweigh the costs.  

• Your life before having a child is a significant but distant memory.  It was a great life, but this one is greater.  Imaginations aren't big enough to dream up how great it really is to meet your child and watch them grow.  Don't kid yourself--you'll be puked, pooped and peed on.  You'll try to rock your sobbing newborn to sleep in the middle of the night wondering whose tears you feel on your cheeks, convinced that they'll never sleep more than 2 hours at a time.  You'll give up most of your free time, a lot of your money, and all of your soul.  It'll be the best thing you ever lose.

Happy 1st Birthday, little one. 

~Stacy