Charlie Update

Okay, so I have really failed at keeping up with Charlie updates. Month after month sped by, then I was going to do an 18 month update, but before I knew it, that month was over too. So, here I am. Charlie is a big brother now and is one of the funniest guys I know. 

So just to do a quick update, here are a list of updates about my 19 month old best bud from the past 7 months (in order). 

~ He got his first hair cut on June 15th. Apparently, it was harder for me (as usual). I only let them cut one inch off, which grew back over night. He did great for it though! 

~ He went on his first (and 5th) airplane ride and visited Colorado for the first time. He did awesome! He flew standby and ended up spending two 12 hour days in O'Hare. He was a trooper and hardly missed any sleep. On the way out to Colorado he slept a solid 12 hours through loading, flying, unloading, standing around, and sleeping on the airport floor in Las Vegas while obnoxious music played. I was one thankful mama. 

He also slept through a concert at Red Rocks Amphitheater. Best traveling toddler goes to Charlie! 

~ He learned how to help himself to cereal.  

~ He discovered his love for trucks. He knows how to start a vehicle (luckily, he isn't quiet strong enough to turn the key yet), can say "keys", and will throw a tantrum every time you try to take him out. 

~ Learned to go down the slide himself and loves it!

~ Started sleeping great (the same night his sister was born!) Sleeps from 8pm-7:30(ish)am. Takes one nap during the day from 1:30-4pm. (He naps great at home. Not so great elsewhere.) 

~ Discovered his love for four wheelers. Okay, anything with wheels, keys, and a steering wheel. 

~ He loves playing outside. All the time. He begs to go out and will put his hat and (try to put his) jacket on too. 

~ We said good-bye to nursing on October 22. Again, probably harder for me. After a few days of getting over the confusion of daddy putting him to sleep, he was fine. I probably cried more than him. 

~ C made the cutest little tiger ever. His "roar" was too heart melting. 

~ He discovered his love for working. Everything daddy does, C wants to do to. (We won't mention the hole he put in our drywall with a hammer.) 

~ He has finally rediscovered his love for reading. Especially, the type of book pictured, he would sit and look at for 30+ minutes at a time. 

~ He became a big brother! He is so sweet with her and always checks on her. 

~ He discovered his deep love for vacuuming...and his strong hate of putting the vacuum away.

More pictures:

Says:

mama, da, tickle, sis, git, bye-bye, uh-oh, apple, ap (up), Willow, hat, baby, no, boom, shoes

(okay, I keep updating this list... his words are much more than this and keep growing daily!)

Loves:

His daddy

Working like daddy

Things that go (see above)

Working in the mill with daddy

Climbing 

Brother Theo 

Tackling/ Wrestling 

Cooking with mommy

Being outside doing anything 

All of his family!

A Note for C:

C you have taught me more in the last 19 months than I have probably learned in 19 years of life. Seeing life through your eyes changes everything. Thank you for bringing so much joy and chaos into my life. Thank you for teaching me that life goes by way too fast and helping me find the need to pause and "be." I love you so much and love seeing you learn as you go through life. 

Love you beanie. 

365 Days Old

Okay, I know this post is nearly two weeks late, but it's been hard. At first I did not want to write this post and then I got really busy. So here it is... better late than never. Charles Brian is a whole year old. 

Forty-Eight Weeks

Forty-Nine Weeks

Fifty Weeks

Fifty-One Weeks

Fifty-Two Weeks

Measurements done at 1 year well baby!

Height: 30" (54th percentile)

Weight: 21 lbs. (50th percentile)

Head: 19" (95th percentile!)

Eating: C is eating three solid meals like a champ, and normally 1-2 snacks throughout the day. He really isn't a picky eater, although there are some days when he doesn't like foods that he normally does. We half-heartily tried to teach him sign language, but he hasn't picked it up due to our lack of consistency. He normally cries if he wants more and throws it on the ground when he is done (although, this child is never full! I just have to cut him off). He is eating really everything now. Due to a lack of grandparent knowledge he had strawberries this month and due to a lack of parent knowledge he had honey this month (baked in things). I am still not giving him much milk, although he has had a few bites of my cereal. 

He is also still nursing three times a day - morning, after afternoon nap, and bedtime. 

Sleeping: Sleeping is going really well. Bed at 7:30pm, wakes up at 5:30am, nurses, falls back asleep until 7:30am. I wish he would just sleep to 7:30 without waking up, but so far no luck. I have been super tired and lazy lately and just bring him into bed with me at 5:30 to nurse him and then we fall asleep for another two hours together. I talked to his pediatrician about this and he thinks he is getting too much sleep at night and that we really is just starving at 5:30. He suggested moving his bedtime back a bit. We tried that for a few days, but he actually started to wake up closer to 5 and was really grumpy by the end of the day, so we gave up that notion. My goal (every morning) is to nurse him in his room and lay him back down in his bed, but 5:30 is not the greatest motivation for a pregnant tired me. Someday I'll find the motivation. I hope. 

Naps are better! Morning nap is around 9-10am and is normally 30-45 minutes long. Afternoon nap is around 1-2 and is anywhere from 30mins- an hour and a half! An hour has been most regular (which is huge!) He also will sleep in any position now (he doesn't need a pillow to sleep well). 

New Skills:

~ Push walking! I literally looked across the room one day and he was practically running. It happened so quickly! 

~ Standing up  from a sit (although it is still rare)

~ He also got 2 new teeth this month

He Loves:

~ Giving hugs 

~ Playing outside

~ Eating dirt

~ Playing catch (and he is really good at it!)

~ When his daddy throws him around

~ Playing with pillows and Theo's dog bed

~ Going "Vroom" with cars and trucks

He Doesn't Like: Nothing new in this list this month!

Exciting Things We Did: 

Charlie announced that he was going to be a big brother on April 12th! The two will be almost exactly 18 months apart (depending on when this little ones decides to make its grand debut!) 

We took a mini day trip to the Washington D.C. Zoo 

We celebrated Charlie's first birthday! 68 people came out to celebrate him! We could not have done it without help from Grandma, Grammie, and Aunt Courtney! 

Grammie made a butterfly

Aunt Courtney made a caterpillar 

He really was concerned about a bunch of people staring at him and singing a strange song...

The blueberries on top were his favorite! 

Great Grandpa made this sign (no he did not turn 1 on the day of his party...it was a oppsie)  

So Strong! 

We took C on his first canoe ride! He loved dipping his fingers in the water. 

Some More Pictures: 

We visited Zig's Bakery to see all the great tables that daddy built!

Cousin Anja!

We went to see cousins Jack and Eli play a soccer game, but forgot a hat. Anja was nice enough to let us borrow hers. C wasn't so sure :-P

We made dinner and had a picnic in the car so daddy could have a good dinner while mulching. 

Walking! Walking!

C spent his first birthday with his first fever :-( It only lasted a day and we decided he wanted to snuggle and snooze on us like a newborn to relive last year. Glad it didn't last long!

I can not believe that my baby is a whole year old. This past year has been the fastest year of my life. Please slow down!