Charlotte: 7 Months

Charlotte is 7 months old and I am loving this age! She is so interactive and sweet and we are finally on a good schedule and she is actually predictable of when she might be hungry or sleepy! A schedule has been my goal since day 1! When I told this to my pediatrician at the pre-birth interview, she laughed. I think that is one of the hard parts about being a mom, especially when you are a type-A person like me! I thrive on routine, schedule, being organized and having everything, well, pretty perfect. Having a baby throws everything out of whack.

Like I said, right now things are pretty predictable and we are on a good schedule. But, I realize this is going to change any day now as Charlotte is now on the move! She doesn't make it far but she is scooting and rolling. Long story short, gone are the days of running outside to take the trash out or going into the bathroom while she is roaming free!

Pretty happy for being in a lifejacket!

My water baby in the lazy river!

My family just left after a 12 day visit and we had such a blast. We also discovered that Charlotte loves the water! We spent some time at the Aulani Disney Resort and she became quite the water baby!

I'm 7 months old! 

Starting to pull up on everything! 

Weight:  According to our scale at home, 17 lbs. 8 oz. 

Diaper Size:  graduated to 4s, tear!
Clothing Size: 9 months and some 12. I need to go through her closet, some of the sizes are definitely not accurate to the size listed! She has so many cute clothes that she is growing out of!
Eye Color: Blue and beautiful!
Sleeping Habits: Daddy was gone for 12 days and during that time we got into a really good routine and she started sleeping through the night!!
Adventures this Month:  Riding solo without dad for the longest time since she was born! We survived! :) Then, while my family was here, we did lots of adventuring! We went on a pontoon boat on Kaneohe Bay, a dairy farm in Waianae, the Dole Plantation and the Disney Resort! Charlotte loves going places. We went to Costco today and she is just in awe of everything around her!
Visitors: Gaga (my mom), Aunt Ashley, Uncle Bob and Cousins Robby and Kate! Kyle's parents come at the end of this month! 

Milestones: Rolling, scooting, going from sitting to all fours, planking, rocking back and forth on all fours and talking, talking, talking.
Favorite Toy: She loves anything that lights up and makes noise! She also loves her stuffed animals and giving them kisses!
Looking forward to: her Grampy and Grammy coming to visit! 

Charlotte's Baptism

We were able to baptize Charlotte while we were in Florida over Christmas! We knew that it would be super challenging to have all of our family here at the same time in Hawaii, so we reached out to Winter Park United Methodist Church to see if they would baptize Charlotte as Kyle's grandmother is a member there. Pastor Bob was very welcoming to us and through a couple of phone conversations and two meetings while in Florida, he was willing to baptize Charlotte in his church.

It was very special as Charlotte wore the same christening gown that I wore about 25 years ago! It was in great condition! My mom had to remove my monogram and we decided to keep it blank should other children come along! :)

It was such a sweet morning for our little Charlotte. She was definitely exhausted before the day was even over. She fell asleep during pictures after the service! I requested the hymn "Seek Ye First the Kindgom of God" to be played while Pastor Bob walked Charlotte throughout the church. I love this hymn and I think it has such a special meaning and is especially important for us to teach to our children.

We were so grateful to have all of our family and a few friends at Charlotte's baptism. We decided the  more godparents, the merrier, so we chose my sister and brother in law and also Courtney and Rob. Courtney is a close friend from college and was a bridesmaid in our wedding and Rob was Kyle's best friend growing up and best man in our wedding! Courtney lives in Boston and Rob in L.A, so they couldn't make it, but they were there in spirit! We know that Charlotte will receive lots of love from these four people throughout her life, in addition to her grandparents and all of her loving family members!

After the service, we had a brunch at Cocina 214. The room was beautifully decorated with poinsettias from our family friend, Monty, who owns a nursery! :) Thanks again Monty for the beautiful arrangements!

Charlotte: 6 Months

Wow, it's been a while since I have posted. I missed Charlotte's 5 month post and honestly it will be hard to go back and try and re-create it! I have lots of updating to do including our trip to Florida, Christmas, Charlotte's baptism, our summer time move to Jacksonville and the list continues. But first, our baby girl is 6 months old! Where did the time go?

Like usual, Charlotte's many faces!

So happy.. I don't see any teeth yet!

Not so sure about MJ taking over her chair!

Just kidding, they are BFF!

Weight: 16lbs 6oz and 28 inches 
Diaper Size: size 3, next purchase will be size 4!
Clothing Size: 6-9, some 12 month! :( 
Eye Color: Blue and beautiful!
Sleeping Habits: We still aren't sleeping through the night completely, but we are making great progress (knock on wood). I think it will be almost perfect and then she will start teething and everything will go out the window. She moves all over her crib at night and looks really cute doing so! She loves sticking her butt up in air with her knees underneath her chest! She has 2 pacis in her crib to allow for easy access! Her evening routine starts with a run or walk around the neighborhood (sometimes she takes a snooze), then dinner then bath time! By the time I am lotioning her up, she is rubbing her eyes and fussy because she is tired! So, we have been skipping the books and going straight to the boob or bottle! :) Hopefully she will be more willing to read in the coming months! 
Adventures this Month:  We did two hikes, the Lanikai Pillboxes and Makapu'u. We also went to the beach a few times! A lot of the same here in Hawaii, but we aren't complaining! I wouldn't want to be shoveling snow right now!
Visitors: We were in Florida in December/January and my family comes next week!

Milestones: Rolling everywhere and trying so, so hard to crawl! You can stay put for now Charlotte! Picking up toys and passing them from hand to hand, putting her own paci in, kissing mommy, daddy and her toys, tracking me as I walk around, sitting in the cart like a big girl and laughing! Right now she seems to do something new every day!
Favorite Toy: iPod toy, Ellie the elephant, balls, crinkly books, interactive dog toy and she loves playing peek a boo with blankets! She is so fun right now!
Looking forward to: having family visit and getting to play with her cousins!!

Our Little Girl over the past 6 months!

Charlotte: 4 Months

I know I say this every month, but this month has FLOWN by!! Charlotte is changing every day and getting bigger and stronger so quickly!! One morning I was making breakfast and she was on the playmat. The next thing I knew she was on her belly and had used her toys in her play gym to help pull her over! I was so sad I missed her first rolling over, but it was ok, because she has continued to do it again and again! 

Charlotte was a Strawberry for Halloween and we had fun passing out candy to all the children in our neighborhood! 

She loves to be outside and go on walks or runs! She has even taken a ride in the BOB without her car seat! Such a big girl! 

At her 2 month checkup, she was diagnosed with torticollis, which is a tilt of her neck. She has been receiving physical therapy three times a week and has made great improvement! The PTs come to the house and are so great with her! They are both military spouses and are so sweet! I'm so proud of her progress! She is looking so straight and has a great range of motion! 

Having fun by the pool!

So happy!

Weight: 14 lbs. 2 oz., 26.5 inches
Diaper Size: still size 2, size 3 overnight diapers
Clothing Size: 3-6 months
Eye Color: soo Blue!
Sleeping Habits: Sleeping has definitely improved for our little one! She has been going down about an hour after she wakes up for a long nap (1.5-2 hours) if she gets a good nap in the morning, the rest of our day goes well. If she doesn't, we are in trouble and she is fussy. Her afternoon naps are always a little more challenging. Her bedtime routine starts at 6:00 and we do her bath, massage, sleep suit and then nurse. We need to get better about music and reading, but by 6:30 she is so ready to sleep!
Adventures this Month:  The month has flown by! We haven't done too many new things, just our normal routine! Charlotte celebrated her first Halloween and dressed up as a strawberry!  Daddy had a few weekend trips, so it was just us girls for a couple of nights. We missed him, but we managed just fine! We have also made it to the beach a couple of times, which is getting easier and easier as she gets older. 
Visitors: No visitors this month!

Milestones: Grabbing and holding onto to toys, rolling from back to stomach and stomach to back, sitting in her Bumbo, grabbing your face and giving kisses (very slobbery ones), drooling a ton (I think I see the beginnings of a tooth coming through), babbling and talking and repeating our sounds. 
Favorite Toy: Still loving music, rattle, alligator with ribbons and the toy that attaches to her carseat. She is constantly playing with the toys in the car. She has gotten really good at grabbing them!
Looking forward to: her first Thanksgiving and heading to Florida, again, a month from now fro Christmas!

Pumpkin Patch and Halloween

Fall is one of my favorite times of the year! Unfortunately in Hawaii, we don't really get seasons or weather change. It is mostly summer year round, but with a few cooler days here and there. While in Florida, the weather was much of the same... HOT and rainy too. We were able to venture to the pumpkin patch in Orlando for a few cute photos of the kids! :) 

My sister got these adorable skeleton PJs for the kids!
Robby 2 1/2, Charlotte and Kate 2 months

We used lots of bribery to get him to take pictures!

My mom picked up these adorable outfits last Halloween right after we found out we were expecting!

No naps meant a fussy Charlotte for picture time!

Go Gators and Happy Halloween! 

Gaga and her girls!

Halloween rolled around really quick this year!! My plan was to have a family costume, but we simply ran out of time! :( The strawberry was a hand me down costume and it worked perfectly! I knew Charlotte wouldn't last long in it because it was pretty hot, but she actually enjoyed wearing it and didn't fuss at all. 

Charlotte as a Strawberry for her 1st Halloween!

Our community has about 50 houses (mostly families with children), so we knew that we would need LOTS of candy!! Trick or treating started at about 6pm and boy were there some cute costumes!! We had a really great first Halloween with Charlotte! Time to start working on next year's costume! 

Halloween in our neighborhood!

Kyle was a nerd (he did the entire costume on his own) 

Happy Halloween Baby Girl!

Charlotte: 3 Months

Wow, the past month has been a whirlwind! A month ago, we were heading to the airport to fly home to Florida! We had a jam-packed 2 weeks in Florida that included meeting friends and family, going to Jacksonville, spending a few days in Miami, going back to Orlando, visiting Sea World and eating at my favorite restaurants! For the most part, the trip was perfect! Charlotte began to protest napping, which had me a little crazy, but I assured myself that it would all get back to normal once we returned home.

Well, we have been home for 2 weeks now and I think her pre-Florida schedule is slowly starting to return. The first few days back were pretty brutal. From about 3 weeks old, Charlotte slept for a good 6 hour stretch, so I never felt that exhausted. I would only "need" a nap about 6 days or so when I was feeling worn down. Less than 48 hours after I returned home, Kyle's aunts and grandmother arrived! I scrambled to get the house ready, as my original flight on Monday was cancelled because of weather in Dallas. Everything came together and we had a nice visit with Kyle's family! They got to spend time with Charlotte and we played tourist a couple of days too!

Last Thursday, we moved Charlotte into her crib, cold turkey! She had been fighting sleeping on her back, but we knew it was time! She has such a beautiful room and we are glad that she is finally starting to use it! :)

The many faces of Charlotte... 

Weight: According to our scale at home, she is 13 lbs!
Diaper Size: Size 2 (and they are getting tight)
Clothing Size: 0-3 month clothes are TIGHT, anywhere from 3-6months is fitting her pretty well!
Eye Color: Pretty and Blue
Sleeping Habits: I don't think I can accurately describe her sleep schedule as she has slept as long as 5 hours to as short as 45 minutes at night. Naps are right around 20-45 minutes (I hope this changes, soon) She takes a little cat nap and feels instantly recharged! Great for her, but not great for this momma and getting things done!
Adventures this Month: Going on her first plane ride, visiting Florida, going to Sea World, seeing her first movie in the theater!
Visitors: her aunts and great grandma

Milestones: Started laughing (so cute), reaching and grabbing toys in her play gym, standing in our laps and taking little steps
Favorite Toy: She loves music and loves it when I sing to her. While in Florida, we visited my nephew's school and I did a presentation on Hawaii. They sang a song that went like this "Good Morning, Good Morning, Good Morning to you, A day is Beginning There's so Much to Do"! I sing that to her when I go into get her in the morning and she just loves it! She gives me the biggest smile. I need to capture it on video!
Looking forward to: being back home and getting back into our routine and schedule. Halloween is Friday, but we are still trying to nail down her costume! My grand plan for a family costume will have to wait until next year because we simply ran out of time!