Charlie at 6 Months!

Well, Charlie is officially 6 months old.  I cannot believe it has already been half a year since he was born, and boy has he changed a LOT!!

He now weighs 17.44 lbs and is 27 inches long.

Also, we are happy to report that gone are the days of inconsolable Charlie.  Now he is a very happy baby.  He smiles all the time and likes to giggle.  And Chad and I are very relieved to be beyond the colicky baby stage.  Whew!!!

Some new things we have discovered about Charlie:

• He is extremely ticklish.  Especially under the armpits, around the ribs, and in his neck.
• He likes to eat and you should never leave a bottle (empty or full) in his view.
• He LOVES his big sister.  His face lights up whenever she comes into the room and he is always watching her.
• He likes to stick out his tongue at people.
• He finds fart noises or other funny noises to be extremely funny.
• He loves to babble.  I have a feeling he will be a talker.
• He has gotten quite good at rolling on to his stomach.  Not so good at rolling back.
• He likes to throw his toys.
• He loves it when people sing or dance around him.  He especially loves bouncing to rhythms.
• He still enjoys watching sports on tv.
• He has begun to sit up, unassisted, for very small periods of time.  He normally falls over after about 10 seconds, or so, but he gets better at it each day.
• He is not as interested in pacifiers as Lauren was.  He will use one for a minute and then spit it out.
• He has figured out that he can suck his fingers to self-sooth.  But he prefers his index finger instead of a thumb.  Hey, whatever works!!
• He finally started eating solid foods.  So far, he has tried baby cereal, applesauce, peas, sweet potatoes, carrots, and broccoli.  
• He likes to eat!!  (Wait, did I already say that?  Well, it is true)
• He loves Wrigley, but we think he might be allergic to the dog's saliva.  He breaks out into a rash whenever Wrigley licks him. 

                           

Since our last post about Charlie's development, we started the sleep training process. It took a few nights of putting him to bed awake, but he finally began to fall asleep on his own.  Of course, right before the 5 month mark, he had a sleep regression and began to wake up every 2 hours again.  It was a difficult time and we could not figure out what had caused the regression.  It lasted about 3 weeks, and then he began to sleep for 3-4 hour stretches.  It was not ideal, but at least I was getting more than an hour's rest at a time.

Finally, we decided it was time to cut out the middle of the night feedings.  And at 6 months, I began feeding him before I went to bed and then turning off the sound on the monitor, until the next morning.  Of course, I still woke up and watched him on the monitor, but we did not go in to sooth him during those middle of the night wakings.  It took two nights and he was able to quickly fall back asleep whenever he woke up at night.  Now he might wake up once, in the early morning hours, but he sleeps through most of the night!!  My fingers are crossed that this pattern continues.

Now a typical day for Charlie looks like:

6-7 am: Wake up and feed

8:30 am: Feed and naptime

10 am: Wake and feed

12 pm: Lunchtime (I try to give him some infant cereal for lunch, along with a normal feeding)

1:30 - 2 pm: Feed and naptime

3:30- 4 pm: Wake and feed

6:30 pm: Dinnertime (We normally give him some baby food, along with with a bottle of formula)

7:30 pm: Bedtime

11 pm: One more feeding before I go to bed

He has become such a content little guy.  He is usually happiest when around other people in the house.  He does not like to be left alone in a room, and calms down as soon as someone either joins him or we pick him up and move to a different area.  He still prefers to be held, but we are trying to make an effort not to pick him up as much now.  I still love my cuddle time, but he also gets some time on the floor, in his high chair, in his bumbo seat, or in the exersaucer.  

He really goes with the flow, which is good, because in an effort to find things to do with Lauren, he gets swept up in the Baby Bjorn and off we go.  Whether it is dance class, story time, music time, play time outside, or a shopping adventure, he is usually very happy to come along and hardly ever complains!!

Finally, it warms my heart to watch Lauren and Charlie interact.  He really adores her and the feeling is definitely mutual.  So far, they enjoy spending time together and they get a kick out of making the other one smile.  I just hope these feelings last for a little while longer.  I am sure they will last until Charlie discovers Lauren's toys!  Until then, I will just take a LOT of pictures, so I can look back on these days and smile, while the two are screaming at each other, over something or other, in the other room!

Happy 6 Months Birthday Charlie!  I cannot wait to watch you grow!!

Halloween 2014

This year, we celebrated our first Halloween in our new neighborhood.   And it was a great holiday!!

We had already picked out our pumpkins, and then it was time to carve them.  Charlie was not very interested in the carving process, but he kept us company at the table.  Lauren was excited about the idea of carving the pumpkins, but still did not want to get her hands dirty.  She refused to put her hands inside the pumpkin and quickly lost interest.  So it was another year of Chad and I carving pumpkins!  But they turned out pretty cute.  Lauren picked out a ghost design and a witch design.

The morning of Halloween, Lauren had her dance class and they were invited to wear their costumes.  Her real Halloween costume was going to be a bit clunky, and I knew she would not enjoy dancing around in it, so we decided to put her in one of her many princess dresses.  Elsa made an appearance at the dance class that day, and surprisingly, she was the only one.

That afternoon, we decorated the front of the house and then it was nap time for the kiddos.  

                 


Once they woke up, it was time to start getting everyone ready for a night of trick or treating.  Despite  all of our attempts to come up with easier costume ideas, Lauren insisted on being Kwazii Kitten from the Octonauts cartoon.  And of course, they don't sell Kwazii Kitten costumes.  We did find a woman in England, who made felt Octonaut masks, but that was it.  So this was officially our first year with a homemade costume.  Not only did Lauren want a Kwazii Kitten costume, but she also wanted him to have a scuba helmet and air tanks...just like her Kwazii Kitten figurine!

I think Chad did an amazing job and nailed it!!

Here is what Kwazii Kitten looks like...

And here was Lauren's costume...

Lauren decided that Charlie should dress up as Peso Penguin, from the Octonauts.  That worked for us, because we just picked out an infant penguin costume at Target and put it on him.  And it turned out that the 4 month old boy, across the street, had the exact same costume this year!

Right before it got dark, we posed for some photos and took Charlie down the street to trick-or-treat at a house or two.  Then, Chad headed off with Lauren and I came back to the house, with Charlie, to hand out candy.  It did not take long before Lauren came home.  Apparently, she was scared of a life-sized Wicked Witch figure and did not want to trick-or-treat any more.  But she had a great time handing out candy and it was nice to have her around.

Later that weekend, our neighborhood had a Halloween party.  There was a large parade, a petting zoo, pony rides, balloon animals, face painting, treat bags, and food down by the playground.  It was really cold outside, and Lauren was tired, but we managed to show up for a bit before hurrying home to warm up!!

           

It was a wonderful holiday, and I really think that Lauren had a great time.  I hope we have an equally fun time next year, and maybe a store bought costume will be in our future.  We shall see!!