Charlie At 8 Months!!

Charlie is now 8 months old and none of us can believe it.  Time is certainly flying and we are learning more and more about his little personality.

Here are some new things about Charlie...

• He now weighs 20 pounds (It might be more, after all of the food he had at Christmas)

• He now has 2 front bottom teeth and we believe some more teeth might be on their way soon.

• He began sitting up on his own, for long periods of time, the week before Thanksgiving.  We do not have to spot him as much, any more, but we do place the Boppy pillow behind him, because he HATES to fall backwards.  

• He LOVES to eat.  It does not matter what type of food we give him.  He will gobble it down and he eats about 6 ounces of food (2 bottles worth) at a sitting.  This is normally in addition to an 8 ounce bottle of formula.  He has even begun to want the food on our plates, so we try to give him a taste whenever it is appropriate! I look forward to having a toddler who enjoys eating!

• He is extremely ticklish.  You are guaranteed a giggle whenever you tickle his tummy, neck or armpits.  Diaper changing time is usually a happy and giggly time for him!

• He still loves to watch his big sister.  If Lauren is in the room, he is watching her every move.  And he usually gives her the biggest smiles!

• His favorite toy, right now, is a Minnie Mouse figurine.  He has a ton of trucks, cars, rattles, teething toys, etc.  But he is happiest with his Minnie Mouse.  Luckily, Lauren does not mind sharing with her little brother.  (We will see how long this lasts)

• He is still a cuddler and wants to be held whenever possible.  And it is not unusual for him to fall asleep in our arms, which can get quite heavy with a 20 pound baby!!

• He has finally begun sleeping through the night!!!  Once we weaned him from breast milk, and he began to get formula/baby food, he was able to forego the middle of the night feedings.

His daily schedule now looks like this...

8:30 am:  Wake up & drink 8 ounce bottle

10:00 am:  Eat 2 bottles of baby food and drink 8 ounce bottle

10:30 am: Nap

12:00 pm: Wake up & drink 8 ounce bottle

2:00 pm: drink 6 ounce bottle & eat baby food, if he is still hungry

2:30 pm: Nap

4:30 pm: Wake up & and drink 8 ounce bottle

6:30 pm: Eat 2 bottles of baby food or baby cereal with 1 bottle of baby food

7:30 pm: Bedtime 

His schedule has been a little crazy with the holidays, and we hope to get everyone back to a normal routine once the new year has arrived!!  But he is turning into quite a happy and easy going baby.  Chad and I are especially pleased that he is developing our beloved Fisher Sleeping Habits!!  =)  It is very nice to know that I can go run errands or visit with friends/family and not worry about having a cranky baby.  He just goes with the flow and always has a ready smile for anyone who gives him attention.  I cannot wait to watch him grow, change and develop into a little guy.  Hopefully this personality continues!!

Happy 8 Months Sweet Boy!!!

Lauren's 1st Dance Recital!

After Mee-maw and Grandpa's surprise party, Chad, Lauren, Charlie and I had to rush back to Gainesville to get ready for Lauren's first dance recital, the next day!!

We previously moved her to a new ballet/tap class, on Friday mornings, and they were picked to participate in the Dance School's Annual Holiday Recital.  They had been practicing the routine for a few months, and I was really excited to see the show.  Lauren was mostly excited to wear her new sparkly blue skirt!  And she could not resist checking herself out in the mirror, once we got her dressed and did her hair!

                     

We arrived at George Mason High School, in Falls Church, around noon and quickly directed Lauren to the seats reserved for her class.  Then Chad, Charlie and I, along with Mee-maw, Grandpa, Sarah, Grammy and Grumpa had to find seats in a mostly packed auditorium.  I was a little nervous to see how Lauren would do with so many people in the audience.  This would be her first time up on a stage.

She sat with her class and watched the first 12 dance routines of the show.  Then it was time for them to go backstage.

They danced a tap routine to "Driedel Driedel Driedel", and it was adorable.  As I expected, Lauren would participate and go through the dance routine, until she got distracted.  First, she kept scanning the audience and was probably distracted with all of the people.  Then, she and her dance partner got distracted, half way through the routine, when they decided that they were holding hands incorrectly.  And at one point, Lauren wasn't moving and her partner accidentally knocked her over.  But she bounced right back up and continued with the dance.  After all, the show must go on!!

It was fun watching all of the different routines.  There were dancers of all ages and talent in the show, and I believe everyone enjoyed the show, despite the fact that Lauren only danced one routine out of seventeen!

                               

After the show was over, Lauren received some flowers and we posed for photos.  Then we headed out to a celebratory lunch at one of our favorite deli's in the area.  

                                         

I am not sure how long Lauren will dance.  She really loves it right now, but I have a feeling sports might take over, once she gets older.  I will absolutely be happy to cheer her on in sports, but until then, I want to make sure we enjoy the sparkles, tutus, hair bows and recitals.  Just as long as she is doing whatever makes her happy, our family will always be there to cheer Lauren on!!

Mee-Maw and Grandpa's 40th Wedding Anniversary!

December 14, 2014, marked 40 years of marriage for Mee-maw and Grandpa!  That is quite a milestone, so Chad, Sarah, Kevin and I decided to mark the occasion with a Anniversary Road Rally and Surprise Party.

I snuck back into town, with Lauren, Charlie, and Chad, on Friday, the 12th.  We stayed with the Fishers, and the next morning, Sarah arrived at Mee-maw and Grandpa's house with the 1st clue of the Road Rally.  Once they got moving, the clue directed them to How Sweet It Is Nursery.  I was waiting there with their 1st challenge of the day!  Finding a plant fit for the Black Hills of South Dakota!!  This challenge stems from my parent's time living in South Dakota.

Once they found that, they received their 2nd clue, directing them to the tennis courts in the park.  And the Road Rally was underway!!

Kevin met them at the park and handed them the 2nd challenge of the day.  They had to bounce a tennis ball, 10 times on one side, 10 times on the other side, and 10 times on the rim.  This challenge stemmed from the enormous amounts of time Sarah and I spent at the tennis courts in Germany, while my parents were playing out on the courts.  We amused ourselves by bouncing the ball in this pattern.  We were supposed to get ice cream once we were able to do it.  We are still waiting on that ice cream!  =)

They both were able to finish the challenge and received their 3rd clue, directing them to the Fisher House.  Once there, Grumpa, Grammy, and Charlie handed them the 3rd challenge, which involved putting photos, spanning 40 years, in order by year.  I think they had a fun time looking at some of those photos, and I was nice enough to leave the nude beach photos out of the array!!  

They whizzed through that challenge and received their 4th clue, directing them to the Pemberton Coffee House.  This is one of our favorite spots in Salisbury, so Chad and Lauren were waiting for them there.  Once they arrived, they had to complete the 4th and final challenge.  Chad produced a puzzle, with an image of the church where they were married, in Abingdon, Illinois.  Since the picture is of blue sky and a brick building, this challenge took a little more time.  Eventually, it was time to get them moving, so Chad and Lauren helped out!!

                     

Sarah, Kevin, and I were back at the house, getting everything ready for a surprise party.  Sarah and Kevin handled the food and I handled the decorations/road rally.  It was definitely a group effort, but we managed to pull off the surprise and I think Mee-maw and Grandpa were very happy to see everyone there!!

Here are some photos of the day...

The view when they pulled up to the house!

Some of the decorations (signs in the front yard, old photos, and 

recreated Christmas ornaments, based off of the ornaments

 my mom made for her own wedding 40 years ago)

                               

                               

And the deliciously awesome cake (by Susannah)

Some of Mee-maw and Grandpa's friends, who joined us in the celebration!

                     

                     

Giving them a drawing (by Kevin) of their wedding photo!

It was a wonderful day, full of love, laughter, delicious food, and fun surprises.  I am so relieved that we were able to pull it off and I am already looking forward to the 80th Wedding Anniversary celebration!  =)

Happy Anniversary Mee-maw and Grandpa!!!

Mom & Dad's Vacation!!

Chad and I look forward to our Mom & Dad vacation every year.  We normally drop Lauren off with the Grandparents for about a week and have a staycation in Fairfax.  This year, we dropped off Lauren and Charlie and stayed home in Gainesville!

I was still breastfeeding Charlie, so I had to make sure we weaned him and got him adjusted to formula/baby food before leaving him for a week.  And I was a little worried about leaving him at such a young age.  But he was in great hands and had a wonderful time as well.  (We already knew Lauren would have a blast...she always does).

I came back home late Friday night, fell into bed, and was able to sleep until 11 am!!!  It was better than any all-inclusive resort vacation.  And on Saturday night, I was able to watch Chad play hockey. Normally, I am home with two sleeping kiddos during his games, so this was a special treat.

Chad and I spent the rest of the week sleeping, eating out at nicer restaurants, shopping for Christmas, and wrapping presents.  It truly is the most wonderful time of my year!

I even got to have a cocktail at lunch, while we ate at the bar.  We NEVER get to do that anymore.

 But the best part of our Mom & Dad vacation is the last day, when I get to go pick up Lauren and Charlie.  I certainly enjoy the time away, but by day 6, I am ready to have the craziness/sleeplessness back!!  And I get to spend the next 364 days, or so, looking forward to the next Mom & Dad Vacation!!  Woo Hoo!!

Another Lesson in Thankfulness & Empathy!

Once December rolled around, it was time to plan our Fisher Family Season of Giving!  Each year, I try to make sure Lauren understands that she is a very lucky girl and has a LOT of reasons to be thankful.  She is still young, so these lessons are pretty basic.  We would pick out toys to give to Toys for Tots and we would make cookies to deliver to Sarah's patients at the nursing home.

This year, I took Lauren (and a sleeping Charlie) to pick out some toys for Toys for Tots, and she seemed to understand it a little more than last year.  She picked out 3 toys for a little boy and 3 toys for a little girl, and she took her time deciding which toy she thought they would like best.  Then, after we paid for them, we walked them over to the bin and she carefully placed them inside.

A few days later, I took Lauren (and a sleeping Charlie to pick out some bags of groceries to donate to the local food pantry.  We talked a little bit about the purpose of a food pantry and my hope is that we will eventually be able to volunteer there, together, one day.

Chad's office was making a donation to a local toy drive, so I took Lauren (and a sleeping Charlie) to Build A Bear to pick out a special bear for another little kid.  She had previously looked through a flyer and decided on a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, and she immediately grabbed it as soon as we walked in the store. We spent some time picking out happy qualities for the bear, picking out a heart, stuffing it, and giving it a bath.  She even picked out the Mutant Teenage Ninja Turtle theme song to stick in the leg and we found some soft weapons for the bear.  I have to admit...I kind of wanted to keep it for myself.  But Lauren proudly carried the box out of the store and kept it safe until Chad could take it into work.

Finally, on December 4th, Lauren, Charlie, Mee-maw, Sarah, Kevin, and I made some cookies to deliver to the local nursing home in Salisbury.  I stripped Lauren and Charlie down to underwear/diapers so that the cleanup would be minimal, and they both sat up on the counter.  This year, Lauren spent most of the time sneaking cookie dough/frosting, but she did attempt to roll out the sugar cookie dough and even helped with the cookie cutters.  Charlie got his first taste of cookie dough.  Shocker, he loved it.  And he spent most of the time trying to eat one of the cookie cutters.

                               

The next night, we visited Sarah, while she was working, and delivered some cookies to her patients.  Lauren happily walked into every room, greeted each patient with a "Merry Christmas" and handed them a bag filled with sugar cookies.  Later, she even said that she was glad they got cookies because they were sick and stuck in the hospital!  This is an annual tradition I hope we are able to continue.

Charlie slept through most of these moments of giving, but that is to be expected.  He is only 7 months old.  Lauren really seems to be getting the concept of giving more and more, every year.  My hope is that we keep up these traditions and add more as the kids get older.  I would like to see Lauren and Charlie volunteering at food banks, helping to serve holiday meals, and donating time/money to those less fortunate.  Our family has been blessed with unbelievable good fortune and it is important to remember and help others.