birthday

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Big brother Baxter

All day yesterday Baxter moped around the house. He would flop himself down at my feet and let out a big sigh, or just sit and stare at me with sad doggy eyes. I actually texted Chris at work to ask if he had fed Baxter before leaving for work because I thought for sure Baxter was trying to communicate something important to me! “Baxter, bark twice if your daddy didn’t feed you today”! No response, he just sat and stared. Didn’t even play with his toys!

Today it finally dawned on me that in all the hullaboo surrounding our new family addition (Charlotte, of course) I forgot about our first born dog’s birthday! Baxter turned 2 yesterday – EEK! I feel bad that we let it pass by, but he knows we love him regardless. Extra apple slices for you today buddy!

You can read about last year’s celebration HERE and about how Baxter dog became a member of the family HERE.

Baxter is a very good dog. I can’t say that he meets all of my ‘dog requirements’ (If you’re really nosy, they are listed in the link above) but he certainly tries and by the time he started barking and shedding a bit I was already hooked – there was no going back.

Baxter is a very good big brother to Charlotte. Very protective and super calm around her, though he  is always on high alert and nervous that every squirrel, mail man, and leaf blowing by is trying to break into our house and he must bark loud enough to alert everyone on the street.

“What’s that smell? I thought I was the only mess maker in the house”.

 

Happy Birthday Baxter – We are so glad you’re part of our family!

- Oh Happy Daze

Happy Two Months of Life!

Our sweet Charlotte is two months old on Thursday. Time is moving impossibly fast – It’s both exciting and heart breaking all at the same time. As thrilled as I am to see who she will grow to be as she achieves each new milestone I almost can’t bear to see her change anymore. I love who she is right now in this moment so much. But I am comforted with the fact that I have been able to take oodles of photos and video snippets of her over the past 2 months. I know I won’t always have that luxury (yay for maternity leave and for her being our first born!). Now, on to the official documentation of the past month!

At two months Charlotte..

  • Weighs …. who knows?! It is at least more than the 8 lbs. 4 oz. that she weighed at her 1 month appointment. We will know the details after her 2 month appointment in a few days – stay tuned!
  • Is starting to gain some ‘chunk’ and is filling out her newborn clothing really well.
  • Is still a snuggle bug and likes to nestle into your neck for a snooze.
  • Sometimes cries when she wakes up from her naps (as if she is scared and doesn’t know what’s going on… breaks my heart to see her little eyes well up with tears).
  • Is not yet loving tummy time. At her one month checkup the pediatrician noticed her head tilting to her right side and since then I’ve noticed that she doesn’t seem to want to turn her head to look to the right all the time – Commence exercises recommended by my PT friends who report that this is most likely due to the reflux.
  • Is not a peaceful eater. She grunts, she cries, she pinches and punches at mommy… it’s quite dramatic, to say the least, but probably relates to the reflux as well.  I haven’t really tried yet but I don’t think I could discretely nurse her in public … there’s no hiding the flailing piranha under a nursing cover and with all the grunting people might think I’m smuggling a baby piglet under my shirt. We’ve gotten by so far with carefully timed nursing before we venture out of the house and with bottles of expressed milk.
  • Has actually completed several car rides without a single whimper, though the tearful car rides are still prevalent.
  • Really loves diaper changing time. I don’t know if it’s the time of day because she’s so alert, the pictures and mirror I have hanging on the wall over the dresser, or that we are helping her get out of a soggy diaper that she loathes… but whatever it is she loves to laugh and talk and wiggle about while we discuss the plan for the day and which adorable outfit she will show off.
  • Has really found her voice and already has an arsenal of sounds (which her speech therapist mommy is SO proud of) – she cries, laughs, squeals, coos and shouts and she definitely uses them differentially and with purpose  – We love seeing her personality emerging.

Less than a month left of my maternity leave. Dagger.

Dishes and laundry can wait. I’m going to spend these next few weeks snuggling with my baby.

Priorities. I’m just sayin’.