April 28, 2013 - admin 2 Comments

Babies just keep growing, there’s no stopping it: 8 months.

I’m not gonna lie to you – This post is over 2 weeks old, so Charlotte is technically 8 1/2 months old now. I started this post 2 weeks ago on her 8 month birthday but things have not slowed down for a second around here in the Baker home. I’m sure this is what I can expect for the rest of my life as a mother.

Another thing that I feel confident in reporting… I will never again get a nice still photo of my daughter. It was a huge challenge to take her photos this month. Typically I take a few of her on her back and a few of her in the rocker in her nursery. This month’s series also showcases some nice shots of her confined to her crib {out of necessity, and slight frustration… but mostly necessity}.

Toy bribery was also successful in catching her attention for a moment.

Next month I may have to resort to ironing a number on her back as well to make my job a little easier.

Notice the lovely red mark on her forehead? Proof of her numerous attempts to escape the confines of her crib.

8 months 11

8 months 10

At 8 months, Charlotte:

Is crawling everywhere. Notice the scuffed up knees?
Has become a daredevil {and I’m pretty sure we have the Little Gym to thank for that… giving her a crazy amount of confidence… how dare they!}. It only took a few days of being mobile before she began pulling up on things, first to her knees and now all the way to a stand.
Has been struggling with her nap/bedtime routine because of this newfound mobility . As soon as we place her down into her crib she bolts to the corner that is closest to the door, pulls up to a stand, and assumes her ‘i’m so desperate to get out of here’ stance with her head thrown back in the most dramatic way. I don’t have a photo of her standing at the end of her crib, but this is her talking to herself and exploring her spacious sleeping quarters at 9pm.
Has 2 top incisors coming in {barely peeking through the surface of her gums so no photo yet!} so she is gnawing on anything and everything she can get her hands on and has also started to drool. She has never been a drooly baby before these teething episodes so this is a new experience for all of us.
Has said her first word – “dada”. You can read about that adventure here. Her new favorite sounds to make are: ‘ooph’ {which she vocalizes any time she is ‘working hard’ – as in ‘these blocks are so heavy it’s taking all my might to lift them, ‘oooph’} and ‘mmmm’ when she is eating something yummy.
Has been enjoying 2 meals a day of purees {about 2 ounces each meal} and will not eat any more than that despite my best efforts to stuff her {particularly before bed time}. She still nurses about 6-7 times a day. She is loving some new fruits and veggies this month in additional to her usuals: papaya {provided by her Lola Pam}, kiwi, clementines, and peas. The clementines and papaya are some of her favorites to have in the mesh teethers – I limit the clementines, though, because of their high acidity. I am just now getting around to introducing peas because I had a difficult time finding froze peas without salt added {and kept forgetting to look for other brands – I finally found some at Trader Joe’s but have since found them in several different grocery stores, usually from organic brands}. I don’t make all of her food from frozen, but there are several types that are much easier to prepare from frozen than when buying them fresh; mostly green beans and peas}. Once the local farmer’s markets open up we will be experimenting with many more fruits and veggies – I can’t wait for seasonal watermelon!!!
Love. Love. Loves her Little Gym classes. Here she is with the other Bugs playing with some bubbles. I love watching her socialize with the other kiddos, even if she is a bully {pulling hair, rounding up all the shakers for herself.. you know, all the typical 8 month old stuff}

Is not really ‘waving’ anymore, though I’m not too concerned because I know she has been developing so many other skills these past few weeks – something has to take the back burner!
Is not quite sure of the grass, cement, and mulch mommy has put her on during play-dates at the park, but is warming up to the idea that she may have to move on them someday.
Can entertain herself independently for quite a long time {in a safe place like the pack-and-play, of course} until she notices me walk past and realizes that I haven’t been watching her every second of the past 15 minutes… then she becomes dramatic and the laundry/cleaning/anything mommy-related is put on hold until I can get her distracted again.
Loves being outside in the sun, just like her mommy. She refuses to keep a hat on, so I just try to be diligent about applying sunblock and sticking mostly to the shade when we are at the park.
Is now pretty good about sitting up in the front of the cart, though she did throw her first mega tantrum in Michael’s the other day when I wouldn’t let her hold the spray paint. She wailed and did her usual ‘throwing her head back for dramatic effect’ move, but then hit her head on the back of the cart seat, so wailed some more. It was rough and that cashier said to her: ‘Is that you who was making all that noise?’ Yikes. And I know this joy will only continue as she gets older. I am fairly certain God gifted me with a daughter who is exactly like me when I was little – Sorry mom for all I put you through.

We love our bug and find ourselves saying ‘I love our family’ almost every day.

Thank you God for this sweet life you have entrusted us with!

February 25, 2013 - admin

Bathtime… it cures what ails ya!

Charlotte has been teething for the past few days; just the usual stuff… drooling, gumming everything in sight… yada yada. She still only has the two bottom teeth {the same ones that appeared just after 4 months} and we’ve grown to adore that little chicklet smile. I know more chicklets are about to pop through any moment now and I know I’ll still love that smile once they do. Until then though, we’ve been suffering through the aches and pains that come with the teething territory. Today she seemed particularly uncomfortable and none of the usual remedies seemed to work… until bath time.

She went from THIS:

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to THIS in .5 seconds {the time it took to get her in her birthday suit and get a bath ducky in her hand}.

6 month bath 4

Thank goodness something worked! We’ll see if this contentment lasts through the night 🙂

December 28, 2012 - admin

Christmas 2012

Christmas came very quickly this year. I am surprised that I was able to get as much together as I did {gift wise} – it was nothing short of a miracle. I am not the type of person who usually shops for gifts the weekend before Christmas, though this year I will admit I had Chris pick up the last few gifts on Christmas eve while I was at work. Also.. never again will I work on Christmas eve if I can help it – It was just way too stressful; though I commend those parents who brought their kiddos to their speech therapy appointment on Christmas eve… that is definitely the dedication I am looking for the other 364 days a year. How about next year you just give yourself, and your therapist {who, contrary to the belief of many 3 year olds, does not live at the office and sleep under the desk} a free pass from therapy.

I digress.

Here’s how our holiday went down:

{also, just a disclaimer – no, your contacts are not dry or old. yes, many of these photos are a bit blurry. The lens and settings we used was not quite fast enough to catch all of the action and I’m not talented enough to know how to fix that. bear with me as I am still very much a novice photographer}.

Sunday morning we had a great church service with some awesome music {led by my husband… so proud of him :)}. Here are Charlotte and mommy in our ‘anti-Christmas’ colors. I’m not agains Christmas colors, I just don’t like to be too match-matchy or predictable. Plus, I want Charlotte to get as much wear out of one of the adorable dresses that Chris’ Aunt Brenda gave her.

Aunt Brenda's outfit

Sunday evening was our “Big Family” party. Big Family is the group of people that, while not all actually related to us by blood, are an extension of our family in a much more meaningful way than blood could ever create. There are grandparents, parents, children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. It’s a beautiful thing and I love that no matter how our lives change over the years we are able to come together for a night of love and laughter. We had to take a few group shots because we forgot the tripod and had to ‘rotate’ photographers {next year’s photo will be perfect because we will plan ahead!!!}.

big family 3

big family 2

I love being able to catch up with old friends each year. It is crazy how quickly time passes, but always good to be able to pick back up with them as if we were never apart… though this time the conversation tended toward “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe you’re a mom”. Charlotte got a lot of snuggles and a few new hairdos… hello ‘Cindy Lou Who’!

big family

As I mentioned before, I had to work on Christmas eve {well, I didn’t have to, but being in a per diem position means no paid time off and no pay-check if I don’t work}. Once I got off of work we headed out to our church’s property where the outside pavilion was decorated with beautiful twinkle lights. There’s nothing like singing Joy to the World outside at night; it definitely helps to give you the mental image of what played out in Bethlehem so many years ago.

“Joy to the World, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King; Let every hear prepare Him room, and Heaven and nature sing. yada yada… While fields and floods, rocks hills and plains repeat the sounding joy”.

Reminds me of the verse in Luke 19:40 – “He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.” The earth was not silent at Christ’s death and I certainly believe it wasn’t silent at His birth.

new years eve 2012

After the Christmas eve service we raced back to our house to spend some time with Chris’ parents. For the past 2 years Chris and I have had an easy time of juggling families around the holidays because Chris’ parents were living in Germany, leaving our schedule open to spending time with my family. We will definitely have to work out something better for future holidays because Charlotte was in bed almost immediately after we got home from the Christmas eve service so she barely got a chance to visit with her Lola and Grandpa. It was so nice that they took care of preparing all the food though!

Christmas morning was spent at my parent’s house. We were late {as usual} and I forgot Charlotte’s gifts from us at home {along with my makeup… yikes!}… but at least I remembered to bring my family’s gifts…. and I did remember to bring Charlotte! My mom always outdoes herself with breakfast-y snacks and then brunch later… she makes it look so effortless! Maybe by the time I am a grandma I will be able to pull off a Christmas morning like that. Thanks mom! {and dad… I’m sure you had a lot to do with things behind the scenes}

Playing with the manger scene.

Opening gifts… “we hope it’s a teether”!!

Christmas afternoon we went to Chris’ Tita Winnie’s house for a family dinner. I don’t have any photos from that but they are floating out there somewhere on someone’s camera 🙂 Charlotte’s Titas gave her so many wonderful gifts!

This week I picked up a few patients from other therapists who are out of the office over the holiday so I am working Thursday and Friday after Christmas. While I am at work, Charlotte has been home with her daddy.

This is what I would like to think is happening at home while I am at work…

this is what my husband is posting on Facebook while I am at work, making me break out into a panic {honey, five alarm peanuts, lumpia, and ham}.

Oh well, she’ll survive.

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

December 19, 2012 - admin 4 Comments

Charlotte is 4 months!

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Charlotte’s 4 month well check-up was this week {See her sporting her first sticker? Cinderella, of course. That was always my favorite too!}. Chris was able to leave work early so he could join us. I was so glad to not have to deal with shots by myself again. I don’t know why it is so heartbreaking for me. It briefly upsets Charlotte but once you pick her up and give her your neck to snuggle in to she’s fine. I, however, turn into a mama bear and want to punch the nurse for hurting my baby {even though I know it’s her job and I DO appreciate all nurses… really, I do. Please don’t write any angry comments!}

At 4 months Charlotte…

Weighs 12lbs, 3oz. and is 25 inches long. She is now into some 3-6 month clothing!
Loves snuggles with daddy.

Is able to sit with assistance, but is not even close to sitting independently yet. Thank goodness. I really have my work cutout for me to baby proof this house before she is mobile!

Is frequently sleeping through the night. And I don’t mean the ‘six hours = sleeping through the night’ kind of sleeping; I mean around 10 hours some nights. It is really wonderful to get 6 or 7 hours of sleep again, though I will admit I miss those quiet moments in the dark hours of the early morning.
Is rolling over quite skillfully now. In case you missed it you can catch her in action here.
Loves to be carried in a sling or wrap. I have several that I alternate between, depending on the task I want to get done. She is also good at sitting in her swing or laying on her play mat and entertaining herself, but any chance I get I keep her close so she can experience the world from a position other than on the floor at Baxter level.
Continues to blow raspberries and has found that shrieking gets quite a bit of attention from others, making that her go-to noise right now.
Has discovered her toes and loves to grab at them, though I am pretty sure she just thinks they are another toy and is not yet aware that they are ‘hers’.
Loves to make faces at ‘that other little girl’ in the mirror.
Is quickly becoming a drool queen. The pediatrician mentioned that she has a tooth just below the surface of her gums but that it could still be a month or 2 before it shows itself. WHEW! I am NOT ready for teeth yet.
Is really starting to love some teething toys, but is not really into her Sophie. I’m hoping she will change her mind once she really begins to get teeth {because it’s so darn cute and because I’d much rather her gnaw on something that doesn’t haveman made plastics or dyes in it!} but for now she just wrinkles her nose and gets a full body shiver when it goes into her mouth. I don’t know if its the taste {all natural rubber} or the texture {just like her mama, doesn’t like to touch certain textures}, or the smell {it has a fairly strong rubber smell}. We shall see.
Is starting to grab at everything – hair, necklaces, plates on the table, spoons, toys, etc.
Still has the blue vein on the bridge of her nose. I don’t know if that will fade as she grows or not. Some days it is almost non-existent and others it is so bright. Regardless, I give that spot a billion kisses every day!
Is really going through some sort of ‘stranger danger’ + ‘I only want mommy’ phase’. For the most part she is very social and loves to engage anyone who will give her the time of day; but occasionally if the timing is off {like if she is beginning to get hungry or tired} she only wants mommy and nothing else will do.