I know lots of wonderful momma's IRL (in real life) and wanted to take a moment to shout out to all of them! "She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks." (Proverbs 31.17) Angela is probably the momma on this list I talk to the most. It doesn't hurt that we teach at the same school (she helped me get my job) and that her daughter, Stephanie, loves Charlotte. Angela is someone I can have fun with and that understands what life is like outside of Frostproof. Since Charlotte was born we don't spend as much time together, but it isn't something that I feel like we have to apologize for. She understands that things are different with a baby and I know that as Charlotte gets older, she'll still be there. Angela is also the woman who explained baby brain to me and for that I will be eternally grateful I think Angela is beautiful on the inside and out. "She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night." (Proverbs 31.18) My friend Rhonda is amazing. She has two beautiful children, Ashley and Andrew. Rhonda's husband serves in Iraq as a private contractor training their police officers. When he isn't in Iraq, he runs a successful shooting range. Of course, that means Rhonda has to take care of things while he is gone. On top of all that, Rhonda recently finished overseeing the building of their new house, raising their two children, keeping the extended family happy with lots of visits, and working her own job as a friendly mail carrier. I think Rhonda is beautiful on the inside and out! "She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come." (Proverbs 31.25) "She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue." (Proverbs 31.26) I don't have a picture of the next momma... maybe she will e-mail me one. Her name is Tess. Tess is a home-schooling mom of three - Carly, Lindsay, and Taylor (did I spell those names right?). For me, Tess is a great encourager. She was my go-to person for pregnancy questions and is my go-to person for baby questions now. Tess is extra special because she was the first non-family member to watch Charlotte for us (except the wonderful ladies in church on Sunday mornings). Even though Tess isn't my Avon lady anymore, I think she is beautiful on the inside and out. "Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her..." (Proverbs 31.28) My friend Latrelle is a super-momma too. This is a picture of her with her daughter Madison. Latrelle has three children, including two boys whose names escape me right now. (Sorry Latrelle.) She has been a special encouragement to me with the love she has shown Charlotte. When I first had to go back to work, Latrelle prayed for me and let me know she knew how hard it was for me. I appreciated that. I know Latrelle might not like the picture, but that doesn't matter, because I think she is beautiful on the inside and out. Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her..." (Proverbs 31.28) Then, there's my own mother. Resisting the urge to get too sappy, I love being able to experience motherhood with her. I know she was shocked when I asked her to stay a 2nd week after Charlotte's birth. But I guess it's true that we always need parents. I was just telling my husband today that I really like hanging out with my mom and dad. We had a great time with them yesterday even though all we did was eat and shop. I'm pretty certain I don't tell her often enough, but I think she is beautiful on the inside and the outside. There are lots of other women in my off-line life that deserve paragraphs of their own, but time keeps me from it. I would write about these women if I could though: If I've forgotten someone that I should have remembered, please accept my sincerest apologies. My Mother's Day started at 11:30 last night when Charlotte woke up. Happy Mother's Day to all of you! (Oh, and mom, Charlotte is not trying to kiss you in that picture... she just wants to taste your nose.)
Then there is my friend Kathy. Kathy is amazing. Her and her husband Freddie have raised two children that love God and love his church. While Kathy has not been able to be in church for several months due to excruciating pain, her daughter, Alesha, and son, Chris, serve the church in many ways. I'm not sure if Kathy thinks of it this way, but she is sending them out to be missionaries on her behalf, because I KNOW she has bathed them in prayer. I think Kathy is beautiful on the inside and out.
"Picture pages, time to get your crayons and your pencils." Does anyone else remember that song from Bill Cosby's* show in the 80's? I used to LOVE it. And for some reason when I was trying to think of a title of this page full of pictures I have for you, it came to mind. You can keep your crayons and pencils in the drawer though. I don't recommend trying to color these pictures (you might ruin your monitor). Our poor Charlotte has her first crawling injury. Apparently, she crawled so much at daycare that she gave herself a blister on her big toe. On the bright side, she no longer crawls knee-toe. Instead it is knee-foot. Tonight it looked kind of yucky so we put some neosporin-type stuff on it and covered it with a Ban d-Aid before bed. I am sure it will heal up just fine. She loves bath time! Normally bath time is done with Momma, but Daddy came in the other night and had a little fun with her hair... so of course, we had to take a picture for you! To celebrate Mother's Day, we met my family for breakfast at Golden Corral. Might not sound too fancy to some, but we all enjoy it. Charlotte had fun playing with her puffs and smearing banana all over the table. We had fun too hanging out with my family. They really are super-cool! *Okay, I just looked up more about the show, and learned it originally aired as part of Captain Kangaroo until Nickelodeon picked it up, which is where I watched it.
As promised, here are some new Bumbo pictures. I took these Friday morning before we left for school. Charlotte was fussing at me, so I knew if I brought out the camera she would get happy and smiley! Labels: picture
You can compare them to this post to see how much she has grown!
It is hard to believe that I have been working on our sleep issues for a solid month. Apart from the fact that I really miss sleeping in my bedroom, we are actually making progress. Now that Charlotte has finally cut her top 2 teeth, she is much less fussy and needy at night. We have also stopped our nightly doses of baby Tylenol. Labels: No-Cry Sleep Solution
Our typical night now has Charlotte nursing to sleep around 8 pm and then staying asleep until 11 pm. From there, she is pretty consistent with her 2 am and 4 am wakings. One of the hardest parts for me is that when she falls back asleep after her 4 am waking, I have to wake her up by 6 am in order to get her dressed and nursed before we go to school. I know her sleep would be better overall if I didn't have to interrupt it so much.
There is something I am getting better at though. I am not getting her at her first cries because she really does cry and fuss in her sleep. And if she persists and doesn't seem to be going back to sleep, I try to comfort her without picking her up first. It seems to be working. Though last night, when I went to her she was sitting up and terribly confused. She couldn't figure out how to get back down.
Apparently, Bruce thinks Charlotte and I look cute when she is sleeping across my belly. So, he took this picture on the right the other morning. I am purposely keeping it small so you can't zoom in on my middle of the night face. If I knew he was coming, I'd have put some make-up on. Just kidding... it is really my thighs I don't want you to see!
Labels: Aloha Friday
Hosted by Kailani at An Island Life, I am again going to ask an Aloha Friday question.
Per Kailani, "In Hawaii, Aloha Friday is the day that we take it easy and look forward to the weekend. So I thought that on Fridays I would take it easy on posting, too. Therefore, I’ll ask a simple question for you to answer. Nothing heavy or too thought-provoking."If you have your own blog, how does it make you feel when people leave comments? If you don't, what motivates you to leave a comment?
Leave your answer in my comments and then head on over to Kailani's blog to answer her question, and others.
Charlotte is now 9-months old! I can't believe how fast time has flown past us. Just today I was looking at a 3-month old at daycare and trying to remember Charlotte at that age. Here's a photo to remind you: Labels: milestone, picture, weight
Her head looks so funny in this one doesn't it? And I just went looking for a recent picture of her in the Bumbo, but can't find any. I'll take one tomorrow if I think about it.
We also had her 9-month well baby visit today. There are no shots for her to get now which is good because I have decided to put her on a modified vaccination schedule and still need to figure out my plan for that. My biggest fear for these appointments is that the doctor will complain about how small Charlotte is.
But he never does. Today Charlotte weighed in at 15 lb 6 oz. Her length is 25 inches and her head circumference is 43 cm. (Don't ask why they use 2 different units of measure, I don't know!)
Since the doctor didn't even mention her height or weight I was curious to see where she was according to the charts and this is what I found (click on it to see a larger image):
The red dots represent where Charlotte is. Now, I don't think this chart accounts for the fact that Charlotte is still primarily breastfed so I am sort of dismissing it. You will note she doesn't even fall anywhere on the length chart. My family is short... that's genetic and no amount of breast milk can change that!
So, I went to my trusty Kellymom.com site and found this chart, which IS designed for breastfed babies:
Look at the right chart (for girls) and you will see she is 5th percentile for weight.
Charlotte has accomplished all of the milestones on the info sheet our pediatrician gave us.
She can
Overall, Charlotte is a wonderfully happy baby. We have some sleep issues to work out, but I know they will come in time. We love her more than words can express and can't wait until we get more time to spend with you over the summer!
Check out other gross lists at Thursday Thirteen. By the way, this is my 8th edition of T13. Labels: thursday 13Umm, this week's Thursday Thirteen theme is 'gross.' Since I don't feel like doing a post about gross baby stuff (you know, poop and vomit), I will share with you 13 gift-of-the-month items. (Because, you know, there are 12 months... yeah, the connection to 'gross' is lame, but it's the best I can do with the theme)
. Better yet, send me the gift card and I'll, um, be sure, to um, pass it along. Yeah.
I know that Charlotte is less than 1 year old, but Bruce and I have always planned to homeschool our children. I won't get into the why of it here, but I've accumulated a long list of blog posts that I want to save as a reference and I thought that some of my readers might find them interesting, so I am posting them below. Some of them are a little old because they've been sitting in my starred items for Google Reader until I found time to compile them all in once place. If you have found any beneficial homeschooling links or sites, please leave it in the comments so we can all benefit from it. Thanks! Labels: homeschool
Haha! My daughter made it onto the Disney homepage! Below is a screen shot showing off a picture of her with her Grandpa Sabin taken in March during her first trip to Disney! He works for Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge (DAK) and is the one who submitted the photo.
You can relive her trip by visiting Part 1, Part 2, & Part 3!
Ever since I posted about Charlotte's new Glamorous Girls clips, I've been having an Etsy of a time! That place is addictive. While looking at one item, I get sidetracked and find another I just have to go and visit. It is like being at a super-cool craft fair without having to deal with the crowds! Labels: etsy
First, I found Saucy Frocks. If I had these aprons, I would want to wear them every where - Publix, the mall, taking out the trash, Gala events. I don't think a day would go by without me wearing an apron. However, my baby apron collection needs something like this to show off her more mature side. I really need to learn how to sew!
After drooling over aprons, I found Renie Britenbucher's shop, featuring her whimsical and lighthearted paintings. Doesn't this beach scene make you want to jump right in? And the vibrant colors of this floral painting? AH..... I love color!
From there, I was led to Designs by WendyT. Her funky jewelry really captured my attention. Imagine wearing a long white tunic with light khaki capris and topping it off with this necklace or bracelet? Maybe you could even be walking in that beach scene above? See how the imagination is affected by Etsy artists?
I've got to stop... I will never get anything accomplished at this rate! These folks I wrote about don't even know me, but I couldn't help but share some of my favorite Etsy items with you today. What do you like to look for on Etsy?
When I read this I Should Be Folding Laundry, I knew it was something I wanted to share with my readers. It describes how I feel some days when I pour my ideas into a post and then find nothing coming back to me. It is hard to have a conversation if I am the only one talking. There are some of you who comment regularly (thanks Mom!) and others who I know visit, but never say a word. I don't want anyone to be guilting into commenting (unless that works, then by all means, feel guilty:) ), but I do appreciate feedback on my various musings. Heck, if you know me in real life, it should be easier to talk to me here because I can't interrupt you! (I'm working on that by the way.) Labels: blog"Can you imagine wanting to share a story, a thought or a belief with forty people and preparing what you had to say, choosing the right words and nervously approaching them and then saying what you had to say, you say it just as you planned and you wait for the response and the person you are talking to listens to you, looks at you and just walks away. Without a smile, a frown - no reaction. They just walk away."
I have decided that I am going to be a better commenter myself. First, I will try to reply to every comment left (either via e-mail or in a follow-up comment or post). Second, I will try to take one day each week to comment on all of the other blogs that I read. That way I can spread the comment love around myself!
If you have the time, I recommend you head over to I Should be Folding Laundry to read her post, as well as Fried Okra's blog reaction to it.
I read a lot of wonderful blogs. I even keep a list on the right side of this blog in case anyone ever gets bored and wants to know more about what I like to read. Really, you should check some of them out some day. It will be a worthwhile endeavor.
Sometimes, the blogs I read have giveaways. I love these. I don't necessarily enter all of them, but when it comes to cute, girly things for Charlotte, I do what I can to get an entry. Ellinghouse's giveaway for a set of Glamour Girl clips from this Etsy shop was no exception. In fact, I was so enamored by these adorable clips, that I bought some before the giveaway was even over! Including this one on the right with the precious emerald green jewel in the middle and the butterfly on the left. The wire detail and the stitching in the wings are so delicate and precious.Then... I found out that I won! Woo hoo! I don't win things very often, so this was exciting. Charlotte's new clips arrived in the mail yesterday and I'll try to remember to take a photo to show you later.
I will say, one thing I like about these clips is that I think... in moments of whimsy, a momma could wear these for fun. Especially these cute black and white ones with the party buttons in the middle. She also makes hair pins that are more suited for older children and adults. As a matter of fact, I almost bought this set for myself. Aren't 
they gorgeous?! I love the color combination and the touch of class that the beads and jewels provide.The clips that I bought have proven themselves to be fairly baby-proof too. Charlotte has gotten one or two out of her hair for a taste-testing and they don't seem to be any worse for the wear. While I try to catch it when things go in her mouth, I don't worry too much because the designer writes, "Only non-toxic glues are used in making the clips and hair pins."
I know it is wrong to laugh at one's daughter when she falls flat on her face. But c'mon. Tell me this isn't hilarious!
Disclaimer: Bruce was filming this and the reason the video ends so abruptly is because he put down the camera to take care of her.
