Fall is in the Air

I've got mums in my planters...


Our CSU flag is flying...


Last weekend we took a day trip to the mountains and look what we saw...


I've been shopping for fall clothes for Charla and have discovered the plethora of baby clothes on ebay. I've always liked ebay but I am loving it even more now! Look at all these sweet fall/winter clothes for my sweet baby girl...


The days have been sunny and warm and the nights are cooling off nicely. Fall is DEFINITELY in the air and I couldn't be happier!!

Five Months!

Charla Grace, you are five months old today!!!

Here's what you're doing at five months...

You weigh 11 pounds, 14 ounces. I'm hoping that by the next weigh-in you'll be over 12!

You're wearing mostly 3-6 months clothes, although some of your 0-3 clothes still fit. You outgrow things in length because you are so little around.

You had a few sleeping "issues" this month. You started getting up more frequently in the night, but the past week or so has been much better. You're still taking 30 minute naps about three times a day, although on Monday you slept for 2 hours - that was a wonderful surprise - and this morning you took an hour nap!

You've got rolling over figured out and you roll every which way whenever you feel like it. It's fun to put you on the floor on a big blanket and see how you roll (ha!) and where you end up.

You started noticing Jasmine this month and you love to watch her. If you're on your blanket and she lays down nearby, you lay there and stare and stare at her. You reach to touch her but we always make sure our hand is guiding yours when you pet her. This insures that you just pet and don't grab. This morning you were "talking" to her too - it was so cute.

Speaking of talking and sounds, you have learned how to scream and you do it so much. You did it occasionally at first and starting this past weekend you do it much, more more. I think you sound like a cross between a monkey and a bird. You scream when you're awake, as you're going to sleep, and when you're just playing around. Thankfully your screams are happy sounds - even if they are loud. We wonder what the neighbors think!

Last month you discovered your feet and this month you have found that they make a great thing to suck on. I knew you would!

You took your first overnight trip - it was to Grandma and Grandpa's house. You didn't sleep in the car as much as we were hoping, but once I rode in the backseat with you, you became a much happier traveler. Your really liked seeing Grandma and Grandpa's two dogs and two kitties.

You don't like it when you can't see Daddy or me. If you don't see us you get your pouty lip and then the tears and cries follow. I feel badly for whoever is holding you, but it's kind of sweet that you are attached to us.

You love to touch people's faces. If we're wearing glasses, that's even better.

Your grip is strong! You are learning a new word - OW! - when you grab my hair and pull.

Your favorite song right now is "My God is So Big." You smile, laugh, and squeal with delight when I sing it to you.

You do this funny thing where you open your mouth and put it on our face. We're not sure what it means, but we like to think you're giving us kisses. :)

We started giving you a little bit of rice cereal a few days ago. You seemed interested in it the first night, but since then you take a few bites and then get frustrated, so we're probably going to stop and try again in a couple of weeks. Hopefully we'll have better luck with it then.

You are a blessing to us and we are so thankful for you, Charla!

Yummy!

We've started giving Charla a little rice cereal each day. It's so funny to watch her "learn" how to eat. It's amazing how many things we know how to do that we take for granted.






We're not sure if she likes the cereal, although she hasn't given us any faces of disgust. She does really like the spoon - she's always trying to grab it as we bring it to her mouth. That's the start of half of it ending up on the tray/bib - ha! Another milestone for the baby book! :)

This weekend we went to Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World in Denver. We were in Denver for the morning anyway and I though Charla might like to see the fish and animals. I didn't realize the fish tank wasn't illuminated so I'm not sure if she actually noticed the fish. She did enjoy a nice little tour around the store though!

I bought Charla a bow band and bow last week to try the whole bow thing. My thought is that if she and I both like it, I'll get some more. I may even try my hand at making a few. She won't be wearing a bow every day or anything, but for a special occasion or holiday I think they're cute. And I know I'm biased, but I think she looks so incredibly darling!

Heavy Heart

My heart is heavy this morning for this sweet family. The Rowe's two-day old daughter, Reese Catherine, went to be with Jesus last night. Please keep Katie, Jason, and Zach in your prayers as they grieve and heal.

Over the river and through the woods...

This past weekend was Charla's first weekend away from home. We went to my parents' house Saturday morning and stayed until Sunday afternoon. After we arrived we went out for lunch at the Garden of the God's Trading Post. We're thinking that Charla might be about ready to start solid food because she is really starting to notice our food and drink at meal times.




These photos are four generations and have been taken for at least 80 years. My grandma has a photo with her a baby, a mom, a grandma, and now a great-grandma. What a blessing that we're able to continue the tradition!



It's so fun to watch my parents be grandparents and to watch my grandparents be great-grandparents. Charla is so adored and loved!

Charla and her Great-Grandma

Charla and her Great-Grandparents

We spent the rest of Saturday hanging out at my parents' house. They just added a sun room on the back of their house and we loved spending time out there. Charla is working on sitting up - she does fairly well when she's propped.

She LOVES her feet!

After church on Sunday I took a little nap and my parents enjoyed some grandparent time with Charla. You can see that she finally got to wear her Easter dress - ha!

We came back Sunday evening and Charla slept the first half of the drive home. We stopped for dinner once she was awake and I finished up the trip in the back seat with her. Our first trip as a family was a success!

Excitement!

I love Disney: Disney theme parks, Disney songs, Disney movies, Disney characters. I was 10 or 11 when they released The Little Mermaid and I fell so in love with the film. When it was released on video (Does that make me sound old? I still have the VHS in our family room) I watched it every day for months. I loved its successors Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King just as much. As time passed though, I was less and less impressed with the Disney animated movies. They were enjoyable but I wasn't counting down to their theatrical release and very few of them made it into my home video library.

A couple of days ago I received an email from Walt Disney Pictures announcing their newest animated movie, The Princess and the Frog. I went to the movie's website and hot dog!!! It looks like the Disney movies that I loved years ago!!


I guess at some point Disney stopped using hand animation for their films. I am not knowledgeable about animation so while I didn't know what the difference was, I did notice a difference and apparently wasn't as impressed by the new stuff. But The Princess and the Frog marks a return to hand drawn animation and I couldn't be happier!

Look at these images from the film. Aren't they gorgeous, magical, and everything wonderful that a Disney movie should be?



You can watch the trailer and several other videos about the movie on its website. The story is set in New Orleans and looks so delightful! It opens December 11 and I'm already looking forward to seeing it!

The Scratch Heard Round The World

Can you believe it??? A post two days in a row!!!

My brother and sister-in-law are expecting their first child (a baby boy!) in a couple of months and we are all very excited to have another baby in the family. I'm even more glad that it won't be me going through the experience of having a first baby again! ;) Every day is such a learning experience - I am grateful each night when I go to bed that I have one more day of "mom skills" under my belt.

My sister-in-law's baby shower is next week, although I actually sent her shower gifts with my parents when they visited them in June. My craft time is more limited these days, but I did want to make her a few things.

For my baby shower she made me a beautiful diaper cake. I wanted to do something similar for her and found the idea for a diaper wreath online. Not only is it less involved, but it's smaller too and easier to pack/ship.


She's decorating the baby's nursery in a safari theme with the dominant colors being khaki and white. You know I loved having an excuse to shop for some fabric to match! She's getting this set of burp cloths for the shower...


...and the baby's getting this snugglie blanket as part of his baby gift.


One of my cousins and his wife are expecting their first baby this fall and my best friend from college is expecting a baby girl this November. I love making baby gifts and my friends and family keep giving me excuses to do so!

Here's a picture of Charla from this morning. She's sporting a scratch under her left eye which we have dubbed "The Scratch Heard Round the World." Last night just before bedtime routine, A was bouncing her on his knee. She had her thumb in her mouth and the rest of her fingers on her face and somehow ended up scratching herself. The screaming and crying that followed was like nothing we've ever heard before!! I kept looking her over to try and figure out what was wrong, but this little mark didn't appear for a good 10 minutes. Thankfully she was much calmer by that point. We are sure grateful that all the crying and tears weren't because of something more serious!

She's kind of giving me puppy-dog eyes in the photo, but she really is just fine and a happy baby today!

Four Months Old!

It's too hot to sleep, so I'm finally making time to write Charla's four month post. Sorry for the blogging hiatus - I really would like to be better at blogging but it seems like life is so full and there just isn't time. One of these days I'm hoping to get back into posting more regularly though!

Charla is four months old!!!

Here's what you are up to at four months old, baby girl...

You weight 11 pounds, 1 ounce and are 23 1/2 inches long.

You're great at sleeping!! We put you to bed at 9pm and you usually sleep 9-10 hours. Then you get up and eat and go back to sleep until about 9:30am. You love sleeping in!

Your great nighttime sleep doesn't make for very long naps though. You take 3-4 naps a day but they are almost always 30 minutes long. We have tried so many things to get you to nap longer, but no matter what you are awake and ready to get up after a half hour. I'm finding that I do better with that fact when I don't try and fight it but just go with it (new theme for my life!).

You have mastered rolling from your back to your tummy. Sometimes you get stuck there (we call it "beached") - it's as if you forgot how to roll from your tummy to your back once you figured out the other half. You're working on getting the whole rotation though and we have no doubt you'll get it figured out before too long.

You've started sleeping on your tummy (like your mom). I almost had a heart attack the first night I walked in your room to check on you and found you on your tummy, face down in the mattress. I quickly touched you to make sure you were okay and rolled you over, only to have you roll right back onto your tummy. Your doctor assured us that you're strong enough to roll over/lift your head if you need a breath. It's so nice to let you choose your sleeping position and you look so sweet curled up on your tummy.

Your accuracy has really improved when you reach for your toys (or my hair - ha!). You love touching the pages in the book when we read to you.

You love going places! We run an errand or stop at a store every day since you enjoy being out and seeing new things. You are always very good - your big eyes just take everything in!

You love when Daddy plays airplane with you and you squeal with delight. This month you've discovered how to make high pitched squeaks and squeals - they make us laugh!

We can hardly believe that 4 months have passed already! We love and treasure you so much, Charla Grace!