Charlie Rolls Over!

Charlie's Buddies

Charlie was a lucky guy this week--he got to have play dates with two of his best friends. We are still working on staying perky (or even awake) for our play dates, but for now, I am just enjoying getting to visit with some of my friends (not that Charlie isn't entertaining on his own). Charlie behaved reasonably well for both of his play dates, though he was a bit more sociable with George than he was with Trey.

First, my friend Abbey brought her 10 1/2 month old son George over for a visit. George is exactly 8 months older than Charlie and is so cute and sweet. He is much more exciting than Charlie--he actually sits up, crawls, and eats solid foods!

Here's Charlie sharing his toys with George (kind of--apparently Charlie did not let George actually get on his very exciting play mat with him). And before you start thinking I am a terrible mother, I know those shorts are huge on him. He pooped on the navy shorts we have in the 0-3 month size right before George came over, and so he got prematurely bumped up to his bigger ones. :)

George and Charlie hanging out. Don't they look like trouble?

George apparently thinks Charlie looks like trouble too. Here he is getting Charlie under control for me. Don't worry guys, he's not going anywhere now!

George being sweet (and making sure Charlie knows who's boss--those extra 8 months don't mean nothing!).

Still sweet (but still making sure Charlie doesn't forget who's bigger :).

Another friend, Elizabeth, brought her 7-week son Trey over for a visit. Trey was born 3 weeks after Charlie, but is working hard to catch up with him. They will be in day care together this fall, which I am so excited about. Trey is so cute and behaved so much better than Charlie at our play date!

Here are Charlie and Trey playing at Trey's house a few weeks ago...

And here they are now--they're growing so fast! I know this picture is terrible, but I only had a split second to get it before Charlie got too upset. I woke him up from a nap to eat and could not get him perky afterwards. Hopefully Trey's short-term memory hasn't developed too well yet, or Charlie might not get him back to play!

The gracious host--he can barely hold himself together, even with a paci.

Trey, meanwhile, smiled and cooed for the camera. He is so sweet!

See what I mean? Charlie, see what you were missing?

Charlie's foul mood continued into the evening. Here is his requiring some bouncing after dinner. He looks innocent, but he's really not.

Hi. How are you?

Meeting the Cousins

Charlie's cousins (Clint's sister's kids) came to Dallas this weekend for a basketball tournament and Charlie was so excited to meet them. We had so much fun hanging out with them and Aunt Sally and Uncle Joe--we watched a lot of basketball, shopped, and did a lot of playing. They are such sweet kids and Charlie can't wait to see them again!

Here is Charlie with (from L to R) Will (8, almost 9), Meredith (6, almost 7), and Sarah Beth (12--the basketball star).

SB, Will and Meredith hanging out after our pizza dinner.

Charlie sweetly played in his swing while we ate pizza.

On Friday, we took Meredith to the American Girl store in Dallas for her upcoming birthday. I had so much fun experiencing the store with Meredith--all the dolls and their outfits are so cute and she had so much fun going through the store and choosing her doll and various outfits. I would have LOVED this place when I was little!

Meredith and Jessica. :)

Clint and Meredith watching SB play basketball.

Will cheered her on.

And Charlie snoozed... :) This picture doesn't quite convey it, but he really did have fun watching the game when he was awake. Those little eyes were open as wide as he could get them, and his head was turning wildly trying to follow the girls up and down the court. I think he loved the running, the colors, and all the excitement. He was quite wound up afterwards... :)

The kids are all about "silly bandz." I had heard about them, but had not seen the bandz in person. Very cool! :)

SB is such a good player--we loved watching her and her team. They did great!

Jessica dressed up for the game. :)

Thanks for coming to Dallas Joe, Sally, SB, Will, and Meredith. We had so much fun seeing you guys and can't wait to get together again!

Two-Month Checkup

Charlie was a little champ for his two-month doctor appointment. He behaved beautifully for his exam, smiling and cooing for the nurses and the doctor. We had a long wait in the exam room, but he and I had so much fun waiting--he is getting so interactive and just loves it anytime when he can get my undivided attention--he is quite the little ham. :) He got his first round of vaccinations and did great. He screamed when he first got his shots, but calmed down quickly as soon as I picked him up. The nurse was quite impressed with his performance and we were very proud of our tough little guy. :) He ran a fever for a while after the appointment and was pretty lethargic, but other than that, we didn't see any ill effects. He really was quite well-behaved, and slept through the night for the first time after his shots! He has now slept through the night 3 out of the 4 nights since that appointment--I am feeling so rested!

At his appointment, Charlie's stats were:

Weight: 12 pounds, 6 oz. (70%)

Height: 24 inches (85%)

Head: 16 inches (60%)

In other Charlie developmental news, he rolled over for the first time (on purpose) on Sunday evening! He did it 5 times that evening and we were even able to catch it on video--I will try to post it as soon as I can figure out how...

Two Months Old

I can not believe that little Charlie is two months old today. Time is flying way too fast! And what a month this has been. I feel like Charlie has been developing in leaps and bounds--every day brings new and exciting changes for him. During his second month, Charlie rolled over (on accident--this has only happened once :), smiled (a lot!), laughed, cooed, babbled, swam (with assistance :), found (and began enjoying) his toys, found (and enjoyed) his hands, learned to stick his tongue out in response to someone else doing it, can hold his head up for long stretches of time when he is on his tummy or being held up on a shoulder, uses his little legs to support himself when he's being held up, has started sleeping better, got on (somewhat of) a schedule, enjoys reading with his daddy, and generally, is just as sweet and fun as can be. He is a bit of a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde (or Charlie/Chaz) at times--he can go from smiling, laughing, and cooing to uncontrollable screaming in about 60 seconds. But luckily, he's usually not too hard to calm down (as long as there is an exercise ball or a shady porch close by). All in all, Charlie's second month was wonderful. We love our little man!

At two months, Charlie's stats* are:

Weight: 12.2 pounds (25-50%)

Height: 24 inches (50-75%)

Head: 16 inches (50%)

*I did the measurements myself since our pediatrician appointment is a bit delayed this month, so they are subject to error. :)

In honor of his two-month birthday, I tried to take some photos of Charlie. My photo shoot was less than successful. Here I am trying to get him to pose with his "2 months" sign. Charlie was less than cooperative.

Looking sort of sweet here.

Becoming interested in his hands...

The hands have totally taken his attention now...

Still focused on the handles...

Get me out of here!!!

To reward Charlie for his excellent modeling skills, Clint and I decided to take him to the Arboretum for a short walk (because who doesn't think it's a good idea to take a newborn out for a walk in 95+ degree weather?). It was beautiful (but HOT) out there.

Charlie made sure he had lots of sun protection.

We read about Peter Rabbit and walked through Mr. McGregor's garden... :)

Charlie spent most of his time snoozing. I remarked to Clint that I was so disappointed because I had hoped that Charlie would enjoy his walk through the Arboretum. Clint responded that he thinks this is how Charlie shows his enjoyment. :)

We took a bath and relaxed at home after our big day.

Charlie even rewarded us with smiles and stories about his day.

Happy 2-month birthday Charlie!

July 4th Holiday

We had a long, relaxing, and fun 4th of July holiday. We went down to Seguin for a family celebration, and since Clint has the next few weeks off to study for his medical boards, we decided to stick around for a while. Clint studied while Charlie and I bummed around with our family. We had a great time and it was so nice to have the extra help with the little man. My parents were so sweet to host us and to help us out with him, and he is missing them terribly since we got back to Dallas. He can't figure out why there isn't someone available to hold him, walk around with him, take him outside, and entertain him at all hours of the day here. Hopefully he will get used to it!

Getting ready to leave the Big D. Charlie decided he would wear jeans for the trip.

Doesn't he look little here??

We had our annual 4th of July celebration at Aunt Dede's. Charlie decided the parade would be a bit hot for him this year, but he is excited to check it out next year--especially after hearing all his cousins talk about how cool it was.

Here's Charlie hanging out poolside. He thought a patriotic paci would be festive for the 4th.

Sweet baby Katie in her 4th of July attire.

Samuel boogie boarded in the pool.

Jackson swam like a little fish.

And the girls learned cheerleading moves from Meg. :)

Charlie loved cuddling with Kristin.

And with Graeme.

And with Dede (see what I mean about always being held???).

He read books with Aunt Meg.

And visited with Uncle Sam.

He hung out on his changing table a LOT. :)

My dad taught Charlie the funniest new trick. He was sticking his tongue out at Charlie one night and all of a sudden, Charlie started smiling and sticking his tongue out back. He thinks it's hilarious, and loves to do it now, especially with men. Here is is sticking his tongue out at Clint.

My parents were sweet enough to keep Charlie for an evening so that Clint and I could have our first night out sans-baby. We had a great time. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Charlie started smiling a couple of weeks ago, and really got into it during our trip. He went from one or two smiles a day to lots of smiles at any time of the day (except when he is starving of course :). Here he is smiling for my dad one morning out on my parents' screen porch.

And here he is smiling for me--again on the screen porch.

Charlie and I swinging on the porch. The screen porch is one of his favorite places in the world. We have found that Charlie loves being outdoors--he will almost never cry when he is outside. So the porch is perfect for him--it is breezy, there are multiple swing options, and it is screened it, so we don't have to worry about bugs. We are all missing the porch since we got back to Dallas!

Charlie and I went over to Aunt Dede's for his first swim with his Aunt Addie and cousins Jackson, Julia, and Katie. Charlie lounged poolside for a while before getting in.

The boys in their shades. Charlie thinks Jackson is pretty cool.

In the water! Charlie slept for the first part of his swim. :)

And then he woke up! He really did LOVE the water. He loves his bath, loves being held, and loves being outside, so the pool was a perfect combination of all 3 for him. He was in heaven!

Relaxing on Dede's porch after all his swimming.

And then the cousins descended on him. Tickle time!

Later that night, we took a bath to rinse all the chlorine off. Isn't our little guy getting the biggest belly??? :)

We also went up to Austin one day to have lunch with Aunt Meg, visit her at work, and meet the judge that she works with. We had so much fun seeing her!

All the fun we had was exhausting!!

Thanks Mom and Dad for a wonderful holiday! We are all missing you guys!