One Month

It's hard to believe my little girl is already a month old. It seems in so many ways that she's always been a part of our lives and it's hard to imagine that there was a time -- just a few short weeks ago -- that we didn't even know that we'd have a little girl. Life with 3 has been interesting, but that's something for another post! Hopefully this week I'll get to posting about the day she was born.

At one month, Charlotte weights about 8 1/2 lbs -- that a whole pound and a half more than when she was born! I had to weigh her on our scale at home since we don't have a checkup this month, but I think that's about right. She's getting some little rolls and has quite the double chin. :) She's also getting much longer. Her newborn clothes are starting to get a bit tight and I don't think she'll be in them much longer. Sniff, sniff.

Her biggest change this month is that she's now smiling at us! She started giving REAL smiles last Sunday -- Feb. 14th. What a wonderful Valentine's gift for all of us! She's also trying so, so hard to "talk" back to us. She moves her sweet little mouth to try and copy us, but for now all we're getting are grunts. It won't be long though until we hear those first little coos.

She's still on a solid 3 hour schedule -- even at night. But, she usually just eats and goes right back to sleep at night which is good for now. We've fallen into a fairly predictable daily schedule...she usually naps good in the morning and then is up for about 4 hours (10-2). She'll nap from 2-4 and then is up/down the rest of the night. This works pretty well with our schedule and I'm realizing that between carpools for both kids and Matt's crazy schedule, Charlotte won't have the perfect little schedule the other 2 had. But, we've found one that works for us for now which is more than I'd hoped for!

I can't wait to see what this next month holds for us!

Be My Valentine

Today was Madeleine's Valentine Party at school and I'm so happy to say that I think it went pretty well considering I haven't had the time to put into it that I put into the other ones. I guess I've been a little busy these past weeks! :)

Madeleine was SO excited that I was going to be bringing Charlotte with me! She's been begging me to bring her to school ever since she was born. Since we've managed to weather the stomach flu, a bad cold, and a fever virus without Charlotte getting sick, I decided to risk taking her with me. Harrison was also SO excited that he was going to get to come too! He loves going to her school since her teacher has trains in her room that he can play with.

While I got things setup, Charlotte got some lovin' from Ms. Simpson. She sat and rocked her -- the whole time I kept thinking how fun it will be if Charlotte's in her class in 5 years and I have these pictures! :)
The kids were totally enthralled with her! They kept saying she looked like a baby doll (although they weren't allowed to touch!). While I finished getting things ready, Harrison happily played with the trains.

Then it was party time! Harrison was super excited to get to participate -- one of the things I like about Ms. Simpson is how she involves the siblings and gets them to be part of the fun! Harrison thought he was big stuff sitting by sister and "crafting" with her!

The first part of the party was spent decorating their goodie bags with foam valentine stickers. The kids loved this and the bags turned out so cute! Then, while the kids worked on their second craft -- valentine teddy bear bookmarks -- the teachers stuffed the goodie bags FULL of candy and treats.

After craft time, the kids got to look at their valentines they'd exchanged earlier that day. And, even more candy was found in their valentine bags!!! They spent the longest time looking at the names on each valentine and thanking each other. Madeleine posing with one of her valentines....

and so, of course, brother has to do the same pose! :)

Then it was time for some good ol' party food -- cookies, cupcakes, pretzels, and -- for good measure -- cheese cubes!

While the kids had time to talk and eat, sweet Charlotte slept so soundly. I think she actually sleeps better when it's noisy. Probably a result of living with Harrison! :)

Then they got to look at their goodie bags. I think we've got more than enough candy to last us until Easter! (And we still have Harrison's party at preschool on Monday). At least both kids got bags, so there won't be any fussing about sharing candy!

I'm sad that this is the last party of the year. I've had such fun planning them and being involved at Madeleine's school and getting to know her teacher. I do feel like a BIG item has been checked off my "to-do" list for the year, which is a nice feeling. However, I can't believe that kindergarden is almost 3/4 over!!!! It really is SUCH a fun year!

21 Days

It's hard to believe that Charlotte is 3 weeks old today! The past 21 days have been a bit of a whirlwind for us. In the past 21 days:

*we've had 2 snowstorms, causing us to miss 3 days of school.

*Madeleine had a 3 day high fever virus.

*Matt had a severe cold.

*we've only had 4 "BAD" nights! Yeah!

*we survived our first Walmart trip with 3 kids in tow.

*I had the stomach flu -- no fun!

*we finally finished Harrison's new room!

*we've been amazing blessed to have an abundance of meals brought to us, with more coming!

*I've spent countless hours just holding and staring at my little Charlotte.

*we've managed to finally get Harrison potty-trained! Hurray for him!

That's just the beginning of a list that could go on and on....

Now for the good stuff. Pictures of Charlotte at 3 weeks....

She is such an adorable baby! I could just sit and love on her all day long!

A First and A Last

Sunday was Charlotte's first time at church. Getting 3 up and going and dressed for church definitely took longer than expected and we ended up only making it for worship and missing class! :) I thought I had it all together: bags packed, clothes laid out, everything organized....but it still seemed to take us so much longer to get ready. So, next week we'll be starting even earlier and hoping to make it for all of church.

Charlotte looked so adorable in the dress her Mimi bought for her. I didn't get her picture in the bonnet that matched, but oh how sweet it was on her! She was just perfect the entire time and slept through the entire service, waking up as it ended in time to look around and show off her pretty eyes.

Also on Sunday, I realized this is the last time my little boy would be dressed in one of his sweet smocked outfits. When I dressed him on Sunday, his outfit was just a bit too tight; so we wore it one last time. I haven't bought any more like it since I'd always said that I'd start dressing him in "big boy" clothes when he turned 3. Three has come and gone and I guess it's time, although I know he'll be wearing knee socks for awhile because he insists on wearing them to church. He calls them his "big socks." :) It makes me sad to see him looking so big. It's amazing how fast time goes and I'm wanting time to go as slow as possible with Charlotte. However, I have a feeling it's going to go by all too fast.

Here's a picture of my little sweeties on Sunday after church. Don't they look just precious! I'm one proud mama!

Just the Girls

During one of our snow days earlier this week, the girls (Madeleine, me, Charlotte and Mimi) spent an afternoon together, while Matt and Harrison napped. We all snuggled up on the couch and watched Madeleine's new Tinkerbelle movie, munched on some snacks, and loved on Charlotte. It was the perfect afternoon.

After the movie, Madeleine brought out some of her favorite toys for Charlotte to "play" with. She loved watching Charlotte watch the toys and I took the opportunity to snap some pics. Enjoy!

Watching Big Sister

Madeleine has been such a wonderful helper with Charlotte and it's so amazing to me to see how Charlotte responds to her voice already. Madeleine loves to read to her -- and I'm still in awe of how much Madeleine can read! Last night she read Charlotte the first half of God Gave Us You. And that's not an easy book!! Such a smart girl!

Thursday Outtings

Today was doctor appointment day around our house. Harrison was due for his 3 year checkup, plus his H1N1 booster and, as much as I can't believe it, Charlotte was due for her 2 week checkup.

I'm thinking it must have been severe sleep deprivation that caused me to make Harrison's appointment at 8am at the Tonitown clinic (for those of you out of NWA....it's a gooooood ways from our house!). And, to top things off it was a cold, messy, rainy morning which meant traffic was slow going. But, it was definitely worth the trip out there. The clinic is so small and not many people use it, so we got in and out really fast.

For the record, Harrison is 38 inches tall (50%) and 38 lbs (90%). The doctor said he looks great! He cautioned me to watch him closely, because 3 year old boys "have no common sense!" HA! That's soooo true! I did ask him about Harrison being SO LOUD all the time.....his response was that little boys are just loud.....and big boys are loud too! :) Overall, this was the BEST and most thorough well-check that I've EVER seen one of my kids get & I'll definitely request this dr. again. Harrison did GREAT. He did get his H1N1 booster and a Hep A shot and was none too pleased with it. I told him afterwards that the did a great job and I was so proud of him. His response was "Hmph. Well, it still horts!" :)

Afterwards we headed to Sams to kill some time between appointments and let me take care of some homeroom mom stuff for Madeleine's party next week. I'm so thankful my mom was with me. I'd gotten spoiled this past fall with just having Harrison with me during the day and I've forgotten how much work TWO can be!

Thankfully, both kids were pretty good today. Harrison's just quite a little handful these days. :) He's not bad, just full of mischief and curiousity.

In order to take full advantage of her first trip to Sams, Charlotte decided that she was tired of her carseat and wanted to stretch out. So we made her a little bed in the cart and she had the best time looking at the lights and just being pushed around! How adorable is she???

After Sams we headed for a quick trip to Dillards where Charlotte got a new dress to (hopefully!) wear on her first trip to church this coming Sunday! Then it was off to doctor visit #2.

Hanging out at Sams.

Charlotte's appointment went great as well. She was back up to 7lbs....almost her birthweight. She has a bit of thrush, but other that that she's perfectly healthy and I'm so thankful. She's such a delightful baby. She pretty much only cries when she's poopy or hungry, so it's easy to please her! She's awake a good bit now and she seems to be taking in everything around her. I love that she turns her head toward my voice whenever I say anything and follows the sound of my voice. She's an amazing sleeper for a 2 week old! She sleeps through the kids playing and being loud. Monday night she fell asleep in my arms while we watched Harrison do a "show" which included drums and some VERY loud singing! Amazing! I love the way she smells, that sweet baby smell. I love her long skinny fingers (and toes). And, I'm thrilled to finally have a child that looks something like me! I only wonder if she'll act anything like me....

Finally, one last picture of her first trip to see Daddy at work. All the teachers doted on her and she was a perfect angel during the visit.

The Past Few Days

We've had a busy few days around our house. Overall, I think the transition to 3 has been the easiest yet. It seems like my body adjusted much easier and quicker to being up at night and being tired this time. The hardest part has been feeling like I don't have enough time for Madeleine and Harrison --- Charlotte just takes up SO much of my time right now and I'm struggling with finding a balance, but I know that will come with time. Madeleine and Harrison have been amazing during this transition, but at the same time, they both want ME a lot of the time -- to dress them or bathe them or read to them. And, I miss having the time to do that.

Our first night at home was by far the worst. Charlotte cried unless one of us was holding her, eventually waking up Harrison around 5am -- and he didn't go back to sleep. So, by 7am we were all up. Fun fun fun. By 11am we were all cranky and needing a nap!

Since then every night has been better. Charlotte quickly adjusted to sleeping in her bed in our room and last night even slept for 5 hours straight! She usually just wakes up at night and eats then goes right back to sleep which is wonderful! I'm hoping she'll keep this up!

Saturday night we gave Charlotte her first bath at home. She was pretty unhappy at first, but quickly calmed down and seemed to even enjoy some of it. And, oh how sweet she smelled after that bath! I love how babies smell after their baths!

I also have to add that Harrison is so concerned about her unbilical cord. He frets about it every time we change her diaper and we have to continually explain that it's part of her belly button and it will fall out soon. That brings his worry about where it will fall out and he keeps telling us it's going to hurt her. He almost cries every time we have this conversation. It makes me smile every time because he's so in tune to how she's feeling and worries about her.

The rest of our weekend was spent hanging around in our jammies and having some good family time. We also celebrated my birthday on Saturday and I got an IPod I'm super excited about getting to use when I get back to exercising -- SOON!

We did lots of loving on our new baby. I just can't seem to get enough time holding her!

I'm not the only one that can't get enough of her. I'm trying to let the kids hold her whenever they ask, so a lot of my day is spend "helping" them hold her.....although they usually only last about 3 minutes! Madeleine had tested out all our baby gear on her baby dolls and been very into playing mommy this past week.

Madeleine also has figured out how to use my digital camera and has become our unofficial family photographer.

On Monday we took Charlotte for her first doctor's appointment. It was my first time to visit our pediatricians new offices and they are so nice! We were practically the only ones in there and the visit was super quick -- always nice! Here she is all bundled up and ready to see the doctor.

Harrison got to go along for the ride. He was enthralled with the fish tank. It was filled with the fish from Nemo and we had fun picking out all the characters.

Of course, Charlotte checked out perfectly! She was down to 6lbs 10oz and was 18.75 inches long. So, she's a tiny little thing! Hopefully, her weight will be back up by our appointment next week....she's eating ALL THE TIME!

Look at her long fingers.....they are beautiful! She also has the longest toes! :) She has already changed so much, just in the past couple of days! She's awake so much more and looking around. I love this time when they are so little and just want to be held and cuddled. It goes by so fast and I'm trying to soak up every moment.