Nine Months

Life moves on.  I've really wanted it to just stop for a little while this week, but it just doesn't work that way. 

Gideon is nine months old today.  This little guy must have hit a growth spurt because all of the sudden the pants that he wore last week are way too short and I know that my dryer isn't broken.

He crawls all over the place, pulls himself up on everything around him, and is cruising all over the place.

 He also puts everything in his mouth, EVERYTHING!  He's working on his 3rd and 4th teeth.  I have been able to see them for days, but they still haven't broken through.

  He is such a boy!  He loves cars, balls, and tearing things apart as much as possible.

We sure love this little guy, and maybe someday, SOMEDAY, I'll get a full night's sleep again.

Eight Months

Little man has decided not to be so little anymore.  I don't notice him getting bigger and then all of the sudden it seems that his clothes no longer fit.  It shouldn't be surprising though, this baby boy LOVES food, all kinds of food, and is starting to prefer to feed himself over the spoon-fed baby food.  I don't mind at all.  

This little dude is crawling all over the house now.  It is amusing to watch the girls try to build their own baby gates to try to keep him away from things, though far too often they just cause me to trip.

He's so busy, never sits still, not even when he insists on being help, he still wants to grab everything around him.

He's such a happy little guy!  He makes everyone around him smile when he smiles.

The girls love helping me with Gideon's pictures, but they really like to be in pictures too and insisted on one with all of them together.  They arranged themselves behind Gideon and said "cheese!"  Of course Gideon decided not to cooperate.

Seven Months Old

Sometimes life just gets crazy, and these last few days have been just that.  I prepped Gideon's 7 months onesie at least a week ago, but I didn't even realize that yesterday was the 19th, I thought that it was today.  Whoops!

Oh well, one day isn't so bad, and this morning he was actually kinda happy!  He cut his first two teeth this last week and he had a miserable time of it.  His eczema is also pretty rough right now so Gideon's struggling.  But he is still cute as a button so despite the crying, screaming, and neediness, I still love him dearly and I can't help but kiss those cheeks any time they come within range.

He is trying so hard to crawl.  He spends a lot of time up in this position, but he isn't quite there yet.

 He is trying though!  It won't be long and he'll be hauling all over the place.

Six Months Old

For me six months feels like a big milestone to me.  He's no longer a tiny baby, he's moving around the house on his own, playing with his toys, eating solid foods, and really beginning to show us his little personality.  He isn't crawling, but this boy can move!  He gets all over the place all the time.  Because he's so squirmy we haven't figured out sitting up yet, why bother when you want to be exploring the world.  He has mastered eating his baby food, so far just cereals, bananas, and sweet potatoes.  He's loving them!

Today I took his pictures right after his afternoon nap...he wasn't impressed with my timing.

 He did warm up to the camera though.  This is a mild little smile from Gideon though, when he really smiles he does so with his entire face.  His smiles are infectious, I can be so tired and grumpy because he'd keeping me up and he will smile at me and I can't help but smile back and give him a kiss.

 Poor guy is dealing with some eczema with the change of seasons so his face is pretty splotchy.  That's okay though, he's still cute as can be!

Five Months

Time is continuing to fly by and our little warrior here is now five months old.  My scale is busted, so I have no idea what he weighs, I just know that he keeps getting bigger and always seems hungry.  For the most part he is a very smiley boy, once he warms up a bit.  

He's on the move.  Not only is he rolling all over the place but now he has learned to turn himself around and scoot towards an object of interest.  In fact he rarely stays in the same place for more than a few seconds so getting pictures is getting harder.

Once he sets his mind on something he goes for it.  The other day his sisters were doing puzzles and he really wanted to participate.

Gideon has been sick fir the first time during this last month.  He caught a cold and his eyes and nose have been goopy for a couple of weeks now.  Thankfully he is on the mend.  

Four Months

Our little guy continues to get bigger and bigger.  Today he is four months old.  He started rolling over both back-to-front and front-to-back a couple of weeks ago.  He scoots a tiny bit, but he isn't making it very far, which is great!  I'm not ready for this kid to be really mobile yet.

 He sure is a happy kid.  He talks and talks to us and smiles at everyone, eventually.  He is also ticklish, very ticklish.  His laugh gets caught in his throat, but every now and then he lets it out and it is so sweet.

 I can't say how big he has gotten because my scale is dead and we haven't been to the doctor for his check-up yet, but he is growing and growing.  My arms are getting tired holding him, I can say that much.

 Gideon is a very curious child.  He examines everything very carefully and takes in the world around him.

 His little mohawk is adorable!

Three Months

Our little man is 3 months old today and I think that he is trying to get me to stop calling him little man because he is getting big!  Yesterday at church a met a new woman and she looked at Gideon for a moment and said, he's what 5 months?  The week before I was also asked if he was 5 or 6 months old now.  Nope folks, barely 3, but yes, he's a big one.  Thankfully his growth has slowed down a bit.  This last month he only gained a pound and a half so he is just over 16 pounds now.  He is sleeping very well at night, not so well during the day and he tackles tummy time well and can push himself up a bit.

He is a very social guy.  Gideon likes to be face to face with people and when he is he will coo and smile sweetly, that is until someone gets out a camera.  Occasionally though I manage to get a hint of a smile.

 Usually though it is this face as he eyes the camera warily.

 Sometimes I get something in between, like this, 

 and sometimes I this sweet smile.  Honestly, this kid is a flirt, and I love it!

 His sisters still love him.  They are pretty sure that he is anxious to join them in their games.

 He will usually sit happily near them while they play.  He's improved in his ability to keep his head up so he regularly gets to sit in the Bumbo now for short periods of time.  He likes being upright.

 Lily asked if she could be in a picture with Gideon, so here it is.

Time is flying, as it always does.  We love our little boy, even if he doesn't like to nap very much.

....Twelve Months....

A year ago today I went to bed, feeling a little off, but ready for some sleep.  Charlotte had other plans.  I went into labor and at 6:59am our little Charlotte Elizabeth was born, weighing 8 lb 3oz and measuring 21 in long.  I can hardly believe that it has already been a full year.  This little girl has been such a joy to our lives and we are so grateful for her, I can't really remember life without her.

She continues to grow and develop.  Charlotte is currently 29 inches tall and weighs 21 pounds 15 ounces.  She walks everywhere these days, claps, waves good-bye, says "mama" and "dada", and climbs all over everything!  We've started weaning and she is taking to a sippy cup like a pro.  She prefers to drink from a normal cup, but she always spills so she only uses one of those while I hold her.

 She loves to play with her toys and she cuddles her babies and stuffed animals.

 For her birthday we gave her a sandbox, sans sand.  We'll get some sand this weekend and move it outside then, but Charlotte has enjoyed playing in it as it is.

 I see these girls having a lot of fun playing in here as the weather warms up.

 We are having a little birthday party for Charlotte on Saturday, but I still wanted to have a cake today, since it is her birthday.  I tried out a fun technique to frost it and had fun doing it.

 Charlotte had fun eating it so that's what matters.

 The birthday girl had a busy morning though and she fell asleep while eating her cake.

 Thankfully the sun came out so after nap time the girls and I went outside to enjoy the sun and get some work done.  Charlotte loves to swing and is happy to sit in the swing for an hour.

 Lily helped me clean up the last of the leaves in the yard.  She is actually really good with the rake and enjoys helping me put the leaves in the bags.

It has been a great day and we are so grateful for our little family!

....Eleven Months....

Can you believe it, just one more month until our little girl is one year old!

I know that I say this every time, but she is growing so fast!  She is walking, but not all of the time.  She still prefers to crawl, but will walk short distances.  She has 8 teeth and is working on #9 and #10.  Charlotte has also started talking, she can say "mama" and "dada".  She has been babbling for a while, but now she will point at Tyson and say "dada" and reach to me and say "mama".  She is also pointing to things to indicate what she wants.  Our girl is just growing up!

I swear, the piggy must have shrunk, remember when they were just about the same size?

It was tough to get pictures of her this morning, she is such a busy little bee, always on the move.  I'd sit her down in the chair and by the time I lifted my camera she was up and rocking the chair.

Charlotte is also becoming very interested in her toys.  She cuddles her babies and her piggy, and tries to mimic Lily when playing with blocks and coloring.

Lily really wants Charlotte to be walking.  Every time Charlotte stands up to walk Lily runs over and yells "hands" and holds her hand and helps her walk around the room.

My sweet girls!

....Ten Months....

I can hardly believe it, our little Charlotte is already 10 months old!  She has gotten so big and grown up recently.  This last month she has started clapping, waving, and even WALKING!  She babbles, says "ma ma ma" and "da da da" all of the time and she loves to play with her big sister, Lily.

 She is such a happy girl, her smiles are just so joyful and sweet.

 Our girl with her piggy, my goodness she has gotten big.  Just a few months ago that pig was just about the same size as she was, and now she dwarfs it.

As I mentioned before, our little girl is walking now.  She still crawls most of the time, but she stands unsupported a lot and can take 4-5 steps at a time.  She is so proud of herself when she takes steps!  I just know that soon she is going to be running all over the place.

Charlotte has also started playing with toys more and more, she loves her new baby dolls and her My Pal Violet.  It is so cute to see my baby girl cuddling her baby doll.

....Nine Months....

Yesterday our little Lottie turned 9 months old. We were away from home so the pictures had to wait until today.

Charlotte is getting so big! We are packing away for 9 months clothes and pulling out the 12 months wardrobe. She is such a good eater! She has decided that baby food is lame and has insisted on feeding herself so we have moved on to soft, simple table foods. She eats everything that I give her, it's amazing! Charlotte is also into everything, all of the time. This girl does not sit still, not for a second. She's cruising along everything and has started letting go and standing up on her own for a few seconds at a time.

Here's our sweet little girl in her monthly onesie.

Charlotte and her piggy
We struggled to get pictures of her this morning, because every time we sat her in the chair, she whirled around and climbed up the back.
My sweet girl! She is such a squirmer, it takes a lot of effort to get this little thing dressed.
We purchased a Little People nativity set over the weekend and the girls are loving it (and I'm hoping this will keep them from playing with my nice one). Charlotte got to play with it all on her own this afternoon while Lily napped.
I can't believe that we are 3/4 of the way through her first year!