5 Months!

Eek!  How did that happen?

STATS
Weight: 16lbs
Height: 26.5 inches

EAT
Miss Charlee, you still love your milky and nurse 7-9 times a day (and night).
You recently started eating big girl food!!
Bananas were a BIG success!

Avocado, not so much.  But you're warming up to it.

Big girl mealtime is always a mess which makes mama a little crazy, but I have to get over it.
What do you want to eat this month?
You do like to gum raw green beans.

SLEEP
Oh sleep.  Sleep is a different story.  You're all over the place in this department.  Sometimes you'll only wake up once at night to eat and other times, you might get up 3-4 times.  We're all very sleepy over here.

Napping is going a little better... if you sleep on me/in my arms.  I don't get much done, but at least you'll sleep for an hour or two.

PLAY/FAVORITES
You are always on the GO!
You love to play in your frog walker. 

You're always cruising around the kitchen.

You love talking to all your toys.  It's hilarious!

You still love your pacifiers and your o-ball.
Your new favorite is your puppy dog who we take with us everywhere.

You LOVE your big sisters.  They are by far your absolute favorites and can always get you to smile and giggle.

You love playing the piano with Daddy.

And spending as much time with him as possible.

OUTINGS
We are just always on the go, lady!  Whether it's playgroups, walks, Target runs, you name it and we're there.
The weather FINALLY got nice out and we've been enjoying long walks with your sisters.  We've busted out the stroller a few times and you like it.  You are also still a fan of the Ergo and usually take a little nap while we walk.

We also have playgroup every Friday and you love to see your friends :)  You entertained everyone at our house last week with your talking and walking in your walker.

We watched the Badgers play in the Final Four with Dan and Brittany.  You even got to visit their kitties!!

 We also met our friends Lia and Rowan at the Children's Museum.  You are going to have so much fun there once you can start walking around!

We even went to the Farmers' Market with Daddy one morning!  It was busy since it was the first day, but you entertained yourself (and everyone else around) by talking very loudly :)

MILESTONES
Rolling from back to front: 3/23/14  (and you've been rolling ever since!)
Rolling from front to back: sometime in mid-April (but only a few times and usually on accident)
Eating solids: 4/12/14 (bananas and avocado)

LETTER TO CHARLEE
Oh my sweet little girl,

You make us smile every single day.  You are always so happy and love to giggle.  I love to hug you, squeeze you, and give you kisses (and you've started giving big slobbery kisses back).
I wonder everyday what you will be like when you are a toddler.  What will be your first word? When will you start crawling and then walking? You have already developed such a funny personality that I can't wait to see what type of person you will become!  Although, it is already going by way too fast, so I am enjoying all the snuggles now.

You love to sit and stand.  Standing being your favorite.  You're really giving my arms a workout!
You are so curious about everything.  You want to know what everyone has and will examine something very closely to figure out what the deal is. (You are currently examining the tag on your squishy block.)

You make me smile and laugh every day.  I used to roll my eyes when people would blog about their kids and say "I know I said this last time, but this is my favorite age!"  You are changing so much and I just love the little person you are becoming.  You have such a funny personality!  I love playing with you and snuggling you.  Although I don't get anything done during your nap times, I look forward to them because for an hour or two, I get to snuggle with you.

I love you so so much :)

Love,
your mama



out takes:

Adventures in Eating: Bananas

We started our adventures in solid foods this past week.

First up: BANANAS!

Mmmmm BANANAS!

Sorry, I had to.  I just couldn't resist!

Anyway, bananas. 

Charlee has been showing a huge interest in our food (despite what the Mother/Baby Hour facilitator says (that she'll be interested in whatever we put in front of her, blah blah).  We decided to capitalize on this interest and start some solids.  Our pediatrician said we could start at any time between 4-6 months.  Originally, I didn't want to introduce solids until 6 months, but with traveling coming up and such, I figured now is a good time.

And to be honest, she eats what normal adults would consider 1/3 of a bite of banana.  Seriously, the tiniest amount once a day.

First day, we were a little indifferent to it.

"Um, excuse me, baby?  Can I have some?"

She ate like 2 bites.

So I put some on her tray thinking "oh she is totally going to want to get her hands in this and then put it in her mouth!"
Not so much

We smeared a little and then were done.

All in all, this is a very messy process for the neat freak like me.  I don't know how I'm going to handle this!  (And we won't even talk about the diaper situation)

So we're about a week into bananas (eating a little chunk mashed up once a day) and so far so good!

Next up, AVOCADO

How to have an awesome weekend

Charlee's top tips for having a kick a** time :)

Hello again!  I decided to give Mom the night off from blogging (but let's face it, she's really been slacking on this whole blogging thing.  I mean, c'mon, Mom! Get it together!  People are dying to know what I'm up to and how cute I'm getting.  Seriously it's getting ridiculous.)

Last weekend was a pretty good one, so I wanted to share my tips with you so you can have epic weekends just like me!

1. Get out and enjoy this fabulous weather while you can!  

We live in the Midwest, people.  Weather changes on a dime, so you have to get out there before it's gone.

It's even better if you can get someone to carry you around so you don't have to exert TOO much energy.  And if you can grab a quick nap while being out in the sunshine?  Even better!

2. Sunglasses are a must.  

They really just up the cool-factor.

3. Get your beauty rest no matter the time of day or where you are.  

4. But don't miss out on all the action.

Mom, get your stuff out of my personal space!

5. Get dressed up in your favorite team's gear and have a photo session.  Nothing makes you feel better than getting all dolled up and having everyone fawn over you.

6. Walk around (with the help of a walker, if needed) like you own the place. 

7. Hang out with friends to cheer on your favorite team to celebrate the Final Four! (Go Bucky!)

Sadly, college hoops are over, but you can still get in on the sports action!  Baseball has started up (Go Cubs) and football is just around the corner.  Plenty of opportunities to get together with friends to watch the big game.  

(Mom tells me that I'm not allowed to have an NFL affiliation (ahem, GO BEARS!), but I can cheer for Bucky)

8. Get (milk) DRUNK

No seriously, keep the drinking under control and don't go overboard, but you're allowed to indulge every once and awhile.  If the excitement gets to be just too much for you, don't be afraid to excuse yourself for a little bit to catch up on your Z's.

9. Go for long walks in the sun.

10. Go for a road trip and try a new restaurant.

Go ahead, stand on the tables.  Heck, dance on them!

11. Grab a beer. (And fries (mom))

12. Try something new

 (check out those little pigs!)

13. Be a DIVA

Dad, push me faster!

Don't forget to get in lots of giggles, snuggles, and kisses :)