**HI! Remember me? I started filling this out on 11/22 (a few days after C turned 28 months, but this is as far as a I got. Might as well just post what I have and fill in the blanks in two days when C turns 29 months!! GEEZ.)**
I literally have “a moment” almost daily when communicating with or watching Charlotte. She’s just such a person. She has SUCH personality and opinions (ohhhh the opinions…). She’s got spunk and humor. Just ask her… she’s the funniest person she knows 🙂
Size: While her cheeks are still perfectly squishy, Charlie is definitely losing her baby buddah belly. In terms of height and general size, I’d say she seems pretty in line with her class. She’s wearing 2T, although, I feel like some 2T shirts are too short on her (WHAT THE HECK!).
Clothing/Shoes/Diapers: Oops… I guess I just answered that above. C is in size 2T, size 6 shoes and size 5 dipes.
Potty Training: Charlotte loves to hang out on the potty. She reads Men’s Health Magazine, sings songs, farts (lots of potty farts), and just hangs. But let me tell you what doesn’t happen on the potty… poop and/or pee.
Honestly, I don’t really care… except it’s getting a bit nasty changing those poops. Woof. Also, today at her school lunch, she announced to the table – while everyone was eating – that she was in the process of pooping. So, yeah…
Teeth: C had her first dental visit last week! She did SUCH a great job! She’s also been doing well with toothbrushing. Instead of saying “ahhhh” when I’m brushing her teeth, she’s been making this very aggressive noise. The girl’s goofy!
Sleep: Charlotte LOVES to sleep. Last month (or so), she started napping at school one afternoon a week. It started out a bit rough (some days she wouldn’t sleep at all), but has been improving, with naps as long as an hour and 15. She’s also been doing one afternoon a week with my parents, which has been an adjustment. I think that she is starting to settle into her new schedule and go back to her long naps!
Bedtime Routine: Bedtime routine is still pretty much the same. Although, last night, C asked, “you rub my back with my head on my pillow?” Of course, I said yes. Then, she decided she wanted to rub my back as well, so we laid in bed and she essentially rubbed my arm with her mini fingertips. It was adorable.
Language: Charlotte just said something this morning that made me think that I should write some of her silly phrases down… hmmmm. Here are a few:
My mackey – my blankey (this is one of my favorites)
It’s wittle? It’s tiny?
Me do it! (this one actually makes me crazy)
Everybody, no talking! (again, another that makes me crazy!!)
No hugging/kissing (when Mark and I hug/kiss)
Wanna snuckle?
You pumping? (Something about her talking about pumping makes me laugh)
Mommy, you shirt pretty! (I LOVE receiving style compliments from Charlotte. The other day I asked her who her friends are… she said, “Chloe! Her shoes pretty!”)
I know, I know… she’s over two years old! Maybe this shouldn’t have been her FIRST visit to the dentist, but regardless, it was. Mark and I totally anticipated a locked-lipped toddler, screaming and crying; however, Charlotte was AMAZING.
Truth: I wasn’t there, but Nana and Mark (who were both there) said Charlie was incredible! Probably a bit shell-shocked, but incredible!
She laid on the exam chair, watched some TV (with Mark) and let the dentists and hygienist clean her teeth. Afterward, she even got a few special little toys, tattoos and stickers for being such a good girl.
And, the takeaway (compliments to my mother in law for this amazing run down):
All 20 teeth are in
Molars have lots of ‘mountains and valleys,’ which are good for chewing. They also collect food more than flat teeth so need to be brushed more carefully.
Lots of spaces between teeth so food is unlikely to be trapped. Flossing is for training only. (OY! Can’t imagine this will be a welcomed addition to our nighttime routine)
Amount of toothpaste on brush: a grain or two, so no prob if she swallows (C switched to THIS toothpaste, which has fluoride)
Brush 2x day (we had only been brushing her teeth at night, but have since added a brush in the AM. I was thinking it was time… she officially wakes up with stinky breath.)
Tissue above upper teeth should be clear of teeth before braces so teeth align well. Currently, the tissue above her teeth is attached… I’m not sure I totally get this one. Have to get a refresher from Mark (the appointment was actually last week).
We actually selected a pediatric dentist who’s a friend of ours and a parent to a child who attends C’s school. Makes checking in easy and it was great for the dentist to be a familiar face for Charlotte.
Henry’s fourth food experience was with a banana this morning. He was hungry and I was trying to delay his feeding, as I was waiting on a call, so I let him try my banana.
He was SO happy. It was so surprising to me, but he actually took mini bites and then would chew up the banana pieces. After each bite, he’d get a huge smile on his face.
Guys, I’ve been so bad at documenting milestones. So, here are a couple of updates.
Last week, I whipped up some sweetpotato and breast milk purée. It was hilarious. He hated it. We decided to try out solids at 5 months because Henry is such a little food monster. Well, milk monster… Here’s a video:
Henry’s also sprouted two tiny, mini, adorable little teefers 💛 Suddenly, he’s just so big.
Tonight, Henry ate some smushed peas (2 to be exact) from my plate off my finger. He seemed to enjoy this much more than the sweet potato. Such a little cutie pie. There’s something so special about our little dinners with the 4 of us. Pretty in love with my family.
Seriously, where the heck have I been?? I totally forgot to post Halloween pics! And, just for fun, I’ll throw in a few from Thanksgiving, too!
I thought long and hard about Charlotte’s costume, and ultimately, “we” decided to go with Holly Golightly from Breakfast at Tiffany’s (aka Audrey Hepburn’s character) and Henry was her Cat.
We had a great weekend of trick or treating, partying and fun!
Recently, we opened up an email account for our sweet boy (as we did for Charlie when she was a baby). It’s a place for us to email advice, love and memories. At some point in his life, we will give him access to that email account as a gift.
Today was my first email to my boy:
Hi, my love! I can’t believe you are already 5 months old and this is my first email to you. Let me just tell you that despite not finding the time to write, I have done nothing but love you and love on you. You are the sweetest little man and I am surprised every day by your amazing personality.
You absolutely love to laugh. You radiate happiness.
I constantly hear people say, “Henry loves me! I can always get him to smile!”
I don’t have the heart to tell them that it’s because you’re always smiling. You absolutely love life. Yes, I know that sounds silly because you’re still so young, But really, you love life.
Besides life, you also love your Momma. I spend so much of my day hugging you and being hugged by you. You grab onto my cheeks, my hair, my shoulders… and you pull me in for the most wonderful koala hugs. When we’re not hugging, we’re laughing. Your giggle is this magical, contagious sound that just fills my heart.
You are my sweet boy and I cannot begin to express how much I love you. Before you arrived, I couldn’t imagine what it would be like. How our life would change. How my heart would grow.
It’s been the most amazing 5 months with you and I can say without hesitation that you are so incredibly loved. By me, by Daddy, by Charlie, by your grandparents, by everyone.
I hope that when you finally read this, your heart is still the same. So open and full of life and love. You have a gift, my boy, and it’s bringing happiness to those around you.
The world has big plans for you, sweet Henry, and I’m going to guess that you have big plans for the world.
We had such a fun and busy Halloween weekend. Our kiddos were dressed in coordinating costumes… Charlie was Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn) from Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Henry was her kitty cat, named “Cat.” They were both absolutely adorable.
On Friday, we went to a Halloween party with my family. It’s the same party we attended (and loved) last year and this year did not disappoint. In fact, it reconfirmed Charlotte’s love of a DJ and dancefloor. I’ll let the photos and videos speak for themselves, but let’s just say she had fun.
On Saturday, we took a break from costuming and went to lunch for Grandpa’s 91st birthday. Another great time! AND, that night, Mark and I went on a real date (thanks, M&D for the tickets and thanks to Ivan for babysitting!!) to go see The Book of Mormon. It was literally the funniest thing I’ve watched in a long while. A great show!
On Sunday, Charlie had soccer class and all the kids dressed up. Then, we went to my niece’s 5 year old birthday party, which was trick-or-treat themed. It was a blast! When we got home, it was time to trick or treat in our neighborhood with our neighbors. It was such a great time. Charlotte absolutely loved trick or treating. And honestly, it wasn’t about the candy (she only ate one piece all weekend), but she just loved the exchange.
I haven’t done an update for poor Charlie in AGES! Not to mention, I literally had to count months to remember just how many months she actually is now. Oy. Where is my brain? Where has the time gone?
Anyway, over the past couple months, Charlie has really grown up. And not just compared to Henry… she’s losing so much of her baby and becoming this talking, opinionated little lady.
Size: I can’t remember how tall C was at her 2 year check up, but she’s literally so tall that she can wash her hands in the kitchen sink by herself by standing on the little stool. (YES! No more awkward lifting!) As for weight, at 2 years, she was 27 lbs.
Clothing/Shoes/Diapers: Charlotte is wearing 24 month / 2T clothes. I still don’t totally know the difference, but she’s solidly in those sizes. She does still wear some 18 month pants and PJs, but probably more so because I haven’t cleared them out of her drawer. Also, she has one button-down, sleeveless denim tank that’s 12-months that she still wears. I refuse to let it go. It just looks SO perfect underneath a sweater… or a shirt… or anything.
As for shoes, she’s wearing a 6 now. She still has some 5.5 or big 5’s that work. But 6 is definitely her size. Also, it’s official that she cannot wear the brand, Umi. Girlfriend has wide/chubby feet.
Charlotte is in Size 5 diapers. Yes, she’s still in diapers. To be honest, I really haven’t tried to potty train her even a little.
Potty Training: We talk about the potty, read books, let her sit (and read excessive amounts of magazines) on it, etc… but haven’t actually started training. With the arrival of Henry, it just seemed like too much to tackle until recently. We have a meeting set up with C’s teachers at school to talk and strategize. I think we’ll start soon. But diapers are so easy.
Honestly though, I think she’s ready. Or at least getting there. She tells me before she poops and sometimes lately even when she’s peeing (or about to).
I should probably get all up to date on laundry in preparation for the daily sheet washing that’s in my future.
Teeth: Charlotte has never really been affected by teething. I don’t know when she got her 2-year molars, but I know they’re there, as I saw them while she was laughing a few months ago.
Sleep: Like her daddy, Charlotte is an amazing sleeper. She started regularly sleeping through the night at 5 months and never turned back. She sleeps from around 6:30-8pm (depending on how much playing she does in bed) until around 7-830am.
When C wakes up, she will stay in bed playing or laying or chatting or singing until we come in to get her. She’s very obedient like that. Sometimes, (just like her daddy) she’ll get bored of playing in bed and will just go back to sleep.
As for naps, C naps for about 2-3 hours every day.What can I say? The girl loves her sleep.
It should also be noted, that she often will say to us, “I’m sleepy” or “I’m tired” and will request an early nap or early bedtime.
Bedtime Routine: We begin bedtime routine at 6:30pm. We change her into her night diaper and jammies, then heat up a bottle of milk (it has a sippy top). Charlie insists on putting the “top on ma milk.” Then, we take the milk to C’s room for stories. C will drink her milk on the way to her room, hand us the bottle as she climbs in, remove her bunny/blanket/teddy/pillow from the bed – for some reason, they’re not invited to story time, and then take her milk back.
Typically Henry is asleep at this point, so Mark and I both get to read with her. If Henry is still in the process of his nighttime routine, Mark does this part alone.
We read two stories and then it’s time to brush teeth.
Brushing teeth is a pain in the ass, but we give C her toothbrush and we have one that we use to brush her teeth (this preserves the bristles… she chomps on “her toothbrush”). Mommy or Daddy brushes her teeth first through a series of “Ahhhhh’s” and “Eeeeeee’s” and then C gets to brush aka chew on her toothbrush. When she’s done, she rinses and sucks the water off the brushes.
If it’s a bathnight, we blowdry her hair, as her skin is so sensitive that the dampness makes her break out on her neck. She always needs to take a turn drying her hair.
Then it’s the best time of night. C looks at Mark and I and says, “Wanna snuckle?” AKA “Wanna snuggle?”
9/10 nights, Mark and I are both with Charlie for snuggle time. I climb on the right side, Mark on the left, and Charlie alternates climbing/sitting on each of us and sometimes lying down in the middle.
We play games: I interlock my hands/fingers and Charlie tries to get my hands open. She interlocks her hands/fingers and Teddy tries to get her hands open… etc.
We talk about our day – what she did with Nana, what she did at school. We talk about what’s coming up tomorrow. We laugh. It’s perfect.
Then, the best part, is the singing. Charlie loves to sing songs with Mommy & Daddy. We sing Twinkle, Twinkle; If You’re Happy & You Know it; the ABC’s (she’s actually pretty good!); and recently The Wheels on the Bus. Her little voice… it’s just adorable.
Then, we count! Charlie can legit count from 1-14ish. We’ve been working on 15-20.
After singing and counting, it’s time for Charlie to lay down so we can tuck her in. She politely says, “‘scuse me, Daddy,” which has been adjusted from, “Daddy, move.” So Mark and I get off the bed, I crank her music box and do 1-2-3 with her blanket. I swing the blanket once over Charlie & Daddy’s head, then twice, and on “3,” I nicely tuck Charlie and Teddy under the blanket. We get our last hugs and kisses and say goodnight to our girly.
It’s the best.
Language: I couldn’t even count how many words Charlotte has. Every day I’m surprised at the new words in her vocabulary and the ways in which she uses them. She absolutely amazes me.
My moments of, “I’m so sorry, but I don’t know what you’re saying” are becoming less and less.
She also seems to be entering a “why” phase. Ohhh the why phase. So far, she seems to cap out at 2 “why’s” per topic, which isn’t bad.
We’ve also been working on asking nicely for things (saying please) and asking using a full sentence.
Next step: always respond when an adult (you know) asks you a question.
Personality: Charlotte is all personality. She’s this unique blend of timid and observant with a big side of adventure, humor, and leadership. The first 5-10 minutes of soccer, which she does every week, are spent clinging to mommy/daddy and being so quiet. Once she feels comfortable, she’s a crazy person running all over the place, being goofy, and hopping around.
She seems to be a leader with her school friends and is no bullshit. If she doesn’t like what you’re doing, she’ll tell you. She’s for sure going to boss poor Henry around. No doubt about it.
I like to describe her as a sour patch kid. She’ll do something crazy and then a minute later, comes at you with open arms, apologizing.
All in all, she’s pretty fricken’ amazing.
Activities: Charlie is currently in swim class on Wednesday’s at the YMCA, Gymnastics on Saturday mornings and Soccer on Sunday mornings. She seems to absolutely love them.
Favorite Foods: I have literally heard Charlotte say, “I want apple sauce” over the monitor, randomly at 2 am. Then, she’ll go back to sleep. The girl LOVES the stuff. Just plain, organic, no-sugar added applesauce.
Cinnamon. She eats SO MUCH and doesn’t mix it in. It’s enough that I would guess probably tastes spicy.
Expensive fruit. Berries, mango, etc.
Ketchup. She dips everything in ketchup (eggs, chicken/any meat, etc).
Yogurt/Cottage cheese
Favorite Toys: Charlotte’s “inner circle” consists of her teddy, bunny and blanket. Besides her “crew,” she loves her baby and stroller. Her play kitchen/food. Her picnic set. Coloring and play dough.
She’s decently easy to please on the toy front.
Favorite Things: Charlotte LOVES helping. Helping to clean or cook, take the garbage out, pick up dog poop, etc. And she LOVES helping with Henry.
She loves Henry, too. She calls him, “my Henry” and literally just loves the shit out of him. Obviously, sometimes she wants us to put him down and ignore him, but I think she really just deeply loves the little guy.
Charlotte loves to play outside. Whether it’s a ride in the wagon or her Cozy Coupe or a nature walk with Nana, she loves being outside.
Trucks. C loves seeing trucks while we’re driving. However, she happens to be terrified of the garbage truck that picks up the trash at her school. Imagine that!
I’m a little late with the update, but here it is! Also, can we just acknowledge the fact that my second baby is already 4 months old!? That’s just crazy. Time is literally flying faster than I can handle!
Weight: Henry went to the doctor on Tuesday of last week for his 4-month check up and HOLY MOLY. He’s HUGE! A whopping 18 lbs, 5 oz (91st percentile). I mean, little Charlie (who is also on the average to big side of things) only weighs 27 lbs.
Height: Henry is 27″ long (97th percentile)! Come on, guys. That’s bonkers. He is literally a hair less than half my height at four months old!
Health Updates: Thankfully, besides a runny nose and some teething here or there, the little guy has been great.
Sleep: For the most part, Henry is a very legit sleeper. He’s been sleeping through the night for a couple of weeks now and actually sleeping until around 7/8 am. Prior to this, he was waking once around 5/5:30 am.
His schedule:
7/8 am: Henry wakes up (typically by making silly noises or you just happen to look at the monitor and he’s awake. Such a good boy.) Usually within 30-40 minutes of waking up, he eats a milk snack.
9/10 am: Henry naps (his morning nap is anywhere from 45 minutes to 3.5 hours). The rest of Henry’s day is dictated by this nap, as he goes down for a nap (most often for about 45 minutes – 1.5 hours) for every 1.5-2 hours of awake time.
430/5: Sometimes Henry will take a little night nap.
6/630: Bedtime for the H pie.
As the day goes on, naps get more difficult; although, his night nap is usually an easier nap and bedtime is a sinch.
All in all, he’s a great sleeper (and baby).
Clothes/Diapers (Sizes): Henry is still in 3-6 month clothing. He might be able to swing 9 month, but we haven’t switched him or even started using any 9 month stuff yet. As for diapers, he’s moved up to a size 3 as of a few weeks ago. Dude’s big.
Diet: Still a milk monster. While we were away, Henry was drinking about 34 ounces of milk per day. Some days, I feel like it’s gotta be more than that. But who knows? At his bedtime feed, the tap runs dry (aka I run out of milk before H is satisfied) and we supplement with a bottle of pumped breastmilk (I pump before bed and first thing in the morning). SO, sometimes he legit drinks everything I have to offer, plus 5-7 ounces of pumped milk.
Henry also enjoys shoving hands/arms/shoulders/necks/shirts/knuckles/etc in his mouth. You can always tell who was just holding Henry, because their shirt is SOAKED.
Paci… still a no go. He likes it for a second, then just gnaws on it until it falls out of his mouth.
As a side-note, I’ve been a little unsure about feeding Henry pumped milk via a bottle versus feeding him directly from the source. I feel like he can eat more when he’s nursing from a bottle (he falls asleep at the boob, sometimes I run out of milk, etc). I’m thinking that a combination of our trip and my 3-night a week workouts (which are now over) screwed up my milk supply. I still seem to have more than enough milk in a 24-hour period, but the problem seems to be that I don’t always have enough at any given time.
Teeth: I feel like Henry has been teething since he was born. In the past few weeks, it feels like he’s gotten closer to his gums actually showing signs of teething and he definitely sucks his whole face into that little mouth, but still no teeth… thank god. Let’s just say he’s a bit of a chomper.
Baby Gear Love: Still loving a lot of the same items. Henry also loves his Little Giraffe lovey blanket. Oh! And his swaddle. We’d be lost without his swaddles. I think the best ones are either the Ergo Baby or the SwaddleMe. The Ergo is nice for nighttime because he can get his arms out, which allows him to self-soothe throughout the night. The SwaddleMe is nice for naps because it keeps him very nicely contained.
Henry also LOVES his play mat. I don’t remember Charlie loving it as much, but MAN does he get into it! And he can play with it for awhile! He loves swatting the little hanging guys and squeals the whole time.
Also, have I mentioned the NogginStik? That’s our fancy shmance rattle, which I actually really love. I bought it on Amazon and had to return the first one I got because it was broken, but since receiving one that actually works, it’s awesome. Perfect size and weight for Henry to hold onto. Lights up and changes colors when he hits it. Makes a rattle noise. Has a mirror on the bottom. All in all, super entertaining.
Milestones/Firsts: Supposedly, Henry rolled from his back to his belly while we were in Nashville, but really, does it actually count if I didn’t see it? No. The answer is no.
His head strength is getting SO good and he’s really discovering his voice, which gets SO high sometimes.
He is still the most smiley, happiest little dude I’ve ever met.
He’s improving his ability to fall asleep on his own! The other day, I had him sitting in the stroller awake. When I looked back, he was asleep. All on his own. No movement or anything.
Henry gives hugs. He holds onto me like a koala and just gives the best, happy little hugs.
Likes: Mommy, Daddy, Charlie (loves Charlie… except when she’s being a jerk), Rodolfo, smiling, reading books with Mommy, being rocked, being tickled, being held.
Charlie lays with Henry and gives him such hugs and snuggles. Oy. It’s the cutest.
Dislikes: Being put down when he’s not ready. And being overtired. Ugh. That’s the worst. Picture the happiest baby on earth screaming his tiny head off…
Things I Don’t Want to Forget: Just everything. I love my little bumpkins. He has such an incredible personality and is just such a happy love. Even when he’s crying, I can still get him to laugh. He’s just a love.
Also, it’s been so special watching his relationship with Charlie develop. She’s gotten to be so good with him. Every day when we get home from work (Henry and I), Charlie RUNS to the door with a huge squeal and screams, “HENRY!” as she gives him a big hug. The other day, she had set up a blanket on the floor in anticipation of his arrival.
When she wakes up, the first thing she does is ask about Henry.
And Henry… he just adores her. He’s fascinated by her silliness. He loves watching her jump. He loves being on the receiving end of her hugs and kisses. It’s all very sweet.
I know, I know… she’s over two years old! Maybe this shouldn’t have been her FIRST visit to the dentist, but regardless, it was. Mark and I totally anticipated a locked-lipped toddler, screaming and crying; however, Charlotte was AMAZING.
We actually selected a pediatric dentist who’s a friend of ours and a parent to a child who attends C’s school. Makes checking in easy and it was great for the dentist to be a familiar face for Charlotte.
Playing House 