First Boat Ride

This past weekend, Judd, Charlotte, and I headed down to the Davises' for a weekend at the lake. We were lucky to have summer-like weather on Saturday. This allowed Charlotte to have her first boat ride. Her grandmother ran out to WalMart to purchase an infant life jacket. According to Uncle Frank, Charlotte looked like she was in a koozie. The poor child really is tolerant, she'll put up with almost anything, including the funny hat I made her wear in an attempt to keep the sun out of her eyes. She seemed to enjoy the boat ride, she slept most of the time.

Charlotte also met her Great-Aunt Tricia and Great-Uncle Winston, as well as their daugther Amy, her husband Michael, and their son Michael. Here is a picture of Charlotte with Tricia and little Michael (isn't he gonna be a heartbreaker!).

Here are a couple other pictures from the weekend:

The Second Nine Months

I just finished reading this book, "the second nine months" by Vicki Glembocki. I have never related to a book more in my life. It is a memoir about Vicki's first nine months with her daughter, Blair. She is very candid about the experience of being a first time mom and all of the emotions that she felt. I laughed so hard I was crying during parts of this book, and at the end cried because I was so happy for her. While I do relate to almost everything she writes about, I must say that I haven't been quite as extreme with my feelings about Charlotte.

Here is one quote out of the book that I think is really true:

"But now, with her squealing, with her more at ease than she's ever been, I've forgotten. That fast. I've forgotten that just six short months ago I could not envision that I would ever be where I am right now, with a whole night of sleep ahead of me, in a bedroom without a receiving blanket or a Pack 'n Play or a single ounce of spit-up in it, in a bed with a husband I didn't want to kill. I've forgotten how scared I was, how ambivalent I was, how stressed I was....And I wonder if maybe that is why no one ever told me that becoming a mom was so hard. Maybe their babies had gotten older and cuter and funnier. Maybe their babies had started to smile. And squeal when they saw them. And they'd all gotten used to each other. Maybe they'd forgotten."

I recommend that all new moms read this book. However, with that recommendation, I think that it might be best to wait and read it when your baby is really socially smiling and sleeping through the night. That way, you may be able to laugh a little more with Vicki - I'm not sure I would have laughed as much at this book if Charlotte were still waking every 2-3 hours at night.

Changing Table

Charlotte loves her changing table. She is so happy when she is on it. I'm not sure if it is because she associates feeling clean there, or if it is because she gets undivided attention there, or if it is because she likes the light from the window, or maybe a combination of the 3, but whatever it is, we spend a lot of time on the changing table. Today I took some video of just how happy she is here - make sure you watch until the end to see a big smile :)

P.S. I apologize for the high pitched "mommy" voice in the background.

We miss you Aunt Sally & Uncle Andrew

We're sad you aren't here :(

Aunt Sally and Uncle Andrew came to visit us for a week last week, they left Sunday morning. Charlotte has been asking for them ever since they left, and has been a little sad that they aren't here anymore.

We had a great time while they were here. Andrew had to work on a paper while he was here, so he worked up in the office a couple of days. Sally, Charlotte, and I shopped a lot, went on walks, and just hung out around the house. Sally was a great house guest. She cleaned, did laundry, went to the grocery store, etc. She just did what needed to be done - and it was a great help. I really enjoyed spending that time with Sally. I am having a great time becoming closer with my sisters as we get older. Judd and Andrew had a good time filling out their March Madness brackets and watching basketball together. Andrew was a big help as well. He and Judd spent a lot of the day on Saturday moving couches and putting together our new day-bed. He also made us pot roast for dinner one night, which was delicious.

One of the best things they did for us was watch Charlotte on Saturday night while Judd and I went out to dinner at Babette's Cafe. It was so nice to go out to eat with Judd. We had wonderful conversation, which was mostly about Charlotte - but we were able to talk about other things as well. And, as a bonus, I was able to eat with both hands - it was wonderful.

Come back soon Sally & Andrew!

Happy Easter

"Psssst. Hey. Bunny. See that crazy lady with the camera...that's my mom - just wear the bunny ears and pretend like you like having your picture taken and this whole process will go a lot faster."

Happy Easter!!

Welcome to the World Ella & Emma

Erin and Dave's girls were born today, 3/22. Ella Paige was born at 7:57 and weighed 3 pounds 3 ounces. She is baby A in the pictures. Emma Ciel was born at 7:58 and weighed 2 pounds 7 ounces. Baby B.

They are both doing well and Erin is sore, but recovering. Charlotte can't wait to visit her friends.

Erin...

is going home today!!! I'm so thrilled for her. She is still on STRICT bed rest, but at least it is in her bed or on her couch. As much as I can't wait to meet the twins, I'm so happy they are still comfy and cozy in their mommy.

Post Bath

SEC Champs

So, the Dawgs surprised everyone and won the SEC Championship in basketball this past Saturday. I was very excited for UGA, but more excited that we had an excuse to wear our new UGA cheerleading outfit and matching socks.

She didn't last through the whole game, though:

Shower at IBM

Yesterday, some of my co-workers threw me a shower at the IBM office. It was so nice. Dorothy "Candy" Sherburne has been so generous throughout my pregnancy and since Charlotte has been born - I think she has single handedly clothed the child. :) She decorated with fabric that goes with the theme of Charlotte's nursery. She also made all of the food for the shower - above and beyond the call of duty. She made 3 different kinds of sandwhiches, a big bowl of fresh fruit, and cupcakes. It was a great turn out and everyone was very generous.

Charlotte was a doll the entire time, she was passed from person to person and never seemed to mind. When my manager, Carol, smiled at her, her whole face lit up with a big grin.

I thought it was great that so many men came! This is my favorite picture, 2 of these guys work from home, but came into the office for the shower. So nice!

Here is one of Candy and Dave with Charlotte:

One day, she'll be a little more active while her presents are being opened:

Thanks Everyone!!

Pinch Proof

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Nap Time

More Pics from PA

Grandad taking a nap with his little "ray of sunshine".


This is what happens when Grammie and Aunt Rachel decide to have a photo shoot while Mom is in the shower. They put Charlotte in the centerpiece and put Easter Eggs on her.



Charlotte with her Great-Grandma Achuff.

Is 6 weeks really magical?

In all of the books I've read, every one of them says that at 6 weeks babies have a turning point. They begin to sleep more at night, eat less during the day, start to have social smiles, and begin to be less fussy. Well, I think that it may actually be true. Charlotte did not have a fussy spell last night, is starting to eat every 3 or 3.5 hours rather than every 2, and SHE SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT LAST NIGHT!! She had about 3.5 ounces of milk out of a bottle around 9pm last night, sucked on her pacifier til 11pm when she went to sleep - and she didn't get up until 7am this morning. I didn't sleep that great from 4am on because I was just waiting for her to wake up. I actually missed her last night and the cuddling we do at night.

I guess my grandmother was right, she said that when she slept through the night, I would be up worrying that she was ok. I worry when she sleeps, I worry when she doesn't sleep. I worry when she eats often, I worry when she doesn't eat often. I worry when she poops a lot, I worry when she doesn't poop a lot. I worry when she cries all of the time, I worry when she doesn't cry. When is the magic turning point for moms and their worry?

I'm not getting too excited yet about this new sleep pattern as it was only one night - but it would be soooo nice if she did this at least a couple nights a week.

As far as smiling goes, she has begun to smile a little bit socially. We don't see one everyday, but we have each had at least one smile aimed at us. Yesterday evening Judd was holding her and sticking his tongue out at her. Every time he would stick his tongue out, she would open her mouth and try to stick her tongue out. A couple of times she actually did. It was really cute. I was glad that they had that time last night because all week she had been really fussy in the evenings when he got home. He was starting to get a little frustrated. He's taking the day off today to spend some time with her and so we can spend a little time, just us, as a family.

Just Because

First Trip to Pennsylvania

This past weekend, Charlotte and I flew up to Pennsylvania so she could see her Yankee grandparents and great-grandparents. As I said in this post, she was a great little traveler.

We had a wonderful weekend. On Friday, Charlotte was tuckered out from the flight and slept most of the day. Her Aunt Sally and Great-Grandma Achuff were there to meet her. On Saturday Aunt Rachel, her boyfriend, Adam, and her Great-Grammie came for lunch to hang out and spend some time with Charlotte. We had a nice day. I was able to get out of the house a couple of times - to the Farmer's Market with Mom and Sally as well as pick up her birth announcements with Dad.

Sunday, we took a drive to Ned Foltz's workshop. He makes beautiful redware. I have always wanted to see one of his shows, and last weekend just so happened to be his Easter show. So, Mom, Rachel, and I bundled Charlotte up and we went to the show. There wasn't much left as it was the last hour of the show, but it was neat to see the place and eat the yummy food they had out. Ned's wife, Gwen, came up to us and said that she gives a piece of redware to all of the babies to start their collection. It was so nice of her to give Charlotte a little bunny candle holder.





We hated to leave on Monday, but it was very nice to be home to see Judd. (Who spent the weekend in Dublin while we were away!!) Here are some more pictures of the weekend (I'll post more when Dad sends me the pictures from his camera):

First Plane Ride

Charlotte took her first plane ride on Friday to visit Grammie and Grandad. The week leading up to the trip, I put her in the Baby Bjorn a lot to do stuff around the house. I had decided that it would be easier to get her through the airport in that, rather than take the car seat and stroller. It turns out that she really likes to be in it. It made getting through the airport much easier.

We got to the airport about 8:00 am, checked my bag, and headed to security. We were pulled out of the main security line and were sent to a shorter "special assistance" line. We made our way to the gate and were thrilled to see that we had been cleared for a seat. Earlier that morning when we checked the seats there was only 1 seat available - so I was a little nervous we wouldn't make it on.

When I boarded the plane and sat in the first row, the flight attendant said "Oh Good, you're sitting in the front so I can help you!". That relaxed me to know she was on my side. She helped me by getting the diaper bag down during the flight, etc. I was most nervous about take off and landing. I was told to have Charlotte either eating or sucking on a pacifier during that time so her ears would adjust. She took a bottle during take off and took the pacifier during landing and slept the whole time in between. I couldn't have asked for a better baby. When we got there, Mom was waiting for us. It was a really good first experience. Let's just hope that the way home is just as good!

Good News

Our friend, Erin Himes, has been in the hospital on bed rest for the past 4 weeks. She is pregnant with twin girls. The Thursday after Charlotte was born, Erin was admitted to Northside because she was in pre-term labor. She has been in the bed, with the bed tilted so that her head is below her hips since then. Today, she got great news. Her cervix is now only dialated to 1 cm, rather than 3 cm when she was admitted. She is now able to have her bed leveled out and get up to go to the bathroom. This is huge for her and her husband Dave. We are so happy for them.

1 month appointment

Charlotte had her 1 month appointment today, here are the stats:

Weight: 10 lbs (exaclty) - 75th percentile
Length: 21 inches - 50th percentile
Head: 15 inches - 50-75th percentile

Charlotte's Rose

Our church places a rose on the altar to honor the birth of children in the congregation. This past Sunday Charlotte had her rose placed on the altar and her name in the bulletin. So, we decided to take her to church. She did great. She just laid in her car seat until the last 5 minutes when she started to get a little wiggly - so I took her out and fed her a bottle. She was great after that and endured many "oooooo's" and "aaaaa's" from the members of the congregation as Judd strutted down the aisle with her after the service. We even got a couple of pictures of the rose, and a few after church since it was so nice out.

My favorite one - this was one proud Dad at church.

Charlotte had a good time this past weekend with her Aunt Rachel. We were so glad that Rachel was able to come down and spend some time with her niece when she was this little.

Cooing

I think it is the cutest when she is cooing. This morning she cooed for about 20 min in her swing - the most I've heard her yet.

One Month Old (Sniff, Sniff)

Yes, I am a little sad that she is 1 month old today. Don't get me wrong, I'm very excited and proud that we did it - we made it through the first month. But I am a little sad that this day is here and yet another milestone is passing us.


It would have been so much harder without all of the help and support that Judd and I had. I am so thankful for Judd - he's a wonderful, supportive husband and a fabulous father. He has been helpful around the house, helpful with the baby, and really supportive of breastfeeding.

Here is her one week picture and her one month picture taken today...she's really changed.

One Week	One Month

Aunt Rachel got here yesterday afternoon after an eventful trip. She sat next to a man with a hook hand on the plane, then saw two gay guys break-up on MARTA. Then, on our way home from the Decatur MARTA station, we were held up on the road outside our house by a man driving down the middle of the road in his electric wheelchair.

Charlotte is sleeping soundly on Aunt Rachel's shoulder right now :)