Charleigh's first Halloween was a success!!! All we did was take her to the pumpkin patch and take some pictures. But that costume was so funny I could hardly stand it! She was never quite sure what to make of it but I kept laughing so hard she figured it must be ok! Can't wait for next year when she can walk around and trick or treat!
So as of a few days ago, Saturday morning to be exact, Charleigh has two bottom teeth!!!!! They don't stick up far but they are there! So cute, I can't wait till you can see the whole tooth when she grins! She didn't seem to be extra fussy becuase of them breaking through so I'm thankful for that. Its just so weird that she all of a sudden has these little teeth. Makes her seem more grown up. Love that cutie.
So as promised here is an update on the baybo....Charleigh is 7.5 months old and we are loving every minute!!! She is doing so many things since the last time I posted about her. She can army crawl like no one's business. She gets up on all fours and rocks back and forth but then when she wants to move its on her belly or not at all. She is super fast, no more leaving her in the family room and walking away!
She is still sleeping through the night, though she has become such a creature of habit and any straying from her routine will cause her to have some nights where she wakes up at 2am. She doesn't want to eat or play, just wakes up, cries, we give her back her pacifier and she goes back to sleep. But normally she goes down around 6pm and sleeps till 7am. She still takes two naps a day, which is nice when I've worked the night before.
She is eating solids three times a day in addition to her bottles. She loves to eat whatever I'm eating so if I think she won't choke on it I usually give it to her. So far the only thing she has not liked was grits from the waffle house!
She "talks" all the time. Loves Nathan way more than me, I mean seriously, if he comes in the room she can't focus on anything or anyone but him. She will often start crying if he doesn't come give her a kiss or pick her up. She can be playing contently in her exersaucer and he walks in and she starts throwing a fit till he gives her attention! Its pretty cute.
She hates her car seat or long car trips...should be interesting when we drive home for Thanksgiving.
Doesn't seem to have any stranger anxiety at all, however, doesn't like being left alone in a room.
Unfortunately she loves tv. I mean the kid would be content to sit with me on the couch and watch Real Houseswives of New Jersey all day long.
She loves kisses and tries really hard to give them to you, however be careful as it usually involves her tongue!!
Everything she sees she tries to put in her mouth-super gross when you touch a slobber soaked piece of clothing!
And last but not least you can feel two bumps where her bottom teeth are coming in. Have been able to for awhile, yet they are STILL not poked through!!! AAAAHHHH!!!! However it doesn't seem to be bothering her at all.
Oh and her latest nicknames since we still never seem to call her just Charleigh are:
Bean-Head
Beanie
Sass
Charleigh Bean
Doodle
Don't know how much she weighs but a month ago she weighed 15lbs. So we will get another weight check at her 9month appt.
Thats about it! We love our little girl!!! Can't imagine our life before she was here!
Well its been awhile since I've updated you on our whereabouts!!! We moved in June and it was a slight disaster at first. We are now settled in Franktown, southeast of Denver. We are leasing a 5.5 acre ranch. Nathan has in recent months prior to the move had a strong desire to have a ranch where he could board horses and possibly turn a living situation into a profiting situation. So here we are....ranchers!!! When we first moved on to the property we were simply praying for anyone to come and want to keep their horse with us...we waited, and waited, and waited... I was starting to get nervous that maybe we had made the wrong move! But then we got one horse, then we bought a horse, and then the flood gates opened! To date we have 10 horses living on the property. It is an adventure to say the least. We feed twice a day and clean stalls and runs twice a day. I never would have pictured myself doing this in a million years but truthfully I love it. The income the boarders bring in has afforded me the ability to go part time at the hospital...which is AMAZING!!! More time with Charleigh! I couldn't be happier. I think back to all the perceived trials in my life and realize they brought us to this place and I'm truly amazed. I can honestly say I love my life. I'm so happy about the way things turned out. So in the pictures above, the bottom two are pictures of our horse Sid. He's the sweetest guy. Used to be a wild mustang. The next one up is some boarders, the brown one is Bella and the Rhone one is Madeline. Up from there is a dark brown horse named Dart, followed by the white Arab, Reggie. Reggie is hilarious, he's 31yrs old and has only 4 teeth. He is always entertaining us with his weird movements and funny personality.
We are doing well and staying busy! Its a lot of work running this ranch but we are loving every minute.
I finally found my camera charger so I have some serious picture taking of Charleigh to do. Post to follow. Shes 7.5 months old!!!! WOW!
Love you all!
So the time has come that we leave the ranch that we have called home for 2 years. I can't say that I'm sad, but it has been an adventure and I know I will look back on these years with fond memories!
We don't exactly know where we are moving quite yet. We have a few different options and are waiting to see which one is the best move for our family. Each place has its good and bad and we need to really find out which place will help us reach our goals the fastest.
Stay tuned for the news on where we end up....though it will still be Colorado so don't get too excited/nervous! But for now I better get back to packing, a chore I despise!
The following lyrics are from a song by JJ Heller. I had heard this song on a friends blog and it seems to fit my life and be my heart's song right now. So I posted the lyrics so I might see them often...
I have unanswered prayers
I have trouble I wish wasn't there
And I have asked a thousand ways
That You would take my pain away
That You would take my pain away
I am trying to understand
How to walk this weary land
Make straight the paths that crookedly lie
Oh Lord, before these feet of mine
Oh Lord, before these feet of mine
When my world is shaking
Heaven stands
When my heart is breaking
I never leave Your hands
When You walked upon the Earth
You healed the broken, lost, and hurt
I know You hate to see me cry
One day You will set all things right
Yea, one day You will set all things right
When my world is shaking
Heaven stands
When my heart is breaking
I never leave Your hands
Your hands
Your hands that shape the world
Are holding me, they hold me still
Your hands that shape the world
Are holding me, they hold me still
When my world is shaking
Heaven stands
When my heart is breaking
I never leave You when...
When my world is shaking
Heaven stands
When my heart is breaking
I never leave...
I never leave Your hands
So I was holding on to her crib still in its box becuase I thought we would be moving to a bigger place. Well Since I can't gaurantee that will happen anytime soon I decided to be proactive and put it together MYSELF! My hands are killing me and it did take all morning but I think its so cute! Cant wait till she has an actual room to put it in! My best friend Jessica's mom made her bedding and its just perfect! I never wanted very traditional stuff for her and I certainly didn't want anything that screamed "baby". This is the perfect mix!
Most of the reason I have started blogging more is because I want to remember things about this time of my life, and of Charleigh's life. So I thought I would take a moment to list some of the nicknames we have given her. Most of which are really strange when I actually think about them. Strange but funny. We love you Charleigh even if we never call you by name!
-Sass, Sassy, Sasser, Sasser Sue, Sasserelly, Sasseroni with Cheese and just about any other word with sassy in it!!!
-Marmot (given to her when she was still on the inside)
-Spydie (Grandma A) Spidie (Grandpa A) They can't agree on the spelling!
-Milk Monster
-Poop Monster
-Baby
-Chaw-leeeeeee
There you have it...A Charleigh girl by many different names!
So everyone told me that after having a baby I wouldn't like my dogs anymore, or they would just take a back seat. Well I am so happy that I still am so much in love with them and they are definately still my other kids!!! I do have less time for them, but nap time is the best becuase I can give undivided attention to my little baby Oscar! I hope he isn't feeling left out the rest of the day! Needless to say I thought the dogs deserved a spot on the blog since they hadn't been featured in awhile.
Yesterday, after a long day of work for Nathan (which means a lot of running around for Tazo) I noticed Tazo had snuck inside to lay down, and I discovered him laying half in his bed half out! He was simply too tired to make it all the way in! Poor guy...chasing all kinds of squirrels with no results will tire a buddy out! Take a load off Taz-man, you deserve it!
So this winter has been more than a little cold!!! It was one of the coldest winters for Colorado in a long time. And just when I put all my winter stuff away because I think the sun is coming out, we get more cold weather. Yesterday was a prime example...had to bundle the little one up and it was the end of April! What is wrong with this picture?!?! Its supposed to be SPRING! The jacket was a sweet hand me down from her cousin Beni, and I thought I would post a picture of her silly mohawk!!!
My brother Landon was up for a quick visit and he was the first uncle to meet Charleigh. It was extra special becuase his youngest son was born just two weeks before her. They are the closet cousins age wise! So fun to see them in May and compare sizes!!
My little baby turned one month old on the 8th...which happens to be my brother and father in law's birthday. Wow...one month. I know everyone said it would go so fast but until you experience it you can't understand. I find myself doing so many things I never thought I would, breastfeeding, holding her just because, waking her up just to see her beautiful eyes. Everyone says a baby will change your life and I knew to a certain extent it would, however I never realized how much my life would be forever changed. I can not fathom the love God has for us to give his son as a sacrifice for our sins because I know that I could never do that. I could never let her feel one ounce of pain if I could prevent it. Especially not for someone who didn't even love her. I have had an entirely different perspective on my salvation through Christ just from being a mommy.
For so much of my life I struggled with self esteem...now I look at my pudgy tummy and smile because I carried a beautiful baby to term. I delivered her and she was perfectly healthy. I nurse her and am the sole reason she gains weight and is nourished. The gift God has given me through motherhood is inexplicable. I was made for this and I now clearly see that. What I wouldn't do for her or give to her....
I realize this is all very personal information but the love that has developed in my heart for this small little person is bursting out of me. I have become a cheesy Hallmark Card!!!
I would love for her to stay small and helpless because I so enjoy taking care of her...3 am feeds, no problem...spit up on my shoulder, who cares. I just live to make her life great, but I can't wait for her to grow and learn who she is and teach her things and hear her voice. (Right now the pterodactyl scream is all I get!)
So in summation of my gushy post, I love love love being a mommy. More than anything I have ever done. And I'm so grateful for an amazing husband who has been a part in this new role I have. He's a great daddy and is more than a little in love with this sweet peanut.
Love to you all...pictures in the next post!
PS: pterodactyl is the weirdest word spelling wise ever....
So I promised to update with belly pics...hmmm...she's already been born so clearly I didn't follow through on that!
My sweet little baby GIRL was born on March 8th 2010. I went into labor at 37 and 5 weeks pregnant after two night shifts and a big storm brewing. Contractions started at 5pm on Sunday...I tried to sleep them off but ended up waking Nathan up at 1230am to drive me to the hospital. She was born after four good pushes at around 1215pm. I could not believe my eyes when I found out it was a girl! For those of you that don't know my side of the family has 6 grandsons/nephews. No girls for any of my brothers. I broke the curse! She was 6 lbs 10 oz and 19 inches long. And cute as cute can be!
I recovered well and she is doing great. We had about a week and a half of long sleeping stretches. The last couple of nights I can't say I've slept much at all! I think she is going through a growth spurt!
We are just so happy to have her and are so greatful she is a healthy little girl!
