We had some professional pictures taken a few weeks ago by my friend Nealy. She did such an awesome job on them. We couldn't be happier! Thanks Nealy!!


You can tell that he was kind of done taking pictures :)


Love the cake pictures!!

12 month stats

We had Charlie's 1 year well child appointment but it wasn't really a "well" appointment. He's been acting really happy but has been coughing and wheezing over the past few days. The wheezing has gotten a lot worse and he's been having a harder time breathing. He has RSV so they didn't do his shots this time. They did a neb treatment at the clinic and sent us home with a nebulizer and albuterol to give him when he wheezes. It was pretty traumatic doing the neb at the clinic (screaming for 15 min straight while trying to pin him down to keep the mask on....not so much fun). Thankfully it is much better at home with Veggie Tales to keep him occupied during it :) So we are home today having a snuggle day and doing the nebs frequently.

Here are his 12 month stats:
Weight: 22 lbs 11 oz (50%)
Height: 30.5 inches (75%)
Head: 18 3/4 inches (80%)

He had a dip in growth at his 9 month appt but is now bringing it back up.

Development: He is soo close to walking (but I've said that for weeks now). He's taken up to 6 steps but thinks it is easier to crawl right now. He stands independently and plays with toys. He doesn't have too many words right now, still says Mama, Dada, Uh-Oh, whispers buh-bye, and looks like he is trying to form the word puppy.

Eating: He is on all table food and has completely switched over to whole milk. He still takes a bottle in the morning and before bed but uses sippy cups throughout the day. He loves fruit- specifically pears, peaches, and bananas. Lasagna is also a favorite.

Sleeping: He usually sleeps from 7pm-6:30am straight through. We are still on 2 naps a day. 9:30 am- 1 1/2 to 2 hr nap, and again at 1:30 or 2 pm for 1 hr.

Charlie is a happy and smiley boy! We are loving all of the new things he is doing. He is becoming much more independent and loves to crawl quickly to our cupboards and take EVERYTHING out! The favorite toys are my measuring cups and spoons :)

Charlie, we love you to pieces! We couldn't imagine our lives without you. You bless us so much with your smiles, slobbery kisses, and belly laughs.

Here are his haircut pictures. He looks like such a little boy sitting in the chair with his cape on.
Here's the before picture of his long hair:


This is after I did my trim at home....clearly it was a little crooked and mullet looking :)


Hmm...not sure what I think about all of this


He got his first taste of a lollipop and LOVED it!!


All grown up and looking so handsome


Loves to go in and out of the car all day long!


So fun to sit in the cabinets...we now have babyproofed these cabinets. Blenders are safe for babies to play with right???


Bubbles!!


A side note: Charlie and I are headed to Phoenix, AZ on Saturday to visit my parents who are out there the month of Feburary. We are SO excited! But I am getting a bit nervous to take an ACTIVE and squirmy 12 month old on an airplane by myself. Any tips??

Happy 1st Birthday Charlie!

What a difference a year makes!


Charlie as a newborn



Well it's here...my baby turned 1 today!! In many ways it seems like Charlie has been a part of our lives forever and yet it seems like I was just rocking my 4 week old baby to sleep. I surprised myself by being a little sad by this milestone, that my baby is growing up. But...I am so excited to see what this next year will bring for Charlie, watching him make so many new milestones. And I know he will ALWAYS be my baby :)

The actual birthday:
We spent the day at the Children's Museum. It was a lot of fun! Brent took a 1/2 day off and met us there at noon. Charlie splashed in the water area, playing with the ping pong balls and watching them float through the tubes, and crawling all over the Habitot area. He took a 2 1/2 hr nap afterwards...soo tired! In celebration of his birthday, we switched Charlie to the big boy forward facing car seat. He laughed when I put him in it, he thought it was so silly that he could see me driving. :) We ended the day with singing "Happy Birthday", blowing out the candle (well, us blowing out the candle!) and letting him eat a bite of a birthday cupcake from his party on Saturday. He was such a happy, smiley boy today. You could tell he loved his birthday!

A few days ago we had a little mishap with me trying to "trim" Charlie's hair with suture removal scissors. Let's just say I was really embarassed when I picked him up from daycare the next day and saw his very crooked hairstyle. I brought him to Kids Hair salon immediately and they fixed his hair. He was a champ...no crying at all. He got to taste a lollipop for the first time and thought it was the best thing he's ever had. All in all, he looks pretty cute with the new haircut. So for Charlie's first birthday he is sporting a new haircut and sitting in the new big boy carseat. Fun firsts :) I'll post pictures later of the haircut.

The party:
We celebrated Charlie's birthday with family this past weekend on Saturday. My In-Laws came on wednesday and spent some time with us through the weekend. It is always so fun to spend time with them and catch up. Charlie loved playing with them and just thought they were so much fun! The guests: My parents, Heather and Dan and Bethany, my aunt Lynette, and Doug and Becky. We just hung out, had lunch, opened presents and enjoyed watching Charlie smash his first cake. It was perfect! Charlie was a true boy when he finally got his hands on the cake and smashed it all over his face, tray, highchair, and everything else! He absolutely LOVED it!! I think I'll have to watch his sugar intake when he gets old enough to pick his own food out :) Charlie got so many fun toys, a big ball, and a Little Tykes car that he loves to get in and out of. He's been a busy boy playing with all the fun new stuff! Thank you to everyone for coming and celebrating with us and for the fun new toys!!!!!

We had taken the baby pool that Charlie used this summer and filled it with 150 play balls that I found on clearance at Target last week. Charlie and his cousin Bethany LOVED playing in it! Charlie loved throwing the balls out and Bethany knew all the balls were supposed to be in the pool and wanted to keep them in the pool. They did a little wrestling towards the end. Pretty cute :) Here's a little clip of them playing in it:


Here are some pictures from his party and birthday:



So excited to play!

Cousin fun!




Cake time!


Yum!



All of the cake eating is hard work, just taking a little rest


Desperate need of a bath



Whoa! What a huge gift!




Who needs all these gifts when you have measuring spoons?! Look, I'm soo close to walking :)


I LOVE my new car!


Concentrating so hard on driving, looks like we've got a good driver already!