6 months

My how my baby is growing up. Today is his half birthday. Dave and I were commenting tonight that it's hard to believe that just a few months ago, Charlie didn't exist. And now I cannot imagine life without the joy he has put in it.

He "celebrated" turning 6 months by making two milestones: his first tooth and his first veggies. He was pretty fussy yesterday and had the telltale runny nose and drool, so I felt around his gums and felt the tooth, and today it broke through the gum. I can't wait to see his toothy grin. We also started him on veggies with some green beans. I'm being pretty lazy about the whole solid foods thing, so I feel like he was on cereal forever. We finally decided he (or I guess I should say "we") were ready for it, but the last thing I wanted to do was venture into Walmart around Christmas just for a couple jars of baby food. I look forward to trying to make some of his food, but for his first stuff, I'll trust the experts. He seemed a little surprised by it on his first bite, but ate as much as we offered him.

I think I say this every month, but he just keeps getting more and more fun each month. Is this the way it always is with kids? Or at least until they're teenagers? He seems so much more aware of the world around him, especially now that he's sitting up. And he's doing that so well. He rarely topples over. He's starting to really get into his toys, especially a small yellow ball that came with some stacking cups he got from Granny and Grandaddy for Christmas. He'll reach out for it and palm it, then promptly put his mouth around it.

His smile continues to make my day. He gives both Dave and I huge grins when he sees us enter a room. He is still so good natured and rarely fusses (notice I don't say "never", just rarely). I think he's starting to recognize other people, too, and also knows when someone is new. He still will give a smile to anyone, it just takes an extra second or two if it's a stranger. Sometimes I feel like he's starting to get clingy, but then he'll have a day (like today) when he is perfectly content playing alone in his room for good blocks of time.

We're starting to demonstrate Baby Sign Language to him. I know it will be a while before he responds with it, but might as well start showing the signs to him now. We're focusing on "Momma," "Daddy," "doggy," "milk" and "eat," along with anything else I happen to remember from the books when they come up. I'm looking forward to him being able to communicate with us before he can talk. We're hoping it will prevent at least some frustration in the months to come.

Charlie's still sooo big, weighing in at more than 21 pounds! I need to start lifting weights because he is getting heavy. I'm already getting back pain from carrying him!

Sorry, Charlie. Christmas is over.

Christmas Morning

Christmas Eve

Gingerbread Challenge

We had a Gingerbread House decorating extravaganza yesterday. I don't remember ever decorating one before, so I had a lot of fun doing it. Dave and I thought we were doing well with our pool with a diving board, but Nancy and Chris really wowed us all with their beach house. It was so cool! Grass roof made of chives; ocean water made from melted sugar; sand made from sugar; palm trees made from horseradish root for the trunk, sea weed paper for the leaves and Cocoa Puffs for the coconuts; hammock woven from licorice; and even and Santa and his surf board! It was pretty impressive.

CW and Wes

As you may have noticed, the dogs, which used to be prime blog content, have taken somewhat of a backseat now that Charlie has come along. So I thought an update may be in order because they're still important to us, and they're starting to have more interaction with Charlie.

They both seem to be taking more interest in him now that he's sitting up. I guess he's more at their eye level now. They are really good with him when they're near each other; in fact, there have been a few times that Charlie and I will be lying on the bed and Bella will lie down right next to Charlie. He is much more aware of them now, too. He smiles when he sees them. Every once in a while they sneak in a big, slobbery kiss (gross, I know), and he grins from ear to ear. He'll reach out for them (see pictures below) and will grab their fur, and they just sit there and take it. I think we have many years of fun times together with all of them.

Visiting Santa

We made our first visit to see Santa this morning. When I put Charlie on Santa's lap, Charlie looked up at him and gave him a big grin. We survived the mall and finished up shopping for our last few gifts. Dave has almost four days off, so we're looking forward to spending time together while he has a nice break from work.

Merry Christmas to all!

Christmas PJs

We love you Papa

This morning Dave lost his Papa. I believe he would have been 87 on Dec. 29. We'll go to Nashville on Wednesday to be there for the funeral. We'll miss you, Papa, and are so glad Charlie got to meet you in October. Papa is one of the many William Keeneys that our Charles William is named for.

And now, this special report from the Iowa Caucuses

For those of you looking for a summary of some of the candidates, my political correspondent in Iowa (Mom) sent this in an email the other day, and I just had to share it because it made me laugh:

Only 25 more days. . .Chris Dodd is the only Democrat that is a veteran, John Edwards doesn't want our generation to be the first one not to leave a better life for the next generation (his father was a miner for 30 years. . .), Hilary will fight for us every day of her term in the White House and her mother would vote for her even if she wasn't her daughter, Joe Biden has the only plan to get out of Iraq that is supported by both parties, Mitt Romney will work toward every child that is born having a mother and father (Dad gets a kick out of that one!). . .

And she didn't even get started on Obama and Oprah. I was so sick of political commercials after just a week in Iowa over Thanksgiving, I can't even begin to imagine how they must be feeling by now.

Charlie and Cody

Charlie and Cody had a fun playdate yesterday (at least their mommies did!) It was the first time they seemed to actually notice each other; it was cute to watch them taking each other in. They're about 3 1/2 weeks apart in age, so it will be fun to watch them grow up together.

Sitting Up

We hit another milestone today. Charlie can sit up! But perhaps the biggest milestone was Momma finally figuring out how to import the videos from her camcorder!

Viva Las Vegas

Sue and I had a great time in Vegas this weekend. We have such great husbands to do this for us. (Thanks guys!) We enjoyed shopping, checking out all the casinos, and eating a lot. One word: buffets. On Saturday we had a great dinner at an amazing Italian restaurant at the Venetian and then went to Wayne Brady's show. The show was good; he did some improv comedy and singing, but we could have used a little more comedy. It was a big fight weekend, and a rodeo was in town, so it was a pretty busy place.

Look close: these are made of pecans.

Portraits by Doug

My brother-in-law Doug took these at Thanksgiving. Aren't they great?

Feeding Fun

If you look closely you can see the cereal all over his chest and face, including a glob next to each eye. This is a result of the flailing limbs, which you also see in this picture, that bump Momma's hand. Hence the naked feedings...much easier cleanup.

I forgot about another "first" last week

Charlie's first trip to the American Airlines Center. We didn't stay for the game, but Daddy got to introduce Charlie to his coworkers, and he even has a literal run-in with Dirk. It will probably be a season or two before we take Charlie to a game. Can you say: "Overstimulation?"

Victory!

After 2 1/2 weeks of waking up at 3:00 or 5:00 a.m., Charlie finally slept 12 straight hours again last night. Hooray! He woke up at 4:30 a.m. on Sunday night, but I stood my ground and didn't feed him. I just stood over his crib and rubbed his belly for about 15 minutes before he finally calmed down. Then last night I was prepared to do the same, but did not need to. Now I just hope this sticks. Makes me wish I would have stood my ground earlier. But with us being gone for a week and then him being sick, the last thing I wanted to do was deprive him. Now we're working our way back into our routine. Yay!

First feeding

Charlie got some rice cereal for the first time this week. He knows just where the spoon is supposed to go, but he hasn't figured out how to get the cereal off the spoon, so once I get it in there I have to practically poor it into his mouth.





Once I figure out how to get video off my new camcorder, I'll be sure to post it, too.

Thanksgiving

Charlie and I had a good time in Iowa for Thanksgiving. It was a houseful with about 20 people, but it was fun to see so much family that I don't get to see too often. My dad's brothers and most of my cousins made it down to celebrate. Dave was traveling with the Mavs, so he unfortunately couldn't make the trip. It's the first Thanksgiving or Christmas that we haven't spent together since we've been married, but I'm surprised it hasn't happened sooner.