4 Months

Charlie was four months old on Sunday, and I feel like this month we got to start seeing more glimpses of his personality. He smiles all the time and has had a few laughing fits, too. His eyes seem so big as he looks around and really takes in all the world has to offer. He can smile without moving his mouth--I can just see it in his eyes. He loves it when I sing to him and has taken a good interest in his books when I read to him.

He still doesn't have too much control over his limbs and movements yet, but he has started grabbing at toys and shoving them in his mouth. He is rolling over from his back to tummy all the time now. It's usually to his left even though he started by going to his right. About half the time he gets on his tummy and gets frustrated, and the other half he seems content and can hold his head up well to look around.

We finally have a complete and predictable schedule. He wakes and eats at 8:00 every morning. His daddy usually is the one to get him up. He eats every 3 hours and naps at 9:30 (1 1/2 hours), 1:30 and 4:30 (30 minutes). I start his last feeding about 7:30, then he gets a bath every other night. I start his bedtime routine by changing his diaper, putting lotion on him and dressing him. Then we read "Good Night God," say our prayers and put him in his crib. It's my favorite time of the day to spend such quiet, sweet time with him.

He is still such a big boy! Our last "unofficial" weigh in last week was 19.5 pounds! We have his 4-month check up on 11/6 so we'll get his "official" height and weight then. He's now wearing 9- and 12-month size clothes. He's already outgrown the standard-size infant carseat, but fortunately the one we have goes up to 30 pounds so we'll get a couple more months use out of it!

Charlie has the sweetest temperment that makes it a joy to be his mom. I feel so blessed to have him in my life.

Future Diver

I got this shirt for Charlie when we were in Belize last summer. This was actually the first thing I ever purchased for him. We weren't even trying to get pregnant yet, but I knew my future child had to have this. I know Dave is looking forward to taking Charlie diving someday. As you can see, he already has his own "wet suit."

Rolling Over

Last Saturday Charlie rolled over for the first time. His Momma met this milestone with both excitement and trepidation; it's fun to watch him grow and develop and do new things, but I know he's going to grow up so fast, so I'm not in any kind of hurry for him to do so. He's rolled over a few times since then, but Daddy still hasn't seen it. This video was my attempt to get it on video, but I was too slow, so I only got the result after he had rolled from his back to this tummy.

Look at me now!

Oct. 22

August 16

July 21

Fair Day II

We went back to the State Fair on Wednesday to partake in more fried goodness. I won't even list everything we tried, but the highlights were the fried sweet potato pie and fried guacamole bites. Yummy! We also explored the railroad museum and car displays and watched "Dancing with the Dogs." The railroad museum was neat to see the old dining cars and parlor car. It was a totally different way of traveling. We also got to climb into a steam engine. That was pretty cool to see since my Grandpa Hurley was a railroad man. We're already looking forward to taking Charlie next year when he will be able to take it all in.

However, I really need to get Dave and Charlie to the Iowa State Fair. I have so many fun memories of going to the Fair. It's where I saw my first New Kids on the Block concert. My dance class performed there a couple times. And in high school, the shoe store I worked at had a booth in the Varied Industries building (un-air-conditioned, I may add) that I would work at. And who can forget the Iowa Pork Queen. Isn't that what every little girl should aspire to be? The State Fair is a rich Iowa tradition that I can't wait for Dave and Charlie to experience. Maybe next August.

Quack!

Friday Night Lights

Dave took Charlie and I to our first Texas high school football game on Friday. We watched his alma mater Plano Senior High play their homecoming game. It was quite a contrast to my high school experience in a small town in Iowa. Charlie did well for being kept up past his bedtime, but he did not like it when there was cheering. We only stayed through the 40-minute halftime--both bands and both drill teams performed, so it was quite a show.

Nashville

Charlie & Nana

Papa, Charlie & Dave

so close to rolling over

cousin Jake checking him out

Amy, Dan, Tim, Charlie and Dave at DaVinci's for yummy pizza

Aunt Roxann, Charlie and Uncle Larry

We had a great visit in Nashville seeing Dave's grandparents, aunt and uncle, and cousins. I always enjoy our visits to Nashville; it's fun to catch up with family, and I've really grown to like the city, too. It was so fun to introduce them to Charlie. We even got to have dinner with one of Dave's other cousins from California who happened to be in town for a conference. Charlie did well traveling again. He was pretty unhappy on descent on the flight there, though. I'm sure his ears were bothering him, but I couldn't get him to eat or suck on anything to help them. But he was a perfect angel on the flight home, sleeping the entire flight. A woman behind us commented that she didn't even know he was there. I hope that will be the norm for him, because we have a lot of flights coming up!

Life with Charlie

Life with Charlie is so much fun. All of the excitement and anticipation leading up to Charlie's birth came no where near to preparing me for how much joy a child of my own would bring me. Especially now that he is constantly smiling and offering giggles. It makes me feel so special to be the most important and exciting thing in his life. I know this time is precious before he grows up and becomes obsessed with toys, TV, friends, etc., but right now I'm all he needs and that is so cool! :) You can't help but be in a good mood when he's smiling at you. I'm really loving Motherhood and feel like I'm getting the hang of it. It's finding time for the million other things that need my attention that I find challenging.

He has recently discovered his tongue. One of his new tricks is sticking it out (which he seems to do constantly), and he'll also suck on it making a clicking noise. His "talking" is also changing. We still get the cooing and gurgling, but he's also started screeching and screaming.

Sara's visit

I love this picture of Charlie.

This was the day after the Fair and he took a long, hard nap in my arms. I think we wore him out!

Charlie visits Daddy in the videoboard truck at TCU.

Last weekend my best friend Sara came to visit from Denver. We had such a fun time, it was great to see her again. We've been pretty fortunate to see each other relatively frequently despite the distance between us. On Friday we went to opening day at the State Fair and ate our way through it: corny dogs, fried Oreos, fried Snickers, fried Mac-n-Cheese, Tornado Taters, the ever-famous Donkey Tail, Dippin' Dots... However, it was pretty hot, and our bellies filled up quickly, so we cut the visit kind of short. Dave and I are hoping to go back to test out even more food (and maybe even take in some of the attractions, too). Saturday Dave worked the TCU game, but Sara, Charlie and I went as spectators. It was fun to get Charlie dressed up in his TCU onesie and take him to the game. He was a trooper and held up pretty well. Sunday was a little shopping and a lot of football. Charlie showed his spirit wearing his LaDainian Tomlinson Chargers jersey, but unfortunately it didn't help the Chargers' cause.