38/52

Taken on 12-18-15

This chick finds new things to get into every day. Her new favorite activity is to squeeze into small spaces, crawl under tables, anything to give mama a heart attack.

Lexi 

37/52 (Christmas 2015)

Taken on Christmas

Taken on Christmas

I'm the absolute worst about taking pictures, so I only have a few reminders of Christmas. It's always jam packed with lots of events every year, and this year was no different. Charlotte did really well handling all of the stimulation and liked getting all sorts of presents! She got so many, a play kitchen, lots of baby dolls, puzzles, books, clothes. I think her favorite present was her Elmo doll, she's obsessed with him. 

Taken on Christmas 

Ha I love this picture. It's easy to only share pictures that make everything look perfect all the time, and anyone with kids (and without kids too) knows that's not always real. This picture is real, CJ had reached the end of her rope and was ready to go. 

Lexi

36/52

Taken on 11-23-15

Look at that tiny little pony tail. CJ's hair seems to be pretty straight and doesn't necessarily like to lay down flat, but it's starting to get longer! 

Lexi

35/52

Taken on 11-8-15

Whoops, I blinked and almost 3 months went by. I'm determined to finish this stupid 52 pictures project, so I'm just gonna pick up where I left off. 

CJ loves going to parks, she has such an adventurous personality and has absolutely no fear. I'd say this stage we're in right now should be called the 'exhausted stage', because keeping up with her is exhausting. I try my best though because there is no greater joy than seeing her run around a playground. 

Lexi

34/52 (Halloween)

A lot sure has changed since last Halloween when CJ was barely a month old. Last Halloween she still wasn't very good at nursing and I just got so much anxiety taking her out anywhere because what if she got hungry and I had to try, and possibly fail, at nursing her in public?? I kind of had an irrational fear of her being hungry and me not being able to feed her, it took a while to get over that. 

This Halloween she was walking all over the place! She loved seeing all of the other kids while trick or treating and saw a few puppies which are her favorite. 

Lexi

35/52

Gosh it's been a long time since I've gotten around to posting a weekly picture. I've never been so busy in my life as I have been recently. I read an article recently that talked about how working parents are stretched too thin, and it really spoke to me. There's just not enough time in the day to be a good employee, wife, mother, and friend. Some days I feel like I'm not even doing one of those well enough.

When I let those thoughts consume me I have to take a step back and remember that this is just a season in life. I won't always feel this way, and some days are easier than others. I'm trying to enjoy this stage because someday soon I'll look back and wish CJ was that little again.

Anyway, hopefully I can get caught up on these weekly pictures because I sure do enjoy looking back on them.

Lexi

34/52

So Charlotte is officially not content being carried around and wriggles out of your arms anytime you try to contain her. Gone are the days of being able to get away with putting a pair of socks on her feet and calling it a day. Jim and I found her a super cute pair of Nike shoes that she loves to run around in. That's her new thing, short little running bursts, and also getting into small spaces and behind furniture. She goes full speed at all times!

Lexi

35/52

Oh my goodness can she make a mess. I always give CJ a bath right after dinner, so I don't worry too much about trying to keep her clean, I think she has fun exploring her food and the dogs sure do love licking up anything that happens to fall. 

Lexi

34/52 CJ is 1!

Wow look at that, a picture from every month of Charlotte's life so far. I can't believe I have a 1 year old. It's amazing how much she's changed. When she was born, she looked like a little sumo baby. Just look at that little cross eyed sumo baby.

Derp 

Look at her now! She is 21 lbs 8 oz, and 29.5 inches tall. She's a pretty good eater, loves meat and fruit. She's not that into cow's milk and would much rather drink water, especially bath water! She loves looking at pictures of other babies and doggies. 

She is understanding more and more of what we say to her and can repeat the first syllable of lots of words. B-words are her favorite (boat, ball, baby). 

The word love doesn't even begin to describe how I feel about my dear baby girl. 

Lexi

33/52

Notice her blurry hand, about the rip off those ears and chew on them. I took this picture when we were shopping for supplies for Charlotte's first birthday and when I saw these mini mouse ears I just had to get them for her. I mean.. come on. 

Lexi

32/52

I think it's safe to say that Charlotte's favorite food is beans & rice. When that is put in front of her she turns into her alter ego, Charlita, and devours every last bite!

Lexi

31/52

It seems like no matter how many fun toys Charlotte has, her favorite is always something that's not intended to be a toy. Her hair brush is her current obsession which makes it impossible to brush her hair anytime she sees it. I don't mind when her chubby little hands reach out for the brush every night though, she's too cute to say no to. 

Lexi

30/52

Just look at how cute this bow is. I just love having a girl to dress up. 

Lexi

29/52

Well I got a little busy and haven't posted a weekly update in a while but I'm about to get caught up because so much has happened! 

When this picture was taken Charlotte was pulling up on everything she could. She likes to go visit Giada when we're playing in her room, and Giada is always sitting on the other side of the baby gate waiting.

Lexi 

28/52

The other weekend we took CJ to The Thinkery, she had so much fun! This was the first time she's been since she started crawling so she was able to explore stuff and interact with other babies too. She is so independent and loves to speed crawl anywhere she likes. 

Lexi

27/52

It's dang near impossible to get a picture of CJ that isn't blurry because she is always moving, bouncing, or trying to dart for anything she's not supposed to have. She also has a special sibling relationship with Giada, they love each other.

I got this super cute cat headband on sale the other day and think it's so cute! I couldn't resist. 

Lexi

26/52

We love taking CJ to see her little baby friend, Jude. She also loves to play with all of his toys, which include a mini ball pit. 

Lexi

25/52

43 weeks

I think this might be the cutest picture ever taken. How is my little baby 10 months old? I'm already starting to plan her 1st birthday which is crazy to me. I look back at pictures of her when she was just born and it feels like yesterday. 

Every day CJ seems to learn something new. She's been starting to really babble a lot and can clearly yell 'mamaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa' when she wants me. She is totally over baby food and only wants to eat finger foods now. Some of her favorites are blackberries, blueberries, green beans, asparagus, chicken, fish, and any kind of bean. 

She cracks up at the most random things. Right now she can't contain herself when her dada says 'Chichi get!' or when you say 'bless you' or 'goo goo' to her. 

We went a little overboard and put foam tiles over pretty much every inch of her room since our floors are stained concrete. Now she can go crazy in her room and not worry about falling and hurting herself. Our next big project is going to be anchoring her furniture to the wall because she is now pulling up on everything. 

Lexi

24/52

40 weeks

Cj had her 9 month well check and she is 27 inches long (20th%) and weighs 19lbs 14oz (74th%). I can't believe how big she's getting! She's moved beyond being content with sitting in anyone's lap, she wants to be on the ground crawling around and exploring. We covered her nursery floor in soft foam tiles so she has somewhere at home to go crazy without falling and hurting herself. 

Her new favorite thing is to shake her head no. Jim taught her how to do that, and although it's cute now I'm sure he'll be regretting it in the near future.

Lexi

23/52 4th of July

39 weeks

Charlotte was so festive for her first 4th of July! We spent the day at my brother's house with a few of Charlotte's little baby cousins. Poor Miles, surrounded by women. 

Isla, Ella, Rylee, Miles & CJ

Look at all these cuties! There are pictures of all of my cousins crowded together on couches from when I was little so it's awesome to be able to see the same with the next generation. 

Lexi