If you're happy...

Charlie is still having a ball. No crawling yet. He has been up on all fours rocking though and is scooting backwards. My fingers are crossed he holds off until at least Wednesday! We have almost got his playroom operational and he is loving it. Pictures to come. Only update is that we advanced to the next car seat stage. Figuring out all sorts of new systems without an infant carrier. Funny what a dramatic change that is. Charlie took his first ride in a shopping cart and is in his big boy stroller now. He was making friends left and right as he now can really see the world when we are out and about. Every time I turn around he is telling someone else "hi!" He is a man of the people. One down side is that his little hands can reach stuff we go by now so going to have to keep a close eye on the little clepto!

Playing with Bugs

Well our little guy turned 7 months old this past weekend on his Papaw's birthday. We can't believe how quickly time is flying. Charlie is so fun to be around. He stays pretty happy all day and loves to play on the floor, go on the swings, jump in his jumper, go swimming - the list goes on. He is just so active. Unfortunately, he's even being active in the middle of the night. He makes his way around his crib now turning on his aquarium and pulling on his toy giraffe that plays a lullaby. So far he is up for 20-30 minutes playing and then goes back to sleep. Fingers crossed he stays that way or goes back to sleeping solid through the night.

Matt and I also have a bet as to when he will actually start crawling. He is already rolling and wiggling his way around pretty well. If he crawls before 7/22, Matt gets a full day of golf and if he waits until after 7/22, I get to do a spa day. Needless to say, I'm trying to keep him down for now. More importantly, we need to invest in some gates and cabinet latches.

The new video shows some of Charlie's tricks as he plays with his new toy bugs (which he loves!). Sorry it is so long, but I haven't figured out how to edit the video yet. One step at a time!

Hi!

After a week of debate, I have finally admitted that Charlie is saying his first word, "hi". He obviously doesn't know what it means but it is pretty funny because it is hard for him to find a time to say it when it isn't appropriate so it seems intentional. Of course, now that is all we hear all day. Based on the books and emails, this is early for him to be repeating a word so I think we have a talker on our hands. (Shocker).

As you can see in the video, Charlie is also clapping his hands now. Three cheers for fine motor skills! And although you can't see it in the video, tooth number 7 has surfaced on the top. I thought there was one in the back of his mouth but it is still unconfirmed so for now we have 4 on the bottom and 3 on the top. Every now and then he bites into my shoulder and I can feel each and every one of them.

Charlie just celebrated his first Fourth of July. No fireworks for this kid, but he did get to see his cousins at a cookout at our house and wore his fancy new shirt that he made with Randi's help. He also got to celebrate by using his newest toy, his jumper. Who knew that jumping could be so much fun?

I love vacation!!!

Last week was Charlie's first family vacation in the Outerbanks with all of his crazy relatives from Ohio. He had a blast! Turns out he is a fish and loves to swim. As expected, he was totally fawned over the entire week and had a team of people beckoning to his every whim. Not surprisingly, he came home a little spoiled and is adjusting to real life again (which is just oh-so-tough). It was worth it though. He loved visiting with this grandparents, aunts, uncle and cousins and we loved sharing him with them. He is already looking forward to his next trip to Buckeye land in September!

As for other big happenings - he now has 4 teeth on the bottom and 2 on the top and then at least one more that has just broken through on the back left side. He also managed to get from his belly back onto his back. He's only done it once but now we know it can be done and now just need to stay on the lookout for a rolling baby. Charlie is also into EVERYTHING. He has the quickest hands in the East. You can't turn your head for two seconds without him grabbing something else. Looks like it is almost time to rid the house of our personal belongings to make more room for baby stuff...

Charlie is much better since the last post. He is a happy boy! Today is his 6 month birthday!! Hard to believe. He had his check up recently and he measured 29 1/2 inches long. He is off the growth charts. We are starting to wonder where he came from. He's getting so big. He's sitting in his high chair now and he has 3 - almost 4 - teeth. We think he is going to order a steak soon. He is eating cereal, fruits and veggies like a champ. He is very excited because next week we go to the Outerbanks for the Warner family vacation. He is going to get S-P-O-I-L-E-D...

I've Seen Better Days...

Well, Charlie's weekend did not go as planned. On Saturday night, he was supposed to have his first paid babysitter take care of him while Mommy and Daddy went out to have an adult dinner (not that pureed carrots don't seem totally adult). Instead, our PLG (poor little guy - Uncle Pat is getting worried his title is being taken away) spiked a fever of over 102 that wouldn't go down with the help of Tylenol. So we spent Saturday night until 1 a.m. in the Emergency Room where Charlie had blood taken and a chest X-ray and finally a shot of antibiotics. It was traumatic for the whole family, but most especially for our little man.

This picture shows what a trooper he was through it all as he tried to play with his exersaucer. It didn't take long for thim to throw the white flag preferring to watch T.V. with his binky. Fingers crossed he gets back to his happy self soon.

Our First Mother's Day

Today was our first Mother's Day and we had an excellent day! Mommy got to sleep in and then we went to Grammy's and had breakfast. Then we drove into the city and walked around. We had lunch at Charley's Saloon on Newbury Street and then walked around the Public Gardens where the tulips were in bloom. Then we walked through the park on Comm Ave. It was a beautiful day downtown. After all of that we went to Uncle Derek and Aunt Tina's house where Charlie got to see all of his cousins. What a day!

Charlie has been up to all sorts of new tricks. He's officially discovered his feet and when he lays on his back, he is quick to grab his feet in his hands. He is VERY flexible. He can grab his pacifier and put it in his mouth - a development we are all very happy about. In general, he is just a lot more deliberate with his movements. This is good and bad. Good when it comes to the pacifier, bad when it comes to someone's hair - especially because he hasn't quite figured out how to let go yet.