20 months old

Charlie is now 20 months old!  Last time I posted, he was 14 months, whoops! Today he weighs 31 pounds and is wearing size 7.5 shoes.

At his 18 month check-up, Charlie weighed 29.5 lbs (97th percentile), was 34.5 inches (98th percentile), and his head was in the 99th percentile!

Some mornings I treat myself and we go to La Boulange for a chocolate croissant:

I love going there.  Charlie loves it too.  He is so social and he says hi to everyone when we walk in, thank you when they hand us the croissant, and bye to everyone as we leave.  He loves attention.

He now has ALL of his teeth.  This last week the top two-year molars have been breaking through.  These have been the hardest and thank god they're the last!  He is having a hard time sleeping and everything is a battle.  Getting into the car, getting out of the car, putting on shoes, changing his diaper. I want the real Charlie back, not this sad, pouty one.

Charlie is obsessed with the garage (when he says the word, it sound like sha-sh).  He would be happy if he could spend all day out there with access to everything.  His most used word is "hammer" and he carries his hammer with him everywhere.  Yesterday he insisted on napping with it.  "Hamm-moo, Hamm-moo!"

Every Tuesday and Thursday morning we have playgroup with Miss Shelley.  This is what I look forward to most during the week.  It's a chance for Charlie to play and do crafts and run around while I get to sit back and talk to other moms (and sometimes dads) in the group.  Miss Shelly is awesome and patient and laid back and Charlie loves her.  He always hugs her and seeks her attention.  This class has helped him learn about group participation and it's helped me see what type of kid he is around other kids.  He is social and bright and energetic and I am happy to see how much he enjoys it.

In February we flew to Oregon to visit with Melanie's family at her in-law's house in Sisters.

 

Scott and Matt skiied while we stayed home with the children (of course).  Lots of eating and drinking wine was had.  Some snow play and spa time happened as well.  Oh, and there was a bounce house in the garage!

Besides spending time with Melanie, I think my favorite part of the trip was visiting the fish hatchery. We bought fish food and fed the fish and they jumped to grab the food and it was so thrilling to Charlie.  I didn't take any photos because I was too busy making sure he didn't jump into the water due to extreme excitement.

There's too much to update in this one blog post and it's 8:40 which means it's nearing my bedtime.  

In closing, I wanted to show what a bad-ass Charlie is becoming at the playground!

Look out Hap Magee!

Look out Sycamore Valley!

Look out Diablo Vista!

Look out Osage!

We are OWNING it at the park!

16 Months Old

Charlie is nearly 16 months old!



At fifteen months, Charlie weighed 28 pounds and was 30" in height.  He's still in the 97th percentile for weight but in height he came out to be in the 75th percentile.  It seems to me like he's thinning out but those statistics prove me wrong.



As I write this I am sitting outside enjoying the warm fall day we are having and Charlie is riding his ATV around the backyard.  He has started mimicking sounds that certain things make.  He's making a revving sound on the ATV.  He has a fake vacuum that he's obsessed with and he also makes a vacuum sound when he's pushing it around.  The different noises all sound the same to me but I'm sure in Charlie's head they are a very specific tune.

He's just so active, as is every kid his age.  He has added to his moving talents running, spinning in a circle, and walking backwards.  He's working on climbing but he's still being very careful with that.  It's fun to watch him climb the steps at the playground and go down the slide all by himself.  Charlie seems to be fearless.  He loves everything we've let him try at the playground.

He got his first haircut!  His hair was about to get into his eyes and the duck fuzz in the back was getting so out of control that I knew it was time.

Before:







After:



A few days ago we were visiting Scott's cousin's family (the Wreden's) in Pleasanton and an airplane flew by really close en route to the Livermore airport.  It was very exciting for Charlie and now every time we go outside he points to the sky as if he's recounting what happened in Pleasanton.

It's nearly impossible to hang out at home right now.  Charlie wants to get into every cabinet that is locked and he wants to test out every faucet and toilet and door.  It's very frustrating to him how many constraints he has while inside and once he gets frustrated reasoning with him is like reasoning with a neanderthal.  I've gotten into the habit of packing everything we need in the car before he wakes up and getting out for the entire duration of his wake cycles.  It's going to prove to be more challenging once winter is here.  Maybe it's time for preschool.  I hear there are places that take 18 month olds!

Charlie has a new word each week.  Last week it was 'shoes' and this week it's 'waffle.'  His favorite things to do are go  feed the ducks with mom and go to swim class with dad on Saturday mornings.  Every time he sees a river or a bird or a picture of a duck he goes into a crazy duck quacking rant.  Every time he sees his swim trunks he pulls them out and hands them to me.  I know he's thinking, if i put these on then daddy and I will go to swim class!

We're still outside and Charlie has found his deflated kiddie pool and he's trying desperately to drag it to the grass and he can't because it's too heavy.  I wish he would just give it up and move onto something else.  He seems to be very headstrong.  This will prove to be valuable when he's older but right now it's a difficult part of his personality for me to deal with.

Charlie is still very fun and loud and social but he has recently become very attached to mom and dad and has a little separation anxiety.  The fun part is we get lots more hugs and kisses than we used to get.  I'll take it!

16 months is a fun age and I can't wait to see what else he'll discover this week!

Shiner!

Is this how it is going to go with a little boy?  Ever since Charlie's last fall, my heart skips a beat every time he topples forward or gets close to a trip hazard but I have slowly relaxed and gotten over the busted lip incident.  Today I was working out and Charlie was in the little daycare room right in the same studio and I heard him cry.  He never cries.  Low and behold, I get called out of class and I turn the corner to see my little cherub baby with an instant black eye.  He hit it on the corner of a low bookcase while he was playing.  He didn't cry too much and he was laughing within one minute of when I collected him from daycare.  My little baby is walking and he is starting to run and now he's trying to climb!  Here is a photo of us leaving the studio this afternoon.  My poor little baby!

First Busted Lip

Things were going so well today.  We had our first baby playgroup at the Danville Community Center and then we had lunch out on the lawn and then we went into the library and got a library card.  We were having so much fun until Charlie tripped over my foot and went face down onto a tile floor!

We went outside and I just held him and tried to examine his lip to see how bad it was.  He was bleeding like crazy!  I went into the Danville Community Center and asked for some help because the paper towel I managed to grab was starting to get a little soggy.  The bleeding stopped after probably 3 minutes so we got in the car to go home.  Fortunately I had a bottle on hand in case of emergency so he calmed down.

 When we got home I cleaned him up and gave him Advil and let him walk around and play for a few minutes into nap time to make sure the bleeding had stopped.  I thought it did until he woke up two hours later and looked like this:

I had to strip his bed of everything and throw it in the washer, bears and all.

Here we are getting cleaned up at the sink:

I took him to the neighbors house for a second opinion on how he was doing.  She is a pediatric nurse and she said it was a surface cut and nothing to worry about.  She gave him an otter pop for the swelling.  He loved it!

Charlie didn't cry much at all and he was happy through it all once he got over the initial shock of the fall.  He's so tough!  Now he's asleep for the night with new sheets, newly washed bears, and I'm off to bed too!

Ah, The Things I Thought at the Time of My Wedding

My wedding registry.  It was at a time in my life that seems so far from reality now. I thought it was VERY important.  I spent countless hours (at work) pouring over my options and asking (coworkers) what they thought of this brand vs. that brand.  Should I get black or white?  What will last me for the rest of my life?  I really should have been less obvious about how uninterested I was with my job.  I must have been so annoying.  On a side note, I found an old email that I sent to a friend who had a brand new baby and I was apologizing for not visiting yet because I was just SO busy and SO overwhelmed with my life (I have to work out and I have to manage my registry and I am so busy going out to eat!)!

Here are some things that I have done in the last year (post child) that the engaged me would scoff at:

1.  I put my All Clad in the dishwasher.
2.  I put my Wustof knives in the dishwasher.
3.  EVERYTHING goes in the dishwasher, including the olive wood cooking spatula (which I got at my bridal shower, thank you again, Mrs. Kirbyface).
4.  My LaCoste robe is NOT used for espresso on the patio with slippers on my feet.
5.  The crystal vases and matching votive candle holders are in boxes on the high shelf of the linen closet.
6.  The last of my wedding gift certificates were used to purchase baby bumpers and sheets at Pottery Barn Kids.
7.  Scott broke this bowl while doing dishes one night and I went to buy a new one and walked out dumbfounded at how much it cost.
8.  We don't use our serving platter.
9.  The new couch we got with our wedding money does not get vacuumed and I do not rotate the pillows.
10.  I do not hand wash, line dry, and iron (low heat) our cloth dinner napkins.  I have, however used them to wipe up baby puke, and dry my own tears, not in that order (or maybe in that order, who knows).
11.  I have used my white linen tablecloth only once.  I still think it's lovely but if it leaves the plastic encasing at any point in the next 20 years, it will get stained.

None of the above facts make me sad in any way.  I feel just fine with the way life is going right now.  I have been through a battle and I have come up happier and wiser.  I still have a lot of naiveté (as in things with the second baby will be easier) but for now I am just proud of myself for letting go of some of my unlivable rules and enjoying the way life is for me right now.  My floors are a little dirty, there are dishes in the sink, and my napkins are not ironed (tsk, tsk).  But look at how happy Charlie is these days!

Oh and he's 14 months old tomorrow!

Early morning bed head, ready for breakfast

Sweeping the side yard

Taking a rest in a seat that is just his size

Stealing a vacuum from a thrift store (we ended up buying this and he loves it)

Hanging out at grandma and grandpas house

Watching the ducks and cheers-ing daddy (with a full mouth).

Almost 13 Months!

Charlie turned one about 4 weeks ago!

Happy Birthday Charlie!

At his 12 month check up he weighed 26 pounds, 4 ounces and was 31.5 inches.  He is in the 96th percentile for height and 97th for weight.  His head is in the 98th.

For his first birthday, we celebrated alongside cousin Stella in Golden Gate Park on July 8th.  Aunt Kari and Uncle Paul got a jumpy house and we jumped and socialized and ate cake for a couple of hours and before I could blink it was all over!  Aunt Kari made the cakes from scratch (a dinosaur cake and a mermaid cake).  Anyone remember my baby shower cake?

On his actual birthday, Nana and Grandpa Kirby visited and brought him a cupcake.

A few days later he started walking and I think I can safely say that as of today, he is no longer crawling (it was about a 3 week transition).  It is true that he gets cuter and that we love him more each day.

To sum up the last year's experience is to say I am a lucky girl...

Happy almost 13 months Charlie!  Mommy and daddy love you very much!