Gift Giving-what is enough?

This is totally random, but it just came to me. I am not a huge gift giver. It's bad, but I feel that the people around me typically buy what they want and there is so much excess in the world. Just because. I'm all about giving people things they need. But, that isn't even what this is about and I am rambling. This is about celebrating Christmas with Charlie. Ok so technically this is his 2nd Christmas, but he will be understanding things more now as a 15 month old. (Not really, but you know what I mean.) Going back to the bad thing or I guess it would be called guilt. The joys of being a Mom and being a Catholic. :) Anyway, I am afraid that my gift giving tendencies won't be enough for my kids. I see peoples pictures of Christmas morning on facebook and I literally have to pick my jaw up off the floor. It is overkill. So I guess I want to strive to be somewhere in the middle and be balanced. I am afraid I will lean to far to the side of not enough. Last year we gave Charlie a book and a play mat. He loved them and still reads the book all of the time. He was also 3 months old. Anyway, I am trying to figure it out. I love the idea below, but I am wondering if it is enough. If you have any advice I would love to hear it. Thanks in advance. Love, Santa ;)

10 ways to make August Amazing!

I read many blogs and one that I love does a list of 10 things (goals) every month to make the month special! Here is a link to her blog if interested: http://fitnessista.com/2012/08/10-ways-to-make-august-amazing-calendar-info/

I decided to make a list of my own this month since I know August will be over in a blink of an eye and then it is my baby's 1st birthday!! So here goes:

1. Take a group gym class. One thing that I really miss in my office is being around people. Sure I see people every once in a while, but a lot of my time is spent on my own. I think it will be fun to do and plus I could use a little movement in my life.

2. Plan a date night. Last month Mike and I had a few date nights. We went to two Dave Matthews concerts and even went out to dinner at Nico. Maybe this month we will see a movie. Wow, how my life has changed.

3. Make room for stuff. With Charlie's upcoming birthday I know that he will get lots of toys, books etc. In preparation for this I need to make room for it. Maybe if our house wasn't on the market I would care less, but because it is I have to do all that I can to make our house look bigger than it is. So on the list clean/organize Charlie's closet and the office/play room closet.

4. Get rid of stuff. Sounds silly since #3 is to make room for stuff, but I know that there is stuff in our house that we don't use.

5. Research/plan how to wean Charlie off of breast milk. It seems like every month I have something new I have to figure out with him. Dropping feedings at this point has been pretty natural. The kid likes to eat solids, but now I have to figure out how to gradually reduce feedings and add in cows milk or whatever I find is the best fit for him. If you have any advice please let me know.

6. Get into the habit of walking at least 3-4x/week. Pretty self explanatory. I need more movement. Grace is driving me nuts and needs more movement too. It will be a win-win for all!

7. Eat at least 3 veggies a day. I could eat fruit all day, but veggies aren't my thing.

8. Make Mike's birthday special. Birthdays in my family were never a big thing, but in my husbands family they are. Ever since giving birth to Charlie I've come to realize how exciting of a day it is! I'd like to make the hubby feel special especially since Charlie's birthday is a week after his and we all know when children come along the adults tend to take the back seat.

9. Swim 1x/week. I love swimming. I don't like chlorine, but I do love swimming!

10. Go water skiing. With my parents new lake house being right on the big lake now and having a ski boat its hi time I get up on ski's. I honestly don't remember the last time I skied.  

So that's it! Fun times ahead!

Daily ramblings

This post is partially to bitch and then also just to remind myself down the road what life was like. Right now I feel like a bad Mom. Charlie has been upstairs in his crib for the last hour talking and playing in his crib. he isn't crying he never really does anymore when we put him down for a nap, but today I'm worried he won't nap. See today we are off schedule. Why you may ask? Well, I got a call at 8:50 saying that we were to have a showing between 10-11 so I kicked it into high gear. But for now lets just start at the beginning.

6:20 wake up/shower/feed Grace/let her out/open computer/start doing some work
7 feed Charlie/change diaper
8:15 make eggs for both Charlie and myself, we both eat breakfast. He isn't very interested in it. Change his diap again poppy/come back downstairs to play. I attempt to take a picture for his birthday invitation-failure as he doesn't like to keep hats on.
8:50 the call
8:51 AM start cleaning kitchen
9 AM C usually goes down for a nap so I decided in order to get everything done/get out of the house I would just lay him down/change another poopy diaper (oh joy)
9-9:50 clean the bathroom, bedroom, kitchen, playroom, office. get Charlie dressed (FYI he never fell asleep. He just talked in his crib), load Grace/Charlie in the car/head to my sisters/call real estate agent to discuss price change etc.
10:15 arrive/feed Charlie/hang with my niece and help her clean the kitchen while Charlie plays
10:45 drive to Kindermusick
11:15-12 Kindermusick class-super fun, my sis in law came and brought my new nephew Frankie :)
12-12:15 work emails in the car
12:15-1 Charlie falls asleep within 5 minutes of driving and I realize I now need to make the car trip longer since I won't be able to get him back down for a nap till later. Pick up Chik Fil A and drop off lunch for Abby to thank her for dealing with Grace, load up Grace and head home, attempt to eat lunch while driving, toss fries into the back of the car to keep Grace from barking and waking up Charlie
-talk to Mike who came home for lunch, word on the street no realtor signed in/all the lights are still on-SERIOUSLY!!-contact real estate agents office and find out what the word is. no clue-still haven't heard back from them yet, while waiting went to get gas, bought a car wash, then realized car wash temporarily closed. Bummer

I won't bore you with the rest. If you've read above it basically has been work, feed Charlie, deal with house stuff etc. This has been my life for the past two months.

Here is what makes me mad: Charlie missed his morning nap and is now off schedule, I missed my morning hour of time to work because I had to clean and for what NOTHING. The agent didn't even show up or call and my house is still for sale. On the bright side my house is now clean and I'm lucky to have family who will let me crash at their house. I'm also lucky to have a flexible job, but most of all I'm lucky to have a happy and healthy family! All in all its a bummer and a pain in my butt, but life goes on.

Nine Month Review

Dear Charlie,

Here we are, another month has passed. I'm in awe of how quickly time is passing with you. This month was another busy one. At the beginning of the month we had your 9 month well baby check up. You were 21.5 lbs and 29". Staying steady in the 75% range. No shots this month. Just had to have some blood drawn, which you took like a champ.

Father's Day breakfast

All around June was a very busy month for you. We started swim class as well as Kindermusick. In swim class you learned how to go under water and "swim" from one person to another. Kindermusick is a fun class especially because we get to spend time with your cousin Joseph and Nonni. You boys aren't much for sitting on our laps. You both walk and crawl all over the room, checking everyone and everything out. You love to shake the egg rattles and are even starting to bounce to music at home. Along with these classes you've also been able to spend lots of time with your cousins. That is one of the many benefits of Aunt Beth babysitting you on Thursdays.

Kindermusik

This month we also took a trip to see Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Rach in Indianapolis. While there we did lots of swimming and squeezed in a few play dates as well. Norah & Molly came over and you all loved the pool. We also had a breakfast date with Reagan. She was nice enough to share her waffle with you even though you kept trying to pull her hair. You also enjoyed swinging in your swing from Great Gma & Gpa.

Norah, Charlie & Molly

Love playing with Aunt Rach!

Giving Reagan trouble

Hanging with Gpa

Swing time with Gma

Drying off with Dad

All in all this month was all about movement and activity. It didn't take you long to master crawling. You then started pulling yourself to stand at every opportunity. With all this movement comes a hungry boy. You are enjoying 3 meals a day (4 oz jars) as well as nursing or taking a bottle 4x/day. Along with movement and eating you have been waving and also saying maa maa and baa. We can't wait to hear you say and do so much more! But it's a bittersweet time as well. The other night I snuck into your room to check on you sleeping. What I saw brought tears to my eyes. I am in awe of how big you are and how much time flies by. I can't believe this big boy was once my tiny little baby. Now you are a wiggly worm who cannot wait to explore everything around you! 

Eighth Month review

This is super duper late, but I figured I needed to get this up before he turns 10 months old tomorrow! Sorry about the photo explosion.

Dear Charlie,

Your eighth month was another big one for you. This month you learned to move! You started off the month on your knees and then proceeded to scooth on your belly. Then you moved onto rolling across the room. Aunt Beth named you "Char-nado" the day you rolled though the town your cousins built. Finally after all of that you crawled! It was just a little bit at first. Two "crawls" and then a drag on your belly to get my iPhone, but now it's all fours from one room to another. That progression happened in about five days.

In other news your teeth finally arrived! After months of questioning when they would arrive, your first bottom tooth popped through around May 16th and the second bottom tooth came about a week later. No pictures yet as you still like to cover them with your tongue.

Your talking has died down a bit this month. I think you were busy moving. there has been more happy yelling and schreeching. You've also been learning to wave.

On the food front you nurse 5-6 times a day. When I'm at work you take 3 4 oz bottles. You are still loving solids. You eat a 4 oz jar of fruit in the AM and then in the evening a 4 oz jar of veggies/ sometimes meat. You love your puffs, but I need to find an alternative since they are really just a sugary cereal. You aren't to sure about picking up other foods to eat, but if I feed it to you, you will eat. My little bird (not in an Alicia Silverstone way)

1st trip to the zoo

Then there is sleep. How could I forget this gem. You my dear started sleeping all night ~11-12 hours at the beginning of May. Sometimes you wake up once or twice. If it's early Daddy will come in, change you and rock you for a few minutes. If it's 3 AM I'll come in to feed you and then put you back in your crib. On special days, usually the weekend I'll feed you in our bed and sometimes we all fall back asleep. This is one of my favorite moments.

We love watching you grow. Keep up the great work little man. We are so proud of you!

2nd trip to the zoo with Val & Wyatt

Swinging

Out to breakfast in Clayton

Adjustment at Uncle Mike's

Gummy smile

Mother's Day the lake

Playing in the backyard

Playing at dinner

Naptime

Swimming at Aunt Beth's

Random nap positions

Water play with Grace

Playing with my giraffe from Great Gma & Gpa

Zoo trip

Playing with Joseph & Finn

Playing with my cousins

Looking at the fish

Charlie's Seventh month!

Dear Charlie,

Your 7th month flew by. At the beginning of the month you met two very special people, your Great Grandma and Grandpa.

They traveled all the way from Maryland to meet you and to celebrate Easter. We went to St. Mark's for the early morning service and when we returned the Easter bunny had made a special visit. You enjoyed taking everything out of your basket and inspecting every little item.

That weekend we also met baby Norah. Norah's Mom is a good friend of mine from college. It was so great to meet her and celebrate her arrival.

This month you really explored your voice and food. You say baa, ba, da and momma when you are upset. You enjoyed apples, corn on the cob (which I later learned was a no, no), squash, pears and more. You love to eat and I am already starting to see how big of an eater you will be as you continue to grow big and strong.

 

At the end of the month we had fun celebrating your cousin Sophia's 1st Communion. You had a blast going down the slide with your cousin Joseph. You also surprised us by trying to crawl out of your tub.

This month was a busy one, which I think will be the case for a long time to come. You were a big help as we got the house ready to put on the market. You also are started to rock on your knees and soon you will take off. Next step baby proofing...

Sixth Month Review

I've decided to write these posts as letters to Charlie instead of my typical bullet points. There is too much love to express about Charlie's 1st year and I feel my bullet points are too black and white. So here goes:

Dear Charlie,

     Your six month has been the quickest of them all. It could be because we were super busy or it could be that the changes in you are happening at a much faster pace than before. We started out the month celebrating your half birthday in Navarre, FL with your Non and Pop. We had a great time hanging in the condo, walking the beach and going out to eat. The weather was a bit windy so we didn't get to enjoy the beach that much, but we enjoyed the time with our family. You, Mr. Serious were just that when we buried your toes in the sand. You weren't to thrilled about it. You just squinted and looked like a little old man. Thanks to your cuz, Joseph, for letting you borrow his sunglasses. Joseph also taught you a few tricks. After observing him for a few days you decided it was time to get into the action and started to try to move towards things by shifting from side to side with your arms. Still no crawling, but at this point you are moving in different directions. 

     From Navarre we packed back up and drove 13 hours to Indy to pick up Gracie. We spent the rest of the weekend there. Visited with some friends and family. The following weekend we celebrated St. Patrick's Day. Your Aunt, Uncle and cousins throw a huge party every year and we happily joined them. You, Mr. Observer stayed awake for 6 hours straight! There was just too much to take in. You aren't much for napping unless it's in your crib or in your car seat with almost all distractions out of sight. We did have a little stint for about a week where you nussled up to my neck and would fall asleep.Your sleep continues to get longer with some random (teething?) nights. You tend to wake up once to eat and then go back to bed.

     As repetitive as it is, time is flying by. I decided to look back at my blog to see what was happening last year around this time. One of the major events was the birth of our your cousin Joseph. Amazing to be celebrating his 1st birthday already. Also, this time last year I was 15 weeks pregnant. You, my Charlie-bean, were the size of an orange. Today you are one big boy! At your 6 month check up on March 13th you were 18 lbs 13 oz and 27" long. 75% in both height and weight!  I've had many people comment on how you will be a football. If I have anything to say about it, you won't be playing football. It's a little too much contact for me, but I'm all for you being a basketball star like your Dad. 

     In other exciting news you tried more solid food this month and love it!! You've tried sweet potatoes, carrots, bananas, peas and a little piece of pita bread. You liked everything, but the carrots and peas. We've had such a fun month and can't wait to see how much you grow and develop over the next few months!! Here are a bunch of photos from your 6 month!

St. Patrick's Day

Playing

6 month photo shoot

Family picture

Babbling boy

Happy Baby

Play time with Dad

Sweet potatoes-keep 'em coming!

Yum!

Peas-not too sure

The boys!

Checking out Grace

Going to hang with my cousins

Looking out the window

Helping Mom at work

Go Cards!