Such A Big Girl

Yesterday evening Jared was helping Charlotte "practice" her walking (i.e. standing her up and holding an enticing object, usually the remote control or the phone, in front of her). She was standing up by herself quite often yesterday and was getting more sure of herself and her balance. Then she crawled into the kitchen, stood up and took three very sure steps before plopping herself down back on the floor! She's taken more steps than that before, but only when we've been "practicing" with her. This time she did it all on her own! And she tried her newfound trick several more times today. She hasn't gotten any more than three steps at a time that I've noticed, but she's much more sure of herself and getting quite sturdy on her little legs! It won't be too long before I really have my hands full!

Here they are a few nights ago working on some other tricks of hers (Jared was doing double duty: playing with Charlotte and catching up with the family) :)

Of course with the thumb going to the mouth...

How Does She Figure This Stuff Out?

Yesterday morning while Jared and I were getting ready for church, Charlotte was doing her best to try to get into the cabinets underneath the bathroom sinks. The doors have the plastic locks on them that catch when opened a couple inches so that little hands can't get them open all the way. But the little hands of Charlotte Michelle figured out they're small enough to reach into the cabinet without it being opened all the way. So after turning my back for just a minute, I came back to find four or five hair product bottles spread out across the floor.

So Far, So Good!

"The most sophisticated piece of equipment you will ever pee on!"

By this point of my pregnancy with Charlotte I was feeling really crummy, but so far I've been feeling great. I'm more tired than usual but I'll take that over the "morning" sickness any day. We're already planning the nursery, which will be themed "Fruits of the Spirit" if it's a girl or "Armor of God" if it's a boy. We're so excited, but this early in the pregnancy it almost doesn't seem real. Once I start showing (which I hear is much earlier with the second), I'm sure it'll sink in. I'm determined to not gain as much weight this time so I don't have people asking me, "Are you sure you're not having twins?" Oh, the rants and raves that Jared heard me go on regarding some peoples' lack of manners!

Big Sister

Our Little Houdini

Charlotte woke up crying at 5:15 this morning, which is early even by her standards (she usually wakes around 6:30). I didn't get out of bed right away, thinking that she might fall back asleep. Unfortunately she didn't so I dragged myself out of bed to try to rock her back to sleep. Right before I turned the baby monitor off so she wouldn't wake up Jared, I heard a "thud!" I assumed it was probably her throwing one of her few stuffed toys we keep in her crib and that it landed on the mic end of the baby monitor. But when I got to her door, I heard crying coming from the other end of the room that I should have... The little Houdini had climbed out of her crib and was by the door just screaming! I swooped her up into my arms and began touching and poking her all over to see if she had a broken bone and I checked the dilation of her eyes throughout the morning. I'm sure she's quite annoyed with me and that little flashlight blinding her. She had a tiny red spot on her forehead that disappeared within five minutes, but other than that, I think it hurt her feelings more than anything else. How dare that floor come at her so quickly!

I lowered the mattress to the lowest level and now the upper rail is above her head so I don't think she can pull any more stunts like that any time soon. But seriously, ten years of my life were taken off right there.

Playtime With Daddy

Charlotte's walking skills get better and better every day! She still prefers to crawl to her destination, but at the encouragement of her Daddy she practices walking every evening. Tonight the objects that she wanted were a pair of spoons! Our little girl is getting so big!


I love watching them play together! She loves her Daddy so much!

Our First Beach Trip

We live about 25 minutes from the beach, yet went only for the first time this summer on Sunday afternoon. Charlotte enjoyed having so much new stuff to look at and seemd to like having her feet in the wet sand and water.





"What is this stuff, Daddy?"


Her face in this picture reminds me of a trip to the beach when I was really young. A wave knocked me over and I came up spitting out the half of the ocean that I drank, to which I declared, "Somebody put something in this water!"

Her First Steps!

Today when her Daddy arrived home from work, Charlotte practiced her standing and walking! She's getting quite sure on her feet now. She hasn't intentionally stood on her own since yesterday, but she's had lots and lots of practice with her Daddy helping her (a.k.a. standing her up in the middle of the floor and coaxing her to come to hime by letting her play with the remote control). :) She's taken several steps before falling towards him or squatting down and crawling the rest of the way. Such progress in just one day!

Oh, and we received Ella's invitation for her first birthday, but I've decided that I'm boycotting her birthday, along with Benji & Micah's, and Charlotte's. Ella turns one in one week, the boys next month, and Charlotte in November. But this year has gone by entirely too quickly so I'm just not going to acknowledge them being one year old in my attempts to keep them as little babies. That'll work, right?

Standing By Herself

Yesterday Charlotte started letting go of the furniture while standing up! And in just these two days, she's gotten quite sure of herself and has stood up for about 5 seconds at a time before getting a little weary and knealing or falling to the floor. She's even taken a step forward, but I think it's more of her falling in the direction of where she wants to go rather than walking. But I don't think it'll be long at all before we really start chasing her around the house!

"Rawwwrrrr! I'm a bear!"