9 Month Photo Shoot

What a month of change!!!  After all of my efforts for Charley's first word to be "Momma," she did exactly the opposite and said, "Da-da!"  To top it off, she says it ALL the time, "Da-da, Da-di, Da-da!!!!!"  Don't get me wrong, it is SUPER cute, but I am so ready to hear her say "Momma!"  I guess my time will come soon enough!  She also starting pulling up this month, which means she is one milestone away from being unstoppable.  She is already in to everything...well, everything that she isn't supposed to be in!  Plug-ins, Christmas trees, the dishwasher, remotes, cell-phones...just about anything that is not baby-friendly, she wants it!  We took her to the 9 month check-up, and the doctor saw first hand her rotten-ness!  She was a mess...a cute mess...but a mess!  We were changing her diaper and she stood up on the table.  I guess it was such hard work that she needed to stop and take a drink of her sippy cup....while she was standing and drinking (showing the doctor how good she was with the cup) she starting peeing everywhere!!!  It was like a fountain...I know this would be typical if she were a boy, but not something you see everyday from little girls!  Another favorite this month was when she crawled over to a vase she has really been eyeing for a while.  When I wasn't looking, she finally did what she had been wanting to do for days...she pulled up to and and stood there so proud.  Mom and I were in the kitchen and we looked at her and firmly said, "Charley...that is a no-no!"  She looked right back at us, stuck out her tongue and spit!!!!  What do you do when you are in our shoes????  You turn around and laugh...what else could we do!

9 month stats: 19 pounds, 5 ounces and 26 1/4 inches long

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Thanksgiving was so much fun this year!!!!  Charley loved getting to eat some of the yummy home-cooked food!  She enjoyed Granny Martha's mashed potatoes and a bite or two of sweet potatoes.  Of course I had to make a last minute trip to Nordstrom's before we went to Kentucky, because Charley had to have her first pair of Ugg boots to wear on Thanksgiving Day!  I mean who doesn't LOVE a baby in Ugg boots??? :)

Granny Martha feeing Charley mashed potatoes

Yum Yum!

Kobey and Charley

Best Buddies :)

Charley NEVER falls asleep like this...too much fun, I guess!

8 Month Photo Shoot

I guess a month late is better than never!  Between month seven and eight, Charley really turned on!  She finally started sleeping through the night, which is a milestone that makes Momma and Daddy really happy!  Hallelujah!!!!  Whoever said"all babies sleep through the night by four months" is crazy...and cruel, because I really got my hopes up way too early!  If only she could start her day around 7:00 instead of 5:30, but I guess that is something we can work towards :)  In the middle of the month, she started doing two things that we had been trying to get her to do for a while: clapping and crawling!  I'm pretty sure I have never seen such cuteness crawling around a room and stopping to sit up and clap her hands!  I'm not sure what her height and weight is since we didn't go to the doctor this month, but she is growing like a little weed.  We finally broke down and got a portable DVD player for the car, which has helped some...but I don't know which is worse, a crying baby in the back seat or Mickey Mouse reruns mixed with Nashville traffic!  Charley is definitely rotten...but I'm pretty sure we made her that way!  Its a good thing she is so darn cute!

Pumpkin Patch

We went to Gentry's Farm with Garner and Rachel this weekend, because we decided to start a new tradition of taking our girls every year...AHHHH!!!  Our girls!!!!  Rachel just called a little bit ago to tell me she is having a girl, and I am so excited!!!!!!  A trip to the Pumpkin Patch is only one of the many fun things we plan to do together.  It was such a fun afternoon...quick, but fun!  We picked out pumpkins, cleaned them off with baby wipes, because I knew Charley was going to try to eat them, took pictures, and went for a quick walk around for Charley to see the animals. 

Momma's always know...it was only a matter of time before that pumpkin went into her mouth!

Family picture...Miss Priss was not cooperating!

Charley was loving on Aunt Rachel!

Daddy and Charley looking at the animals!

I caught her in action!  She ALWAYS pulls her socks off!

Such a fun day with great friends!

Weekend with Daddy and Granddaddy

Well, for the first time since Charley was born, Mom and I went to market in Atlanta without her.  Charley went to Kentucky with her Daddy and Granddaddy!  4 days and 3 nights required some preparation on my part.  Everything was labeled from each container of baby food to every outfit and what shoes or socks and bow went with it!  They did a great job with her.  Craig even mastered the pony tail for church...which really surprised me when he quit after one try during our practice session!!!  Apparently, they didn't feel like I left her the appropriate clothes, so they decided to go on a little shopping trip to Benton's finest....Shop-O-Rama...for a new pair of overalls!  From the pictures they sent us, she looked adorable and thrilled to be with her Daddy and Granddaddy!

I have no words for this!  

Aunt Marsha came to play with Charley...and got her ready!

Playing at Granny Katherine and Papa's house!

Where's my hair bow????

She is super cute in anything! 

Playing at Granny Martha and Granddaddy Charlie's house after church!

7 Month Photo Shoot

This is definitely the last photo shoot that I will attempt without an assistant!  I sat Charley in the chair like always, and she dove off the front giving me just enough time to catch her by the foot!  Its official...she is mobile!!!  She hasn't mastered crawling yet, but she has starting scooting around.  While I was sick, Gramma taught her how to push herself back up after she falls over.  Now she thinks she is a big girl and can do everything....until she falls backwards or bumps her little head, then she wants Momma or Daddy to pick her up...which of course we don't mind, because we love the chance to steal some kisses!  We started giving her yogurt this month, which she loves!  Mickey Mouse is still her favorite TV show.  As far as toys go, lets just say we can save our money!  She loves spoons (baby, plastic or wooden), hangers (our least favorite), straws...basically anything that's not hers!  (Hope that isn't a sign for our future!!!)  She would LOVE to get her hands and mouth on an iPhone or TV remote, but we don't give in to that...which is the only thing we don't give in to...which is probably why the doctor said that she might be a teeny, tiny, tad bit spoiled. (We can blame that on her Granddaddy!)

First Ear Infection :(

Miss Priss made it to almost 7 months before she had her first ear infection.  Even though her nights were pretty rough and she was fussy during the day, she was extra happy and super cute at the doctor's office!

Happy Birthday Momma!

Turning 27 isn't much of a milestone to celebrate, but spending time with my family made it extra special!  We had dinner at Patti's and a birthday lunch at Granny Martha's to celebrate mine and Mom's birthdays.  Craig and I even managed to squeeze in a movie date before Charley and I got sick :(

Kobey got us a gift card to our favorite place, Sweet CeCe's!!!  He is pretty sweet himself!

Best Buddies

My Sweet Family of 3

Happy Birthday Gramma!!!

6 Month Photo Shoot

6 Months...oh me, that is half a year!  Everyone told me to cherish everyone moment, because it goes by so fast, but I never imagined this fast.  I can't get over how much Charley has changed over the last month!  She sits up so well, rolls all over the place, squeals, laughs, and has the sweetest smile!  She seems to have gotten her Momma's sense of hearing, too.  She can hear a pin drop!  (Not so good when she needs to be going to sleep!)  At her 6 Month check up, the doctor said she was doing great!  She weighed 16 pounds, 8 ounces and was 26.25 inches long...which is around the 70th percentile for her age!  I jokingly told the doctor that I had said she was advanced for her age...he agreed and said I could say her doctor said her motor skills were advanced!  Guess that is my bragging point for now!  We are now eating 3 meals a day and bottles when needed.  She doesn't really care for cereal now that she gets to eat all types of baby food, so I had to get creative during breakfast time...for now, hiding the cereal behind the fruit is working, but she is pretty smart, so I doubt that will last long!

Careful What You Wish For...

Well, I am pretty sure this picture says it all!  Charley spent the week in KY while I had to go out of town for work, so I asked Gramma and Granddad to send me a daily picture!  This is the first picture that I got...my precious, hair-bow wearing, curly haired, blue eyed, baby girl whose signature color is pink....is holding a squirrel with a death grip by the tail!  Her granddad looks so proud!

All I have heard since Charley was a tiny baby, was that she wanted whatever we were eating and that I needed to give her a little taste.  (Of course she acted like she wanted our food...she's a baby, and that is a natural instinct!)  However, to satisfy everyone, I finally said she could have Belew's ice cream the last weekend of the summer...she would be close to 6 months at that point, so I figured it couldn't hurt her.  Despite the occasional, sneaky sips of Coke and Mello Yellow from her Granddad, Uncle Justin and Uncle Mike, everyone pretty much followed the rules!  Charley's first ice cream experience had to be pushed up a week, because I had to work out of town, so Craig and I took her up for the weekend to spend the week with her Gramma and Granddad...the whole family was more than thrilled!  After church on Sunday, we all went to Belew's...it turned out to be quite a big deal...even the waitresses and Diana were waiting on her to have her first, Belew's ice cream experience! 

First taste of vanilla ice cream

Dressed appropriately in her "I Love Belew's" bib from Ron and Diana Underhill (the owners)

Looks like Granddad was just as excited as Charley :)

Precious, messy face!

Granddad wanted to share his chocolate cone

Seriously???  Ice cream never looked so sweet!!!

Needless to say, Charley LOVED ice cream!  Getting Belew's before the age of one is tradition in my family....Dad fed me a bite of his cheeseburger when I was ten months...I choked...which is why Charley started with something a little more age appropriate!!!

Pool Days

All summer Craig has heard about how much Charley likes the pool, so he decided to take the day off to see for himself.  He got to see her play in her baby float that Gramma got her earlier in the summer, kick, splash, blow bubbles and put her face in the water.  Its hard to believe that our pool days are just about over until next year.  It has been so fun spending a few hours one day a week at the pool with Charley and Gramma.  Here are some of the Pool Highlights....

First trip to the pool

Blowing bubbles/Drinking the water :)

Happy Baby after a swim, a bottle and a cat nap!

Swimming with Daddy