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

Aunt Rachel Is Having a Baby!!!!

I have literally been about to burst at the seams for the last few weeks knowing that my best friend is going to be a Momma!  Rachel and Garner finally made the big announcement last night that Baby G is due March 12, 2012.  I have been beyond excited knowing that I am going to be an Aunt to that precious baby, and that Charley is going to have a new best friend.  AHHHH....the excitement gets me just thinking about it!!!

Charley and I went shopping for Baby G's first toy!!!  (It's as close to Charley's favorite toy as we could find...in gender neutral colors, of course!)

Rachel clearly has the touch...Charley obviously adores her!

I couldn't talk her into a "side-shot" or "belly-touch" picture...so I settled for the two of us with Baby G's new toy!

Dinner at Cheddars to tell Courtney the exciting news...I guess its safe to say, 2 down-1 to go???

My mind has been spinning since Rachel told me the news!!!  After all, I am the ultimate planner!  We have 29 more weeks to talk about all of the pregnancy symptoms, emotions and side effects, shop for the perfect nursery, plan the baby shower, and attempt to mentally prepare Rachel for how her world is about to completely change!  I have offered to her and Garner some hands-on, overnight practice with Charley...but Garner declined!  Can't say that I blame him, but he will have the real thing before no time!

5 Month Photo Session

Charley's favorite trick this month has been to roll over onto her belly!  She loves to play and sleep on her belly.  I was a little worried about her sleeping that way at first, but after a few nights of watching her on the monitor and running in her room a few times to check if she was breathing, I decided that she was fine....besides, she sleeps WAY better that way.  After her 4 month check-up, we started doing cereal and some baby food.  It has been so cute watching her learn to take a spoon and see how she liked the different foods that we gave her.  She's tried sweet peas, sweet potatoes, apples, green beans, carrots, and peaches.  The peaches were by far her least favorite, and the carrots are definitely her favorite! Since we didn't go to the doctor this month, I had to measure and weigh Charley myself.  I came up with 26 1/2 inches long and 16 pounds.  She was actually 15 1/2 pounds, because we sat her on the scale at Mailboxes Plus...a perfect little package, if I say so myself!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

We recently celebrated Craig's birthday in Kentucky at Texas Roadhouse, which is Craig's new favorite place to eat.  Charley was, of course, the center of attention!  Dad was up to his normal tricks, and he spent the entire lunch sneaking peanuts into Granny Martha's purse!  We all cracked up the whole time, because we knew what he was doing and she didn't.  She didn't figure it out until we got in the car...I won't repeat what she called him, but it was hilarious...blog inappropriate...but hilarious!  We came back home early to spend Craig's actual birthday, July 31, just the three of us.  We went to church and Cheddars and just laid around the house.  Craig said it was a perfect day with his favorite girls!

Its so funny how much things can change in a year.  It was last year on Craig's birthday that we made our big announcement that we were expecting!  I said, "Craig has another present that he is probably the most excited about, but it can't be delivered until the first of March!"  Such an exciting day for us!

(Thanks Court for capturing a picture of us that day!)