Charlotte Lorraine - Month 11 (August 6 - September 5)

Wow! This was a big month. When I went in for my 9-month doctor's appointment, they were a little bit worried that I wasn't moving around. If they could just see me now! I can't balance myself yet, but I LOVE to walk and even run if someone will just hold my hands or torso. In fact, unless we're out of the house somewhere, you can bet you'll find me walking around the house or yard. If I'm sitting, I can scoot around on my butt really good to turn in a circle and move toward things, and I pull up to standing if someone gives me a hand to grab onto. I can also sit straight up from laying down. Other firsts this month: first trip to the MN Zoo, Mommy's first birthday as my Mommy at Como Zoo, first time at the playground with Grandma Jan (I loved playing in the sand and the swings, but NOT the slide), first time swimming in a lake (Lake Harriet) and first trip to the Minnesota State Fair (I had a cheese stick from the Dairy Building, an apple cider freeze pop and some little bits of Mommy and Daddy's treats). I also went to my 2nd Twins game and lasted a whole six innings this time! Mommy says I'm a very tactile baby - I love playing with different textures and feeling things with my hands.  I loved the sand at the playground and the lake, love picking up my own food and playing with that, and have figured out how all the buttons work on my toys to turn them on and off and make them do different things. My favorite toy is Daddy's laptop - I can make it do all kinds of interesting things that Daddy sometimes has a hard time fixing. Whoops. I'm also very vocal, babbling and singing all the time. Right now I'm saying things that sound a lot like Daddy (and Dada), woof (what a dog says), moo (what a cow says), who's that? and what's that?  I point at lots of stuff all the time, including airplanes when they fly overhead - whether I'm outside and can see them or inside and just hear them! I also LOVE books. I like when Mommy and Daddy read to me but if they are busy I just pick up my books and read to myself.

9 Month Photos

Check out new adorable photos of Charlotte taken by the talented Shari Villagante!  Charlotte was a champ on an extremely hot and humid day.

Charlotte Lorraine - Month 10 (July 6 - August 5)

I started month 10 still on vacation in Grand Marais with Mommy, Daddy, Aunt Joanna and Uncle Adam.  Mommy and Aunt Joanna took me all the way up to the Canadian border where we looked at the High Falls and saw Canada across the Pigeon River! When we got back I had my nine month check-up at the doctor and weighed 18 lbs 11 oz and was 28 inches tall. A few days later I was very sick with my first high fever, so I had to miss my best friend Hazel's first birthday pool party. I got better after a few days (Mommy is convinced I caught the virus at the doctor's office).  Other firsts this month: first sleepover at Grandma Z's and first visit to the Anoka County Fair where I saw all kinds of farm animals up close. My favorites were the ponies and the cows. I got a seventh tooth, too.

Charlotte Lorraine - Month 9 (June 6 - July 5)

Greetings from beautiful Grand Marais, Minnesota!  Mommy and Daddy and I are on our first trip together to the North Shore!  It was an exciting trip in our new minivan and my new big girl carseat. So far we've been out to visit the Grand Marais lighthouse and went to the Lake Superior Trading Post where I got my very first stuffed moose as a souvenir! Tomorrow Mommy and Aunt Joanny and I are going to see the biggest waterfall in Minnesota and look at Canada from across the Pidgeon River. I slept through the 4th of July fireworks last night, but I guess the mosquitos were just terrible.

This month I've started to wave bye-bye, although I really do not like it when Mommy or Daddy leave the room. I have not two, not three but SIX teeth - they just kept coming after that first one broke through! I've been eating tons of new foods, but I still like milk the best. I love musical instrument toys - bells, drums, tambourines, xylophones, the works!  I also like to sing. Still no crawling yet, but Mommy and Daddy aren't too sad about that. I can roll from back to front and like to sleep on my side. I rode in the front of a shopping cart for the first time this month - it was so much better than having to lay down in my carseat the whole time. I also went to my very first Twins game! We saw the Twins play the Texas Rangers on Saturday, June 11 in the afternoon.  I lasted for about half the game before getting super tired and hungry, but I really loved watching all the people and clapping for the Twins.

Charlotte Lorraine - Month 8 (May 6 - June 5)

I've got a front tooth!  It's on the left side...but more are coming soon, I can just feel it.  I'm doing lots of going from sitting to tummy and kicking my legs around and twisting from side to side to pick things up - lots of my baby friends can crawl, so I'm watching them when we play to try to figure it out.  I can shake my head and clap my hands, which is apparently hilarious, and I still love music and dancing (see video evidence). I can use both hands to pick things up. I went on my first fundraising walk for Cystic Fybrosis where I finally got to play in the grass now that it's getting warm outside. Daddy and I took Mommy out for a delicious brunch at Pizza Luce downtown, and I got her a very nice spa gift certificate (Daddy says she needs it, but I don't know why). I met my Great Uncle Bob and Great Aunt Carol for the first time this month, and Grandpa Jim and Grandma Jan and Aunt Christine came to visit too!  Aunt Christine stayed overnight with me while Mommy and Daddy stayed away for the first night since I was born!  I've been to a couple of different farmer's markets and to the Como Park Conservatory and to the dog park and on lots of walks with Sophie. I'm trying lots of new foods all the time, and mixing foods together (like pears/blueberries/oats, apples/sweet potatoes, spinach/carrots/peas) - but I still like vegetables the best.  I'm doing some finger foods now too - my first one was avocado, which is delicious! I like chasing my food down with a drink from my sippy cup, which I figured out how to use this month, or through the straw on Mommy's water bottle.  Oh!  And I almost forgot!  The PRESIDENT of the UNITED STATES sent me a welcome to the world letter!  (I don't know where HE'S been - I got here eight months ago!)

1st Mother's Day: Mommy's Favorite Moments So Far...

-When Charlotte first started nursing, her eyebrows used to raise up and down (pretty fast) as she swallowed.
-Pretty often, she just watches her hands. When she was born, they were closed tight into fists. Over time she's figuring them out, and is maybe as amazed by them as I am.
-When she gets really tired, she sucks on the thumb of one hand, then the forefinger of the other hand, back and forth for several minutes before she picks one and falls asleep.
-When she gets really tired, she nuzzles into my cheek or neck and rubs her eyes.
-She laughs when you change her clothes or her diaper.  She laughs at pat-a-cake and peekaboo. She laughs and laughs sometimes for no discernable reason.  Her laugh is the best sound in the world.
-She makes faces that are just like faces Dan makes. She makes faces that are just like faces I make. She makes faces that are all her own.
-Her skin is so soft. So new.
-I love her smell.  I can conjur it even when she's not with me, and it makes me ache for her.
-Sometimes she talks herself to sleep...sometimes she talks herself awake...and it's fantastic.
-She smiles when I start to sing her to sleep.
-The faces she makes when she tries a new food are absolutely hilarious.
-Sometimes when she nurses she just stops and smiles at me for a few seconds, or giggles, or grabs my hand or my finger, and I love her so much it brings tears to my eyes.  Daily, I love her so much it brings tears to my eyes.
-I love, love, love listening to Dan read to her.
-I love, love, love watching her learn.

Motherhood is the hardest, most amazing, most rewarding thing I've ever done. This amazing little person is nothing short of a miracle, transforming me and my life in all sorts of ways. I can't wait to see what's next, and at the same time in some of these moments I just want to freeze time and live in them forever.

Charlotte Lorraine - Month 7 (April 6 - May 5)

I had my six month pediatric appointment on my half birthday (thanks a lot, Mommy), and weighed 18 pounds - almost exactly twice my birth weight, and 50th percentile, which is the lowest since I was born.  I am 75th percentile for height according to the doctor - almost 27 inches long. Lots of exciting firsts this month: I can definitely sit up all by myself and like to reach for toys and play sitting up. I haven't rolled from back to front yet but I do go from sitting to tummy, working on those crawling muscles. I also got my first two teeth this month (bottom front) - yowch! In addition to rice cereal, I've tried banana, peas, prunes, applesauce, sweet potato and peaches - so far peas and sweet potato are my favorite. I like it when Mommy and Daddy give me the spoon so I can feed myself - I'm pretty good at it!  I can also pass things from one hand to another. I had fun on my first Easter and at my first birthday party for my friend Rainer!

Patty Cake! Patty Cake!

You saw it here first!  Charlotte laughing caught on video for the first time!

Happy half birthday to our beautiful baby girl!

Charlotte Lorraine - Month 6 (March 6 - April 5)

Mommy and Daddy have suspected it all along, but I LOVE the camera. This month, pretty much every time they pointed one at me, I cracked a BIG smile. (Results above and below.) I also *finally* understand what that peek-a-boo business is all about - HILARIOUS! Also hilarious: petting Sophie, playing Patty Cake, being zipped up in jammies, having my clothes changed and more! In general, smiles and laughs are much easier to come by these days. I got to go to Iowa again to visit Grandpa Jim and Grandma Jan. Other firsts this month: first trip to the zoo, found my feet, ate some rice cereal (don't see what all the fuss about solid food is about), and can move my fingers independently and pick stuff up with my thumb and forefinger.  Sometimes I can sit up all by myself! With some more practice, I bet I'll be a pro by next month.

 

In Non-Baby News...

Treehouse Records is celebrating its 10 year anniversary in April - an important milestone for the store and a testament to Dan's hard work and dedication!  Treehouse's owner, Mark, did an interview with the City Pages that was published today.

Baby's First Modeling Job

Check it out!  Charlotte and I (and 9 of our family friends!) are the new faces of Park Nicollet's Centering Pregnancy program.  This is a poster that will be hanging at the OB/GYN clinics.  We're happy to help advertise such a great resource to families expecting babies!  We learned so much in our Centering Group and are so grateful for the lifetime friendships we made there.

Charlotte's First Autograph

Check out this beautiful post about Charlotte's first autograph on Dan's through-the-mail autograph blog, Signed DC.

Charlotte Lorraine - Month 5 (February 6 - March 5)

I had my 4-month well-child appointment on February 7. I got more shots (boo) and weighed in at 15 lbs. 10 oz. and 25" tall! No teeth yet...still lots of drooling, chatting and spit bubbles. This month I started consistently sleeping between 9 and 12 hours per night, which makes Mommy in particular VERY happy! I have also been rolling to my side (mostly my left side) and planting my feet and lifting my butt up to move around. Sometimes Mommy comes to get me from my crib and I've turned 90 or 180 degrees! Smiles and laughs are easier to come by these days - especially when I see the baby in the mirror! Sophie gave me a kiss for the first time this month while I was playing in my new favorite toy - my Jump n Jive! I love jumping, dancing and listening to all kinds of music.

Charlotte Lorraine - Month 4 (January 6 - February 5)

Some of this months firsts were not very fun. I had my first overnight hospital stay because Mommy and I fell on the basement stairs and I had a nasty head bump. The doctors and nurses at Amplatz Children's Hospital were all fantastic and let me go earlier than expected because I was doing so well! Everything is just fine - don't worry about me! I also had to give up cloth diapers this month because they were giving me a nasty rash. We still really recommend All Things Diapers! They did everything they could to help but I just had some dermititis that wouldn't clear up. Mommy also went back to work this month - Mommy and Daddy are both working from home one day a week, so at least for now one of them is home with me six days a week, and on the seventh day Aunt Joanna or Grandma Z takes care of me. I kept chattering this month, making new noises (including blowing lots of raspberries!) and laughing a lot whenever Mommy and Daddy undress me on the changing table! The drooling really picked up this month - everybody says that means teeth are not far away!

Charlotte Lorraine - Month 3 (December 6 - January 5)

This month was full of lots of firsts! First time sleeping in my crib, first time rolling over (front to back), first time finding my thumb consistently. Mommy and Daddy hired a professional photographer to take some pictures of us (mostly me) and finally sent my birth announcements out. I also started chattering away - I really found my voice and I like to use it! I also had my first Christmas! Mommy says she took me to meet Santa Claus but I slept through the whole thing! He must have talked to Mommy about presents because I got a TON of them...including my new play gym, which I love. Mommy graduated from New Mama class, and I got my picture taken in another circle of new baby friends! I also had a big road trip to go to Great Grandma's funeral in Tuscola, Illinois - I'm SO happy I had the chance to meet her at Thanksgiving, and in Tuscola I got to meet my Great Aunts Cindy and Rhonda and Great Uncles Terry and Mike.