Dear Charlotte,
A few days ago you turned 13 months old. Is that even a thing? I'm not sure at what point people stop measuring a baby's age by months but for the sake of record keeping...you're 13 months. You keep getting more and more fun! You are starting to learn what noises animals make and you're starting to say a lot more words like, "strawberry", "bread", "bug", "love you", and "oh wow" and you're usual mom, dad, hi, buh-bye, etc are getting more recognizable and understandable. You're starting to repeat a lot more words, too. Which means mom needs to stop using naughty words in front of you. Oops! It's almost humorous how excited your dad and I get about you talking. We just think it is the coolest thing ever.
You've also started walking a lot more! Up until this last month, you COULD walk...you just didn't. You're a very fast crawler so I think you just figured you could get where you wanted to go faster if you crawled. Which is true. But it's a lot of fun watching you learn to walk. You're better at it than you realize, and the times where you walk the furthest without falling are the times you are less aware. I have mixed feelings about you growing up so fast, but overall it makes me really excited.
Also about a week ago it was my birthday! This really was the first birthday that it really hit me...I'M OLD! Okay, not really. I'm still quite young. But I'm quickly approaching 30 and life is a lot different than I expected it to be at this point. I kind of expected my 27-year-old self to be a little more mature...a little less naive...and, I dunno...taller? Haha but while I do feel like life has flown and I am not where I thought I would be, I do feel like I have learned some life lessons and I want to share a couple of them with you. Mostly because I wish it hadn't taken me 27 years to figure them out so I'll give you a head start.
1. Cherish the relationships you have in your life. There have been a lot of times in my life where I felt like I could handle things on my own and because of that, I have neglected A LOT of relationships with friends, family, and to be honest with Jesus Christ. Those relationships are so important. Don't neglect any of them. Because there WILL come a time in your life where you need others. And there will be a time when others need you, too. I am a firm believer that certain people are placed in your life at specific times because there is something that you need to learn from them at that exact point in your life. Keep that in mind as you interact with those around you because there is something you can learn from everyone. On another note, don't put too much time and energy into relationships with people that aren't willing to put the same amount of time and energy into you. I've learned that the hard way and trust me, it ain't fun.
2. Be what you want to be! If you want to be a doctor, be a doctor! If you want to be a stay at home mom, be a stay at home mom! If you want to be a freakin' astronaut, be a freakin' astronaut! The only thing you're not allowed to be...is rude. Because that's just not allowed in our family. Life is way too short to live someone else's dreams. You do you, boo.
3. Stand up for yourself, dang it! Not (just) in a "stand up against the bullies in your life" type of way but also in a "I'm important and I don't deserve to be walked all over" type of way. It has taken me WAY too long to learn this lesson. Learn how to stand up for yourself and learn how to do it in a classy way. You don't have to be loud, violent, or crazy to stand up for yourself. Sometimes all it takes is you walking away from a situation you don't deserve to be in.
4. Have fun! If you're anything like me, you need to stop worrying about the future and just have fun. If you're anything like your dad, you need to stop having so much fun and settle down for once. Haha tooootally just kidding. In fact, I hope you take after your dad! He is one of the craziest, most fun, energetic people I've ever met and if you're lucky you'll be just like him.
I know everything I have to say is cheesy but I could die tomorrow (knock on wood) and you would never know how wise I was! Hahaha just kidding. Love ya, kid! You're real great!
Love,
Mom
8.29.2016
Happy Birthday Charlotte!
Dear Charlotte,
A little over a week ago it was your birthday and your very first birthday party! I probably made it a bigger deal than I should have, but I was so excited to celebrate you and your life! These are the pictures I took the day of your birthday. You refused to cooperate so this is really the best I could do.
We had some of our closest friends and family come to the party to celebrate with us. You were excited to see everyone and even more excited to see the kids that they brought along with them. Especially Jackson and Scarlett Clonts who used to help babysit you while I was at work when you were super little. I'm not sure if you remembered them or if you were just happy to have kids to play with, but it was really cute seeing your face light up around them. I wish I had gotten a picture of you with them! Oh well.
I planned the party for at least 3 months straight and I went back and forth between so many different ideas. I'll probably use those ideas for your other birthday parties so I wouldn't consider it a total waste of time. I decided to use the "Woodland" theme for this party but found out halfway through that most of the things involved with that theme are very cartoon-y and boy-ish, neither of which I wanted for your party, so I had to get somewhat creative. We mostly decorated with floral and woodsy decorations and I'm pretty in love with how they turned out. For refreshments we had donuts labeled "Do-nut feed the bears", some small round chocolate candies labeled "Deer droppings", carrots labeled "Rabbit food", long round chocolate filled cookies labeled "twigs", strawberry shortcake cups labeled "Forest berry cake", lemon/lime water labeled "Morning Dew", and Bug Juice...which is this gross juice but it was free. Long story. Anyway, we also played a slideshow of pictures from your first year of life. It is crazy to see how much you changed throughout the first year. Seeing you with tons of dark curly hair, to no hair, to red hair, to super blonde hair long enough to put in a ponytail! But the one thing consistent in almost all of your pictures was your smile. Oh, that smile. I love your smile! This is a picture of the refreshment table.
You got soooo many gifts for your birthday and you're totally obsessed with them. And I'm obsessed with you being obsessed with them. Weird how that works. Anyway, you weren't really sure how to open a gift and even when I showed you how you just weren't sure about it. Funny how you never have any problems ripping apart things and taking things out of bags until we tell you to go for it and then all of a sudden you freeze. Hahaha I didn't mind though, It was so much fun sharing that moment with you for the first time. I also hope you stay entertained with these new toys and books because I sure do get a lot more done around the house when you're busy playing with them!
We baked you a small little strawberry cake (which ended up looking huge in your pictures but it was smaller than the size of my palm) and you weren't so sure about it at first. You pretty much just poked at it and ate the frosting, but it was fun to see you eat cake for the first time.
I am really looking forward to this next year with you. The older you get, the more fun we have together. Today, you tooted while we were eating breakfast and we both just started laughing really hard with each other. I love having moments like that with you! It's one of those moments where I'm like oh my gosh, this baby is a human that is starting to understand humor. Another thing that has been happening lately is you've been letting me cuddle you to sleep! That literally hasn't happened since you were like 7 months old. It might be because you haven't been feeling well (the transition from formula to milk has been a little rough for you) but I am loving it. I could just cuddle you 24/7 and be content. You are the coolest kid. Thanks for being mine!!
Love,
Mom
A little over a week ago it was your birthday and your very first birthday party! I probably made it a bigger deal than I should have, but I was so excited to celebrate you and your life! These are the pictures I took the day of your birthday. You refused to cooperate so this is really the best I could do.
We had some of our closest friends and family come to the party to celebrate with us. You were excited to see everyone and even more excited to see the kids that they brought along with them. Especially Jackson and Scarlett Clonts who used to help babysit you while I was at work when you were super little. I'm not sure if you remembered them or if you were just happy to have kids to play with, but it was really cute seeing your face light up around them. I wish I had gotten a picture of you with them! Oh well.
I planned the party for at least 3 months straight and I went back and forth between so many different ideas. I'll probably use those ideas for your other birthday parties so I wouldn't consider it a total waste of time. I decided to use the "Woodland" theme for this party but found out halfway through that most of the things involved with that theme are very cartoon-y and boy-ish, neither of which I wanted for your party, so I had to get somewhat creative. We mostly decorated with floral and woodsy decorations and I'm pretty in love with how they turned out. For refreshments we had donuts labeled "Do-nut feed the bears", some small round chocolate candies labeled "Deer droppings", carrots labeled "Rabbit food", long round chocolate filled cookies labeled "twigs", strawberry shortcake cups labeled "Forest berry cake", lemon/lime water labeled "Morning Dew", and Bug Juice...which is this gross juice but it was free. Long story. Anyway, we also played a slideshow of pictures from your first year of life. It is crazy to see how much you changed throughout the first year. Seeing you with tons of dark curly hair, to no hair, to red hair, to super blonde hair long enough to put in a ponytail! But the one thing consistent in almost all of your pictures was your smile. Oh, that smile. I love your smile! This is a picture of the refreshment table.
You got soooo many gifts for your birthday and you're totally obsessed with them. And I'm obsessed with you being obsessed with them. Weird how that works. Anyway, you weren't really sure how to open a gift and even when I showed you how you just weren't sure about it. Funny how you never have any problems ripping apart things and taking things out of bags until we tell you to go for it and then all of a sudden you freeze. Hahaha I didn't mind though, It was so much fun sharing that moment with you for the first time. I also hope you stay entertained with these new toys and books because I sure do get a lot more done around the house when you're busy playing with them!
We baked you a small little strawberry cake (which ended up looking huge in your pictures but it was smaller than the size of my palm) and you weren't so sure about it at first. You pretty much just poked at it and ate the frosting, but it was fun to see you eat cake for the first time.
I am really looking forward to this next year with you. The older you get, the more fun we have together. Today, you tooted while we were eating breakfast and we both just started laughing really hard with each other. I love having moments like that with you! It's one of those moments where I'm like oh my gosh, this baby is a human that is starting to understand humor. Another thing that has been happening lately is you've been letting me cuddle you to sleep! That literally hasn't happened since you were like 7 months old. It might be because you haven't been feeling well (the transition from formula to milk has been a little rough for you) but I am loving it. I could just cuddle you 24/7 and be content. You are the coolest kid. Thanks for being mine!!
Love,
Mom
8.22.2016
Dear Charlotte (12 months!)
Dear Charlotte,
Happy Birthday! Guess what? We kept you alive for an entire year! Yay for us! I don't know which is crazier: the fact that you have been alive for a year or the fact that I have a one year old. I still feel like I should be getting ready to go back to school after one very long summer break but here I am almost 27 with a one year old kid! I swear I have one of those moments, like, at least once a week, where I take a good look at my life and think, "Holy crap! I am married, I have a baby, and I own a house! When did that happen?!" Life flies by so fast. It's such a cliche saying but it's so true. If I could control time, I think I would pause life where it is right now because things are really going well for our little family!
There are a couple of things I want you to take from this letter. The first thing is this: you are loved more than you know. If your life is anything close to every other human being in this world, you're going to have those moments where you feel pretty inadequate and imperfect. As much as it sucks, it's pretty normal to feel that way once in a while. But I hope that when you get to feeling that way you'll have the clarity to remember that there are so many people cheering for you that love you and care for you. First and foremost, your Father in Heaven and your Savior Jesus Christ. Secondly, your dad and me. I can't even begin to tell you how much love I have in my heart for you. Today you basically yelled/screamed/cried/whined for like...3 hours straight. But I still love you. You pulled my hair super hard for the bajillion-and-seventh time bringing tears to my eyes. But I still love you. You woke me up wayyyy earlier than I wanted to wake up so I was super tired all day. But guess what? I still love you!!! And I always will. Today your dad left for work before you got up and he didn't get home until you were back in bed. He went a whole day without seeing you because he works so hard so that we can be happy. Then guess what? He came home and he did ALL of the dishes. You've got a super awesome dad and he loves you SO MUCH. Last but not least, you have so many family and friends that adore the heck out of you. But you're super adorable so I don't blame them.
The second thing is this: your smile brings so much happiness into this world. No matter where we go or what we are doing, you LOVE being the center of attention. One of your favorite things to do is lock eyes with people and charm the CRAP out of them with your smile. You wave, clap, giggle, scrunch that cute little nose of yours, and you win them over just like that. It doesn't matter who they are, what they look like, what they're doing, you make them so happy. I just want you to know what kind of power you have. I hope and pray that you keep that attribute with you so that as the world gets darker and scarier, you are able to be a shining light in others' lives and make people happy. You were BORN with the power to make others happy. Keep doing it.
Good heavens, my blog posts are so cheesy!!! But I guess that's what happens when you become a mom. Things just get emotional, okay?!
I'm going to write another post about your birthday party because I don't have time for that in this letter. But let me just tell you this, it was awesome!
I love you!
Love,
Mom :)
Happy Birthday! Guess what? We kept you alive for an entire year! Yay for us! I don't know which is crazier: the fact that you have been alive for a year or the fact that I have a one year old. I still feel like I should be getting ready to go back to school after one very long summer break but here I am almost 27 with a one year old kid! I swear I have one of those moments, like, at least once a week, where I take a good look at my life and think, "Holy crap! I am married, I have a baby, and I own a house! When did that happen?!" Life flies by so fast. It's such a cliche saying but it's so true. If I could control time, I think I would pause life where it is right now because things are really going well for our little family!
There are a couple of things I want you to take from this letter. The first thing is this: you are loved more than you know. If your life is anything close to every other human being in this world, you're going to have those moments where you feel pretty inadequate and imperfect. As much as it sucks, it's pretty normal to feel that way once in a while. But I hope that when you get to feeling that way you'll have the clarity to remember that there are so many people cheering for you that love you and care for you. First and foremost, your Father in Heaven and your Savior Jesus Christ. Secondly, your dad and me. I can't even begin to tell you how much love I have in my heart for you. Today you basically yelled/screamed/cried/whined for like...3 hours straight. But I still love you. You pulled my hair super hard for the bajillion-and-seventh time bringing tears to my eyes. But I still love you. You woke me up wayyyy earlier than I wanted to wake up so I was super tired all day. But guess what? I still love you!!! And I always will. Today your dad left for work before you got up and he didn't get home until you were back in bed. He went a whole day without seeing you because he works so hard so that we can be happy. Then guess what? He came home and he did ALL of the dishes. You've got a super awesome dad and he loves you SO MUCH. Last but not least, you have so many family and friends that adore the heck out of you. But you're super adorable so I don't blame them.
The second thing is this: your smile brings so much happiness into this world. No matter where we go or what we are doing, you LOVE being the center of attention. One of your favorite things to do is lock eyes with people and charm the CRAP out of them with your smile. You wave, clap, giggle, scrunch that cute little nose of yours, and you win them over just like that. It doesn't matter who they are, what they look like, what they're doing, you make them so happy. I just want you to know what kind of power you have. I hope and pray that you keep that attribute with you so that as the world gets darker and scarier, you are able to be a shining light in others' lives and make people happy. You were BORN with the power to make others happy. Keep doing it.
Good heavens, my blog posts are so cheesy!!! But I guess that's what happens when you become a mom. Things just get emotional, okay?!
I'm going to write another post about your birthday party because I don't have time for that in this letter. But let me just tell you this, it was awesome!
I love you!
Love,
Mom :)
6.17.2016
POOP. (10 months)
Dear Charlotte,
You know what I think of when I ponder on the last couple of months? Poop. Like literal...number 2...poop. I SWORE that when I became a mom I would NOT be one that posted Facebook posts like, "My kid went poo-poo in the potty!" Or, "So-and-so pooped their pants again..." There are a lot of "those moms" and I vowed to never become one of them. Because point blank...it's gross and no one cares. I also thought, "How embarrassing for that kid when they grow up to have everyone know about their bodily functions!" But here is the real truth: Poop is a big deal when you have a baby! As freakishly weird as this sounds, I have basically been obsessed with your pooping habits since you were born. I never realized how big of a deal it really is! (Please tell me I'm not the only mom like this.) Your dad will probably never forget that time when you were only a month or two old and I woke him up in the middle of the night waving one of your poopy diapers in his face asking, "DO YOU THINK THIS POOP LOOKS NORMAL?!?!" He wasn't too happy.
Well...here I am. Writing an entire blog post about how you pooped on the potty. "But wait...isn't this only your supposed-to-be-9-month-post-but-actually-closer-to-your-ten-month blog post??" You ask. Well my dear, yes it is. But you had your first poop on the potty. Let me tell you about it.
The other day...okay more like a month ago...I was giving you a bath. You LOVE baths. And because it's like, the only time you can make eye contact with me and not insist on me picking you up...I love them too. Anyway, there you were...taking a bath...when I saw the poop face. Now, this one goes out to all my fellow mamas. You KNOW the poop face. That little squirm your baby gets on their face when you know there's a storm brewin' and it's about to go down. And it hit me...crap (haha, no pun intended) I'm going to have to clean this mess up. So I swooped down grabbed you as fast as I could and swung you over to the toilet. And it happened. You had a big girl poop in the big girl potty. I laughed and laughed and you cried and cried because being swooped out of the tub like that kinda freaked you out. It was hilarious and something I'll never forget. Unfortunately the habit didn't stick and you still require diapers, but that's okay. I'm not ready for you to grow up like that anyway.
When thinking about this blog post I also considered sharing the numerous other poopy (haha) experiences you've had within, I swear, just in the last couple of months, but I think this may have embarrassed you enough so I will just share that one.
I will end by saying this has been one of the best months I've had with you so far. You are SO MUCH FUN right now. Today we taught you how to give high fives and it nearly made me cry. STOP GROWING UP YOU HEAR ME?! It's actually almost painful to watch you grow out of your newborn stage. I sometimes consider giving you the silent treatment for refusing to cuddle with me like evvvverrrr. It's so unfair. That stage just doesn't last long enough.
Well girl, I love you and hope this didn't embarrass you too much :)
Love,
Mama
You know what I think of when I ponder on the last couple of months? Poop. Like literal...number 2...poop. I SWORE that when I became a mom I would NOT be one that posted Facebook posts like, "My kid went poo-poo in the potty!" Or, "So-and-so pooped their pants again..." There are a lot of "those moms" and I vowed to never become one of them. Because point blank...it's gross and no one cares. I also thought, "How embarrassing for that kid when they grow up to have everyone know about their bodily functions!" But here is the real truth: Poop is a big deal when you have a baby! As freakishly weird as this sounds, I have basically been obsessed with your pooping habits since you were born. I never realized how big of a deal it really is! (Please tell me I'm not the only mom like this.) Your dad will probably never forget that time when you were only a month or two old and I woke him up in the middle of the night waving one of your poopy diapers in his face asking, "DO YOU THINK THIS POOP LOOKS NORMAL?!?!" He wasn't too happy.
Well...here I am. Writing an entire blog post about how you pooped on the potty. "But wait...isn't this only your supposed-to-be-9-month-post-but-actually-closer-to-your-ten-month blog post??" You ask. Well my dear, yes it is. But you had your first poop on the potty. Let me tell you about it.
The other day...okay more like a month ago...I was giving you a bath. You LOVE baths. And because it's like, the only time you can make eye contact with me and not insist on me picking you up...I love them too. Anyway, there you were...taking a bath...when I saw the poop face. Now, this one goes out to all my fellow mamas. You KNOW the poop face. That little squirm your baby gets on their face when you know there's a storm brewin' and it's about to go down. And it hit me...crap (haha, no pun intended) I'm going to have to clean this mess up. So I swooped down grabbed you as fast as I could and swung you over to the toilet. And it happened. You had a big girl poop in the big girl potty. I laughed and laughed and you cried and cried because being swooped out of the tub like that kinda freaked you out. It was hilarious and something I'll never forget. Unfortunately the habit didn't stick and you still require diapers, but that's okay. I'm not ready for you to grow up like that anyway.
When thinking about this blog post I also considered sharing the numerous other poopy (haha) experiences you've had within, I swear, just in the last couple of months, but I think this may have embarrassed you enough so I will just share that one.
I will end by saying this has been one of the best months I've had with you so far. You are SO MUCH FUN right now. Today we taught you how to give high fives and it nearly made me cry. STOP GROWING UP YOU HEAR ME?! It's actually almost painful to watch you grow out of your newborn stage. I sometimes consider giving you the silent treatment for refusing to cuddle with me like evvvverrrr. It's so unfair. That stage just doesn't last long enough.
Well girl, I love you and hope this didn't embarrass you too much :)
Love,
Mama
5.08.2016
Dear Charlotte...8 months.
Dear Charlotte,
Today is Mother's Day! My very first Mother's Day as a mother. It was really great! Thanks for the flowers. I'm not sure how you bought me flowers but your dad said they were from you and the card was signed "Charlotte" so they had to have been from you, right? (Hehe.)
You want to know what it's like to be a mother, Charlotte? Well, just imagine starting a new job that you're soooo excited for and you feel like you know will be pretty good at it. But then you show up on your first day and no one trains you, no one even knows HOW to do your specific job but you're expected to do really important things like keep someone else alive and stuff. Oh, and that job never, ever ends. It's 24/7. And all of a sudden you just don't feel as confident as you did before your first day on the job. It's really scary and hard! But it is really great, too! I'm learning, don't worry. And keeping you alive hasn't been as hard as I thought it was going to be.
Speaking of Mother's Day, I think I just passed the "Mother's Day Test." The Mother's Day Test is when both you and your baby are really sick and you are tested to see if you both survive. See, taking care of a sick baby is hard and tiring...but doing that when YOU are sick? That's on a whole other level, girlfriend! I'm not sure how we landed a double ear infection (you) and the WORST case of strep throat that existed since the start of mankind (me) but it happened to us! I swear you could sense that I felt like death, though, because you have been the BEST baby EVER this weekend! Friday was probably one of my worst days and you played by yourself (basically) the entire day. That never happens! You and I belong together baby girl.
On a more serious note, today has made me really ponder how thankful I am to be a mom. Not everyone has the opportunity to be a mother in this lifetime. There are many reasons for that and honestly I will never understand why that has to be the case. I know so many people that would make much better mothers than me. All I know is I am so thankful that I have the opportunity to be your mom. During all of this pondering it really hit me that there is no one...and I mean NO ONE that will understand the bond that you and I have except for the you and I. I'm not sure how you'll feel about me when you read this because depending on how old you are you might still be in the, "Ugh, mom. You're so gross." stage but I know that this love I feel right now will only get stronger. The love that I have for you can't be put into words. It hits me harder and harder every day and I am in TEARS right now even thinking about it. Saying I love you just doesn't do this feeling justice.
Okay. No more sappy crap. Things that you've been doing lately that make me giddy on the inside:
-Play peek-a-boo. I don't know how you know to do that, but you learned that on your own.
-Reach for me. Even if you're in the middle of something really awesome if we make eye contact you drop what you're doing, crawl over to me, and put your arms up in the air. It drives me nuts but I love it so much.
-Stand up. This one is both more exciting and more stressful than I expected.
-Giggle at wedding pictures of your daddy and me. Every time you look at them you giggle and giggle and giggle. It is the most precious thing I've ever seen.
-Lick electrical outlets. Most definitely my least favorite hobby of yours.
-Do the downward dog yoga pose. I'm not sure why but you do it so so so much.
-Kiss everyone and everything. Including yourself in the mirror.
-Started to say mama, dada, and wave.
-Hurt yourself 500,000,000,000 times a day. No matter how many pillows, chairs, items I put in your way to keep you out of and away from things that could potentially hurt you...you find a way to hurt yourself. I have no idea what I'm going to do when you start walking.
Well Charles, until next month...adios!
Love,
Mama
Today is Mother's Day! My very first Mother's Day as a mother. It was really great! Thanks for the flowers. I'm not sure how you bought me flowers but your dad said they were from you and the card was signed "Charlotte" so they had to have been from you, right? (Hehe.)
You want to know what it's like to be a mother, Charlotte? Well, just imagine starting a new job that you're soooo excited for and you feel like you know will be pretty good at it. But then you show up on your first day and no one trains you, no one even knows HOW to do your specific job but you're expected to do really important things like keep someone else alive and stuff. Oh, and that job never, ever ends. It's 24/7. And all of a sudden you just don't feel as confident as you did before your first day on the job. It's really scary and hard! But it is really great, too! I'm learning, don't worry. And keeping you alive hasn't been as hard as I thought it was going to be.
Speaking of Mother's Day, I think I just passed the "Mother's Day Test." The Mother's Day Test is when both you and your baby are really sick and you are tested to see if you both survive. See, taking care of a sick baby is hard and tiring...but doing that when YOU are sick? That's on a whole other level, girlfriend! I'm not sure how we landed a double ear infection (you) and the WORST case of strep throat that existed since the start of mankind (me) but it happened to us! I swear you could sense that I felt like death, though, because you have been the BEST baby EVER this weekend! Friday was probably one of my worst days and you played by yourself (basically) the entire day. That never happens! You and I belong together baby girl.
On a more serious note, today has made me really ponder how thankful I am to be a mom. Not everyone has the opportunity to be a mother in this lifetime. There are many reasons for that and honestly I will never understand why that has to be the case. I know so many people that would make much better mothers than me. All I know is I am so thankful that I have the opportunity to be your mom. During all of this pondering it really hit me that there is no one...and I mean NO ONE that will understand the bond that you and I have except for the you and I. I'm not sure how you'll feel about me when you read this because depending on how old you are you might still be in the, "Ugh, mom. You're so gross." stage but I know that this love I feel right now will only get stronger. The love that I have for you can't be put into words. It hits me harder and harder every day and I am in TEARS right now even thinking about it. Saying I love you just doesn't do this feeling justice.
Okay. No more sappy crap. Things that you've been doing lately that make me giddy on the inside:
-Play peek-a-boo. I don't know how you know to do that, but you learned that on your own.
-Reach for me. Even if you're in the middle of something really awesome if we make eye contact you drop what you're doing, crawl over to me, and put your arms up in the air. It drives me nuts but I love it so much.
-Stand up. This one is both more exciting and more stressful than I expected.
-Giggle at wedding pictures of your daddy and me. Every time you look at them you giggle and giggle and giggle. It is the most precious thing I've ever seen.
-Lick electrical outlets. Most definitely my least favorite hobby of yours.
-Do the downward dog yoga pose. I'm not sure why but you do it so so so much.
-Kiss everyone and everything. Including yourself in the mirror.
-Started to say mama, dada, and wave.
-Hurt yourself 500,000,000,000 times a day. No matter how many pillows, chairs, items I put in your way to keep you out of and away from things that could potentially hurt you...you find a way to hurt yourself. I have no idea what I'm going to do when you start walking.
Well Charles, until next month...adios!
Love,
Mama
4.01.2016
Dear Charlotte... (7 months)
Dear Charlotte,
I'm sorry it has taken me 7 months to start these letters. It was an idea I had when I was pregnant with you but I forgot until a couple of weeks ago. That's kind of how it is as a mom, you forget pretty much everything! At least that's how it feels. The other day I forgot to put on my bra and realized as I was walking out the front door. Don't worry, I didn't leave without it :) I want to start writing letters to you periodically that you can look back on throughout your life. Things about you, about your dad and I, and about other things I want you to know/remember.
Right now you are 7 months old. You are so much fun!! You are so happy and giggly. Today when I went to put you in the car you just started to laugh really hard for no reason at all. That's how you are most of the time, actually, and it makes things so much more fun!
Life just hasn't been the same since you joined our family. For one, getting anything done is 20x more challenging! And I'm like super tired, alllll the time. I'm pretty sure that's how all families with new babies are, though. One big change for us is that if we take you out anywhere past your bedtime, I can guarantee you're going to cry the whole time. You weren't always that way, but around your 5 month mark, you gave yourself a bedtime and you stick to it pretty tightly. So our habit of going out and staying out late is on hold. Probably for a really long time. But that's okay. Another thing that has changed is that we make fools of ourselves everywhere we go JUST to get you to smile and laugh because that's our favorite thing ever. The other day I was walking around Walmart with you just doing the weeeeeirdest things and people were looking at me like I was a psycho but it was making you happy and that makes me happy so I don't care what they think!
As I'm writing this blog post you are in your little bouncer toy playing with the music buttons, like always. Whenever that music starts, you dance. Every single time. You really seem to love music and dancing...and so do your parents so you really MUST be our child :) I hope you keep that love for music. Music is a really great (and cheap) form of therapy (which you will need because have you MET your parents?? Nutcases! Haha.)
I really hope I can do an okay job as your mom, sweet girl. Sometimes I cry at night before I fall asleep because I literally have NO IDEA what I'm doing and it's really scary having someone else's life depend on you. Not only that but to have so many opinions and methods and theories and tricks and tips and everything out there it gets very overwhelming. I'm trying my best to do what is best for you I promise! I just gotta hope and pray you turn out okay. I love you a lot. Always remember that!
Love,
Mom
I'm sorry it has taken me 7 months to start these letters. It was an idea I had when I was pregnant with you but I forgot until a couple of weeks ago. That's kind of how it is as a mom, you forget pretty much everything! At least that's how it feels. The other day I forgot to put on my bra and realized as I was walking out the front door. Don't worry, I didn't leave without it :) I want to start writing letters to you periodically that you can look back on throughout your life. Things about you, about your dad and I, and about other things I want you to know/remember.
Right now you are 7 months old. You are so much fun!! You are so happy and giggly. Today when I went to put you in the car you just started to laugh really hard for no reason at all. That's how you are most of the time, actually, and it makes things so much more fun!
Life just hasn't been the same since you joined our family. For one, getting anything done is 20x more challenging! And I'm like super tired, alllll the time. I'm pretty sure that's how all families with new babies are, though. One big change for us is that if we take you out anywhere past your bedtime, I can guarantee you're going to cry the whole time. You weren't always that way, but around your 5 month mark, you gave yourself a bedtime and you stick to it pretty tightly. So our habit of going out and staying out late is on hold. Probably for a really long time. But that's okay. Another thing that has changed is that we make fools of ourselves everywhere we go JUST to get you to smile and laugh because that's our favorite thing ever. The other day I was walking around Walmart with you just doing the weeeeeirdest things and people were looking at me like I was a psycho but it was making you happy and that makes me happy so I don't care what they think!
As I'm writing this blog post you are in your little bouncer toy playing with the music buttons, like always. Whenever that music starts, you dance. Every single time. You really seem to love music and dancing...and so do your parents so you really MUST be our child :) I hope you keep that love for music. Music is a really great (and cheap) form of therapy (which you will need because have you MET your parents?? Nutcases! Haha.)
I really hope I can do an okay job as your mom, sweet girl. Sometimes I cry at night before I fall asleep because I literally have NO IDEA what I'm doing and it's really scary having someone else's life depend on you. Not only that but to have so many opinions and methods and theories and tricks and tips and everything out there it gets very overwhelming. I'm trying my best to do what is best for you I promise! I just gotta hope and pray you turn out okay. I love you a lot. Always remember that!
Love,
Mom
This is you with your toy. There is a mirror right there and every time you see yourself in the mirror you get super excited. It is so funny.
This is you with cousin Lila at Easter. Of course you're chewing on my necklace because you chew on everything you can get your hands on.
Your Easter dress.
Grandma Cooper holding you and Lexie. I hope you, Lexie, and Olivia become good friends!
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