Seven Months!

Yes, indeed, Letty Rose is seven months old.  That sounds old!  It was another delightful month with this sweet little girl.  Has there ever been such a happy baby?  Seriously, her little smiling face just asks to be kissed about a hundred times a day.

Notables from the past month:

Spending over a week with just me.  Joshua and Forrest headed to Wisconsin on their own.  I was really looking forward to some time with just Charlotte.  While it was great to have some time with her (and not cooking anything but TV dinners was awesome!), I missed Forrest and Joshua a lot.  Also, the Heart of Illinois Fair going on just past my backyard was awful.  Overall, not the greatest ten days.

Getting ready to crawl!  Charlotte is getting her tummy up off the floor and wanting to go, go, go.  Unfortunately, she only manages to slide backwards.  She'll get it one of these days.

Trying a few foods.  She's not too excited about it so far.  I'm hoping for a girl who will like to share some macaroni and cheese with her mama one day.

Sleeping!  A handful of nights, she has slept eleven or twelve hours without a peep.  Oh my!  Sleep is amazing, for Charlotte and for me.

We love you Charlotte!

6 Months!

We have a half-birthday-girl at our house!  Wow!  I would say, "Where did the time go?" but Charlotte Rose is such a part of our family now, it seems she's been with us forever.  Highlights of the past month:

-Charlotte has become quite mobile, rolling wherever she pleases.  Time to get the baby gate up at the top of the stairs!

-She still has smiles for all, especially Forrest.

-She hasn't started to babble yet.  (Goodness, are we going to have another late-talker around here?)

-She went on her first vacation to Wisconsin, enjoying the destination if not the ride to get there.  What a long ride that was!

A quilt gifted from Grandma Rosemary.  Her mother embroidered the donkeys and pieced the top.  Then Grandma had it quilted in Champaign recently.  What a special thing!

Moved on to the big girl seat in the stroller.  Yep, Forrest is walking or riding his bike.  After the initial protests, he seems to not mind.  

In other news, Baby Will was born last week.  What a long-awaited blessing!  Can't believe I don't have a picture of him.  He's tiny with fuzzy yellow hair!  Looking forward to getting to know that little boy.  

Celebrations

The past weekend was full of family celebrations.  On Saturday, we joined together in honor of Grandma and Grandpa G's 60th wedding anniversary.  What an accomplishment!  Most were present for a lovely brunch in Annawan.  Why didn't we take any pictures?!

Sunday was back to Peoria to celebrate Baby William.  He will be joining Shaun and Bill's family in about four weeks, and we couldn't be more excited.  Shaun and Bill have been waiting for such a long time to welcome a new little person!  For this occasion, I did manage to take a few pictures.

We fit about 25 people into my house.  We were cozy, but it worked.  

What a blessed family we are!

5 Months Old!

The good times keep rolling here at our house!  Yes, Charlotte is a rolling girl, which is always fun to see.  She enjoys things that make crunching sounds.  If only plastic bags were appropriate baby toys...  She still loves her Daddy and Forrest the best, although she has smiles for just about everyone.  What a happy girl!  She is beginning to take naps longer than 30 minutes, and nighttime sleep is going fine, just up once or twice.

Celebrating Charlotte's baptism.  She wore the gown Grandma Gryp made for me, Shaun, and Kati and slept through almost the entire service. 

Yes, we're happy people here, and starting summer break today.  Love it!

4 Months!

Yes, indeed, Charlotte is a four-month-old!  In the past month, this little girl has done some growing and learning.  She is now 14 pounds and learning how to move.  She has rolled from tummy to back many times and can now grasp things with intention.  She enjoys her rattle toy and can turn book pages.  Letty Rose is a happy baby with plenty of smiles to share.  Her sleep continues to improve; many nights she's only up once to eat and doesn't bother me otherwise.  This amazes me; it took Forrest until he was around 10 months old to do that.  I hate to compare the two, but I'm just so happy that we are both rested and can have such pleasant days.  Yes, we are a happy little family.

3 Months!

Little Letty Rose is three months old; such a transformation newborns go through around this time.  All of a sudden, we have a baby who seems like a little person rather than a newborn who is all work!  During her third month, Charlotte has continued to develop such a happy disposition.  She smiles so easily, especially when rested and fed.  She has become quite an agreeable baby, and she's sleeping on her own at night now.  That feels like a huge victory!  We seem to be done with co-sleeping, which eases my worried mind so much.  She will sleep for 3-5 hour stretches, and that makes us all happy.  Yes, the first two months Charlotte (and all babies, I suppose) felt like we were in survival mode, but some time during the past couple of weeks, we are enjoying life so much more!

On to month four!  May it bring warm spring days for our little family to enjoy!

Two Months

Another month has passed; Charlotte is two months old!  She loves her Daddy the best, and she's a girl with sweet smiles and plenty of coos.  She's a great sleeper... when she's held.  Someday she will sleep for longer than 20 minutes on her own.  I'm sure of it.  Her eyes are already beginning to turn brown, and her dark newborn hair seems like it's staying.  Letty Rose is learning to relax in her car seat, so trips to take Forrest to school have been less screamy lately.  We're all glad for that.