I don’t have his stats as far as weight and length because he didn’t have a 3 month visit. His four month visit is this friday. As far as I can see he is super long (fitting into 6mo clothes already) but pretty skinny. We all thought he would be a big big boy, but he is basically a skinny long tube. He still fits into size one diapers with is teeny little butt. I hope the doctor doesn’t say he is too skinny!

Charlie is soooo strong….he can hold his head up on his tummy although he does look like a turtle when he does it. Also, he is almost ready to roll from back to tummy, but he hasn’t done it yet. We got an exersaucer this weekend that is just right at its lowest level for him and he can hold himself up in it and he loves playing with his scrunchy toys while pushing himself up to standing….crazy for a four month old! Pretty soon he will be crawling and into everything!

So we have some news….Nadie got a new job. After nine months of being home he was so ready to be out of the house…he is back in software – which is great…we are so blessed to have been able to weather and actually thrive during the storm…it was a blessing in many ways.

So last week was a huge one for our family. The kids started at a new daycare, I had orientation for my Graduate courses and Nadie started his job. We were all pretty much exhausted by the end of the week. Everybody was grouchy on Thursday evening.

After visiting a bunch of daycare centers I decided Z and C really needed a more specific play area. We finally turned the dining room downstairs into a play room. I got a train table and a toy bin and a book shelf and a storage shelf. Z has been having a blast playing there. I don’t know why we didn’t do it sooner. It just makes things so much easier so she has better access to all of her toys.

Z is obsessed with her alphabet. She is constantly playing with blocks or her letter puzzle or the magnetic letters. The way she lines up the blocks, we are sort of concerned about OCD…LOL She also loves the numbers, and when she plays with them you hear her say ‘WAN, DWU, WAN” which is I think Z speak for 1 2 3.

She started trying to push really hard on doors and such and making this huge grunting noise….it is sooooo cute. I will try to get a video of it. Right now she is teething and goes through about 3-4 bibs during the day to catch her drool. Ew!

On the way home from daycare we go over animal sounds. She loves to meow. Her woof is more like WOO WOO, and then her quack is a lot like WAA WAA. In any case it is absolutely adorable.

Sometimes I am not sure what I did to deserve such blessings….

My haircut was awful. I got a cut before I went back to work. It was from my normal salon, but it wasn’t as short as I wanted it…so I made the horrible mistake of going to a walk-ins welcome salon at walmart and the chick butchered my hair. If I wasn’t a big girl I would have cried for days….what am I saying I did cry for days on the inside….so after 6 weeks I went to my REAL hairstylist and had her re-style it so that it didn’t look like a horrible muppet-billy rae cyrus-mullet look. Oh my goodness what was I thinking.’
Sorry this post is so crazy…I just needed to get ’something’ out there so I wouldn’t wait any longer….

Here are the rest of the pictures….

Have a great weekend! Baptism pictures to come!

I am back from maternity leave. I start school in late August.
The Senate couldn’t come to an agreement on the Unemployment Extension, so we are hanging in the balance and wondering what we do next.
The extension is just a delay of the inevitable anyways, but it is still a frustration. Our state benefits ran out after the federal extension ended, so even though some people have received 2 years of assistance we received nothing more than the state benefits. I don’t mean to sound ungrateful. I am not. I just wish there was a better economy out there.

I know we will manage. I am thankful for my job.

In brighter news, Charlie turns 2 months on Sunday the 4th. I am going to do a photo shoot with C and Z later this week, but I did take his picture last night so you can see how much he has grown. He is starting to smile. He is a really good baby. I wish I could spend more time with him. I am glad he is with his daddy.

Zoe has consistently been testing the waters on how to get what she wants. She is very good at looking for something she should not have and then running away and giggling. If you take away something she wants or reprimand her for anything she will either act like you hurt her feelings or launch her head back and scream. Dear Lord, I hope we make it through this period without a concussion or a cracked skull.

Despite the hard times, we are lucky people to be with these to kiddos…and to be together…

He got a 9 on his apgar scores.

He is beautiful and healthy.
I am home from the hospital. Zoe is back from her cousins house. We have only had one little meltdown. And things are really going well….

He is such a good baby! I can’t tell if the Zerker was just more work or whether we are just more relaxed. I was breastfeeding at first, but I have to admit that we decided not to now. He stopped latching well and my main goal is to have the least amount of stress possible. This allows for both Nadie and myself to take care of him equally. He is eating well and taking the bottle fine. He likes to chill in the swing and sleeps well in the evening between feedings…..so far, so good…..now to enjoy maternity leave with these crazy beautiful people….

Oh and Happy Mother’s Day to all you mums out there!

So now I can focus on a little man that I will meet soon!
I have been picking up little clothes here and there. I got a huge tub of clothes from my brother and SIL that will help heaps! Today I picked up the stroller and when the rain dies down I am going to have Nadie get the box out of the car so I can put it together.
I got little Chuckie some bottles. At least I know enough to know that he needs slow nipples at first! I remember learning that nipples had speeds with Zoe. I still think they should make onesies that say ‘I like fast nipples’ on them.
I don’t think we will Breastfeeding this time. I mean, at first we will try, but I will supplement from the beginning. This time it will probably be even more necessary because I am having a c-section and may not experience any labor at all – so none of those hormones that help tell the body to make milk.
Another decision that we made is to NOT consider selling our house. My brother had called last weekend and told us they are going to sell their house. They live in the house that I grew up in on the property that has been in our family for generations. Nadie was all for putting our house up for sale and moving there. I was excited too, but I had some reservations.
First, well – I am having a baby in four weeks – not the best time to get a house ready for sale and move.
Second, we live in a neighborhood that has been greatly affected by the housing decline – foreclosures, etc – and we probably would not be able to sell it for what we need to and we wouldn’t make any profit on the house.
Three, the house we would buy is an hour and a half commute one-way away from the majority of jobs that Nadie is looking at….and I can’t imagine him driving three hours every day and being happy in the long run.

The thing is that the house and the property are beautiful. It would be a gift to live there and raise our children. Still, it isn’t really what has been in our five year plan for a while, so I am hesitant to change all of our plans at the drop of a hat. As Nadie said, sometimes those opportunities weren’t in your plan because you didn’t see them. I agree with that….to me the biggest issue is – I am 35 weeks pregnant! I can’t move! AcccckkkH! Plus I would hate to buy a house and then be unhappy because of the commute and be stuck there.
I hate the thought that the property might go out of our family again, but I can’t do it this time……

Happy Easter!