Charlie: 4&5 months

Poor third child Charlie must settle for a combo 4-5 month post... but I'm getting it in before he turns 6 months! (Love this little fella more than words, just can't keep up with life right now!)
Most significant development from Charlie in July was his baptism on July 6. 

He gets 4 godparents: Ben, Candice and Maggie and Chris. 

And, of course, sisters were there to cheer him on at the ceremony at St. Peter's. We were also lucky enough to have family in from St. Louis.

 

Had to include this picture of cousin Ila holding Charlie... mostly because it's SO unlike him. Our little man is still so happy and smiley 99 percent of the time. I think at this moment during the baptism weekend, he'd simply reached the end of his rope :)

Charging on to August, Charlie made his first trip to Whitecap and enjoyed the box below (while mom and dad enjoyed its contents).

 He loves, loves his exersaucer and is so good at standing (with some support). Did I mention his killer smile?

 And the hair. He's always just a split second from having a mohawk or some other crazy 'do.

 Finally, Charlie made his first trip to the pool in August. He cheered Ellie on as she went off the diving board for the first time... but he mostly lounged on the deck and worked on avoiding any sort of tan or sun exposure.

Our little man is getting big too fast, just like the girls did. He laughs, he says "dada," he snorts (a lot), he's had a cold since birth, he must be teething since he constantly chews those fingers... and he makes us so happy every single day.

Ellie is 5!

Hard to believe Ellie turned 5 last weekend. There are so many adjectives I could use to describe her these days: funny, dramatic, loud, sweet, smart, energetic and talkative... just to name a few.
Here are the 5 things to know about Ellie:
1. She's 37.7 pounds and 42 inches, according to the measurements from her kindergarten physical this week. That puts her in the 40th percentile-ish for both height and weight. She loves to eat... all the time... but it works out because she almost never stops moving :)
2. She loves singing, especially the Frozen songs and Little Mermaid. She does it with gusto. She's pretty great.
3. She loves reading. This girl even reads some books to us. OK, mostly she reads the books she has memorized, but she is starting to be able to sound out words.
4. Ellie might not always admit it, but she loves her sister. They are like peas in a pod during play time. And she loves to boss her little sister around left and right. She is over the moon for Charlie, too. And he gives her some of the biggest smiles he has whenever she comes over to play in his face.
5. Brian and I joke about how tough Ellie is for us to handle much of the time. She's got A LOT of energy, she argues with almost everything we say and she is a bit of a troublemaker... in other words, she's what I remember being as a child. Brian was guilty of most of that, too. So we've got some karma on our hands. But I also hope, and expect, that Ellie is going to channel all of these traits into so many positive attributes as she gets older. She's so smart and funny. She's really amazing. We love her so. 

Charlie: 3 months

 Charlie at 3 months! (just a bit late...)
1. Super smiley. Love it, love it, love it.
2. Had a cold for about a month now, lots of boogers and not sleeping great... that includes mom and dad, too.
3. Getting acclimated at daycare. His teachers flagged a possible allergy to the formula because he spits up sometimes and gets hives sometimes while eating... but doc says not to worry and it seems like he's no more or less vomitty than the girls were. Still, he's not the easiest to feed at daycare, so they are doing what they can. He mostly prefers mom all the time...
4. He can support his entire body weight (mostly) if we steady him while he's standing on his legs. Big, strong man!
5. His hair is insane. (See below) If we don't mat it down ASAP after bathtime, all bets are off.
6. He laughs... especially when tickled in one of his 100 tickle spots. Ellie loves tickling him,
7. He's surviving his sisters, sometimes in spite of their best efforts to get in his face, press on him, grab his face or pull on an appendage. He'll grow up tough.
8. Prolific pooper. Lots of diaper changes with this one, especially compared to once-a-day Katie.
9. Loves bath time. He could soak for hours, I think, if we let him. Has fun getting washed while we referee Ellie and Katie in the big tub on bath nights.
10. Talking. Lots of coos and funny sounds coming from this guy, who no doubt it trying to get a word in edgewise with this crew.

Charlie: 2 months

Must. Do. Monthly. Updates. I've getting Charlie's 2 month update in just under the wire. It's still May and he's not yet 3 months, so I'm counting it :)
Here's what he's up to these days:
1. Smiles abound. His grin just kills us, and we do just about anything to coax one out of him. Love it.
2. Sleeping like a champ. (Please don't let this be a jinx.) He only is waking up once or twice a night, and he goes back to sleep pretty easily.
3. Homer Simpson, when it comes to belching. We have to be careful after that first burp because there's usually something that follows...
4. Rocking the cute baby boy clothes, My favorite so far has been the baby cargo pants, lots of pockets for all his belongings.
5. Hair styles. Charlie's hair is amazing. He gets a natural mohawk after every bath.
6. Eating more. His bottle intake is growing, up to 4 ounces at a time. I stopped nursing and pumping at the 2 month mark. It was hard (for me), but Charlie is doing great.
7. Loves his "soaks." That's what I call bath time for Charlie. He sits and relaxes in his baby tub while the girls are crazy in the bath across the room. He loves it and somehow relaxes through the super noisy process.
8. Talking. Charlie makes all sorts of fun coos and other noises these days. Ellie and Katie think it's hilarious.
9. Dazzling them at daycare. Charlie started at Trinity with the girls this past week, and even though he has some crying time they say he's mostly happy.
10. Running. He's my buddy in the running stroller for a few miles here and there. He sleep through most of the workout, but I feel the burn. He loves the fresh air.

Transitions

Charlie and I feel the same about my last week of full-time leave from work wrapping up :(  Starting next week, I head into the office for half days and Charlie will stay with my mom. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to ease back into work, and for my mom's willingness to help us out with day care... but it's still hard. Third time around and this whole juggling motherhood and work thing isn't any easier. Even though a part of me is looking forward to getting back into my job and being around adults again, my stomach fills with knots when I think about spending hours away from Charlie. When I returned to work after Ellie was born, I was surprised to find out how much it hurts to be away from baby. I know it will all be OK, Charlie will be fine and so will I... but I also know it sucks. Plain and simple. 

But for now I'm soaking up my time with Charlie. I'm enjoying the first hints of smiles (when he's not making his sour face like above), and we're cuddling and playing as much as we can. I'm so in love with this little guy!

Photo shoot cuteness

 I've been wanting to get some shots of the kiddos in their respective "sister" and "brother" shirts... and the stars aligned this morning for a brief photo shoot. Katie is a super middle sister, Charlie is the cutest little brother ever (hey, the shirt doesn't lie) and Ellie is always the big sister in charge.
Obviously this is the kind of affection the siblings will always show each other for the rest of their lives, right?

Doggie daycare

Looks like Muzzy's got this... so I'll go take a nap. Our dogs are tested warriors now in the baby department, but we've sensed some sighing from them in the weeks since we brought Charlie home. Sure, Radar and Muzzy were our first babies. But they've had to take a back seat in recent years to the human babies. Both dogs are good with the kids, but we have to keep an eagle eye on Muzzy... who will eat diapers, diaper rash cream, baby socks, breast pump pieces and anything else we leave in her reach. And the girls have learned the hard way they have to keep snack bowls out of reach. It's a juggling act! Still, we love our canine kiddos, too.