Charlotte's 1st Birthday and Baptism

I promise this will be the last post on the topic. But I wanted to share some of the details of Charlotte's 1st birthday party. We kept it small and simple as I didn't have time to plan a huge elaborate party and kept it at just family, however I did manage to add a few fun details that I thought I would share with you!

As you can see in the title of this post, we grouped two celebrations into one. We decided since everyone has been busy and we've put it off for a year now, there was no better time to get Charlotte baptized than on the same day of her party. This way we got away with just one party and limited the travel on our family.

The day started early with Charlotte's baptism and then everyone came back to our house to celebrate. The only downside of this master plan was the fact that I didn't take into account nap time, so that made things a little difficult, but not unbearable. Here are just a few pictures of the baptism.

When it came time to do the party, even though it was small, I still wanted to have a theme and to do a few things around the house to decorate for the day. I was hell bent on not having another Minnie Mouse themed party, but unfortunately I couldn't avoid it. Don't get me wrong, you all know I love Disney, but sometimes it's fun to do something a little different. The reason I ended up going Minnie was because I wanted to do something special with all the monthly updates. After all the work I've put into those throughout the year, I wanted a way to showcase it. And since they were Minnie Mouse themed I figured to just run with it. Also, I happened to walk into H&M last week and found the perfect Minnie Mouse party dress, so the rest just kinda fell into place.

Charlotte's 12 Month Update

I would be lying if I told you I was going to miss these updates. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved tracking Charlotte's progress, but it became such a tedious chore. From making her shirt, to getting her to cooperate for the pictures (you will see that this month we only got a few) to editing and posting them, there were many a tears shed (not just from her). OK, I'm being dramatic, but you get the point. 

I do find this last month update a little bittersweet, but I'm excited to see what the next chapter brings. We will always have these progress pictures to look back on for years to come, so even though I'm closing the book on them, they will always be there to serve as a precious memory of her first year.

Eating: The big difference here is we are no longer on formula! She officially switched over to whole milk about 2 weeks ago and we haven't had the slightest issue. To be fair, we are still warming it a little and giving it to her in a bottle, but this week we plan to wean her off the bottle all together. Wish us luck!

She continues to be a good eater with really no pickiness. She favors some foods over others but still manages to eat everything on her plate. Right now she's really into bananas, green beans and blueberries. She's not a huge fan of chicken or beef, but will eat it once the other favorites are gone.

Sleeping: Nighttime sleeping still goes really well. She's super easy to put down and will stay asleep until 7 or even 8 in the morning! Lately we've struggled simply because she is teething again and it's no joke! We were really lucky that up until now, teething has been a breeze and never seemed to bother her. Unfortunately this next set of teeth have her really bent out of shape. She's woken up a few times in the middle of the night screaming.

Napping is a different story. She naps well at daycare, but on the weekends we have a hard time getting her to stay down for longer than 45 minutes. I think it has something to do with how bright her nursery is compared to the pitch black nursery at daycare. When in doubt though, we take her for a little car trip to run errands so we can at least get her to sleep for a few minutes here and there.

This past month, Charlotte has really showed us her personality. I'm not sure if we should be worried or proud, but this little girl has quite a strong will. When she wants something, she's very emphatic on getting it and the same goes for when she doesn't want something. 

Right now she's really into any toy with wheels or that sing. Which lucky for us, is nearly every toy she has!  She likes to snuggle (on her time, of course) and will shake her head no at everything. She loves crawling up the stairs, which is good for us considering we have so many, and she still gets her feelings hurt when we say no.

Check back tomorrow where I'll be posting all about her first birthday/baptism party.

In the meantime, check out all the other month updates here:

1 Month

2 Months

3 Months

4 Months

5 Months

6 Months

7 Months

8 Months

9 Months
10 Months
11 Months

Big Girl Shoes

One of my many New Years Resolutions is to blog more regularly. I let myself get too busy with a number of things this fall and it was time to say goodbye to some things so I could focus on the things I really love. Now that it's been a few months, I feel like I've found my balance again, so I'm back at sharing my everyday musings with you here in my little corner of the internet.

Now to catch you up. Charlotte's birthday is on Friday and in case you've missed it, she's already walking! These past few weeks, she really got the hang of it and seems to be nearly running away from me now! I used to just put socks on her but with winter here and her needing to get a better grip on the hardwoods, we thought it was time for some good shoes. 

The first battle is finding the right size. After about 5 attempts at shoes that didn't fit, I was fed up and wanted to get her fitted so we could know her size once and for all. Our local mall has a Stride Rite store, so we thought that would be a good place to start. It was super easy, they measured her foot and told me what kind of sole she needs for her current stage in walking and showed me to that section. From there, we found a shoe that would go with most things and that was on sale. (Stride Rite makes good quality shoes, but unfortunately they aren't very budget friendly considering the shoes only last a few months because your baby quickly outgrows them.)

Once Charlotte picked out her shoes, we tried them on and let her take them for a test run. They wanted to make sure her foot was in there properly and that she had no problems walking in them. In every other shoe we tried before Stride Rite, she would wiggle out of them so easily because we could never get her foot in them properly. It turns out we were buying them all way too small!

I think it's safe to say these were a hit! Unfortunately I don't think I will be able to buy Stride Rite's very often due to the price, but I definitely recommend them as one of your baby's first pair of walking shoes because you can be sure you are getting a good quality, sturdy shoe that is sure to fit. 

*These opinions are 100% my own and I was not paid or reimbursed in any way by Stride Rite to write this post. 

Charlotte's 11 Month Update

I know I'm almost a week late on this update but since we were in Disney World during her actual eleven month milestone, I decided to wait until we got back so as to keep all the updates uniform (ridiculous, I know).

Eating: Over the last few weeks, we've been giving Charlotte less formula. We didn't purposefully cut her back, it just sorta happened due to her eating at least three meals of solid food a day. We give her water all day so I think that keeps her from wanting the formula. I can't believe next month we will be able to ditch the formula all together!

We also started giving her a tiny bit of juice now and again. We love how much she loves water, so We've been hesitant on giving her juice, but after she stole her cousins sippy cup a few times, we decided the deed was done and it wouldn't kill her to have juice every now and again. So far she hasn't shown preference over one or the other, so that's good!

Sleeping: Absolutely nothing has changed on this home front (thank goodness). She is such a great sleeper at night, going to bed at 7pm and waking up between 6-7:30am. We still struggle with getting her down on the weekends for a nap, but that doesn't bother me since she sleeps so well at night.

This month her little personality has really begun to show. She is still such a good baby but lately a little temper has emerged. She finally learned the tone in my voice when I scold her as well as the word "no" and absolutely hates it! I told her "no" when she tried to grab my sunglasses and she screamed as if I had just snatched a bottle from her mouth. Then she starts to flail her arms and repeatedly screams "ne ne ne ne". I have no idea where she could have got this little temper from! ;) Again, if that's the worst of our problems right now, then we can't complain.

She did so good while we were in Disney last week. She loves being in her stroller and will even take naps in it. She handled the car trip to and from Florida like a champ and we are so grateful for such a fun and easy going baby.

Even if she doesn't always cooperate for my photos, she still manages to crack me up Like this most perfect diva photo! It's as if she's saying, "No more pictures please, Mommy!"

I can't believe that in less than a month Charlotte will be turning one! I seriously wish I knew where the time went. I'm so happy I did these monthly updates even if they were a pain in the butt to get her to sit still and keep her bow on. Being able to look back and see how much she's changed month after month is pretty awesome.

Check out her other month updates here:

1 Month

2 Months

3 Months

4 Months

5 Months

6 Months

7 Months

8 Months

9 Months
10 Months

Charlotte's 10 Month Update

Double digits?! Seriously, where is the time going? I can't believe in just two short months, we will be celebrating Charlotte's first birthday! I guess that means I really need to start planning her party.

Eating: We officially ditched the baby food. With seven teeth, there really is no need for the pureed stuff; time for the real deal! Lucky for us, she loves everything we put in front of her. Sometimes the texture of a food may throw her off, but after a second or so of being unsure, she continues to shovel it in. There are some foods that she seems to prefer over others, such as pizza, bread and grapes, but the good news is she still manages to eat her vegetables, which makes me very  happy!

Sleeping: Charlotte's sleeping habits haven't really changed. She still goes down around 7 and is up between 6:30 and 7 the next morning (we were blessed with such a great sleeper). She moves around quite a bit in her sleep but never wakes up. However, nap time is a different story. We struggle on the weekends with a routine so she ends up taking a few short naps throughout the day instead of one long nap. We are fine with not sticking to a tight nap schedule as long as it doesn't affect her behavior. So far it hasn't, so we let her dictate her sleep schedule.

She becomes more active every day. Last month she was pulling herself up and standing while holding on to furniture and this month she is walking from one piece to the next holding on. She can even stand for a few seconds without holding onto anything! I'm curious to see how much longer we have before she starts to walk. With that being said, we've begun the baby proofing. Gates went up, cabinets got locked and electrical sockets got plugged since she is into everything!

We are working on the word "no"to teach her boundaries. So far she just laughs when I say no.....boy, are we in trouble!

This little baby girl has such a personality already. She is silly, playful, energetic and smart, and I can't wait to see how she continues to grow (I have a feeling she will be keeping us busy)!

Check out her other month updates here:

1 Month

2 Months

3 Months

4 Months

5 Months

6 Months

7 Months

8 Months

9 Months

Charlotte's 9 Month Update

Let me start by saying these aren't the best pictures. Now that Charlotte is mobile and truly has a mind of her own, getting her to sit still is next to impossible. Good thing we only have to do this three more times! Physically I don't think she's changed that month, but developmentally she has grown so much in just one short month!

Eating: Charlotte is still such a good eater. She will eat anything we give her and only makes a face when she's trying a food for the first time. She still likes it, just unsure at first. We introduced meat to her this month and just like everything else, she loves it! Although she primarily eats pureed baby food, we are starting to give her real food since she has plenty of teeth to break it all down.

Sleeping: Nothing really new to report on this front. We are still so grateful that she sleeps as well as she does. And now that the sun comes up later, so does Charlotte! I feel bad on the weekends because we won't wake up until 8 or 8:30 because she's so quiet. She'll just sit in her crib talking to herself until we come and get her. We finally have a little weekend routine where she goes down for a nap between 9 and 9:30 and will sleep for a few hours. This is when we get all the stuff around the house done!

So many milestones this month! Charlotte can now pull herself up on just about anything. She loves to stand while holding on, although a few times I've caught her standing by herself and before she loses her balance, she will slowly squat down to sitting on the floor. She gets into everything which has brought on a new challenge; baby proofing! Now that she has teeth we hear all sorts of new noises from her, but my favorite is when she's playing and starts whispering like she has something super important to tell you. She loves remotes and any unconventional toy, and does not like when we take things away from her. She only cries when she's tired or hungry, which makes for such a pleasant baby the rest of the time!

We are no longer concerned about Minnie Mouse, in fact you could say we are best friends now!

I think we have gotten over the stranger danger issue. She doesn't instantly melt down and go into hysterics when she sees a man. Now she is just a little apprehensive which I'll take any day over the breakdown we used to have.

I can't wait to celebrate the holiday season with her while she is at such a fun age. These next three months are going to fly by, but be so much fun!

 Check out her other month updates here:

1 Month

2 Months

3 Months

4 Months

5 Months

6 Months

7 Months

8 Months

Charlotte's 8 Month Update

I can't believe it's been a week since my last blog post! We just got back from another trip to Disney World and I was super busy trying to get everything together for the trip and then getting our lives back together after, that I kept forgetting to make time to blog!

So in case you didn't know, Charlotte turned 8 months on the 9th, so we are just a few days late. However, I did manage to take the pictures on the actual day, so that's a plus.

Eating: Charlotte LOVES real food and will eat anything off my plate. We are introducing her to all different types of foods so she gets used to all foods and not just the pureed baby food. We break it up into super tiny pieces so she doesn't have any trouble getting it down. So far she truly likes everything. Surprisingly enough, we haven't noticed her taking a preference over certain types of foods versus others; she seems to like it all!

Sleeping: She does not enjoy napping very much and often skips a morning nap, but we are fine with it since she still sleeps so well at night. Even though she is teething, she doesn't really wake up. Sometimes we will hear her crying in her sleep but that only lasts a few seconds. She wakes up between 6 and 7 every morning no matter how early or late she goes to bed.

Charlotte seems to discover a new frequency of shrieking every day. She still loves to chat and babble all day long. Along with crawling, her new thing is to wave at things while she is being carried. She is completely freaked out by men right now. She knows her granddads and her daddy, but if any other man approaches her, she instantly starts screaming and reaching for us. I think it's safe to say that "stranger danger" has set in. Charlotte also hates not being able to play with anything she likes. She often gets told no for getting in to things she shouldn't and will let you know her disapproval rather instantly.

I can't believe we are just 4 months away from her first birthday. We absolutely adore watching her grow and discover new things every day as she develops her own unique personality. We truly got lucky with such a sweet, fun and laid back baby!

 Check out her other month updates here:

1 Month

2 Months

3 Months

4 Months

5 Months

6 Months

7 Months

Charlotte's 7 Month Update

Eating - Charlotte eats a vegetable AND a fruit for lunch and dinner. She drinks water with her solid foods which isn't her favorite, but she tolerates it. She can even hold her bottle all on her own! We started practicing motor skills with puffs and she has already come a long way in just a few short weeks. She can pick them up one by one and feed herself, which comes in super handy to tide her over between meals.

Sleeping - We are so blessed in this department. Charlotte goes down between 7 and 8 without much of a fuss (last month she had to cry it out, but now she goes right down). She gets a bath then a little bottle and down she goes. We won't hear from her again until around 6 the next morning!

Charlotte loves to talk and make noise as much as possible. She doesn't like being hungry or dirty diapers. In fact, that is really the only time she fusses. She is so close to crawling and gets frustrated after a while when she can't reach the things she wants to. She can scoot, roll around and get up in the crawling position, but not quite ready to crawl. 

Still curious about Minnie, but not as perplexed as she used to be!

We are loving every minute of this sweet baby and I can't wait to see what the next few months bring. My favorite time of the year is just around the corner and I can't wait to celebrate all of Charlotte's firsts! Not to mention we have two more Disney trips planned for the remainder of the year, so being excited about the next 4 months is an understatement by far!

Check out her other month updates here:

1 Month

2 Months

3 Months

4 Months

5 Months

6 Months

Linking up with Molly for Let it Shine Monday!

Charlotte's Six Month Update

Today is Charlotte's half birthday and you know what that means? Another monthly update! I love watching her change from month to month and documenting all her milestones. Hopefully, one day she will look back on all these posts as a sort of time capsule of her little life.

Eating: This past month was spent exploring new foods. We introduced baby food and to say she loves it is an understatement. Seriously, she has not made a face at anything we've given her. We started with vegetables and introduced a new one every three or four days to make sure she had no issues. This week, we will start introducing fruits which I'm sure she'll love just as much, if not, even more. Currently, she eats two meals a day of baby food, with about 26-28oz of formula which is much better than the 36oz of formula she was eating last month.

Sleeping: We have started to face some challenges on getting Charlotte down for the night, but in the grand scheme of things, it's nothing. She starts acting tired around 7pm so we get her ready for bed and put her down. Then the screaming begins. We know there is nothing wrong with her (besidses the occosaional teething pain), but she will roll around in her crib screaming. After 15 minutes, one of us will go in and give her her pacifier and another kiss goodnight. Usually she will cry for another five minutes or so and then fall asleep for the night.

Mornings are usually pretty easy. She gets up between 5:30 and 6 and after a quick diaper change and a bottle, she will go back to sleep for a few hours, which is especially nice on the weekends.

Charlotte has become much more interactive over the past few weeks and I can tell she is going to be hard to keep up with! She loves playing, bouncing and talking to her animals in her exersaucer. When she's not in that, she loves to independently sit on her own and play with toys that are in her reach. I think in the next month or so she will be able to scoot around or better yet, crawl. She likes to stand while holding your hands and will hang out there for minutes at a time. She still has such a sweet personality and will smile at everyone.

Starting to like Minnie more and more. Look how far she's come!

Check out her other month updates:

1 Month

2 Month

3 Month

4 Month

5 Month

Summer Fashion - Baby Style

This past weekend was super busy with parties and cookouts so it seemed only fitting that Charlotte bust out her summer wardrobe. There were two outfits in particular that I've been dying to have her wear and she managed to rock them both over the weekend!

 

I always see these smocked outfits and I think they are so cute, but they are usually so expensive! So when I saw this adorable outfit pop up on a Facebook freecycle/yardsale site for just $10, I jumped all over it. The fact that it was in her size was fate!

 

Judging by her smile, I think she approves of this outfit as well. I paired it with a red headband and red bow, and she was ready to party!

 

Charlotte's first Lilly was given to her by one of my friends before she was even born. After waiting what seemed like forever, she can finally wear it! It's the perfect summer outfit and how can you not love those matching bloomers?!

For now, I think it's safe to say that this child loves her Lilly like her Momma.

 

Of course I had to wear my Lilly too!

 

Linking up with Lindsey @ The Pleated Poppy for WIWW