One Year.

My littlest man,

It has taken me forever to write this post because I feel like it's so daunting. I keep putting it off because I know I can't put in words what this year has meant to me! And this post doesn't do it justice. But, here goes...

Here are the physical things you did in your 11th month... Said Mama (but only twice and never since). Gave kisses. CRAWLED. Pointed at everything and nothing. Threw first (mini) temper tantrum... then threw a few more more. Pointed at everyone. Had a stomach bug. Zoned out on walks. Played with pots and pans. Got first haircut from a professional. Went to the doc to see about a cold... first non-scheduled visit. Had a birthday party.

You are certainly getting a little pistol of a personality working (have I told you before that you're exactly like your dad?!), but your overall temperament is sweet and loving. You love people and they love you. It's so fun taking you places because at grocery stores, restaurants, school, church, everywhere... people love to talk to you and you point or smile back.

People always ask if it's flown by or "can you believe he's already a year old?" and it really has NOT flown by and yes I can! At our wedding, my goal was to take the approach of savoring every moment and remembering as much as I could... and I've done the same with you this year! We have spent SO much time just the two of us hanging at home (like, I hardly left the house the first 5 months you were born... I'm lame) that I know you, you know me and I think you understand how much I love you!

I KNOW you love me because a couple weeks ago we were on the train in Zilker Park just riding along. You were sitting in my lap holding my hand and my shirt and looking at all the people when you just turned your head and looked up at me and gave me the sweetest smile I've ever seen! And you did that twice in the twenty minutes of the ride. Like you knew that I took you on this ride because I knew you'd love it! We have little moments like that often. And this week you just kissed and kissed me over and over again. You are loved and you show that love right back.

I'm so thankful for you my man.

Love,
Mama

Eleven Months.

Charliest Bean!

You had such a big month! 

(Taken by Sarah Carlson over Labor Day... how sweet are you in these pictures! I especially love that you have watermelon and all sorts of other grunge on you in the last picture AND she had to photoshop out your boog. :)

(Yes, those are sterling silver bracelets that you love to play with. B calls them "circles" so Pop will be okay with you playing with jewelry!)

B came to Austin and picked you up for two days before we joined you in Dallas for Labor Day. That was a wonderful two days!! I went to two movies, slept in, read books... it was marvelous! When we joined you there, we had some pool time and while we were playing you looked straight in my eyes, touched my face and gave me so many kisses!!! Just over and over for maybe a minute while I was laughing and tearing up at the same time! Possibly the best moment of motherhood to date!

We went to "My Gym" once this month. You were the only one that didn't know how to move, but you were so happy doing the songs, clapping your hands, walking in a circle with me and kicking your feet and giggling. 

You LOVE Aunt Kate. We've visited her a couple times at Facebook. This is you posing with John Wayne. Now you just like to wave at him a LOT but not get too close. We had lunch with Uncle Ben the other day... you were momentarily sad about his beard but you got over it shortly and y'all had fun waving to everyone.

(I sent this picture to B to show you that I was saying "hi" from Maine... she said "he really took the phone very sweetly, looked at you and smiled and then tried to eat the whole thing." HA!!!)

You stayed with your B and Pop in Dallas for FIVE days while Mom and Dad went to Maine for a full on vacation. During your vacation you went to a very fancy restaurant, went to Pilates with B, played in the pool, went on walks with B and Sophie every day (and even saw horses!), had fun bath times, went to the grocery store and got mad because B wouldn't let you play with the flowers (even though Pop encourages it!), went to the Mall and had your first grilled cheese sandwich, ate new foods (gold fish! Yay!), swung on your very own swing and generally had a grand ol' time!

(First day! I forgot my camera and we had one shoe off and one shoe on. Typical!)

You also started "school" this month!! It was a slow ease into it over four weeks (though one of those you were in Dallas) but I think you're going to love it and so am I. You wear big kid shoes, take a lunch in your dinosaur lunch pack (I pack your snack and lunch Bento Box style with plastic muffin cups in little boxes). I liked that your first "report card" said that you were "Happy but trying to figure out how to move" and "Didn't eat my lunch because I wanted a friend's lunch." HA.

You still aren't moving. Well, I say that... you do an all-four lunge onto your belly into a side roll over your right shoulder into a sit-up where you use your left arm to boost yourself up. The other day, you did this ALL the way across the living room until you got stuck in the corner by the front door. You were on your side and only wanted to roll right (Zoolander Style!) so you just laid there grunting at us until we helped you up. Hilarious.

Overall... you are still such a happy man. You go with the flow, eat anything we give you (except avocados, dill pickles and honeydew melon... I can't say I blame you on any of those), love to wave and high five everyone you see, smile constantly and are generally a social little sweetheart.

You LOVE to read books, roll a ball with Dad, sit outside watching cars go by (and wave and holler at runners, walkers and cyclists), go to restaurants with Dad, play with your friends AND my friends, giggle at people sneezing, go to Sunday School and more fun things like that. You're awesome. 

(Also by Sarah Carlson... My favorite picture of your life thus far!)

As I tell you many times a day "I love you I love you I love you!"

Love, 

Mama

Ten Months.

Dear CharlieMan,


Shocked that we are again running late with the posts?! Not me! Mom seems to have a lot going on these days. Let's recap your August...

Started in Maine and we already covered that part. I left some reminders for myself about things to not forget: "More about foods (including one that I'm NOT excited about), making demands, eating out, Aunt Kate and her shenanigans, your favorite random "toys", etc."

Fun with Dad! Seen in the background here... one of your favorite things. A diaper box. I think you think the baby is going to come out and play! You also love tubes of lipgloss and eye shadow primer, etc. Things that are teeny in your hands.

OK. So, you LOVE food. Watermelon, Cantaloupe, Blueberries, Strawberries, Corn, Black Beans, Tortillas, All Meat (including some tiny bites of bacon the other day. Yum.), Hummus, Carrots, Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Toast, Eggs (just some tiny bites of the whites so far), Sweet Potato Fries, Pickles, Yogurt, Grilled Cheese and more! I can't take you to a restaurant without feeding you, so we share meals now. And you make a giant mess. Tips are increasing. I should start taking it out of your piggy bank. I KID, I KID. Sort of.

Lemons?! YES PLEASE.

More on food... You are still having some mixed grain baby cereal and jarred baby food sometimes... to get the iron in and the veggies. And here's the nastiest part of all... You love tomatoes. A lot. And I cut them up for you because I love you dearly, but I HATE them. Especially those seeds that get stuck everywhere. I'm getting the tingling in the back of my jaw right now just thinking about it. Ew.

Thanks for my bib, Aunt Kate.

When you want something, you grunt about it. Especially books. When the book is done, you "Arrrr" with your eyebrows furrowed so it will be read to you again. OR you just look at your bookshelf and grunt at it. Hilarious. I'm glad that it's books you crave! They are awesome.

Chatting. This is the end of about 5 minutes worth of video.... talking talking talking!

You learned how to sit up by yourself this month! I mean... you only did it two times ever and that was in your crib. And that was weeks ago. But surely you can do it again sometime soon?! You are also lunging around from your bottom to your hands, but that right leg gets in the way and you don't go anywhere. You're funny.

VICTORY!

Aunt Kate taught you how to clap and high five last month! This is actually a September update, but when we were on the plane coming home from Dallas after Labor Day (yes, Charlie and I flew by ourselves for the first time... Not awful. Not awesome. That's how I'd describe it), you high-fived four people in the terminal and on the plane.... the lady who held you while I got through security, a business man, a girl about my age and an older lady. I think you liked what you got (laughing from everyone including bystanders) because now you do it ALL the time!!!  Aunt Kate's office, restaurants, stores, housekeepers. The whole lot!! It's hilarious.

You got to see Moyce on your 10 month birthday. You loved each other. After you stopped trying to bludgeon her with a cane, that is.

LOVE!

You went to a birthday party and spent an hour and a half in the not-so-hot-tub just floating around. Chillest baby there by a million. And your party favor obviously indicated that. See below.

Oh also, you are a gangsta. Apparently.

You are a musician. Obviously. Between this and eating the string that holds your triangle, you're definitely on the right track!

You are still the happiest baby on the block. You are friendly, wonderful, sweet, a thinker, a talker, a reader, a piano player and the best. I love you!!!

Love, Mama.

Nine Months.

Dear Bean,

Ok, you're almost to ten months now... but you had a busy 8th month and we need to celebrate it!

- Overall, you are as sweet as ever! You talk, squeal, grunt, laugh, giggle and smile all the time. You rarely cry... if you do, it's usually for a good reason and it's the most pitiful face ever! If it's not for a good reason, it's more like a whine and very short-lived. I love having such a good natured, chill little man!

(Thanks to cousin Rachel for taking this pic. And for cousins Sarah and Becca for hanging with me so much lately!! I love you gals.)

- You went to the lake for a weekend with mom's friends and their kids. You were fantastic the whole time and loved being around the big kids. On your first boat ride, you made the ultimate "wind in the face" face. I think you thought your head was going to fly off. Oh, and then you got tired and almost fell asleep on the way home. Whole trip was less than 25 minutes.

(Saying good morning to Dad from the lake since he couldn't come)

- You took your first plane rides to get to Maine and you were awesome! You celebrated your 9 month birthday in Maine. The second plane ride home wasn't the BEST three hours of your life, but you were so fantastic the other three flights of the trip that you pushed through and got over it very quickly. It didn't take you any time to adjust to life in Maine or back at home, but you DID wake up at 5:30am every day there. Totally understandable because the sun came up at 4:30am. Wow.

(MUFFIN. And look at that hair!)

- You played with live (rubber banded) lobsters in Maine. You went to Cabela's for the first legit time (first ACTUAL time was for an emergency diaper change on the way to San Antonio awhile back.) You discovered that dominos are your new favorite toy there, too. You loved standing at the edge of the ocean, but didn't like sitting in it. You ate sand.

(Wherein you you meet a lobster.)

(Wherein you eat a lobster.)

- You are still just sitting... no crawling. But the doc said that you were definitely strong enough to crawl as you were fighting off his attempts to look up your nose and in your ears. He said you just haven't decided that you want to yet. He also said, as you stared him down, that you were "thinking about things in there." You totally are. Thinking and/or judging... depends on who you ask. (Aunt Kate).

(See those raised eyebrows?! Judging.)

(And again! Now I'm judging cousin Sarah and her attempts to get a smile outta me.)

(Sitting. Loving being outside, as always.)

- You are 29" long (70th percentile), 20.5 pounds (50th percentile) and have a 15th percentile head. Should we start calling you "pinhead"?! You have rock solid abs from your pilates moves when you are sitting and laying down but your legs are little pudgies and I like to pat them.

- You started eating a few real foods in your 8th month... deli turkey, cheese, tortillas. Also small pieces of banana and other slimy fruits that you couldn't hold. You've hated avocado in all forms so far. It's the only thing you don't like. More on your "foods" at your 10 month update.

- You got your first Hot Wheels this month. You are such a dude.

- Favorite things: Dad, water in all forms, playing with your friends (especially Avery kissing you), flirting with ladies the world over, mirrors, puzzles, opening the cabinets in the bathroom before bath time.

(The wind is blowing Dad's shirt... he is not that puffy.)

- Reminders for Mama about next month's update (since half of the month is gone already): More about foods (including one that I'm NOT excited about), making demands, meeting a baby, eating out, Aunt Kate and her shenanigans, your favorite random "toys", etc.

(Wook at those chubby wittle wrists!)

(Holding a lobster, waiting for it to buzz.)

(Those pilates are paying off.)

You are the best my man. I love you!

Mama

Eight Months.

Dear Charlie,

Oh goodness, what has happened this month? A LOT now that I think about it!

- First, I have to come clean and state this for the record. I don't think you're ever going to be a Mama's Boy. You love me and we are tight. But when your dad comes home, or walks in the room, or even turns to look at you and say hi... you freak out. You can't even eat your food if he's in the next room because you have to turn and watch him and wait for him to look at you so you can laugh at him. You grin at him, giggle, "talk" to him, wave your arms. You LOVE your dad and it's more obvious every day. I think it's awesome.

- You are a great sitter. You can't get back up when you fall over and you still do your pilates "reverse Superman" move (or whatever it is) when you fall down. But you can sit for a really long time and play. This makes a mama VERY happy.

- Uh, paper is hilarious?

- Oh Mylanta, you HATE when I try to get boogs out. And you are strong enough that it's basically impossible for me to do... you shake your head back and forth and grab my hands and push them away. It's kind of funny actually. You also won't let me put my finger in your mouth... see...

- In the last week you've gotten two teeth! I didn't even know they were coming, and out they popped! You've been a tad grumpy, but I really wouldn't have known. You haven't even drooled at all... yet. Thanks for being a rockstar.

- You attended your first 1st Birthday party for Miss Aves... it was one for the books and one I will never be able to rival! (That was the day your got your first tooth). Today is when the second popped out (so technically this wouldn't belong in last month's update. Whatever.)

I mean... HYPED. First kid in, last kid out.

- You had your first weekend away from Mom and Dad as I went to New York and Dad had a relaxing weekend at home golfing and hanging out with friends... you loved staying with your B and "Pop" (final granddad name TBD). I got many pictures of your smiling face though you didn't understand Skyping when we tried that a couple times. Very confusing, I know. You even had a fun babysitter... my friend Casey and her sister, Lisa. You had so much fun with them!  On the way home (our first round trip drive just the two of us, we had to stop four times in an hour because you were wailing and I didn't know what was wrong. THAT wasn't fun.)

Looking at B putting on her pool hat. Crazy lady! (Apparently he did NOT like the closet... got freaked out at the clean, white carpet, I suppose!)

Watching Glee with Pop on Father's Day!

I mean... she's a wack-a-doo.

- You got a high chair and you LOVE being in it. You also sat in a high chair at restaurants for the first time... and have a few times. We have to prop you up a little, but you are okay with it as long as you have a menu to read.

- We confirmed your love for water at the splash pad at the Domain and at Avery's birthday party. Water splashing in your face give you the giggles!

- You easily dropped your swaddle blanket when I decided to not put it on you one night. Now you just tug on your PJs or shirt and roll from side to side until you land in one comfy spot. Still no security blanket or binky needed! Yay.

- Mirrors are absolutely hilarious to you... and me. You sit in front of one and either kiss yourself or smack your forehead onto your forehead... I think that's your new way of hugging since you've done it to me, your B and your Build-A-Bear (now clothed in Mavs gear, obviously).

I need to get a video of you "hugging" with your forehead. It's precious.

- Fave toys are still Blackberries, iPhones and now your puzzle (you just shut all the doors and play with the chain) and your ship o' toys... it's meant for the tub, but you just take all the toys out and eat them. Best $15 I ever spent.

- You were awesome as we went all over town to find Aunt Kate an apartment. She is moving here in just a few weeks! You are going to love getting to know her more.

Waiting in an apartment lobby for one of our many tours to start. You were awesome on all of them!

- You touched a cow on the nose. Obviously.

- We visited Moyce and you loved seeing her. Y'all had a blast together and you were very sweet.

Man, you are great! Sleeping the same, eating well, loving meeting all people, babies and kids. You are happy to be around any animals... even big ol' Sophie. You just keep getting better! Month 8... big kid food and crawling maybe?! I can't wait to see what's next.

Did I use the word "LOVE" in this post a lot? Well, there's a lot of that going around these days!

I love YOU,
Mama