Charlotte 5 months

Sweet baby "Lar Lar" turned 5 months on February 3rd and I am still in shock that she is almost half a year old.  Seriously.  How did that happen?!?  She seriously is the sweetest, happiest little thing around.  She just goes with the flow and survives on shortened naps which are almost always on the go, being fed sometimes while also multitasking (for example:  while wiping Julia after going to the bathroom!!), always having someone in her face and just being the youngest of three other fabulous, yet demanding (in a good way, of course!) older siblings.  Here are way too many pictures from her 5 month photo shoot but I just love all of the different expressions so had to include them all. 

Love these big open mouthed smiles!!  

She is so close to sitting up on her own and this bouncy seat is almost ready to be retired!  

Look at this sweet little thing.  

She has the best belly laugh and just makes all of us so happy.  

Charlotte had her first taste of rice cereal on  January 7th and was a fan.  The rumor is that the rice cereal can make babies sleep better; however it didn't help Charlotte at all, but at least she enjoys it.  

We brought out the exercauser and she LOVES it!!  This thing is so beat up (can you see the tape over the missing piece-ahhhh-so awful, I know!) but thankfully isn't playing  with the tape (yet at least) and I just can't get myself to buy a new one for just a few short months.  It is definitely going in the trash once she has done but boy have all four kids loved this thing!!!  

All four kids have had these huge open mouthed smiles and Charlotte's may be the biggest yet.  She is seriously just so happy and I think the older she is getting the happier she gets as well.  She is just all smiles for anyone that talks to her.  If I step out of the room for a moment, when I walk back in and she sees me she just smiles so big that it just makes you feel like the most special thing in the world.  

 

I realize that I am including too many of almost the same picture below (a theme throughout this post) but each one is a little different and I just love all of her facial expressions so couldn't choose just one.  

At the end of January, Charlotte caught a cold (from me!) and ended up in the doctor's office over the weekend (thank goodness for Sunday hours so we avoided a trip to the ER).  She was given a breathing treatment which they said didn't really help so we just continued to monitor and thankfully in a few days was better.  The doctor said she was a "happy wheezer" which is a real medical term which describes babies like her who although they had a cold and are wheezing it didn't bother their disposition.  She had two nights where she didn't sleep well and one evening where she was just overtired and you could tell wasn't feeling well but other than that she was her happy self.  We are thankful that it didn't turn into anything worse!  

She wasn't upset when doing the treatment but just wanted to try to eat it instead of keep it over her mouth so was quite the wrangling act! 

 Her nap schedule is definitely flexible to say the least.  She still normally naps 3 times a day-once normally on the way to drop Joseph off, one on the way to pick Joseph up from school and normally one in the later afternoon; however, depending on the day and what else we have going on they definitely vary.  Thankfully since she is so laid back if she doesn't get a great nap in it she normally can just roll with it. One thing that I have noticed is that if you try to put her down to "play" after not taking a great nap she is not happy with that but as long as I am holding her or she is in the stroller moving or she is being worn then she will be all smiles.  She definitely is a momma's girl and likes to have me in her eyesight at most times (especially if tired) but is getting more and more used to hanging just with Daddy or even with Nani.  Nani has been watching her and Julia every Monday since she was only 6 weeks old for a few hours in the morning so I can volunteer in Joseph's classroom and sometimes run a few errands child free and it is so sweet to watch her really seem to recognize Nani and to see how comfortable they both have gotten with one another.  

To finish out her fourth month, here she is hanging out with Jen and I on a chilly Friday afternoon cul de sac playdate and loving it! 

*As a sidenote, as posting these pictures I noticed that the hat that she is wearing below closely resembles many hats that were worn at the Women's March around the country on January 21st, which I realized just now!  This hat was not meant to have any affiliation with the march or the views that people who marched; however, in our family Rich and I want to raise strong, independent, fierce and kind females who will stand up for themselves and who deserve equality but also to respect all lives, no matter how small.  

The first five months of raising Charlotte have been such a joy and we look forward to see what the next month has in store for her.  

Love you sweet baby girl.  

New Year, New Month

The first month of the new year seemed to fly by.  As much as we are trying to soak up these days, the months just seem to go by faster and faster.  Charlotte is growing so quickly and is such a happy, easy going baby and is becoming so much fun to interact with.  She loves the constant entertainment in our home and the other kids truly do just love having her around.  We had quite a few rainy days this month but it really didn't seem too bad.  Once I'd start to feel cooped up we'd have a sunny day so would get everyone outside again which would hold us over until the next set of rainy days.  Overall, the month wasn't super crazy so it was nice to have some downtime especially after the hustle and bustle of December.  

With Rich losing his job at the end of December he was around all month long, searching hard for a new one and we are happy to say that by the end of the month he found one and will begin the new job on February 6th.  He is basically doing the same exact thing as before but for a different company and losing the benefit of having him work from home.  This will definitely be a transition as we have loved having him work from home for the past 3 years but we are thankful that he found a job so quickly.  He will have to travel more in the beginning, too, since he'll be overseeing a large project out of San Jose, but we'll make it work and are thankful that we have my family close by to help when needed.

Katie and the kids came over at the beginning of the month to hang out for a few hours which is always such a treat.  

On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays I just have Julia and Charlotte with me for three hours in the morning so Jules and I definitely get some special time together.  She is turning into quite the independent almost 2 1/2 year old...actually I take that back.  She has always been independent and mature for her age but it seems that it is extra fierce at this point in time.  She is totally capable of basically doing everything by herself (I mean, I know that sounds crazy, but she gets dressed by herself, puts on her shoes, can go to the bathroom, get a snack...she's definitely the real deal!)  I know I've said this before but she is legitimately funny, too.  She always keeps me laughing with her different mannerisms and even with her idea of a joke such as coming into the shower with her underwear on, fully aware that she is trying to be funny.  Now don't let all of that fool you, because she still definitely has a side that is almost 2 1/2...she can be very whiny and a bit sassy, but that smile just makes you forget all of that....most of the time!

"Do you like my hat?"  

"Like this?"  

Nani took the "big girls" for a sleepover  for a night over the first weekend in January and they had a blast!  

While the big girls were at Nani's it was fun just to have Joseph and Charlotte alone together which never seems to happen.  Rich was actually at a Veteran's conference in Los Angeles for the weekend so Joseph and I stayed up late to watch a show and then he got the treat to sleep in my bed!  Charlotte liked the extra attention from just him, too. 

On January 13th, Joseph didn't have school but Ella did so we dropped her off and then Joseph, Julia and Charlotte and I headed to Lake Miramar.  I ran with the girls and Joseph rode his bike and had all of his dreams come true riding through the huge puddles from the rain from the previous days.  He was soaking wet by the end but loved it!! 

We met up with friends from Joseph's preschool later that day on the 13th at Hilltop Park and the kids had a blast playing together and then once we got home we were in the cul de sac with our neighbors.  They spent basically spent the entire day outside...a pretty perfect day off from school!

Yes, that is Julia lying down in front of the swings but nothing to worry about- they were playing some version of tag!

Continuing to love our daily routine of playing in the cul de sac after school.

Rich and Joseph met up with Matt Martin, Zack and some other friends on January 21st to go to Monster Jam again this year.  They had a great time (as evidenced by Joseph's scream in this picture!)  

Fun in the bath with the girls!  While Joseph showers, I normally bathe all three girls in the bath together these days.  I'll wash Julia and Ella first and then bring Charlotte in while the older girls play with her and they all love it.  I do have to say though that I really miss our bathroom in Texas!!!  This normal size California bathroom just doesn't cut it when trying to bathe three girls at once...but we make it work!

Nothing like a post bath naked walk up the stairs in heels!!  I mean, seriously, life doesn't get much better than this!!

Rich went to a networking conference on Saturday, January 14th so Laura and I met up at Mission Hills to hike with the kids.  It was a gorgeous day and everyone had a great time as usual when we're together.

Cole wasn't feeling great so he didn't make it.  Joseph especially missed him but still had a nice day. 

This was the scene from a lazy Sunday morning before church on January 15th.  Just a typical Sunday turning the kitchen chairs into forts and I was just laughing at how Charlotte was so intent on watching them (and this was the last day that she sat in the bouncy seat since she was basically leaning out of it reaching the floor-eek!!)

Stuff scattered everywhere...

That afternoon we met the Ozecks downtown for the Martin Luther King Jr. parade. The parade was a lot of bands and just groups marching but the kids just had a good time being together and dancing and it was a nice change of pace for the weekend.

We played at the Waterfront playground for a bit before driving home so I could feed Charlotte.

Charlotte had her 4 month appointment on Monday, January 16th and I brought Ella along to get her 4 year old shots.  The shots for Ella were pretty traumatic but thankfully she survived.

Julia received a belated Christmas gift from Godfather Greg and was so excited about it!  

Just hanging with Charlotte on January 22nd.  

I just love our walks to and from school daily.  The girls are often caught walking together ahead of me and just chat the entire way.  If it isn't raining, we walk!  There were a few chilly mornings this month but we bundled up and survived.  I kept telling myself that Lindsay walks to and from work in Brooklyn so a 1/2 mile walk to school in 45 degree weather really isn't that bad.  The kids didn't seem to mind at all either.  

Aunt Cindy came to visit over the weekend of January 21st so we went to my parent's house for brunch to catch up with her.  It is always so nice to spend time with her and Esther and we were able to see cousin Chris and his girlfriend which was great, too. 

Just cozying it up with Julia on January 26th.  

We always walk home with our neighbors, Brandon and Alex, and Ella has a soft spot for Brandon.  They walked the entire way home together side by side-I'm pretty sure they didn't say a word to each other but she was on cloud nine. In the mornings they drive and whenever they pass us they'll always yell to us and whenever Brandon yells, "Hi Ella" she always lights up.  And so it begins...

It doesn't get much cuter than this!! The smile, the curls...just love this girl!

It was a beautiful day on January 28th and surprisingly we didn't have any plans for the Saturday morning so we went over to the Westwood club to play some mini golf.  Julia was over it by the second hole but everyone else played all nine holes and Daddy even scored a hole in 1!! 

We spent the afternoon of January 29th just hanging in the yard and the kids finally used this awesome chalk/paint that we have had forever.  It seriously was so neat and they loved it.  

Finally, to finish out the month, just a few random pictures from the last day of January.  

And, just like that, the first month of 2017 has come to a close!