Worth Remembering

This is probably something I should re-read... everyday.

“I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather.I possess tremendous power to make life miserable or joyous.

I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration, I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis is escalated or de-escalated, and a person is humanized or de-humanized.


If we treat people as they are, we make them worse. If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming.”  -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Save My Life!

Carter: Mom, I need you to buy Lifesavers.  You know, the kind that are red and green and other colors with a hole in the middle.  They are really healthy.  They save your life!

Uhhh... thanks for the genius marketing ploy, Lifesavers.  I gave him an apple instead - I told him it would keep the doctors away :)

2 Months Old!

Happy 2-month birthday, little one!

This month, Charlie...

• has been sleeping 5-6 hours before waking to eat
• has 3-4 naps each day
• took his first bottle
• had his first babysitter
• has been a coo-ing machine - ooos and ahhhs, gooos and gahhhs
• smiles all day long
• loves to be carried in the Moby wrap
• prefers to be held
• enjoys the swing or bouncer for about 10 minutes before asking to be held... again
• loves bathtime
• protests when I try to clean out his neck rolls every morning
• still hasn't had a single "blow-out"... knock on wood
• has pretty blue eyes
• attended 3 mommy&me yoga classes
• went to his first Kindermusik class
• weighed in at 14lbs 10oz

It is so fun to see Charlie's personality start to develop.  He is such a sweet and happy baby.  So easy-going and loves to smile at his family.  His adorable coos are getting longer and more complex every day. I'm pretty sure he's a genius.

Chubby Baby

Being that Charlie is my last tiny baby, there is something in me that just longs to keep him small and snuggly forever.  However, in his first act of rebellion, Charlie has decided to grow. Rapidly.  Of course, I have noticed that he's been getting bigger... I packed up all of the 0-3 month clothes and my arms are constantly tired from holding my little man.  But nothing prepared me for his two-month check-up.  Charlie is already 14 pounds and 10 ounces.  Oh. my. obese chubby. baby.

Month One Recap (just a little late!)

I am really good at a lot of things.  But I am really bad at keeping track of important dates/milestones.  You would think that a baby book would be the perfect thing... but I can never seem to remember to write anything in it.  Occasionally, I'll think about it, but that usually happens when I'm out to lunch or in the shower or somewhere decidedly bad for actually following through and writing.  So, in an attempt to keep track of some stuff - here is a (late) recap of Charlie's first month:

• You graced us with your presence 10 days early.  Thank you!
• You were a water-in-water baby (water birth, plus born with the amniotic sac intact)
• You had a fabulous head of hair, but at one month it is half-way gone.
• You sleep about 4 hours at a time at night.  Not bad!
• You aren't very fond of the pacifier.
• You still haven't had a bottle yet.
• You stay awake for about 1 hour between 2-3 hour daytime naps.  Such a sleeper!
• You aren't thrilled by the swing or the bouncer.  You only tolerate them for about 5 minutes.
• You are a "hold-me" baby and always want to be in someone's arms.
• You have visited at least a dozen restaurants around Portland.
• You make the most unbelievably cute face when you stretch right after eating.
• You seem to choke and cough every single time you eat.
• You spit up a ton. Gross.
• You love the bath, and big brother loves to help bathe you.
• You grew out of your newborn cloth diapers in 3 weeks - they were supposed to last 3 months!
• Your brother calms you down when you are fussy by singing, "Twinkle, Twinkle".
• You started smiling - REAL smiles - at 4 weeks old.
• You can only manage a few smiles a day.  Hard work!
• You will nap anywhere - the car, the couch, our arms, the floor, the crib.
• You moved into your crib at 4 weeks old.
• You are a super noisy sleeper.
• You rarely cry, and just "complain" a little bit.
• You are gaining weight like a champ - 11 pound 6 ounces at 1 month old.
• You have perfect chipmunk cheeks.
• You are pretty much the most amazing baby I ever could have dreamed of.

Only a couple of weeks until he is two months old.  Time is going too fast! I wish he would stay tiny and newborn forever :) Okay, maybe not...

Milk

Charlie boy is already 6 weeks old... and still hasn't had a bottle!  A few nights ago, I fed him and then escaped to the grocery store.  Chris was a little worried about being alone with both of the boys, but I reminded him that it can be done.  After all, I do it everyday, right?  Well, I underestimated just how much Charlie would need me.  Even though I had fed him right before leaving, he quickly decided he was hungry again (boys - they always want what they can't have, right?).  So, he cried and cried until Chris finally gave up and texted me - Please come home!  Poor baby finally fell asleep, thanks to the good use of the paci (he's finally taking it occasionally).  Here's what he looked like when I got home:

Isn't he cute??

So, it looks like if I ever want to grocery shop alone again, I need to make some changes.  I've been lazy about starting to pump.  It isn't a big deal, I just have about a million other things that I'd rather be doing, you know?  But, this morning, I finally set everything up and got to work.  I already have 4 oz. of milk to put away for my next outing.  Now the only question is... where should I go?