And then the sun shone down

This morning started off rocky, but when I was in the depths of a woe-is-me attitude Charlie showed me his shining little happy spirit, showered me with smiles and coos, and he dug me out of it. Amazing that my little boy is already teaching me lessons in hope and strength- it's quite humbling.

The rest of our day was spent out on the boat. I'm pretty sure the bean is going to be a water baby. He was so easy going and content to just take everything in and look around. I'm so lucky to have him. The best thing about the afternoon: Charlie pretty much kept all his feedings down!

Here's a shot Joe took the other day after I just got home from my first hair salon appointment in over a year and a half-woohoo!
Thanks to Joe for giving me the opportunity to pencil in some alone time! Here's a new mantra of mine: In order to be a good nurturer I must also nurture myself.

Feeling Dejected

Forgive me for complaining but....After a rough night this morning I looked over into the bassinet and saw a little smile on Charlie's face. Five minutes after taking his medicine and a good feeding he threw everything up. I don't understand why this has to keep happening to my poor little boy. It's just not fair.

Very Superstitious...

As a new Mommy I have become extremely careful of what I say, fearful of the possible repercussions. It seems as though every time I verbalize that Charlie is doing better, he undoubtedly takes a turn for the worse soon after.

My poor bean came down with his first cold on his four month birthday. In addition to the cold, his reflux, which had leveled off for a few days, started to aggravate too. Tonight he threw up five or six times (I lost count after I was drenched and he was drenched several times over). I'm not sure if it was from the mucous in his throat or the reflux, but it happened to be right after I said I thought he was getting much better-guess not! But I digress...

I have also been apprehensive in answering questions about Charlie's sleeping habits. He has been such a good sleeper-when he feels well-that I feel like he is an angel baby. It's as though I need a charm or wood to knock on when I answer that question!

This morning I was clearing out Charlie's closest of the onesies and other clothes that are too small for him. I came across this really cute one-piece feety-pajama and thought maybe I'll give this a try for bedtime instead of the onesie and sleep sack I've been doing over the past several weeks. Then I thought again and said 'if it aint broke don't fix it!'

It's crazy but I feel as though the "path of mommyhood" that I'm walking down is covered in eggshells. Hopefully we'll find more solid ground around the next bend.

Ahhh...vacation

Joe took this week off so we could have some family fun with the bean. The past few days we've spent motoring around on our boat and picnicking in our favorite spots. Here's a shot of Captain Charlie at the helm (Daddy asked to be cropped out):
















And here's a shot of the view by day...
















And by night...
















Days like today make me so thankful to live in New England :o)

And a side of Charlie fingers please...

The only thing my son is currently interested in eating are his fingers. We're definitely in the teething phase. They must be delish because he is always happy when he's munching on them :o)

My child just loves to be clean...

Need I say more?

Ahh, the good life...

Charlie had his first pool party today thanks to an invitation from one of our new Mommy-baby friends.
















As you can see Charlie had a really tough time getting comfortable ha, ha!

A fun, busy week

Joe was out of town on business this week so I made multiple plans in advance of his trip to keep Charlie and I (read: me) busy. I don't cope well with my husband being away so it helps to divert my attention as much as possible.

We spent two glorious days with my sister and her family on Long Island. It was a ton of fun and great to reconnect with my sis. Then my Mom slept over our house, thanks Mom! Finally, last night Charlie and I did dinner with my sister-in-law.

Right now my three men are all sleeping on this sunny Saturday afternoon: Joe trying to catch a few zzzs after getting off a red eye flight, Charlie peacefully snoring away his afternoon nap, and Malcolm doing what cats do best for 20 out of 24 hours a day ;o)

Shopaholic

This afternoon Charlie was a particularly chipper mood so I decided to venture out and make a trip over to TJ Maxx. In my pre-baby days I spent hours scouring the sales racks, finding treasures amidst the less-desirable-items. Ahh, so much has changed- for the good, mind you.

I set out with a goal to find some t-shirts for myself and what did I end up with? Four photo albums (to fill with photos of the bean), a pair of loafers, a pack of socks, and two outfits from Eddie Bauer, all for the bean.

My downfall started with the Eddie Bauer outfits- who can turn down a mini puffer/fleece lined vest layered over a waffle knit henley all topped off with the most adorable pants?? Not I, I tell you. I know buying a puffer vest for a baby is completely and utterly impractical, but who the heck cares when I know how cute Charlie's going to look in them?!

Charlie's Favorite Moment of the Day

As a part of our night-time routine, Charlie gets a bath right around 9pm. He adores the bath, but I swear there is something he loves more than the bath itself. It is getting out of the bath and being wrapped up like a baby burrito that sends him over the edge into baby nirvana. He opens his mouth as huge as he can in a state of total glee.

(Mini)Smithers

This is how my baby looks nearly all the time since he has discovered that he has hands. They are either being twidled Dr. Evil style or he attempts to shove both hands, all fingers, into his mouth simultaneously.

He's plotting worldwide domination. Supercute.

Me thinks he's onto me...

Last night I tried out a new product on Charlie to help with administering his meds. Reliadose promises to easily get medications into your baby without them even noticing. It has this crazy dual chambered nipple that you insert a syringe with the pre-measured dosage into the middle of the bottle. Then you can slowly push the meds into baby's mouth while they are drinking something they love. Sounds great, right?

I clearly cannot pull the wool over my son's eyes, because everytime I gave a little push on the syringe Charlie got this disgusted look on his face that spoke volumes~This woman is trying to poison me! He stopped drinking and then would start up again on his merry way and then I would try again. The last 'shot' of meds produced a priceless look that I wish I could have captured with the camera because his whole face wrinkled up and I had to laugh out loud. Poor guy. Guess we'll go back to trying to shoot the stuff down his throat ala that water balloon game at carnivals...fun, fun, fun!

Mommy brain...

Strikes again. So, there were a few noteworthy facts I forgot to mention in my last monthly update on the bean:

About two weeks ago Joe was playing with the bean on the play gym mat and Charlie decided it was time to roll over. Joe plopped him on his tummy and again we witnessed another roll over Charlie-style. We haven't had a repeat performance since then but we managed to get it on videotape so it is documented ha, ha!

Also, at the beginning of the month and then again at the end of the month Joe was sticking his tongue out at Charlie (I know we're already teaching him bad habits LOL), and Charlie stuck his little tongue out too, it was absolutely adorable. He was definitely mimicking because he did it several times over after watching Joe - so cute.

Finally, the bean has been reaching and grabbing for things now, mostly they are things attached to Mommy- read-hair and necklaces=ouch!

Charlie is 13 weeks old today are here are some shots from a mini photo shoot that we had while dinner was cooking.

Love this shot of the feet!
















We love our bumbo.
















Maa...can you stop with the pictures already?! I'm trying to attend to serious business here...
















I swear my bean is starting to look more like a little boy and a lot less like a newborn, eeek!