Last Hurrah

It's a sad time for Mommy -- Charlie is weaning himself.

He used to come into the office every day at lunch to nurse, but lately he's been more interested in looking around than eating. When my milk would let down, he'd pull off and stare, puzzled. I used to nurse him first thing in the morning, but he'd much rather get down on the floor and start playing or pulling up than cuddle or eat. And at night, our favorite time to nurse, he's too hungry and wants a bottle.

Sniff. I would have nursed him at least until he was 12 months old, but I guess he has other plans.

Latest Charlie News

At seven months (31 weeks), Charlie is growing like a weed! He is way ahead on his large-motor milestones and doing well on everything else. He continues to be an incredibly good-natured, happy baby.



Right now, one if his favorite things is his big brother. He is endlessly fascinated by Jake. Jake can make him laugh harder than anyone else, and he always wants to be where Jake is. He also loves to hear his big brother play guitar or drums! Jake is very sweet with him. (Ignore the fake smile Jake is putting on; he's suddenly started making this pained fake smile whenever he sees the camera.)




He likes his solids a lot. So far, the only thing he can't eat is squash...just like his big brother. He loves carrots and sweet potatoes, as you can see from the big "thumbs up" in this picture (well, that's what it looks like, anyway).

I can't believe how fast Charlie has gone from rolling over to crawling to pulling up to standing and cruising. The other day, he actually stood unassisted for a few seconds! I shudder to think how soon he'll be walking...I want him to slow down! Sniff, my baby is growing up too fast.


He's been able to push up to 90 degrees since he was just a few weeks old.


Sitting is not his favorite thing, he'd rather be in motion.


Although banging on things that make noise make sitting acceptable.


He started pulling up early on, and we could pull him to standing by 4 months.


Now, he stands all the time...when he's not crawling. He can even cruise around the coffee table. Yikes!

His favorite things all involve crawling, standing and cruising. He has an activity center that lets him "stand" in a seat, and go around the table in a circle, rather than a stationery one. He loves to move around, playing with the activities, or just racing around in a circle, practicing walking. He still likes toys he can put in his mouth.


When he heads for his toy box/area in the morning, he likes to dump out his plastic blocks. He thinks it's great fun when Mommy builds a tower and he gets to knock it down. He also likes his toys that make music. A lot of his brother Jake's toys were passed on to Kyle, and they are now coming back for Charlie. It's really cute and sweet to see Charlie playing with the exact same toy Jake had, and enjoying it just as much.

They are different kids, though. Charlie is much more laid back and more interested in moving around, whereas Jake was always more interested in making things "go" -- sort of large motor versus fine motor. Charlie is not as good a sleeper, but he is becoming a good eater. He still has a pretty small tummy and doesn't like more than 4-6 ounces of formula at a time, or much solid food at once. He also doesn't like chunkier textures or things like Puffs, which Jake loved at this age. He's not a very cuddly baby, mostly because he wants to be on the move, but he is very happy and smiling and interactive.

It is almost impossible not to compare them, although I don't really do it in a negative way. It's just so interesting to see where they are the same and how they are different. They are both completely adorable though (not that I'm prejudiced).

Charlie Pics

Too cool for school.


We went to vacation at MeMe & PapPap's house in NC. Had a great time! See Jake's blog for more details.



Jake and Charlie had a great Independence Day, even though it was really hot. Charlie missed the fireworks...he was fast asleep well before dark!


Charlie loves his MeMe. She even took the baby monitor one night and got up with him all night long. It was the first time I've slept 9 hours in a row in months (feels like years....)


Charlie loves PapPap, too. He liked hanging out in the big recliner as much as his brother Jake always did, although I don't think any tool or parts catalogs were perused during our visit.


Here's Charlie, loving his food!


Charlie's first plane ride! He handled like a seasoned traveller, and pretty much slept most of the trip. The passengers around us all commented on what a cute, good baby he is. Of course!


He's playin' those Baby Blues...


Charlie has excellent musical taste. Here he is listening to our friend Jen Cass's latest...

Six Months + Update

Charlie has proven to be a poor correspondent (too busy learning new things!) so he's turned the reins, (so to speak, and to mix a metaphor or two) over to Mommy.

Charlie is growing by leaps and bounds! He is crawling like a madman. He no sooner mastered that skill when he decided to start working on pulling up. He can already pull himself up on his shorter musical toys, etc. and tries to pull up on the coffee table -- and our legs. He can sit up pretty well and is learning to push to sitting by himself. He's not crazy about sitting though, as he'd much rather be on the move!

He loves making noises with his mouth, experimenting with different sounds. Completely bored with making spit bubbles, he's moved on to smacking and clacking noises, fake coughing, grunting, and lots of "gah!" with a "bah" and "meh" thrown in to mix things up.

He is an incredibly smiling, happy and good natured baby. If he's awake, he's usually smiling. He's very content to play with his toys, crawl around, and generally explore his world. He loves attention, but he's not a baby that requires constant interaction and attention. He has quite the attention span and capacity for self-amusement, for a six month old.

His favorite toys are anything that plays music (including his older brother), anything that lets him "stand" up (like his Jumperoo and activity center), his blocks, and his box of little toys he can stick in his mouth and practice his hand-holding skills on. He loves his set of crazy plastic balls, and will chase them all over the floor. He and I play "ball" and he does a pretty good job of rolling the ball back to me (even if usually it's by accident).

He's eating solids now and so far has liked everything -- except the infamous avocado, of course. Sweet potatoes and green beans are big favorites, and like his brother, he likes prunes.

He weighs just over 16 pounds, so he's still pretty small -- but wow, is he strong! If he's holding on to something, you're going to have to use some real muscle to pry it out of his grip.

Charlie is quite the charmer. He loves to flirt, and is the master of the slow smile and shy glance under the eyelashes. With his beautiful smile and big, dark eyes, he just melts the hearts of everyone he meets, especially women. They just goo and gush over him. Alex isn't complaining, of course, although he realizes that he is simply Charlie's transportation.

Hard to believe he's almost 7 months old!