Hi! I am Charlotte and I am three months old!
I smile.
I laugh.
I giggle.
I like to stand up with daddy holding me.
I can roll over, from my tummy to my back.
I suck on my hands.
I pull hair.
I like to watch tv.
I can look at something and grab it.
I am changing everyday and getting so big!
The month of May was a different and challenging month here at the hess residence! Charlotte really did give us a run for our money at times and was the most charming, adorable baby at other times. The minute that I published the blog about Charlotte being two months old and how much I was in love with her gummy grin, I believe she did not grin again at night for three weeks! We had our ups and we had our downs. But as a mommy I really did learn a bunch. Charlotte took me to mommy school and I think I might have passed. Some valuable lessons that I learned at this schooling that Charlotte put me through are as follows:
1. I am a liar. No matter what I say or think (we will get to that with point two) Charlotte will do the opposite. If I email Jay while he is at work and brag about what a good mommy I was that day...give it about 60 minutes and it will be a different story. If I make the comment that we have gone a long time since we had a rough night...bam, not anymore. It actually has gotten fairly comical. Jay and I find ourselves starting to say something about our lives with our little cutie and then abruptly stop, afraid that we would jinx ourselves. We have never been superstitious people, but children can do crazy things to people!
2. Charlotte is psychic. It is true. My baby has the rare gift of reading minds. Once Jay and I stopped conversing about our luck or trials of the day she started to be able to read minds. It is amazing at the speed that she can accomplish this unbelievable task. You will be thinking to yourself that you are going to do this or that and she will look you in your eyes and change everything that you planned. She can also perform this amazing ability while sleeping. Don’t dare think how wonderfully she has been sleeping, she will know what you are thinking!
3. My mom is a genius. Mom’s never cease to amaze me. We have already had a miracle healing from one mother and now my own mom swoops into town and fixes Charlotte once again. We had a gotten the gas, sleeping and schedule all figured out earlier in the month, but that did not last long. My mom came for a week long visit last week and the day before she arrived Charlotte hit her three month growth spurt and with a vengeance! To make a very long, sleepless story short. We don’t think the big C was getting enough to eat through her growth spurt and after a doctor’s visit and some decision making on our part we have her nursing and taking some little snacks of formula. I do not think we could have clearly diagnosed what was the matter with Charlotte without my moms help. Fresh experienced eyes are always a blessing!
Along with my mom being able to really identify Charlotte’s needs. We also got all the squares completed for the beach quilt! It took me two months to complete the first 30 squares and a day and a half to finish the last 30. We had an amazing system of my constant sewing paired with my mom constantly ironing. What I can accomplish with some help from my momma!
I am glad that the month of May is over.
I am looking forward to the summer and all of the fun trips we have planned.
I am curious about what Charlotte is going to teach me next in her mommy school that she is putting me through!
-melissa
I do not know who had more fun or who teared up the most when it was time for Grandma to leave! We had such a great time with Grandma this week! It was great timing for her to come in so many ways. First I was coming off of a pretty bad cold when Jenanne got here and Charlotte was unusually fussy- what a horrible combination! But Jenanne quickly figured us all out! I think she was in town for about fifteen minutes and she had decided that Charlotte was having a hard time burping, was uncomfortable and quickly solved the problem with some heavy pounding and gas drops...she figured all of this out by staring at me holding Charlotte for just a few minutes. I was thoroughly impressed!
While Grandma was here she also helped us get on a schedule that involved Charlotte sleeping in her, wait for it..........crib during the day! What a revolutionary idea! She is now taking about four naps a day and staying down in her crib for about 45-60 minutes. What a crazy difference it makes to have just that much free time during the day!
Besides some really hard work on Jenanne’s part, we also had some great fun. We started every day with a great invigorating walk, followed by endless giggles from both grandma and the little girl, we had some great talks and ate like queens!
I know that the time that she spent with us was enjoyed by everyone. It was great to see Jenanne with the grandbaby that she has been praying for for years! It is just the beginning of a very sweet relationship! It was a wonderful bonding time for all three of us girls! Jenanne’s help was priceless and her love was immeasurable! Thanks Grandma for your great visit!
-melissa
Wow! How two months can fly by! Charlotte is getting older and it seems she changes a little every day. Her budding personality keeps us constantly entertained. Here are some of our favorite things about her that we are seeing as she heads into her third month from her two most adoring fans!
As Charlotte turns two months there is one thing in particular that just melts my heart. It is definitely my favorite quality of hers for this time in her life. Whenever I go up to feed her during the night no matter the time, midnight/two/four in the morning she always greets me with a huge open mouth gummy smile. Sometimes it may take me a little too long to pull myself out of bed and grab a sweatshirt before heading upstairs, but no matter how long it has taken me or how upset she gets as soon as she sees me she flashes me that ridiculous smile. It is so silly and so sweet at the same time. It is just the thing I often need in the wee hours of the morning! I know that/hope that this smile will change with time (I can not imagine her as a teenager or adult with that huge open mouth smile) but I am going to enjoy it while we have it. I do not think there is one other smile on this planet that can effect me the way that her smile can. Maybe it is just because she is mine, or maybe because she is the prettiest baby in the world!
-melissa
Two months old. It’s still hard to believe that I have shoes, books, habits, jars of salsa, etc. that have existed a lot longer than Charlotte has, so what’s my favorite part about Charlotte so far? I’d love to tell you. Probably about a month into Charlotte’s life I asked Melissa about me bottle feeding Charlotte her last meal of the day before bed. With Melissa breastfeeding I don’t get to feed Charlotte. (If you can’t understand why, you aren’t old enough to read this blog). I have always been more of a night owl than Melissa, so it works out. I go up to feed Charlotte. Melissa pumps. (Once again, if you don’t know what that means, I’m sorry). By the time I feed her, get her into her straight jacket sack so she can attain multiple hours of sleeping, Melissa is usually in bed. So what does all of that have to do with my favorite thing about Charlotte so far. Well feeding her is great, but what I really love is what she does after she’s done eating and I’m rocking her to sleep.
Most evenings she doesn’t need much rocking so I find myself just staring at her. The same way you look at a great piece of art, or like the first time you go the top of a tall building or an eiffel tower at a mid-west theme park and there’s just too much to take in, so much to look at and discover. I could stare at her for hours...
The best part and when I know I can put her in her crib is when she starts smiling in her sleep. I’m sure Charlotte is not the first baby to do this and before you say it’s gas, I assure you, you know for sure when Charlotte has gas because her farts are louder than mine...so it’s not gas. Here’s my take on the whole thing. In the morning when she wakes up or when we finally wake her up, she is all smiles and I can’t help but think that at night when she’s smiling she’s thinking about me or Melissa or milk or something that made her laugh that day.
Now, it’s also not uncommon for her eyes to roll back into her head when I’m rocking her and through the small slits all I can see is the whites of her eyes and its kind of creepy. Obviously she’s in REM sleep and she’s “mentally digesting” all of her experiences from the day. I get that. But when she smiles at night as I’m rocking her it makes my soul smile, if that makes sense? She begins and finishes each day with a smile on her face. Its just one of the lessons I’m learning from her. So before you fall asleep tonight smile and reflect. Life is short. Life is good. So takes Charlotte’s advice and smile because all is well!
-jay
