Charlotte: 5 months in this BIG world

Charlotte has been in my arms for 5 months now. Well, not ONLY in my arms…but not in my belly anymore. That also means she has lived in America longer than she did in South Africa… the country of her birth. I’m realizing…there really is no pause button…

That said…here are some of the changes I’ve noted throughout Charlotte’s 5^th month in this BIG world…

Charly no longer wants to be cradled. The former “magic position” in which I would cradle her in my arms with her head to my right no longer brings her comfort. Charly’s new favorite Mommy position is to be held up high with her head on my left shoulder and her right thumb in her mouth. She twirls my hair as she nestles her head against my neck. It’s a sweet position, but I will say it’s also a position for a baby…not an infant. She’s growing up… And she is sleeping a little better…surprising us with a few 8 hour nights here and there…and usually at least one 4 hour stretch a night.

We are loving Charlotte’s vocalizations and facial expressions. Charly likes to suck her bottom lip in and blow raspberries. It’s hilarious. Because she keeps her bottom lip pulled in even when she is not blowing raspberries. I don’t think she realizes how silly (and cute!) she looks while doing this! One of my favorites is when Charly is in someone’s arms besides mine. As soon as she sees me, she reaches for me and opens her mouth wide. She then starts mouthing me wherever she can get her mouth! My face, neck, shoulder, hair, haha, too funny! Sometimes she will just cry when she sees me…her entire face crinkles up and her bottom lip sticks out and she just wails. It’s such a sad face! But so cute! Then as soon as I take her into my arms, she stops crying and usually sighs or smiles. Mommy’s girl for sure at the moment!

She is also becoming more and more mobile! Charly is rolling all over the place now. She sees something she wants, she rolls to it! She has even rolled onto the hardwood floors and hasn’t let out a peep! She is developing a strong head as a result, haha ;) Don’t worry, we have rearranged rugs and blankets to soften the “thunks” as much as possible! When Charly is on her tummy, she pulls her knees in and uses her hands to scoot herself forward. She hasn’t quite figured out to lift her belly off the ground for a full-fledged crawl, but she is definitely scooting places on her belly in a crawling motion. Also- during our Kelley, Wade and LB visit- Charlotte sat up on her own for the very first time! That was February 27. So super proud of her!

EVERYTHING goes in Charly’s mouth these days. She especially loves her “links” toys…we have links galore in attempt to keep her happy in whatever room we are in! That might have something to do with the fact we started Charlotte on rice cereal this month- and then moved on to oatmeal towards the end of the month. She’s not a fan of the rice for sure…and she is only semi-ok with the oatmeal. We think she will dig the veggies and fruits that are in her near future!

She's grabbing EVERYTHING!

She's been eyeing our food for awhile...which is why we decided it was time for rice cereal...

(It looks like she is saying, "Mom, Dad...what IS this stuff?? It's gross!")

We (Daddy and Mommy!) grew up a bit this month and shared Charlotte with our Church nursery. It was more difficult for me to leave Charlotte than Ben (he does it on a daily basis when he goes to work). But thankfully…Charlotte has done awesome so far. She’s usually napping peacefully when I show up to get her at the end of the service. So it’s good all around…Mommy and Daddy hear the message and Charlotte gets in a good nap…and other people get to experience her cuteness J Our precious gift!

And…. Charlotte is slowly improving on car rides. She still fusses sometimes in the car, but not near as bad as in the past. I think it’s because we are getting out of the house more…and she has no choice but to ride in the car seat. And even she is usually able to figure out a peaceful ride is better than a fussy ride!

Isn't this one of the cutest pictures ever? Charlotte loves her Uncle Matthew!

I get a kick out of this hat every time I put it on her!

We went shopping, but I was more amused by Charlotte's expressions than anything available for purchase...

Auntie Pam and (future) Uncle Andrew! Auntie Pam gave Charlotte her Valentine's day outfit! Thank you!

Another Auntie Pam outfit!

Charlotte is looking forward to the day she can enjoy her very own Coldstone Creation...for now...she just gets to watch Mommy and Daddy enjoy theirs...

Charlotte in her Valentine's day outfit...on the actual day :)

The remaining photos are from Charlotte's 5 month photo shoot...yeah....I had fun. I don't know what I'm going to do though...we are going to have so many photos of our sweet girl! She's just so stinkin' cute!