December at a Glance

It's about time that I updated the blog. Charley is now EIGHT months old, Christmas has come and gone, and we are all gonna have to get used to writing "2009" pretty soon. We've had good friends move away, and good friends move closer (goodbye Childri and Reeds... welcome McKees). Charley met her Great Aunt Libbie for the first time, and we met up with some friends who we haven't seen in years.

Reaching for the lights

We spent the week of Christmas in Charleston, seeing as many people as humanly possible. Charley was a trooper, getting hauled around and put to bed in different places. Not to mention this is the Christmas that will be remembered as the "hot Christmas." It was 78 on Christmas day, and we were all sweating in homes where the heat was on just days prior. Charley's fleece Christmas jammies didn't last very long, needless to say.

Charley and cousin, Jrew

As for a Charley update... She's so big! She seems heavy even to her own mother, and good gracious, hauling her in the carseat is nearly impossible. She now waves "hi" and "bye." If you see her, you may get a wave, or maybe she'll just stare at you like you're an idiot. That's pretty much the norm. Charley is not a snuggler, unfortunately. Sitting in our lap is way too boring I guess, because she squirms the entire time. Reading to her has even proved to be challenging. My mom says I was never much a cuddler either, so I guess she gets that from me. Dang it! She clams up in public, but at home is quite the chatterbox. Her favorite "words" are "daaadaaa" when she's happy and playing and "mummumuumm" when she's mad or frustrated. Hmm... go figure. No crawling yet. We are at the "sits in one place and plays with toys" stage. It's wonderful. Pretty soon that will be history, I know. The way they grow and change is such a miracle.

Charley likes to use this toy as a rear-view mirror.

That's it for now. See ya in the new year.

First Signs of Rhythm

This may bore the average viewer considering every baby does this, but it totally made us crack up. We consider it a "milestone," because it was the first interaction that Charley has had with us (other than smiling). The fun has begun. We look forward to many many more dancing sessions with daddy (and the commentary in the background is me talking to Bailey...and to answer the question at the end...her birthday is Saturday).

7 Months

Charley is now seven-months-old! She went from zero-to-sitting-up pretty much over night. I didn't think it would happen for along time, and then all of a sudden she mastered it.

We left Charley for the first time over night a few weeks ago. My parents came up and watched her so that we could go on a retreat with the high schoolers that we work with at church. She did really well (and so did mommy...once I finally said goodbye 5 times and got out the door).

Here's a pic of Charley and her great-grandfather, Thomas Rose. They are exactly 79 years 362 days apart in age!
Sorry I haven't posted in awhile! I didn't want to post something so vague, like above, but I guess something is better than nothing. I hope to post a video soon of Charley's newest "trick."