Eli's Newborn Photo Session

Click on the photo for Eli's slideshow, done by Kim Deloach Photography.

From Zero to Walking...

Well, the time has come. Charley is a walker!! At 17 months, she has entered the upright world and is walking around like a big girl. She's been walking pretty proficiently while holding our hands for a few weeks now, but she just wouldn't let go. Last Tuesday she took steps on her own initiative without us coaxing her on and by Friday she was walking around the house like it was nothing. She's not mastered it completely, but the progress she has made is amazing. I captured a cute video of it last night...her finding her daddy at the end is the best part. Forgive the poor quality...it's from my phone.

One Week Old!

Eli is one week old today! Despite the sun not showing its face, we've had a great week. Eli is adjusting well to living in this world, Charley is still trucking along, seemingly un-phased by the new member in our family, and D and I are doing just fine (so far) with the exception of the highly anticipated sleep deprivation part.

Mema and Granddaddy with grandchild #6, grandson #2
(finally another boy!)

We kinda figured this would happen, but Charley seems HUGE and so "grown-up" after being around a newborn. When I first saw her after being in the hospital for a couple days, I was like, "Who is this little girl?!" She no longer seems like a baby to us. She's really enjoyed daddy being home these last few days, and has been so great with her little brother. She's nothing but smiles when she sees him, and she doesn't seem to be bothered by the fact that I am holding him and feeding him all the time.

Here Charley is handing over her beloved Lambie to Eli.
We were impressed!

Cheesin' with Daddy
Coloring like a big girl
sleepy boy

Eli is Here

Our sweet little baby is here! And we can finally call him Eli...son...brother...little boy. He is no longer it! And he is precious! His full name is Elijah Barton, named after his granddaddies on both sides. He was 8lbs 6oz and 21 inches long, born 10 days early, just like Charley (we think he looks a lot like she did too!). More to share later, but for now, here are some pics!

No Baby Yet

Well, the baby could be here any day. A week ago I was 3cm and 80%, so we'll see what the doc says tomorrow. I was about that far along with Charley for 12 days, so who knows when this baby will make her/his grand entrance.
Here are some pics of the nursery...

Apple Time

Saturday we decided to head up to Sky Top Orchard to pick some apples and have some family fun before the baby comes. Three words: Apple Cider Doughnuts. Mmm.

"I'm Soooo big!"

Good thing they didn't have something measuring width!! :)
"How Big's Your Bottom this Autumn?"

How Many Wipes Does a Mommy Wipe?

I was laughing the other day about how my life consists of lots of wiping. Wiping hands, wiping, paws, wiping floors, wiping counters, wiping booster seats, wiping faces, wiping butts. What am I forgetting? Wiping little finger prints off of things. Anyways, that's random, but I've never really thought about how "wiping" is a huge part of being a mom.

look how long my hair is!

Charley will be 16 months on Sunday and is getting to be such a big girl. Still not walking, but I think at this point we may be dealing more with fear rather than ability. This month she started walking behind push toys and being more relaxed and efficient with "cruising." When holding our hands, she practically runs, which is hard for me to keep up with considering I'm waddling more and more.
She is starting to understand more and more things and make more and more connections. For instance, if I say, "You wanna get the mail?" she will drop what she's doing and crawl at full speed to the door to the garage. If I say, "You wanna swing?" she will drop what she's doing and crawl at full speed to the back door. We are working on a simple, "Yes please, mommy." Yesterday she and I were sitting in the living room and we couldn't see the door to the garage, but we heard it open and she squealed very loudly "daa-deeee!!" It was so precious. She loves her daddy.
We are currently making the transition to one nap a day. Her morning nap kept getting later and later (b/c she would just sit in there and play), and then she wouldn't even take an afternoon nap, so I figured we should try to combine them. The first few days of it resulted in one 30 minute nap, which was horrible, and then she had two days of 2.5 hour naps, which was actually worse! She tends to be grumpy with too much sleep. We're on day three of napping 1-3pm. Yay! Maybe that will stretch out even longer the more active she becomes, but for now, it seems to work best for her.
Charley is still pretty reserved in public and just kinda stares at people who talk to her (although she does wave to any and everybody and says hi to them. It's when they actually pay attention to her, she doesn't know what to do!). She loves being silly and laughing, she's in to absolutely everything, and is quite the talker. She is very strong willed, loves being independent (trying to be independent) and will pretty much cry if you try to help her with things. She is generally a very happy little girl and we LOVE being her parents (even during her most stinkiest of moments, literally and figuratively).
And there you have it -- thanks for bearing with me! I hadn't given a Charley update in a while and wanted to do so before the chaos begins! Less than 29 days to go! Oh, and I guess at that point, my "wiping" will double!