Well Charlotte is 11 months old now. I cannot believe it. I cannot believe that she will be a year old in one month. She is the absolute light of my life and I am so grateful for every single day that I have had with her and I look forward to watching her grow even more!
So in Charlotte's 10th month of life she cut her 9th tooth, decided that blue is her favorite color, has become scared of fans, and has started shaking her head no. To name a few.
Charlotte's 9th tooth is a molar. That was a nightmare. I'm so very sad that she has another one to go. I posted a picture below of the flap of gum that was just loose and blood red in her little mouth. This tooth has been the first to give her a fever. I check her temperature every time she is teething but this time I could feel that she was very hot and lo and behold she had a temp of 101.7. I know that everyone has their opinion and I know many doctors say that teething doesn't cause a fever but ask any mom out there and they will tell you quite the opposite. I loaded her up on Tylenol, ice chewies, and hugs and she is doing much better. This tooth also affected her sleeping which hasn't happened before. Usually she sleeps more, which did happen this time. She slept for 14 hours straight then took a 5 hour nap the day she had the fever but since then she has been waking up for an hour or so between 3 and 4 am. Not fun. She usually will go back to sleep on her own and then sleeps in until 8:30am or so. I am not used to a baby that doesn't sleep. She has spoiled me for sure.
Scotty and I left Charlotte for a whole week when we went to Lake Tahoe. It was much harder on me than it was on her. She loved being with her Mimi and PawPaw. We FaceTimed and it that made it easier. Scotty and I enjoyed our week to ourselves. It was nice to feel like we had no responsibilites persay but we were both happy to get back and see Char.
Charlotte has learned to shake her head no. It does not surprise me because I feel like I say it all the time. She is funny because she will now cry when I tell her no, stare at me and keep trying to do the same thing that I tell her not to, or lay her head down on me sweetly and say Mama then go back to doing the bad thing. She also will look at me and scratch her leg or rub her head as a nervous tick or something too. She also has been looking to me for reassurance in situations. That is one of the things so far that really makes me feel like a mother.
We still are not walking yet. Char is starting to let go of things after she pulls up and she is starting to try and stand from the ground up. I try and help her out but I'm not rushing things : )
When Charlotte was at my parents house she found a blue plastic ring that she just loved. She carried it around all the time. Now since she has been home she will only play with the blue plastic ball that she has. She loves blue. It is so funny to me that she has decided on a favorite color. She is also funny because she loves to wear necklaces. I have 2 teething necklaces that I am supposed to wear but she loves them and wears them around the house, in the car, in stores, everywhere. She loves dress up already!
Another thing that she loves, which she also liked in my belly, is music. She watches the TV when she hears a song she likes, holds her hand out like she is pointing to the TV and then claps, and she dances when any of her toys play music. She has started holding her hands out a lot and "pointing" at things. Really cool because she is starting to notice and be curious about things. This has also been a negative because she has decided that she is scared of ceiling fans and standing fans. I have no idea why or where this fear came from but if she notices them then she points and cries. It is so bizarre because she has always had a fan on when she is sleeping. Guess she really is becoming her on little person with her own fears.
We have been having a lot of fun going to My Gym, hanging out with our play groups, and going to Stroller Strides. Char loves being around all her friends and playing. We are headed to the zoo this week with a few friends so I think she will really enjoy that. She loves animals. She loves our cat, Henry and our dog Cassie that lives with my parents. She squeals at them, smiles, and goes nuts. She is being a much gentler petter as well. : )
Here are some pictures and videos from the last month:
10 months old!
What a sweet, funny little face!
Daddy kisses!
This is what Charlotte looked like one morning when we needed to leave in 10 minutes.
Henry loves Charlotte
He's a good sport
Enjoying Lake Tahoe
My first ever Selfie
Hanging at Mimi and PawPaw's house
Happy New Football Year to all the Gamecocks!
Hard to see, but that darker red is a piece of Charlotte's gum that was flapping around in her mouth from cutting her molar. No wonder she was in such a bad mood.
She was super snuggly though : )
Wonder if I sleep like this
At playgroup
My sweet baby girl
And her crazy hair. This looks like a mug shot.
Pretty baby!
Char and PawPaw on the tractor
Charlotte is such a smart girl! Watch her find the blue ball!
Well Charlotte's 9th month is over and we have moved on to 10 months! Wow! Here is what has been going on in the last month:
Charlotte can now crawl like a maniac, she can pull up on anything, she is cruising along the side of the couch, she is walking behind her walking toy, and is overall quite active and busy. She very rarely is sitting still. She is so smart and funny and has such a personality.
She finished her swimming lessons at the end of June and she did amazing! The instructor put her through a series of tests for her to pass and she passed them all! She tipped her off of a float (video below), acted like she fell off the side of the pool and step, and she even place a heavy wet towel over Charlotte's face (to imitate falling under a pool covering, etc) after she rolled over and Charlotte immediately reached up and threw the towel off her face!! It was so amazing! We have been practicing her swimming once a week and she's doing great!
Char can now wave bye and she will say "bye" (with a Southern twang I might add). A few days ago Scotty was holding her and she looked at me, waved, and said "bye bye Mama." I don't know where she thought I was going but it was the cutest thing in the world! She will also now clap when you say "patty cake" and she will hold her toy phone up to her ear. I am sure all of these things are trivial but they are big news to her Daddy and I.
I took Charlotte for her 9 month check up. She is now 16.4lbs and 27.5 inches long. She is only in the 7th percentile for weight and around 20 for her height. The doctor said that she was not worried about it at all and that Charlotte is growing just fine and that she is just a petite baby. She said that breastfed babies tend to grow slower during the second half of their first year. Yes we are still breastfeeding and boy am I ready to be done. Still pushing for a year though.
At 9 months they check iron levels. So Char had to have a finger prick. She did great. I fainted. Twice. Mom of the year right here. Oh well. As long as she is happy and healthy that's all that matters.
We went to the grocery store today. As I made it to the baby aisle, Charlotte perked up. I started putting items for her in the buggy and she knew they were for her! She turned around and started reaching for her stuff. She got a hold of her baby Cheetos and held them out to me and grunted at me. I opened them and she was happy as a clam! I sat them next to her and she would reach in the container and pull them out and feed herself while I finished shopping. She absolutely amazes me.
We went to Florida to the beach for the 4th of July. Charlotte had a wonderful time playing with all her cousins and making new friends. She swam in the pool and played in the ocean with her Daddy. She LOVED the ocean (videos below)! I am very happy that she likes the water. Plus all the water play and cousin time made for a very sleepy baby. She took 4 hour naps each day and slept in until after 8am everyday. It was awesome!
Well until next time, here are lots of pictures and videos!
My darling girl : )
Playing at My Gym
Bad hair day
Charlie Mae and Mimi on the boat!
I was in the kitchen and all I hear is "Mama! Mama!" and this is what I found. She continued to lay there and pull toys out.
Cuteness
In the toy box!
Playing with Aunt Amy at dinner
Happy 1st Father's Day to Scotty!
A little light reading for the day
Playing with friends at Stroller Strides
This is what I find when I go in her room in the mornings now : )
A sweaty Mama and happy Char after Stroller Strides
Charlotte playing with her friend, Quinn
Tea Party!
Char giving Quinn love taps
A little parallel play
The outfit for the tea party
We have a ball pit at home now! Yes, we are getting more balls.
Trapped in the pack and play while Mom and Dad were busy
The aftermath of previous picture
New friends Char made at the beach
Playing with cousins during the slideshow
Charlotte and cousin Lauren
Charlotte playing airplane with cousin Gavin
The First Annual Spurrier games on the beach were held this July 4th.
We wore bandanas to designate our teams. Here is Char representing.
Yes, she sat just like that for the hour that we played games. Just
happy to watch and be a part of everything. : )
Happy 4th of July on the beach!
4th of July baby!
Glad to be home after our 5 hour road trip that turned into 7.5 hours! She was amazing on the way there! She did not fuss one time! She played and slept! On the way back at hour 6 she wasn't so happy but still was better than most babies would be I imagine.
9 months!
The latest fashion
I created this announcement to send to the White House and to Walt Disney World. Char will get a letter back from the President and First Lady and Mickey and Minnie : )
