YEAH FOR OCTOBER!!!
The fall has been great here and I have really enjoyed the cool weather and beautiful colors. It has also been an exciting and busy month so I thought I would highlight ten things since we are in the tenth month. Enjoy!
1. First, Haley went to her first formal dance in high school. When I first met her she was 12 years old, so in my eyes she is still little. I can't believe she is 16 and dating and driving :). But, here she is, so beautiful and ready to go to her first dance.
2. Nick has been really busy with work, but in his free time he has been trying to do more work on the house. His latest project has been refacing our fireplace. These pictures show the old brick and then the new brick, minus the mantel. I will post a another picture once the mantel is on. I think he did such a great job!
3. In one week we were given a couple of reminders of just how blessed we are. At the beginning of the week, our heat fan went out so we had to go one night and part of the next day without heat. Normally this wouldn't be a big deal, but I was very worried that Charlize wouldn't be warm enough. So, she spent the night with us (for body heat) and then got to take naps in our bed, all bundled up. Even though it cost us a pretty penny to get the heat going again, it reminded me how blessed we are to live in a home and an time where we can have heat so easily in our home.
So, here is a picture of our little girl, all bundled up for her nap.
Later that week, our hot water heater went out, reminding me again how blessed we are. I think I had started to take for granted all that we are blessed with. I am truly grateful for modern conveniences and technology that make our lives so great.
4. We also had another close-call that same week, but again we were blessed. Haley, our young driver, had her first car accident. She has bumps and bruises to show for it, but she came out alright. Now, we just have to find her another vehicle to drive!
And of course, a few things about Charlize...
5. She is really getting good at rolling over and grabbing toys. I like this video because it shows how much she is talking and then at the end you can see how fast she has gotten at rolling from her back to her tummy.
6. I love that she has gotten really good at rolling over onto her tummy--it makes tummy time a lot easier because if she rolls onto her tummy on her own, then she usually doesn't cry. It has to be her idea!! She has gotten so comfortable on her tummy that sometimes she'll just lay there without playing or talking, it is pretty cute.
One time, when I went to check on her this is what I found:
I guess she was a little more tired than I thought!! So precious!
7. Charlize is also learning to do a few new things. The first is the Johnny Jump Up. Charlize had a great first experience--she really enjoyed it. Here is the video of the first time I put her in it.
Then I put her back in it when Nick came home and her second experience wasn't as good. I wasn't looking as closely as I should have been and she smacked right into the door. If you look closely at this picture you can see two red goose eggs on her forehead.
8. Another thing Charlize is learning is how to giggle. My mom has had the best luck at getting giggles out of her but I have had a couple of good attempts. She was giggling pretty good one time so I had Nick grab the camera, but as usual, as soon as she sees she is being filmed, she stops whatever it is we want to capture. So, listen close and you can hear a really short little giggle towards the end. It is pretty cute.
9. Charlize is teething!!! I thought that she might have been teething when she couldn't keep her hands out of her mouth and she was always drooling but now I know that she is. I have been able to feel a couple of teeth coming in on the top and occasionally she'll let me get a good look inside of her mouth to see her little pearly whites coming in. It has made her a little more irritable but she is still cute and fun!
I tried several times to get a good picture of her teeth coming in but had no success. Instead, I decided to get a video of her taking her teething tablets. She gets really excited when it is time to take them and has gotten really good at "chewing" them.
And number 10...
Yes, that is plastic wrap on her little bottom. When Charlize was 2 months old she came down with a little bacterial infection. At her last well-child appointment her doctor thought it was time to check and make sure the infection was all out of her system. In order to do this, we had to get a stool sample. This is what I had to do when she was two months old, and although it is not easy, I thought, "No big deal, I have done this before." Well, I had done it on a 2 month old; a 4 month old is completely different--she can roll now. Basically, I have to sit there with her laying on piece of plastic wrap until she poops and then I can wrap it up and take it to the lab. So, I was laying on the floor with her when I had to go answer the door. When I returned, I found her rolled over and playing with her toys with plastic stuck to her bum. I just had to take a picture!