Yesterday was such an exciting day for our family; Charlotte took her very first plane ride! I was actually quite amazed at how easily we passed through security - a TSA officer helped me with the stroller and all of my things. After getting up early and waiting for a slightly delayed flight, Bug slept through the taxi, takeoff and first hour of the flight. While she got a little bored being stuck in our laps for the middle portion, she was completely quiet during the descent - occasionally sucking on her thumb (I guess to relieve pressure as she needed). That worked well, seeing that she wanted nothing to do with the things I brought for her to suck on.
I took great delight in the decent into Colorado Springs and soaked up the beautiful birds-eye view of patches of snow on the ground, stuck on rooftops, and icing the trees.
Despite the snow on the ground, the sun looked brightly upon us as we left the airport and 35 degrees never seemed so warm. We checked into the Broadmoor and enjoyed a drink and snack from The Bar, overlooking the lake and the mountain behind the west side of the complex. Charlotte took one of her rare but wonderful 2 hour afternoon naps, so I had an excuse to take one too!
Well past her usual 7pm CST bedtime, we drove through the falling snow to meet Fred's coworker and customers for dinner at Edelweiss German Restaurant. She was most entertained by the German musicians playing the guitar and accordion while entertaining the rest of the table with her cheery disposition. A very pleasant evening for the Sanchez Family.
This morning greeted us with a fresh blanket of snow on the ground and anticipation of 4-5 more inches to come. We enjoyed room service in our cozy room. Fred just headed down to setup his booth while Charlotte naps. When he returns we will walk to the Catholic Church nearby for Mass.
I don't think we brought the cord for transferring photos, so I will add photos to the blog when we return to Houston.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Friday, March 14, 2008
Precious Moments
Today Charlotte and I went with Beta and her Great-Aunt Paula to visit her Great-Grandmother, "Mom." You may remember that we took a 4 generations photo we took when Charlotte wasn't yet two weeks old:
The wait for Mom's lunch to come out seemed to last forever, so we turned Mom away from the table to include her in our conversation. I placed Charlotte on her knee, although I did not think Mom would take much notice. To my surprise, Mom took her hand and gently ran the back of her fingers along Charlotte's face before placing her arm around her great-granddaughter and fingered the cloth of her flowered dress.
A special treat from a woman who acknowledges little that happens in her environment. Blast blast, blast, for forgetting my camera.
The wait for Mom's lunch to come out seemed to last forever, so we turned Mom away from the table to include her in our conversation. I placed Charlotte on her knee, although I did not think Mom would take much notice. To my surprise, Mom took her hand and gently ran the back of her fingers along Charlotte's face before placing her arm around her great-granddaughter and fingered the cloth of her flowered dress.
A special treat from a woman who acknowledges little that happens in her environment. Blast blast, blast, for forgetting my camera.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Monday, March 10, 2008
Toothy Grin!
We took this picture yesterday and I just had to post it because of the toothy grin!
Charlotte's smile here almost makes up for the fact that my good sleeper no longer sleeeps so well. We're up to 3 nights in a row of frustration. The crib seems to still be fine and dandy for nap times, and for first going down at night, but somewhere between 10 and midnight, she refuses to sleep there. She will wake up and only stop crying (by crying I mean screaming) if in my arms - at which point Charlotte goes right back to sleep. Unless I hold her for a full 20 minutes (when she goes into a deeper sleep cycle) the second I lean over to lay her down again, she starts screaming again. If I do get her back down in the crib, it will only last an hour or so. Generally, I give up and bring her to bed with me, where she seems to sleep fairly well, although I am not a fan.
I am at a loss. Hopefully, Charlotte the good sleeper will return soon...
Charlotte's smile here almost makes up for the fact that my good sleeper no longer sleeeps so well. We're up to 3 nights in a row of frustration. The crib seems to still be fine and dandy for nap times, and for first going down at night, but somewhere between 10 and midnight, she refuses to sleep there. She will wake up and only stop crying (by crying I mean screaming) if in my arms - at which point Charlotte goes right back to sleep. Unless I hold her for a full 20 minutes (when she goes into a deeper sleep cycle) the second I lean over to lay her down again, she starts screaming again. If I do get her back down in the crib, it will only last an hour or so. Generally, I give up and bring her to bed with me, where she seems to sleep fairly well, although I am not a fan. I am at a loss. Hopefully, Charlotte the good sleeper will return soon...
Friday, March 7, 2008
Catch-up!
So I have had some issues posting photos because my photoshop is outa wack (I like to resize them before posting), and have been putting off posting.
Ummm, I think the sun hat is too big!
We haven't used an infant carrier for Charlotte since she went into the cast at 3 months old, since she plumb didn't fit into one. One of my coworkers had a little boy on February 26th, so we lent the seat to her. Just for kicks though, we took this photo before lending it out.
Beta and Grandad went to a Houston Zoo fundraising function a few weeks ago and landed a Zoo membership. To our great pleasure, they listed our family under the membership, so we are free to go to the zoo any time! My mom's group actually met there the last Saturday in February, a beautiful day, so we made it a family outing. I don't think Charlotte noticed any of the animals, but Fred and I certainly enjoyed them! Charlotte enjoys watching other children, being outside, and of course, trips down the slide with Mommy!
Can you see the baby girraff in the background?
Ummm, I think the sun hat is too big!
We haven't used an infant carrier for Charlotte since she went into the cast at 3 months old, since she plumb didn't fit into one. One of my coworkers had a little boy on February 26th, so we lent the seat to her. Just for kicks though, we took this photo before lending it out.
Charlotte in the infant carrier just before turning 6 months:
Charlotte in the infant carrier at 4 days old:
She grows way too fast!
In other news, we visited the pediatrician for her 6 month check up on Tuesday and got the go ahead for solids. I must admit, we've been sneaking her banana for the last couple of weeks. I put it into this VERY MESSY mesh feeder so she can feed herself. It keeps her entertained while I get dinner going.
The pediatrician told us to stat with rice cereal (I'd already purchased it) and start adding veggies. So far, she is not very interested in the cereal. I tried adding mashed banana, which she loves, but she gave me a mean look for tricking her into it.
Playing with your food never looked so cute!
We've also moved to sippy cups! I had to purchase several to find one that she'd use, and the Nuby brand came out a winner. The Avent ones have crazy valves to keep liquid from spilling; even I have a hard time drinking out of them!
Charlotte had a great time playing with her cup;
I think some of the water even ended up in her tummy!
The doc also asked about milestones, including if she was making any hard consonant sounds. I told her we get some oo-oo-oo, yi-yi-yi/ya-ya-ya noises, but non of the "ga, ba, da" noises. But, I told her, she does make her "m" sounds. Thankfully, Charlotte proved me right by making one a few minutes later (apparently "m" usually comes later than "ga, ba, da"). She must have heard us talking, though, because all day the following day, everything was "bababa."
Here is how she measured up for 6 months:
26 inches - just above 50%
16 lbs, 8 oz - around 60-70%
17" head circumference
Her weight gain has slowed dramatically, but the doctor doesn't seem concerned.
The biggest, most exciting thing happened today; WE ARE DONE WITH THE BRACE! I took one more photo yesterday of her in it. She has sitting unsupported down pretty well (with the occasional topple-over) since the brace allowed her to do that. Hopefully now we'll move on to rolling over and crawling around - things she could not manage in the brace.
Until next time, have a good one!
Saturday, March 1, 2008
6 Months Old - Our Little Lady!
So Charlotte turned 6 months old on TUESDAY! I celebrated by being sick :-(. Reason 367 that I am still breastfeeding - my body started making antibodies before I ever knew I was sick, passing those antibodies on to Charlotte. As she was being exposed to the bug, she was also getting antibodies from me to fight it. YAY! We've dodged another bug!
We can hardly believe our little "Bug" has been a part of our lives for so long. We also can't believe that we call her "Bug." OK, maybe mostly I call her Bug, shortened from the longer nickname, "Bugaboo," also my creation. Poor Charlotte.
The other day I came home to find Fred talking to Charlotte from the bathroom. Or so I thought; I found her sitting in the bathroom with him! I laughed to see him share in my daily dilemma these days: Charlee crying, alone, one room over or sitting happily, but sharing once private moments with you in the bathroom. Don't be fooled if you see her playing contentedly by herself while your attention lies elsewhere; so long as she can SEE you, she finds nothing amiss in her world. The second you step out of view, her world falls apart. The fact that she can still HEAR you makes no difference.
Rolling Over: She can do it! While she doesn't spend much time out of the brace, I encourage her to move when it comes off. With the bribe of a toy, she rolled from back to tummy once. This move required significant encouragement, so we are waiting for a repeat (that darn arm still gets in the way!). Of her own accord, she has rolled from front to back several times. Certainly, she will crawl out of my sight in no time once the brace stays off for good - baby-proofing, here we come!
Teeth: Charlotte surprised us by cutting her first two teeth very early at 4 months old (so between the cast, discovering her milk allergy, and teething, her 4th month of life was the hardest month we've had). Just to surprise us once more, the next two teeth starting to peek through are on either side of the bottom two she already has. Although I thought her top gums looked swollen a few weeks ago, it seems I have no clue what to look for, as the new teeth are definitely on the bottom. Hopefully, someday, she will have a set of teeth to chew with and not a single row of pearly whites on the bottom!
We have pictures to post; I will do that soon. They include pictures from our trip to the ZOO! Charlotte enjoyed herself as she does on any trip outdoors, but I must say Fred and I held more excitement for the animals.
We can hardly believe our little "Bug" has been a part of our lives for so long. We also can't believe that we call her "Bug." OK, maybe mostly I call her Bug, shortened from the longer nickname, "Bugaboo," also my creation. Poor Charlotte.
The other day I came home to find Fred talking to Charlotte from the bathroom. Or so I thought; I found her sitting in the bathroom with him! I laughed to see him share in my daily dilemma these days: Charlee crying, alone, one room over or sitting happily, but sharing once private moments with you in the bathroom. Don't be fooled if you see her playing contentedly by herself while your attention lies elsewhere; so long as she can SEE you, she finds nothing amiss in her world. The second you step out of view, her world falls apart. The fact that she can still HEAR you makes no difference.
Rolling Over: She can do it! While she doesn't spend much time out of the brace, I encourage her to move when it comes off. With the bribe of a toy, she rolled from back to tummy once. This move required significant encouragement, so we are waiting for a repeat (that darn arm still gets in the way!). Of her own accord, she has rolled from front to back several times. Certainly, she will crawl out of my sight in no time once the brace stays off for good - baby-proofing, here we come!
Teeth: Charlotte surprised us by cutting her first two teeth very early at 4 months old (so between the cast, discovering her milk allergy, and teething, her 4th month of life was the hardest month we've had). Just to surprise us once more, the next two teeth starting to peek through are on either side of the bottom two she already has. Although I thought her top gums looked swollen a few weeks ago, it seems I have no clue what to look for, as the new teeth are definitely on the bottom. Hopefully, someday, she will have a set of teeth to chew with and not a single row of pearly whites on the bottom!
We have pictures to post; I will do that soon. They include pictures from our trip to the ZOO! Charlotte enjoyed herself as she does on any trip outdoors, but I must say Fred and I held more excitement for the animals.
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