Charlotte is 5 months now, and growing so fast. She can roll all over the place, sits on her own some, but still not enough that I can walk away from her. She tries to get up on her knees, but doesn't quite get it yet, but she can still push herself forward a bit with her toes, and she also slides herself backward and is able to turn around.
She is 23 pounds, according to my scale, which isn't always as accurate as their infant scales at the clinic. She's in 18 month shirts, and 12 month pants. She's still a healthy, chubby baby, but she's lost a couple chins, I can see her neck more. She's getting some strong tummy muscles, too! Still sleeping through the night. She goes to bed between 9-11 and sleeps until 6-7am. Which is perfect, because it gives us some time to watch tv in the evening, and she wakes up either before I get Dawson up, so then I can feed her and she goes back to sleep. Or she wakes up after I get him on the bus. She's really a super easy baby, I'm really enjoying her! At mealtime, she sits in her chair at the table with us, and is very quiet. With the rest of the kids, I always had to hold them while I ate, because they fussed the minute I even looked at my food. But even when she's been a bit fussy, she just sits there, observing everyone. I've only had to hold her while I eat a few times since she's been born! Only counting eating at home. Other places are just off routine and I often end up holding her. But to have a home routine this early is pretty good. She enjoys her exersaucer and jumperoo. She takes 1-2 naps per day, usually at least a couple hours.
At her 4 month appointment last month, she was 20 pounds, 6 ounces and 24 inches tall. She was wearing 12 month clothes. The Dr says she looks really good and he loves how chunky she is. She's over 100th percentile for weight. I love appointments that end with no concerns!
Gabriel has been doing better with his hip pain. He gets adjusted at the chiropractor weekly, and that really keeps on top of it. The last time, he didn't even have very much to adjust in his hips, so she was impressed with that. It's been almost a year, and I'm really leaning toward it being a growth issue. He does have an appointment with the Rheumatologist next month, just to rule out some things, but I'm hopeful that it's just been growing pains. Gabriel seems much older, with lots of new vocabulary, he picks up toys, and understands so much more. He loves it when I ask him to do things, like turning on a light, or bringing stuff to people.
Dawson had a growth spurt, too. He's looking so much older these days. Having a hard time in school lately, we think he might be bored. The things he's bringing home for math are things he knew last year, so he just doesn't want to do it. We will be bringing that up at his conferences next week, along with some suggestions our lead home therapist has for his fidgeting when they're sitting on the mat by the board. He's otherwise doing great, I have him doing some more things around the house, like setting and clearing the table, rinsing out his own bowl instead of just putting it by the sink. He likes those jobs much better than picking up toys. He is currently working on a sticker chart to go to Nickelodeon Universe, which is the amusement park inside Mall of America. He was very disappointed when we didn't go on rides when we went, so that gave us a new idea of someplace to go. He's very excited about earning it. We usually rotate between getting a prize, and going somewhere, and it works out to be a monthly sticker chart. His prize last month was the Wreck it Ralph Wii game. Other months he's just wanted small things, like a Mario figure.
Her monthly car seat pics. This is 3 months.
What Charlotte really looks like in the car seat. Since it's winter, and below zero, she's under this cozy cover with a blanket and a hat. She stays very warm in there! It's kinda weird seeing her in just the car seat every month when I do the monthly pics, so it's a surprise for everyone. This explains why the bottom keeps popping off though, she kicks it and her feet are at the end! Only a couple more months of this winter stuff!
This is Charlotte's seat. It sits near the kitchen so she can watch me cook, which she does often. We move it to the table for supper.
Gabriel is such a good big brother. He loves laying on the floor with her, and he's always giving her kisses, and cooing at her.
Rolling over, but she stopped to see what I was doing
She likes to grab Gabriel's shirt and teethe on him. I think he equally enjoys the attention!
I had put my pillow next to her so she wouldn't roll off. So she turned herself around and was scooting herself forward. When I came back in the room, minutes later, she just smiled at me. These pictures ended up bigger, because I copied them from my facebook, and they won't adjust.
The boys enjoyed having friends over for a day.
Dawson thinks it's neat to sit on a ball when he watches things sometimes.
Poor Charlotte got hit by a toy train during Gabriel's tantrum. It didn't turn into a dark bruise, but it's still a bit yellow. She's a trooper, she didn't even cry for very long, and wasn't fussy after that.
Playing with the bear my grandma gave her for Christmas. She really likes it.
The kids and I at Mall of America. We went through Underwater Aquarium, and it was fun to see all the fish and small sharks. Dawson loved the sharks, but was afraid of the jelly fish. I found that rather amusing.
What I saw when I got out of the shower a couple weeks ago. Charlotte had woken up, and Gabriel was keeping her company.
She loves her exersaucer
Cousins!
Charlotte with her princess jammies
The boys sometimes sleep together at night. It's so cute!
The boys enjoy putting things on her head sometimes, finding it funny when she looks down and it falls off. She's a good sport!
All my kids at 4 months old.
