Charlotte: three years old!

I know every parent feels the same, but I cannot believe how fast time is flying. I can look at photos from Charlotte's birth, or her first few days of life, and feel like they were taken just yesterday. My baby girl just turned three, and I can't believe it!!

Charlotte is a growing girl. Her shoe size is between and 8.5 and a 9. Her old sneakers (size 8) are too tight but the next size I have (9.5) are definitely too big. We're still needing boots pretty regularly, so hopefully she fits into her sneakers come spring. She weighs 30.5 pounds and is 40.5 inches tall. She's very thin; her pants are either 3T or 4T, but they are often too big on her waist. Big pants don't pose a problem, though, because she needs to be able to take them off to use the bathroom. She potty trained very easily back in August. Her independent personality and three days of hardcore training made for a quick and easy adjustment to no more diapers. She sometimes wakes up at night to use the bathroom, but usually goes right back to sleep. She's very capable of doing the whole process herself, but recently started wanting one of us to "help" her with the wiping and pants and the like. 

We love to chat with Charlotte, and to listen to the things she says. Her brain is always working, making connections and wanting more information. She's begun asking "why?" many, many times each day. Though it can be exhausting, her curiousity is wonderful. She often repeats things (or variations of things) she hears us say. For example, today she told us Bear couldn't go to church because she had sick germs. And later, I offered a used cup of Asher's, to let Bear have a drink. She refused, saying, "No, Mom. That's old. Bear needs a new drink." 

Last night in bed, she asked me: "What do policemen have?"

When I didn't respond immediately, she said, "Do they drive cars? Or ambulances?" 

The cutest.

One not-so-cute thing, is the sleep difficulties Charlotte's been having this month. She's in the middle of a transition to drop her nap, but some days she's too exhausted to go without it. The days she doesn't nap, she goes to bed pretty easily around 7 and falls asleep by 8. If she naps, her bedtime is much. Lster (closer to 8:30) and she stays in bed awake, often for 45+ minutes. Unfortunately, most nights Charlotte wakes up at least once, and many nights this month she has woken up 2-4 times. It's as if she forgot all her self-soothing techniques she used as a baby, and can't get herself back to sleep without Joel or I coming to lay in her bed for a while. Needless to say, we're exhausted! 

Charlotte has so much energy and loves to play. She creates towns and buildings and homes, then lets her cars and animals live their life. She talks to her stuffed friends, and has started to say hello to strangers. She sometimes tells people that she's three now, and will go to school next year. She's growing in her ability to play nicely with Asher, and there have been some really sweet interactions lately. Sharing is still very difficult, as is accepting someone else's idea of how something should be played. She's very independent and very opinionated, but also very nurturing and encouraging. 

We've been getting new books from the library lately, to add to our personal rotation of favorites. Charlotte often gravitates toward 1-2 books we've chosen and wants to read them before every nap and at every bedtime. She really seems to grasp complex concepts in the books, but sometimes makes us giggle with the conclusions she draws from looking at the pictures and putting together things in her mind. 

Charlotte loves to play with stuffed animals and is very careful when she plays with small things such as rice and beads and Pom poms. She's creative and cautious and so much fun. 

Charlotte girl, you are a delight. I'm so proud to be your momma! 

Life around here lately, 3

Charlotte is 32 months old (almost three years!) and Asher is one. I'm almost 32 ;) 

We're on day 7 of cloudy/ rainy and cool weather. Fortunately, we've had a pocket of sun here and there, and it's not constantly raining, which is a big relief. I'm in a much better place physically and emotionally than I was one year ago at this time (with a brand new baby, in a house that wasn't our own!), and the icky weather isn't getting me down as much as I was afraid it might. We've managed to have some play dates and swing on the swings and visit the library. All those fun bits help us manage the rain fairly well. 

Both children are in really fun stages right now. 

Charlotte is constantly creating... painting, coloring, making dinner parties for her stuffed animals, using play dough to create cookies for a snack, setting up a restaurant in our new play house, and just making things in general. She's also making really significant conversations lately. She's asking about Bible stories we read, and questioning song lyrics that we sing. She's noticing tiny details in books, and asking a million questions a day. I love chatting with her, and teaching her things. Sometimes the listening is exhausting, and I struggle to really truly pay attention and engage. Working on that. 

Asher is constantly exploring... He crawls all over the house, checking everything out. He loves to take things out of the recycling bin and touch every object. He likes to crawl into the bathroom, and if the lid isn't closed, he tries to explore the contents of the toilet! Ick. Using a push toy, he can walk down the hallway or across the living room. He's always cruising from one chair to the next, or from the  couch to someone's nearby arm/leg. If there's a door open, Asher immediately bolts to get outside. He's had a lot of clothing changes lately, and I'm doing a lot of laundry since his pants get completely covered in mud the second he's outside! It's worth it, though, because he is unbelievably happy playing in the yard and crawling along the driveway. 

Chats with Charlotte 4

"How 'bout...." (As in, "how 'bout gummy bears," or, "how 'bout that one...")

"Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom! Go outside, Mom!"

"Asher loves watch Daniel Tiger."

"Dad loves macaroni cheese." 

"Dad loves eat gummy bears."

"Asher loves go outside."

"Okay, Dad? Dad, get hurt."

"Momma, okay? Okay, Mom?"

"Goodnight. Mom, Dad, Asher, Charlotte. All take a rest together."

"Mom, Mom! Play wild games on Charlotte's big girl bed!"

"Maybe..." (As in, "maybe that book," or, "maybe this way...")

"Go jump in puddles!!"

"Bear, pick you up, just a minute. Okay, Bear? Okay."

Chats with Charlotte 3

"Dinner time!!!"

"Any some." (As in, "Any some tea, Momma?", or "Any some milk, Dad?")

"Work, 'puter, Dad."

"Asher, okay. Okay, Asher." (said very quietly to Asher when he is screaming his head off, usually with the same intonation I use when trying to comfort him with the exact same words)

"Bear. Back. One Minute. Stay here, Bear."

"Pray, Mom! Pray Oma. Oma sick."

"Use paint! Use dot markers! Use coloring book!"

"Hello!! Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Nate. How are you, good!" (Said into the DVD player remote which she thinks looks like a phone!) 

"Go this way. Go that way."

"What going on, Papa Bear? Papa Bear sick. Not feeling well. Go home, take a rest." (When reading a Berenstein Bears book about them going out to eat; Papa Bear eats three desserts... Oops)

"Bye, Mom. Going Fred Meyer, get food. Love you, Mom. Big hug!" 

And my personal favorite, as we pass Wendy's on a family drive: 

"Get French fries, Mom!" 

I laugh, and Joel turns to me: "busted!" 

HAHAHA!!!

Charlotte is two!!

Darling girl, happy second birthday!! You are no longer a baby, but my heart holds you as my baby forever and ever and ever. I am so proud of the big girl you are becoming. I love to watch you learn and grow and laugh and explore. You make my heart sing, Charlotte Adeline Alberts.

Growth/ development: Charlotte is a very tall girl: 36.5 inches! She weighs about 27 pounds and wears size 3T pants because 2T is too short! She wears size seven sneakers and her shirts are a mix of 2T and 3T. She is very slender and her hair curls up right around her chin. The biggest growth Charlotte shows lately is her vocabulary and verbal communication.... She makes 4-5 word sentences and I can't even begin to count how many words she knows. She is very good at making herself understood, but gets super frustrated if someone doesn't understand what she's trying to say. Some of my favorite things she has learned this month: "Bye, bear. Back two minutes." :) And, "Charlotte hungry. Eat dinner now!" 

Schedule/sleep: Charlotte takes one nap almost every day, for about 1.5 or 2 hours. She usually gets up for the day between 6:45 and 7:45, then naps around 12:30 and goes to bed between 7:30 and 8. She takes at least 30 minutes to fall asleep; before that she plays quietly with the menagerie of stuffed animals she keeps in her crib ;) Speaking of that, she is still definitely sleeping in her crib. We have the toddler bed all set up in her room, but she is happy in her crib and hasn't tried to climb out, so we are continuing with a good thing. On vacation, she did just fine in a twin bed but fell off a few times and just generally didn't sleep as soundly. 

Charlotte likes: being outside, pushing toys like a plastic airplane or her bus or her shopping cart, watching Daniel Tiger on the iPad, practicing letters, cooking in her little kitchen, pretending to make/drink tea, reading books, taking care of her stuffed animals, sharing with Asher, taking baths, pouring water from one cup to another cup, eating lunch, wrestling with her dad, being loud and silly, using play dough, having her back rubbed at bed time, balls, French fries, lime aid, using the KitchenAid mixer to make cookies or muffins with Momma, snacks, garbage trucks, and hanging out with her family. 

Charlotte doesn't like: sitting at the table when she is done eating, being made to clean up when she wants to move on to another activity, going inside before she is ready, not being understood, and sitting in time out for hitting Asher (or intentionally being too rough with Asher).

Charlotte knows: almost all her letters! She doesn't recognize Q, R, U, or V yet, but she knows what word is associated with every letter if I prompt her. She can also "count" from one to thirteen, with a few numbers skipped, of course ;) She knows all the most common colors and even sometimes remembers gray! She is still working on shapes- only recognizing triangle because it comes up in an episode of Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, ha!

TWO is such a fun age! We love being your parents, Charlotte girl. HUGS and kisses! 

Favorite things: two year old edition

Charlotte has been doing a lot of independent play lately. I'm frequently nursing Asher or putting him to bed, or we are doing house projects, etc. etc.

She definitely has times that she needs some company, or a helping hand, or just a chance to run around outside. But overall, she does a great job entertaining herself and we feel really pleased with how confident and curious and brave she has become. 

Fortunately, we have some great things that help keep her occupied; some are toys but most are just regular household items that she uses to play (which really, at this age, is work!)

Without further ado, here are some of our favorite things, for life with a two year old: 

1. Water. Charlotte REALLY likes to play in the sink with running water, or to sit in the bath all day long, which just isn't practical or resourceful. So sometimes I fill the kitchen sink part way, and dye it green (see photo below!). Or sometimes she gets her bath toys in a bucket on the bathroom floor, or sometimes she gets the foam soap dispenser and a few containers so she can "wash hands" to her heart's content. Water is a great thing to help practice pouring and it's very easy to clean up! I almost always put a big towel underneath her, to help keep the floor slightly dry. Her clothes usually get wet, but we change them the next time she needs a diaper change, and hang them up to dry and be worn again. 

2. Beans. My mom brought her some hand-dyed blue and orange beads months ago and Charlotte was playing with them almost every day. I finally got tired of having them randomly around the house, so I put them away for about a week. But then I got her some dried dark red kidney beans from the bulk bin at the grocery store and marketed them as "new purple beans"! She only plays with them on a silicone baking mat in the kitchen. She uses measuring spoons and plastic cups and a metal travel mug and whatever other containers she can find. She scoops, she pours, she transfers, she dumps. These "new" beans often buy me 10-20 minutes of independent play time. [Note: Twice this week I had friends over and both of their kids put a bean in their mouth! I was a bit surprised, since Charlotte never does that, but I remember her trying it once when she first started playing with beans. All I did was to explain that these beans aren't cooked, so they aren't for eating. They are hard and make a good noise and are easy to scoop; if we put them in our mouths they don't work very well anymore. That's solved the issue and now she only uses them for playing.]

3. Blocks. Charlotte has multiple sets of blocks, but we usually only keep one accessible at a time. She has awesome magnetic Tegu blocks, some beautiful hand carved wooden blocks, blocks shaped like letters, and lately-- the blocks from the game Jenga! She doesn't play with blocks for long periods of time alone, but if one of us is with her, she'll do all sorts of things with them. Making towers, making snakes, lining them up next to each other, knocking down the towers, "counting"... 

4. Art supplies. Charlotte got some dot markers for Christmas and she loves using them on solid white paper. She also has watercolor paints, colored pencils, and crayons. We got her some of these for her birthday, but I'm saving them to use on the airplane next week. Like blocks, art materials only hold her attention for a long time if someone is "painting" or "coloring" with her, but every once in a while I can set out the paint set and she'll use it alone for 5-10 minutes. Plus-- totally washable!

5. Busy Toddler Instagram account. This is where I get a LOT of ideas for things to play with Charlotte. 

6. Play kitchen. Joel's dad made us a play kitchen last winter and Charlotte LOVES it. She does all sorts of imaginary play there-- making soup, serving breakfast to her bear, baking cookies, "washing" dishes or her hands, "cutting" sushi with this cute set my mom gave her, etc. 

7. Push toys. We currently have three great push toys, two given to us by friends. One is a shopping cart that we bought her for an early Christmas present. She LOVES pushing the cart around, loaded to the brim with play food, stuffed animals, books, etc. She also loves this little pink bus that someone gave us- it's both a push toy and a ride-on toy. Charlotte likes to take it up and down the street outside, alternating between riding it and pushing it. And asking me to push her on it, of course ;) We let her use the bus inside, too, since it rains every day all.winter.long here. She's not allowed to ride it next to Asher's door when he's sleeping, because it can be really loud, but she uses it in the kitchen, living room, dining room, etc. Highly recommend these as a toy for kids her age-- I think they can be found pretty easily at yard sales or on Craigslist type sites. 

How about you?! What fun things has your toddler been enjoying during the cold, dark days of winter? 

Chores for a toddler

I'm sure you could type this blog post title into Google and find a treasure trove of ideas for how to develop your own indentured toddler... I have a few good posts saved on Pinterest, which is an incredible resource. 

Today I'm going to share just a few "chores" that Charlotte is into lately, at nineteen months. She really really really likes helping and is very interested in mimicking the things we do around the house. There are definitely times when she doesn't want to help... usually after she has made a mess and we say she has to clean up before moving to a new activity. 

BUT her interest in these kinds of activities is really fun and we try to take advantage of her willingness as much as we can. Plus: I'm 9+ months pregnant and bending over to pick up a stray sock is something I'd really like to delegate to someone more flexible. ;)

1. Laundry transfer. When the clothes are done in the washing machine, Charlotte stands at the dryer door and puts in all the clothes I hand her (and the clothes I inevitably drop!!). She is usually very excited to close the dryer door and tries to do it before all the clothes are transferred... This activity also works when taking clothes OUT of the dryer. I put the empty hamper on the floor under the dryer door and Charlotte pulls all the clothes out and drops them into the hamper. If I'm lucky, she will push the hamper across the hardwood floors into our room and leave it there to be folded later. (If I'm unlucky, she will promptly take out all the clean clothes and litter them across the house... Ha!)

2. Silverware sort. Whenever we empty the dishwasher, Charlotte goes to the little closet that holds a metal step stool. If we help her get it out, she pushes it over to the silverware drawer and starts to unload the forks, knives, and spoons. She doesn't always separate the salad forks and dinner forks correctly, but we don't care about that at all. Caution: This only works because we don't wash any sharp knives in the dishwasher! 

3. Dish washing. Charlotte LOVES loves loves to play with water. I give her a few plastic dishes to "wash" sometimes if I'm desperate to get dinner made. Lots of water gets spilled on the floor because she stool isn't quite tall enough, but cleaning up water takes about 30 seconds and this "chore" can keep her entertained for at least 10 minutes. Hint: turn the faucet on the lowest it can possibly go, to slightly minimize the environmental effects of wasting water ;) 

4. Toy clean up. This isn't always a favorite, but most of the time Charlotte can be convinced to help put away her toys. Sometimes I do a partial clean up while she is paying with Joel so the overall job isn't super taxing/ time consuming. 

One key that I have found-- deciding when to enforce the helping and when to let it slide. I really don't want to crush Charlotte's enthusiasm or take advantage of her willingness to be involved. 

I find it challenging, but I try to be very consistent: if I say she MUST clean something up, I do NOT let it go just because she resists. I sit with her and keep bringing her back to the spot until the whole mess has been cleaned (while helping her do it myself). But if I ask her, "Charlotte, do you want to help me with the laundry?" It's showing that she has a choice and I don't force her to complete the task. 

Do  your toddlers do chores?! What other ideas do you have?

Life around here

We are most certainly in a season of transition, but things have kind of settled into a nice, flexible rhythm in our family. 

Surely, things will change BIG TIME once our baby arrives, and things will change again whenever we buy a house and move once more. So when those times come, when the chaos abounds, I want to look back on this time in our lives and remember the ebb and flow of our schedule, the fun times, the confusion, the quiet conversations, the meals around the table...

Charlotte usually wakes us up, anywhere from 6:20 to 8:20, but 7am is pretty typical of late. Joel usually gets her changed and they play while I make breakfast. We eat a leisurely meal together and then play some more. This morning Charlotte was a mess before breakfast, then a mess again while we were reading devotions. Not a great start to the day. I was frazzled so Joel took her outside while I got a shower. 

Most mornings are nice and cool here, so we usually try to go for a walk and/or to the playground before lunch. We have a really great biking/walking/ running trail nearby, so sometimes Joel takes a long bike ride while C and I walk, then we meet at the playground. Charlotte LOVES slides and swings and climbing elements, so this is probably the best part of her day. We also try to stop and visit with any friendly dogs we meet ;) 

After lunch Charlotte takes a pretty long nap. I often lay down, or play online, or do laundry, or clean up the kitchen, or look at house sale listings with Joel. After her nap, Charlotte is really ready to play again! She splashes in her little pool, or we run errands, or we meet our realtor to view more homes. If I'm feeling adventurous, we go to another park, or take a walk.

Our girl has settled into the home we are renting pretty well at this point. It's kid-friendly enough that she can mostly roam freely and explore the main rooms of the house. She has figured out how to close doors, but can't open them yet, so we just keep doors closed if there's a space we don't want her to find. Her favorite activity of late is what I would call "hoarding"... She grabs every.single.item. She can and makes a giant pile on her floor. Mostly the pile includes books, stuffed animals, diapers, wipes containers, blankets, and dirty clothes. After her collection is complete, she stands up, then plops down on top of the pile to read one of her "Bitta Bitta"s. It's totally hysterical to watch!

Joel's flexible schedule for August means he is always home in time to play with Charlotte while I get dinner ready. We eat together as a family (which has been so awesome lately!) and hang out until Charlotte gets ready for bed. We had been putting her down between 7 and 7:30 and recently had about five nights of bedtime struggles, but last night decided to have her stay up until about 8:00. That seemed to do the trick- she fell asleep immediately and slept soundly until 6:45 this morning. Success!

Eighteen months!

It seems change and travel have grown up our girl a lot this month. She is so chatty, curious, and independent.

At one and a half, here's a bit about Charlotte Adeline. 

She weighs 23 pounds and is 33.5 inches tall. Those stats put her in the 57th percentile for weight and the 93rd for height. She wears mostly 24 month or 2T clothing. Her shoes are a size five. 

Charlotte loves: playing in water, dumping water all over herself at the dinner table, books, animals, taking a bath, riding in the stroller, being outside, using the iPad, stuffed animal friends, her "new" toys that have been packed away for the last month, playgrounds (especially slides and swings), watching other kids play, looking out the window, balls, balloons, her baby (in momma's belly).

Charlotte does NOT like: sitting in her car seat, going to bed without reading at least four (and preferably many more!) books, and receiving help when she wants to do something herself. 

Charlotte is good at: waving to people, climbing, going down slides, cleaning up her spilled water, putting things away and taking them out, recovering from minor injuries (she makes a face that shows she is in pain, then kind of grunts, then usually moves on). 

Words: same as last month, but also: yaya (slide), yogurt, hummus, helmet, airplane, mommy (and still momma, used kind of interchangeably), daddy, bee-ba (blueberries), Cutie, hola (said while holding a cell phone- or remote control- to her ear and pretending to call someone), Bitta Bitta (book), turtle, rhino, moon, boat. [Wow-- that's a LOT of new words this month!!]

Favorite foods: fruit (especially berries), hummus, chicken sausage, yogurt, cucumbers, ranch dressing, hamburger pieces (with ketchup, of course!), pasta, and scrambled eggs (praise the Lord that she is eating eggs again!!). 

Big things this month: our cross country move, of course. But also-- transitioning to one nap... While we were driving, Charlotte consistently took a short nap in the morning and in the afternoon. Once we arrived, though, we realized that she definitely was ready to just take one nap. There were a few crazy days where we were all overtired and confused about the schedule, but I think we have a pretty good rhythm now. Charlotte gets up between 6:30 and 7 am. She naps around 12:30 can sleep until about 3pm. If the nap goes well, we will do bedtime between 7 and 7:30pm. Sometimes she plays in her crib for a while before falling asleep, but she isn't crying so I don't mind :)

Parenting challenges: how we discipline this beautiful child in a way that shows her love, yet teaches her to be respectful, kind, patient, and gentle?! This is a constant challenge; one at which we regularly fail and occasionally succeed (we think!). 


Charlotte girl-- we are so proud of you. We love you! You make us laugh and cry and shake our heads in bewilderment. We pray that you will grow in the love and knowledge of Jesus Christ. Happy half birthday, sweet love! 

How to drive across country with a toddler, part 1: hotel stays

So, this morning as Charlotte was peacefully napping in our hotel room, I start mentally writing a blog post. I'm highlighting all the things we did well, and bragging on my amazing, wonderful, flexible daughter. 

And of course, tonight, as I'm actually physically typing out the post, Charlotte is rolling around in her bed, talking to herself, after standing up twice and asking for water at least three times. Humble pie for dessert, me thinks. 

But the imperfection of tonight's bedtime aside, we have been on the road in our cross-country move for over two weeks now. We should arrive in Washington tomorrow night, and we won't have to travel again for a long, long time [Praise.The.Lord]. 

Before our trip, I did a bunch of research, and some friends gave me a few good tips. We have had a VERY successful time staying in a hotel with Charlotte and I want to share some of the things that worked for us, in case any of you are crazy enough to plan a cross country trip with a toddler. 

Here goes:

1. If at all possible, stay in a suite every night. We had four nights in hotels and the absolute best experience was one where we had an actual suite... Meaning that Charlotte had an entire living room to herself, while our bedroom door could close and we could talk to each other after she fell asleep, and read with the lights ON. I think sometimes a suite can cost more, but I would definitely say it's worth the cost. 

2. Bring a large sheet and 5-10 thumb tacks. This is so important!! My friend Melissa found this tip and it saved our sanity. Every night, even in the suite, we would section off Charlotte's bed with a sheet, thumb tacked to the wall in two places. This prevented her from looking all around the room as she settled down and also meant that she couldn't see us if she woke up in the middle of the night. She stirred sometimes, but always put herself back to sleep and didn't get us up in the middle of the night at all during our hotel stays. Amazingly, hotel walls are compatible with thumb tacks-- maybe because they are made of sound proofing material...? 

3. Also bring- a fan for white noise, whatever your child sleeps with at night (for us it's a sleep sack and two owl loveys).

4. Keep the bedtime routine as consistent as possible. Every night, Joel said goodnight to Charlotte, then left the room while I turned on the fan (And turned off the light), gave her a milk cup, put on her sleep sack, read three books, and gave a drink of water. I put her to bed more often than he does at home, so we kept that consistency, and her bedtime routine, in an attempt to make things normal. 

5. If possible, use your own travel crib (and also if possible- have your child sleep in it a few days at home before your trip, to practice). Hotels usually have a crib you can borrow, but I really think the consistency of using our travel crib made it easier for Charlotte to sleep in a new place every night. 

6. Only go to hotels with swimming pools. For real. After being in the car for hours and hours, swimming is a great way to get some energy out. Twice Joel took C swimming while I drove to get dinner, got her bed set up, or planned our day's adventures, or just took a short rest. Another night all three of us went together and had a great time. Charlotte LOVES the water, so playing in the pool was an absolute blast. 

7. Finally, try to be patient and flexible. It's not easy to share a bedroom with a toddler, especially under the stressful circumstances of traveling across country. There were many moments of difficulty, particularly the last morning of our travels when Charlotte woke up at 5am. We were beyond exhausted, but just decided to pack up and hit the road, since it wouldn't do any of us any good to hang out in the hotel room being stressed or annoyed. Joel did a GREAT job leading the charge that day and helping me maintain a good attitude. 

Seventeen months!

Phew, this month went fast!! As of right now, our moving POD is stuffed to the gills and we are all sleeping on travel beds. Charlotte seems to be handling this transition gracefully, with just a few minor meltdowns and sleep adjustments. We are very grateful, and so so proud of our big girl. 

This update will be a different format from some previous months, as I don't want to forget to hit "publish" before we start our cross country road trip tomorrow. 

Charlotte loves: animals, buses, trucks, balls, taking rides in the stroller, her water table, being outside, eating lunch, climbing UP and going down slides, running, her family, and reading books. 

Charlotte is great at walking, running, climbing, eating, giving hugs, blowing kisses, snuggling for very short amounts of time, being flexible with her naps, sleeping at night. 

Words: buh bye, ball, bus, dada, amen, iPad, momma, baby, rabbit, teeth, bath, no no. 

Body parts she knows: hair, ears, tongue, teeth, eyes, ears, nose, toes, feet, legs, fingers (sometimes)

Fun things this month: we went to Brooklyn, NY, for a night. We said goodbye to many precious friends here in Glenside. We packed up our house. We saw Charlotte's little brother on the ultrasound screen (and confirmed that he is, in fact, a brother). We played outside A LOT, went out to eat a lot, and played at a lot of parks. 

Not so fun things: this month I thought Charlotte was starting to adjust to taking one nap. We had a difficult week trying to help her transition before realizing she really still needs two naps. The trickiest part is that she doesn't wake up at a consistent time each day... If she gets up before 6am, she is desperate to nap pretty soon after that, but if she sleeps until 7 or 7:30, she isn't tired for a while and it's hard to fit in two naps. We are all doing our best to be flexible :)

Parenting challenges: lately Charlotte has been wanting to do EVERYTHING by herself. We are trying to support her independence and be extraordinarily patient. It's challenging, though, especially when she spills her water or makes a mess, or gets hurt and cries very hard. It's also challenging because she is working hard to communicate, but we often can't understand exactly what she is trying to do, or what she has planned. There have been a few frustrated tantrums on her part, and more than a few tears on my part. 

These are a few of our favorite things

You've already heard about my baby registry favorites. Today's list is a bit different; it includes some of our favorite toys, games, activities, etc. as of late.

Charlotte is 16 months old and she is a busy girl. She plays hard all.day.long.

Here are a few things that have gotten consistent use over the months :

• Y Bike by Pewi- this is the best toy we have in our house!! Charlotte has spent hours and hours and hours on this thing. She got it around Thanksgiving (as an early Christmas gift) and it took her about 10 days to figure it out. She used it a LOT to practice walking and she got really fast at riding it around the house. If you only buy one thing for your child, buy this bike. And buy it BEFORE they learn how to walk. 

• Tegu blocks- these wooden blocks with magnets come in a variety of shapes and sizes. There are countless ways to use these... we often build something random and Charlotte knocks it down. Or she  puts together/pulls apart two of the smaller ones, over and over and over again. Or she sticks them to the metal baby gate. 

• Board books

• Giant cardboard box- You may have seen my hilarious set of photos with Charlotte in baskets/boxes. Her favorite is a big box from Amazon that sits in our living room. She keeps all her animals in there, and has a rotating set of toys that are also allowed in.

• Stuffed animals- though I would never have chosen for these to be one of Charlotte's favorites, she loves them! We have only bought one stuffed animal for her (before she was born), and I don't think we will EVER buy her another, nor will we request anyone else buy her more because she has enough! She takes them in and out of her box whenever she's sitting in there. She hugs and kisses them. She takes them around the house and gives them rides on her bike. 

• Two wooden trucks (made by Wonderworld)- my mom gave these to Charlotte and she is really good at using them. In my limited experience, they are REALLY easy to use and they go super fast. They even work on the carpet, which is amazing. 

• Plastic eggs and a cardboard carton- Charlotte got these from my mom back in February and she played with them multiple times a day for at least three months. Some of them cracked (once she figured out that throwing them across the room was really fun!) so they've gotten thrown away, but C. will still play with the 5 or so we have left. 

• Pretend food- Charlotte has these two sets, which her uncle gave her for Christmas, AND she has a "new" sushi set that my mom gave her months ago (but I just took out of the box this week :) ). She is very interested in stirring the salad, and drinking from the bottle of juice, and pouring olive oil into her bowl. Personally, I'm a HUGE fan of wooden toys and really really really like the wooden food sets she has. I'm not interested in collecting a ton more at this point, but some day I hope to get her some wooden eggs and a few more wooden food items to go in her play kitchen. 

• One baby doll- some day we may buy her more dolls, but for now, one is just right. She has a lot of stuffed animal friends, so I don't want to add to the clutter, plus a lot of baby dolls are just plain strange. Goofy faces, strange hair textures, the ability to eat, poop, and talk, etc. etc... Charlotte calls her doll "baby" and puts her in the swing, takes her in the car, hugs her, carries her around, etc. It's really precious. 

• Water table- last summer Charlotte had an inflatable pool, which she loved, but last month I bought a used water table at the church flea market for a dollar. We keep it in the back yard and Charlotte plays with it at least once, sometimes more like two to three times a day. She LOVES scooping the water with her little shovel, and splashing herself (and us!) as she plays. Best dollar I've ever spent. 

• Measuring cups, specifically the kind that you can collapse to store- my mom gave me a set of plastic/rubber measuring cups a few years ago and I've been letting Charlotte play with them whenever I need to work in the kitchen but she's feeling particularly needy for attention. She can sit on the counter for at least twenty minutes, opening and closing the cups. Sometimes she needs a bit of help to get them open, but she can flatten them all easily and thinks it's a really fun game. And I think it's really wonderful to get dinner made or the dishwasher emptied :) win-win, really. 

How about you? What things are your kids loving lately? 

Sixteen months!

Charlotte loves: buses (still!), trucks, balls, stuffed animals, her water table in the back yard, exploring, walking, her beloved box, books with animals, eating dinner with her family, and wrestling (with both of us, but mostly with her Dada).

Charlotte is good at: walking while carrying an object! Nodding "yes" and shaking her head "no", playing independently, opening and closing doors, pointing at people and objects, going up and down the stairs independently, taking things out and putting them back in. 

Charlotte does NOT like: eating breakfast immediately after getting up- she now prefers to play a bit first. 

Favorite foods: FRUIT! Chicken sausage, avocado, bread, oatmeal, and anything that can be dipped. Her favorite dips are ranch dressing and ketchup, but we can usually entice her to dip things into hummus, too. 

Words: baba (which, similar to last month, can mean ball, bus, bear, and bye- this is BY FAR her most commonly used word), momma, dada, Lala, baby, go, amen, IPad, hot, and "ahlayu" (which she whispers whenever we say "I love you")

Growth: Charlotte is 32 inches tall and weighs about 22 pounds. She wears mostly 18-24 month clothing (or 2T in pants!) and recently got new shoes in size 5. What a big girl! 

Animal sounds: cat, dog, horse, cow, duck, rooster (this one is hilarious!), pig, owl (so cute!!), and sometimes she'll do a sheep noise, too. 

Great things this month: One of my favorite things about Charlotte is her response when we tell her she's going to see someone (or someone is coming over): she gives this little excited gasp and puckers her lips into an "ohhhh" face. It's the cutest thing and I love it!

Also this month, Charlotte got two new molars (!!!!) and visited her grandparents and uncle Allen in Rhode Island. 

Parenting challenges: We assume Charlotte is getting her next two molars because bedtime has been a major struggle for the last two weeks. It's very difficult to know what will help and what will make things worse... We've tried infant acetaminophen, teething tablets, extra water, extra snuggles, back patting, rocking in the chair, snuggling, reading extra books, etc. We have gotten used to our girl being easy to put to bed and this season is getting tiresome, for all of us. 

Another challenge lately is how to discipline Charlotte well when she is openly defiant. We try to acknowledge that a lot of her behavior is experimental and playful (like hitting!) but we think it's important to note that she is also disobeying because she understands the word NO and often does the offensive behavior again after being corrected. It's very important to us that she obeys the first time and is respectful of her parents and others; it is just a challenge to balance that with recognizing her age and developmental level. 

Overall, what a joyful month this has been. We love being Charlotte's parents and we love seeing her grow!