In a moment of insanity I decided that it would be a good idea to redecorate our home… this moment came sometime after Jamie went back to work after Charlie was born and probably after days of not getting out much. I told Jamie that it had never really felt like ‘our’ home (we were younger when we moved in and painted every wall in the house and I most certainly would not pick the stuff that I picked out then again) and that I really wanted a change. Surprisingly, he agreed to let me change things up and I haven’t looked back since.
If I had my way we would be able to do it all in one fell swoop (I hate the in-between stages of projects); however, our budget says otherwise and we are doing it little bit by little bit after saving and budgeting for the changes… it’s what we can do right now so it works ;)
I am nowhere near being ready to share any before and after photos with you all (like I said it’s been a process); however, I do want to show off one of my favorite changes so far- our kitchen chalkboard wall! We took the simple green wall in the kitchen and turned a 4×8 section of it into a massive chalkboard! I was desperate to find something to entertain my super busy toddler during the last hour before Daddy gets home- you know the hour when he is tired, hungry and cranky AND I am trying to make dinner and entertain my littlest chunk of love. We needed something that would allow for both of us to be alive and in one piece when Jamie walks through the door and we hit the jackpot with this addition. Our little bird loves it and it proves to be a great conversation piece after Daddy gets home and we sit down for supper. I am sorry but I really don’t have any great tutorials on how to make one of these for yourself and I certainly didn’t take any photos of the during process; however, if you really would like more info feel free to leave a comment and I will try to answer as best I can.
couldn't resist
Jay is on a dinosaur kick right now so this is commissioned work... (don't judge the artist too much!)
A day late but not a dollar short that’s for sure… here’s the update on my sweet little one.
height- 23.5 inches long (the exact same as Jay at his age)
weight- a whopping 16lbs 6oz!! (more than 2lbs more than Jay at his age)
Things of note:
-To begin with Charlie is probably the sweetest happiest baby around. I know that he is mine and therefore I am biased but this child is the picture of patience and so genuinely happy all of the time; I sincerely can’t get enough of him. It seems as though he has gotten Jamie’s laid back/whatever attitude in combination with my happy-go-lucky and it makes for the most wonderful little boy.
-He has been laughing for more than a month now. It is the sweetest sound around :)
-He is also a little ticklish… not a whole lot but from time to time if you get his belly, neck or the top of his legs just right you can hear that sweet baby laugh.
-He started rolling over on Saturday. He goes from his back to his front (which I understand to be unusual; however, both of my boys have gone back to front first). He has done it a few times since then and is marginally happy when he gets there but you better help him out soon since he still isn’t a fan of being on his tummy for too long.
-He is an absolute angel as far a sleeping goes. He has pretty much been sleeping through the night since he was 3 months old. I honestly believe that part of this has to do with his personality but there is also a portion of this that I attribute to the sleep training work that we have done with him since he was two weeks old. He has a bed time routine and has had for months now and I think it really, really helps. He is also a pretty good napper; frequently, he will fuss a tiny bit then just crash so he can be placed in his crib on his tummy (oh the horror, I know- but it works). Lately, he has been fighting a little harder to stay awake between naps (I think it’s because he is aware of things more and is starting to not want to miss out on anything) so I have been putting him down while he is still awake and while he fusses a little bit he usually gives in and goes to sleep on his own. Like I said- angel :)
-He has really started paying attention to the things around him. He has been watching Jay from quite early on (however, I would have concerns if he wasn’t. Jay can be a whole lot and also pretty in your face) but now he has also noticed Piper and Dolce (Bella doesn’t stick around the littles long enough to be noticed). He will turn your way when he is called and flash you a huge smile as soon as he sees you.
-Teething has started. We have a randomly cranky boy (screams out of nowhere for no reason), he chews on anything that he can reach and we have tons of drool. So, yes we are teething; we’re just hoping that he doesn’t take as long as Jay did to cut teeth.
-He has found his feet. He doesn’t get them every time he tries but when he does he is pretty darn proud of himself for grabbing them.
Likes:
-Bouncer chair. While he is quickly outgrowing this chair he still enjoys it quite a bit and for that I am really glad! It has saved me quite a few times when I have needed some place to put him. We are looking into getting a bumbo, even though we think they are pretty silly looking, since he likes sitting up so much.
-Exersaucer. He is a tad too small for this yet; however, he does enjoy it quite a bit and is wanting to stay in it for longer and longer periods of time. The only challenge I have when he is in it is getting Jay to not spin it around and around.
-Tick tock. I am pretty much guaranteed a huge smile and sometimes a laugh if I hold him up in the air and swing him back and forth like the pendulum on a clock while saying “tick, tock, tick, tock”. It’s such a silly game but he loves it. (editor’s note: for the worried grandmothers, the pivot of the pendulum is his shoulders/neck, so his head stays relatively stationary during the tick tock)
-Nursery rhymes and silly songs. He loves to be sung to (he isn’t as picky as his Daddy is about me staying on key) and loves when I swing his arms along with a song or a rhyme. It’s can almost always get a smile out of him. Some of his favorites are Patty-Cake, Do your Ears Hang Low?, and Tony Knows (Toe, Knee, Noes).
-Crinkle toys are his favorite although he does enjoy a few of his wooden HABA toys as well but the crinkle ones are his favorite. He loves to grab them and smash them into his face and eat the ribbon tags on them. Honestly, I love that these are his favorites since two out of the three that he has are ones that I made for him ;)
-Muslin Blankets. He has really taken to the muslin blankets that he has. They are super lightweight and very soft. He loves to eat them, ball them up with his fists, kick them with his fists, curl up on them and fall asleep on them, suck on the edges- you name it he probably does it with these blankets.
Dislikes:
-The only thing that comes to mind right now is he is not a huge fan of when Jay yells really loudly. It’s a little too much for him (it usually startles him) and he is quick to cry after it happens. However, other than that he is pretty much a wonderful baby so I don’t really have a long list of dislikes…
I guess that about sums him up at this age. Enjoy the rest of the photos of this super sweet little one and although he smiles all of the time face to face he usually makes funny faces at my camera so catching a really good Charlie smile can be hard to do.
usually the face I get from him when he first sees my camera- I know it's big but really!
not a fabulous photo since my camera strap is in it BUT you can see a pretty great Charlie smile if you look hard enough
This little guy is a whopping four months old today!! He is as sweet as ever and growing super fast- he rolled over today all by himself! However, the monthly update will have to wait for another day; it was a late evening and an early morning followed by a long day. So even though I was able to relax on the blanket with Charlie for a little bit and recharge today I am hitting the sack early. Until I can open my eyelids long enough to put together more than a few sentences, enjoy a sweet Charlie smile :)
It’s a tad chilly for playing outside in the water table (74- which isn’t horrible but not exactly warm either) but you gotta do what you gotta do… So aside from Jay being a little on the purple side and just shy of Popsicle temperature I can see nothing wrong with blowing off some steam playing with bubbles… He’s having fun, I promise that we will go in and “warm” up soon and it will increase the likelihood of us of both being here AND sane when Daddy gets home from work…
I love this view… three of my loves hanging out and content to just be with each other. Simple joys, a big brother to shake a rattle for the little brother and a puppy dog who aches to be near anyone that will have her. This is a pretty frequent occurrence around here… the four of us within a four foot radius and it is so, so great. Oh and incase you are concerned Charlie looked like this about 30 seconds before this photo was taken- content as content can be :)
However, he had some “tough” lovin’ from his ubber affectionate brother (we are still working on hugging not squishing) and wasn’t feeling the group shot. That and he was getting tired of tummy time :)
Last weekend while Jay was napping Jamie, Charlie and I were hanging out in the kitchen. Charlie was having fun with his newly discovered tongue and I am so glad that the camera was close by and Jamie was able to grab these photos… I love them, they make my heart smile- enjoy!
the perreault family 