Charlotte: 11 months old

watching Papa Nick leave

I really can't believe that one month from now, my baby girl turns ONE.  How did this year go by so fast?  How did my last baby get so big?

Height and Weight:
I think Charlotte's about 24 lbs now, which is more than her brothers weighed at 15 months.

Clothing size:
Charlotte's still in size 12 months or 12-18 month clothing.  I have found myself shopping more for her- I think to myself, "oh, baby clothes are so inexpensive!" and then I remember that she'll wear the clothes for a maximum of 3 months, so I'm really not getting all that much value for my dollar.  But she looks so cute in everything!

Milestones:
Charlotte can raise her arms up and say "Da!" for ta-da.  She signs "more" not just for more, but really for eat.  I've tried to teach her "eat," but she's not using it.  She's babbling a fair amount, but still only says her version of "kitty" as a word.  She's clapped a few times, too.  She's also starting to understand some of what we say and respond to it.  She can babble "ma," "da," "ya," "ta."

Charlotte now has 4 teeth in, and at least 1 more on its way.  She's been great about teething, thank goodness!

She thinks she's the same age as her brothers and will try to do anything that they're doing.  She lacks some of their fine motor skills and coordination though!

Helping make Papa Nick's mocha

helping taste Papa Nick's mocha

Outings and Adventures:
Still no big trips.  I guess we slow down in the winter!  We did go with Meema to the aquarium on Monday; other than that, we haven't done much new.  Charlotte had her first Halloween, and her first day of school- I started her one day a week at the JCC with her brothers.  So far, it seems they are taking great care of her, and she does well there.

Routine/Schedule:
Charlotte is taking 1 nap a day right now- I feel like a terrible mommy because we were always home at 9 am and 1 pm for the boys' naps, but poor Charlotte gets dragged around wherever they need to go.  She is taking 1 good nap a day most days, and then about 11-12 hours at night.  She's STILL not sleeping through the night.  Most nights she wakes up only once, but last night it was 3 times.  I'm so tired when that happens!  Her bedtime is 7:30 pm, and she usually wakes up around 7 am.

Charlotte eats 3 meals a day and some snacks, as well as nursing about 4 times a day.  She often nurses for shorter periods of time.  She drinks water from a sippy, and the one day she is at school she gets 2% milk, but doesn't drink much of it.

Favorite food:
She is already getting more picky!  She used to like bananas and now won't touch them.  She will eat, without fail, scrambled eggs, blueberries, strawberries, and yogurt.  She likes Cheerios, string cheese (cut up small), most vegetables, and even liked spicy Indian butter chicken.  I need to feed her a more varied diet, so that she doesn't end up like her brothers- picky and bland eaters.

Favorite person:
Again, it is hard to tell.  She expresses real and genuine pleasure at pretty much all family members- her daddy and of course her big brothers, as well as Meema and Papa Nick.  She has started having stranger anxiety, and doesn't like to be left with people who she doesn't know.  The boys never really had this, so it is all new to me!

Her favorite not-person is her Kitty Cat.  She sleeps with him every night and every nap, and has taken to carrying him around the house as her buddy.  She sucks her thumb and rubs his tail or legs to soothe herself.  She is really too cute with him.

Charlotte has become such a fun and important part of our family and our lives.  I can't believe that 1 year ago, she wasn't even here yet.  I also can't believe what great work Eric and I did in making this little lady.

She has just started doing what Eric calls her "happy feet," a kind of dance where she moves her feet up and down in happiness or excitement.  Ridiculously cute.  She also has started blowing on her food to cool it off, even if it isn't hot food (an imitation of me).  I love how much the boys love her, too- they are always asking after her, trying to take care of her and share with her.

We are hoping to move home this weekend, and I'm eager to live in our house the way we want to live.  I can't wait to really settle into our home.