Recent Pictures

I forgot to post this, but last Friday around 4:15 Travis called me at work and with desperation in his voice asked when I was coming home. I could hear Charlie fussing (screaming) in the background. I packed up faster than I ever have before and was breaking lots of land-speed records to get to my poor baby. I expected to walk in the house to a frazzled husband and screaming baby. Instead, I walked in to this….

And here are 2 shots from when I got home from work last night. Travis said he had been chatty all day, and nighttime was no exception. When Charlie got tired of taking to Travis and I, we even called his Papa on the Skype account so he could chat with him and show him his tummy-time prowess (by laying on top of Daddy’s desk and staring into the camera and watching Papa on the monitor.

Friendship

Yes, I know this is supposed to be a blog about Charlie…and it is. Charlie has a cold. It’s his first sickness since he’s been born and it’s been killing Travis and I to not be able to help him. He’s much better now after some TLC, but Sunday and Monday were not fun days in the Cain household. To add even more stress, our nanny had a prior commitment out of town this week and couldn’t work Monday or today. Then, since Charlie has a cold, he couldn’t go to Mother’s Day Out at the church yesterday. Yes, folks, that’s right – we were facing 3 days without childcare. Travis was about to panic, and I was panicking at the thought of Travis trying to cart a sick Charlie around with him while he works. Then, along came Elise. Elise and her husband, Corey, are in the bible study we’ve been going to off and on for about the past 9 months. After Charlie was born, they brought us dinner one night and Elise had been over to play with Charlie and hang out one day in December. Well, last week Elise happened to mention that right now, her PA school schedule only requires her to go to class from 8-9 each morning. I half-jokingly said that if she was interested she could be Charlie’s nanny the first part of this week – and she said she would love to!!! I have no idea what we would have done this week without her.

So this brings me to friendship. I’ve always had friends, but I’m not the girl on Facebook that is having to delete friends because I have so many, or the girl that has so many contacts in her phone that she has to delete someone in order to put someone new in there. I think I’ve always subscribed to quality over quantity. I’m the girl that would rather hang out with one or two other people than attend a big party with 30 people. When you get me in a large social setting, I’m not a sharer, I’m just content to be a listener. I’m not the social butterfly that Travis is. I’m content to spend time by myself – I even love going to the movies by myself on Sunday afternoons (pre-Charlie, that is). I think this probably all stems from being a shy child that didn’t like strangers…I still don’t like strangers. It takes me awhile to open up to people. I also have historically had a larger percentage of guy friends than most girls – guys generally have less drama, do not make me feel like I have to compete with them, and most certainly do not squeal upon seeing each other – I am NOT a squealer…can’t do it…makes me cringe at the thought.

Yesterday after I left Charlie with Elise, I realized that I have somehow come to have a large number of friends here in Augusta without even realizing it. When I first moved to Augusta, I was friends with Travis and his single guy friends. I would still travel to Atlanta to hang out with Mollie and Adrienne for my girl fix. I still love Mollie and Adrienne, and that history will always be there, and they’ll always be my first call on so many life events and mundane every day occurences (such as hot entertainment gossip, and who got engaged recently, etc, etc). However, it is nice to realize I have friends here in town that I can call to go to dinner or just chat with. It’s nice to have a group to talk to after church is over.

I don’t think I even realized it as it was happening, but I am so thankful for a variety of friends. Our sweet friends Jason & Kristen who love Charlie like he is their own and think he is the greatest thing in the world. Our sweet friend Kevin who comes over to play the Wii and ends up setting up my new dining room suit and helping soothe a fussy baby. My friend Elizabeth who works at my firm and provides some of the same rapport I had with Mollie and Adrienne when we all worked at KPMG together. It’s nice to be able to discuss work and be an accounting nerd with someone. My friend, Kelly, who had her son just 6 weeks before Charlie was born. She has been such a resource and a sounding board for making me feel that all these funny, crazy, and overwhelming moments as a new mom are not just me – that she goes through the same thing. And not to forget, Kelly’s husband, Billy, who is constatntly offering to carry the carseat or put the stroller away for me when Travis is not around. All the sweet couples in our Bible Study who have brought us meals, loved on Charlie, held him at different functions, and volunteered to help us however they can. Even those single guys that I first became friends with when I moved to Augusta – the guys who are now volunteering to babysit Charlie so Travis and I can have a night out (granted, they have no clue what they are volunteering for, but it is the thought that counts). Elise, who volunteers to keep my child when she could be spending the day shopping, hanging out with friends, or just sitting on the couch watching Oprah….and yet she has chosen to love on our family.

We are so blessed, and I should stop and realize it more often. We love all of our friends and are so thankful for all of you.

Charlie’s 4-Month Photos

Like I said in my previous post, we did these a week early, but I think they turned out pretty good. Go to Katie Hardy’s website to see Charlie’s pictures. He behaved so well and was chatty and smiley for Mrs. Katie.

http://katieohardy.smugmug.com/Other/Charlie-4-months/

One Year Ago

I just realized that it was today, one year ago, when we found out we were pregnant. Everybody puts on their blog about how much their life changed in that one year, and it is sooooo true. Things I didn’t know I could do one year ago:

1. Carry around a watermelon in my belly for 9 months (there were times I wasn’t sure I’d make it)
2. Deliver sweet “watermelon” – which gave me a new appreciation for my body.
3. Learn to live on very little sleep.
4. Related to 3 above, that I can be flat out exhausted, but that one sweet gummy smile or chuckle from your baby can give you energy you didn’t even know you had.
5. That you would be instantly cured of a lot of your selfishness (out of not only your own desire, but out of necessity) – not all of it, but a lot of it. Your life goes from being about you (and your husband) to completely about someone else in an instant. I used to surf the internet looking at shoes, clothes, and handbags. Now I look at baby toys, baby outfits, and baby development websites. I still would like the shoes, clothes, and handbags ( I just don’t have the time or energy to go chasing after them).
6. That I could love someone so much, and in a different way than you’ve ever loved anyone else. I love Travis, and we became “one” when we got married, but even that is a different love than looking at Charlie and knowing how this sweet, inquisitive, happy baby was made from nothing just for us, and knowing that he’s all ours.

Okay – so more pictures to come soon. Since I started back to work, I haven’t been taking as many pictures. That’s probably a good thing since I was about to max out my credit card ordering all the ones I took during my maternity leave – seriously, I probably went a bit overboard with the picture taking. Charlie has just now stopped seeing spots from all the flashes. I do need to take a few more, though, and find that happy medium.

We are having a girl come on Saturday to take him 4-month photos (a week early, but that’s okay). Hopefully he’ll be in a good mood. He is almost always happy and smiling, but I’m terrified that for some reason when I’d like him to show off that sweet personality, he’ll decide that’s the time he’s not going to cooperate.

More later.

Quick Photo

I know I owe you an update, but this working business is wearing me out. A photo will have to suffice for now.

From Charlie, “These toys are all mine Mama and Daddy – get your own!”

In Photos: Our Quick Visit with the Greats

Charlie spent most of the past two days at the funeral events sitting in his favorite place in the world – his great grandfather’s lap. During the visitation he sat for a solid hour and a half without making a peep on Granddaddy’s lap just watching all the people pass by, and listening to Granddaddy proudly introduce him to everyone that walked by…Charlie’s mama was sitting right next to them, but was apparently chopped liver in comparison to the new attraction in town. I don’t seem to mind, though, because I think he’s that great myself as well.

My Favorite Tummy Time Pictures

We Interrupt Your Regularly Scheduled Program…

for two news bulletins:

On a happy note, Charlie rolled over for the first time this past Sunday. Travis was having a bible study downstairs in the den, so Charlie and I were hanging out in the master bedroom having tummy time. We were doing tummy time on the boppy, but I decided to let him try it completely horizontal on the bed. As soon as I laid him down, he rolled right over onto his back. I screamed and started crying (disturbing the bible study), and Charlie just looked at me like I was crazy. All subsequent attempts to get him to repeat the trick were unsuccessful. He finally got so mad at me that he started crying.

On a sad note, the blog will take another hiatus for a couple of days while Charlie and I travel to Hahira. My great-aunt (in that she was 2 generations away, and in that she was fabulous) passed away yesterday after fighting ovarian cancer for two and a half years. We miss her already, but are so thankful that she was able to meet Charlie back in December on our last trip to Hahira. Travis won’t be able to make the trip (due to playing Daddy-daycare all last week and not working – but there will be a whole funny post on that when I get back), so my dad (Papa) is going to drive from Atlanta to come pick us up at lunch today and take us the rest of the way down there. I could do it by myself, but it’s just so much easier with an extra set of hands – especially now that Charlie is so awake and chatty all the time. Papa – we’d like to thank you in advance for loving us enough to add 3 hours each way to your trip.

3 Months Old

Charlie turned three months old on New Year’s Day. We spent the day hanging out with our sweet friends Kelly and Billy. They have a little boy, Will, who is 6 weeks older than Charlie. Charlie has become so much fun and he wanted me to share some of his favorite things with you:

From Charlie…

1. I love to smile, laugh, and “talk”, but I prefer to do it when I’m not being held. Please sit me in the boppy, bouncy seat, or even lay me on the floor – then we’ll chat.

2. I love to stand up and see around – this is an exception to the don’t hold me rule, because I will laugh if I’m up and able to look all around.

3. I’ve just gotten the hang of tummy time…and Mama and Daddy act like fools when I lift my head up and grin at them. It takes so little to get them excited these days.

4. I like to eat – 5 1/2 ounces every 3 hours please.

5. I’m sleeping pretty well at night. I can go about 8 hours without eating, but I still like my diaper changed during the night. Mama and Daddy have tried pretending they didn’t hear me when I tell them it needs to be changed, but I just yell a little louder and they come change it. Now, I think they understand it’s just something they have to do right now. It only take 3 minutes, and I go right back to sleep, so I don’t think it’s that big of a deal.

6. I still love the morning. That’s when I do the most talking and smiling. Sometimes I get so excited to be awake and hanging out with Mama and Daddy that I can’t even focus well enough to eat my breakfast…I get too sidetracked smiling at them. Breakfast takes the longest amount of time of any of my feedings during the day.

7. I’ve made some friends – their names are Tilly the Turtle, Frank the Frog, and Sara the Snail. They hang from my bouncy seat and I talk to them during the day. I’ve also mastered my hand control and can bat them around to show them who is boss, and the other week I started grabbing Tilly by the tail or leg when she blocks my view.

8. I still love bath time, especially the little massage I get afterwards before Mama put my pajamas on.

That’s about all for now. I’ll be back at 4 months to tell you what has changed. Oh – one last thing…I weight 15.5 lbs. I’m HUGE!

Hanging out at home on my birthday morning

Will let me borrow his changing table.

Talking to Will

Mama - must you take my pic during the diaper change?

Christmas 2009

We had a wonderful first Christmas with Charlie. He was such a good sport and managed to stay awake for most of each and every Christmas celebration. We started the Sunday before Christmas when Papa came in to town and the festivities lasted right on through the next weekend when Nana left on Sunday afternoon. We enjoyed sharing Charlie with all of our family and friends, eating lots of goodies, and spending quality time with all of our family. Here are some pictures below to document Charlie’s first Christmas.

Daddy - this Christmas business is fun!

Mollie and Shelly stopped by to see me

Can we open that up Mom?

Hanging out with Mama while she bakes goodies.

I love my UGA gear!

Can I help you?