Charlotte {10 months}

I cannot even begin to describe how quickly the past 10 months have flown past. I say this every month. It took me 10 extra days to get my poop in a group to squeeze those cheeks into a white onesie and slap that sticker on her! If it wasn't for my strong desire to collect all 12 shots, I probably would have let this month pass by unceremoniously. Life is busy.

Super busy.

Walking around hunched over, holding little hands busy.

This was a month in which Charlotte took off. Literally. She is always on the go. She mastered crawling & now wants nothing to do with sitting. This revelation makes bathing a new Mama Olympics event... an event in which I am not even close to being medalist.

She loves to eat, but you probably knew that by glancing at those cheeks, right? We really didn't do Baby Lead Weaning like I had such high ambitions of doing. We have been doing purees and adding new textures as we progree. We skipped rice cereal. We are currently doing the Lil Bits Strawberry Banana cereal and she loves it. We also go with stage 3 purees, puffs, wheels, etc. My favorite? I tend to just give her what we're eating. Tonight she had pureed vegetables, strawberries, steak, and potatoes. She's fancy.

We ordered the invitations for her birthday party coming in August. I went with pink and gold and they feature an elephant because Charlie loves to push her elephant push toy around the house.  I am so excited to celebrate her first year.

The new big girl car seat is here! We ordered this one and I am excited to see her in it. Just looking at her in the infant carrier today made my arm hurt.

Teeth:  2 bottom teeth and 2 top front teeth (they are still making their way down)

Charlotte likes...
... dancing (girl can move)
... clapping (the best is when I get applause for singing in the car)
... walking around the house 
... babbling
... eating what Mama and Daddy are eating
... people-watching
... going for walks in the neighborhood
... standing in the bathtub 
... the Hot Dog song from Mickey Mouse Club
... giving high-fives to Grandpa Steve
... playing with her cousin, Puppy Josie
... carrying her lunchbox into the classroom every morning & helping Mama put it into the fridge

Charlotte does NOT like...
... being dropped off at school 
... falling over (she gets so frustrated with herself)
... sun in her eyes
... when we stop her from
... sitting still during diaper changes 
... putting clothes on (ain't no body got time for that)
Things to look forward to...
... I know it's just a matter of time before this girl is off and running.  While I am enjoying her mobility, it's also something new to worry about to make sure that she's not getting into something she shouldn't be.  We put up a baby gate to keep her on one side or the other.  Now we just have to work on remembering to close it.
... That first birthday is really starting to creep up on us!  I can't wait (but yes, yes I can).

Daddy is the funniest guy we know.

I am exhausted all of the time.  Always.  She is sleeping a little better this week, but her 10th month was a month of exhaustion and 0 sleep for Mama.  I look forward to when she drops her midnight feeding and I can stop pumping.  OMG!  When I stop pumping, I might just throw a party as large as her first birthday party.  For real.  I hate dragging that thing back and forth every day, getting up to pump, excusing myself from meetings, worrying about having enough milk.  Breastfeeding is some real work and I am so very thankful that we have made it this far without serious issue but the anxiety is something I will not miss.  I'll breastfeed her as long as she wants, but I am ready to drop the pumping :)

XO

Mama Porch