9 months of chunk

Little Charli, 

I can’t believe you are 9 months old. I can’t believe that time has gone as quickly as it has, and I am still pretty angry that I can’t seem to slow it down. I am terrified that I am going to wake up tomorrow and you are going to be 18 with a boyfriend I hate and an attitude matched to yours right now – an attitude that I have now named divatude. You are just sooo opinionated. Most of the time you are screaming because you want to go play in your brother’s room, you love playing with him and all of his cool big kid toys. The two of you have really developed a relationship over the last week. Yesterday you sat in his room and watched Sesame Street and played his drum while he draped you in blankets; I could hear the two of you giggling and it brought tears to my eyes. I know I have said it before, but that little boy loves you, and I know he always will.

You love your Eggo Waffles for breakfast, a fruit or veggie puree for lunch, and a cereal for dinner. You, my beautiful little girl, are a creature of habit. Long nap in the morning, short nap mid afternoon, and bath and bed at 8; you will not let your dad put you down for a nap and you hate when I try and put you down at night. See? Opinionated. You almost always have a smile when you are being talked to, even if it is a stranger that is shoving their face in yours, which happens a lot. You and your brother get so much attention that it drives me crazy sometimes, especially when we are in a hurry. Little old ladies just flock to touch your fat little feet and tell me what a precious little girl you are – and they are right.

This week you started clapping, and what I love most about that is that you started clapping for two reasons. The first reason is, “yaaaaaay!” as in, “mom! I touched this button and my kitchen light went on and it is singing me songs now – yaaaaaay!” The second reason is, “now!” as in, “mom! I am on the ground and I don’t know words but pick me up now or I will throw a tantrum!” Both of these reasons are wonderful and delightful and you always have a smile on your face while you are clapping. Poor little girl, you are still stuck in reverse, but you can stand by yourself while holding things and you can get to sitting from crawl. You want to be mobile so badly, but you just can’t figure it out. Honestly, I am so sick of getting screamed at, and my arms are so tired from carrying your giant babyness around, that I too hope you figure it out soon. I thought I was going to be nervous about you walking, but really I think I want you to as much as you do.

I hear the words, “that’s a healthy baby” a lot. And you are. You are a giant, happy, and healthy baby. You are wearing clothes that your brother fit into last year. We visited your doctor today and he said my favorite thing to hear from a doctor, “She’s perfect. Keep doing what you’re doing.” The nurse measured your head while you were lying on the table and went to measure it again thinking that she must have got the measurement wrong, I laughed and said, “nope, she just has a giant head like her Dad.” It’s true, you also have his love for cheese, his allergy to the sun (you sneeze every time you see the sun), and his amazing smile. Your 9 months stats are – weight : 21.8 pounds (90%) height : 28.5 inches (93%) head : 19.25 inches (97%!).

You may have a giant head, you may scream at me in demanding ways, you may take poops that literally overflow your diaper and lead me to cleaning the carpets, and you may make crazy growling noises at me, but you are beautiful and you are life changing and you and your brother have been the most amazing blessings I have had in my entire life. You keep us all laughing and when you are in that moment, claiming the center of attention that you and your brother fight for, you clap your hands and look up at us with those big blue eyes and we would do anything in the world for you. You constantly amaze me and fill me with pride and love and unicorns and rainbows. Our tagline for you is, “I’m Charli and I’m just happy to be here” because when you are happy, you are just sooo happy. We are all just happy you are here, too. Thank you for an amazing nine months, I can’t wait to see where you go next.

Love,

Mama

Chunk. 6 Month edition

Charli,

I have tried, several times actually, to sit down and write you the 6 month letter that you deserve. I wanted to be poignant and hilarious and loving all at once. I wanted this letter to be something that you read as an adult and it just floored you because you felt how happy we are to have you.  But I can’t. I can’t because your teething has kept your father and I awake for two days. Literally. Two. Days. I know it is not your fault, but this morning at 3 am I didn’t feel necessarily fond of you or your bottom teeth. At 1:30 this morning your father wasn’t very fond of your teeth either, but we definitely still love you. Even though we are exhausted and your 6 month letter will take a toll.

And yet, you have your moments of nothing but amazing. Your laughter is hilarious. You snort when you get super excited. You love to be entertained and to soak in everything that is around you. You love it when your brother knows you are bored and he comes running in the room to try and make you laugh. You are incredibly ticklish, which is fun because you are one of the chunkiest babies I have ever seen. You are constantly on the lookout for the next punch line, which is fun because all we have to do is cover out faces and say “boo!” to make you think we are hilarious. But we are. Even when we are sleep deprived. 

I have been reflecting on the last 6 months and I truly cannot believe how quickly they went. I strongly remember waiting to go in for my c-section to finally meet you and it felt like it took 20 times longer than these last 6 months. You are such an amazing baby. You are so sweet and so loving and everyone that gets to know you is just as amazed by you as your father and I are. Your temperament is unlike any child I have ever seen. You always have a smile, even if you are feeling awful. Every time I pick you up you nuzzle into my shoulder and hug me. You love to dance around the room and you adore any form of music. I love you because you can’t judge my out of pitch voice; you actually enjoy my rendition of the theme from Weeds quite a bit.

You have a crib, but you refuse to sleep in it. You prefer your swing while your father and I are awake and know instantly if we have gone to bed because you demand to sleep right next to us. I would argue, but I am often tired, and you are so squishy comfortable. You love to edge in right next to me and have the same ability as your brother to take up and entire queen sized mattress when you can’t even fill one yourself. You just keep growing out of clothing. We are probably going to have to start eating bargain brands just to keep you dressed. Seriously, Charli, how the hell does one baby grow at such a rapid rate!?

You love your brother. I mean that. You. Love. Him. And he loves that you love him, too. He constantly brings you toys to make you happy. As soon as you see him you light up. He tries to feed you bottles, brings me diapers when he decides you need to be changed, and watches you when I need him to. You both are such wonderful children and your Daddy and I feel constantly blessed to have the both of you. You have such an amazing gift of balancing everything in such a positive way.

Chunk, we love you. I wish this letter could have been full of better grammar and a better range of vocabulary. I wish that I could say something as meaningful as you are to us, but you have kept us awake for so long that I literally am thankful that I can even type. And that is okay. It’s okay because you are here and because you continue to bring such amazing things to our lives. We love you. We simply love you and adore all that you are. You are so chunky and so funny and you make all of those moments better. We are a family and that means everything to us. So keep teething, keep laughing, and most of all keep being you. By the time you can understand all of these words you will be an even more amazing version of yourself – but I honestly have no idea how you can accomplish that.

We love you. I love you.

Mama

maybe she's born with it, maybe it's flashy soup can

It may be a bit early (but only by three hours, people, and she is the most awesome soup can of them all!) But I want to wish a very happy birthday to my sister, Flashy Soup Can. My sister has always been there for me, no matter the issue in life. When we were younger she was there to soothe me with her brilliant Kermit the Frog impression, didn't kill me when I went all crazy in my sleep on her, and (the most important thing) she had Color Me Badd cassette tape that I could totally steal when she was out playing the flute or being her awesome self. She once had me deliver a pizza to a boy that said "yes" while I did a bit of a tap dance. Did she exploit me? Maybe. Did I want to be her more than anything else in the world? You bet your ass.

And now that we are older we sit around fires and tables and anything else that one sits around and we drink wine, talk about our kids, discuss politics, or make fun of people because we are awesome and they are ridiculous. Our relationship has finally matured into something that I love beyond words. And yes, she still is my hero. And yes, if I grew up to be anything like her I would be more than proud. My sister is an amazingly strong woman. She is beautiful and smart. She could drink you under the table and then embarrass you with a verbal slaughter that would make your mother blush. She is a wonderful cook, a brilliant photographer, and she can sing so beautifully that it will give you chills.

So a very happy birthday to my sister, my friend. I may not have always been the best little sister, but I have never stopped loving you and admiring you. I am so happy that we live close again and that my children have such an amazing Aunt to be around. I hope that we get to see you soon. <3