Too fast...

This past weekend, Charlotte Jane turned six months old.

Six... months... old...

It was 11:45 at night when the contractions started.  11:50 when I told Tim and saw his eyes light up. 2:15 when we got in the car and started towards the hospital...

7 am the pain was so intense. Tim was talking... I couldn't hear him. I couldn't hear anything past the pain.

It was 9 am when her heartbeat first dropped. Tim was in the cafeteria eating a sandwich. He was so tired. He didn't know it was happening. My room swarmed with doctors and nurses, flipping me over trying to steady her...

11 am when her heartbeat dropped again. Tim looked worried. More flipping. More hushed, hurried voices. But she was steady again.

It was 1:30 when it dropped again. Urgent voices when it wouldn't rise. We knew.

1:45 in the OR.

1:55 It's a girl! I heard her cry. She was safe! Everything was foggy... But she was safe!

That was just last week, right?

Too fast... Way too fast...

Photoshop Fun!

pretty girl!

the infamous bear suit

big girls sit in big girl chairs!

Charlie's cousin Emma!

Charlie's cousin Adie!

Charlotte with Nonna! 

Charlotte with Grandpa & Grandma Pearson

Dancing with Daddy

Tim and Charlotte have a favorite past-time... Dancing!

Are you surprised?

She loves being in daddy's arms

Daddy's girl

And so it begins...

Eli kitty vs. Giraffe

Which one does Charlotte love more- Eli kitty or her giraffe?

Big girls use cups

Mommy calls a sick day...

Unfortunately it was a Saturday!

Mommy couldn't play, so she hung out with Eli kitty... She bit his ear...

Kitty legs are delectable morsels!

Laying on the floor for hours without complaining!!

Hands are always fun!

Sitting on mommy's lap!

The Blair Charlotte Project... Episode 1

When babies attack...

A working mom

Being a working mom is hard.

I knew it would be, but I never imagined it would be this hard!

No, the job itself isn't any harder, the hours aren't any longer, the commute isn't any worse... but it feels like it. Don't get me wrong, I love my job. I work with an incredible group of people and I really do enjoy what I do, but every time I see my little girl smile, I want to drop everything, call in sick and cuddle up with her for the day.

But I don't.

Sometimes I bring her to work with me and that helps. She lays on the floor in the office or takes a nap or makes her rounds, holding court with anyone that passes by. Most of the time, she is content to sit in my lap and watch me edit. If I could, I would bring her every day.

It's hard sometimes, walking out of the door in the morning, away from that smile... And then counting down the hours until I can see her again.

There is no better feeling after a long day filled with meetings, laborious edits and unforgiving deadlines, than to walk in the door and see my little girl. When she notices me, her eyes light up and she grins uncontrollably. Her feet start to kick and her hands wave around. I feed her and then she sits in my lap, snuggled up in my arms and she talks to me. Sometimes she reaches up to touch my face or she plays with my clothes. And other times she just sits in my lap and screeches.

These are good moments. These are the best moments.

Being a working mom isn't easy, but at least I have these moments and for that I am thankful!

smiles for mommy



Sweet Potatoes

Charlotte loves sweet potatoes...

Covered in carrots...

Charlotte has started to eat real food...

We knew it was time to start feeding her solids when every bite we took was accompanied by a gumming and snarfling noise coming from her direction. This was followed closely by distinct chewing motions and intense utensil scrutiny. It's hard to have a peaceful dinner when your baby is leaning cross-eyed over your plate with a large string of drool dangling precariously close to your meal.

So we slapped a bib on her, forced her into the sitting position and confined her to her high chair.

The first food we tried was avacados. I had read online that they are a wonderful first choice, so I bought an avacado, cut it up, mashed it up, stirred it up and stuck it in her mouth. The first spoonful she tolerated...The second one she complained about... The third one she gagged on and the fourth one she dodged completely... I tried the next night with the same reaction...

Having been disheartened by the avacado debacle, we put solids on hold for a few weeks. We resumed with peas, and after some success (there being no gagging or dodging) it was time to move on.

And that brings us to this evening...

Tonight's menu- carrots... Sure, most of them ended up running down her chin and landing on her bib... Some coated her fingers... Still others smeared across her nose.

And then there was the projectile batch that, when she sneezed, shot towards me like machine gun fire, spraying everything in its wake. Unfortunately my reflexes, slowed down as they are by fatigue and distraction, were not quick enough to save me from an untimely shower of warm, orange goo... And so, I sit here covered in carrots.  There are carrots in my hair... There are carrots on my shirt... There are carrots on the computer screen... They are everywhere...

But that's okay. I gave up long ago my expectation to be clean and sticky free anywhere near a baby. I am sure that over time, I will be covered in much worse, and I will long for the days of warm, orange goo!

mmm...carrots...

I love this girl...

A girl and her mom...

Flawless

Stay tuned for more photo shoot pics!!

Going to work with mommy!

playing with her toys

lots of drool



naptime





snug as a bear in a chair



going home

Charlotte doesn't know...

Charlotte doesn't know about evil...

She doesn't know that there are people who are willing to fly planes into buildings. She doesn't know some people strap bombs to their bodies and walk into crowded markets. She doesn't know others hurt little children.

And Charlotte doesn't know about suffering...

She has no idea that some people live in complete hopelessness. She has no concept that people get sick. She doesn't know that loved ones grow old and die.

And if I had any say in it, she never would, because those things wouldn't happen. But they do, so she will.

But when she falls asleep in my arms each night, peace descends upon her face. Every muscle relaxes and her body goes limp. This is the rest of complete innocence. And as I hold her, I wonder how long that will last. Part of my job as a parent is to prolong that innocence as long as it is in my power to do so, to be vigilent in my prayers and to be steadfast in my convictions. So when that day comes and that innocence is broken, it won't be by my hand and it won't be by my negligence. And with a clear conscience, I can hold her close and reassure her that the evil and the suffering is temporary- that she was created for something far greater!

I wish we could all go to bed each night with that kind of innocence, to sleep with that kind of peace. But we can't, so let us try our hardest and most faithfully to assure that our children can.






sweet dreams little girl

Puppets

Charlotte loves puppets... a lot...

happily hyperventilating!!

Observations...

I'll be honest, I think that most newborn babies are pretty ugly. Fresh from the womb, they still look all wrinkled and disfigured. They have odd shaped heads and crossed eyes and random bruises. Of course, over time they become much cuter, packing on rolls of baby fat and filling out more to that cuddly baby-ness that graces magazines and diaper commercials... But brand new, they're just ugly!

And sure enough, when Charlotte was born her face was puffy and splotchy, her eyes were squinty and her hands were white and wrinkled. She was skinny and boney and not at all cuddly. But I took one look at her and I thought, "Wow! That's the most beautiful thing I have ever seen!" I was hooked!

Now, I catch myself just staring at her, memorizing every detail of her little face and watching her transform from that splotchy little baby to the little girl I lay down to sleep each night... I don't want to forget anything.

So, here's a list of ten random things about Charlotte that I don't want to forget...

1. Charlotte has a mullet. She was born with it and it's still there.

2. She also has a bald spot on the back of her head where she rubbed all the hair off. This looks great with the above mentioned mullet.

3. Charlotte's hair is about 1.5 inches long, but she has one strand on the top of her head that is longer. It is about four inches long.

4. Charlotte has blue eyes, except for the bottom corner of her left eye. It's brown. It's been that way since birth.

5. Charlotte burps like a teenage boy.

6. Charlotte has a double chin. There are days when we don't even see her neck because of it. It is slowly taking over.

7. Charlotte's first tooth is beginning to peak through her gumline. It's on the bottom right front.

8. Charlotte has fingernails that rival a velociraptor... She goes straight for your jugular.

9. Charlotte has massively large cheeks. At least an inch thick.

10. Charlotte has an incredibly manipulative lower lip. When she gets upset, it puckers out and a more pathetic and sad looking creature has never been seen!!

sporting those cheeks!