Charlie's first trip to the farm

This weekend we headed to the farm for some de-stressing! Whit is so cute bc he now is old enough to know what the farm means and everything that he gets to do there so is is always so excited when we tell him we are going to the farm. He talks about James Roy(he is obsessed with him), James Roy's tractor, cows, the mule, running on the dirt road and anything else he can think of! Saturday was my birthday so I enjoyed getting to be at the farm where Deedee cooks for us :)  Charlie got to meet the Clopton family and ride on the 4 wheeler and mule for his first trip. We had a great weekend! As always I am thankful for this place for my boys to be the boys the Lord created them to be!

Whit and Daddy just wandering in the pasture

Whit already wants to drive Charlie in the mule

Deedee and Whit playing in their tent

Charlie in the middle of the action at the farm

Mommy Daddy and Whit on a long mule ride

Always have to get a pic of these two in the mule

Putting 29 candles on my cake

My boys on the 4 wheeler



3 months

I feel like we are over the newborn hump now! Charlie is such a sweet little man. He is doing great at school all day and his teachers love him. He eats at 7,11,3 and 7 and each bottle is about 7 oz. Its a little hard for me to know his nap "routine" bc at daycare he will fall asleep in the swing or bouncy frequently. I wish it were a little more routine there but its ok. At home he will nap for about an hour in the morning and then I try and put him in the crib to sleep for a couple hours in the afternoon. He does pretty well with that. He also dozes late in the day. Really he is sleepy about an hour and half after each feeding :)
We are still working on the nighttime. Last week on Wednesday(the day he turned 12 weeks) he slept all night and woke up at 6:30! He did the same thing on Thursday night but I actually had to wake him up at 6:45! Unfortunately he has not done it since :( I tried to just put his paci in and soothe him but the little thing is starving! I heard his tummy growling when i went in after he woke up so I am having to feed him when he wakes up. He will drink about 4 oz around 3:30 still. I am praying he will just do it again soon and we will be done with this waking up stuff!!
He still grins with his whole body all the time! It is such a joy to see. He did roll over to his tummy when he was on his mat and he got mad bc he was stuck! I still cannot decide what color his eyes and hair are going to be. I think he is going to be darker than whit but we will see!! He is definitely becoming more content to be in a bouncy or on the play mat. It took us a while to get to this point but I can finally put him down :) He loves bath time and if he is fussy I will just stick him in the tub and he instantly gets quiet!
I really love the different stages after 3 months. They change so much month to month and it is so fun to watch their personalities develop. We love you Charlie boy!

Whit and Charlie at 3 mo.... I do not know if they look alike!

Charlie at 3 mo. He would not look at me during these pics!



Back track to Christmas

Yes I know it is March 11th but one day I will look back and wonder what we did for Christmas in 2012. So here is my shortened version of Christmas from what little memory I have.....

Charlie was born one week before Christmas so it was a little crazy!! This year was Courtney and Jarods away year so MM and JD got on the same schedule so they were away too. Christmas was going to be so different without everyone but it was ok. We decided to celebrate the 22nd with everyone so we all went to Cookie and Docs and had our typical Christmas morning breakfast and they opened presents. Then later on we went to Sharon and Dave's for what is our normal Christmas Day night tradition. It was different not having everything on Christmas but we were just glad to have a time with everyone period!
So on Christmas Eve we had decided to follow tradition, even though Charlie was so little, and stay at mom and dads house. We planned on going to the Christmas Eve service and then heading over. But little Charlie had his check up that morning and was too jaundice so through a lot of calling around and  thankful for Doc we were able to get a bed from the NICU at STV. So needless to say we did not make it to the Christmas Eve service but we took the bed straight to Cookie and Docs and set up shop there! We had our traditional dinner with the Clintons and got to enjoy being with everyone. I was a basket case bc I could not handle Charlie being in the "tanning bed" bc I could not hold him or anything. My hormones were crazy and it was a little stressful! I was so glad to be at home with my parents though bc they helped so much!
We had a calm and quiet Christmas morning with Cookie, Doc, Kitty, Whit, Daddy, Mommy and Charlie. It was a change from the past but it was ok! We do look forward to 2013 when everyone will be together again!! We ended up staying at Cookie and Docs for a couple of nights bc it made me happier and Whit had someone to play with.
So that is our Christmas in a nutshell. Crazy and a blur but still Christmas!

Charlie in his stocking that the hospital gave to send home in

My boys on Christmas Eve

Christmas morning

Charlie in his tanning bed



Update

I have not been so good at updating the blog but since I am back at work (as of today) I will try to be more consistent so I can remember everything that is going on.
The month of February flew by and to be honest we did not do much. Our weekends were spent playing with daddy and just hanging out with our family! We go to Demetris for breakfast almost every Saturday and I love this tradition. Whit loves his biscuit and grits. Nate and I laugh bc we say he saves up the whole week for this one meal. He takes his sweet time eating his Saturday morning breakfast. Nate and Whit have built such a sweet relationship since Charlie has been born. They play together all the time and I love it. In January Nate took Whit to the farm with just he and Jimbo. Whit had the best time and I cannot wait for them to get to do it again.
I started back work today and our morning went fairly well. I woke up at 5:15 and got my shower. Charlie needed 1 oz to hold him over around 5:30 so after I fed him I made Nate's lunch, got the bottles ready, Whit's breakfast ready, and I was ready by 6:30ish. Nate helped with Whit while I got Charlie ready so we could leave a little before 7. Charlie eats his first bottle at 7 so I am trying to get to school as quickly as possible bc little one is hungry!! I think tomorrow we will need to leave a little earlier but I would say today was a success! We made it with all the bottles, clothes, and blankies I think!
Over the weekend I got to have some mommy time with my friends. I am so thankful that Nate and mom were willing to help with the boys. I enjoyed a relaxing, lazy day with my friends and then a wonderful dinner out! Charlie stayed with mom and got a little cold so he was not feeling great. Nate kept Whit and got Charlie to mom and picked him up Sunday.
I am praying the rest of the week goes well and I am hoping Charlies cold goes away soon!!

great dinner at Springhouse

great relaxing day!



Charlie at 2 months and Whit at 27 mo

Charlie was 2 months old yesterday! I am not going to say its flying by bc there are plenty of times when i just want him to be a little older :) i know i will miss it at some point though! He really is doing great. He weighs 10.3 and is 21 in long. Only 15% for weight and 2% for height!! Nothing like Whit who was in 50-70% all the time. He wakes up usually only once a night but it depends on when he goes down to sleep and all that. I am trying to get him on the schedule that worked for Whit. Its not working as quickly but I think it is bc he is smaller. I am just hoping for a full night soon bc I go back to work in 2 weeks! He is a happy baby most of the day! His fussy time is at night like most babies. He smiles ALL the time and i love it so much. Whit did not smile this early. He grins with his whole face!! His favorite thing is to do patycake and he literally almost laughs when we do it. So cute! We love our little Charlie!!

Whit is too funny right now. He definitely makes me laugh but also makes me want to pull my hair out! We need to work on our listening ears BAD! He is getting time out and spankings on a regular basis but I am hoping it is just this stage. Other than that he is good! He loves to jump on anything and anywhere. Insists on doing most things on his own, can count to 20, speaks in 3-5 word sentences, knows all his colors, most shapes, loves his blankies, loves to watch music videos on You Tube (don't worry we do Christian bands), obsessed with Mickey Mouse, says the blessing and prayers pretty good and catches on to most things very quickly! He is just getting soo big! I really am enjoying his stage right now even with the challenges it is bringing!

2 months 10lb 3 oz 21 in

One Month

Charlie is one month old today! He is doing great so far. After our hospital stay he has really started growing! I did not even know that he was really sick and not eating much but now I do because he is eating 4 oz every 2 1/2 to 3 hrs! We struggled with weight I guess bc he was sick. He finally reached his birth weight last Monday and last Thursday he was at 7.4 sooo we are definitely making up for lost time now. We are not going back to the doctor til 2 mo bc we have been there way too much! He is sleeping pretty good I think. At night I put him down around 8:30- 9 depending on that feeding. He has been doing good and just going to sleep but the past couple nights he is fussy. But then he wakes up between 4-5 hrs to eat and will go right back to sleep and again at the next feeding. Thankfully there have only been a few nights when he does not go back down.
He still only fits in newborn clothes but hopefully we can move up soon! We still cannot figure out who he looks like but we think he is cute either way!
Whit has done so well with him. I was a little worried but he either just says hey or ignores him completely. This weekend he really wanted Charlie to play so I got on the floor holding Charlie and "played". We are adapting pretty well to our new family of four! I wouldn't mind a few more hours of sleep but I know it wont be long!

Two and a half weeks

Wow, it has been two and half weeks since Charlie joined our family! We have had a few bumpy moments but overall we are good. Charlie is a great baby and eats good! We have only had a few rough nights where he didn't want to go back down but most nights he goes right back to sleep. We try to get out and walk every day to get us out of the house. Unfortunately the bumps we have had to deal with are with being sick!
Christmas Eve we took Charlie and sick Whit to the doctor. Well Charlie's bili numbers were not good so we had to start phototherapy. We took the bed to mom and dads house and he had to be in the bed constantly except for feedings. This new momma did not like not being able to hold her baby! We got off the lights on the 26th.
I took Charlie to the doctor Monday the 31st bc it seemed like he had caught the cough/cold that Whit and I had. They said he was fine. Well Friday he was still coughing so I thought I Bette take him back before the weekend. This is not typical of me bc I always just think they will get over it but since he was so small I went ahead. He also had only kept down one bottle. Well of course when we get there his oxygen levels were too low. Our sweet doctor said we really had to go to Childrens. So, I left the doctor, went and got Whit and got the grandparents on duty. Deedee got Whit and Nate and I headed toe the hospital. Well we have been here ever since! As I write this I think we are going to be headed out today. He basically just has a virus but couldn't get his oxygenated up. So he got IV antibiotics, fluids and oxygen. I hate being here but I am so glad we did. I have missed my big boy this weekend but am praying that our family of four will all be back together tonight!
It's been a long two and half weeks but I honestly not remember life without little Charlie. Praying we all stay well for a while!