Charlotte's birthday party

On Saturday we had a small birthday party to celebrate Charlotte turning ONE. After a yummy lunch, we sang Happy Birthday to her and she got to eat a choclate cupcake. I think most of it landed in her lap though. She even washed it down with milk.

Charlotte was a great kiddo all day, as she was running out of energy by the end. However, it was great to see Grandma and Grandpa LaPean and Aunt Mike and Aunt Laura so Charlotte had to stay awake to be part of the party!

We can't belive it's been a year already. Time really does fly by. I know this next year will be even better than the last, if that's even possible. There are more photos and videos of the party on our Flickr site. There's a link on the sidebar to the right.

charlotte's first steps

So, yesterday Charlotte took two steps and fell. I was so excited! Today, I get home from work and my mom has a surprise for Kevin and me. Charlotte proceeded to take 4 or 5 steps toward Daddy! She's gonna be walking soon, I can't believe it. I grabbed the camera and managed to get a little of it. Tomorrow is a fresh day, we'll see what it brings!

standing, freestyle

Charlotte has started "letting go" of the furniture and standing on her own! She usually does it when she's not paying attention. I think she's gotten to about 20 seconds. Her fall is completely controlled as well. She sure is getting big! With her first birthday only two weeks away, this kid is going to be walking on her own in no time.

she'll be walking in no time

Charlotte is so much fun. If you can see the video below, she's really learning to walk and was using her cruiser car to get around. I don't doubt she'll be running through the living room in no time. She's also been hanging on Griffin a lot more. We are teaching her to throw the ball for him and she does a fairly good job. Griffin likes her becuase she drops Cheerios on the floor for him when she's eating. She can also hand him treats and he takes them very gently from her little hand.

11 months down, 1 to go

My baby girl is 11 months old. I can't believe in less than 30 days we are going to be celebrating her first birthday. Where did the time go?! Charlotte is sleeping so good (at least the last week). Last night she slept from 9:30-7:15am without waking up mom! It was fantastic. Her top teeth have still not poked through the skin, but maybe the painful stage is over. Charlotte is still walking all over the living room with the assistance of the furniture. Like anything else, it's only a matter of time before she's walking without the furniture.

One bad note, Charlotte has started crying when I leave her at the YMCA daycare so I can workout. What a bummer! She is going through some separation anxiety I guess. The daycare workers have to hold her the entire time, what a bummer. Maybe I should think about leaving her a little more often. We must cure this. Hopefully the phase is a short one.

I'm working one day/week now. It's great to get out and do something! My mom is coming over to babysit (which she loves, of course). She's trying to push two days/week-- we'll see what happens.