Update on Charle

After posting about baby Kayleigh I figured I should update you all on Charle. She is now 18lbs 14 oz! While that is not a lot for most 2 year olds...actually thats not even a lot for most 1 year olds :P It's a lot for little Charle. She is still delayed developmentally but she is getting better. She is doing things more and more like a kid her age should. Speech is the most frustrating for all of us because we dont always know what she wants. I can only imagine how it is for her not knowing the words but knowing what she wants. Or when she is telling me with her words what she wants but me not understanding. Right now she is dancing to her leapfrog learning drum, she LOVES to dance. We are going to be going back to the doctors again sometime this week because the girls both just got over being sick. I think we might try and wait till the snow isnt as bad though so we dont get stuck in the parking lot again. She is also going to go to the dentist for the first time from what I understand that might be part of the reason she has speech delay. Please continue to pray that she will gain more weight and make strides developmentally.

Sweet baby Kayleigh

As you all know sometimes I post blogs about things I feel to be important, read my blogs on Salt Cay if you want to read the others. This is about a darling baby named Kayleigh who was born prematurely. When she was born she was only 1 lb 1 oz! What a miracle she is already. Now she is up to the 6 lb marker!! Please pray for this beautiful little girl to gain more weight. I know first hand how hard it is to get a baby to gain weight, I can only imagine how it is when a baby is so young and not gaining as fast as you would like. You can read baby Kayleigh's story for yourself by clicking on the picture above. Sweet little Kayleigh we are thinking of you and praying for you to get strong enough to go home soon!

Christmas

Well I couldnt find my camera on Christmas so no pictures. :( Of course I found it ooo 5 minutes AFTER all the presents were opened LOL. The girls had a wonderful Christmas and got some really great toys. We were a little grumpy from being tierd and it was an early bedtime :D We went to Anacortes for xmas eve and were there xmas morning. Ill post pictures when I get them :D

it really is beautiful

It may be cold but even i have to admit its beautiful. There is a picture I want to take elsewhere in the complex and Ill go do that tomorrow. I should have done it today when it was "warm" a whole 30 degrees :P Maybe tomorrow we'll get lucky again lol.

"Sno" much snow!

So the snow the other day DEFFINTLY wasnt the last of it!! The snow never fully went away and now its been snowing 2 days straight! So we went out again yesterday to play in the snow. Charle liked it a little more this time! But I think shes like me and prefers warm weather :P Rachel of course loved it! We decided to make a snowman and one of our neighbors helped us build it. Rachel says we need to make another one today but seeing as Charle is a little sick I think Im going to have to wait until its naptime for her. I am starting to wonder when this snow is gunna stop. Cause I havent stocked up any kind of emergency kit.... I think I need to make sure and do that!! I'll try and rememeber to get a picture of how much snow we have :D I dont remember EVER getting this much snow when I was little!

first snow of the season

Well its snowed! While Mommy is not a big fan of the snow :P The girls sure are! We went out to play in it. Even though Rachel had a slight fever. She took some Motrin and we bundled up and went out to play. We played probably for a good hour. Rachel made snowballs and snow angels and Charle...well she touched it a few times but wasn't into playing in it. Rachel's hair WAS nicely brushed until she did her snow angels...next time Ill do pictures of them BEFORE we play lol! We had a lot of fun and after we get nice and warmed up we will go out and play some more :D

Christmas Party

We went to a Christmas Party in Everett and the girls got to each make a gingerbread house. It was a lot of fun I don't remember doing that when I was growing up :) The one on the left is Charle's and the one on the right is Rachel's I forgot to bring my camera so I didn't get pictures of them actually making them. Charle ate more then she put on...which says a lot seeing as her gingerbread house is FULL of candy lol. They loved making them though. And Santa was there. Rachel told me "Its not the REAL Santa though Mommy" So I told her she was right but the other kids didn't know that so she needed to keep that a secret lol. All the reindeer were there as well, they came in trucks and Santa came in a big dump truck type thing lol. It was really cool. All the kids were really excited. They even got early presents from Santa. Rachel got bath toys and Charle got a baby doll and stroller. I think Santa's helpers got them confused though and Charle was suppose to get the bath toys. Oh well though they play with each others things anyways. They are both getting more and more excited for Christmas and we hopefully will be decorating the tree this weekend. So pictures of that to come :D

How do different signs relate? The Aquarius and Scorpio child

Fascinating Companions

Whether or not these children get along, they find one another fascinating. Observant young Scorpio is naturally interested in psychology, and her unusual Aquarius sibling certainly gives her food for thought.

Both these children have strong opinions and political views -- yes, political, even from an early age. Aquarius is a pioneer who might champion such causes as animal rights, veganism, or protecting the environment, while Scorpio is interested in human issues of loyalty, trust, and betrayal.

These two will have many intense, complicated conversations throughout their childhood, especially if they disagree on major issues. Each will try to bring the other over to their side. Arguments will result when Scorpio gets frustrated with her Aquarius sibling's refusal to succumb to emotional manipulation.

Yes, these two are well matched in many ways! Both children are sure to grow up into interesting, multifaceted adults who share a devoted connection with one another.

http://www.babycenter.com/horoscopeCompatibility.htm?r=cnc&sign1=aquarius&sign2=scorpio&x=19&y=19

feeding the deer

Anacortes is such a nice small town that there is places where you can get right up close to the deer. The other weekend 2 deer sniffed Rachel's hand when she was feeding them. This weekend they were a bit more cautious. But they still got pretty close to us and I was able to takes some pretty good pictures of the babies. Charle was trying to talk to them and they were deffintly spooked by her. Rachel just loved the deer and was upset that they didnt sniff her hand this time. Both my girls just LOVE animals!! Its all pretty cool. There are some very special things about living in such a beautiful place.

Christmas tree lighting and parade

We went to Anacortes for the annual Christmas tree lighting and parade. Friday night was the tree lighting festival so we bundled the girls up and picked up the cousins and headed down to the tree lighting ceramony. I love getting them all together. Rachel and Alyssa get along great , most of the time, and Charle and Katie are great buddies (well as much as a 9 year old and 2 year old can be). Charle thinks Katie is (as my Grammy would say) the bees knees LOL :P. She just loves being with the big girls. As you can see they all had a lot of fun, even though it was cold. Then Saturday morning was the annual parade. Charle just loved it! Im sure the big girls did to but I know for sure Charle did. They all got a load of candy becasue we were right in the front. And acording to Katie thats the best place to be cause you get the good candy there :D. Its deffintly starting to be winter here we are having to wear more clothes then we use to. Now the search is on for gloves that will fit little Miss Charle. her hands are so small that they only make mittens :D Rachel is also in need of new gloves and only reason she is difficult to buy for is cause shes 4 and is picky! All and all we had a lot of fun :D

Letters to Santa

The girls decided to write letters to Santa tonight. And I must say they did a GREAT job! They also were very proud of themselves! Rachel started doing her letter first. She wrote it all! I should her a few of the letters that she didnt know in a book. But most of the letters she already knew! She asked Santa for Camp Rock Dvd, books, crayons and Princess stuff. She decided since she was 4 years old that she should ask Santa for 4 things. LOL. She is so funny. She could have written anything she wanted to. Charle said she asked for a baby. Other then that I dont know what she asked for. But as you can see she was also very proud of her letter :D

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a great Thanksgiving and stuffed ourselves to the brim! And of course all took a nap :P Rachel's favorite was the corn and Sweet Potatos with marshmellows. And Charle's favorite was the corn and cranberry sauce :D Charle didnt eat as much as I would have liked her to. But we still have pumpkin pie to break out :D I think both girls will get a kcik out of that...at least I hope! And we have PLEANTY of leftovers :D Hope all of you and yours had a great Thanksgiving. We are truly blessed to have all that we do.

I eat at Mom's

This is Charle's REALLY cool shirt that we got at the World Breast Feeding Celebration this summer. You can read about it in my August postings :D http://moonturtle.blogspot.com/2008/08/world-breastfeeding-week.html We had a lot of fun at the celebration and its nice for my big 2 year old to be able to walk around wearing this shirt. In a way shes promoting breastfeeding too :D The shirt is just adorible and I love it! Yes Charle is 2 year old and is STILL breastfeeding :D

Charle's Bday present from Granny

Playing in the box

laying on her new turtle made by Granny

Charle got her birthday present from her Granny the other day. Insode the box was a GIGANTIC turtle made by Granny as well as matching pink crocs for Mommy, Charle and Rachel. Well the girls were a little tierd so the things in the box werent that interesting to them. BUT the box was a huge hit. Rachel turned it into a story box. Her and Charle both decided to colot on it so they colored pictures and Rachel wrote words. Once we put a movie on though, Wizard of Oz was on TV :D, Charle used her gigantic turtle as a pillow. And now today shes been using it as that all day. Its been really cute :D

We have poo poo in the potty!!!

Well we had our first poo poo in the potty today! I was changing her diaper and well saw she had poo poo coming so I ran her to the potty. She kept tryin to get up but I kept making her sit lol. And she did it!! She made a little poo poo in the potty. I was so happy for her made a HUGE deal about it. We also put a sticker on her brand new potty chart. She REALLY liked the sticker and wanted another. I told her she had to make pee pee or poo poo in the potty to get one so she sat down and tried to make more....she didnt get anymore but she understood! Im so excited maybe just maybe we can get rid of diapers soon!! Keep your fingers crossed that it wasnt just a one time thing and that she will do it over and over again today! Or at least a few more times in the next few weeks. I think its about time to make the change into panties and plastic pants....now if I can only find plastic pants that fit her skinny butt!



**This picture isnt from today but it is so cute and it does show how proud of herself she was!**

A new superhero is on the rise!!!!

A new masked Superhero has come out of hiding! It is the amazing Wipegirl! Wipegirl's powers are the ability to make your heart melt, a smile that is contagious, hugs that can fix anything and kisses that will make your day seem brighter! She is truly the newest superhero! And I know we will see great things from her!

And look I was lucky enough to get a picture with her mask up! But be careful to not look at her smile unless you want your heart to melt. Her smile is contagious!

Charle has an owwie

Well about a week ago now Charle barley tripped over her own feet and hit her cheek on the xbox 360. My poor baby. She now has a HUGE bruise on her cheek. In the pictures shes crying casue i dared to tell her "No" about something....sigh teenage years Im SO ready lol.

Movie Night

The girls and I have started a new once a week thing. WE are going to start watching a movie. Doesnt matter if its on DVD or if its on TV just as long as we spend it watching a movie together. Last week was our first week doing it. I cant recall what we watched. It was something on TV though. We pop popcorn and the girls each have their own bowl, same bag though :P Neither girl would have it any other way! They sit on different chairs so that no one steals any from eachother lol. I try and keep the fights down as much as I possibly can.
Here is Rachel on the couch enjoying her popcorn
Then here is Charle with hers, on a different chair :P

Trick or Treat

We did a Wizard of Oz theme

Ready for Trick or Treating, the bags were made by Granny!

Dorothy

The Cowardly Lion

We had so much fun Trick or Treating this year! Charle was finaly old enoug to go up to thr doors and trick or treat with her sister. She would go up and say "trick or treat!" in the cutest voice you would ever hear!! All teh neighbors just loved her. Its times like this that I love living in military housing. We didnt have to leave the housing at all and got a whole lot of candy! ive had to hide it from the girls....and Daddy :P Charle wasnt ready to be done trick or treating when Rachel was. But we went ahead and went home anyways :P Next year should be even more fun!

Our family celebration

On the 29th we celebrated Charle's birthday just us that are in the house. We had ice cream cake! Charle loved it :) Its hard to believe that my little baby is already 2 year old.

Carseats

Ok so those of you who know me know that there are a few things that I am very passionate about. Breastfeeding being one but I will do a blog on that another time. This one is on carseats. Im sure all of us know WHY a child needs to be in a carseat. But is your child in the Right carseat? Yes there is a right and wrong carseat for your child. First off I am NO expert in carseat and carseat saftey but I have done my research. This board has many men and women who are much more educated then I am on carseat safety and if you have ANY questions I highy recomend going to them and they will be more then happy to help you. http://community.babycenter.com/groups/a7645/car_seat_questions

As a general rule a child MUST be in a rear facing car seat / infant car seat until 1 year old and 20 lbs. Front facing car seat until 4 years old and 40 lbs. Booster seat until 8 years old and 80 lbs. They keywords there are AND it does not say or. You can check for yourself what YOUR state says about carseats by going to: http://www.elitecarseats.com/custserv/custserv.jsp?pageName=car_seat_laws.

HOWEVER those are just the laws for your state. What about the maximum SAFTEY of your child?? Sure it might be easier to put your 1 year old who weighs 25 lbs in a forward facing seat. Sure it might be easier to put your 4 year old who weighs 40 lbs in a booster seat with just the carseat holding them in.

BUT research has shown that a child is SAFER to be rearward facing until the maximum of the carseat. WHICH most convertables do until 30 or 35 lbs. A child should be rearfacing until the limits of their car seat hieght or weight whichever comes first. The general rule is if your childs head is 1 inch above the top of the carseat she is to big for it. I do not have a video YET on the importance of extended rearfacing besides this one...its a little old and I am currently working on making a new one. But for those first time parents or even parents with more then 1 child who think its okay to make the switch before 1 AND 20 I suggest watching this. It is what helped me make my decision. My oldest went forward facing at 9 months...thank god nothing ever happened.

Now for the bennifit of extend harnassing....all i will do for this is post a video. Because of this video my oldest is now harnassed...again. And will continue to do so until she is to big height wise which at that point I will buy a new carseat. The video is a tear jerker so please have a tissue handy if your like me and cry easily.


In end PLEASE do your research when purchising a carseat for your child. When making a transition from one car seat to the next. It is very important! AND especially remember to go and get your carseat imspected by professionals! To find YOUR local place go to this website and type in your zip code! http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/CPS/CPSFitting/index.cfm

My "baby" turned 2 today

waiting for to doctor (yes shes in a sposie we wear them sometimes now as we've grown out of cloth)

she decided to lay down and wait

getting her hieght and weight checked

playing in the waiting room before going into the docs office

my 2 year old!!

Man its so hard to believe that Charle is 2 years old already! This time 2 years ago we were in the hospital...getting ready to check out and go home with our 6 lb 9oz baby girl. She was so small her carseat swallowed her! Now she's "huge". LOL well shes huge compared to what she was then but she is still very small. Today she had aher 2 year well baby check up and she is doing great! She is weighing in at 18lbs 14 ozs and she is 31 inchs long! So she is still VERY small for her age but she is gaining weight! We LOVE our doctor. He is a family practice doctor with Western Washington Medical Group by the name of Dr. Grossman. He really listens to me and hears my requests. He is just so awesome! ANYONE looking for a family practice doctor I totally recomend him. He is supportive of me still breastfeeding hasnt said ANYTHING about me needing to stop! Charle really likes him to which is a major plus! We had no shots today because my old pediatrician office didnt send her full immunization record over. He said usually at 2 he doesnt give shots anyways. Im going to have to find out how to get her records...allthough I have been debating still the whole imunization thing...but thats a whole different blog :P

Rachel is in her last year of preschool

This is Rachel's last official year of preschool. She has grown so much since starting. She has had so much fun! Above are the pictures we took before she got on the school bus on picture day. Shes a little ham and loves having her picture taken. Most of the poses she said "Mommy take it like this!" She is pretty funny :D And she is a total girly girl. She is all about wearing dresses and skirts. If I let her wear makeup she would in a heartbeat!

This is her official school picture from this year. Itll be neat to see how much she will change by the end of the school year!