movin' and shakin'

If I have learned anything over the past 8 months of my life, I have learned that Charlie does things in his own time - as slowly or as quickly as he pleases! In the past week or so he has decided that he needs to move and he needs to move now! He is mastering crawling in quick little bursts, though he does have a hard time once he is off his play mat and on the hardwood floor - not quite as much traction there! And he has also become quite the pro at pulling himself up to the couch and shuffling back and forth a little while holding on. He is quite the daredevil and even lets go for a split second here and there. Chloe and the cats are no longer safe and he has managed to grab quite a few handfuls of fur the past few days. Luckily no one has retaliated!

He LOVES the Baby Einstein Numbers Nursery DVD. He can be throwing a complete fit, but will settle immediately as soon as we hit play! I feel a little bit guilty about it, but I keep telling myself it is educational - numbers, vocabulary, moral lessons... Who ever though it up is a genius! We have tried some of the other Baby Einsteins, but he wont watch them. He knows what he likes! There is a little girl who at one point holds up two orange halves and says, "Two oranges!" with a big smile on her face. Charlie is in love with her and giggles every time this part is on!

He is clapping and making all sorts of sounds. I have not caught on to him associating any of the sounds with things yet, but he might be close. He still loves bouncing in his bouncer seat. The bouncer is his favorite place to watch his Baby Einstein. He gets all excited while watching and bounces like crazy! Today he was trying to master clapping and bouncing at the same time, but he is not that coordinated! :-)

He has been struggling with his food the past couple weeks. He had been doing great with his cereal and every fruit or veggie we introduced. Then he started not taking his evening meal and we blamed it on him being too tired. But then he started giving us a hard time at every meal - crying with his lips locked tight. If we do manage to get something in his mouth when he is like this, he wont swallow it and will start gagging as it sits there on his tongue. His bottles are still going well, but the food has become a frustration. ((Knock on wood)) The past couple of days have been better, but not as good as it was. We have an arsenal of tricks for getting him to take the food - including turning on his DVD. He goes into such a happy place trance that he will usually open his mouth automatically without any coercion as he watches.

Charlie got his seasonal flu shot last week and will have the second one the first week in November. I think we are leaning towards getting him vaccinated for the H1N1 when it comes out as well. I don't think there is one right answer, we are just trying to figure out what is best for him. We are still waiting to hear if he has been approved for the RSV shots. We weren't going to start it until November anyways since it seems most people have only been approved for 5 shots. This way he will be covered through March which tends to be the hardest part of the RSV season. Hopefully we will get that lined up soon! I am being very hopeful and keeping my fingers crossed that he might even get approved to have it administered at home instead of having to go into the office for it every month! I am not holding my breath though! :-)

We have videos to post, but they are still on the camera, so they will have to be added later! Something to look forward to! You will just have to settle for pictures for now!

I finally manages to catch a picture of his two little treasures!

And that would be carrots all over his face.

When feedings don't go well, it usually means a bigger mess!

"Mom, I don't know why you think I am going to

bother Chester! Besides, he loves attention from me!"

Oh those blue eyes are going to break someone's heart someday!