These pictures of Charlie remind me so much of the pictures that I took of Ellie in the same chair…with the same bald head and the same big smile!

Ellie at about the same age:

Already?

This picture cracks me up!  Doesn’t it look like I’ve interrupted Charlie hanging out with his girlfriend (Frankie) and he’s saying through clenched teeth, “Seriously, Mom!  You’re embarrassing me – get lost!”

Fiber

As I’ve mentioned (and as anyone who has spent any time with Ellie knows), Ellie has a habit of helping herself to anything that she can reach.  The other day, she moved one of her chairs into the kitchen, took a (HUGE) apple off of the counter, and ran off into the playroom to enjoy it in peace and quiet…until I showed up with the camera.

I have no doubt that she would have finished it, but we hosted a playdate for my MOMS group, so she had to finally give it up.  Not before she ate half of the core though!

Fun family picnic

I’m so behind on blogging!  And I can’t believe that I didn’t blog about the super fun family picnic that we had several weeks ago!  We met a bunch of other families (including Jax’s and Cain’s families, but somehow I managed to not take any pictures of them – shame on me!) at Watters Creek, threw down some blankets and enjoyed some live music while the kiddos ran around.  We hired a babysitter for the first time, so Charlie stayed at home and slept while Ellie enjoyed some only-child time.

Ellie only sat still long enough to eat!

It was so fun to watch Ellie dancing…and dancing…and dancing

Two little girls – Laura and Ella --  from Ellie’s class joined us and Ellie was so excited about seeing her school friends on a Saturday!

   

Ellie and Ella are hilarious together – I think Ella might be the only other little girl with as much energy as Ellie, so it’s fun to watch them being wild together.  They’re going to take a dance/tumbling class together in June – should be interesting!

Mama’s boy

Charlie is saying “mama!”  Of course, there’s absolutely no meaning behind it yet, and he says it most often when he’s crying/whining, but it’s still pretty exciting!

Let the countdown begin!

Master Charlie has figured out how to get up on all fours, so it’s just a matter of time (days? weeks?) before he’s off and into all sorts of trouble.  I will savor these last few days of merely mild chaos!

Who’s a big girl now?!

No more baby beds for Ellie!  She slept in a big girl bed last night and did great!  We tried her in it two nights ago, after getting rid of Charlie’s crib (which had been recalled) and moving him to Ellie’s crib; the first night did not go well – she was out of the bed before we could even close the door, but with the help of a “one strike” rule (she had to sleep in the pack ‘n play if she got out of bed), she stayed in bed all night last night.  She even slept in this morning and then waited for us to get her out of bed this morning.  Amazing!  I have to say that it was a little bittersweet though – I was so proud of her for staying in bed, but it was sad to see my little tiny (31+ lbs) baby in a big girl bed.  It just seems like she’s turned into a big girl before my eyes.  Crazy.  And fun.  And exciting.  And still a little sad.