2016 is officially in the rearview. I know it sounds cliche, but I will always reflect on this year as one that changed me, in many ways, forevermore. A few things that happened:
- Celebrated one year of marriage
- Welcomed Charlie Lewis James into the world
- Lost my grandma, an aunt, and my childhood pet
- Graduated from Indiana University Southeast with a BS in Elementary Education
- Went to a Coldplay concert
- Took a babymoon/anniversary trip to Gatlinburg
- Became a stay-at-home mom
- Worked my first real, paid teaching job
It was a year of high highs and low lows. But the Lord sustained me through it all.
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| Top: May, June, & July Middle: August Bottom: October & December |
As we welcome in 2017, we will also say, "Happy 5 months of life!" to Charlie on January 4th. Motherhood is the greatest and hardest thing I have ever done. But it helps when you have the world's sweetest baby!
Weight: 16 lbs 4 oz
Length: 26 in
This month:
- We found out Charlie has two teeth buds. Teething is on the horizon (and maybe has already begun). He drools like crazy and loooves chewing on teething toys, blankets, or his hands.
- Because of various circumstances that I could not control, we finished our nursing days this month. Nursing was an extremely difficult but wonderfully sweet period of time that I will miss sharing with Charlie.
- He started eating baby oatmeal with a spoon! Even though he is on the smaller side in weight (fluctuating between the 20something and 30something percentile), the dude likes to EAT. He was taking in over 32 oz in a day and the doctor told us at his 4 month check up that once that happened, we might consider adding in some baby cereal once or twice a day. So we did and it's been so successful! He still wants to eat every 3ish hours (I know), but adding the oatmeal has really helped with spit-ups from having to digest so much liquid in a day.
- Charlie had a biiiiiigggg sleep regression during his 4th month. Or maybe it was just a weird hang up about sleeping. He pretty much only wanted to be held while sleeping or to sleep in his car seat. As of last week, he is FINALLY sleeping all night in his bassinet and going down much easier (sometimes being rocked/held by mommy, which is new!). I hope it stays this way.
- There was about a month long phase of screaming for fun. He wasn't upset, he was just loud and would squeal all the time! It was cute (at first), but thankfully that phase is over.
- He is an expert at rolling in any and all ways. I had to learn not to blink or else I would find he had literally rolled all the way across the room! I am pretty sure he scooted back about a foot the other day too. We might have a little guy who wants to be mobile early!
- Thumb sucking. Yeah...
- He had his first cold. It was the classic runny nose, sneezing, and poopy diapers. I felt much more at ease about handling his little cold after going through RSV at 3 months (which was way worse and scarier). Winter sickness is not fun.
- We experienced our first Christmas season as a family of three. It was soo fun and completely exhausting! Our sweet families blessed us tremendously this year. After seeing him through his first holidays, I can confidently say our little boy is SUCH a people person. Even when he was so tired he could barely keep his eyes open (and his head was literally nodding up and down), he was so content to be where the family was. He handled the hustle and bustle and meeting new faces so well too. I am a super proud momma.
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| 2016 Christmas Card |
I am so excited to see what the Lord will do in 2017. May it be a year of prayerfully submitting ourselves to Jesus and trusting him in everything.
I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and a great start to the New Year!
