Charlotte - Week 6

Charlotte is growing in leaps and bounds, she gets noticeably heavier every day and her cheeks and chin(s) are getting deliciously plump. We're getting more smiles every day but she still makes us work for them. I usually get the most in the middle of the night feedings. I'm still up twice a night nursing but the first stretch is usually long enough for me to get a good chunk of sleep. She's still a pretty chill baby but starting about 5 days ago she gets really fussy and gassy around 5pm until 8pm and we have to carry her around for those 3 hours. What seems to work the best is walking the neighborhood. It's been challenging with Ruby's bedtime routine but we've just had to work in shifts. :)

Charlotte likes sucking her thumb but has a really hard time getting it successfully into her mouth. Sometimes I give her a little help and it seems to soothe her more than a pacifier.

We've had a fun week leading up to Halloween. Ruby's school put on a Fall Festival which was a lot of fun, there was a pumpkin patch, a train ride, lots of games and prizes and best of all, the kids from the preschool got to sing the parents the two songs they had been practicing. So cute! Yesterday, we went to a "Trunk or Treat" at a local preschool where a bunch of teachers and parents opened the trunks of their cars and decorated them and gave out candy. Tomorrow is Ruby's Halloween party at school, Saturday is our neighborhood party and then finally Sunday is Halloween. PHEW!!!

Ruby is amazing us with how well she's learning her letters. Just in the past month she's really learning in leaps and bounds. She now knows all of her letters, what sound they make and then can rattle off words that start with each letter. It's so awesome to watch her get so excited about learning. Although, it can take FOREVER to read a bedtime story now because she has to point out all the letters on each page. She has her stuffed Piglet in her back pack ready to take to school tomorrow morning for show and tell for the letter "P".

I'm hoping to start getting Charlotte on some sort of wake/nap routine in the next couple of weeks. It will be challenging with always being on the go with Rubes but we'll make it work. Happy Halloween everyone, have a spooktacular weekend! xoxo

The result of about 10 billion walks around the neighborhood.

Our littlest pumpkin.

Ruby, Bella and Lucy singing, "He's got the whole world in his hands."


Two cutest pumpkins in the patch!

This was right after she almost threw Charlie overboard.

Family of four!

Doctor Ruby, Ballerina Lucy and Cinderella Giada.

Yes she has enough hair for a Halloween clip!

I'm so glad Charlotte's play mat is stimulating her senses.

Ruby ready to perform surgery on the pumpkin she picked out.

Getting out all the yummy pumpkin seeds. Mmmm!!!

Watching the pumpkin carving action.

Charlotte - Week 5

Wow - what a week! We were so appreciative to have another week with Gamma. It was so wonderful to have her here and she was SO MUCH HELP! She was constantly changing diapers, burping the baby, walking her around, doing the dishes, doing our laundry, cleaning, cooking supper, playing with Ruby and being here for my emotional support. We love you Gamma and miss you so much already.

J-A and Mae came on Monday until Thursday and it was so great to have the cousins together. J-A and I had a couple sane, kid-free moments where we just got to hang out and talk and that alone was just so wonderful. As we were out for coffee one day, we were day-dreaming how nice it would be if we could do that once a week. Maybe someday... Ruby absolutely adored Mae and loved trying to make her smile (which is not hard, by the way) this baby smiles when she's crying, it's unbelievable! What a happy, happy baby! It all went by way too fast and in sort of a blur due to lack of sleep. :)

Charlotte is getting more and more alert every day and she is getting so big! Every day I notice she's bigger, it's amazing. She's also smiling more but we really have to work for them. We're seeing that she has cute little dimples that I could just eat up. She's starting to do really well at night, last night we went to bed at 9:30 and I was only up at 2:30 and 5:30 to feed her. I feel almost human today! Charlie is getting really strong and loves holding her head up and looking around. Her personality seems to be sweet and laid back and a little goofy. We only hear her cry if she has tummy pains or if she's really hungry. She's not a huge fan of her car seat which is new for me because Ruby loved being in hers.

Ruby is doing really well with Charlotte now and loves helping give her baths. She's pretty gentle most of the time and really does love her little sister. Mom and J-A got to see first hand how sweet Ruby can be and also what a handful she can be. It's hard being 3! :)

Charlie loves Gamma!

I think Charlotte is gaining enough weight!

She loves taking her naps on her tummy.

Ruby has been waiting to feed Charlotte a bottle since she was born.

Ruby was so excited to get an American Girl catalogue in the mail! "Oh my gosh!! My very own magazine!!"

We love Gamma!!!

Brave girl!

YAY! Auntie J-A arrives!

Baking with Gamma.

Mae's first visit to the beach.

Happy Mae-Mae. Sweet girl!

The many faces of Charlotte:

Gamma couldn't get enough kisses.

Mae LOVED looking at Charlotte.

Oh Mae, you cute little pumpkin!

Rubes was in baby heaven!! The cousins wearing the matching dresses Gamma made.

Could they possibly get any cuter?

Ruby LOVED holding both babies at the same time and did a great job!

Charlotte - Week 4

Wow, I can't believe Charlotte is one month old already!! She is growing so fast and changing every day. Gamma has noticed a big difference in just the 3 days she's been here. In the past couple of days, Charlie has been trying really hard to smile. You can tell that any day she's going to break out into a huge grin but for now we're getting sweet little smirks. She is such a sweet spirited baby.

This week, Charlotte went to a baby shower, met her Gamma, went to a concert downtown and had her 2nd trip to the beach. We've been busy! Charlotte loves getting baths, being held and pooping her pants. Not necessarily in that order. She's also a big fan of Gamma walking her around while singing "This Old Man".

Ruby is doing so great as a big sister. She loves Charlotte to bits and calls her "sweetie-pumpkin" and "stinky-butt" and loves to give her kisses and hugs. She's a great helper with changing diapers and is always ready with a wipe and diaper cream. We still have our challenging moments but it's overall much, much better!

We are so happy to have Gamma here and already don't know what we're going to do when she leaves. It's been such a big help. We're looking forward to J-A and Mae arriving next Monday!

Gamma meets Charlotte.

Gamma and her girls.

She did this to herself. I swear.

So happy together...

Rubes and Chris. She was at the beach for a whole 3 minutes before her bottoms came off.

Sacked out on beach trip #2!

Are you my Gamma?

She's excited for Halloween AND Christmas!

Never a dull moment in the Vogt household. Maybe we shouldn't ask Gamma to babysit...

I kind of caught a smile on camera.

Ruby loves giving Charlie kisses and hugs.

Charlotte - Week 3

Things are slowly getting back to "normal" around here. We took our first trip to the beach with Charlotte on the weekend and she loved it! She pretty much slept the whole time, well until Ruby put a whole handful of sand in her face. She's going to be a tough cookie, that's for sure.

Charlotte had her 2nd doctor's appointment and in 11 days she gained 1 whole pound and grew 1 inch! The doctor said she looks great. Her umbilical cord is off and we've moved up from newborn sized diapers to size 1!

Charlotte continues to be a great baby but is getting a little bit more fussy than she used to be, which is pretty typical once babies hit 3 weeks or so. She really realizing that she likes to be held. :)

Ruby is doing much, much better and having the 2 of them on my own for a whole day is manageable now whereas this time last week, the thought of it brought me to tears. The novelty of having a new baby in the house is wearing off a bit and Ruby's now starting to play by herself with her old toys again a little bit. The weather here has been incredible this past week. Cool in the mornings and evenings with low humidity - perfect for getting outside to play.

We are SUPER excited for Gamma to come visit!!!! Only 2 more sleeps!

Charlotte's first trip to the beach!

Mommy and her girls.

Sweet Charlotte.

Rubes and her friend Jansen.

Hehe, sorry Doug!

Ruby showing Charlotte her new play mat.

Tummy time turned into nap time.

Charlie's first real bath!

So Ruby's breast feeding "Big Baby" under my nursing cover. :)

Oh the joys of breast feeding/pumping!!!

This is how we roll.

Rubes and her boyfriends Jacob and Ethan.