Old Town Spring Crawfish Festival

There's nothing like delicious crawfish, hanging with your family and good music. Drew and I took Charlotte to Old Town Spring's Crawfish Festival this past weekend in Spring, Texas. I just love old little towns and festivals! They had live music, dancing, shopping, rides and of course food. We loved listening to the Zydeco band :)

My sister, Katherine, had gotten tickets about a month ago because her family is OBSESSED with the show, Duck Dynasty. Drew and I have only seen one episode but my nephews love love love this show! Apparently one of the guys, Si, was going to be there. So, Drew and I decided to go along with them and enjoy everything else. The parking was crazy and there were soooo many people but we still had a lot of fun.

If you're interested in going they are having it again next weekend :)

these crowds and lines wear me out mom!

mmm!

love LOVE crawfish!

we can't wait to go back next year!



What We've Been Up To...

We've been out of town so much lately that it feels like staying home has been a little vacation for us. Crazy as it sounds! So this is what we've been up to this week...

working on our naps... look at those lashes!



loving our feet

trying peas for the first time... more peas please!



loving on Lucy, they're besties already :)

practicing pull-ups

and working our abs :)

making homemade chocolate chip cookis... mmm!

and making our own homemade organic baby food... more peas!



5 Months Old

Charlotte Grace,

You are growing way too fast for this mama! Your smile still lights up the room and my heart everytime you give me that big grin. You are very aware of your surroundings and Lucy is already your new best friend... a friendship that I know will last forever :) Your Daddy and I love you SO much and cannot believe we are nearing the 1/2 year mark! You bring so much joy to our lives and without you life would now not be possible.

 

I love you so much sweetheart,

Mama

 

5  month Stats

Weight: 17.7 lbs

Length: ?? I'm thinking 25 or 25.5 inches
Head: ?? I'm guessing 16.5

Eating: nursing exclusively 6-7 times a day. You tasted your first taste of rice cereal at 4.5 months and now you've branched off into trying pears, sweet potatoes and peas. You LOVE them all! You did try avocado and HATED it. I think we'll try it again in a few months.

Bedtime: still following your strict bedtime routine of bath, lotion/massage, jammies and storytime then nurse and sleep. You have now been "loosly" sleep trained... I had to let you "cry-it-out" the Ferber way after two weeks of dealing with the "4 month sleep regression." You now sleep 6.5-7 hours, wake to nurse and then go back down for another 3-4 sometimes 5 hours. You're getting there girl!

Awake: You are awake now so much! I love this because we get more time to play however, I do not get things done around the house now. You are awake sometimes up to 3 hours before taking a nap and when you do...

Naps: you only now sleep for about 30 minutes per nap! Which leads me to again not getting things done around the house. We are working very hard on getting you to only nap in your crib but occasionally I'll let you snooze in your swing still. We are almost ready to pack that thing up! That will be a VERY sad day!

Diapers: size 3

Clothes: 6 months in most brands but you can wear 6-12 in some. 6 month pjs still but your toes are getting too be a little cramped. I think we need to bust out the 9 month pjs soon.

Favorites: you love to be up all the time. you don't enjoy being on your back anymore. when you are on your back you do this little "ab stretch" because you want to be sitting up by yourself so badly. you are ALMOST there girl! you still like your bumbo, of course your fav... the swing, you are recently loving your jumperoo more. you love to watch Lucy, play with mama and daddy and you've been splashing us a lot in your bath at night... it's soo cute! oh you also like your new fancy high chair :) basically anything that you can be in that will allow you to look around and sit up  you LOVE.

Latest Tricks: you can roll from tummy to back and back to tummy (but you don't do it everytime), you are ALMOST sitting up on your own, smiling all the time, laughing out loud, you've found your voice you like to "talk" constantly... I think you will be talking in paragraphs when you do start talking :)

Child of God

Charlotte Grace on her most special day

Last weekend is a weekend we will never forget. We had Charlotte's baptism at my Dad's church in Seguin. It was incredibly special to have my Dad do the service. When my parent's took a trip to the Holy Land before I was born, my Dad brought back some water from the River Jordan intending to use one day to baptize the grandchildren with. All of my nephews and niece have been baptized with this water and Charlotte was too! He saved some for any more children that we will have! :)

 

If you know me then you know how special traditions are. Charlotte wore my mother-in-law's christening gown that she wore, her sisters wore, my husband and sister-in-law wore and all the cousins. Charlotte is the first grandchild to wear it! She also wore my bonnet and silver bracelet given to her by her great-grandmother.

 

I was so nervous that she would cry during the service but she was a complete angel baby. I think she knew it was her special day! Drew and I went up to the front along with my sister Amy and brother-in-law, Danny, who we asked to be Charlotte's Godparents. After the baptism, my Dad walked Charlotte up and down the aisles of the church while they played my FAVORITE lullaby. I have sung this song to Charlotte since the minute she was born to calm her. We sing it every night before bed with her prayers. Here's how it goes:

 

Charlotte Grace, God claims you

He helps you, protects you and loves you too

We this day do all agree a child of God you'll always be

And if you should tire or cry we will sing you this lullaby

Charlotte Grace, God claims you

He helps you, protects you and loves you too

Mommy and Daddy love you so

They want to help your faith to grow

Charlotte Grace, God claims you

He helps you, protects you and loves you too.



 After the service, all the family came back to my parent's house for lunch and dessert. Charlotte received some very special presents. Her own set of baby pearls, a cross necklace, the baptism shell necklace, a praying little stuffed animal that whispers the Lord's Prayer when you squeeze it's hands, a gorgeous picture frame to put her baptism picture in, a pink cross for her wall, engraved with her initials mini silver hair brush, comb and rattle and a Willow Tree figurine that plays Brahm's Lullaby when you twist it.

 

Thank you everyone who prayed for sweet Charlotte Sunday morning during her baptism. We are so blessed to have such a beautiful perfect daughter that is now seen in the eyes of our Lord and Savior as a Child of God.

What is the name to given to the child... Charlotte Grace

Do you promise to raise your child in the eyes of the Lord?

Charlotte Grace... I baptize you in the name of the Father, Son & Holy Spirit

Child of God

Poppa showing off his granddaughter :)

Sweet baby girl

Praying for Charlotte



With Grammy and Poppa

 

Parents and Godparents

Charlotte's Godparents... her Aunt Amy & Uncle Danny

A few weeks before we had the baptism, my mom and I took Charlotte to have her picture made in the christening gown. Here are a few of her & me that we had made to display at the lunch after the baptism and to hang in our house :)



A French Influence?

A friend of mine had told me about this book and that she loved reading it. It is really interesting! Pamela Druckerman is an American journalist who had a baby while living in Paris. She never wanted to become a "French parent" but wanted to know what was the "trick" behind why French children are so well behaved, eat so well and are good sleepers.

Can't wait to finish it and see what the hype is all about... maybe the French have it right after all?

My Best Friend

My beautiful best friend and her precious baby girl

When I found out I was pregnant last March all my hopes and dreams were coming true but I didn't realize how even more perfect life would be when my best friend told me she was pregnant as well! Not only had Gina and I shared growing up in the same neighborhood, cheered together in high school, both pledging the same sorority Tri Delta, planned our weddings together but now we were going to be having babies at the same time!

At our Double GIRL baby shower



I will never forget the day that she told me the good news. Gina and her husband Brian were in Europe at the time taking an amazing vacation before he graduated from medical school and they would be moving somewhere across the country for his residency. She had called me a few times through skype phone to briefly tell me how amazing it was over there and some of the things that they had experienced. It was late that evening and a random number was calling me (I knew this was her since it was a skype phone through computer that she was using). I answered it sooo anxious to talk to her. I had literally found out I was pregnant the day before they left for Europe so every chance I could get I was ecstatic to tell her all about what I was going through. And then she told me something that BLEW my mind... "Becca, you're not going to believe this! But I took a pregnancy test in France and I think I'm pregnant too! And that means that I'm only a few weeks behind you!"

WOW! What a crazy, miraculous, amazing and exciting news! I couldn't wait until they returned home so she could go to her doctor to confirm. Long story short... she was pregnant and due only 5 weeks behind me. Not only were we besties but our future babies HAD to be besties too!

And then I found out I was expecting a girl... sweet Charlotte. And sure enough a few weeks later, Gina found out she was also expecting a girl... sweet little Annabel. You can't even imagine how excited we were to now be talking about bows, dresses, tea parties, and dolls.

I was so fortunate to be able to go visit Gina while we were both pregnant in July. Brian, her husband, was sent to Charlottesville, Virginia for his residency and I was so excited to travel to that part of the US for a few days to talk ALL ABOUT BABIES with my BFF.

November came and sadly Gina couldn't be with me when Charlotte was born. We did FaceTime constantly so it felt like she got to meet Charlotte right away. And then December came and Annabel was born. Sadly, I couldn't be there either to meet her either so again we FaceTimed as much as possible so it felt like I had met Annabel. Since then we literally FaceTime or at least talk on the phone or text multiple times a day so it's as if we aren't thousands of miles away. Gina plans on coming to Texas for a few weeks at the end of May and I could not be happier... I cannot wait to meet my sweet God Daughter, Annabel, and I cannot wait to give my best friend the biggest hug. I miss her so much but so thankful for technology that helps us ease the distance. And most importantly, I cannot WAIT for our baby girls to finally meet!



I love you Gina and I cannot wait for you to get here! Only a month and half away!!!

Top 10 Baby Things I Love

Since becoming a Mom, I've found the top 10 items that I could do not do without! Many of my friends that recently have become pregnant ask me all the time, what are the top things that you love? What would you register for? I've composed my favorites here...

 

1. Bumbo seat & tray: When Charlotte turned 3 1/2 months old she was ready to sit by herself with assistance of course. The bumbo seat has been wonderful to put her in so she can get some play time without always being on her back. The tray also came in handy when we didn't have our high chair yet and we were ready to start solids.

 

2. Sophie & Sophie Teether: Every baby needs a Sophie Giraffe and Sophie teether. It's become really handy lately now that she's teething and chewing on everything. The Sophie Giraffe squeaks and gives comfort to her gums and the teether is a great little toy to throw in the diaper bag. They are easy to clean and of course super cute!

 

3. MAM Pacifiers: When we brought home Charlotte from the hospital she was using the soothies that the hospital had given us but they would never stay in her mouth. We tried Tommy Tippee, Avent, and Nuk but she hated all of them. My mom happened to see these cute MAM ones in HEB and decided to try these. They have been her favorite and she has now progressed from the 0 size to the 0-3 month size. They are really cute and come with lots of different designs on the round part. They also can be put in the baby's mouth any way, meaning that there isn't a right or upside down side. Makes it easy when you're managing at a stop light to put the paci back in your baby's mouth :)

 

4. Hava CHIC Sling: I couldn't wait to use a baby sling when Charlotte arrived. I had tried several others but she hated them all and then we discovered the Hava. I found it at a local organic baby boutique in Cy-Fair area and I love that you can adjust it to your comfort. It has a shoulder pad for comfort and you can wear your baby many different ways: tummy to tummy (her favorite), facing out, or cradle (easy to breastfeed with). I use this sling EVERY time we go to the grocery store or running errands when I don't want to bring in the stroller. It also has a cute pocket on the "tail" to put your keys, wallet or phone in. It comes in many different patterns too! This is my pattern: autumn.

 

5. Medela Bottles: Although I exclusively breastfeed Charlotte... she does occasionally take a bottle when we are out and about or lately trying fruit juice. I basically love everything Medela but these bottles seem to be her favorite.

 

6. Sleep Sheep: I don't know what I would do without the sleep sheep. We have the regular sized sheep attached to her crib and then we have a travel sleep sheep to take with us in the car or when we travel. They are soft and do four different sounds. Charlotte's favorite is the "ocean"... she goes "surfing" every night in her dreams :)

 

7. Summer Infant Monitor: I love this monitor! I have a lot of friends that have the Motorola monitor but this one seems to work perfectly for us. The hand held device is small and in color. And the part that is in her room captures sound and works in a pitch dark room. I also forgot to mention that it has a cool feature that allows you to "talk" back to your baby when you are on your way to their room.

 

8. City Mini Stroller: I LOVE my stroller. It is very lightweight, easy to fold, and very convienent to take basically any where you go. I don't think I'll ever need an umbrella stroller for quick trips because this stroller does it all. I currently have the car seat adapter hooked onto it but I know we will love the "lay back" feature once she is ready to use it without the adapter.

 

9. Snug-a-Bunny Swing: I don't know what we would have done without this swing. It has been Charlotte's favorite thing in the whole world (besides her mommy and daddy of course!) She consistantly napped in it until recently but she still loves to swing in it while I'm cooking dinner or just hanging out. We will be very sad the day that she outgrows it but I recommend ANY swing to a new parent... especially this one :)

 

10. Boon Flair High Chair: This has been our most recent baby purchase but I LOVE LOVE this high chair. After doing lots of research and talking to other mama's this was "the one" to buy. It's the easiest to clean, very sleek and modern and the coolest part is that it is adjustable. We can adjust it later on when she isn't using the tray to sit up at our kitchen table. What a great high chair!