Pre-Christmas Festivities--Charlotte's first Christmas tree

Charlotte helps put lights on our tree

Mesmerized by the lights

"Now how am I going to get this untangled?"

Charlotte and her (still wrapped) candy cane....

She loves the tree!

Charlotte's new trick

I know I just posted stuff yesterday, but Charlotte was working on a new trick and I thought you might like to see it. She has been very interested in everything we put in our mouths--food, utensils, cups, etc. So yesterday we gave her a cup with a couple tablespoons of water in it to see what she would do with it, and she immediately put it in her mouth (that is no surprise; she puts everything in her mouth!). But she figured out that the spout on the sippy cup is the part that is supposed to go in her mouth, and she can get a little bit of water out of it. She is becoming a big girl!

Some pictures from Thanksgiving time

Charlotte in her Johnny-Jump-Up. She managed to get both hands down through the leg holes but it didn't seem to interfere with her chewing on the side!

Grandma CarolAnn and Charlotte cuddling. Normally Charlotte does not like to cuddle much--she would rather wiggle and play. But she and Grandma have a special understanding.

Grandma CarolAnn giving Charlotte a bottle.

Uncle Travis and Aunt Lisa with Charlotte. Charlotte loves Uncle Travis--he makes goofy faces (like the one in this picture) and acts crazy. Grandpa Mark bought her the funny snowman hat she is wearing.

The Paparazzi. Charlotte is a popular girl.

Great-grandma Lois just loves to hold Charlotte. Looks like Charlotte loves it too!

Four generations! Grandma Cindy (Kristi's mom), Kristi, Charlotte, and Great-grandma Lois (Cindy's mom). It was hard to get everyone looking at the same time and have Charlotte happy. In fact, we had to put the pacifier in her mouth between pictures and then pull it out at the last second in order to keep her from fussing for this picture!

Grandpa Mark and Charlotte spending some quality time.

Baby face!

"If I could just open my mouth a little wider I could get my whole hand in here!"

Friends of ours from St. Olaf College. Chelsea is on the end and Kirsten is holding Charlotte. They were our first non-local visitors (Jose and Jesi, you guys win the prize for being our first local visitors!). Kirsten lives in Denver and Chelsea lives in the cities. They came to visit for just a few hours but we had lots of fun seeing them!

Charlotte's life

Charlotte wants to tell you about her life recently. First, her major accomplishment is that she rolled over last Sunday (November 11) on auntie Lisa's birthday! She rolled from her back to her tummy, which is the opposite way that most babies roll first. She really only rolls over when she is naked because her diaper is too big and bulky for her to roll over. Once she is on her tummy she holds her head up so high and flaps her arms and legs like she is swimming. She looks so funny! Her favorite thing to do right now is to lay naked on her back on the quilt Grandma CarolAnn made for her and kick her legs and squeal. The quilt has been washed several times already because Charlotte inevitably pees on it when we let her play naked for a long time. But we don't mind because it makes her so happy. Her least favorite thing to do is get her diaper and clothes put back on. She always protests loudly when it's time to stop being naked. Another favorite thing to do is to look in the mirror. She grins when she sees herself and loves to stand and bounce in front of the bathroom mirror. She is also starting to figure out the Johnny-Jump-Up, but she isn't really bouncing quite yet.
Charlotte has recently discovered the high pitched range of her voice. Most of her noises are loud and high and squeal-y and hilarious. We've taken many videos of her doing this--we'll have to post one on the blog soon. Another recent accomplishment is looking at her feet. Just in the last few days she has started noticing her wiggling toes, but she doesn't yet try to grab them. When Matt feeds her a bottle she likes to "help" hold it. She puts both her hands on the sides and pulls the bottle out of her mouth and then tries to put it back in (though she often gets it in her eye or her cheek!).
Since her mom and dad now are real adults who have to go to work/school for most of the days of the week, Charlotte has to go to daycare now. She doesn't like it very much. She doesn't take her bottle very well or sleep much, and since most of her daily activities revolve around sleeping and eating, this doesn't work out so well. She also cries a lot there, which is too bad since she almost never cries at home. This is really hard on mommy and daddy...both of them wish so much that they could stay home with her. Lots of scenarios have gone through mommy's head to see if there is some way she could do that and still graduate from med school on time, but so far she hasn't thought of anything feasible yet.
Ok, enough chit chat...we know you want to see pictures. Here they are, your most recent installment of Charlotte.

Charlotte sitting in her "bumbo."

Charlotte and mommy.

Grandma Cindy sent Charlotte a hat and mitten set for our cold MN winter.

Charlotte LOVES the other baby who lives in our bathroom.

Just two dudes hangin' out.

Charlotte practicing her yelling (Daddy calls it singing).

Isn't she cute?!

Yep, she's cute!

Happy Birthday Aunt Lisa!

It's Charlotte's Auntie Lisa's birthday tomorrow, November 11. Charlotte and her Grandpa Mark put their brains together to make a card for her. Below are two of the best pictures (though they're all funny since she's mostly trying to eat the signs or throw them on the floor). You'll probably wonder what the term "blue dot" means...when Lisa was little (and still now?) she had a tiny little blue dot on her nose between her eyes from a little vein. This earned Lisa the nickname "blue dot." Charlotte has one too, so Grandpa Mark likes to call her blue dot also!
Happy Birthday to the original Blue Dot!

Snow and a tour of our apartment!

That's right! Our first snowfall in Buffalo on November 5, 2007. It snowed just a bit more than a flurry, maybe what one might call a "dusting." Boo.

That's disgusting Dad, what is on your plate?! Here Charlotte joins us for a family dinner of Bombay Curry with Chicken. She is sitting in her Bumbo, a chair to help her sit up without one of us holding her. They have been recalled recently because parents put them on tables and counters and babies fall off. But here there is nothing to fear because we are sitting right next to her. She would have to take a flying leap in order to make it off the table. Don't worry Grandmas. (I know you already were...)

This is our new living room. It is set up pretty much the same way we had it in Duluth, with the exception of the fireplace and bookshelves and giant bay window and hardwood floors.

This is still the living room.


When you walk into our apartment you are immediately in the dining room. Then if you look right you see the kitchen (pictured here).

Here is looking back at the entry way and dining room from the living room.

Another view of the living room/dining room and the beginnings of the kitchen.

Here is our little balcony. Right now it is home to Matt's mountain bike and Kristi's winter boots that somehow got moldy since last winter. She'll have to figure out what to do with those...

This is Charlotte's room, but it is still pretty empty because she is still sleeping in our room for now. Mommy just can't put her in her own room yet...Since she sleeps through the night it really doesn't disrupt our sleep too much unless she wakes up earlier than she should. Speaking of which, have any other parents had problems with daylight savings time making their baby get up way too early in the morning?!

Here is our lovely bathroom.

Our walk-in closet/storage space. It has a sink in it!

This is our room (and currently Charlotte's room too).
Thus concludes the tour of our new apartment. Charlotte is awake and ready to eat, so that signals the end of this blog post as well. See you next time!