3 Weeks In.

So, we're 3 weeks in to me being a stay-at-home mom. I look back at the entry from the end of August-- such naivety! On a daily basis, I fluctuate between a wide range of emotions: boredom, bursts of energy, exhaustion, the desire to create something, the joy from seeing Charlotte's eyes light up, savoring precious time while giving her a bottle (or feeding her peaches and rice all mixed together with a splash of formula), wishing I wasn't addicted to the computer (including spider solitaire), waiting for Chris to get home because I love seeing Charlotte's face when she sees her daddy, realizing that all I created that day was a song about the dog to make her laugh.

2 things we got recently that are a lot of fun--johnny jump-up thing (thanks Robin!) that hangs in the door frame and lets her be a little more mobile. I think her favorite part about it is that she can get close to Homer. She is fasinated with him and I love that. And the second thing, that I'm anticipating will be fun-- a breadmaker. I just need to get some bread flour and then, watch out!

A new hobby that I find regular time for is making up fake errands just to kill time and get out the house. Although her schedule is changing all the time, esp. now thanks to teething (there is one poking through on the bottom), we've got a gap from about 11:30-1:30 that I try to fill with something each day. Thank goodness for the Y that puts up with us most days between 4-6 that allows me to avoid that fussy time before bed. (I did walk out of a pretty terrible class yesterday though, that's another story.) Anyway, I try to make lunch plans, or walking plans, or anything really that will absorb those 2 hours. Ironically, I've got nothing planned today, so what fake errand will it be today? Oh wait, I need to go get that bread flour!

Simple.

We are a simple family who likes to find joy in simple things. Here are a few of our latest finds!

Waterbottle

Old Magazines

This is actually a video that should have gone with the post from 8.28...

On a side note, I've been frustrated with Blogger lately because I haven't been able to upload videos directly. So now I have to upload them to You Tube then paste them into the post. I am so not a tech-y, but I did feel somewhat cool for being able to do this :)

Lottie, 6 months

Here's a link to some pictures I put on facebook last week:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=307651&id=698570062&l=869f695d6f
Happy looking!

Sleepy girl

The following post is old and I kept trying to load the video that goes with it and couldn't! :( So here's the post anyway...stay tuned...more often...

Here's our girl, trying to fall asleep. ...Whatever happened to me saying that I wasn't going to be one of those moms and always blog about my kid?!? Well, when I'm done at Windy Gap (next Fri. 9/4 is my last day) I think I'll have a lot more time to devote to this with more creativity and depth. Anyway, here's little Charlotte trying to fall asleep for her afternoon nap. I put her in the swing sometimes to try and extend that precious naptime. She had a busy day with her first haircut today--that's right, 6 months old people!

Anyway, we are about to embark on a whole new experience--that of a stay-at-home-mom. My head is filled with thoughts of playdates, a regular naptime, mommy hang-out time, and more sewing and cooking! All of these things I'm excited about about. I have a long list of things that I don't want to be and DO want to be doing. Jeez...The bottomline is --who knows?!? We'll just have to see how we settle in and figure this all out. In the meantime, we're grateful for the chance to do this and the opportunity to trust the Lord for the outcome.

We had some friends over the other night who reminded us about the kind of parents we want to be. His parents told him he only needed to date one girl and that he should be dating with the intent of marriage. I thought "it's one thing to hold those beliefs, it's another to have your kids believe what you tell them"! Chris and I both relish the idea and wish we'd never dated anyone before each other--so much wasted time and energy! Anyway, we hope to instill this in Charlotte's mind when she starts thinking about boys...hmmm parenting :)

New Favorite Picture

She looks so different to me every day, well at least every week...and this one did me in. She looks like such a little girl!

Delicious.

Rice cereal, here we come! We're having a great time with "solid" food. She likes it and it's nice to change up the routine a bit. We have loved being together this summer. Chris and I think this is the most time we've spent together since we got married really. 8 out of 11 weeks of summer camp, we've been able to spend 3 whole days together!

Cute baby pose...she found her toes.

Outdoor photo shoot.

Finally met uncle Sam...big noggin's unite :)

Summer, summer, summerti-ime. Just sit back and unwind.

Can't believe it's getting to be the middle of July already! I thought I'd post a few pictures of our life these days. Charlotte had her 4 mo. appointment yesterday and she's now in the 90th percentile for weight and height (from humble 10th percentile beginnings, that was a big surprise for us!). She is growing like a weed and we're probably going to be starting some solid food in the next 2 weeks. We're having a great time watching her grow, roll over, smiling and laughing a lot. Here's a shot of her in her newest toy...

Bathtime---she LOVES it!

Round little baby face.


Sweet cheek profile shot.

Big blue eyes--looks like they're staying blue!

She loves her daddy. He's always making her smile.

Happy late 4th of July! We thought about just putting a red onesies on her and letting her skin color and eye color complete the color scheme...but then we found a cute outfit in the bunches of clothes loaned to us.

Hope you're having a great summer. We love and miss you all!

Nursery Pictures

I had fun taking some pictures of the nursery and also playing with the color and contrast of them. I finished her banner last week and was so glad that it turned out to be such an easy project! My friend Robyn painted the canvas--she is amazing. Originally, we were going to have her paint right on the wall, but then I decided even though it would look cool, I wouldn't be able to take it with us if we move!

I'm really excited because I've finally got some new card ideas. I can feel the creative juices flowing again...after feeling "dry" for several years! This is fun for several reasons: 1) I like (and miss) having original thoughts and 2)I've decided not to be full-time at Windy Gap after mid-August so I'll have some time to devote to these creative urges :) I have never been surrounded by so many artistic friends and people in my entire life--I love it! AND I'm excited to be a full-time mom.

So, it looks like we'll be here this next school year since we haven't had any bites from the job market in Texas. It seems like they are laying off teachers everywhere now--it's really very sad. We are so thankful for Chris' job and his school that is so supportive of his work there. It looks like we'll continue to tighten our budget and enjoy more family time!

Little Swimmer

First swim at Windy Gap! She liked it even though the water was probably 60 degrees--so did Grandma!

Latest development--laughing!

This one is really fun. She just started laughing this week and is smiling so much! Here's a taste of what we spend most of our time doing...

I promise we take her out of her seat :)

So Big!

She's growing so much everyday and she's more alert than ever!

ps--I meant bouncy seat instead of swing!

Scary

I came across this ad in our very own Weaverville Tribune last week. I took a second look at it because, well, you don't see too many ads for how to get your very own concealed weapon permit. Upon closer inspection, I then noticed the "Christian Environment" that was being offered, along with "Discounts for church groups". Wow.

This is where I live...with my husband and daughter...and none of us have a concealed weapon permit. Are a lot of people walking around with concealed weapons? Who knows!?

Babywise

So, as I write Charlotte's in her room "crying it out" as the lingo so aptly states. I'm trying to get her on a more regular routine with naps (good luck, right?!). Until now I really haven't been putting her down for a nap because, well, she really hasn't had a clear nap schedule. I would like to change this, mostly because it seems like more and more she is overtired and can't calm herself down even when she's exhausted. She's not crying at the moment, but I can hear her in there stirring, so I'll call it "rest time" instead of naptime this morning. Ha ha, I wrote too soon! More later...

Big Week

We had a big week! Chris' parents and grandma came in from Colorado because Chris was off for spring break. Chris and his dad did a lot of work on the house and us girls had fun shopping and playing with the baby. Here are some pictures from a few photo shoots we had...

Arrr...she looks like a pirate to me in this one!

Big smile in her Easter dress.

One Month

It's hard to believe that she's already a month--check out her skills!

She's Here!!

We all made it through (there were some times we weren't so sure)! Charlotte Dale McGlade was born on Thurs. 2/26/09 at 11:38 AM. She weighed 6lbs. 14oz. and was 19 1/2 inches long. We are home and happy and tired.

More to come!

This is how I feel these days...

Busy Week

So, Homer is officially 2 year old and we still think he's great. His birthday is Superbowl Sunday. This is how we will track his age for years to come. In the years we've had him we've learned a lot about patience, consistency, caring for something else that is dependent on us, how he can be a the bridge between a friend and a stranger, and most recently the animal contol center. Yep, we found an official complaint taped to our front door on Friday. One of our neighbors had called to complain about his barking and disturbing the peace. At first we thought they had the wrong house, as our neighbors across the street are notorious for their 2 barking dogs. But sure enough, it was Homer. Since Friday we've been leaving him inside when we leave the house as to avoid another complaint and possible fine. But we're discussing ways that we can figure out what he's barking at and what we can do about it. As far as we know, this hasn't been an issue before. Any ideas?

By the way, if our dog sleeps with his nose under his paws to keep it warm, is our house too cold?


My sister, Luci, came to visit this weekend! She arrived on Thurs. night and worked with me all day on Friday at Windy Gap. I could not have done everything I needed to without her help. We had 2 snow days this week and my intern is gone to the Dominican Republic along with other Windy Gap staff so everyone at camp was short on time and help to get everything ready for the weekend.

Saturday was not only Luci's birthday, but also a baby shower for us hosted by some of my favorite people Cara Jenkins and Kate Womack. We went to the shower that morning and then later went out for a ladies tea and shopping. I couldn't remember the last time we shared her birthday together. Anyway, she got to meet several friends from church and see a bit more of my life here in Asheville.


Today (Sunday) we had yet another shower out at camp and enjoyed some sweet fellowship with our good friends. It was a coed shower and it was so great to have Chris there. I think it's been important to include Chris in as much as possible of this journey, especially after our first child birth class when he leaned over and said "Wow--we could have a baby real soon." Mind you, I was 7 1/2 months pregnant at this point! I replied, "Yep. Where have you been??" For him it wasn't reality. For me it was...as much as it could be. Anyway, it's closer and closer and we have less than a month now. Our friends and family have been so great in caring for us and supporting us in this adventure.

Thank you so, so much.

Yum.

That was a good weekend.

Nursery

So, I guess you can say I've been nesting...I think that's what they call it when you are getting ready for baby. I'm feeling really ambitious--and trying to take advantage of it! This weekend I made curtains along with recovering a glider we got on craigslist. Most of our ideas for the nursery just evolved with stuff we had or was given to us or was purchased out of necessity, which by the way, I've decided is pretty much my decorating style. Just let it come together I say. This is convenient for several reasons: 1) it takes less work 2) it takes less money and 3) it's personal and 4) it you want to change it you can for the same minimal effort. Check out my work...also my rapidly growing midsection. Hope you are having a great 2009 so far!