Football + Family + Food = FUN

Granddad, Auntie Dani, Auntie Vicki, Uncle Justin, Auntie M, and Neil came over on Saturday to help us cheer for the Dawgs as they played LSU. We grilled out at half-time and had a lot of fun watching the game together. Charlie enjoyed visiting with everyone, but he was especially fond of spending time with the boys. Look at how relaxed he is in the pictures below. Charlie is so lucky to have so many people who love him. We had a great time, and it was made even better when UGA won!!! GO DAWGS!!!

Granddaddy, you wore me out!

These toys are a little bit more interesting than the game.

Uncle Justin has me in a trance.

Aren't Neil and my Auntie M a cute couple?!?

On the Move

Charlie has been showing us that he is ready to crawl over the past few days. He saw his friend, Mackenzie, crawling at play group on Monday and decided that he was sick and tired or just rolling all over the place. He isn't quite up on his hands and knees just yet. Instead, he sort of pulls his body forward using his hands and elbows. Every now and then, he will propel forward with a big push from his legs. Samson is a great motivator for him. As soon as Charlie gets close enough to touch him, Samson scoots away. That poor dog doesn't know what he is in for in a couple more months! I will post a video of the wiggle worm as soon as I can.

As promised, here is a video of our little guy on the move. He decided to add something special at the end of the clip.

Adventures in Babysitting

Charlie's friend, Matney, stayed with us on Saturday while her mommy and daddy went to see Wicked. Grandma helped out with babysitting duties which was a huge help since Nick was in North Georgia camping. Matney and Charlie play together every week at play group, but they were much more aware of each other since it was just the two of them this time. We sang songs together and had a lot of fun playing with Charlie's musical puppy and bear. I have been around a lot of babies in my day, but it was really neat caring for Matney now that I have my own baby. She was so different from Charlie. She is quieter, more gentle, and seemed to analyze things much more than the Little Guy does. One thing that Charlie and Matney have in common is the fact that they like to give their mommies a run for their money when it comes to sleep. Here are some pics of our fun day together.

This puppy is GREAT!

Matney loved playing with Charlie's toes...TOO FUNNY!

Big blue eyes and a big brown bow. What a beautiful girl!

Rubber Ducky, You're the One...

You make bath time so much fun!!!

Sweet Dreams

I am thrilled to announce that our son fell asleep on his own tonight for the first time in 7 months, 1 week, and 1 day. Yes, you heard me correctly...he fell asleep ON HIS OWN! As many of you know, Charlie is not the easiest child when it comes to sleep. We have tried every trick and technique in the books and followed everyone's advice but to no avail. Over the past couple of weeks, I have been leaving Charlie awake in his bed for naps. Sometimes it would take him well over 30 minutes, but he would eventually fall asleep. He has become so accustomed to his crib, that he never even cried when I left him. Tonight, I decided to try it out for bedtime. We did our normal night time routine: bath, lotion, PJs, reading, and rocking. Instead of rocking him to sleep, I put him down in his bed and kissed him goodnight while still awake. After a few minutes of baby talk and some grumbling, he fell fast asleep.

Who knows if this will be the end of our sleep struggles. All I know is that I am so proud of my little man tonight. I am also happy that he knows that we are there and that he doesn't have to be upset when we leave him alone. I like to think that he knows we will be there for him if he really needs us and that was what allowed him to fall asleep peacefully tonight.

You might think I am totally crazy for tempting fate, but I had to take a picture of how sweet he looked in his crib tonight. Are we lucky parents, or what?

Date Night with Daddy

My boys were on their own this past Thursday. Nick was in charge of putting Charlie to bed while I was at Wicked with some of my close girlfriends. This was only the second time that Nick has put the little man to sleep, so I was a bit worried that I was going to come home at midnight to a very awake baby. It took three tries and almost two hours, but Charlie finally gave in and went to sleep for his daddy. He must have been very worn out, because he slept straight through until 5:00 a.m. This would have been great except for the fact that he was so excited to see me that he stayed up until 6:30 a.m. Let's just say I was a bit tired that day!

I am so happy that things went okay on my "Mommy's Night Out". Hopefully I will be able to do it more often. Nick has another chance to showcase his baby skills next Thursday when I am out again. Keep your fingers crossed that all goes well!

For all the moms out there, I will have you know that Nick called me the next day from work to tell me how worn out he was from spending 4 hours with Charlie. That's right...pat yourselves on the back for being able to spend a lot more than just 4 hours a day feeding, bathing, comforting, entertaining, and loving your little ones!

Seven Month Update

Seven Months Old

The Little Guy is seven months old today. Hard for his mommy and daddy to believe! He has grown and changed so much over the last seven months, and it has been such a joy to see it all. At the same time, it is sad because our little mushy baby is gone. He has become such a big boy!

Since we started solid foods last month, Charlie has been packing on the pounds. We haven't weighed him, but you can see him getting chunkier every day. He has rolls and dimples everywhere. His little face has really filled out a lot. And boy, does this kid love to eat! He is eating twice a day, and still loves everything that we give him. He recognizes his spoon and bowl when I take them out. He starts to wiggle in his high chair because he is so excited to eat. It is too cute. Charlie has four teeth to help him eat his solid food. He has the two bottom middle teeth and two fangs on the top. Normally a baby gets the two top middle teeth first, but Charlie decided he wants to look like a vampire for Halloween!

Charlie is sitting like a pro these days. He still has the occasional fall when he leans too far to one side, but all in all he is really stable. He now sits in the grocery cart when we go shopping and in a high chair at a restaurant. He loves it because he can look everywhere. He is still rolling and turning all over the place, and he gets frustrated when he can't get somewhere that he wants to go. He will flop on his belly and you can tell he just wants to take off. He is so ready to crawl, but Nick and I hope that we still have a few months before that happens.

Charlie's memory has really improved. I try to hide the remote, cell phone, and other grown-up toys from him, but he remembers where they are. He will bend and twist to try to get to them. We bought him his own toy remote control and he has a play cell phone and I-pod at grandma and grandpa's house. Another sign of improved cognitive development has been the arrival of separation anxiety. Charlie is very cautious of other people now. He had a full on hissy fit in the store the other day when a sales person touched his arm. I was shocked because he is normally all smiles when someone pays attention to him.

I am sad to say that we are still having big issues with sleep. Apparently Nick and I are paying for the sleepless nights that we gave our parents. Charlie has a horrible time staying asleep. It isn't nearly as bad as it was a few months ago, but he is still waking up at least twice during the night. Some nights he will wake multiple times before Nick and I have gone to bed. I now understand why sleep deprivation is used as a form of torture. It is just such a blessing that I am able to stay at home this year and that we have so much help from family.

Check out the photo gallery for more recent pictures as well as Charlie's Stats on the side of the blog.

Coupon Craze

I have always wondered why people spend time cutting coupons. How much money could they really be saving? Well, it was me who was wasting time and money by NOT cutting coupons all of these years! With the guidance of my friend, Elizabeth, I have become an avid coupon cutter. Sitting down with the Sunday circulars has become my newest hobby. Now that we are a one income family, it is imperative that we make every dollar count. Nick and I have tried to streamline our finances, but it is hard to transition to one pay check after having two for so long.

I did our grocery shopping this week at Publix and Walgreens. I bought enough food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for seven days (we are trying to eat out a lot less). Here are my totals from each store:

Walgreens

Spent - $30.19

Saved - $18.95

Publix

Spent - $75.86

Saved - $29.83

Total Savings - $48.78

I know a lot of people who probably could have done better than this, but I am SO thrilled with my savings! If I can do this each month, that puts an extra $200 in our pockets.

Here are some of the links to the websites that I have used to get started on becoming a savvy shopper. I hope they will help you save big, too!

Life With the Lyngs

Fiddledeedee

Freebies 4 Mom

Walgreens

Printable Coupons

Happy shopping!!!

Happy Half-Birthday!

Six Months Old Today

Sitting all by myself

Solid food RULES!!!

Okay, so I am two weeks late with this post. Charlie turned 6 months on September 7th, and I apologize for being a bad blogger mommy.


It might just be my imagination, but I swear Charlie has become a different baby recently. He seems like such a big boy all of a sudden. He is now sitting up on his own for a few minutes at a time and can roll and turn in all directions. We have to be careful to keep a close eye on him when he is on the floor now. In a matter of seconds he can make his way across the room. All of this moving and shaking is causing some trouble at night. Charlie moves all over the place and sometimes gets caught with a leg or arm between the bars of the crib. On the plus side, he now wakes up from sleep and is content to play in his crib for up to ten minutes before letting us know he is ready to get up. He has a musical aquarium in his crib that he has figured out how to turn on. Often, I will hear the music click on and off over the baby monitor. What a smart kiddo!


The little guy still loves to talk, and his favorite sounds to make are ma-ma-ma and ba-ba-ba. I love to hear the ma-ma-ma because it means I am getting closer to hearing my son call me mama soon! If he is not making these sounds, he is usually screeching at the top of his lungs. Nick and I are now the couple that you pray not to sit next to in a restaurant. What can I say, the kid likes the sound of his own voice (I wonder who he got that from???).


We took Charlie for his 6 months check-up, and the doctor gave us the green light to start solid foods on a regular basis. Up until now, we have held off because of his tender tummy. Charlie is now eating solids twice a day, and he LOVES it! He has liked everything that he has tried so far, but his two favorites are squash and sweet potatoes. I cannot get the food on the spoon fast enough! It is amazing how quickly he has put on weight since starting the solids. You can already see the rolls forming on his arms, legs, and tummy. This is exciting because he is only in the 20th percentile for weight at 15lbs 13oz. His daddy was skinny until he was a teenager, so Charlie might just be taking after Nick in that regard.


I told Nick the other day that I wished I could bottle Charlie up right now at 6 months. It has been such a precious time, and I find myself constantly laughing at the things that he does. And I think he is starting to realize what makes us laugh. He really is a character. I am posting two videos that showcase some of the funny things that the little guy is doing these days. You will hear my laughing in the background :o)


The next 6 months are going to fly by as fast as the first did, and I am just so grateful that I have been at home with Charlie to soak up all of these special moments. Being his mommy is by far the greatest gift that I have ever received. His presence has made my life richer than I could have ever imagined.

These lips were made for talking!

Blowin' Raspberries

The Best Gift

Today, I celebrated my 29th birthday! I was prepared to mourn the end of my twenties today, but instead I had the most enjoyable and relaxing birthday imaginable. My mom brought me lunch from one of my favorite restaurants and watched Charlie so that I could get a massage. Nick came home early, and we enjoyed a nice family dinner. This past weekend, I spent time with two of my best friends, Stefani and Nicole, and Nick and I had a much needed date night. All in all, I couldn't have asked for a better celebration. But, the best gift of all came about thirty minutes ago when Charlie woke up after being put to sleep for the night.

Normally, I try to get as much as I can accomplished after the little guy goes to sleep. Tonight, I was attempting to do laundry, straighten up around the house, pay some bills, and answer some e-mails. Upon hearing him cry, my heart sank a bit because it meant that I wouldn't get as much done as I had planned. As I went in to comfort him, I remembered a post that one of my friends wrote on her blog. She reflected on the idea that no matter how much we try, we are never truly "finished" with all the work that we have. The "To Do" lists that we write will never really be done, and we will continue to add to them. She wrote about this in relation to her family and how we prioritize as parents. Thank you Elizabeth for your thoughts, because tonight I too realized that I want my child to know that he comes first. The laundry, dishes, vacuuming, and bills will always be there, but Charlie will grow before I know it. He will not always need me to rock him back to sleep the way he did tonight. So, I sat in the dark tonight and held my son, rocked him gently, kissed his head, watched him dream, held his tiny hand, and was thankful for the best birthday gift ever!