First Halloween!

Charlie's first Halloween has come and gone and it was a fun one!  We started the day getting his 3-month pictures made at a local studio... he did such a great job and the pictures turned out really well (I'll post some of them in a separate post).  Then we headed home to greet Granny and Grandpa Lane and get dressed up for the big night. Charlie wasn't so sure of dressing up as a monkey at first but then seemed fine with it once we "ohh'd and ahh'd" over him a little.  We strapped him up in his stroller and headed over to Hanover Ave. for the annual Halloween extravaganza (the street is blocked off and all the houses go crazy with decorations).  He was asleep from the long walk when we got there and even slept through his first peice of candy (Granny ate it but you can see it in his hand in a picture below)!  He woke up after a little bit then had fun riding with Dad in the Bjorn.  He was quite the center of attention as everyone stopped to take a look at the little monkey.  We got home for a late bedtime which I'm hoping will make for an easy time-change adjustment but we'll see!

(sleeping through his first ever piece of candy)

(some ladies gave him some gold beeds)

(the crew from CarMax)

Fall Photo Shoot

This has been the first of my two part-time weeks at work which has been a nice way to ease into the seemingly difficult world of a working mom. It was tough emotionally but wasn't as bad as I expected (I expected to be in tears all day every day) so I think we'll be okay.  Charlie was PERFECT as he slept 11 hours each night and woke up at exactly 7AM after I was showered and ready for work so we could spend an hour together before heading out the door.  Then in the evenings he was alert from 5 until bedtime at 8 so I'm encouraged about the amount of "quality" time we will still have each day.

Today I left work a little early since I had put in some extra hours for meetings earlier in the week.  Since Charlie was in one of my favorite outfits (it is a Snugglesaurus, not an alligator or lizard), we decided to have an impromptu Fall photo shoot.  First, I dragged him out to the front street and plopped him in the leaves.  It was overcast but for some reason he still squinted his eyes so I couldn't get any shots with open eyes... Tyra would have something to say about that.  Next we headed inside and posed with some pumpkins.  I actually hollowed out a big one and tried to stick him in it but he wasn't feeling my artistic vision on that one.  We wrapped the shoot posing with big sis.  She is so careful around him you can see her paw hanging in the air... cute.  Tuckered out from being a Top Model, Charlie got a good snooze in afterwards on my lap.  Didn't get many smiles because that is a two-person job... one with the camera, one making funny faces...but these are still cute.  Below are some of our best shots.

Tomorrow is another big day for pictures so stay tuned...

Growing boy, shrinking hairline

This week we had Charlie's two-month check up (he is really three months but two months developmentally) and he is now a whooping 11lbs and 6oz!  That is still only 25th percentile but he is 24.5 inches which is 90th percentile... tall and skinny... perfect for a shooting guard according to James.  While he is getting bigger however, his hairline is getting smaller and smaller.  The long locks that were on the top of his head are largely gone leaving just a little peach fuzz.  His profile now looks strikingly like his Grandpa Grover... I'm afraid a bald head might be in his future if what they say is true about hair genes coming from Mom :(

The "R" Finally Came!

So three months later and Charlie's room is finally complete!  His furniture came when he was 4 weeks old then it took me another 6 weeks to decide if I wanted white (to match the molding in the room) or cherry wood (to match his furniture) C-H-A-R-L-I-E letters on the wall... I am the queen of being indecisive.  Then when I finally decided on white (which I'm still second-guessing by the way), they were out of R's.  Fast forward 2 weeks and now the room is complete!  The space is really small but we were able to cram in everything that he needed.  The theme was supposed to be transportation (boats, airplanes, cars, etc.) but I couldn't resist the cute elephant lamp (James says elephants are are mode of transportation some places too) and James insisted on the basketball posters.  The room is nice and light and Charlie has enjoyed countless hours eating in his glider while I check out the action on the front street.  Thanks to Grandpa Grover for figuring out how to best hang things in plaster walls... too bad we wasn't around for all the other things we've had difficulty hanging other places in the house.

Funny Faces

We've been taking a ton of pictures lately as Charlie has become so animated with his funny little expressions.  This week he suddenly found our faces to be hilarious as he laughs and smiles every time he looks at us (instead of just accidentally when he let some gas go).  All along, he has been very active with his little mouth and now as the sounds are coming out it is such fun.  Below are some of my favorite faces... be warned there are lots of them :)

Is that tar on his heel?

Since we forgot to take Charlie's baby book to the hospital to get his hands and feet stamped, I bought some stamping ink at Target and decided to do it myself.  I tested the ink on myself first to make sure it would come off then at bath time we stamped him up!  Couldn't resist this picture of course :)

Happy Birthday James!

James turned a very old 32 today!  We celebrated with a fancy dinner at Mexico (the restaurant, not the country) then with gifts and birthday pudding back at the house.  Here he is with his favorite little ones!

ACL and a Visit from Grandma and Grandpa Grover

Last weekend James had the opportunity to go to the Austin City Limits Music Festival where his good friend Matt was playing with his band Bon Iver.  In addition to seeing many of his favorite acts (Avett Brothers, Pheonix, Kings of Leon, Them Crooked Vultures, Dave Matthews, Dead Weather, Pearl Jam...) he got to hang out backstage with Matt and his wife Sarah.  It sounded like an awesome time so Charlie and I were lucky that he decided to come home :)

While he was away, Grandma and Grandpa came up from Atlanta to keep us company.  We had a great visit and did a lot of what we do these days... ohhing and ahhing over at Charlie.  Looking at these pictures it seems as though Charlie enjoyed a new set of shoulders to snooze on as well!  As always, Grandpa did a host of handyman tasks around the house including putting the finishing touches on Charlie's nursery (will post some pictures of that soon when the "R" gets here).

Fun with Cousin Sam

While in Raleigh for Allison's wedding Charlie spent some fun time with the Tweedy's and with Grandma and Grandpa Grover (thanks for all the help!).  Katie had a good time posing Charlie and big Sam for some cute pictures.  They are too cute together :)

Allison and Phil's Wedding Weekend

Last weekend we took our first (post-baby) overnight trip down to Raleigh for Allison (James' sister) and Phil's wedding festivities.  The wedding was beautiful (as was the bride) and we had a great time visiting with all the Lane and Meier relatives.  Unfortunately, we didn't take nearly enough pictures but below are a few.  Hopefully when the professional ones come in we will have more to share of the whole gang.

Tummy Time

Charlie loves playing on his tummy! In the videos, check him out lifting his head and following his toy and scooting across the blanket (when he has something to brace his feet against).

Brother and Sister

Future best buds... the smile is completely on accident but we will interpret it as love for big sis!

Tar Heel Born?

While Mom and Dad were excited to watch the Tar Heel's opening football game, Charlie didn't share their enthusiasm.  We have all football season and then basketball season however to turn him into a fan.  If not "Tar Heel born" he will at least be "Tar Heel bred."