5 Months!!

During the period from month 5 to month 6, this child decided that she wanted to try something different almost daily. I just left her calendar sitting out because it seemed that I was writing something down in it every day. Here are some of her 5 month highlights:

- Began eating solids (a.k.a. gerber fruits and veggies) (11/28)

-Gives Rocky a treat (see pic below) (12/1)

-Played baby Jesus in the Live Nativity Scene at CFUMC (12/5)

-Went Christmas caroling as an honorary member of the CFUMC youth group (12/6)

-Began sitting up unsupported (12/11)

-Begins making noticeably more letter sounds like "ba" and "da" (12/11)

-pulls up to stand in the bathtub (12/13)

-Diagnosed with the FLU :( (12/15) - no worries, she handled it like a champ, but not a fun couple of days for mommy and daddy

- Rolls over from her tummy to her back and can now roll across the room (12/18)

As you can see, it was a very busy month, but a lot of fun watching our sweet baby grow and explore right in front of our eyes.

"Helping"Daddy decorate the Christmas Tree

"Ooohhhh look at the pretty lights"

Giving Rocky a treat for the first time...this was fun! Just look at her face and you will get a glimse of the cuteness...but nothing like watching this in person.

Meeting her cousins Ava and Ellie and Aunt Lindsey for the first time. We had a great afternoon making Christmas cookies with all three of the girls!

This was her reaction to peaches...we just cracked up with every bite she ate :)

This is what I look like after daddy feeds me :)

Another playdate with my friend Peyton...are they cute together or what?!?!?

Of course, loving the bathtub!

Christmas Cookies!!

Taking a batch of our freshly baked Christmas cookies to the neighbors...who could resist cookies from this cute little elf?!?!

Turkey day with our little Turkey :)

Thanksgiving this year was so special because it was while we were home for Thanksgiving last year that we made the announcement to our families that we were pregnant. That is a memory that I will always hold very near and dear to my heart. After going through the trouble we went through to get pregnant, it was sooooo much fun to FINALLY get to share this special news!!

"Everyone is Thankful for me!"...very appropriate for this Thanksgiving!

Eating brunch at Granny's and watching the Macy's parade.

Outfit change to go to the next house.

3 Generations!

Robert, Ella Claire and Charley

These two sweet girls love each other soooo much!

4 months and mommy is back to work!

We have hit the 4 month mark which also marks the time that my glorious maternity leave is over and I have to go back to work. After being out of work since the end of May, the thought of going back was almost more than I could handle. But just as he always does...God has led us through this and given me an excellent opportunity to continue my career while still spending time with our little one.

For those of you who don't know, I began my career in public accounting and have worked there up until I was out for maternity leave. It was a wonderful start to my career, but not a career that is family friendly. So, instead of going back there, I have opted to take a part time position as the staff accountant at Morgan Memorial Hospital, which is a small critical access hospital in Madison, Georgia. Not only is Madison a wonderful town to work in, it is also just a 30 min. commute as compared to my sometimes 2 hr. commutes to Atlanta. I work 3 days a week and am at home with Charley the remainder of the time. It has been wonderful and such a blessing for our family!

Other than the huge transition back to work, other notable 4 month highlights include:

- Charley's Baptism

- She rolled over for the first time

- We experimented wih rice cereal

- We took her to Helen

- She got to visit Santa at Phipps

See below for all of our pictures from our adventures this month!

She LOVES the exersaucer!!

She has discovered the shiny sink faucet and it has become a bathtime toy.

She has also learned to sit up and reach for everything she sees that she wants!

Rice Cereal!

We decided to experiment with a little rice cereal just for kicks. You all know how it is with the first baby...the pediatrician says wait until 4-6 months before you start rice cereal and solids and the minute the child hits the 4 month mark....you've got the bowl and spoon ready and waiting! She did pretty good! She was not nearly as messy as many babies I have seen, and it was a lot of fun for mommy :)

She already wants to feed herself...independent you think??? I have no idea where she got that from? ;)

Taking Charley to Experience Helen!

Robert and I have made it a tradition for the past 10 years that we have been together to make it up to Helen during the fall. We love enjoying this beautiful part of God's creation, especially during the peak of Fall. So as soon as we could feel fall in the air, we decided that we would make a day trip up to Helen to continue this family tradition with Charley. We had so much fun and it was nice to go up and come back home in the same day so we didn't have to pack a ton of stuff and could just enjoy the trip!

Mommy and baby are geared up and ready to go!

Enjoying a picnic outside...the weather was absolutely GORGEOUS!!!

The stroller was perfect! Not only did it hold all of our stuff while walking around, it was a portable napping spot for the munchkin while we continued to stroll around.

We found our way to a walking trail that had some beautiful falls. And we actually took a quick shot of just the two of us...very rare these days :)

These are the falls that we were taking our pictures in front of.

Time for a quick photo shoot with all the pretty scenery!

Attempting to get a family shot.

One of mommy's favs!! Charley has such a sweet daddy. She and I are both blessed beyond measure to have him!

Finally!! The family shot we were after.
Many of you may recognize this as our Christmas card photo!