Market Day

Hot cross buns and Nicola made juice for breakfast. After opening some easter treats for Charli (New books from the lovely family) us three ladies headed off to explore the markets around Brisbane. At Rocklea Charli had her first real go in the ergo, finally success! After being slightly disappointed, we left with several plants to liven up our home and headed to the Chandler markets. Once we got home Charli didn't feel like sleeping... or eating or playing or being cuddled.... we didn't find happiness until little bear was butt naked. Oh child, what do we do with you? 

Got Milk?

Today us 'grown ups' had sushi train, coffee, and a wee shop at Carindale while Charli slept. Little bear woke up just in time to make mummy get her boobs out at the supermarket...I couldn't help myself and asked Bryce to get a photo of me feeding her in front of the milk Isle ;)

It's so lovely having Nicola stay with us. Charli now gives out plenty of smiles and a lot less spew compared to the last time she was here.

Since we are where the sunshine is, we can't say it in person. Here's a BIG happy birthday to Charli's Uncle Darren xxx

A Good Friday

Its good Friday and Aunty Nicola arrived from Sydney and our Charli was a happy wee camper this morning with lots of smiles and squealing. Little Bear has now figured out how to get her fist into her mouth and om nom nom.

It was super hot day so there was naked time to cool down which was apparently very relaxing and Aunty Nicola waved some peanut butter in front of Charlis nose, according to her facial expression, its not going to be one of her favourite things. 

Errands

This fine Thursday was a day for adventure. Well a venture out of the house more like it! Daddy chose Charli's attire and insisted in a headband. After the cherub was dressed to impress Bryce, Charli and I walked into town and ran some errands followed by lunch at a cafe. I accidentally forgot to order my frappe decaf and boy oh boy did I notice a difference. My poor baby bear I am so sorry! It wont happen again, I promise!!! Bryce looked after Charli while I had my eyes tested (I later found them in the parents room sharing smiles) and then little bear slept like a champ while had dinner at the Sushi train. It would be so nice if we could have Daddy home all the time, but someone has to win the bread.

Fresh Air

Charli is ten weeks old today and I only got up once last night! Sleep is bliss. This morning Charli and I joined a few lovely ladies at the waterfront and we went for a big walk to encourage the departure of our baby jiggles. It was so good to get some fresh air as well a splash of sea spray.
Coming up to easter, Bryce is off work now for six days, and Aunty Nicola is coming up from Sydney Bear and I are pretty excited about that! I managed to pick up my photo order which is incredibly exciting for me! I just love photos, taking them, looking at them, editing them, and then flicking through them all over again in print like I have never seen them before.
Cheeky Charli has a new favourite book (I decided this on her behalf of course) but she seemed to enjoy hiding behind it.

On Time

We had Mums group today and Bryce finished work on time (SHOCK HORROR). The delightful man cooked his darling some dinner and Charli got more play time with her Daddy. I was sitting on the couch and looked down to find Bryce under the play gym talking to Charli, it was pretty darn cute. Little bear received a package from her 'Pop' back in Nz today. It was filled with some very adorable and squishy kiwiana, this child is definitely going to know where she comes from.

Bonkers

Charli yelled at me a lot today!

Up and off we went to see 'Goddess' at Carindale. It started in the car. I grabbed myself a coffee and just as I was walking into the cinema, it started again...but it kept going. I had a very grumpy child on my hands. I swear that when we are in public Charli cries louder! Yes today I was 'THAT' person with the baby at the movies. I had to leave the cinema and rock the gorgeous creature to sleep before sneaking back in. I dropped some of my lunch on Charli and later on we went for a big walk on the water front, it was lovely (but not a very smart idea to do it in jeans). The day finished as Charli yelled at me some more and then went to sleep with a smile. Oh dear child you occasionally drive me bonkers and it's ok because I love you.

Family Time

Today after a bit of an attempted sleep in we went on a wee family outing. Bryce took Charli and I to the Mount Coot-Tha look out for lunch. Charli slept and I had nachos. After that we checked out the Indooroopily mall, grabbed coffee and went to a nearby park to feed a hungry bear. When it finally came time to put Charli to bed at home, she did not want to sleep. I had a turn, Bryce had a turn and then back to me, I put my boob in her mouth once again and all three of us fell asleep on our bed. 

Picture taken by Bryce

Gotcha

It's Saturday once more and this time we had a Daddy in the house (After he serviced his ute). 

Now Charli has this great knack of being all smiles and as soon as I pull out my camera she's all serious, BUT we managed to trick the wee cherub today. I finally got her big happy smiles while Bryce was making fart noises with his face. Tim and Sarah came over for dinner and desert. It was lovely and we had a few giggles but they missed seeing our Bear as she slept the whole time. I must say it is the latest night we have had in a while but definitely worth it!

Cheeky Charli

Today we were up bright and early with lots of smiles yet again. I tried to figure out how to get Charli into the ergo after buying the infant insert yesterday, this made her quite grumpy...all three attempts. Jingle bell rock (with majority of the words made up) was the stop crying song of the day, and we hopped in the car and went to Carindale. I posted off Bears application to become a kiwi and we went to the movies. Once we got home someone was quite adamant that she did not want to be in bed. When I finally gave in and put her in her bouncer she gave me the cheekiest little faces and sat very happily until Daddy came home for cuddles. 

Outrageous (Yesterday)

Charli giggled in her sleep while we were at spotlight. We finally got the last step of little bears citizenship & passport done. Its taken me two days to make a lasagne and I have started looking at flights back home which is very exciting!

Shooting Charli

This morning some of yesterdays grumpiness must have been left over as I had a grizzly bear from 6am-9am then Charli finally went to sleep. I got to make bliss balls (thank you Nicola) and start dinner, yes you heard right, start dinner at 10.00am. When the Bear woke up we went to our friend Nicole's house and then on a mission to get Charli's passport photos done. Oh my goodness! What a mission. The lady obviously didn't have very good people/camera skills as she was saying really inappropriate things that I am sure any mother would like to give her a little smack for. It started with calling a baby in pink a him and then went on to "She's being a snob', 'look at that stuck up nose' (Camera looking up her nose), 'I think one of her ears is flatter than the other' (Camera more to one side), I just held my tongue and let her do her job and we finally got a picture YAY!!! The incredible thing about passport photos is that somehow they even manage to make a baby look like a hardened criminal.

Grizzly Bear

Today I had a grumpy child. The reason as to why shall forever remain a mystery. 

It was our first day in cloth nappies... pee came out of the first one (yes of course it was when we were out). We have now mastered how to put them on properly (I hope) I  also hope that its not the cloth nappies making my Bear grizzly...surely not!?

Early Bird

Charli slept from 8pm till 3am, whoohoooo! I felt so well rested I even woke up before little bear and got her up to feed her. I didn't really think through the whole process of feeding her from a bottle instead of my boob. Silly me didn't express any instead so at 3am it felt like I was going to explode! I even had to pump after Charli had fed and gone to bed... Lesson well learned!

Today I started the day at 6am after putting Charli back to bed. I knocked out four loads of washing, the dishes had a shower, sorted though paper work and even got some time on pinterest. I felt extremely productive and proud of todays domestic duties. Our cloth nappies finally turned up and by golly I am excited. They have been washed and hung out to dry (Charli Supervised) and we will begin that adventure tomorrow. With that in mind little bear and I went to My Baby Warehouse and got a few necessities like a pooh pale, liners, wipes and of course a cup holder. 

Great Company

Another week has just flown by, but we had the loveliest Sunday.

Charli slept like a trooper last night going down at 8pm then waking at 2am, 6am and 9am I felt like a had a few decent patches of sleep! Bryce, Charli and I hopped in the car and headed to Caboolture to see our dear friends Shari & Shawn. We were treated to an absolute feast of gorgeous mexican food, followed by creme caramel and rainbow cake! This girl sure knows how to spoil us, Shari even offered to change Charli's nappy (I couldn't possibly decline). We also got two see our favourite little puppy 'Bear' and meet his Mum Sasha. Little Bear got licked by yet another dog...several times and we attempted photos but a little somebody was cranky. After chatting, eating, watching Ted and playing with the pups we headed home for another first. Bryce fed Charli! It was very cute to watch, she was pretty hungry after waiting for her bottle so luckily it went down a treat. Now little bear is in bed, yet again happily sending her self off to sleep. 

Little Bears

It's the weekend once more and yet again Bryce had to work. I really really wanted to keep sleeping this morning but Charli really really wanted to be awake, needless to say we got up.

 I read little bear some books, I really had no idea nursery rhymes and children's stories were so frightening and quite horrid. Just today the wolf tried to eat little red... and the three little pigs, not to mention Peter Rabbits dad getting turned into pie. In my opinion Dr. Suess currently takes the cake with 'Oh The Places You'll Go' and 'The Lorax', I just love reading them!

Charli happily got herself off to sleep twice with no rocking, patting, bouncing, swaying or general dancing required. It was a scorcher of a day so our little bear spent most of the time wearing only a nappy. It's so cute being able to see her little baby rolls, though there is probably a whole heap of my slobber on the poor girl from all the raspberries and kisses she got today.

 In other news, there is expressed breast milk in the fridge made especially for Bryce... to feed to Charli. She has never had a bottle so I am very excited to see how that goes tomorrow. 

My Two Most Favourite People

Charli, you are two months old. 

You smile when I sing to you

The change table is one of your favourite places

You can roll from your tummy to your back

You don't really like tummy time

You only relax your hands when you are sleeping, the rest of the time you collect fluff in your tiny fists

You prefer to face the wall when you sleep

You wake between two and four times from 7pm to 7am

You talk to us and make happy little squeals

You have had your first vaccinations which made your eyes water for the first time

You are swaddled, bounced, rocked and patted

You have met your Grandparents and your Aunty Nicola, you have many many more people to meet

You are currently a citizen of nowhere, but will soon be a little kiwi

The first book I read to you was Peter Rabbit

You and your Daddy are my two most favourite people

I believe you have found your lungs, you are a little noisier now

You have been on a train and to the movies

Your hair sticks up at the top 

You have been licked by a dog and had rain on your face

You create a lot of washing

You love cuddles and showers with Mummy and Daddy

You are beautiful

You make me so happy, so whole

Thank you for choosing us 

Unconditionally and always, 

we love you my darling girl

Thursday

We slept in today and it was wonderful, though to keep sleeping I had to put on socks, trackies a dressing gown and another duvet on the bed as it was a freezing 19degrees.  I think my little one felt much better after yesterdays ordeal. Im not sure whether it was a side effect from the rotovirus vaccine or last nights Dahl but we had a number four in Charli's nappy, it was so impressive I spent several moments contemplating whether or not to take a picture to show Bryce (I didn't).

We went for a walk into town, had some tummy time in the backyard and Charli did a few rolls to get out of it. I also spent a loooong time desperately acting like a fool trying to make my girl giggle... Much to my disappointment it didn't happen, but tomorrow is another day!

***The quilt Charli is lying on was made especially by her Aunty Nicola***

Pain

My poor darling baby! Today at 10.30am we went to the doctor. This was not a fun trip. I needed moral support and since Bryce is winning the bread, I asked my friend Marine to join us. 

So there we were with my beautiful unsuspecting child, two needles and an oral dose of 'immunity'. It was the most horrid feeling, watching my baby in pain. I tried feeding her to offer a distraction but as soon as that needle went in, eyes flew open, her face went wildly red and out came a cry that brought tears to my eyes!  When I finally managed to calm her (and my self)... the whole process happened all over again on the other leg. Apparently I made the right decision vaccinating my girl, yet I feel so incredibly guilty! I am so sorry my little one, It hurts me so much to see you in pain. 

Mothers and Babies

Charli found herself in our bed during the night for feeding and sneakily we both fell asleep. I felt super naughty when I woke, but I have to admit - little bear hugs in bed are pretty choice! 

It was our first real mothers group meeting today without supervision. It was wonderful! There were twelve new mothers with twelve new babies talking about sleep (the lack of), poo, nappies and tummy time- I cannot believe how much my conversations with people have changed (apart from the poo part), now I can't even remember what on earth I used to talk to people about!? Charli baby slept right up until we were close to leaving and then didn't really want to for the rest of the day, so we had to find other things to do. We had change table chats, Charli found her tongue, I sung made up songs (beautifully I might add), my boob got peed on, I rocked and read (Dr Suess is an absolute legend!) and we had some short lived but happy tummy time. Sadly the house got neglected and so did the washing- but I guess it's much better that than the baby! It really is incredible how much time little ones need, you know you are a Mum when just texting someone back goes on your 'To Do' list.

We Can Do Anything!

We had a few firsts today. Charli and I braved the world today and went to the cinema to see 'I Give It A Year' Yes it was a 'babes in arms' session but my goodness I felt empowered after I successfully kept my baby happy in public for an entire film. I wore my Charli around Carindale had some lunch and a wee shop around, it was lovely...then I went home. Mr Rental turned up about 15mins after I did to upgrade our fridge, needless to say this is when Charli decided she wanted food and NOW! I had to empty the entire contents of our fridge-freezer while breast feeding my delightful loin fruit, now that really tested my multi tasking mummy skills! 

A cross trainer made its way into our lives today to scare off that chocolate body I inherited while pregnant and I won an auction on ebay! - hello cloth nappies - here we come.

***Charli is lying on her gorgeous quilt made by a very talented Jennie Anderson***

Lazy Sunday

Lots of cuddles and love today! Its always nice when Daddy's home.

Nana

Bryce had to work today so Charli Bear and I left the house early and spent the whole day with Nana. 

It was so lovely to spend some quality, relaxed time with Nana and just 'be' there. I think Nana enjoyed having lots of little bear hugs and Diesel (The Dog) enjoyed getting a few sneaky licks of Charli.
While we were there I was able to print of forms to get our little citizen of 'nowhere' a country to belong to and a passport.

Sleepy Bear

During the middle of the night after Charli has been fed, I pop her in her big cot before I change her while I quickly go pee or get a drink etc. This morning when I came back little bear was fast asleep with all her teddybears, my goodness it was the cutest thing!

In other news, We had a lovely lunch of sushi with Marine in Bulimba and I discovered that Charli's hair is getting lighter! Maybe she will take after her Mummy after all.

Big Day Out

The plan was to drive straight to Sarah & Tims but we ended up taking several wrong turns, going through the airport link tunnel and arriving a tad behind the desired arrival time.

We went to the coffee connoisseurs cafe of choice and I was treated to a decaf mug of deliciousness while Charli settled for milk. Little bear was not interested in sleeping anywhere but on me while we were out, this made for a multi tasking mummy and a cranky wee Charli. The poor little dove was so overtired she just didn't know what to do with herself, so naturally we got stuck in some very frightining peak hour traffic with a very upset cherub in the back- never.again - From now on we will have a curfew.

Seven Weeks of Growing

7weeks today

4.75kg   54cm

I love these tootsies! I had to be very quick taking this as we have a little kicker on our hands. 

Today we went to the Doctor and I was quite shocked to discover he wanted to jab her with needles. To vaccinate or not to vaccinate, this question is driving me mad. After telling me several horror stories about children dying from various causes, we left with prick free legs, more information to read, and a very shocked Doctor.  

Yesterday

Yesterday we lacked commitment. I blame the rain, but now I cant remember if we had any?

 It was our last mothers group class before it turns into a coffee group. This is exciting as we like coffee and other mothers too. The bear and I went to Capalaba and finally invested in a food processor (to give my poor blender a break), and some sweet floral pants for Charli bear. The absolute cuteness of tiny human winter clothes is almost unbearable, I must stay away!!!

Tiny Wee Darling

Today was great. Very productive. It all started with Charli peeing on me, followed promptly by a shower. We did the washing and vacuuming together and then Little bear and I both had a nap. Being a domesticated goddess/mother can be very tiring! As can cleaning up tiny human wees. After the dirty nappy comes off and before a clean one goes on, she pees. EVERYTIME. (But only when 'I' change her). This is of course followed by the worlds cutest smile, so she is forgiven. Anyone would thing she is doing it on purpose...?

Jungle Gym

Today Charli actually enjoyed her jungle gym for the first time. We popped her under it about three weeks ago and apparently the wall was more appealing. Today however we had delighted squeals and smiles which are so gorgeous! Now this does not mean you get out of tummy time little one.

A Little Fussing

Oh Lordy, it has been one of those days. It's the weekend, Daddy's home, it is absolutely pouring outside and young Charli Bear doesn't seem to know what to do with herself! I am not sure if this is part of the 'six week growth spurt' but it seems this beautiful creature has forgotten how to sleep and just wants milk, lots of it and all.day.long! I can absolutely tell you where she's putting it too, there have been wonderful surprises in virtually every nappy and this little cherub is getting gloriously chubby! 

After over eight hours of a bright eyed yet fussy Charli, little bear is finally asleep. Now I better get myself off to bed before someone wants some more boobie and Yes. I am talking about Charli. 

Showered

Charli and I had a shower together for the first time the other day, with success! I didn't drop her and she loved it! I thought it would only be fair if Daddy got a turn too (He didn't drop her either). So much quicker than a filling a bath with a bowl!

A Little Behind

There is just something about babies bottoms.

(28.02.13).
I discovered little bear was getting a smidge of what I presumed they call nappy rash, so naturally I found myself on the phone to mum. As a result Charli now gets her little behind blow dried with the hair dryer, as apparently it worked a treat for my wee bum. Who would of thought, she absolutely loves it! She pulls the cutest faces and makes tiny happy squeals while her bottom gets tended to. It is adorable!

The Kokako

On Monday (14.02.13) My gorgeous friend Nicole came over for a visit after returning from a trip to NZ. She brought with her smiles, snacks and a Kokako bird for Charli bear. Little bear loves it, when you give the bird a squeeze to hear its call, little eyes light up.

Tummy Time

My Darling girl does not like her tummy time. She has recently taken to resting her head and sucking on her fists, I don't believe that's what your tummy time is for little one.

When Charli Met Oma

My beautiful mum came over to help out and have cuddles with our Charli for two weeks ( 20.01.13 - 02.02.13) a few days after she was born. There were tears upon meeting her grand daughter for the first time, it was quite beautiful. Charli, Mum and I went on our very first outing together at 7 days new, Charli visited the Dr and went to her first cafe and the supermarket. The gorgeous little bear slept most of the time, meaning this mummy didn't have to get her boobies out in public (this was some relief for the breast feeding rookie). Mum cleaned, cooked, cuddled and cooed, I don't know what we would of done without her! Time went so quickly and now she is back home in New Zealand (Oh how the laundry stacked up after left!). I hope she misses us terribly and decides to move, I am waiting ever so patiently for her to come to this realisation and shimmy on over.