Charlotte: the first six months

This past week was Charlotte's half-birthday - a whole six months have gone by since the little munchkin entered the world, and rocked ours!

Here's a snapshot of Charlotte at half a year of age:

She's a porker! At her six month check-up on Monday Charlotte tipped the scale at 18 lbs., 15 oz., putting her in the 90th percentile for size (up from 50th at birth).
She loves playing peek-a-boo.
She's started eating solids, but so far seems more interested in the spoon than the food.
She's developed a fake cough, which she cracks out when she's hyper and wants attention.
She is fascinated by the T.V. remote control, the chain on the door, and watching us drink.
She sucks her thumb - but usually only when she's ready to fall asleep.
When she's on her stomach she kicks her legs like she's trying to propel herself forward.
She likes getting kisses from her stuffed animals, her Mommy and Daddy.
She's a great sleeper - I'm almost embarrassed to admit how great... It definitely makes life easier on all of us.
She discovered feet. She grabs her feet now when we're changing her and tries to get them in her mouth. She likes looking at our feet too. Who knew feet were so incredible?
She loves having her head stroked and her hair brushed.
She enjoys books, especially if they involve animal noises.

It's fun to look back over her early pictures, knowing her as we do now. We thought we'd share a few of our favourites from the past few months...

Are we there yet?

Welcome to the launch of our blog, {Are we there yet?}!

While wracking our brains for a blog name we landed on this perennial childhood question. Since the primary purpose of this blog is to keep our friends and family up-to-date on the adventures of our baby daughter, Charlotte, it seemed fitting. Charlotte is blessed with four adoring grandparents, none of whom live in our city of Edmonton. And so we figured that the least we can do is provide a steady stream of photos and updates in exchange for all the love, phone calls, and Canada Post packages that come her way. This blog was created with the grandparents in mind (hi!), and the rest of you readers, if you're out there, are icing on the cake.

{Are we there yet?} also sums up a feeling James and I share as we round the corner on a cumulative twenty-one years of post-secondary education (even as I write that number it's hard to believe it's real). As much as we've both loved being students and wholeheartedly believe in education for the sake of education and not as a means to an end, I think it's fair to say that we've reached the point where it would be nice to be there already. Likewise, {Are we there yet?} evokes a sentiment I suspect many parents share in working towards a point along the road when they anticipate things will get easier. But the title of our blog is intended to be tongue in cheek, as a reminder that each day is both "there" and "not there yet" and that in order to enjoy the journey we cannot be too consumed with an elusive destination point. And we are enjoying Charlotte, more and more each day. We soak up her smiles and her laughs, watch with wonder as she acquires new knowledge and skills on a daily basis, and search out clues as to who this little person is and who she will become. We hope you'll enjoy watching her grow along with us, and we would love to hear from you too.