this has reached the point of ridiculous. time to post already.

charlotte is already over 4 months old and oliver is almost 21 months. time is f-l-y-ing. everyday i'm torn between wanting them to become independent more quickly and wanting them to still need me. i'm finally understanding what people mean when they say their kids grew up too fast. you blink and they're miles on down the road. for that reason, i'm working on keeping my eyes permanently open. it's not working too well.

charlotte is just burning though her milestones. she has reached the 75th percentile for both height and weight. she seems huge compared to oliver at this age. she's already turning over and holding up her upper body when she's on her tummy. she smiles like crazy when a smiling face is looming over her. she coos and sings with gusto. she began sleeping though the night at 3 months!!! this is remarkable, especially since she's still breastfeeding (which is obviously going quite well). not only does she sleep through the night, she sleeps about 10-11 hours a night. our pediatrician said we won the baby lottery.

i was pretty freaked out about having another baby so close to the first. we were lucky that ollie was a happy, easy-going baby. everyone said it couldn't happen again. actually, charlotte is even more laid-back than oliver was. and now that they're both sleeping so well, i've got it made in the shade. i'm just wondering exactly how the universe is going to balance itself out...no one should be this lucky. maybe this is payback for the difficulties i went through after oliver was born. fingers crossed.

ok, everyone wants to know...do we want more children? before having any kids, i thought i'd like to have a big family. at this point, i can't imagine having the resources to have more kids (time, energy, money, brain-power). maybe i'll change my mind later on, but i'm set for now.

oliver. he's a turkey. he's edging on two-years-old and acting like it too. he's still very loving and happy, but he has his moments. he likes to test things out (like, what will happen if i sit on charlotte or what will mom do if i dump all my milk on the floor). he's learned the word "no". and he responds to the word "no" by crying and throwing himself on the floor. on the other hand, he brings me clean diapers and throws out charlotte's dirty diapers, he says "ouch" and gives a kiss when someone is hurt, and he dances with me even when i look crazy. miller's love of baseball seems to be rubbing off on him. he can see the tiniest white sox logo and yell "baseball, baseball, baseball..." with raised eyebrows until i acknowledge it. he even points to the american flag and says "white sox". he says all kinds of words now: baseball, white sox, airplane, truck, car, train, digger, bed, bear, blanket, music, diaper, ball, fish, bird, dog, kitty, orange, apple, grapes, cheese, egg, bread, juice, water, milk, bottle, daddy, mommy, cha cha (charlotte), grandpa, grandma, ellen (degeneres), elmo, baby, tickle, dance, go, yes, no, hat, shoes, socks and a bunch of other stuff that i don't understand yet.

sometimes i miss being in the "real world" and feel weird about not having personal income, but i feel like i have the best job there is. i'm doing my best to cherish every fleeting moment i have with these two incredible people. through all of the sweat and tears, there is so much joy. go babies! now, if only i can get their baseball-obsessed dad on track.... :)
- posted by Ma @ 8:34 PM