A Big Week!

What a big week we had!  It all kicked off with Mother's Day, or as Charlie called it, "Hay Mama Day-e."  Translation: "Happy Mama Day."  Mike was in Darlington until mid-day, so it was just me and the boys in the morning.  They must have REALLY wanted to spend the day with me because they both woke up extra early.  Chase kicked off the day at 5 a.m., and Charlie woke up at 6:30 a.m.  (Keep in mind, Charlie usually sleeps until 7:30 a.m.)  By the time Mike got home, I was ready for a nap myself.

Anyway, the four of us and Oma had an early Mother's Day dinner at Maddi's Southern Bistro in Huntersville.  Our reservation was for 5 p.m.  I figured we'd be the only ones there, but actually, the place was pretty busy!  Lucky for the servers, the entire restaurant was filled with families with young kids and babies, just like us.  What a relief!  I think we were all grateful to be in the same boat.

In other exciting news, Chase is well on his way to crawling.  I'm sure you've all seen the video by now.  I'll attach a few pictures as well.  He's catching on quickly!  He really wants to chase after his big brother.  It's just a matter of time now, I'm sure.

And finally, this was a very big week for Charlie.  Today, we moved him from the crib to the big boy bed.  We decided to do it cold turkey, so that he wouldn't have an option as to where to sleep (for which, I'm sure he would have chosen his crib).  We started with his nap.  At first he was very reluctant, but after setting up the sound machine and the iPod, getting George (his monkey) in the room and bringing him his blanket, he finally laid down and tried to nap.  One-hour later, he woke up in a screaming fit.  Ugh.

At bedtime, we decided to give him a bath in his new room too - just to reinforce that this was now his room and he would not be in the other room anymore.  He absolutely did not want to bathe in the new bath tub even though it had all of the same bath toys he's played with for as long as I can remember.  I had to rock with him in the rocking chair and psych him up for it.  Eventually, I just picked him up and carried him in there.  He finally gave in and took a bath.

Mike dressed him while I put Chase down for the night.  By the time I got back into his new room, Charlie was tucked in and ready for bed.  I kissed him good night, told him how proud I was of him, then I left.  It's now 9 p.m., and he's not made a peep - yet.  I am hopeful that he'll have a good night's sleep and wake up at his normal time, 7:30 a.m.  Then again, if this is anything like Mother's Day, it'll be an early rise and shine for us all.

I'm attaching a few photos of Chase on the move and Charlie in his new room.  If you want to see the full gallery, click on the link below.  There are also pictures of Mother's Day, us playing on the deck one night this week and playing outside in the sprinklers today.

What a big week!  WHEW!

http://gallery.me.com/kellyearning/100188

A Milestone...

Well, sweet Baby Chase has taken the first step toward independence.  He can now get up on all fours.  Of course, he has absolutely no idea what to do once he gets there, but I'm sure it's just a matter of time before he starts crawling.

I managed to capture some video of Chase's milestone.  (I'm sure you're surprised that I had my video camera handy.  HA!)  Anyway, here's a few seconds of his big feat...

Rise and Shine with the Arning Brothers

I just love it when Charlie and Chase sit together or play together.  It does my heart good.  Yesterday morning I put Chase in the crib and Charlie immediately moved over to sit right next to his little brother.  Then, he put his thumb in this mouth which, for Charlie, is a sign of contentment.  I ran as fast as I could to grab my camera and when I got back into the room, neither one of them had moved.

Eventually Charlie started goofing around, and as you'll see, I was able to get a couple of pictures of him standing in his crib.  This is a big deal because, as of next week, Charlie will be in a big boy bed.  We're taking the plunge and moving him out of the crib next weekend when Mike is home.  This may very well be the last pictures I'll have of Charlie in his crib.  (Whimper, whimper, whimper.)

Below are some of the pictures I took.  If you'd like to see more, here's a link to the entire album of crib photos.  Enjoy!

http://gallery.me.com/kellyearning/100180

Sweet Baby Chase

This video is simple and sweet.  It's my sweet baby Chase doing a little bit of nothing at all, but I adore it.  I don't know if it's because this is my last baby or because I'm more relaxed after having done this once already, but I am so enjoying every minute of the baby stage with Chase.  I am mesmerized by him.  Sometimes I just sit and stare at him.  Other times I scoop him up and smother him with kisses.  (I have to do this with Chase because Charlie is too busy to let me smother him with kisses.)

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this simple little video.  It's just a moment in the life of sweet baby Chase.

The Flamingo

Some families have family game night.  Other families have family movie night.  The Arning family has family dance night, which in our household, is practically every night.  Charlie loves the song "The Hampster Dance" and every night we play his favorite song over and over again while we all dance in the kitchen.  Even Chase dances in his jumperoo!

In this video, you'll see Charlie dancing and Dad joining him mid-song.  So why is this blog entry and video called The Flamingo?  Well, let's just call it an Arning family dance move.  Check it out!

Psst... Make sure the volume is turned up on your computer.

Charlie and Dad Skype

Skype is a wonderful invention.  How it's free, I have no idea!  Anyway, when Mike travels, we often try to Skype with him so that Dad and Charlie can spend some time together.  Charlie's still not quite sure what he's doing, but he enjoys singing the ABC song with his Dad.  Enjoy!

Chase-zilla!

My sweet baby Chase is absolutely, positively MASSIVE.  I swear he looks more like a 10-month old than a 6-month old.  I'm amazed.  In a typical day, Chase will eat at least an entire serving of food at mealtimes and snacks and then he'll drink an 8-ounce bottle of milk shortly thereafter.  And some days, he eats two servings of food!  For example, take a look a these photos I'm posting.  This is a typical evening meal - a full serving of sweet potatoes AND a full container of yogurt.  Did I mention he's only 6-months old!  I've never seen anything like.

Earlier this week, I spent $385 at the grocery store and left with two carts.  I had to have help out of the grocery store.  I forgot to mention that I had just been to the grocery store one week prior.  This is a weekly trip for me - $350 and usually just one heaping cart of food.  My boys are already eating me out of house and home.  I can't fathom what it's going to be like when they're in high school.  I might have to take out a second mortgage on my home to pay the grocery bills!

Anyway, enjoy these photos of my big boy, Chase.  He's naked under that bib.  Why?  Well, let's just say that before dinner time, we had a blowout that ventured up his back and covered his clothes.  Oh joy!  No wonder he's eating so much after a blowout like that!