9 months

Ok, so I always write the monthly post on time, but for some reason I'm always late actually putting the pics on and uploading it here...

We braved the slushy roads yesterday afternoon to get to Charlotte's 9 month check-up. She's average for height at 26" and weighs only 16 lbs. 10 oz. So between 6 and 9 months, she gained almost 1 1/2 lbs. The dr. wasn't concerned; he took one look at her and said she has plenty of fat :) But just like Lucas, from 6-9 months, she went from the 50th percentile in weight to about the 15th. No shots, so that was nice! And because she still has constipation issues, we're cutting out all cereal for now to see if that helps. Poor kid - she loves her some cereal!

She's been eating 3 meals a day for about a month now and is finally crawling ALL over the place. For about 3 weeks, she could crawl but preferred to sit and play and only really crawled to get something she really wanted. The past week or so, there's been no stopping her. She's on the move... And always towards something she shouldn't have... Electrical outlets, steps, wrapped presents under the tree... When we tell her "no", the lower lip starts to tremble and then she cries. Just like a girl! And she lifts up her arms when she wants o be picked up...

She's really starting to come into her own personality. Squealing and laughing and giving funny looks. It's funny how one kid can be completely different from another. By the time Lucas was 9 months, he could stand up and cruise around tables, sofas, etc. He was walking full time by a little over 10 months. While he was also constantly on the move, he was much more "business-like", always on a mission. The word "no" didn't phase him one bit. Lottie is much more content to people watch and sit with toys.

She loves baths, her big bro, the cats, and torturing me by still getting up several times each night. She has 2 top teeth and 2 bottom teeth, but 3-4 more top ones are on the way in.

Lucas is enjoying her more now that she will follow him and can actually do things. However, he still does NOT like to share with her!

A boy's dream come true

So, our neighborhood roads were still in kinda rough shape after last week's big snowfall. Today we noticed that there were not one - but 2 - HUGE bulldozers scraping and plowing the remaining snow from our road. Tony and Lucas quickly went outside to watch. One bulldozer worked from each side and met right in the middle - at our house! Then, the most amazing thing happened... They took ALL the snow they collected and dumped it in our yard, which made a ginormous snow mountain. Tony was 10 times more excited than Lucas :) They immediately went outside where Lucas took his toy bulldozer to re-enact what he'd seen earlier. And Tony went to work sculpting a sledding slide down the mountain!

Fan club

Sunday evening we braved the remnants of the blizzard of '09 and drove to Mike and Brenda's for the Raven's game. Our road looked great, but we soon realized that most other roads didn't. Luckily, we have 4 wheel drive and they only live 5 minutes away. Everyone was glad to see some company after 2 days stuck inside. Even though we were there past Charlotte's bedtime, she did great. She crawled around and even let other people hold her for extended periods of time! Lucas ran around like a lunatic and had fun playing games with everyone (shuttle, tunnel, etc). Mike and Brenda even bought him a bag of grapes that he's been munching on several times each day. Such lucky little kiddos to have so many people who love them to pieces!!!

The aftermath

It finally stopped snowing by the time we went to bed Saturday night. It hasn't snowed this much since February of '02 or '03 - whenever we were lucky enough to be visiting from MA and got to help everyone dig out :) I wish we got this much at least once a year! I'll bet stores/malls took a big hit with everyone stuck inside this close to Christmas. Luckily, I'm just about done getting things. I do have a few things that need to be delivered by UPS, so I hope they get back on the roads soon... But I hope the plows take a VERY long time getting to schools and ALL the neighborhood roads! Tony shoveled us out this morning and Lucas went out to play too. Charlotte was inside taking a nice nap after NOT being a good sleeper last night. Last week her top 2 teeth came in, and she was back to sleeping well for 3-4 nights. This morning, I took a good look and there are 3-4 more top teeth coming in. Grrr... That's ok; who needs sleep anyway?

Still going...

This morning at 7 a.m.
Tonight at 8 p.m... Candy canes almost buried - I LOVE IT!!!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

It started snowing around 10 last night and has been going strong since... Lucas was super excited to see it this morning. He was yelling about throwing snow up in the sky, sledding, and building snowmen. After Lottie's morning nap, we ventured out to deliver Christmas cards and plates of homemade cookies to the neighbors. It was brrrrr chilly and windy. Lucas loved it, but had a hard time walking sometimes because he couldn't tell where steps/curbs were. Lottie didn't complain, but I brought her in after the cookie delivery (while the boys stayed out) because she was red and her face was soaked! After Lucas' nap, the boys went back out to shovel... Hmmm... opinions on school closings for the week? ;P

We are the champions!

I just realized that I hardly took any pictures last week :( We've been busy with work and normal household stuff. Trying to fit in some Christmas errands here and there. Plus, it was super cold/raining so we stayed inside most of the time. That was just fine with Tony, as he had a sinus infection.

Wednesday was our regular bowling night, and we were fighting for first place! Of the 3 games to play, we only needed to win one to clinch first place. We lost the first 2 and it all came down to the last frame of the last game. Oh the SUSPENSE!!! Tony threw a strike and won it for us - so exciting!

Thursday night we went to Lights on the Bay to see all the light displays. Lucas loved it!
Saturday, Mommom and Pop watched Lucas while we took Lottie all around town with us doing Christmas errands. It was kinda nice spending some time with just her. Lucas made a gingerbread house and had a blast! Thanks guys!
Lottie has been a little more mobile lately... But she's getting her top 2 teeth and that's making her (and me!) miserable...