Happy New Year to everyone!
The last month has been eventful. The holidays were busy and a lot of fun. They have apparently inspired the kids to reach for new milestones and cause all sorts of fun, new headaches for Mom and Dad.
Charlotte had her first-ever trip to the deep south, as we visited Grandma and Grandpa in their new home at the beach in South Carolina for Christmas.
Both girls also got to meet their great-grandparents Hudson for the first time as well as hang out with all the Cooper (and Salmon) aunts and uncles. We drove down in two days, stopping for the night in Petersburg, VA. The hotel stay was the worst night of the trip, as Charlotte woke up screaming at 2 and Julia did not go back to sleep. We ate breakfast at 4 and were back on the road before 5. We found out later that Julia had some sort of viral infection that resulted in a 102.7-degree fever the next day!
While in South Carolina,
we spent time on the beach and Julia got to test out her new paddle in her first-ever canoe ride.
We also got to spend time with Jim and Pam Hudson and the Sabins, Aaron's relatives.
Julia especially enjoyed hanging out with the "little boys," in particular the bigger little boy, 15 (I think) - year old Matthew, who was a hit with both girls.
On the way back north, we stopped in Maryland for Christmas with the Vennells. Both Christmas days, the 25th with the Coopers and the 28th with the Vennells, had temperatures in the 70's, so neither Christmas quite felt like those of our childhoods, but they were enjoyable nonetheless.
Upon our return to New Jersey (and days of freezing rain), the girls started to knock down one "What to expect" milestone after another. The details:
Charlotte's first tooth has broken through. She has also started getting up on all fours and then scooting herself across the floor. When she is motivated by something (usually to put in her mouth), she really gets going, legs swimming like crazy and grunts of exertion coming out of her mouth while she motors towards the object. She also scoots around her crib and has actually been able to pull herself up to standing. That is not so dangerous now that we have lowered her crib mattress.
Julia has begun drinking out of a cup, and had her first empty cup with no spills last weekend. More excitingly, while Julia was napping today , Kara went into the basement. When she came back upstairs, she heard a strange noise, and there was Julia, standing in the living room, proclaiming that not only was she done with her crib but also that she had learned to open doors - both in the same day! So, as I type, Julia is hopefully sleeping in her new toddler bed. If she's not, she'll probably make her way down here to the basement and help me type this entry...
The only unfortunate thing in all this excitement is that we have misplaced our camera (it did make it back from vacation, but we have no idea where it is now), so we have no pictures to show you of Charlotte's new lower crib nor of Julia's new bed. Once we locate the camera, we'll share.
Finally, Charlotte's six-month and Julia's 2 1/2 year checkups are Friday; we'll let you know how they go. Best wishes to everyone for a Happy New Year.
A happy 7-month birthday to Charlotte, and it seems a good time to give an update on the doings of the girls and their latest doctor's appointments. Julia's 2.5 year checkup and Charlotte's 6-month appointment coincided this year. Julia checked in a 37 inches tall (80%) and 28 lbs. (42%). She was excited to be weighed on the stand up scale instead of the sitting one. Charlotte is 27.25 inches long (88%) and 15lbs. 10 oz (32%). Her head circumference is in the 90th %ile. The doctor was not worried about Charlotte's weight, even though she only gained 7 oz. in the past two months. She has been incredibly active, belly-crawling her way around the house and pulling herself up to standing. She continues to love her mom above all and will do a cheek-to-cheek snuggle (as pictured) everytime she sees Kara. If someone else is holding her, she will fling her upper body towards Kara when she enters the room. There have been a few close calls!
