Win $100 to Madewell!

Oh, Hello Friend strikes again!  Another amazing giveaway - to Madewell.

They recently put a Madewell in Bellevue Square, and I had my first opportunity to go in last week.  I fell for this sweet bird whistle necklace.  Tim sweetly offered to buy it for me, but I had a momentary lapse of judgment and left without it...I've been regretting it ever since.  Maybe this is my chance to win it!

I've also been searching for a sweet, belly bump covering swim suit.  This could be my ticket...

Want to win?  Go here.

Charlie's Birdie Birthday

We had a relatively small celebration of Charlie's first year last Sunday. The guest list was limited to immediate family and closest friends, and everyone (but my brothers - one sick and one hours away) was able to make it.

To keep Charlie chipper through the whole thing, I pushed all the "activities" to the start of the party, so if she crashed we wouldn't miss out on cake or presents or anything she is essential to.

After some time for eating we jumped into presents.

She loved the tissue...presents were less interesting.

Until she opened shoes, that is.

Then Pooh Bear...

And a book - she shook it to make sure it held up.

Matching aprons! Score!

More tissue. (PS - I made that headband, I forgot to put it in the decor post. Feathers, heavy paper and glue. Add in a touch of patience, and you have yourself a headband).

Following present time was cake time...Charlie was not so sure about this business. I opted for vegan cupcakes to protect us from discovering a food allergy during the party.

It's not often you see this face after presenting someone with a delicious treat.

She responded better when I fed it to her.

Kinda.

Enough already!

Ryan, Meghan and Laura hanging out in the post present mayhem.

After cake and presents we had no agenda, so football, games and food ruled the rest of the afternoon. Here, Papa and Mitsuki are wrestling a bit while Auntie Chie and Tim show Charlie how to hammer.

Snuggle time with Meghan - always one of Charlie's favorite activities.

And here is the girl herself, 4 hours after the party started, happily showing off her newest tooth.

Charlie did absolutely amazing, and seemed to love every minute. I love my big, happy girl.

(For those who care, her dress is Cherokee, $15, I got it on sale for $10.)

Whats Charlie Wearing Wednesday(s)

Buckle up...here comes three weeks worth of cuteness. 

Pajama day...sometimes we here at the Fulton home are a bit...lazy.  And sometimes jammies are too hilarious not to document.  Resulting in the first ever (I think) pajama WCWW.  We have a box of hand me downs from my nephew Mitsuki, and some of these gems are direct from Japan.  Some of these Japanese items have non sensical Engrish English on them...like these bell bottoms.

The pants say (in cursive, no less)  "Nice to meet you.  Love, Kids Zoo".  Awesome.  And, as usual, the top is a simple white onesie from Carters.  Moving on...

Our friends Andrew and Sara were here last week from Santa Rosa to meet Charlie.  Charlie was immediately showered with gifts, and she got some awesome boots that were sent with them from our other friends, Alison, Jason, and little Cora.  Here's Charlie rocking her Hatley rain boots, which are covered in little birds and flowers (and totally match the coat that Sara and Andrew gave her.)

She's also wearing a Carter's top bought with a little pink and white polka dot romper at Costco for $5ish way back when.  And, the H&M jeans she's sporting are also from Alison and Jason, sent before either she or Cora were born.  We had an awesome time with Andrew and Sara (and their little boy on the way) and can't wait to see them and meet the Superbaby.  We're hoping we'll get to see Alison and Jason and finally meet Cora sometime this year too. 

Lastly, yesterday Charlie played the part of a ballerina (until she pulled her bib off and covered her shirt in peach puree.)

She is wearing a white onesie ruffle tee from H&M ($3, I think), a Circo tutu with polka dots under the tulle ($6), and a interchangeable flower headband from an Etsy shop that no longer exists.

The stubborn girl no longer wants to sit and pose, hence the book and standing shots.  But, she's still stinking adorable, so I'll let it slide.

What's Charlie Wearing Wednesday

Ten on ten and Wednesday landed on the same day...what a conundrum. So, at the risk of being repetitive and redundant (and repetitive and redundant...name that show), Here are more pictures from the same day! And, to be totally honest, one of the same pictures, cropped differently. Call me lazy.

We love classic prints around here, so I flipped for this Gingham number from Carters. I found it at Fred Meyer for $10, a bit of a splurge, but I made an exception since it included pants that could be worn with other outfits.

So there you have it...now I'm going to scramble and try to get ready for my day before this one wakes from her nap.

What's Charlie Wearing Wednesday

Aside from a coon skin cap and Art Garfunkel style hair, Charlie is wearing a chevron dress from GAP outlet.

We had a busy and fun day, playing with familyand later playing with daddy on his one night off this week.

Doesn't the picture of Charlie with Mitsuki remind you a bit of this, or is it just me?

What's Charlie Wearing Wednesday

Last week was unseasonably cool, even for Seattle, so long pants were sported all week. Here, Charlie is wearing a ruffle onesie from Old Navy, found on clearance for somewhere around $2.

The pants are Carter's from a set with a long sleeved onesie - a gift. And the socks were also a gift, I'm not sure of the brand, but they originally had little rosebuds sewn all over them. Those were removed after a couple of wears, leaving us with little mary janes.

This is the second top that I put Charlie in for these pictures - teething = puking around these parts, so wardrobe changes are constant...these are also the first pictures of her holding herself up without someones hands hovering behind to catch her if she falls. Which she did - flat on her back. Oops.

Both the top and pants are Old Navy, both clearance for under $3 a pop. The pants (which have gold polka dots change from Capri's to Bermuda shorts, and were such a good deal I bought them in multiple colors and sizes...Tomorrow Charlie will be 10 months old, so we'll be posting more pictures soon, as well as what she's up to these days. I'm still working out a post with an update on how we're doing post-Isaiah, so that should appear soon too. Have a good day, friends!

Charlie's New Stuff

The girl is growing. Rapidly. So, I've been shopping. Thriftily.

I have been waiting and waiting for these to go on sale. They were $10 at Target, yesterday I found them for $4.

I love Melissa&Doug products. I found they're wooden blocks on sale at the As Seen on TV store at the Supermall of all places. $13.

I've been smushing her feet into size 3's for months, so I caved and got her a bunch of size 4 & 5's.

Koala's - $3 st Old Navy, Pink Mary Janes - free at TJ Maxx with gift card (Thanks Chie!), Pink Patent Leather Mary Janes - $3 at Kid to Kid consignment shop, Blue sandals - $6 at Old Navy, Fuchsia boots - $3 at Kid to Kid.

Melissa&Doug stacking boxes, free at TJ Maxx

Charlie's wardrobe has so far been primarily provided by baby shower gifts. She's now reached the size where people rarely give gifts in, so I'm slowly stocking up on 18 & 24 month items. Here's what I have from Kid to Kid (total spend, probably less than $30)

Lots of fleece Carter's sleepers for the winter

Cherokee sweater dress, Old Navy gingham dress

Cherokee motorcycle jacket, Gymboree rain coatChristmas Carter's sleepers - snowmen and penguins

In my experience with baby shopping, patience and scavenging used clothing saves you a TON. Everything goes on sale, and you can nearly always find the "current styles" used. (Cause baby styles change all the time, right?)

So, there you have it. Grown up stuff for my growing up baby.

What's Charlie Wearing Wednesday

Charlie is becoming a ham as she gets older. She knows what to do when the camera comes out (most of the time), though she's having more trouble sitting still than she used to.

This outfit was a gift from our friend Zib. It's a little Carter's ditty, complete with ruffle butt, and a bee embroidered on the front. Cute, easy on, easy off, what more could you want?

See what I mean about the ham? That third picture cracks me up. It barely even looks like her. This outfit is from our friend Laura, and she brought it back from a shop in Australia, called Charlie Belle, believe it or not. It's so cute with the patchwork elephant and super ruffle butt.

As for the rest of us, we're doing pretty well. Tim is back to more than full time work (but he has this weekend off to celebrate our 7th anniversary), I'm coming out of my funk a bit, even going so far as to clean two different rooms today. I'm blessed to have many friends willing to distract me or listen to me, depending on my mood. Charlie is ever moving, keeping me on my toes. She's still resistant to crawling, but the allure of things out of reach is getting to her, so I don't think her resistance will hold much longer.

Physically, I'm still dealing with contractions as my body returns to normal, which is emotionally challenging, because a lot of the movements I feel are so similar to baby movements. It doesn't help the yearning to hold my baby when I feel like he's still in there squirming around, and have to remind myself that he's gone.

Blessedly, Charlie has been a joy. The past two days she's woken too early, so I've given her a bottle and then laid her on my chest until she falls back asleep. Then, two hours or so later, I wake to a tiny finger tracing down my nose, and open my eyes to huge blue ones staring back and giddy laughter. It's been the highlight of my day. Tonight she woke up 45 minutes after I put her to bed, and as I held her and coaxed her back to sleep she gazed at me with heavy eyes and just grinned and giggled herself to sleep. She's also been extra cuddly, holding me together when I feel like I might fall apart. She's such a blessing. I love her.

What's Charlie Wearing Wednesday (Belated)/39 Weeks/9 Months

It's unbelievable to me that my baby has been here for 9 full months. It just so happened that her 39 week mark and her 9 month mark both landed last Wednesday.

Charlie was born at 39 weeks exactly, so she's been in this world as long as she resided in my belly. I loved feeling her roll around in there, but I definitely prefer to snuggle her in my arms.

Okay, down to business. Charlie is wearing:

A romper by Carters, bought at Costco, for something like $5.

Done with business.

9 month Charlie:

Has little enough hair that I have to sunscreen the top of her head, but enough hair that sunscreen makes it do this:

Has finally found an appreciation for the sun, so walks and parking lots have become more enjoyable.

She sleeps through the night most of the time, sleeping anywhere from 7:30-8:30 pm until 7:30 to 8:30 am. And the people rejoiced. She sleeps in such strange positions, however, that after Tim checks on her before bed I've been know to ask him, "Does she look happy, sleepy and awkward?" If the answer is yes to these questions, we're probably in for a good nights sleep.

She is completely weaned, though she will still attempt to climb down my shirt on occasion. She drinks her weight in formula (you think I'm kidding...) so we're grateful that she's a fan of the Kirkland Signature stuff ($16! Bargain).

She's finally fitting into size three diapers, after an awkward phase where size 2 was too small and size 3 were giant.

She won't crawl. She will flip the top half of her body sideways and push herself along by her feet in a pinch, dragging her head along the ground.

She's rather be standing (with help) or walking (with help) than doing almost anything.

She LOVES any crunchy baby snacks, but it takes an army to get her to eat jar food.

She's napping consistently for an hour plus! And the people rejoice again.

She's saying everything you'd expect a 9 month old to say, but so far hasn't seemed to connect words with objects or people.

She loves giving zerbits and eating peoples faces. I'm not kidding, she literally chews on any girls face that will come near enough. No boys though.

She claps constantly, climbs over people, and loves to show off her two shiny teeth.

That's probably as much and more than any of you wanted to know, but gushing is in a mom's job description.

Momentarily you will see 4th of July fun. Stay tuned.

What's Charlie Wearing Wednesday

Summer is here! However short lived :)

Whale Romper - Carters, $5ish from Costco

Headband - won from Etsy shop Buds Buttons and Bows (The flowers snap on, so they're interchangable), but as far as I can tell the shop is no longer on Etsy.

Enjoy the blip of warm weather!

What's Charlie Wearing Wednesday (Saturday)

Shirt - Circo, on sale at Target for $3

Skirt - Osh Kosh, shower gift

Tights - Trumpettetoo, Christmas gift from Meghan, which now actually fit :)

This week was full of friends and outings, to help distract Charlie from her hatred of weaning. The good news is, the last three days she's hardly put up a fight. And the reason for that is the cunning logic of my husband.

I had been forcing Charlie to take formula during the day, only nursing her in the middle of the night and wee hours of the morning. I was so discouraged and exhausted from the battle, and on a good day barely got her into the double digits with ounces of formula. Tim pointed out that our stubborn but brilliant child was probably just holding out for the middle of the night when she knew she'd get her way, and that it had to stop.

There was a half hour battle at 3:00 that morning, and I didn't get her back to bed until 5, but when I did she had three ounces of formula in her belly. She proceeded through the day to get to 16 ounces, an all time high. She went to bed at 7:30 and slept through till 6am. 18 ounces and virtually no arguing later she went to bed at 9:30 (we were celebrating Papa's birthday so we stayed out late). She woke up this morning at 5:45...awesome. An hour and 15 minutes later she went back to her bed with 5 ounces in her belly and not so much as a peep. She woke again at 8:45, drank three more ounces (8 already! Wow!), half a jar of apple pear oatmeal and played happily until 11 when I put her down for a nap.

I had no idea that changing that one nighttime habit would change the entire day so dramatically. It was so hard on both of us to constantly fight each other, and feedings could be a two hour process. I wish I had cut the middle of the night feeding weeks ago so we could have lived together peacefully and happily...but I'll be content with everything being wonderful now.

These pictures were intended to be done individually - one with a D, one with an A, so on, until Daddy was spelled out, but Charlie wasn't up for it. So, with crazy antics from a very helpful friend, we got these out smiles of her, so Charlie now has a Father's Day present for Tim. At least, once we pick up the print and a frame, make a card and wrap it all up.

Hope you all have a great weekend and happy Father's Day :)

(Revised) What's Charlie Wearing Wednesday...a month full

I somehow completely left a week out...so behold the correct weekly sequence:

Yes, I'm way overdue on these...but I've had other things on my mind :)

Here we go:
Pink sweater- Circo, $6
Zebra tank onesie - Gap clearance, $2
Pants and socks - Carters, gifts
Romper - Carters, gift
Socks - Kid's Korner "gift"*

Sweater - Circo, $4

Top - Carters (came with a pink polka dot romper, but it wasn't warm enough) $7 from Costco

Pants - Carters, gift, came with a long sleeved onesie

These pictures were taken at friend Laura's house (except the last one which was taken during playtime. No chair pictures that day.

Mermaid Jammie's - Carter's $10 from Costco (we don't really use them as Jammie's, cause they're stinking cute, so we call them day wear)

Dress (or jacket, I can't tell) - Carter's, free at consignment store with trade-in

Onesie - Carters, part of a $10 4 piece cow set from Costco

Tights - consignment store, $3

Boots - Old Navy $6

*story behind the socks - they may look like any old sock, but their kinda sorta a gift from my mom. Years ago she had bought two girl sleepers and a 4 pack of socks, I assume for a shower, but they wound up in a box in my parents room. When I found them last year, I asked dad if I could have them for Charlie. So, to Charlie they're her presents from "Ama".

What's Charlie Wearing Wednesday Catch up

I started weekly blog features to make sure I continued to blog...but sometimes life gets in the way, and things like "Made By Me Monday" fall by the wayside.

Our lives have been busy with things like sickness, sleep issues, milk supply issues, changes, prioritizing, teething, drooling, broken washers, etc. It hasn't all been bad, but it has all been intense, and taken my focus away from a lot of day to day things...like cleaning, cooking, laundry and blogging.

I have, however, been taking pictures. So, without further adieu:

What's Charlie Wearing last Wednesday (actually Thursday - our new washer didn't get here until Wednesday, so Charlie was wearing a hodgepodge assortment from her few clean clothes that day.)
Here she's wearing:
Carters sweatshirt
Carters cow onesie (part of a four piece set found at Costco for under $10)
Old Navy roll up jeans on clearance for about $4
Carters socks

And, this Wednesday:
It was lovely out, so while she also sported a sweater and socks most of the day, we pretended it was summer.

Old Navy Tank bought on clearance before she was born - probably about $2
Cherokee shorts, also bought on clearance before she was born - I have no idea what they cost.