The one with the second little Chapman orange

That's right, Chapman Baby #2 will be arriving in December!

We found out just before Easter!  Yeehaw!  I am 15 weeks today and the baby is due December 23.  I am hoping for about a week late, though, as it's no fun having a birthday so close to Christmas (I can say that, as a December 19 baby myself).

So far, the pregnancy has been a bit different than the first time around.  I started feeling sick immediately around 3 weeks and I'm just now starting to feel a bit better.  Nausea was 24/7 this time around and eating sometimes made it better, but not always.  I've had a lot of aversions instead of cravings - baby doesn't like ham or tea, how very sad!! - but I have been able to eat more than I did the first time around because I found that eating made the nausea go away most times.  I was absolutely miserably exhausted for the first couple of months.  Being pregnant and taking care of an older child is way more difficult than being pregnant and able to come home and nap whenever you want and eat whenever you want and basically do nothing if that's what you want to do.  It was a rough couple of months, but that fog is starting to lift and I'm definitely getting my energy back.

I am starting to show already and I've felt the baby move a couple of times already (just tiny little thumps and flutters).  I'm looking forward to getting some maternity clothes so I can feel comfy again!

Our ultrasound is scheduled for August 7 and I'd like to set up an appointment for a 3D ultrasound again.  We can find out what the sex of the baby is at the hospital but Charlotte is not allowed in the room for the ultrasound and I really want her to be there when we find out if she will have a little brother or a little sister.  I haven't set up that appointment yet but I will!

For now, I will leave you all with a baby update!



Baby Beans (as he/she is affectionately known as) is about 11cm long and is rolling around, hiccuping, and testing out his/her joints.  Limbs akimbo!  BB is about the size of an orange and getting bigger every day.  :)

The one with the THREE AND A HALF year update...

I know, right?  Three-and-a-freakin-half.  Where does the time go?

She may be getting older but she is still the kind, sweet, hilarious little person she has always been.  She finally hit 30lbs recently (even up to 31lbs sometimes!) and wears 3T bottoms and has moved into 4T tops.  She wears a size 7 shoe (just like Mommy!).  She can put on her own coat and can zip it up as long as someone helps her get started.  She is really getting more and more independent every day.

She loves to paint and draw lately.  She can write her first name and can write out other words if we help her spell them.  She loves drawing rainbows and people and, occasionally, submarines.  She still loves to play pretend but her play situations have gone beyond simply imitating daily life and she creates more complex scenarios and characters.  Her favourite, thus far, is playing "neighbour" wherein I am the neighbour, she is my neighbour, we live in different houses (sometimes it's the snow bank in the back yard, sometimes it's the dining room, sometimes it's her bedroom, etc.) and the entire thing revolves around us saying things like "Oh hi neighbour, my name is Mommy, would you like to come visit my house and stay for supper?" ad nauseum.  She's really good at staying in character, to the point where I ask her to please call me Mommy in the grocery store so people don't think I am some weirdo with the neighbour's kid.

Playing in her "snow bedroom"

She created all these buildings for her characters (left to right) Mommy, Daddy, Charlotte, and Cole's (?) house, the fancy neighbours house, the hospital, the police station, and Grandma and Grandpa's house in the middle.

She still attends the same daycare and has recently moved from the toddler room to the preschool room.  She LOVES it.  She is always so excited to tell me about the things she has done that day and who she played with.  Her teachers are great and there are always really neat things going on.  She has a few friends that she plays with consistently and has been to a few birthday parties already.

She's had a few more illnesses and incidents this year than ever before in her life.  She was very sick with a virus in October and was sick almost the whole month.  She fell in June and needed to get stitches just above her lip.  And in March, she experienced her first febrile seizure and I experienced my first 911 call and ambulance ride.  She is one brave and resilient little girl, though, and she is no worse for the wear at all.  

She still speaks like she is about three years older than she is.  Her vocabulary and pronunciation are outstanding.  She has recently started loving puzzles and can easily put together a 12-15 piece puzzle by herself.  When she has the patience, she will also put together some 20 piece puzzles by herself.  She still loves reading and we think she is starting to read words herself, but it's hard to tell because she has a stubborn side and will not cooperate if she doesn't want to.  ;)  She has moved on from simpler stories and really enjoys longer picture books like The Berenstain Bears, Franklin, Robert Munsch books, Clifford, etc.  We have relented a bit and let her watch some television.  She really likes Thomas, Sid The Science Kid, and The Wiggles.  We have watched a few movies together (The Little Mermaid, yay!!), and we are hoping to bring her to see the new Disney "Bears" movie for her very first movie theatre experience.

Here are a few of 3.5 year old Charlotte favourites!

Book:  She has a few go-tos that she likes: Mud Puddle, Going On A Bear Hunt, The Highway Rat, and Mouse Soup are a few current ones that we read a lot.

Activity:  Playing with her cars.  She brings out her car mat, sets it up, sets out all her cars in their specific "houses" on the mat, and then they interact with each other like people.  It's really interesting and it's usually the very first thing she does after breakfast.

Food:  If you ask her, she will tell you that broccoli chicken is her absolute favourite.

Toy:  Charlotte Bunny is still her baby.  She also loves her cars, specifically her "black Pontiac".

Colour:  Still purple, but with pink and red thrown in occasionally.

Word/Phrase:  "Are you serious?  Are you kidding me?"  haha

I love this sweet girl more and more every day.  Every age gets better and better!

The one with the random mid-June update ;)

Cool dudette!

Update time!  Yippee!

My sweet little Charlotte is now closer to three years old than two years old.  Eek!  Where does the time go?  She is already talking about her birthday party and has asked me probably 5 times today if it was fall yet... (granted, it was freezing out so that may have had something to do with it  ;))

Every day, she continues to amaze me.  She is about 27 lbs now and I think around 34 inches tall.  Still teeny and I think she always will be.  She wears mostly 2T stuff and mostly size 6 shoes.  She has all her teeth and had her third hair cut about a month ago.  She is fully toilet trained (except wears training pants at nighttime) and can do the whole routine all by herself.  She can put on her own jacket.  She can go up and down stairs with ease.  She can climb up into her booster seat at the dinner table.  She uses her forks and spoons very well.  She can do a somersault.  She just keeps getting bigger and more independent!  *sniffles!*

At the mall after her third hair cut

The hairdresser gave her a little braid.  She was so proud of her "purple braid"!

Charlotte started daycare at the beginning of April due to some confusing no job/new job circumstances that ended up with our regular sitter finding new employment.  We were very VERY sad about the change, but Kelsey is still in our lives, and Charlotte is really enjoying her time with other children.  I am so happy she was able to spend the first two and a half years of her life at home and now she is at the age where she craves social interaction.  She is loving daycare and tells me all about her days, who her friends are, who she played with, which children spit, which children talk at naptime, and so on and so forth haha.  I love hearing her sing new songs and talk about her friends.  My heart melts when I pick her up and she hugs her friends goodbye.  Love love love.  Unfortunately, starting daycare also meant her first ear infection.  Boo!!  But we made it two and a half years with no antibiotics ever, so that's pretty good!

Last month, Charlotte went on a trip to Calgary with her Gram for 5 whole days!  She went to visit Auntie Rochelle, Uncle Paul, and her cousins Isla and Lucas.  She had a wonderful time and still asks if we are "going to go to Calgary today".  She really enjoyed the plane rides and even got to visit the flight deck on her way home.  Apparently, she walked into the flight deck, looked around, and said "I think this is an airbus" (it was).  Cracked the pilots right up!  :)

She is still as funny as ever and as sweet as ever.  She certainly has the two year old attitude down pat, but her sweet, kind, loving nature still shines through.  She loves to spend her time rocking her dolls and her bunnies.  She has one bunny that she got for Easter who she named Charlotte Bunny and Charlotte Bunny is HER baby.  She rocks Charlotte Bunny and pats her back.  She feeds her and hugs her.  It is all very sweet. This morning, when I told her we were staying home from work/daycare because I didn't feel good, she told me "It's okay, Mommy.  I will hug you all better."  One day, she told me "Maggie (our cat) can't play with the toys because she has no hands.  I'm going to go to the store and buy her some hands so she can have a turn."  She is a darling.  I truly hope she never loses that kindness and compassion.

Mommy and Charlotte ice cream date

Here are a few of 2.5 year old Charlotte's favourites:

Book: Alligator Baby by Robert Munsch is a big favourite right now.  We have read it every day for the last 3 weeks since we bought it.

Activity:  Pretend play - she loves acting out life's little moments with her dolls and stuffed animals.  She is always feeding them or putting them to bed and copying pretty much everything I say to her during those routines.  Makes me feel pretty good when I see her hugging her bunny saying "goodnight, sweetie, sweet dreams, I love you".  She also loves playing with her Crazy Coupe outside - filling it with dandelion gas and going to Superstore for groceries  ;)  Her imagination is amazing and she comes up with some really fun ideas every day.

Food:  I don't know if she really has a favourite.  She eats peaches n' cream oatmeal every day for breakfast at her request.  She really likes apple slices and peanut butter as a dip for snack.  She is still a great eater and enjoys a wide variety of foods.

Toy:  Charlotte Bunny (although I don't know if I count her as a toy but rather an entity in her own right) or her doll that has snap on clothes that she has named Susan.

Colour:  Purple (mine too, and I'm pretty sure that's why it's her favourite  ;))

Word:  Why?  Why?  Why why why?  WHY?  ;)

My little ladybird

Even though she is really starting to exert her independence and test boundaries, she just makes every single day a little brighter.  Her smile lights up the room.  Her laugh is infectious.  She is soft and snuggly.  She is brave and strong.  She makes funny jokes.  She is smart.  She is social.  She shows empathy.  She is kind.  I just love seeing what new things each day brings!

The one with the two year update!

Oh, faithful readers (are there any of you?) ... I apologize.  I'd like to say I haven't forgotten about this blog, but truth be told, I kind of have.  I suppose "forgot" isn't quite the word.  Life just gets in the way and I don't feel the need to update as often.

That being said, the little lemon that began this blog has turned two! 
That's right, the big two years old.

What can I say about two year old Charlotte?

Let's start with the physical.  She had her two year appointment on Monday (Oct 15) and is a "whopping" 25.4lbs and 33.5 inches tall!  Still my little pixie and I adore her.  She has all her teeth except her bottom two two-year molars.  Her hair is getting longer - it's almost time for a second hair cut - and still has curly bits.  Humid days are my favourite because her hair goes curl-crazy.  Her eyes are brown and she's wearing a size 5 shoe (possibly moving up soon).  She loves to dance and has been attempting to jump/hop.  She can go up and down stairs and can climb up and down easily on furniture.  We are working on potty training/learning and she's making some progress.  She is aware of her functions and will sometimes tell us if she needs to go but it's not always consistent and sometimes when she tells us she needs to go, nothing happens.  It'll all come in time, though, and we both agree that it will NOT happen until she's ready so why push it?

Charlotte continues to amaze me every single day.  At two years old, she currently knows the entire alphabet, what sounds all the letters make, how to spell "mom" and "dad', recognizes/reads the words "mommy", "daddy", and "Charlotte", knows all her shapes and colours, remembers the words to favourite songs, speaks in full sentences (averages about 6-8 words at a time), identifies countries on the globe, identifies planets, recognizes tunes and can identify them, and picks up new information SO quickly it's frightening.  Her current favourite game is "spelling" (she gives us a word and we spell it for her).  My favourite part about all of this?  We taught her NONE of it.  Exposed her to it?  Absolutely.  But she's the one who wants to play spelling, she's the one who wants to "do letters", she's the one who asks to play shapes.  You should have seen the look of sheer joy when she opened her birthday present from us and it was the Leapfrog Word Builder jet thing that goes on the fridge.  Crazy kid ... she just retains information like I've never seen.

She is still as sweet and empathetic as always.  She loves to hug all her dolls and animals.  She thinks the washer and dryer are friends.  She pushes two objects together and declares them "family".  She is very easy-going and loving.  She loves other children and really likes spending time with her cousins.  She has started to exhibit some typical two year old behaviour (whining and tantrums) but so far we're just ignoring the behaviour and acknowledging the positives.  No point in getting into power struggles.  She is extremely funny and KNOWS it.  She's always got a good joke for us  :)
 

We moved her into a toddler bed the weekend of her birthday party (Thanksgiving weekend) and she is doing fantastic!  She fell out once and got out once when she was down for a nap but wasn't tired.  Otherwise, she stays in the entire night (and nap time) and only gets out when one of us goes into her room to get her.  She loves her "big girl bed" and loves "crawlin' in and crawlin' out".  I'm kind of sad there's no more crib in our house but I'm so proud of my big girl. 


A few Charlotte favourites:

• activity: watching the washer and dryer (we recently moved and now have front-loaders - excellent toddler entertainment!) and pushing her doll stroller around
• song: Bruno Mars' "Marry You" (she knows almost all the words and we watch this video about a million times a day)
• food: I think her current favourites are spaghetti and cauliflower (separately).  She is still not a picky eater and generally eats whatever we put in front of her.
• book: she always wants to read from her book of Bible stories that Auntie Rochelle, Uncle Paul, Lucas, and Isla got her last year for her baptism
• toy: currently, I'd say her doll stroller, her kitchen, or her letter magnets

And that's our girl in a nutshell!  Not a baby anymore ... I can't even believe it.
Hopefully I will update again before she turns three  ;)

The one with the car seat 101

As Charlotte nears two years old (side note - what the what?!), car seat questions seem to be popping up more and more.  We have made the decision to rear-face Charlotte as long as she fits in her seat which will likely be for a few more years yet.  Extended rear-facing isn't very common in our circle, it seems, so the fact that we didn't immediately turn her around when she turned one is puzzling.

There are few things that I am hardcore about when it comes to parenting.  I consider myself pretty easy-going, but car seat safety is the one thing that I think I'm "crazy" about.  If my daughter is in a vehicle, I am going to keep her as safe as I possibly can.  Every step up in a car seat is a step down in safety.  I am in no hurry to move her through the stages of car seats when all it does is make her less safe in the car.  So, with that, let's answer some commonly asked questions about our current car seat arrangements!

Why didn't you turn her around when she turned one?  It's the law!
The current law in Nova Scotia states that children must be one year old and 22lbs before they can be turned around forward-facing.  New legislation in January 2012 also recommends that children must be walking sturdily before being turned forward.  This law is the minimum safety standard.  The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends children rear-face until at least 2 years old and Child Safety Link here in NS recommends that toddlers remain rear-facing as long as possible according to the limits of your car seat.  So, yes, she is technically legally allowed to be turned forward-facing but it is not the safest option.  I'd be surprised if she has hit 25lbs at this point.  She's small.  Her car seat can rear-face up to 45lbs and will keep her harnessed until 65lbs, provided she does not outgrow the seat by height.  Many seats on the market now can easily rear-face children up to 4 years of age.

How is rear-facing safer?
Rear-facing for young children is safer because of the way the seat cradles them in the event of a crash.  I recently attended a car seat safety workshop where it was stated that the force felt from a crash at 50km/h is the same as being dropped out of a third story window.  As a family that is on the highway, driving 110km/h, VERY often, keeping Charlotte as safe as possible is priority.
When a child is rear-facing, their head and spine are cradled in the seat.  When a child is forward-facing, their body is harnessed tight but their head and spine are not protected.


















The image above shows a forward-facing child and a rear-facing child at the same point of impact during a crash test.  Notice how the child forward-facing is thrown forward.  Now imagine the force of the crash on the child's spine.  Young children have large, heavy heads in relation to the rest of their bodies and their spines are not as developed as an adult's spine.  These factors combined with the force of a crash can SERIOUSLY injure or even kill a child even if they are strapped tightly into their seat.  Simply Googling "rear-facing vs forward-facing crash test" will bring up videos of crash tests where you can see the ways in which the seats restrain the child.  Rear-facing is the safer option.

But she's too tall!  Her legs are touching the back of the seat!
A child outgrows their rear-facing car seat when the top of their head is less than 1" away from the top of the shell of the car seat.  Legs have nothing to do with outgrowing a rear-facing seat.  A child's legs are allowed to touch the back of the seat.  Safety is not compromised in any way.  There are actually more reports of broken legs in forward-facing children as their legs are thrown forward in a crash and not cradled as they are in a rear-facing seat.
Most children do not sit with their legs straight out as adults do.  Watch a young child at play.  How are they sitting?  Most children sit with their legs tucked up.  The "lack" of leg room with a rear-facing seat is not an issue.  Most children will sit with their legs bent at the knee, cross-legged, stretch their legs up, or simply toss them over the sides of the seat.  Again, this is not a safety issue and does not compromise the safety of the child in the seat.  The purpose of keeping a child rear-facing is to protect the head and spine.  As one quite sombre catch-phrase goes: "broken leg, cast it - broken neck, casket".

Note how she bends up her knees.  This is a comfortable and natural position for her.  In fact, she often kicks the back seat with glee, exclaiming "kickin' seat!!" or she will push against the back of the seat to make her car seat "rock" (i.e. rebound - a totally normal and necessary feature of rear-facing) and she will laugh and laugh.  She enjoys the position and has never once complained.

Another thing to note about height is the height of the harness straps.  In a rear-facing seat, the harness straps should be AT or slightly BELOW the shoulders.  This keeps the straps nice and snug around the shoulders.  If the straps are above the shoulders, there is more room for the child to move up in the seat in the event of a crash and may be ejected from the seat.  A child has not outgrown a rear-facing seat if their shoulders are slightly above the harness slot.  This is correct usage of the seat.  The chest clip should be at nipple/armpit level to ensure that the straps stay put on the shoulders.  The chest clip is simply a place holder and will break in the event of a crash.  Keeping it at nipple/armpit level ensures that the straps stay in place and do their job.

But she can't see anything!  Wouldn't it be more enjoyable for her to see out the window?
She can see out the window.  She can see out the back window and both side windows and will often comment on the things she sees.  This is not an issue.  Besides, she doesn't know there's another option.  This is how she sits in the car and she doesn't know that she even has the option of facing forward.  What she does not know does not cause any problems!


Yeah, rear-facing is all well and good until you want to have someone sitting in the front seat!  Rear-facing takes up too much room!
Rear-facing infant seats (aka "bucket" seats) take up a ton of room, yes.  However, convertible car seats actually take up less room rear-facing than the buckets do!  In addition, as your child gets older, the seat no longer has to be at the 45 degree angle.  This angle for newborns is due to their inability to hold their heads well and sitting at a higher angle can cause their heads to flop forward and close their airway.
We currently have Charlotte at the 45 degree angle simply because that is what the manufacturer of her seat has recommended.  However, we have her in the middle and her seat does not touch either front seat.  I can push the passenger seat all the way back and recline it all the way down and it does not touch her car seat.

I hope this has answered any questions about our decision to rear-face Charlotte and about car seat use in general!  For more information about car seat safety and proper car seat usage, I highly recommend Child Safety Link and Atlantic Car Seat Safety.  There is a lot to know about proper car seat usage at all stages but once you know, it is information that can literally save your child's life.

Her seat was uninstalled due to switching it between cars and she LOVES sitting in it!  She asked to be buckled in, haha.  That is one happy little toddler in her car seat!

The one where Charlotte says funny things

Ah, my most favourite of ages ... the age of "kids say hilarious things".
A few Charlotte-isms to brighten your day!

  

Me:  "Okay Charlotte, when you're all done supper we'll go down and get you in the tub"
Charlotte: "One hour?"
Me: "One hour?  No..."
Charlotte:  "Two hours?  FIVE hours?"
Me:  "Five hours?!  No way, that's too long to be in the tub."
Charlotte:  "Three minutes?"
Me:  "Yes, that sounds like a much better idea"

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Charlotte:  *covering herself with her blanket*  "Where's Charlotte?!"
Me:  *playing along*  "Where's Charlotte?"
Charlotte:  *still covered by the blanket*  "Under."
Me:  "You're under the blanket?"
Charlotte:  "Yeah."

(kinda defeats the purpose, kiddo!)

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We are at a parade and a man with neck tattoos and full sleeves walks by.  Charlotte stares and you can almost smell the burning as she's trying so hard to process what she sees.  Finally, she blurts out:
"Painted!!  Man neck, painted!  Man arms, painted!"

I tell her yes, sort of, that the man has tattoos.  She breathes a huge sigh of relief and repeats "tattoos" as if she solved the world's greatest mystery.

The one with the importance of play

Charlotte loves to help me cook.  Every time she sees me get ready to cook, she starts to drag a chair over to the counter, saying "see!  see!"  Tonight we were going to make shepard's pie, so she dragged her chair over, and began to watch me peel potatoes.

Well, peeling potatoes is only interesting for a short while so after about two potatoes, she lost focus and started playing with the small bit of water in the dirty dishes in the sink.  I gently removed the dishes and started filling up the sink with warm water, a squirt of dish soap, and tossed in a couple of measuring cups.  The scene was set.

First, she spent some time scooping the bubbles and only the bubbles.  She would scoop them gently with one measuring cup and dump them into another.  She did this over and over until she made a hole in the bubbles and saw the water below the sudsy layer.

She stood at that sink for a half an hour while I continued to cook supper.  She scooped water.  She poured water from one cup to another, from a cup to the sink.  She slid her arms in all the way up to her elbow and said "cold, cold, BRR!"  She waved her hands around and watched the water swish.  She stuck her hands into the flowing tap.  She smooshed the suds in her hands and said "washing!"

















As I watched her, the early childhood educator in me came out full force.  I watched my toddler completely engrossed in what some people would discourage - playing in the sink, making a mess, getting water everywhere.  Instead of scolding her, I encouraged her.  This was a prime learning opportunity and I was not about to squash it.  Learning?  What learning?

Well, let's see.  During the half hour of water play, Charlotte (19 months) said the following words (many times):
bubbles
water
cold, cold, brr
happy
warm
cup
on
off
in
sink
Gram
soap
washing
oh no!
dripping
cloth
big
fun
WOW
tall
heavy
towel

This play experience encouraged an explosion of language!  She had so much to say about what she was doing and had the opportunity to let the words flow freely.

Not only did the experience encourage her language development and help increase her vocabulary but she also learned about a whole slew of concepts:

force -- she felt the difference in the water flow when I turned the faucet on full blast vs having the faucet gently drip water into the sink
temperature -- she noticed the temperature of the water ("warm!") and played around with the concept when she said the water was cold ("cold, cold, brr")
wet/dry -- the kid was soaked by the end of it  ;)
space -- she filled her measuring cups and dumped them; she moved the bubbles and noticed the water underneath; she swished water around and watched it ebb and flow
size -- she noticed the size of the tea towel that she put into the sink near the end of the experience and shouted "big!"; she looked at a mountain of bubbles and said "tall"
density -- as she squished the bubbles in her hands, she experimented with the density of the suds; she also explored this concept as she deliberately scooped ONLY the bubbles when she first began to play
weight -- she filled her measuring cup and said "heavy"
relationships -- as she played in the sink, she made many mentions to "Gram" - she often sits and bathes in the sink at her Gram and Grampie's house
emotions -- throughout the play experience, she exclaimed "happy!  happy!  fun!"
self-control -- she wanted the faucet on all the time but I could not leave it on the entire time or the sink would overflow - she played on despite this - she also kept the water in the sink quite well

All this from playing in the sink?  You bet!
Sometimes those things that you think are messy, annoying, frustrating, inappropriate, a pain-in-the-neck, or purposefully meant to drive you nuts are the things your babies really need the most.  Let them play.  Let them learn!  Trust their abilities to learn and let them explore their world.  Messes only last moments; lessons last a lifetime.

"Be careful what you teach; it might interfere with what they are learning"
~Magda Gerber