Charlie's Scary Escape

This morning we had a terrifying few minutes where we almost lost our sweet Charlie forever. He slipped out the front door while we were doing an early morning weather check (note to all: it's chilly here in Chicago!), and raced across the street chasing a cat.

As Steve ran after him (and I yelled "Charlie" like a maniac from the front porch while holding the baby), Charlie abandoned the cat and started running north toward a busy intersection. Fortunately for us, Charlie's nose got the better of him and he stopped to smell something and Steve was able to corner him. Steve carried home a very wiggly Charlie who was obviously proud of his little adventure. I was still shaking at the thought of losing our most loyal companion.

I've seen so many people give up their animals after they have children due to lack of time and inability to give their pet the attention they need. I now understand how this happens, as we definitely have been guilty of neglecting Charlie lately. We pour so much love and attention into Sadie that at the end of the day there doesn't seem to be any left for our first baby. I know that I need to get better at cuddling with Charlie the way I did pre-baby and giving him a lot more of my time.

But I do know that Charlie will be a part of our family for a very long time (assuming there are no more escapades around the neighborhood). We're definitely not letting him go anywhere! I'm excited that a big part of Sadie's early childhood will be shaped by having her four-legged friend at her side...she already stares at his big nose and wagging tail with such delight! And from the very beginning Charlie has shown his love for Sadie, bringing his prized possessions to her when she cries and giving her an endless amount of kisses.

So this post is dedicated to our favorite buddy Charlie - we love you!

Comparing Milestones

My parents recently found my baby book – it had disappeared for quite a few years, but as it turns out was conveniently located in a hutch in their dining room! I always had “second child syndrome” and felt like my baby book recorded next to nothing compared to that of my older sister’s. But in looking at it, my mom did a pretty good job of tracking the important milestones in my first year of life. Which makes me realize I need to get it together and start filling out Sadie's baby book!

It’s been fun looking through things and really noticing how young I was when I hit certain milestones. I was a very, very active baby! And while I think that Sadie more closely resembles Steve, I have a sneaking suspicion that she may take after me in the “overly active baby” department and in the “long and lean” body type (although those days have passed…I’m far from long and lean as an adult!).

I thought it would be fun to do a side by side comparison between some of my baby stats and Sadie's stats!

Birth Stats
Me: 8 pounds, 4 ounces, 19.5 inches long
Sadie: 8 pounds, 9 ounces, 21 inches long

2 Month Stats
Me: 10 pounds, 1 ounce, 22 inches long
Sadie: 11 pounds, 11 ounces, 24.25 inches long 

4 Month Stats
Me: 12 pounds, 13 ounces, 24.75 inches long
Sadie: 14 pounds, 3 ounces, 25.4 inches long

First Tooth
Me: 4 1/2 months – lower right front tooth
Sadie: 4 1/2 months – she has her first tooth teeth poking right through! – the bottom two teeth

Rolling from Tummy to Back
Me: 3 1/2 months
Sadie: 9 weeks

Rolling from Back to Tummy
Me: 4 1/2 months
Sadie: Not yet! But she’s 4 1/2 months right now and looks like this could happen any day now!

First Slept Through the Night
Me: 3-4 weeks (although my mom says she was so exhausted, she may have stopped hearing me cry!)
Sadie: 12 weeks

Sat Up Alone
Me: 6 months
Sadie: Not yet, but she’s sitting great in her Bumbo at 4 1/2 months!

First Crawled
Me: 5 months
Sadie: Not yet!

First Pulled Up/Walked
Me: Pulled up at 6 months and walked around the furniture, walked between parents at 8 months, walked well at 8 1/2-9 months, climbed up on furniture and could walk backwards and almost run at 11 months.
Sadie: Nothing yet!

As you can see, Sadie is beating my stats on height and weight and is right on par with many of my milestones. Which is really exciting but also terrifying if she keeps on following in my (literal) footsteps. I cannot even imagine having Sadie walking around holding onto the furniture in a little over a month! We are so, so not ready for our little girl to be quite that active. I’d be more than happy with her sitting and playing with toys for quite awhile. No need to walk and run too early!

And to that, Sadie says, "Watch out!"