The Pagan Post: A Week in the Sun

Every year when I was growing up, my family would spend a week in Sunriver, OR in December and snowboard at Bachelor. Once all the kids were away at college, the trip fell by the wayside. Until now! We just got back from the most spectacular week in Sunriver. Our first big vacation as a family of three. Parents, all 5 kids and their spouses and children. 15 of us. We hiked, swam, played games, white water rafted, shopped, toured, ate. It was a special time with people I don't get to see nearly enough. Charlotte was an absolute angel and had so much fun playing with her cousins, aunts and uncles, and grandparents. Most days she would play hard, nap a little, then sleep 14 hours at night to recharge for the next exciting day. Though 3 months her junior, her cousin Sophia taught her quite a bit about crawling and standing. It was incredible to see the developmental leaps Charlotte made in just one week. Before we left, Charlotte could not make it over the single step that led out of our family room. By the time we returned home, she was scaling the step like she'd been doing it for years. In 30 seconds she had made it from one end of the house to the other (and eaten some dog food along the way). So far she is sticking with the slightly unconventional, but equally effective, method of army crawling. It is hysterical to watch her squirm across the floor like a crab. And man is she fast. Here is the real bummer of army crawling. Charlotte is all the time filthy. I could be pushing my mop around 24/7 and the front of her shirt would still look like she was dragged through the mud. I think I will attach a Swiffer Pad to her stomach and let her do all the work.

She did pull her self up one time while we were there, and she also sat herself up one time. But neither of these feats have been repeated yet. I think I'll let her do them a few more times before I pen them in her baby book.

A few other fun milestones: Charlotte claps on command (without visual aid), waves "hi," and occasionally reaches for her head when you ask her, "where's your head?" It blows me away to see her learn and comprehend things.

In other fantastically exciting news, I got new carpet yesterday! After regretting my first carpet selection for 2 years, we finally took the plunge and replaced it. It is beautifully perfect and I am one happy mama! Live and learn.