Rite of Passage??

Ok I swear Dan and I are good parents... (and I will keep repeating this until I believe it!!) if anyone were to only read this post and the one just before it, I'm pretty sure Dyfus would be a-knockin' on our door! Last week ON DAN'S WATCH (just wanted that to be clear) Charlie fell down the stairs. Now this sounds terrible in itself, but just so you know the severity of it, we do not have carpeting and we live in a bi-level so that is 6 steps of hard, solid, wood that my poor girl fell down.  This is how it went down (no pun intended):

I walked in the door from work looking forward to hugging and kissing my babe like I haven't seen her in years (11 hours is a LONG time) Usually Dan has her waiting at the top of the stairs holding her has her arms are stretched forward, reaching for her mama... not that day. As soon as I rounded the corner Dan picked her up and turned her around. This is how the convo went:
Dan: I don't want to fight, maybe you should sit down

Me: Huh? (I was confused why Dan wouldn't give her up!!)

Dan: She fell down the stairs BUT she cried right away and I checked to make sure nothing was broken and her eyes are responding to light and her teeth are fine and she drank her bottle and she only cried for a minute and she is walking around her like nothing happened and.. (he just went on and on and on, mind you I was still on the 'she fell down the stairs part' so I heard none of this)

Me: Back up... how did this happen????

Dan: Well you told me I had to clean (sneaky-deeky trying to make it MY fault!), so the dogs and I went downstairs to get something and the next thing I heard was 'thump, thump, thump...'

My heart broke! Ooohhh the pangs of motherhood... I'm pretty sure I could have gotten sick over the visual. The guilt ridden thoughts were pouring in "I knew we should have put up the gate this weekend". "This would have never happened if I were home". "I should have told him to bring her downstairs if he went down" (i know this last one sounds ridiculous, but seriously any mother will attest to the craziness that goes on within your mind)

Dan: seeing the whirlwind that was undoubtedly going on in my head... "SHE'S FINE, SUSAN. SHE'S FINE, SUSAN. SHE'S FINE, SUSAN. SEE LOOK! SHE'S FINE.

I'm not sure if Dan was nervous because of what happened or if he was nervous to tell me... but Thank God Charlie is totally fine :) I didn't sleep a wink that night for fear she would fall into a coma or who knows what else my imagination was conjuring up! Needless to say, the VERY next day Dan's dad came over and installed the gate :)

Since this happened, it has come up a few times and it is amazing how many other kids fell down the stairs... 'So and so fell down the stairs as a baby and he/she is fine'... it's like it is a rite of passage! Haha well, I can joke now because with the exception of a little cute on her lip she was/is a-ok.

Harry Potter

So Sunday morning Charlie and I were laying in bed... well really I was trying to get a few more winks in while she was mesmerized by the ceiling fan... and Eska decided she wanted to be pet. Well, usually Eska is aware of and is careful to avoid Charlie... not Sunday morning. She gave charlie 'paw', but charlie did not understand this was code for catch my paw and pet me.  Eska's paw landed right on poor Charlie's face, leaving a scratch on her forehead that resembles Harry Potter's scar.  Charlie really didn't cry.. I think she was more in shock! (as was I). We had to go to shoprite later that day... there was a new judge lurking around every corner, in every aisle! The usual 'AW SHE'S SO GORGEOUS!' (to which I usually follow up with just like her mommy, haha!) Turned into 'AW SHE'S SOO... yikes! what happened to her head???'. Gosh, I felt like the world's worst mom. I didn't know how to respond... should I tell the truth and get double judged, provoking the "why were you not supervising your baby and dog, you heathen!". Or should I go with the trusty 'she fell. She is trying to walk!'. While the latter portion is true... I just couldn't bring myself to lie. I mean after all, why do I care what these shoprite-sunday-shoppers think about me. So with my head held high I explained the WHOLE story, to which I'm sure they were immediately sorry they asked!! Yes, I did receive the 'wow, you are a terrible mother look', but after a few bottles of wine, I didn't seem to care anymore! haha I'm just kidding. Here is a pic of the my poor girl...

and for those of you who haven't seen any of the Harry Potter movies...

Dancing Queen.MP4

When Charlie was little we used to joke that we hope she gets my rhythm and Dan's athleticism.  If by some terrible stroke of bad (read catastrophic) luck she gets the reverse (mom's athleticism and dad's rhythm) I fear she will be that awkward child everyone teases... The good news is Charlie loves to get her groove on.. She has dance fever! As soon as she hears some music she starts bopping away. I always joke that she must have Dan's dance moves, BUT there is hope!! Notice towards the end of the video when the song says 'stomp our feet' my genius child stomps her feet!! I'm sure it was just a coincidence, but still it's pretty cute :)

Yea, I'm THAT Mom!

FACTS: Charlie is and has been an extremely healthy baby.  Charlie has been to the doctor more times than most 'sickly' children because she has a neurotic mother.

Before ever having Charlie, I would watch other people's child-rearing methods and make mental notes saying "I will NEVER do that!" or "ugh! they are nuts"! I know it's mean, but c'mon you know you've done it too!! Picture a screaming child in a restaurant... you know the "If that were my kid, I would..." has run through your mind a time or two! Anyway, I find it both hilarious and humbling that most of the "I would NEVER's" have now become "I have done that!" Of particular note, I would see these mother's catering to their child's every whim... baby: *cough* *cough*  mom: Are you ok? Do you have a temperature? I need to make an appt with the dr, you feel warm. B.C. (before Charlie) my response to this would have been 'Geez! Give me a break! he/she is FINE!' I guess it's true what they say... until you walk a mile in someone else's shoes... So! prior to this post, Charlie has only had one fever... about 100º and turns out she had a TERRIBLE ear infection :-( (See post I'm out of the running for the mother of the year award). Dr. Chi said there is a strong likelihood little miss will have another one before she turns 1 year. Well, since telling me that, Charlie no sooner itches her ear or gives her earlobe a tug and she is sitting on the table at Dr. Chi's! Yes, I am that mom. On thurs, Dan calls me at work telling me Charlie feels 'warm' and is acting lethargic and clingy. Now, Dan is the antithesis of an alarmist... his warm = on fire. Trying to stay calm I asked if he could take her temp... she was 102.5º. It took every bit of restraint I had not to flee from my desk and drive home without stopping at a single stop sign or light! I called her Dr. and the receptionist said to give it 24 hrs and give her Tylenol in the meantime. NOW! J&J tylenol was recalled and all the 'good moms' out there ran out and grabbed all the generic acetaminophen off the shelves, leaving NOTHING for me and my fellow procrastinators. Knowing I had such trouble finding it for the last fever, I asked if I could substitute with anything else or worse, what to do if I couldn't find any (she was prob thinking... yea, Susan Russell, I knew that name rang a bell... while you are out getting Tylenol, pick up a chill pill!) I called several pharmacies and found it! Phew! After walking in the door and took one look at Charlie, I called the Dr... AGAIN! ha! I mean, just writing this makes me embarrassed! Charlie was completely flushed, BURNING hot (temp of 103.5º now) and was panting. Now going back to fact #1, I have little experience with any sickness... which further compounds fact #2! I insisted the Dr. see Charlie 1st thing in the morning... Charlie had a ROUGH night, but the fever finally broke around 3:00 AM and she fell asleep. Dan took her to the Dr's in the morning.. (it was my b-day and I was treating myself to a boot camp class... phenomenal btw http://www.backtofitness.org/) and I knew Dan could handle it! Dr. Chi said everything was clear and wanted to send her for blood work just in case... turns out it was viral and Charlie is back to be being a happy babe! And YOU were so worried... hehe

Charlie's BFF

Notice this post is not titled "Kayla's BFF". Charlie loves her friend Kayla Grace, but the jury is still out if these feelings are mutual! haha The pics suggest that KG doesn't share the same enthusiasm for CG, BUT it was late and past both of their bedtimes... Charlie is like her mommy and gets wound up before she crashes! Kayla and Charlie had a great time when Kayla's Grandma and Grandpa watched the two of them while Me, Dan, Tom and Nicole (Kayla's parents) went out for dinner! It as so sweet of them to watch our little miss... Kayla's grandma is basically the baby whisperer because somehow she managed both beauties seemingly effortlessly! We love you Mrs. McDonough!! Thank you again for letting us have a 'play date'!! It was long overdue... we miss our vacation buddies!

Anne does it again...

The weather faked us out yesterday! It poured all day until about an hour before we were scheduled to meet for Cha-Cha's photo shoot!! Talk about timing :) We wanted to capture this little phase before my little girl is up walking and running away!! Check her out if you haven't already www.anneconstance.com She is simply the best! Here is a little preview of the shoot I snatched off of Anne's blog...

I'm 10 months!!

Time is flying! It is almost a little sad... I can't believe my little girl will be one in just 2 short months! YIKES! Must. start. party. planning.