The Dowds.

Grandpa and Grandma Dowd came to visit this weekend.  They came on Friday night and stayed through Sunday afternoon.  We took them to two of our local breweries, a lot of different restaurants, and gave them a tour of the city.  We had to do a trip to our favorite liquor store and to Trops (the college hangout that has premixed drinks like Jungle Juice, Long Island Ice Tea, and Rum Runner).  We spent a lot of time watching the Olympics and hanging out with Charlie.  It is so nice to have a guest room where people can come and stay with us.  It is one of our favorite things about our house!

5 months.

Charlie is 5 months today!  She has really gotten good at sitting up by herself or with the help of the boppy.  She loves helping us feed her bottles, likes grabbing at Chloe, and still loves mirrors.  I couldn't resist buying some baby food and sippy cups at Target this week.

I have been working on the final touches of her room and will have pictures soon of the finished product.  We are adding a big C over her crib, a chandelier, and painting a dresser to match the rest of the decor.

Flat Branch Park.

It has been so hot outside that we have been stuck in our house for the past couple of weeks.  Paul was on call this weekend so Charlie and I went out looking for places to play.  We found a park downtown that has sprinklers to play in.  She was unsure at first but loved to watch the other kids play and warmed up to it.

First Meal.

We thought that Charlie was looking a little too skinny so we attempted to feed her her first meal tonight.  It was watery rice cereal and didn't look very appetizing.  She liked the process of sitting in her bumbo and being fed a lot more than the actual food.  No clean plate club for her.

BFF's.

Charlie's new favorites.

18 lb, 10 oz.

This is what a sick 18 pound baby looks like.  We waited for about 5 days of fever and runny nose to finally take her to the doctor, and she doesn't have anything wrong with her.  First time parents!  She has gone back to waking up in the middle of the night (which she hasn't done since the first month) and being pretty fussy.  I never knew why moms thought that babies were so tough but have figured out this week that a colicky baby would have been a completely different experience than what we had with Charlie.  It just reinforces that how lucky we are!

The 4th.

Grandma Dowd would be so proud.  Paul has the day off today so we are going to sit around in the a.c. and listen to God Bless the U.S.A.