Sweeter than our Easter candy...

We had the cutest little bunnies in town this Easter, even if I'm a little late posting their photos.

We were excited to have Katie join in the photos this time. At four and a half (a big distinction for her), she is spunky and full of life.

 

She loves to make up songs and has a knack for rhyming on the spot, a skill that seemed easy until I recently tried to make up a song with her.

Katie is learning to tumble in classes at Little Gym, and she recently performed her second Indian dance. Although she didn't know what the words to the song meant, she learned them all and loved singing while she danced. She also had a great time getting dressed up with necklaces, jingling anklets, bangle bracelets and even jewelry in her hair. Click here for a video of her dance today.

Katie continues to be Charlie's greatest friend. The best part of my day is when Charlie and I wake her up and they share a few sweet minutes of cuddle/playtime. I also love hearing her sing to him in the baby monitor. He loves to watch and play with Katie, and she can always get a giggle by dancing or jumping up and down for him.

 

Charlie, meanwhile, continues to be his sweet, happy little self. He and I recently started a mommy and me class at Little Gym, and it was such fun to see his joy at being around the other babies. Plus, it was a great workout for both of us!
 

 

One last note for this month - boy clothes are so much fun! We've had a blast dressing him up in cute little outfits, thanks to our generous family and friends. Katie picks his clothes each day, and while this can be hit or miss, he easily charms us, whatever he's wearing.

Charlie is 1/4 year old!

The past four weeks have been big for Charlie, who's also getting bigger himself. At three months, he weighs in at 12 lbs, 10 oz. and 24.5 inches long. We just moved him into 3-6 month clothes, and it's fun to have a fresh new wardrobe with a little more room! Katie just celebrated her half-birthday and was interested to hear that her brother is now one-quarter of a year old.

Much to our delight -- and his -- Charlie has started laughing. His first laugh came playing peek-a-boo with Anne. We haven't found anything that reliably makes him giggle yet, but past activities that have tickled his funny bone have included Katie blowing on the monsters on his mobile and Sriyesh pulling on the vibrating frog attached to his car seat. Sriyesh caught the latter on the video below:

Charlie also has increasing dexterity with his hands. Rather than swatting at the animals on his car seat or bouncy chair, he can now touch and hold them in his hands, and he spends a lot of time examining them and trying to get them to his mouth. He also likes taking his pacifier out of his mouth - if only we could teach him to put it back in!

Finally, he's figuring out tummy time. Once Anne showed him what he was supposed to do by lifting his shoulders, he's been a champ and gains more strength every time. What's funny, though, is that usually he chooses not to push up on his arms, but instead to lift his arms off the mat and look around like he's flying.

Katie, meanwhile, is still enamored of her little brother and is ready for more little siblings. She prayed for Charlie and takes full credit for him. She recently asked when Charlie would be a big brother, and I told her that it would only be if we had another baby, which wasn't likely. She grinned and said, "Not if I have anything to do with it! You and Daddy have to hope that I forget to pray for another baby." Fingers crossed!

A few more photos from our three-month-photo shoot today:

Our smiley boy at two months

Charlie continues to charm us with his sweet and laid-back personality and sunny disposition. He has become quite a little smiler, and his two-month photo shoot was a delight.

 

 

He recently has let us hear a few laughs, as well. Our new goal is to figure out new and replicable ways of making him giggle - what a wonderful sound!

One of his favorite people to smile at is his big sister; he's incredibly patient with all of her affection. She asked me yesterday if Charlie is the cutest baby in town - she sure thinks so! This is her favorite picture from this month.

Katie had her two-month pictures in this little overall outfit (see them here), and it was neat to do a photo shoot of Charlie in the same outfit. They still have quite a resemblance, something Katie is very proud of.

Charlie at one month

We took monthly portraits of Katie during her first year and we loved watching her progress each time. We're hoping to do the same for Charlie, so we went this week to capture him at this moment.

We were so excited to catch some expressions that reflect his cute little personality. Along with some props from the photographer, it turned out to be a successful shoot!

 

 

A few extra holiday photos

In our plan to create a holiday card/birth announcement this year, we took Katie and Charlie back to the portrait studio when he was eight days old. We were able to get some cute shots, even though he slept most of the time.

 

Introducing our little turkey!

The newest member of our family, Charles Fawcett Krishnan, "Charlie," was born on Thanksgiving morning. We gave thanks for his healthy arrival and Anne's short (three-hour) labor. He weighed 7 lbs, 2 oz. and was measured at 19.5 inches long.

Charlie immediately impressed us with his easygoing attitude and his big appetite. He's definitely a growing boy; at almost five weeks, he now weighs in at 9 lbs, 11 oz and 23 inches long! He's now cooing and has started smiling occasionally, too. The photos below are from when he was three days old.
 

Charlie has captured the hearts of our family and friends, especially big sister Katie.

  

Katie is actually the family member he looks most like right now. To compare Charlie with Katie at a similar age, here are her albums at one week, two to three weeks and four to six weeks. (Poor Charlie - he's already getting short shrift as the younger child, but we're trying!)

We were blessed to have Anne's mom stay with us for three weeks again this time, taking care of all of and keeping our home running.

Since Karen returned to Florida, Sriyesh's parents have been absolutely wonderful at taking care of us, as well.

Life goes on with a 4-year-old, particularly at the holiday season. Katie was happy to be able to introduce her little brother to Santa, and he was kind enough to sleep while we put together her gingerbread house this year.

 

Celebrating the holidays also gave us the chance to introduce Charlie to far-flung family, including the Edwards side of the family and his great grandmother.

It was really cute to see them together.

  

Charlie has been a wonderful holiday gift for our family. Best wishes and happy holidays to you and yours!!