Charlie and the Great Bouncy Seat

Charlie loves her bouncy seat. It plays music and even has a monkey and frog that move back and forth beside a waterfall that lights up! After all, who wouldn't love that??

Here's a short clip of her cooing and kicking to the beat of the music. We took this video the day after Thanksgiving, and she had lots of energy. Warning: this video may cause intense joy and has a high "cute" factor.

Spa Treatment

Somebody looooves bath time. I won't say any names, but her initials are Charlie Hardin! We always have such a fun time giving Charlie a bath at night. In the beginning, when she was just a little thang, she would feel the water on her little skin and just cry the whole time. But now, she's such a big girl.

When the warm water hits her, she just looks up at us and grins. We bought this little tub with a unit attached that has a shower sprayer. It's called a "spa treatment" tub, because it also has this pump that when you press a button, it makes a whirlpool motion. Yeah, we know, she's spoiled rotten.


We had to stop using the whirlpool, because our future soccer player loves to kick her legs as hard as humanly possible and with the whirlpool on, water seems to splash all over Kyri and me. Come to think of it, maybe that's why she grins so much during bath time.

I Miss My Family

Charlie is really missing her family who moved way up there to Arkansas. See how upset she was when they held her for the first time? She had found out they were moving and begged them not to go.















But she understands that it's for the best and can't wait to see them over Thanksgiving and Christmas! She especially loved it when her big cousin Kylie held her so sweetly in her arms. Someday they're gonna have a lot of fun playing together.















But for now Charlie is learning so much. She is being very good to her Mommy and Daddy and even gives them a smile and a coo every now and again. And she's waiting patiently to see her wonderful family the next time they come down.

Fan of the Fan

Charlie is growing up fast and learning all kinds of tricks. Her latest - she apparently is a fan... of the fan! It seems that whenever Kyri or I hold her, inevitably she winds up staring up at the ceiling fan. Why? I dunno! I guess that's just what she's into these days. Whether it is in the living room, or our bedroom, the fan apparently is a big part in our sweet little daughter's life. You gotta admit, there is something pretty amazing about a big four armed creature that lights up and hangs down from the ceiling staring down at the world.

This first month has gone by so fast. Charlie is one month old and I can still hardly believe she is actually here. The past month has been challenging as first time parents, but we are all learning about each other and our challenges are getting easier and easier. Everytime I feel overwhelmed, all I have to do is look at that small little sweet face, and those big grey eyes and my heart melts and I know it's all worth it.

The first week home, Jeff stayed home from work, and my Mom came over to help out for a few days. We were taking shifts to watch Charlie while the others slept, which took its toll pretty fast on us. I remember thinking "How in the world am I still awake?". I guess my adrenaline was in overdrive. The second week Jeff went back to work, and my Mom came over every day to help me out. I couldn't have done it without her. The third week, Dad came over during the afternoons to give me a sleep break. I never knew how much I valued a good nap. This week I have a few days alone at it, and I feel so much more comfortable. Charlie is such a good baby. She has made it really easy on me.

I would like to say Thank You to my Mom, and all the Mom's out there. It is a hard job, especially in the beginning. Thanks Mom, for being patient, changing my diapers, loving me, and helping me grow into what I am today. Going through this experience has given me a new respect for all the Mom's I know. God Bless You All.

Jeff is such a great dad. Everytime I get overwhelmed or discouraged he is right there supporting me and letting me know we will get it all worked out together. He comes home from work and jumps right in, giving me a break. He is so good with Charlie. She is a lucky little girl to have such a great Daddy.

I am signing off for today, but will write more soon. Hopefully in the next few weeks we'll have more to report about what Charlie is up to. Right now it's just S.E.P. (Sleep Eat and Poop) ;)

Hello World!

Well, she made it! Charlie Shay is still adjusting to life outside the womb, but overall she is being such a trooper and helping out Mommy and Daddy by eating well and getting lots of sleep. I must say the birthing process was quite an ordeal but we all made it through okay.

We checked into Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas last Wednesday night and the anticipation of what was about to happen the next day was pretty daunting to us. Kyri was understandibly quite nervous about all of the things that were going to be happening to her body over the next day or so. I was just nervous about Kyri and Charlie making it through the process without any complications. Neither of us slept well that night as we knew that in just hours something magical and scary and exciting was going to take place.


That night, it seemed as if every member of the hospital staff came into our room one after another and was charged with the task of either poking, proding, or pricking Kyri's body. We understood it was necessary, but made it difficult to get some rest before our big day. Early Thursday morning, the nurse came in and administered the Pitocin drip that would start the whole process. It was then that it started to hit us both that Charlie was about to enter into this world!

Thursday morning would be a time of just waiting for the medicine to do its stuff and get the birthing process started. We waited and waited, then waited some more. A few hours went by and Kyri's body was responding, but ever so slowly. It was at this time that our parents made their way to the hospital so they could be there when all the excitement happened. Kyri was dialated to a 4, far from the 10 she needed to be for the baby to start moving toward the exits, so I did the most logical thing I could think to do - go grab some breakfast from the cafe. It had been a long sleepless night - okay, so I slept a few hours while Kyri was up most of the night. But regardless, I was hungry. Poor Kyri had not eaten since dinner Wednesday night and would not be allowed anything but a couple of ice chips until after the birth (yum, ice chips!).

As I chowed down on my egg croissant and visited with family, I tried to update them on the ETA for our little bundle. Nurses were estimating that Charlie would arrive sometime in the evening. The rule of thumb we were given was that Kyri would dilate about a centimeter per hour and since she is a first time Mommy, she might need to push for somewhere around 3 hours. So being a math genius, I estimated we would be holding little Charlie at around 8pm. It would be such a long day.

After finishing my breakfast and strolling back into the labor and delivery room, I tried to think of how we would get through such a long day. As I moseyed back into the room, I was greeted with the latest status - Kyri had gone from a 4 to a 7 in the span of one hour. She was almost there! Within only one more hour, she would begin the process of pushing the baby out.


Complete and utter joy is the only way to describe how we felt when we saw our little girl come into this world. Tears filled our eyes and we could not believe she was here. I'll never forget that moment as long as I live. Charlie was now out and lying in our arms and would be our responsibility for many years to come. It was joyful and overwhelming all at the same time.

We spent two more nights in the hospital under the watchful eyes of trained hospital staff. Yet we decided it was time for us to step up and keep Charlie in our room instead of opting to let her stay in the nursery. I don't think I've ever missed sleep so much than during those two days. I remember at one point pleading with Kyri to let the nurses take her so we could get some sleep as it had been 48 hours since either of us had really slept. But Kyri was a determined Mommy and insisted we needed to take the pain and figure out how to watch after Charlie ourselves. I knew deep down she was right, but my eyes were as heavy as Donald Trump's wallet.



Our first big scare came when Charlie spit up a little. I must admit my biggest fear has always been of a baby choking so I was already on Level Orange Alert. As we saw Charlie spit up a tiny bit, I being the over protective Daddy, sprang from my seat and jumped into action to save the day. I grabbed Charlie as I had learned to do in our Baby preparation class a month ago, and decided she would not choke on my watch! Little did I realize that Charlie was fine and not choking at all. But not realizing that at the time, I whisked her up with both hands and clumsily slammed her head into my shoulder in an attempt to pat her back in a burping type maneuver. Had Kyri's eyes been equipped with lasers, I would have been dead on the spot. So in an effort to redeem myself I did the only other thing I could think of - I pulled her toward my shoulder a second time in an effort to "burp" her, this time crashing her head once more into my chest. The good news is, Charlie was fine and did not choke, nor was she injured from my less than stellar moves. The bad news is, I received quite a disapproval from Kyri as I believe her message to me was something to the effect of "If I didn't calm down and hand her the baby I was going to be in a lot of trouble." It was then that I realized that Kyri was more calm in a crisis than I was.

Showers and Presents and Cake....Oh My!

Well, tonight was our very first baby shower, given to us (and Charlie) by our extremely generous and loving family. I personally have always loathed showers, what with the fancy fingerfoods and watching someone else spend all evening open more gifts than they can cram into their vehicle. But when it comes to having one thrown in my general direction, it's quite amazing just how nice it can be! We were blown away by all of the gifts we (and Charlie) received ranging from onesies to bassinets! My, how many things such a tiny baby requires! I think little Charlie is going to LOVE all of her clothes, toys, and places in which to lie. Or is it lay? Either way, she's going to be spending a lot of time sleeping, bathing, and playing in them.

The most interesting part of the evening was the very first "party game" that was decided upon. We all love these party games, don't we? You know, the ones where it's fun to humiliate someone for whom the party is thrown? It usually includes a blindfold or an embarassing story from their childhood. Apparently Karma decided that if I was planning on one day feeding my innocent baby girl nasty - yet nutritional - baby food, I too must endure the foul stench and unbelievably bland and disgusting flavors that corporate America has decided is humane enough to feed our tiny tots. Although quite mortified by this "fun" and "entertaining" adventure, there was a silver lining to be found. Now I can truly empathize with young baby as I feed her a medley of mashed carrots, squishy peas, gooey bananas and she returns the favor with puckered lips, squinted eyes, and a look towards me that says, "Why, Father?? Why??

Kyri and I are so excited and can hardly wait to see and hold our little bundle of joy. Thanks to our incredible family who have made it known to us and all the world that Charlie will always have a family that loves her more than she could ever imagine. Thanks also to Traci who created this unbelievably professional looking blog for us to write in. Keep up the good work sis!

Check out pictures of the shower if you get a chance at http://www.flickr.com/photos/jhardin73

Welcome to our new blog - All about Charlie