Patience is a funny thing, isn’t it? Truly hard to come by. I pray for it ALL the time. Patience in regards to our hopeful move, patience in regards to our living space, patience in feeling stuck in this “newborn” phase… Colossians 1:11 states, “…being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience…” Does that mean that God is strengthening us as we seek to be patient? I learned that lesson this week. Although Ella has been “sleeping through the night (or STTN as the online community says)” since 6 weeks, (which you know means 6 hours), and has gradually stretched her time, I am so ready to have some normalcy around here again! Every night this week I have been pouring over her schedule, trying to figure out a way to get her to drop that last feeding of the day so she goes to bed when Charlie does. We tried it cold turkey. She woke up at 4:30 am, screaming for food. I kept thinking, “She’s never going to do this”, keeping in mind she’s not even 3 months old yet, and according to Babywise (the method we use) dropping that feeding usually occurs around 3ish months. I called my Mom (Mimi) and told her how frustrated I was and why couldn’t she just drop it already, and yada, yada, yada…she wisely reminded me of a few things:1. Ella has been in the world for just over 12 weeks. Give the girl some slack! She’ll do it when she’s ready.2. Give myself some slack! Be gracious to myself. Let it go.And you know what happened after I realized how impatient I was being? Two nights ago we couldn’t wake Ella up for her 9:30 feed for the life of us. So we put her back down, and she slept until 6:30 am. Last night, after we fed her at 7:30 pm, we put her down. She slept until 7 this morning. She did it, on her own time, not mine. We’ll most likely take steps backwards before we continue moving forwards, but little E taught me a lot this week about letting go…and letting God work. 11 hours! For those of you that have kids, you KNOW how amazing and life-giving sleep can be!!For those of you interested in sleep training, or going through it right now, you have to check out this awesome Babywise blog:http://babywisemom.blogspot.com/I don’t know HOW this mom has the time or the energy to keep this blog updated and current, but it is seriously the most amazing site. She’s answered almost every question there is about sleep training…

What a crazy week! In my zest for being out of the house, I’m afraid I overscheduled us. Monday Becky watched both girls for me so I could go to the eye doctor, which you know is an amazing gift, being out and about solo. Charlie always loves spending time at the Petkus house, and with all the boys in school she gets one on one time with the Petkus girl, Sammy, who just turned 3. The picture below is of the boys “holding” Baby Ella. It’s hard to believe that 2 1/2 years ago they were doing the same thing to Charlie!

Tuesday was mom’s group and yesterday we hung out with Ms. Kim all morning at her house. Charlie and Emi had a ball chasing each other and playing hide and seek. For two high energy toddlers, they always play so well together. Ella ate and slept well (gotta love newborn portability), so I was able to visit and drink coffee, my two favorite things.

Today we walked over to Ms. Liz’s house to play and again I got to visit and drink coffee while Charlie and Lauren reenacted “Cars” and ate snacks, two of their very favorite things. It is always great spending time with friends, and I am really blessed to be walking through motherhood with about 50 other young moms, some with 4 kids, and some with 1. I know that I will always look back on this time and appreciate it for how special it is!!

On our walk home from Liz’s I realized that I don’t really have my stroller system down yet. My options have been:

1. Double Jogger
2. Baby in Graco, Charlie walking beside
3. Baby in Ergo carrier, Charlie in umbrella stroller

Today I tried Option #3. Turns out it’s really difficult to bend down and strap your squirming toddler into her stroller with a baby on your chest. I thought I was pretty close to snapping my newborn’s neck, that’s how clumsy the whole thing was. Option #1 is too wide to fit through the outside door of our “vintage” (read: old) apartment, so it’s a lot of work and will be better suited for the spring and summer and for walking and jogging, which is really why we bought it in the first place. I call it my “garage” stroller, that will be wonderful when we have a house and a place to store it. Option #2 just takes too stinkin’ long. If I wait on Charlie, it will be dinnertime by the time we get there.

So, practice makes perfect. I’m sure I will get it eventually. Who knew that it would take me 45 minutes to make it four blocks? Ms. Liz probably thinks we are crazy. 😉

At any rate, by the time we (slowly) made it home, Charlie was having a fit and I was about ready to call social services and have her hauled away. It is always worth it to be at our destination…but getting there is a lot of work. Lesson learned: I need to make sure I have some days at home as well.

It’s such a shame we don’t have more space because I would love to be hosting playdates here!! To all my sweet friends who host us, I would love to be returning the favor. Know that we appreciate you sharing your toys and coffee with us…

I am madly in love with Charlie’s new winter coat (she outgrew the one she’d been wearing) by Me Too. Found it heavily marked down at Little Threads in Roscoe Village. Vann said it’s an “explosion of color”. Yay, color! The dress and tights are both from eBay, babygap’s “Crazy Stripes” line from a few years back. Love it!!

(Ignore the runny nose and disheveled hair…so hard to have a cute ‘do in the winter with all the hat-wearing that’s required!)

Hard to believe, isn’t it? Technically speaking, 12 weeks marks the end of the “newborn” phase. Pretty soon, Baby Ella will be laughing out loud, propping up on her hands, and taking fewer (but longer) naps during the day. What has seemed at once like an eternity but also a blink, she’s actually turning into a little person.

I prayed that with Ella I would enjoy the “newborn” phase more than I did with Charlie. I can’t say that I’ve “enjoyed” it more, but I sure have “felt” it more than the first time. What is that saying?? “The days are long but the years are short…” This definitely rings true for these past few months.In the past three months we have absolutely outgrown our space. We jokingly refer to our bedroom as “The Obstacle Course”. The pack n’ play I set up back there (for an extra sleeping space) has become a breeding ground for clothes that need to be put away. Our kitchen counter is littered with bottle parts and our pantry is jam-packed with diapers in two sizes and miscellaneous baby and Charlie things. We are so anxious to have our “own” space, which would technically be classified as a “room with a door we can close”.In another three months, Ella will be sitting up and rolling over. She’ll be eating solids. Charlie will most likely be on the road to our next joyous milestone: potty training. The landscape of our lives will most likely look very different. So, as I celebrate Ella’s milestone for today, I’m cautiously optimistic about what the future holds. I’m praying for faithfulness, I’m praying for contentment, and I’m praying for peace in my heart. Happy 12 weeks, baby of mine!

I had to jump online and share these pics of Baby Ella in her new duds, gifted by one of Vann’s very kind colleagues. Despite all the sickness, we’ve had a truly sweet weekend at home as a family. Ella is still pretty congested and it is SO hard hearing her struggle…so I’m hoping she’ll be on the road to recovery in the next few days.

I’m so excited because the family pastor at our church is squeezing Ella in for the baby dedication this coming weekend. They were full, but because we don’t know our plans for the future and really wanted her dedicated at Park, we were able to get her in under the gun. Dedication is pretty simple: we publicly acknowledge as parents that we’ll raise Ella in a Christ-centered home. It’s an awesome celebration and we couldn’t be happier she’ll be dedicated where her big sister was as well. Now, to figure out what she’ll wear… 😉