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… 😉
My sweet girls.
I’m afraid Ella has fallen victim to the cough and cold monster. We’ve elevated her mattress, given her a vapor bath, and sent her through the roof with the bulb syringe…and the poor thing still sounds like she needs a prescription for anti-snoring medicine.
This isn’t the half of it though, because yesterday I got the “trifecta” of baby blessings. While feeding her a bottle in the early afternoon, as I was enjoying my DVR’d “Real Housewives of Orange County” episodes, she decided she’d had a little too much and promptly spit up on me…and I’m not just talking about a little spit-up…it covered me, my clothes, and everything in the vicinity. After I recovered from the shock, I stripped off my curdled milk clothes and dunked her in a bath. I bathed and towelled her little peanut self and placed her on the changing table, and JUST at the moment I was grabbing a diaper, she peed on me. And not just a little pee, but a GEYSER of pee.
After I recovered from the shock of THAT, I promptly called Ms. Lauren to see if this kind of behavior sounded like a stomach bug (please Lord, no) and when I hung up the phone with Lauren I took her temp (which you know makes babies feel the need to…you know) AAANNNDDD you guessed it, she pooped on me. And not just a little poo, but a MOUNTAIN of poo.
You would think that after such a collection of episodes I might need a stiff drink. Lucky for me, I had a bottle of Pinot Noir just waiting to be uncorked. And so I did. Needless to say, little E gave me a run for my money. And no, these things don’t get any easier…seasoned Mom? Ha! How about “Seasoned Purveyor of Infant Bodily Functions”?
* A phrase so hilariously coined by Auntie Em, who has seen it all…
After 10 days of a horrible hacking cough/cold nightmare, I thought I was on the upswing…until I woke up with the yuck again this morning. Seriously?? Is it possible to just keep giving it back and forth to each other?? Thankfully, Vann has escaped the crud, but poor Charlie woke up coughing Tuesday morning and has been sick ever since.
It’s probably a good week to be sick (if there is such a thing), as it’s literally 10 degrees outside today and just so brutally cold. However, entertaining a very active toddler with extreme cabin fever is becoming really challenging. I had to cancel our playdates and stay home from mom’s group this week, which really stinks, so it’s on me to keep her entertained…which you know most likely means lots of TV and lots of bribery.
Thank goodness for good friends…Ms. Kim has offered me the option of “sharing” her sitter on Wednesday mornings, so starting on the 10th I’ll get to drop Charlie off at Emi’s house to play from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm, which will give Ella and I time to run errands and spend a little time together. (A little time with Ella means she sleeps and I shop, thank the Lord for newborn portability…)
And speaking of my girl Ella…well, she’s really pretty cute these days. She still fusses in the evenings…but she’s starting to really open up to the world and she’s been smiling and cooing quite a bit, which is just so rewarding after all of the hard nights. She’s still going from 10 pm to about 7 am…but we’ve begun the process of moving her back gradually in the hopes she’ll be a 7 to 7 girl soon. We unswaddled her for the first time and she slept the whole night! She’s found her hands and often has her fist in her mouth.
Next week also marks my return to the gym after a long absence, and I’m ready. My incision is healed and I’m anxious to be active again. Breastfeeding has done wonders for losing the baby weight, but now I’d love to really tone it up and our trip to Scottsdale in March is a great goal! I’ve asked my sweet husband for a round of training with my girl Tamme for my (gulp) 32nd birthday. 32??? Really??
And as for our hopeful move to Texas, there are definitely some great things on the horizon. Please pray that we would be watchful and faithful and able to make good decisions. God is good!!
I was just talking to Mimi today about closet space. It’s no secret we have way more clothes than closets here in the Bischoff house…and a big, beautiful walk-in closet is my biggest must-have in a future house. When we first had Charlie I kept her bins of clothes pretty well organized…labeled by age, etc…but over the past year infant odds and ends have been mixed in with my spring/summer stuff and now it’s all just a big mess of rubbermaids down there. Whenever we do end up moving, it’s going to take me DAYS, maybe WEEKS to get it all sorted out.
All of that to say, I’m sure I’ve forgotten about the surplus of smocked dresses I have hanging at the very top of my (and Charlie’s) closet (which is so high up I have to use a ladder to reach anything). I’m quite certain that there are many options for Easter. I’m definite that most of it will still fit Charlie this summer.
But then I ran across this sweet thang and it just has to come home to me:
This little ditty was a hand-me-down from Charlie’s cousin, Dali, and I’m ashamed to say this is the first time we’ve tried it on. Appropriate for football season, no??
