Change is the name of the game

Chloe continues to grow everyday! Keeping up with all the changes would be near impossible, but I did decide I should post more pictures which will show you (in a way), what we've been up to.

However, things that you will NOT see a picture of include, but are not limited to:
- her first poop explosion all over mom, the couch, her blanket, two (yes, two) outfits, and three (yes, three diapers).
-the amount of spit up that was accumulating on her car seat until it was recently (getting to it next) cleaned.
-the absolutely beautiful sound of her cooing. i literally have recorded it to listen to it when i'm not with her.
-the poop experience in the bathtub. i'll let that one speak for itself with no further detail...

but here are some captured moments from the ross household lately... needless to say, life is OH so good.

hanging out with pops, being the very happy baby that she is!

learning to coexist/befriend the pups. they have both been excellent with her... as shown by the one and only 'emma'.. aka (the one we were afraid would DISlike chloe the most!)

yes, andrew really took this picture. we are both amazed at the amount of poop this child is capable of producing at a wee 6 weeks of life. she will appreciate hate this picture later.

bath time! she loves it except for the getting out part. however, as a reward for getting out of the tub, we let her use the hair dryer. she LOVES it blowing on her cute little body!

practicing how to be a strong, beautiful girl. i wouldn't have it any other way...

sleeping! we all love it in the house, its just that some of us (ahem, chloe) get to do it WAY more than the other ross family members.

posing for pictures in every single outfit she wears. not kidding.. every...single...one.
sorry, c-bomb, you're just too cute.

SMILING!!!!!!

going for walks. and just for the record, that IS indeed a hat my mom bought her to wear THIS SUMMER. it almost fits now.

more walks. we love them! notice the size of the belly. we also like to eat in this house. ALL of us.

we like to try new things.. such as this carrier. i have yet to buy the moby, but this seemed to work after the initial shock wore off.

did i mention we like to sleep?

but we also like to play! she is just now really interested in her playmat and we spend lots of time talking about the hanging animals and listening to music (of mom's choice). so far, we like the same kind. phew!

getting manicures. she likes putting her hands in water and then getting massages. so does mom.

aaaaaand, after all that, we sleep.

peace, erin

Still waiting for the manual...

As I type Chloe is sleeping resting wiggling around in her cradle during nap time.

It may come as a shock to you, but my child does not like to sit still for long when she knows there are better options. As a result, I've tried three different slings and baby carriers to carry her with me around the house as I do chores. She doesn't like ANY of them! Silly girl thinks chores are more fun than naps. So, I've decided my last attempt will be the Moby. I've heard good things and thus, tomorrow, I'll go get one. But for now, nap time doesn't exist and neither does mommy time. This is problematic for about 45 million reasons.

Okay, wiggling around in her cradle just turned to crying. I'm a sucker for those tears. I'll be right back....

So now Chloe and I are blogging. The point of this blog (well, let's be honest...rarely do they have a point) is to merely vent about how frustrated I am that my mommy manual hasn't arrived yet. Maybe it got lost in the mail. Maybe the hospital forgot my address. As far as I can tell, there are lots of reasons it may have gotten lost... but MAN, don't they know we NEED one?

What do you do when your 11 lb. 5 week old seems to want more to eat after 5 oz. when the doctor says they should be eating 3oz.? How long do you let them cry before your heart actually falls out of your chest? Could my boobs actually burst from hurting so badly?? When do you quit caring about sleep? What is it about 5 am that makes her not want to do anything but cry?

I'm pretty sure the answers are feed them, pick them up, no, never, and who the heck knows. BUT.. what if there is a secret I'm missing? This has led me to believe that its in the manual. And let me tell you, there are times when it seems everyone else has received it. Everyone but me, that is.

Now for the record, I LOVE LOVE LOVE being a mom. But seriously, child, just TELL me and I'll make it happen. And if Chloe was supposed to come with a manual, she forgot to bring it. That's likely... she is my child, afterall.

(As a side note: if any of you with older kids are done with the newborn manual, please send it my way. I need to see if there's some information on babies who fart louder than adults.)

All kidding aside, things are beautiful. Chloe is growing like a weed... no seriously. WEED. She is about to make her way OUT of size one diapers and is most definitely in 3 mth clothing now. She's big, beautiful and the joy of our lives. She's also getting better at sleeping (mostly). We can get 3-4 hours at a time most nights. That's sexy.

She's currently loving:
-her car seat dangle toys
-smiling at mom
-pooping loudly (it literally scares andrew when he's holding her)
-watching the puppies. watching fingers move. watching ANYTHING.
-cooing herself to sleep (super duper cute)
-bathtime
-carrides

She's currently hating:
-diaper changes
-getting her nose cleaned
-mom blowing on her stomach (although i keep doing it because its fun)
-bed time

k. that's the chloe update for the day. i'd put up a picture of her as a month old, but i didn't take one. again, i think had my mommy manual arrived, i would have remembered to do that. perhaps a 5 week old picture will do? k, great. we'll go take one now. but here are some parting shots from the past week when she happened to be four weeks old. :)

sleeping on daddy's shoulder:

sleeping on mom (not sure when this was taken, but its important to document when we are BOTH sleeping!)

all smiles while eating pizza with pops!

hey mom... i DONT FIT! get me outta here! love, chloe

peace,
erin (& chloe)