And Chloe makes three!: Writing from the depths of darkness..

So, some of you may already know, but I have given up Facebook for Lent. I participate in giving something up every year (no, I'm not Catholic.. Methodists do this as well). It's important to me for several reasons. First, I am extremely blessed. And by extremely, I mean this...

EXTREMELY. except in the losing weight department. but, i digress.

so, as a result, i feel that giving up something in my life to put a little extra effort into my relationship with God is a good thing. Does God care if I give something up? Probably not. Does He care if I make it the entire six weeks without said something? Probably not. He knows I adore Him. He knows I am grateful. However, this is my way of doing very little to remind myself just how lucky He has made me.

So... this year has been nothing short of absolutely phenomenal thus far. I have many things to be thankful for. I'm sure you know.. I write about them on (tear) Facebook all the time. So, here's the deal. I felt the need (and desire) to bring out the big guns. For great things, you sacrifice great things. I thought about giving up sweets. I figure its a win-win. I give up something I like, and I lose some poundage. However, then I realized I wanted to try harder. Like I said, I'm REALLY thankful. So, what is one area of life that I {might not} be able to live without? I felt my stomach drop and I knew right away...

It's my friend, and yours...Facebook.

Now, I know what you're thinking. I'm exaggerating. I'm hyping things up for a good read. Nope, I wish I was. I am addicted to Facebook. Completely and utterly addicted. And so, it had to go. And it has, for 48 LONG hours. I kid you not, I've got a countdown until my sweet addiction is back in my life.

So, here's the deal. I'm a nerd. Nothing new there. Some of the time I can hide this from others (but mostly not). However, with the introduction of this new non-Facebook lifestyle I'm sporting, out comes the researcher in me. I immediately began focusing on my thoughts, actions and feelings regarding this decision. Laugh, I know, its ridiculous. But, I find it fascinating that these issues are even issues at all.

Here is what I've noticed over the past two days about myself and my relationship (yep, i said it) to Facebook.

- it has completely changed my morning routine. i used to get up, check Facebook on my phone (birthdays, events, status updates) and then roll over and get out of bed. this is now gone. as a result, i have observed an slight increase in my anxiety level over missing said birthdays, events, and in general, not having a clue what others are up to each day. this fascinates me for several reasons.

1. i could communicate with some of these individuals over the phone, via email or even in person. however, it is not the preferred way to communicate any longer. this is sad.

2. some of these individuals i cannot contact any other way except Facebook. it dawned on me when i needed a babysitter and had no earthly idea how to contact one of my friends other than messaging her. this is also sad.

- it has made it difficult for me to share things about my life (i.e. chloe). this makes me feel out of the loop and bums me out. for example, over the past 48 hours Chloe has started sleeping in her own bed, taken passport pictures and slept through the night for 9 hours straight and visited my office for the first time. all of these things i would normally post on Facebook for others to be informed of, comment, roll their eyes at. i realize this assumes that others care, but we do. i like to know things about my friends' babies as well. its fun. in turn, it has also made me realize i like to be updated on things my friends say and do. my mom has already asked several times if she could tell me about things she's read that she wanted to share. i truly didn't realize how much i rely on it for news and keeping up with my amigos. is this sad? or just a sign of the times? it might be both.

while i realize these things are perhaps a bit, umm, what's the word...pathetic, they are the truth. they have also made me realize that the social media addiction is a very real addiction. does it impair my life? no. do i feel a void when its gone? yes. strangely enough, its a void created by something i didn't know existed several short years ago.

so, there you have it. i'm pathetic. but, i'm pathetically honest.

and i'll leave you with something to chew on: in the last 48 hours i have posted more ~~total pointless nonsense~~ items to pinterest than ever before.

filling a void, are we???

now onto chloe news. here is a photo montage of the past few weeks.enjoy!

we visited a few of the San Antonio missions with our friends, Katie and Sean, from Chicago. Chloe had never been but suggested we take them there to show off the historical side of her hometown. Totally unrelated, we tried chicken friend bacon and ~~felt our arteries clog~~ really enjoyed it. it won't be something we eat regularly, that's for sure. in fact, probably never again. you're welcome, heart.

chloe also helped me move down her crib from upstairs. after waking up yesterday to the crib tilited to the side and her little face wedged in the bumper, i decided she was never sleeping in it again. she's too big and mommy almost had a heart attack. so, i decided her crib would be moved into her downstairs room and she would sleep in it like a big girl. and she did. however, first, she wanted to take a nap in the hallway while i took off the door to fit it in the room. andrew was at work and we did it ourselves. :) crazy, impulsive and strong. that's us.

here she is snoozing, mid move.

sleeping soundly in the middle of the night. i wanted to capture the moment... which can be described as her sweetly sleeping through the night and me, up at 3 a.m. watching the monitor like it was going out of style. i had to laugh at myself.

this is what i woke up to this morning. what a big girl :)

and then we went to get her passport picture taken for our trip to Mexico this summer. adorable... and the fed ex lady verified.

and here are some of the pics from the last few days... enjoy!

hanging out with grandmama (my grandmother) and her pearls.

hanging out with her friend annabelle while watching a little Baby Einstein.

posing in a ridiculously large bow (we didn't leave the house like that, dont worry) and her fiesta onesie. i bought it big for fiesta in two months and look who's already wearing it. everybody knows its cool to wear 3-6 month clothing at 2 1/2 months. pshhh.