Monday, April 16, 2012

4 months, 6 months... what's the difference, really?

So... Miss Chloe is now 4 months old! We survived without Facebook for the ENTIRE 6 weeks and we lived to tell about it. But so much has been going on in the Ross Family these days! Okay, mainly just for Chloe. But...whats wrong with living vicariously through your child? Not a darn thing. And, honestly, shes the one that wants to brag, not me.


So first was Easter. The problem with having a fabulous family who likes to take pictures of everything, is that they always get them up before I do. That's great, fine... except that their pictures are always better than mine. But I'm sharing them anyway because I feel like it.

Passover/Easter weekend was great. We started out celebrating Passover with our Ross Family. Chloe slept through the first night, but celebrated the second night (sort of). Even though we didn't get any great pictures of her either night (except with Great Aunt Lauren, of course), we wanted to document her picture placecard at her first Passover Seder. So proud and blessed to have her with us this year.

Then, the next day we traveled up to Austin to have lunch and decorate eggs with the Murphy Family. Chloe got to hang out in Alisha & Heather's apartment and didn't even poop on the carpet. Not that she's pooped on anyone else's carpet, but still-- we count each and every accomplish in this house. Aunt Alisha bought her a special bib for dying eggs. I would have hated for her to ruin her outfit with the egg dye/vinegar concoction she was drinking... ;)


Then came Easter Sunday. The Easter Bunny did in fact visit our house  (we had to send a special first time visit memo) and he brought all kinds of great stuff for the C-Bomb. She was super excited and wanted to show everyone her loot! (below) Since it's going to be impossible to ever have a good and appropriate family picture unless we're around others, we took turns holding her and capturing the moment. Right after Chloe and I took our picture, we lost the shoes. I've decided I don't like them on babies. Dont worry, the Easter bunny brought her two new pairs. Silly Bunny. 

 The loot and the Easter Lillies that her Daddy bought her. Even though she won't be wearing her yellow espadrilles or gold jellies for a while, they are pretty darn cute anyway. 




 So, just never mind the insane degree of inappropriateness with taking pictures during church service. I really wanted to document her visit time in church and well, decided that during a song would be the best time. Can we pause for a moment and check out the excitement of on my father's face? Riveting song, apparently. Either way, she was a rockstar in church as well. I'm sensing a theme here.

 Then, we headed to Coco and Pops' house to have an Easter Egg Hunt and eat dinner. Wouldn't you know... the Easter Bunny visited them as well! (Mainly b/c I have a deal with the Bunny and Santa to continue to deliver to me until I'm at least 40. We'll see how that goes...) So, Coco & Pops helped her go through her other basket. Good thing the child can already read because we received about 10 new books for Easter.

Okay, so no judging, right? This picture (below) doubled as an adorable Easter picture and a submission to be a Child Model for Gap. 
Ohhhhhh, yes i did! 
 shhhh. don't tell CPS, we really want the scholarship money and a trip to NYC. 
like i said before, ain't nothing wrong with living vicariously through your child. 
 
So Easter was a blast, but then we had the dreaded 4 month appointment. I was told that it was the worst of the worst due to the amount of vaccines they give, but honestly... it was a SUCCESS! She received all of her necessary vaccinations and handled it like a champ. In fact, the only thing she did was sleep for about 14 hours instead of her normal 10. Nobody in this house will complain about that, in fact..you are given Rockstar status. So, congrats to rockstar chloe, you are awesome and you won't get polio. Cheers.

 Rockstar Stats: 
Weight: 16 lbs 7 oz.  (95th percentile)
Length: 24.5 inches (85th percentile) 
Head circumference: I forgot.. but I recall its in the 80th percentile. Basically, its mostly big.

So, in summary.. she's huge. Our sweet doctor, said... "well, she's the size of a 6-month old!" Andrew and I beamed and took that as a compliment, but I'm not sure that's what it was meant to be. But, she's not overweight and she's growing strong and beautiful, so who cares. And the doctor has nothing but great things to report. In fact, I quite like it.

Here she is about an hour after her vaccinations. I cannot imagine why you wouldn't give them all at once, but then again, I received my epidural about 42 seconds after I got to the hospital in labor... we're kind of a fans of the fabulousness of modern medicine. She wanted me to apologize for not putting her bloomers back on.

 And lastly, here are some of her latest pictures taken on or around her 4mth mark:

                         P.S. - that was my old pink dress. it was backless b/c that's how i rolled.


in case you were wondering, she's a big girl now and refuses to take walks in the carseat attached to the other stroller. hmmm. 
can someone say defiant? she can't, geez... she's only 4 months.
 also, i'm quite liking the sideways cape/bib action. 
this is how it usually ends up these days, with a soaked outfit instead. aaahwell, i try.
 my happy, smiley angel.

 mommies new favorite toy.. aka... i can do something for a solid 10 minutes before she's bored. notice the magazines. i don't think she's supposed to enjoy this yet because her feet don't touch. so, we improvised.

here is an example of an outfit i bought a while ago that she never got to wear. 
"but, she's wearing it," you exclaim. well its not able to button in the back. 
off. it. came. 
but, what's the most important part of life? documentation. 
BAM. documented. 

 And this is how she likes to lay when i change her diaper late at night. 
it makes me feel slightly uncomfortable, i'm not gonna lie.


 And here is a picture of us on a walk. i was absolutely insane. i learned you either take the dogs, or the baby. but not both, unless you have back-up. and they have all these 'child safety' rules that make it hard for you to leave the baby and take the dogs. pshhh. 
so,  two seconds after the picture was taken we all almost died. why, you ask? see the dogs? well, they saw a squirrel. and we all know those squirrels are tricky. the dogs tried very hard to take us all up the tree to catch it. i (sorta) won.

 her newest fav... holding her feet and trying to do many other things. mostly, this does not work.
 the bumbo is a hit. goooo bumbo. sorry for the lack of bow. embarrassing, i know.
 so this last weekend, we had a blast at the walk for Autism with the Shute family! thank you, Carter, for inviting us to your walk. Chloe loved being outside and we loved celebrating YOU!






And in late-breaking news, she still sleeps ALL. THE. TIME.

 Also, she's modest and adorable. This is her new favorite way to sit in the bathtub. 
No clue why, but its freaking adorable.
 And a parting shot! My Chloe is such a happy baby. Things are going great and Andrew and I are in LOVE with her.
Peace, Erin

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

And we're mobile!!!!

So this actually occurred last week, but for some reason i have no free time. i've also added some pictures from the past few days/weeks because i've been behind on my blogging.


but... no worries b/c Facebook returns to my life on Sunday 12:01 a.m. and you better believe i'll be on there at that exact moment. nothing has changed, except maybe now i love it more.  aaahwell.

here is the cuteness that now takes up every second of my free time. enjoy..







peace, erin

Friday, March 16, 2012

My, how times have changed.

As times passes and Chloe grows big and strong, I have come to realize things about myself and my new life that CRACK ME UP. The differences between life now and then are absolutely absurd. Do not fret, I have not lost my stupid, five-year old sense of humor. I have merely gained a mommy humor. For example...

what i used to think was funny...

what i now think is funny...
(isn't that just hilarious? she eats her hand and lifts her dress! hilarious)

what i used to do with my spare time...

what i now do in my spare time...
(who doesn't dress their child up in jewelry and take pointless pictures when they get home from work?)

what i used to think was peaceful...

what i now know is peaceful...

the ones that i used to photograph constantly...(sorry, fur babies)...

the one that now can't go a day without a picture taken...

also, back in the day of zeta tau alpha, we used to play a game called "i never"... well, i'd like to amend that game just a bit completely. if you've played the game, god bless you. if you haven't, you're probably a better person than I am.

1. i never think its a good day if, on the first try, i pick out a shirt to wear that doesnt have spit up on it.

2. i never talk baby talk to adults on accident.

3. i never get insanely excited about chloe having a bowel movement. (i also never fist pump when its a really good one after not going for two days.)

4. i never sing random songs in baby voice and make up words to rhyme with 'chloe'. what?????? bedoe, manohoe, and funohoe aren't words? i think you're wrong.

5. i never pass up anthro, ann taylor and nordstrom to head straight to baby gap.

6. i never get excited when i get to sleep until 7 am.

7. i never turn down my favorite song to hear the little neon lion hanging from her car seat play a stupid tune that i have now memorized.

8. i never plan my daughter's first birthday in march.

9. i have never been excited to get home early so i can organize diapers in the new container i bought.

you get the picture.. life has changed. and with any change, there are moments that seem more stressful than they have ever been. but with this particular chloe change, all i can do is say... Thank you, God.

peace, erin

*disclaimer: no alcohol was consumed during the creation of this "I never" list.*

Monday, March 5, 2012

It's amazing...

what you can do with all the free time you have without Facebook in your life. Now, I'm in NO WAY advocating for a Facebook-free life. Let's get that straight right now. But, I have noticed several things about this new life.

1. It goes on. I'm still alive. I have survived without Facebook for almost two weeks now. It's rough at times, I'm not gonna lie. Especially when I started getting "You have notifications waiting" emails. Ughhh. PAINFUL. Or the "you have 9 friends with birthdays this week" emails. I hope I haven't missed any birthdays of friends that would be angry. Sorry, angry friends!

2. I fill my time with things that aren't so, what's the word, embarassing. Chloe and I have been going on more walks, I baked (which also means I burned), the house is cleaner (i.e. time for toilet cleaning) and I'm watching Ellen more. How great is that? She's absolutely hilarious. On a side note, I've decided that I would love to be her neighbor.

3. After much contemplation, I've decided that even though it might be is an addiction I plan on returning to Facebook usage like gangbusters. It will be as if no time has past. Sad? Perhaps. Reality. Yep.


Now on to bigger and better things.. my sweet girl!

Time has been flying lately. She's getting so big it's ridiculous. And this last week we've had a lot of fun firsts! She continues to love almost everything and is still sleeping through the night. Praise little Baby Jesus.

This last weekend she experienced her first (of many) museum trip to see the Darwin exhibit at the Witte. She was an absolute angel while Andrew and I walked around and read for about two hours. Side note... awesome exhibit.

By the time this picture was taken, she was already done reading. Andrew is a bit slower.

Is it sunny, andrew? I can't tell.


She even got her picture taken with the triceratops. (Her request, obviously).

She also spent some time at Coco and Pops (my parents). Have I mentioned Coco is a baby hog? She is absolutely one of Chloe's favorites, but the woman is a baby hog. And its very self-proclaimed. Therefore, this picture of Pops & Chloe was taken during the 20 minutes Coco was gone from the room, showering. Everyone must get their baby time when she leaves the room because if not, you may never know Chloe. Pops was teaching Chloe how to play the piano and it is now one of my favorite pictures.



She also learned how to vacuum. I believe its never too early to put your children to work. In fact, she had just finished sweeping the back porch and cleaning the stove when I took this picture. As I type she's scrubbing the bath tub. She's such a help.


And please note the burp cloth hanging out of my sweet husband's pocket. How amazing/cute/wonderful is he?

She also experienced her first bout with allergies. BIG frowny face on that one. She has been a trooper, but she didn't feel good for about four days. She's still a little congested, but I'm more upset about it than she seems to be. However, she look way cuter sick than most people do healthy. And I'm not biased.




And lastly, she's discovered the mirror. Like mother, like daughter. If I pass a mirror, I have to look in it. Not because I think I look good, but only because I'm obsessed with them. I can never sit in a restaurant across from a mirror because I'll stare at myself and make funny faces rather than listen to whomever is sitting across from me. Vain? Probably.

But, Chloe LOVES her reflection and I do, too.


And one last parting shot of cuteness...chloe watching baby einstein with her bird friend.

***disclaimer***
the baby featured in the last picture did not watch the t.v. for longer than 5 minutes. the mother of said baby knows she's not supposed to put her 3 month old in front of the t.v. until she is two. however, said mother thinks its cute that the baby likes it.


Peace, Erin