Los Porchs

As you may remember, Porch and I packed up & moved to Wisconsin this past winter. What I don't speak much about is that I still commute to Chicago every other week for my seminar sessions as I am in my final months of my internship at Erikson Institute. After I am done with the program, I will be considered a specialist in infants and toddlers. (I know, right?) I am not only grateful for this opportunity because Chicago Public Schools granted me a scholarship, but for many other reasons as well . My course work prepared me to become a mother. I knew everything that was going on in utero and annoyed my ob/gyn with my abundance of knowledge on the topic of pregnancy and fetal development. It was incredibly empowering to be so aware of what baby was doing each week, beyond the snapshot those baby apps provide. I know the developmental milestones to watch for as Charlotte grows & what is considered developmentally appropriate. I know what best practices are & how to adapt

One of Charlotte's favorite places is on the couch, looking outside at the cars & people going by.... she is such an observant little bug & I love it! She doesn't miss a thing. I'm so happy she has something to watch here & I don't feel a need to keep her away from windows like I did in Uptown. It's a whole new world here in Wisconsin! So much to discover this spring...... just have to get the snow to stop falling! :)

Somehow we have found ourselves staring at the calendar, wondering how it can possibly be mid-March. My little Charlie Bug isn't so little, it's staying light outside longer, and we're being taunted with warmer weather (though I'm certain we'll see at least one more snow storm this year). I can't help but feel stressed. My house is a mess. There are piles of boxes in the basement that need my attention. I need to get it together and forge ahead... items need to be sorted & delivered to Goodwill, put away in the garage, or find a home in the basement. For real. I'll post a picture of "before" when I finally roll up my sleeves and get to work.  I love spring cleaning but hate that I am exhausted by the time Charlotte crashes at night. It's not even time that I need, but rather energy. How so people keep their houses nice?! Did I mention we also need to baby proof the house? Stat. I watched Charlotte pull herself up in the pack & play th

These days, our favorite family activity is going for a walk when we get home from work. We've been savoring those extra moments of daylight! It's just a bonus that it's good exercise!

I say this every month and I mean it every month:  I don't know where the past month has gone.  I don't understand how time passes so quickly and in the blink of an eye, I am rocking a nearly-mobile chunk in the glider and gone are the days of rocking a (relatively speaking) itty bitty.  Every day, Charlotte's personality emerges just a little more and we learn who we're workin' with and I am so incredibly thankful for the baby we know and love.  The other night, I was rocking Charlie and looking down at her, sleep-drunkenly thinking about the logistics of how we came to meet this sweet girl.  Of course we had wished for a baby 4 years before we met her, but if that had happened, we wouldn't have had Charlotte.  Because when you think about it, right down to a cellular level, it physically would not have been Charlotte.  It wouldn't have been the exact combination of egg & sperm that brought these cheeks into the world.  Sometimes I thank God for unanswe

Woof.  Today was one of those days that just takes all of your energy and feels like some kind of test to see if you've got what it takes.  I almost didn't have it today.  I was pushed right to the edge of my sanity, so close to the edge that I was able to lean forward and gaze into the abyss. I was able to organize my thoughts and pull myself back and my poop into a group, if you know what I'm sayin'. Thank GOD tomorrow is Friday!  I honestly don't know that I could handle much more than 1 additional day in this work week. I'm ready for the weekend & the chance to relax a bit.

Life with a newborn was exhausting, but I think because we were protected by the haze of it and I wasn't working (though I did go back at 6 weeks), it hurt a little less.  Plus, I was obsessed with watching Charlotte sleep and could readily admit that it was my own damn fault for being tired.  If I had listened and slept when she slept, things may have been easier.  But who can sleep when holding a cheeky baby one has waited 4 years to meet?  Exactly. Charlotte is almost 7 months and better wake up one of these days with teeth.  My sweet, cheeky baby has been sleeping TERRIBLY.  For a while there, we had a great routine:  down at 7, up at 1, back down until 5, sleep until 7:30 when we'd get ready for work.  Lately, it's been ridiculous.  Like, down at 7:30-8:00, up at 12 and then every hour on the hour after that point.  Every night, we reach a certain point where I can't take it any more and just bring her to bed with me so I can nurse her laying down.  The rocking c