Los Porchs

Tonight, Charlotte enjoyed green beans for the first time! She has been playing with her spoons for a while now so she seemed pretty comfortable getting them to her mouth... it was pretty entertaining to watch her get them all over her face with her hands. I'm easily entertained these days.

I feel like since the Cheeks turned 4 months and found her hands, people have been speculating that she's teething  (on account of the drool). Let the record show that drool is not directly correlated to teething; it's a developmental piece from her hands being in her mouth, creating extra saliva. Ok. But I think now we might really be teething. I've heard Charlie make some sounds in the past few days that I've never heard before.  Like save me, Momma, I'm in so much pain cries. I'm curious to see if that irritability continues or if it's something else. Or if she just wakes up one day soon with a toother. Toofer, if you will. Of c ourse you will. Any words of sage wisdom from you, my fine friends who have experienced the call of a teething baby? Xo Momma Porch

Charlotte celebrated the big .5 this weekend by meeting a new friend and then visiting with Nana and Grandpa this afternoon!  We went out for sushi and she was an excellent dinner date!  She was a little fussy when we got there (cried the entire drive from Ashippun to Pewaukee) but did okay when we arrived and she got to sit at the table with us.  The spoon from Grandpa's miso soup was a big hit! It's hard to believe that 6 months have already passed and that in the same amount of time (duh) we'll be celebrating Charlie's 1st Birthday!  I've started giving some thought to how we might celebrate and am so excited that we'll be close enough that family can join us to celebrate!  In the mean time, I am all about this cheeky babe and all of the smiles and raspberries she throws our way!   Charlie loves ... bath time ... Mommy snuggles ... Daddy Blast Off ... Nuby ring ... Gabby the Ghost owl ... sitting up by herself ... having a picnic...

5 months?  What?  How is this possible ?!  We've been so incredibly busy this past month, I can't even fully comprehend it to be honest.  I feel like I struggle to get things accomplished in a timely manner sometimes because I'm busy learning my new job and busy being a kick ass mom.  Laundry just takes a backseat.  ;)  I did make a legit dinner tonight so I feel pretty good about that, but then we had to inhale it to get Charlie into the bathtub before she slipped past the "I'm so tired" zone and into "Fuck this, I'm done" territory.  We nailed it. We had our Mommy Snuggles  and she was out like a light. She's finally getting over this cold/flu bug thing and I'm pretty happy to see her back to her normal self, though I'm fearful that she's now teething.  Perhaps her 6 month update will include a new tooth!  I didn't get teeth until much later but I'm not sure if that's a hereditary thing or just luck of the draw.     ...

I'm still alive.  We've been busy as ever with our recent move to Wisconsin, but we are still kickin'.  We celebrated Christmas while living with my parents so I didn't get to decorate at all and never really got into the holiday spirit, aside from playing Christmas music at work.  It's hard for me to remember to take pictures because I'm usually moving at a ridiculous pace and just trying to savor these moments with my family... we got a few this Christmas, but let's be serious, it'll probably take until the 4th of July to post them & sadly, I probably took them all so there won't be many of me and my Charlie Bug together.  I hate that.  I feel like I'm always taking pictures and never really end up in them.  I don't really get into New Years resolutions, but maybe I should work on capturing more of these firsts and special moments and including myself in the picture.  Yeah, let's go with that.  Because I'm certainly not about to...

I always knew that time would fly once a baby joined us, I've heard people say for years that they blinked and their babies were grown.... those first weeks of zero sleep and trying to figure out what made our little one happy were exhausting and felt like slow motion while all the while flying by!  Suddenly we were celebrating 1 month, 2 months... and here we are today.  4 months.  This kid has changed my life in so many ways, all of them positive. The stats... 16 pounds, 25.5 inches of cheeks and giggles are all ours! Charlotte loves... - the moving butterflies on her play mat - this Taggie blanket I accidentally ordered for her on Amazon during a late night pumping session - bath time - her Packer lovey from inspired3crochet on Etsy - Mortimer the Moose (one does not simply leave home without it) - Daddy Blast Off (Porch thrusting her into the air above his head) - story time (currently loving Boss Baby and Little Blue Truck) Charlotte does not love......

As we pack up for our big move to Wisconsin, there are some things that I'll miss (and some that I am more than happy to leave behind). After 6 years in Chicago, it's come to feel like home and I am sad to say goodbye but I also cannot wait to be thisclose to family and friends. What I'll Miss My amazing team at the center (seriously, if I could pick up my center and bring it with me, I would) Awesome public transportation The skyline Ethnic food any time of the day My network of fabulous ECE warriors Being a proud Packers fan in a sea of fair-weather Bears fans Things Chicago Can Keep Red light tickets The Bears (and their fair weather fans) T.r.a.f.f.I.c. Paying for parking e'rywhere That damn alley The gunshots (I get that there's crime everywhere, I'm not naive, just looking forward to not having my kid grow up numb to the sound of gang wars right down the street) Rude people Astronomically high rent I'm sure this list wi...