Los Porchs

Listen.  I am TOTALLY aware that time doesn't move fast or slow, it just moves.  But somehow, the past 11 months have passed in the blink of an eye (a non-sleeping, bags underneath eye).  I cannot believe that in just a few short days, I will have a 1-year-old.  SERIOUSLY?!  I couldn't love this kid more and I am so enjoying watching her develop her sense of self and an awareness of how the world works around her. Teeth:  2 bottom teeth and 2 top front teeth... we're waiting patiently as she's been a little fussier than usual lately and I suspect teeth are the culprit. Charlotte likes... ... dancing (girl can move) ... standing by herself ... babbling ... clapping ... playing peek-a-boo ... eating what Mama and Daddy are eating ... people-watching ... going for walks in the neighborhood ... puppies (girlfriend lets a SQUEAL like you wouldn't believe whenever we encounter a puppy on our walks) ... carrying her lunchbox into the classroom every morning ...

I have a very talented friend who 'dabbles' at many crafts and ends up doing amazing things (see this adorable hat , for example).  I complimented her on this unique ability and her response was that her talents do not extend to housekeeping.  Okay.  Listen.  Housekeeping is not a talent.  It's just something we do (maybe this is just me) to keep from being judged by visitors. Amiright?!  Sure, I also do it because our infant daughter is like a mini Roomba who moves from room to room in search of whatever pieces of food and non-food items she can find.  But really, it's because I don't want to be considered a slob. Which I am.  That feels so good to say.  My name is Danie and I am a slob.  I go through phases with cleaning.  I am super gungho about it and keep things nice and as time goes on, I give up. I suspect I give up because I feel defeated.  My living room is OWNED by infant and toddler toys and push toys. Sure I put the...

I cannot even begin to describe how quickly the past 10 months have flown past. I say this every month. It took me 10 extra days to get my poop in a group to squeeze those cheeks into a white onesie and slap that sticker on her! If it wasn't for my strong desire to collect all 12 shots, I probably would have let this month pass by unceremoniously. Life is busy. Super busy. Walking around hunched over, holding little hands busy. This was a month in which Charlotte took off. Literally. She is always on the go. She mastered crawling & now wants nothing to do with sitting. This revelation makes bathing a new Mama Olympics event... an event in which I am not even close to being medalist. She loves to eat, but you probably knew that by glancing at those cheeks, right? We really didn't do Baby Lead Weaning like I had such high ambitions of doing. We have been doing purees and adding new textures as we progree. We skipped rice cereal. We are currently doing the Lil Bit...

Los Porchs  2015 Family Summer Bucket List  pick strawberries   watercolor painting camping splash in the lake Summerfest go fishing pizza on the grill watch fireworks feed the ducks play in the baby pool visit the splash pad picnic at Wilson Park  go hiking   visit Lake Park read books in the yard walk by Lake Michigan storytime at the library   make a busy board blow bubbles plant a garden 4th of July parade

This weekend we had some great weather and even better company!  Friday night, our friends from college came to town with their darling daughter, Baby J, who is about 6.5 months and all kinds of cute. Saturday we went to check out the Art Walk on Brady Street with my brother and sister-in-law.  We took Charlie and their puppy and made it a family affair.  Perfect weather, cold beer, and amazing people-watching made our afternoon fabulous.  We brought the party back to our place and threw some chicken on the grill for dinner and enjoyed the evening on our new deck.  One of our neighbors had a rummage sale and seems to have had a very challenging time getting rid of his treasures as he continued to knock on the fence and ask us if we wanted stuff (even into the morning/afternoon).  When we politely declined (we've got enough junk of our own, thanks), he muttered, "I can't even give this shit away" as he sulked away.  The night was made by our other nei...

So I was thinking about the fact that I am always tired, like yawning all day long, even in an important meeting with employees (gah!), maybe we should just consider trying for baby #2 while we're here, limping along.  The idea of getting back to a normal sleep schedule just to start this all over again is not exactly an attractive offer. Sadly, we won't get a ton of say in our plans for trying to add baby #2... and we have a lot to figure out logistically speaking as our (4) embabies are currently still Chicago residents and I still have mad RE love for Dr. TK. There's a chance that the first time we do the FET (frozen embryo transfer), it will work right away.  There's also a chance that it won't. Luckily, I am so deep in this haze of parenting that I don't have too much time to think about or process what that would mean and feel like... Would you rather be a zombie for a few years or go back to the good life and then come back to newborn hell? xo M...

Today we celebrated my cousin's 2nd birthday and I continue to be amazed; this time last year, I was SUPER pregnant & camping with our good friends (who we get to see next weekend) who were also pregnant with their first child.  Fast forward a year and now that baby who we were celebrating is 2 and my baby is almost one.  Sitting at the party today, I was reminded that I need to get my poop in a group and get party details going. And then my older (my only older cousin) made a comment about sign language; she asked if we were using it with Charlie and I said no.  She mentioned she thought that would be right up my alley & I openly admitted that I had every intention of doing more sign language with her but have zero energy to think about that stuff.  I routinely use the sign for all done and dabble in "more" and "eat."  Other than that, I don't really have much else going on for this kiddo and while I'm a little sad about it, I also think she d...