Aftermath of Illness

I've been meaning to post these photos all week and just got the chance! As I mentioned earlier, Ed was home with Chloe on Tuesday - just in case her cold returned. He told me later that all was well until 3pm when she became a howler monkey. Sometimes around that time she becomes so in need of a nap and overstimulated that she's all crazy-like. At the end of the day, I could tell he was really worn out. He said something joking to her like "You're crying like this because you think I don't love you, but I do..."

Later, I was feeding her a bottle and Ed came in to see how she was doing and she was completely distracted from her bottle out of the desire to smile and laugh at her Daddy. We abandoned the bottle and the two of them played for a bit. I love this photo because they look utterly captivated with each other:








See: Chloe loves her Daddy a lot!!!!





And PS after last night, Daddy is the only parent who has not 1) bonked her on the head with a cell phone and 2) actually caused bleeding when cutting a fingernail. It was AWFUL! I cannot even believe how much blood there was from such a tiny cut - after she calmed down, she was sucking her thumb to soothe, which I finally figured out was keeping the cut open. I fashioned a baby band aid out of a big one which did the trick, but dear God. It absolutely sucked. I feel horrible about it.

First Illness

A week in day care and Chloe got her first cold! LOL I guess I could have predicted that. Actually, as far as illnesses go, this wasn't too bad at all (knock wood). She ran a fever, but it was slight and she had a bit of a runny nose, but it was clear. Mostly, she just slept it off. Of course, when she wasn't sleeping or eating, she was crying and screaming so we tried to keep her either sleeping or eating. I found that when I put her in her bassinet with her "go to sleep" items (paci, blanket, Pooh Bear), she would just go with it.

Her fever broke last night, but Ed had taken the week off already, so we decided that she would stay home today for another day of rest... I called a bit ago and got the report that there is no howling and that she's been playing with Duck and Ladybug and her musical stacking toy that has become a recent fave.

Good stuff!

Chloe Post: I am a Big Girl

I am getting so big! I am not a little baby anymore and shouldn't be treated as such! I don't want to lie down in the boppy and I don't want to be strapped in to the bouncy seat. I want to stand up! It's true that I need assistance, but I truly do not understand how Mommy and Daddy's arms can get so tired so quickly. They are REALLY big. And I'm the one who will take care of them when they are old and THEY need diapers! They should do me this service without complaint.

I like it when one of them stands me up and says "Who's a big girl? Who is?" I AM.














But apparently, Mommy and Daddy are NOT strong enough to keep me upright as often as I would like. So, Mommy got me this cool Bumbo seat to hang out in. She even got the extra tray so I can play with my toys on my own without them hanging over me every second with bated breath.



Also, Mommy says that Pooh Bears are not for eating... to which I say, "Have you tried it, Mommy? Don't judge me."

Mommy Guilt

I could swear that when I dropped her off this morning, she had a look on her face that meant, "Really? Again?" She didn't cry or anything, so I'm probably just projecting. Sigh.

Chloe Post: Out and About

Sorry for the delay on these photos, my loyal readers. The blonde lady would not calm down about school and she was hogging the computer!

At Mommy's shower, Mom-Mom gave her a pink snugli so everyone could go walking with me... Daddy said he needed one that was more manly, so off to Babies R Us we went! I don't know if you can see in the photos that this one is made by Jeep, but Daddy likes it very much. They keep saying that I am preventing them from exercising and Mommy looks really out of it, so now we can go take walks together. If I can get both of them off the computer.

Chloe's First Day at Day Care - a Recap

Right before we left this morning:



When I arrived to pick her up:



Everything in between:

As you can see, when I got there, she was completely tuckered out. Miss Stella showed me pictures she had taken of Chloe throughout the day and she was smiling a huge smile in every single one! She was doing tummy time and reaching for the laminated flowers and leaves Miss Stella had on the floor for spring. She was in a boppy to rest. She was playing with Darius and Xavier and having a good time. Miss Stella even got her to do hand and foot prints and promised to add one of the photos and laminate it for me so that I will always have the memory of her first day of school.

Now, she and Daddy are passed out on the couch together.
And Mommy can exhale.

Chloe's First Day of Day Care - the Mid-Day Check Up Call

I called a little bit ago to check in and spoke to Miss Keshia, the director, who assured me that Chloe is adorable (which of course, I knew, but it confirms that she's a smart woman) and that she's doing well. Without me having to ask, she said, "but, let me put you on with Miss Stella."

She confirmed that Chloe is doing very well and is "very social." Of course, I knew this as well! She said that Chloe was "talking" a lot and smiling at everyone and having a lot of fun... this confirmed what Ed and I were seeing: she really needs to be in an environment where she can be engaged fully. She is no longer the little baby we brought home from the hospital and although I miss her dreadfully, I am happy knowing that she's having more fun than she had in my office. I'm bummed that I'm not having the fun with her, but that's ok (for right now - I reserve the right to freak out in five minutes when my mood changes).

Chloe's First Day of Day Care - the Drop off

I did not cry.

I feel very proud of myself that I did not cry. After we delivered Chloe to Miss Stella, Ed and I went to deliver the paperwork. As we were getting everything together I told him, "I need to take one more look!" I hurried back to the infant room and saw that Miss Stella had put Chloe in a bouncy seat and was talking to her and making funny faces. Chloe was laughing and smiling and "talking" and so I knew she was ok, so we snuck away (I took a picture which I will post later)... we went to the Dunkin Donuts for coffee and I made it thru the entire ordering process and it wasn't until we were back in the car did I whine to Ed, "you don't think she'll like Miss Stella more than me, do you?" He assured me that she would not. But, Miss Stella has nothing to do today except play with Chloe (and Darius and Xavier, Chloe's two new boyfriends) and Miss Stella has oodles of cool toys and Miss Stella speaks 5 languages.

I'm just going to keep self soothing with coffee.

So, definitely no shooting up or tattoos...

...As it turned out to be a Christian-based school... to which I say, "Praise the Lord, they have an open spot!"

Seriously, the school was small but nice and Chloe will be one of three babies in the infant room. We took a tour and all of the teachers and big kids were enamored with her since she will be the littlest in the school. I left her with Miss Stella, the infant teacher, while I was filling out paper work and when I came to get her, she was happy as the proverbial clam. Miss Stella was holding her on her lap with the two other kids gathered around them while she read a book. Chloe was holding the book and trying to turn the pages. I called to her and she didn't even look over, she was so invested in the plot, I guess. When Miss Stella brought her over, Chloe sort of looked at me like "Oh, hey. Are you sure we have to go now? I'm kind of busy."

Which is good - it means that Monday will be traumatic for me, but not her.

NAEYC Accreditation be Damned

So, I called the day care to confirm Chloe's start for next week and they said "Oh, you've been talking to Kia, right? Yeah, we had to fire her because she kept promising spots that aren't there."

Uh, huh. I had been talking to Kia, all right.

Lies Told by Kia:
1) "You are third on the waiting list" (more like 9th)
2) "We will definitely have a spot for you in mid-May" (more like August)
3) "I will take care of you" (YEAH, RIGHT)

I started to go a little crazy in my head and my mother, vengeful little devil that she is, thinks I should call the NAEYC people and report them. But, who has time? I have to find a new day care! Forget about the city, yo. Everyone has a year-long waiting list. I found one in Lansdowne that has openings NOW. Chloe and I will visit them WAY early in the morning on Thursday and as long as no one is shooting up or giving children tattoos, she will be going to school there.

Because Mommy can't hang.

Photos from Chloe's Christening

Chloe's Christening

I will post a bunch of photos later on, but I just wanted to thank everyone who made this past weekend such a memorable event. Chloe's godparents, Aunt Diane and Uncle John hosted a wonderful weekend in Sea Isle City and the fabulous Rev. Paula performed a beautiful christening on Mother's Day. Chloe and I got to spend our first Mother's Day with both Grams and Mom-Mom as well as a huge group of family and friends. Pictures to come soon, so keep an eye out!

And thanks to Daddy for helping Chloe do her Mother's Day shopping at Tiffany's! Between all of the fun, laughter, and love this weekend (and my new bling), I am a very lucky Mommy, indeed!

Is Anyone Else This Tired?

Today was a really rough day of being a working mom. I called a friend for support and what she basically told me was this: "It will always be tough and there will always be people who don't get it. The good news is that you know you're capable and you know you're doing a good job... and that's the voice you have to listen to."

I guess the lesson is to try to let that voice be the loudest one and not allow a situation to convince me otherwise.

And that's what I'm going to repeat over and over and over again until I believe it's true... because this is a day where I don't.

In Memoriam

Very sadly, we lost Ed's dad last week. Yesterday, the family came together for a memorial in his honor. Ed spoke very eloquently about a lesson we can all take from his passing - about how important it is for family to come together, not just in times of tragedy, but always. We are both very committed to telling people in the moment how much we love them.

And so I use this post to honor the memory of Ed's father and to tell Charlie and Lulu and Rick and his family and Raul and his and Andriana and Sean and Ramon and Evan and Miranda and Jesse and Maia that we love you and treasure you.

Lots of love from this Philly Family.