Yesterday was quite the eventful day.  My little porker who usually eats every 2 hours refused to eat yesterday.  She ate first thing in the morning, and then refused to eat after that. She ate her cereal like normal, but wouldn’t take a bottle and wouldn’t nurse.  I called her pediatrician around 6:00 and told them what she had been doing because I was worried she may get dehydrated.  She didn’t have nearly as many wet diapers and when they were wet they were barely wet at all.  The nurse got back on the phone after talking to the doctor and said “take her to the nearest hospital and tell them she isn’t eating”.  If you want to make me panic, say those words to me! Scott was at a basketball game coaching. I tried calling him and of course he didn’t answer so I had to try to call anyone who might be at the game.  Danny (our associate pastor) was able to get ahold of someone at the game for me and Scott had to leave in the middle of his basketball game to come.  I should say for those that don’t know that we only have one vehicle and one carseat that she can safely ride in, so it wasn’t like I could just call up anyone to drive us up there.  We got there and apparently all of Dearborn was in the Emergency Room because it was SO packed.  A man was kind enough to let us cut in front of him in line since we had a baby. Once she got into a room she was all giggly and smiley so they all thought we were nuts for bringing her in.  They looked at her and she wasn’t showing any signs of dehydration and her lungs and heart sounded fine.  I was able to get her to eat (FINALLY) while we were there so they sent us home and said to just keep an eye on her.  Thankfully this morning she ate like normal.  She slept all night, only waking once long enough for me to put her pacifier in her mouth, and is down for a nap already.
It was terrifying just having to TAKE her to the hospital and I am so glad that they didn’t have to do anything to her.  I am grateful to be blessed with a healthy baby!!
Oh yeah, and SHE POOPED last night!! Hooray! haha!

Chloe has become so much fun! Her motor skills are improving so much. She reaches out and grabs her toys, and toes, and brings them right to her mouth. She rolls over from back to belly constantly.. usually when we are trying to change her diaper.  She has started scooting from side to side on her belly.  She’s really working on going forward but can’t quite get it yet.  She pushes all the way up on her arms now.  Yesterday, she started sitting up by herself for quite a while.  She has been lasting a few seconds for a while, but last night she sat for at least a full minute.  She eats cereal twice a day because she was acting like she was starving at night.  I started mixing a little bit of baby food in with it in the evening.  All she has had so far is prunes, but she really likes them.

She has outgrown her 3-6 month clothes already because of her length, so she is now in 6-9 month clothes.  I feel like I’m wasting money to get her clothes that she wears for a month! haha! We are also switching her out of her infant carrier into the convertible carseat. She has been getting read marks on her neck from the straps and cries in the seat.  They aren’t too tight on her, and are in the right spot.. she is just too big.  I worry that if we get in a wreck it will slice her neck, so to the big girl seat it is! Thankfully she sits up OK so that we will do alright in the stroller.  It’s the cart I’m worried about!! She is loosing all of her hair, too, which makes me really sad! I hope it grows back brown when it comes back in.  She still has some so maybe she will keep what is left.. :/

I had to get her a new hat, too, because her head is very big.. I went to the mall yesterday and found a pig hat that has a face and ears on the front, and then a curly tail on the back.  It cracked me up and you can only pull that stuff off for a short while!

Chloe started eating cereal on Saturday! She was really unsure about it, and couldn’t get used to the texture. Sunday was a different story, though! She gobbled it up and kept going “mmmm”. She usually ends up wearing more of it, but today she stayed pretty clean!
She has also figured out how to laugh- FINALLY!! She was grinning with her mouth hanging open for so long that I love that she finally laughs out loud.  She usually laughs at daddy the most, but don’t we all! hehe! There is nothing better than a baby’s laugh!
She has been acting like she might be teething for a while now.. drooling, fussing, and pulling off while nursing. All of these are signs of teething, but it has been going on so long that I figured it was just some weird phase she was going through. Lo, and behold! There is a white bump on the bottom in the middle of those cute little gums. It actually looks like both bottom teeth are trying to push through. That little gummy smile will never be the same again.  I have the “Munchkin” spoons (all of you new mommy’s will know what I’m talking about) and they aren’t easy to bite on. I bought some of the gerber ones that are more flat and have that rubbery tip so that she can chew on it and get some relief.  She has her four month check-up and gets shots tomorrow…. Life really is a vapor.

I have been in a funk of sorts lately.  Not only that I am sick, but I feel.. I don’t even know how to explain how I feel.  Don’t get me wrong. My life is amazing. I love my husband. I love my daughter. I love my family.  But, something is off.  I feel so discouraged about some things. I look in the mirror and I am completely disgusted by what I see. I know that I have lost 28 pounds from the pregnancy and only have 9 to go, but I feel so disgusting.  I am covered in stretch marks, and have this gross saggy belly from my skin not keeping up with the weight loss. I can’t fit into my jeans, and still wear maternity pants most of the time. I walk through the mall and end up “depressed” because I look at all of these clothes that I would love to wear, but can’t. I can’t for two reason: 1. I am hoping this fatness goes away, so I don’t know what size to get and 2. I can’t afford to buy a whole new wardrobe.  So, I will continue to wear the same 4 sweaters and my “fat-pants”.. I am trying really hard to work on being content with where I am and what I have. I know that I am so richly blessed, and that material possessions are worthless in life, but that is my struggle…
Chloe is getting more content during tummy time.  She lasted much longer today before getting upset than she has in a long time. I love how strong she is, and how much she will talk to me and tell me stories.  I had her sort-of laughing tonight.  She opens her mouth wide like she would be laughing but nothing comes out. Occasionally a “HA!” or “AH!” comes out.. but other than that, nothing! She is still sick, so on Monday I will be calling her pediatrician (for now..) to make sure I am doing everything that I need to.  Our insurance company has yanked us around so much I am completely frustrated. The pediatrician that has seen her since she was born ended up not being covered by our insurance, and somehow that was missed for three months.  So, we picked 3 more before we finally found one that our insurance company would finally cover.  They apparently need to update their list because every one we were picking was not covered anymore… Now, we finally find one that we won’t need a translator to understand, and she has great reviews.. and our insurance will no longer cover her starting jan. 1st.  I’m about to lose my mind because of this… I have learned that when it comes to my child, you don’t mess with me!!
On a happy note, I think we may take Chloe to see Santa after church… Lets see what sort of picture we will get 🙂

We have been battling Chloe’s first sickness.  It is only a cold, so we haven’t had to take her to the doctor, but I did buy everything “vapo” (vapo-rub, vapo-bath, vapo-plug in) and some saline drops for her little nose.  She sounds much better today.  I was hoping the “supermom” gene would kick in for me and I wouldn’t get sick, but I was wrong. Last night my nose got super stuffy and this morning I woke up really stuffy with a sore throat.
Chloe has really discovered her toes this week.  She has been laying on her back holding on to them.  She has also discovered how to pooch her tongue out by pushing the tip of it against her gums and pushing the center out.  She spends probably 75% of the day doing both of those things. haha! Its very cute.  Right now she is SITTING next to me with only my leg for support on her side.  She keeps grabbing at my hand 🙂 I love this little girl so much and think she just gets cuter and cuter every day.

Well, we all survived Chloe’s first long trip! She did so great in the car both ways! She just sat there and played with toys and books that I would give her.  On the way home she slept quite a bit, but on the way out there she was awake most of it.  Once we got to Illinois she didn’t really want to be held by anyone but mommy and daddy most of the time.  Some people got to sneak in some happy holding time, but once she realized they weren’t who she thought they were she was screaming.  It made me feel good to be “wanted” by her, but I felt bad that she didn’t want anyone else to hold her.  She was all smiles looking at people, but don’t touch! haha! While we were eating Thanksgiving dinner with my family she kept eyeballing Mikel’s turkey leg and smiling at him! It was too funny! When we had Thanksgiving lunch with Scott’s whole family his great Aunt Martha held her while she slept. It was nice to be able to eat with out a wiggle-worm in our arms. (not that I am complaining! I love it!) She had a pretty good day that day because she let almost everyone in Scott’s family hold her, but by the end of the day she had enough.  It was overall a very successful and pleasant trip.. as long as I don’t think about trying to get her to sleep while we were there! 😉 It was nice to be with family, but it is also nice to be home again and have Chloe all to ourselves 🙂
Chloe is still trying so hard to sit up. She gets her head lifted pretty far, and her little legs stick way up in the air. Yesterday she sat unsupported for both Scott and myself for a few seconds. I’m wondering if she will be sitting up on her own by our next trip home.  She’s so strong! She has also started grabbing her feet and holding on to them a lot.  I love every new stage with her and while I don’t want her to grow up, I am excited to see who she turns out to be.

Well, my baby girl turned 3 months old on Monday! What on earth happened to the “newborn”? She is 14 lbs. 2 oz and 25 inches long now!! She is trying extremely hard to sit up. She stick her chubby legs up in the air and lifts her head.  If I give her my hands she can pull herself up to sitting.  I am amazed at how strong she is for only being 3 months old.  I guess thats what happens when you have a giant baby though lol!  She reaches out and grabs things now with good intent.  She can sit in her bumbo seat without falling forward. Now, she just leans forward to chew on it. She is sitting on my lap right now leaning into my arm.  She doesn’t need a whole lot of support when sitting, but definitely can’t sit on her own yet.  She wants so badly to be mobile.  She gets so mad on her belly because she can’t move around.  Yesterday she was laying on her back holding both of her feet up by her face. It looked painful to me, but she thought she was funny.
  We put up our Christmas tree yesterday and Chloe loved it! I got what I thought was a small tree for her bedroom. I didn’t pay attention to the size, just the small box and price.. it ended up being 4 feet tall!  She loves the sparkly lights.  We put an ornament in her hand and tried to get her to hang it up.. she didn’t want to let go haha!  So, we put it on her foot and she hung it with her toes.
She is such a sweet baby. She wraps her arms around my arm almost like a hug.  I laugh at myself because I am with her all day, and still don’t want to give her up to Scott when he gets home.  I do, of course, but I love spending time with her!!  I know that financially it is going to be EXTREMELY hard..especially in the winter with our ridiculous heating bill.. but it is worth it to get rid of fancy cable and everything to get to help teach her things and watch her change every day.
I truly believe life can’t get any better than it is right now…