2 months: weeks 5-8

*2 month birthday: January 24, 2014*

*Picture OVERLOAD!*

Another month has flown by, my sweet baby girl.  I cannot even believe how big you are getting!

Week 5
You celebrated your first NYE by going to bed early :)  Mommy and Daddy stayed up to watch a movie while you snoozed.
Your Glamma came back to visit after Daddy went back to work.  Of course we went to Target again :)

You also had your first trip to the mall!  You slept through the whole thing.  I guess shopping isn't that exciting to you quite yet.  Everyone thought you were the cutest baby!
You have also developed a love for the pacifier, or "puppy" as we call it (when you have the puppy one, anyway.  You also have a hippo.)

You started sleeping through the night this week!  Woo hoo!  Daddy starts your bedtime routine at 7pm with a bath and music.  Then it's upstairs to read books and nurse one last time.  You are out like a light by 8pm and will sleep until 4 or 5am.  Amazing!

Week 6
We started this week a little rough.  Your daddy went to the Packers game (yuck) with his family (super cold too!)  So we had a girls day and night. Which also meant that mama had to take over bath time.  I didn't play the bath time music, so that threw you off!  It took me 2 hours to get you to sleep and I was exhausted by the time your dad rolled in a midnight.  Thankfully he worked from home the next day to help me out.

You are enthralled with your puppy and hippo pacifiers.  While I didn't really want to get your reliant on a pacifier to calm down, you do love them.  You've also started to take your pacifier to bed with you so we don't have to walk the halls with you.  You can fall asleep on your own now.
Speaking of sleep, you are out like a light by 8pm and will snooze until 3:30, 4:00, 4:45, or 5:45 (what?!)  I knock on wood every day and hope that it continues.
We went to Mom Baby Hour again at Meriter and met more moms and babies.  I think it's so funny how much bigger you are than the other babies who were born a day after you.
It has gotten a little warmer out (in the 30s, heat wave!), so we took your big sisters for a little walk in the Ergo. (I really need to start taking more pictures during the week!)
You smile so much more now and love to look at faces!

On Saturday, your daddy pointed out that we were matching :)

Then you puked on me, so we both had to change.

Week 7
You met Dan and Brittany this week!  And, of course, I didn't take pictures.  I need to get better at that.
We went to Mom/Baby Hour a few times this week and met new friends.  You were a little drama queen on Thursday and wailed the whole time.
We also did Mom/Baby Yoga on Wednesday and you were such a good yogi!

 You have found your voice this week and love to talk to yourself and to others (even if it is a fake cry which you enjoy doing).

Tummy time!

We went up to La Crosse to see your great grandpa.  He was so excited to meet you and you were such a good girl that day.

with GGpa

Charlee with the Loeffler men

Still not too fond of napping, but will take catnaps during the day.  You usually will sleep for about 30 minutes in the morning and then another 30 around 11am.
You also sit in the basement with me while I workout in the morning.  You love to sit in your bouncer and watch me jump and run.

exercising with mama

all smiles in her bouncer

Week 8
Closing out month 1!

You weigh about 12lbs now and are continuing to grow.  There are some 0-3 month clothes that we need to retire because they are getting small.
You slept 8pm to 6am one night!  cray cray!
We went over to Dean and Mary's house on Monday to visit for a bit.  They are going to have triplet grandbabies in a few months!  Then we headed over to a client's house and you got to visit with her 9 month old.  I think we made a new mommy/baby friend!
Apparently, Mom/Baby Hour was a little boring this week...

snoozing at Mom/Baby Hour

You love to smile and coo!

big smiles!

You started playing with the toys on your activity mat and your rattle ball.

playing with Daddy and Lu

Lucy babysitting

playing with the rattle

You love your hippo and puppy pacifiers and now will grab onto them.

We spent your 2 month birthday visiting Daddy at work and enjoying some dancing and tummy time :)

 visiting Daddy at work

 all smiles for tummy time

Dancing queen

Dear Miss Charlee,

You are developing quite the personality.  This doesn't surprise me at all!  You were sassy on the inside so I expect you to be sassy on the outside.
You love to give big smiles and you love your puppies (big sisters and puppy pacifier).  You will lift your head and follow Lucy and Maddie around the room with your eyes while on your tummy.  You are typically pretty laid back, but boy do you get cranky at night!
During week 7, you went on a bottle strike and would scream in your dad's face.  Now in week 8, you would much rather have a bottle from dad at night before bath time and scream in my face if I try to feed you.
You do like to be left alone when you've had too much.  When you're getting cranky, sometimes you just want to lie down by yourself in your swing, crib, or boppy.  Of course, you need Puppy with you.
You are getting to be such a big girl and like to be treated as such.  You will only be held and carried upright like a big girl.  You hate to be reclined and cradled unless you are sleepy.
I can't believe that you are two months old!  It seems like I was just pregnant with you, but on the other hand, it feels like you have been with us forever.  I have been thinking this week about your 8 week ultrasound and how big you are at 8 weeks!  It is just crazy!!

2 Month Well-Visit Stats:
weight:11lb 14oz
length: 23.5in
head circumference: 40cm

Weekend: Olbrich Botanical Conservatory

This weekend started off with kind of a bummer, Andrew was sick.  What's worse than having a sick husband? Having a sick husband, a 2 month old baby, and 2 dogs.  Ugh.  But we still got out to have a little fun on Saturday morning :)

On Wednesday and Saturday mornings, the Olbrich Botanical Conservatory in Madison is free (and you know I like free!).  Well, lots of other people liked the free admission on Saturday morning as well, but it was a nice little retreat on a cold morning.

Charlee loved looking at all the plants and loved the warm climate.

riding in her stroller

walking with Daddy and looking at the plants

big yawns

looking at the plants

walking with Daddy :)

Newborn Photos

Get ready for a photo dump :)

When Charlee was just 1 week old, Kelly from K Schulz Photography (aka our sister in law) came up to take pictures of our little tree frog. (We call her that because of how she bends her legs like a frog when she's sleeping on your stomach.  I need to take a picture of it, but I digress...)

It was a very long day for everyone involved, but I am so thankful that we did it and that Kelly was gracious and patient enough to deal with a cranky baby.

Here are some of our favorites:

Resolutions

Well, it's that time of year again.  That time of year that everyone makes some sort of resolution only to be forgotten in a month.  Seriously, isn't that how it always is?

Usually, like the rest of the population, my resolutions have focused on appearances:
1. lose weight
2. exercise more
3. eat healthy
4. kick the sugar habit (epic fail every time.  I can't help it! #sugaraddict)

With just having a baby 6 weeks ago, all of those things are still pretty close to the top of my list (when should you stop wearing maternity clothes?)
However, there are other things that have pushed the weight and eating goals further down the list.

1. Enjoy the little things in life (don't rush through everything)
2. Take more pictures (Charlee is already getting so big and I'm already regretting not taking pictures like every single day!)
3. Meet new people (I need new friends and to interact with adults for my own sanity)
4. Lose the negativity (working on being positive and surrounding myself with positive people.  I'm starting the negativity purge. So let this be your warning if you're on the negative train...)
5. Cut down on the screen time
6. Work my business super hard so that Andrew can be home more with us (this is more of a long term goal that I need to keep focusing on)
7. Stop caring about what other people think
8. Focus on being a good mama

Oh and
lose weight
eat healthy
kick the sugar habit
and exercise more
:)

What are your resolutions this year?

1 Month: Weeks 0-4

Written Dec 29th (1 month birthday was Dec 24th)

Oh my goodness Miss Charlee!  Time is just flying by already and I can't believe that a month has passed us by.  I had figured that I would probably just do a monthly post on you, but there's already so much I want to remember.  You've changed so much already and I can't believe it.  So we'll try to catch up week by week.

Week 0:

Well, you were born! (I can see you rolling your eyes at me and thinking, "Well obviously, MOM!")  You were a week late, but when you were ready to make your debut, you wanted out as fast as possible!
We spent the first half of the week in the hospital getting used to each other and figuring out our new role as a family of 3.

napping with daddy during our first week home

Your Glamma and Pops came to visit you in the hospital and so did your Grandma Beth and Grandpa Charlie.

meeting Pops on your birth-day in the hospital

We visited the doctor for the first time to get your weight checked (you lost a bit of weight before leaving the hospital).  You were already back up to 7lbs 6oz!  Almost your birth weight!
We also enjoyed your first holiday, Thanksgiving, with your Glamma and Pops.

swinging on Thanksgiving

(side note: this was a pretty difficult week for us just because we were all adjusting to our new roles, and to be frank, breastfeeding was a b****.  You and I had a pretty difficult time in the beginning, Miss Charlee, me more so than you.  You, however, were gaining weight like a champ, mama was just in pain most of the time.  So when the nurses say that breastfeeding isn't supposed to hurt, that's a lie.  Laugh in their face, feel free to swear at them, or just cry.)

Week 1:
Your Uncle Chris and Aunt Kelly came to visit to get some beautiful pictures of you.  We are so lucky that we have such a talented photographer in the family.

We enjoyed our time together, just the three of us.  It was our last week together before Daddy went back to work.

playing with daddy

We went to Target a few times, but pretty much just enjoyed watching daytime TV.
 And we celebrated your 1 week birthday with cake!

eating birthday cake with daddy on your 1 week birthday

Week 2:
We started the week off with a visit from your Glamma.  She came to stay with us while Daddy went back to work.
On Monday we went to your 2 week appointment.  You weighed 8lbs 6oz!   You gained 1lb in just 12 days!  We also found out that you had thrush (oral yeast infection) which was causing all of my pain while feeding.  We got your first prescription for antibiotics.
We then headed to the lactation consultant (you latch like a champ, our problem was the thrush).  And, of course, we made a pit stop at Target to get your medication.
You started getting yourself into a sleeping schedule during the day: wake-up around 8:30, nap 12-3pm, catnap at 6pm, bed by 9pm (up at 1am or 3am to eat, again at 6am).
Your glamma left on Wednesday and that night you had your worst sleep.  You were up from 1:30-5:30am.  You cried, mom cried, daddy walked the halls with you.  That next day was my first day alone with you.  You decided to really test my skills and go on a nap strike.  You didn't sleep for more than 30 minutes at a time during the day and ate all day long.  There were tears of frustration and exhaustion by the time that dad got home.  It was rough.

you love your swing

Week 3:
We had a "play date" with your friend Aubrey!  Really, it was like a sleep over since both of you snoozed the whole time while mama and Jessica visited.  We can't wait for you and Aubrey to get bigger so you two can play together.
On Tuesday, we went to Mommy Baby hour at Meriter.  We got to visit with a lot of moms and babies.  It was good to get out of the house and meet new people.  You slept the whole time and didn't cry until we had to leave.
We went to Epic to have lunch with daddy and see his work.  Once again, you slept during lunch.  We also went to Kohls to finish up some Christmas shopping.  Someone referred to you as a boy (which I don't care about at all) and you were wearing a big flower headband!  Seriously?

getting ready to go eat lunch with daddy at Epic

During this week you slept for 6 whole hours at night!  It was amazing!  You only got up once at 3am and then again at 6am.  Since then, you've been sleeping for 4-5 hour stretches at night.

napping with big sister Lucy

Week 4:
Christmas week
We have come to realize that there is so much more that goes into road trips when you travel with a baby.  You had a long list of things that needed to come with us for our 4 day trip to IL: diapers, clothes, pjs, diaper bag, wipes, rock n play, boppy, vitamin D drops, blankets, swaddles, burp cloths, Ergobaby, etc.  We started packing a few days before so we could get everything together.
You did a great job in the car until about 30 minutes from Geneva.  You were hungry and needed a new diaper, so you wailed.  Sucking on my finger worked for a little bit (I sat in the back with you), but you quickly realized that it wouldn't give you any food and continued to wail.  You were much happier once we got to glamma and pops' house and you could get out of your car seat.

visiting with Pops on Christmas Eve

Meeting your Aunt Katie on Christmas Eve

You met your great grandma and great grandpa, Mimi and Poppi.  We spent Christmas Eve at the Marshalls' and went back over Christmas morning.

4 generations of McGuire women

You were thrilled with your new barn and farm animals

spending Christmas Day with Mimi the Great and Poppi the Great (your great grandparents)

Christmas night and the morning of the 26th was spent with the Loefflers.  You were definitely spoiled with gifts and lots of holding.

Nap time with Uncle Ben, Aunt Kathryn, and kitty Maya

Opening gifts with daddy

You met your Auntie Katie and you Auntie Liz  And of course your boyfriend, John :)  He was very interested in you, but you were playing it cool and not showing much interest.  Were you just playing hard to get?

Your boyfriend John.  He's such a cutie

Aunt Katie with you and John

Liz, John, me, and you

On Friday before heading back, we met up with Team Trio and you got to meet Katie and Nicole.  I'm still not too great with taking pictures when I'm out with you because it gets awkward sometimes, so I don't have pictures with them.  Next time I'll snap away :)

Oh my, little lady.  You have certainly kept us busy this month.  I can't believe how much you've changed and how big you've gotten.  You are awake for longer during the day (except today because you have been snoozing for most of it. I hope that doesn't set us up for a long night!)
I look at you and wonder what you will be like in the coming days, weeks, months, years.
Will you keep your blue eyes or will the change to green or hazel?  (They're in between right now, more bluish gray.)
Will you have curly hair? (Little waves right now)
Will you have blond hair? (You're holding on to your dark hair, it hasn't fallen out yet)
Will you ever enjoy tummy time on your playmat?

You are such a happy baby and bring us such joy (not so much at 2am when you are screaming or wide awake just because).  But for the most part, you are very easy-going and are content in anyone's arms.