Charlie's Scary Escape

This morning we had a terrifying few minutes where we almost lost our sweet Charlie forever. He slipped out the front door while we were doing an early morning weather check (note to all: it's chilly here in Chicago!), and raced across the street chasing a cat.

As Steve ran after him (and I yelled "Charlie" like a maniac from the front porch while holding the baby), Charlie abandoned the cat and started running north toward a busy intersection. Fortunately for us, Charlie's nose got the better of him and he stopped to smell something and Steve was able to corner him. Steve carried home a very wiggly Charlie who was obviously proud of his little adventure. I was still shaking at the thought of losing our most loyal companion.

I've seen so many people give up their animals after they have children due to lack of time and inability to give their pet the attention they need. I now understand how this happens, as we definitely have been guilty of neglecting Charlie lately. We pour so much love and attention into Sadie that at the end of the day there doesn't seem to be any left for our first baby. I know that I need to get better at cuddling with Charlie the way I did pre-baby and giving him a lot more of my time.

But I do know that Charlie will be a part of our family for a very long time (assuming there are no more escapades around the neighborhood). We're definitely not letting him go anywhere! I'm excited that a big part of Sadie's early childhood will be shaped by having her four-legged friend at her side...she already stares at his big nose and wagging tail with such delight! And from the very beginning Charlie has shown his love for Sadie, bringing his prized possessions to her when she cries and giving her an endless amount of kisses.

So this post is dedicated to our favorite buddy Charlie - we love you!

Comparing Milestones

My parents recently found my baby book – it had disappeared for quite a few years, but as it turns out was conveniently located in a hutch in their dining room! I always had “second child syndrome” and felt like my baby book recorded next to nothing compared to that of my older sister’s. But in looking at it, my mom did a pretty good job of tracking the important milestones in my first year of life. Which makes me realize I need to get it together and start filling out Sadie's baby book!

It’s been fun looking through things and really noticing how young I was when I hit certain milestones. I was a very, very active baby! And while I think that Sadie more closely resembles Steve, I have a sneaking suspicion that she may take after me in the “overly active baby” department and in the “long and lean” body type (although those days have passed…I’m far from long and lean as an adult!).

I thought it would be fun to do a side by side comparison between some of my baby stats and Sadie's stats!

Birth Stats
Me: 8 pounds, 4 ounces, 19.5 inches long
Sadie: 8 pounds, 9 ounces, 21 inches long

2 Month Stats
Me: 10 pounds, 1 ounce, 22 inches long
Sadie: 11 pounds, 11 ounces, 24.25 inches long 

4 Month Stats
Me: 12 pounds, 13 ounces, 24.75 inches long
Sadie: 14 pounds, 3 ounces, 25.4 inches long

First Tooth
Me: 4 1/2 months – lower right front tooth
Sadie: 4 1/2 months – she has her first tooth teeth poking right through! – the bottom two teeth

Rolling from Tummy to Back
Me: 3 1/2 months
Sadie: 9 weeks

Rolling from Back to Tummy
Me: 4 1/2 months
Sadie: Not yet! But she’s 4 1/2 months right now and looks like this could happen any day now!

First Slept Through the Night
Me: 3-4 weeks (although my mom says she was so exhausted, she may have stopped hearing me cry!)
Sadie: 12 weeks

Sat Up Alone
Me: 6 months
Sadie: Not yet, but she’s sitting great in her Bumbo at 4 1/2 months!

First Crawled
Me: 5 months
Sadie: Not yet!

First Pulled Up/Walked
Me: Pulled up at 6 months and walked around the furniture, walked between parents at 8 months, walked well at 8 1/2-9 months, climbed up on furniture and could walk backwards and almost run at 11 months.
Sadie: Nothing yet!

As you can see, Sadie is beating my stats on height and weight and is right on par with many of my milestones. Which is really exciting but also terrifying if she keeps on following in my (literal) footsteps. I cannot even imagine having Sadie walking around holding onto the furniture in a little over a month! We are so, so not ready for our little girl to be quite that active. I’d be more than happy with her sitting and playing with toys for quite awhile. No need to walk and run too early!

And to that, Sadie says, "Watch out!"

Baby Sewing Style: Peasant Top

I've become slightly obsessed with trying to make clothes for Sadie. The obsession is despite the fact that I'm fairly mediocre at the sewing machine. I can do basic projects that involve sewing in a straight line, and with these "skills" was was able to tackle nursery projects like curtains, crib skirt, sheets, mobile, etc. Easy peasy.

So why exactly am I trying to make clothing for my child? I have no clue. Nor do I understand how or when I expect to complete these projects while working 40 hours a week (not including commuting time) and taking care of baby when not at work. Regardless, I've been scanning the internet for simple projects that I feel like I can handle that also come with free patterns that are sized for my baby. Not exactly easy to find.

I stumbled across this pattern for making a baby peasant blouse. It seemed simple enough, included the pattern for 3-6 months and had instructions that I could actually understand.

I'm proud to say I was actually able to finish the shirt in one sewing session (probably 1-2 hours), only had to make minor adjustments to the elastic in the sleeves so that it fit Sadie's arms, and only had to rip out some of my work and start over once (when I sewed a sleeve on inside out - typical).

And, at the end of it all, it actually looks like a shirt! It may actually look someone store bought (ok, I might be getting a little too confident, especially as you can see a thread hanging from the bottom of it). But if you're fairly new to sewing/have basic skills (like me!) you can probably tackle this project.

Regardless, Sadie was happy to model the shirt. Her whole outfit comes in at $15:

Shirt: $5.00 for fabric and elastic
Jeggings: $6.00 from Target
Socks: $4.00 from Trumpette ($24/6 pairs of socks)
Drool on chin: Free!

And, for the record, the jeggings are actually long enough for her chunky legs!

Just two models, hanging around...

 

Here's hoping I'll have many more "baby style" posts to share with homemade duds for my little girl.

Sadie at 4 Months

And...we have a 4-month old in the house! She's such a big girl and every day is more and more exciting. When she was a newborn it was really hard to see how much better things would get because every day was just so exhausting! And don't get me wrong, things are still incredibly exhausting, but it's a relaxed exhaustion. She's sleeping great at night, she's getting better at napping, we have awesome walks with her in the stroller...and she's just so much fun! We love our Sadie girl.

Nicknames: Button, Sadie Boo, Sadie Baby, Baby Girl
Temperament: You're still such a happy, happy baby. You smile at everyone and just seem to enjoy the world around you. Even when you start to fuss we can often do something funny to get a smile out of you.
Things I Could Do Without: Crying it out. We've just started this process (with the help of our nanny) for daytime naps. It kills my heart listening to you cry and want to be picked up, but we hope that it will make you a better napper. You're already improving!
Item/Toy We Love The Most:  Sophie the Giraffe. It's so fun watching you learn to grab her and chomp on her! We're also loving our Ergo Carrier - it's like walking around while you hug us!
Item/Toy You Love The Most: Someone gave us a bunch of their old baby toys, including this flower that plays classical music. You love it! If you're doing tummy time as soon as you hear the music your head pops up.
Things I’m Loving Most Right Now: Giving you kisses. When you know I'm going to give you a kiss you look up at me, open your mouth and flutter your eyes. It's the cutest thing ever!
Things You’re Loving Most Right Now: Riding in your stroller. We transitioned you out of your car seat and into the main part of your stroller. You love sitting like a big girl and watching the world around you.
Sounds/Words: You are LOUD. You've definitely been testing out just how loud you can get and it's fun to hear you babble.
Foods You Like: Breast milk!

Sadie at 3 Months

Wow, we're at 3 months already! I can't believe how quickly Sadie has grown. It seems like yesterday she was a teeny tiny baby and now she's silly and fun and full of personality! We love her so, so much!

Nicknames: Button, Sadie Boo, Stinker
Temperament: You still love to smile, especially at daddy! You're curious about everything around you but easily let us know when you're not happy. Your cry has gotten louder and louder!
Things I Could Do Without: The struggle at nap time. You still don't like napping in your crib so we have to work hard to get you to snooze during the day.
Item/Toy We Love The Most: Your pack-n-play. We moved it into the dining room so that we have a safe place to put you when we're on the main floor. So much easier than trying to strap you into a swing or bouncer all the time!
Item/Toy You Love The Most: Your jitter bug! You love how it buzzes and its black and white feet.
Things I’m Loving Most Right Now: How great of a sleeper you are at night. You started sleeping through the night when I went back to work and you usually sleep from 8pm-6am! Sometimes I even get to go in and wake you up in the morning, which is so much fun. You're such a happy baby in the morning!
Things You’re Loving Most Right Now: Bath time! You love being in the tub and never fuss. You're definitely a water baby, and I can't wait until we can start swim class.
Sounds/Words: We make a buzzing noise with our lips and you've been trying so hard to copy us. It's just about the cutest thing ever watching you try!
Foods You Like: Breast milk!

Yep - that's the onesie I used to tell Steve I was pregnant. Crazy that it fits her! I will be so sad when she outgrows it. 

Our big, smiley girl!

Eating My Vegetables

Wow, I've left the blog terribly quiet these days! But don't forget, you can keep up on the nitty gritty details of raising Sadie over on Hellobee. All of the fun in's and out's of scheduling, sleep (or lack thereof!), feeding and everything in between.

And, obviously, Sadie is quite the happy baby!

Anyway, back to eating healthier. I wasn't a terribly unhealthy eater before getting pregnant, but I definitely didn't get my fair share of vegetables. And while on maternity leave Steve and I ate out a lot. Like, 18 times more than we normally did before baby. Living in a neighborhood where we're surrounded by Thai, Chinese, Korean, Mexican, Greek, German, Middle Eastern, Italian, Japanese, French and Indian restaurants plus some great local sandwich places, cafes and bars...well...temptation definitely got the better of us. Temptation and just run of the mill new baby exhaustion.

So, we ate. And ate. And ate. We ordered delivery. We carried out. Friends brought food when they'd visit. We ate out when we were brave enough to take Sadie with us. I've had so many fish tacos, orders of pad thai and yummy deli sandwiches that I've simply lost count. Oh, and even cheese steaks. Yes, we had cheese steaks delivered at one point.

Now that Steve and I have made a pact to cut back the eating out I've also been evaluating exactly how I eat. I've always been incredibly picky, which has led me to lean more on starches and fruits and less on healthier grains and vegetables. I need to be healthier for myself. But I also need to be healthier so that Sadie will dive right into her vegetables instead of pushing them aside.

I'm slowly learning that foods I've "hated" for years actually aren't that bad. In fact, they're quite delicious when they are prepared well. There are just so many veggies that I never knew how to cook or cook well. My hope is that if I can build of an arsenal of good veggie dishes that I enjoy, as Sadie gets older she will like them as well!

For those of you who are vegetable-challenged, I thought I would share a couple of recipes we've found that are delicious. And trust me, if I'll eat them I think anyone would eat them! Look for future "veggie recipe posts" as I learn to eat more vegetables!

Massaged Kale Salad
Source

Ingredients

• 1 bunch kale (black kale is especially good), stalks removed and discarded, leaves thinly sliced
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
• Kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons honey
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 mango, diced small (about 1 cup)
• Small handful toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds), about 2 rounded tablespoons

Directions

In large serving bowl, add the kale, half of lemon juice, a drizzle of oil and a little kosher salt. Massage until the kale starts to soften and wilt, 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside while you make the dressing.

In a small bowl, whisk remaining lemon juice with the honey and lots of freshly ground black pepper. Stream in the 1/4 cup of oil while whisking until a dressing forms, and you like how it tastes.

Pour the dressing over the kale, and add the mango and pepitas. Toss and serve.

Move Night Pasta
Source

Ingredients

• 3 tsp (15 mL) kosher salt
• 1 large head cauliflower (about 2 lb/1 kg), stems discarded, florets cut into small pieces
• 500-g box orecchiette pasta
• 3 tbsp (45 mL) olive oil
• 2 tbsp (30 mL) minced garlic
• 1 tsp (5 mL) crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 tbsp (30 mL) chopped basil leaves
• 1/2 tsp (2 mL) freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup (250 mL) freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions

Fill large pot three-quarters full with water. Add 2 tsp (10 mL) salt. Bring to boil over high heat. Add cauliflower. Cook until fork tender, 5 to 7 minutes. With slotted spoon, remove cauliflower to drain in colander.

Return water to boil. Add pasta. Cook as per package instructions until al dente, about 11 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup (250 mL) cooking liquid.

Meanwhile, in large skillet, heat oil over medium until it begins to shimmer but isn’t smoking. Add cauliflower. Cook, using wooden spoon or spatula to break florets into bite-size pieces roughly same size as the pasta, until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Add garlic. Cook, stirring, 2 minutes.

Return drained pasta to pot. Add cauliflower and garlic. Using tongs, toss. Add red pepper flakes, basil, remaining 1 tsp (5 mL) salt and black pepper. Toss. Add cheese; toss. If pasta doesn’t look moist enough, spoon in a little of the reserved pasta water; toss.

Makes 8 servings.

Sadie at 2 Months

I almost started this post with "I can't believe" but I realized that's how I started her 1 month post. However, truth be told, that's exactly how I feel today! It seems impossible that our silly little girl has been with us for 8 whole weeks already. We have been blessed with such a fun and smiley little baby.

Just look at that grin! I'm so lucky that I am greeted with this smile each and every morning.

Nicknames: Sadie Boo, Boo Boo Girl, Baby Girl, Button, Stinky
Temperament: You are still such a wiggle worm and continue to want to be moving at all times. You definitely keep us busy! Now when we do tummy time, you try and crawl and get so upset because you're just not big enough/strong enough to do so. But those arms and legs are going like crazy, so I can only imagine how crazy you're going to go when you actually can crawl. You're going to be our little dare devil. You now smile big goofy grins, especially in the morning and love it when I kiss your toes.
Things I Could Do Without: The fussy crying (and screaming!) at 8 p.m. every single night. You have a strong set of lungs on you and it makes me so sad seeing you so sad.
Item/Toy We Love The Most: Your new Snuggabunny Swing. The allure of your bouncer is gone so we broke down and bought you a swing. You fall asleep immediately in it and it soothes you when you're fussy.
Item/Toy You Love The Most: The picture of yourself that hangs by your changing table. You could stare at yourself for hours and love "talking" to the picture.
Things I’m Loving Most Right Now: The longer stretches of sleep you're giving us! Sometimes you'll sleep as much as 5 or 6 straight hours. It's amazing. And you go to bed with almost no fussing. We swaddle you tight, put you in your crib, and you're snoozing away within an hour.
Things You’re Loving Most Right Now: Trying to stand on mommy. You love pretending you can walk and "walking" all over my stomach. I fear it's a bad habit because that's all you want to do!
Sounds/Words: We've been trying to get you to say "hello." Quite often your coo sounds just like it, so we pretend you understand us. It's a fun little game!
Foods You Like: Breast milk!