Things that have happened since Charley has been born: November - January

November
I cant even believe Charley is 6 months! Wow this has flown!

• We started food! First with peas, then apples.  As of 11/6 she isn't that into it, which is shocking.  
• She started sitting up!  She can sit up on her own for a few seconds at a time.
• She rolled over from back to front on the play mat in her bedroom - it was so exciting!
• Charley is sick again.....boooooo.  
• She loves Mangos.  
• Sneak peek of our Christmas card!
• Charley went on the bus! Twice!  The armitage bus from day care.
• Charley experienced snow for the first time on 11/21/15
• Allergies: peas and possible green beans. This sucks because she loves them. Tonight Charley broke out in massive and scary hives after eating peas....ugh.
• Did I mention Im sick again?  Oy. Miserable.  Charley is doing better and Bill is fine of course! 
• She is waking up every 2-3 hours now...what gives? We need to move her crib to the other side of the room.  

December

• Charley weighs 16lbs, 12oz!  7 months old! 
• She is sleeping better, but I am an enabler, so she sleeps in bed with us a lot. 
• She cut her first tooth on 12/8/15 - which explains a lot of crabbiness of her behalf!
• We had dinner as Russell's with Mackie and her family the day after Thanksgiving!  She met Levi, and they had a great time.
• Cicily, Alec, Avery and Alistair came over while they were in town from Austin - Charley and Alistair had a great time! 
• Charley sat in a high chair at a restaurant for the first time! 
• Charley went to Goldyburgers for the first time too!
• We had Christmas and Charley got lots of toys! Her favorite are the blocks and the piano.  Everyone was so generous!
• We have had a lot of people to see this week: Molly and her girls, Amy and Joshie, Erica,  Denise and Colleen, Frankie and Emily, and Erin!
• Her first new years eve was spent sleeping as mom and dad had beef tenderloin and Angies stuffing. 
• Here is to a great 2016!!!!

January

I got a new job! That is big news for January - I am the new Academic Coordinator for the Harold Ramis Film School at The Second City.  I have been so freaked out, but while I leave a job with amazing health insurance and benefits, wonderful co-workers and friends, and stability, I have decided to take a major risk to take on a new job with a new for-profit school that hasn't even been announced yet.  If anything. I think that it shows Charley that you can't stay comfortable - you have to take risks and challenge yourself.  

This month Charley discovered broccoli, and feeding herself little pieces. She is amazing and almost crawling!  

She has two bottom teeth, and is rolling rolling rolling! So close to crawling but not yet!  

Game night at Mary-Frances's

Photo of the Family

Carrots!

Bundled up for the walk to daycare!

Fun dinner at Jeremy + Shirleys, visiting friends Ferris + Paloma!

Morning Hair!!!

Charley little cowlick. So cute.

Things that have happened since Charley has been born: first 6 months edition.

Things That have happened since Charley blessed our lives. The first 6 months. 

Charley was born to the music of Courtney Barnett at 4:01pm on 5.1.15.

May

• President is Barak Obama: first black president
• Zoe's graduation - Charley slept through the whole thing.
• I went with Colleen to see "Pitch Perfect 2" (my first time out alone)
• I threw Bill a surprise 40th birthday party (my second time out!) on our wedding anniversary, so that still needs to be celebrated!
• My first Mothers Day: went to Adams and Sons, walked around Humboldt Park. It was cold that day. 

June

• The 606 opened and we went on opening day!
• First meal out: Potbellys with amy and the boys after walking on the 606
• At one month Charley was sleeping so much I thought there was something wrong!
• Dining out: Breakfast Club with Mackie and Darren, Nordstrom Cafe with Mackie, Parsons with Erica.

July

• At 2 months Charley started smiling
• I went to the Grateful Dead show with Jeff
• Cafe BabaReeba with Marie-Elena and her friends
• Mom skipped Pitchfork for the first time ever

August 

I look around the bedroom and everyone is asleep : Bill, Charley, Lenny and Olive.  I sit up stressing out. Tonight its about her 3mo shots, the doctors office says we don't go in until 4mo but thats not right. Before this stress i would lay awake thinking about daycare,  crying myself to sleep about it. 

Charley is sleeping through the night. That means i have to pump. Waking up with a wet teeshirt sucks, but it just shows how much she has grown. 8.4.15. Also, she wakes up so happy and smiling.  I sing "Good Morning Starshine" to her every day. I just love her so much. 

• at 3 months Charley loves being sung to, being held as much as possible, giggling at daddy and smiling all the time.
• "American Pie" is our song :)
• Mackie, Adira, Katie, Mary-Frances and Amy have babysat for us.
• Christine Rosa moved to Austin, TX
• We bought a new car
• I sold my Civic - sniff sniff
• Kanye said he was running for president
• We had lunch at Publican Quality Meats with Nancy + Mackie
• We went to Sheri's rehearsal dinner at Chief O'Neils
• Charley went to her first nail salon (for sheri's wedding party)
• We made bouquets for Sheri's wedding
• Sheri got married!
• Charley started daycare at Marisol's  - Tu-Fri.

September

• Charley turned 4 months old!  She is still sleeping through the night!
• She is thriving in daycare, but we think we might switch to an in-home daycare that is closer to our house. The driving is stressing me out.  And I am dreading winter.
• She is laughing and smiling and overall adorable. She drools a lot - I think she is pre-teething or something. 
• We had our first ER experience, she fell out of the infant lounger onto thr floor from the island...poor Bill he was a wreck. We went to the ER, all was well thank goodness, but we did miss our date night!
• Charley started waking up toward the end of the month, they call it sleep regression, but she usually falls asleep again quickly. 
• She went to Cozy Corner for the first time, the Ravenswood Art Walk with her friend Evelyn,  the rooftop of Fountainhead  with Erica, and visited me at work for the first time!

October

• Charley's first cold!  Ugh, and Bill has it too. 
• Charley met Bob and Rachael, after she ran the marathon!
• Rachel and James are moving to San Francisco
• Charley started a new daycare down the street! I walk her there in the Ergo everyday. Bill picks her up when he opens, too.
• I also got the cold....for 3 weeks.
• We left Charley for the first time to go to Shipwreks wedding in Kansas City. We were away from her from Friday afternoon through early Sunday evening. It was so weird. I missed her so much, and I felt like a piece of me was missing. But it was also nice to be able to do whatever. It was weird. I had to pump a lot.
• Amy watched Charley which was awesome. It made it much easier to leave her.
• We ate at Cozy Corner again. And Meatheads. And she came with me and Nana to Apple Villa. 
• Our first home project: we got new concrete steps!  Wooooo!
• I made my first halloween costume! Kristin helped me! Charley was a pineapple!
• I took Charley to see Zoe and Mary-Frances on Halloween. 
• She wakes up more during the night, usually because of a coughing fit. Stupid daycare colds. 

Rachel and James are moving.

My friend Rachel is a fun, witty, intelligent person. Her fiancé James is also fun and witty, very outgoing and they are both very talented at numerous things.  James is a musician amongst many other things, and Rachel could be a famous chef if she wanted to (also amongst many other things). They both will beat you at pinball.

They are both pretty ready to leave Chicago and have been longing to move to San Francisco: the food, the weather, the mountains, the accessibility to beautiful nature.

And poof!  After looking for a job for a scotch of time, Rachel landed a big girl job with a big girl company. And she starts in 2 weeks.  Meaning they are leaving like now. NOW!

How does one balance their emotions, between happiness for them, and sadness for myself because my friend is going to be 2,131 miles away (or 31 hours of straight driving time without pee breaks). And who will go to the grocery store with me just because they like grocery stores? And who will just go to Target because who doesn't love Target?  And how am I supposed to go to a restaurant without first hearing if its good or not?  And how do I recap a night of going out without someone to tell me what happened after I left?

This is all a part of growing up. I feel like my friends, and Bill's friends which are also my friends, but my friend community that consists of doctors and teachers and social workers and nurses and artists and sellers and all of it: That we are not grown ups. We are all so fun and awesome, that its hard for me to admit I am a grown up.

Even after marriage, home ownership, a baby, 2 dogs, a new car....after it all, its all a part of growing up. And moving on. And they are moving on. And I'm happy for them, I will still be sad for me, but I am so happy for them. And I will miss them so much!  It means more reason to travel, to use Skype, to master Google Hangouts... I think I'm still in denial, it hasn't totally hit me yet. I'm scared for when it does.

I laugh at dumb things

This has always made me laugh:
Two Chips.

And this:
30 Rock.

And that's all I have today.

Identify yourself!

So my wallet was stolen....I was at Peet's coffee shop in the south loop having coffee, well tea actually with a former co-worker,  and someone stole my wallet.

Chase alerted me as this asshole tried all my cards at Venta to load up their tramsit cards.

I filed a police report, etc,  reported everything, got a new drivers liscense and licked my wounds and moved on.

Well, this asshole managed to go and pose as me (im assuming at this point, the original thief sold or ditched my wallet so now it has moved on to asshome #2) and went into the bank 2 days ago and cleaned out my bank savings account.

They went through a drive through teller in a suburb I dont even know, and managed to forge my signature and everything. 

Wtf. I cant even sleep anymore and it has nothing to do with Charley. Its this bitch that has my ID.  She is an evil horrible person and I feel terrorized by it.  And the bank teller is either working with her or is a totaly idiot. Sigh. 

Grateful Dead show! Thanks to Jeff, who invited me in a private box no less!

I have always loved loved loved the Grateful Dead, and I was DYING to go to the show.  Long story short, I never got tickets, they were totally sold out and so expensive.  Mary-Frances's husband tutors for a lot of wealthy families and one mom invited him to attend and gave him two tickets:  Mary-Frances told him to invite me.  WOW what a night. It was totally different then 20 years ago when I was seeing the Dead. It was strange to not be with the people, and to be the MOST excited person of the 20 people in the suite but I had a great time.  It was so awesome to be there. 

Joe Maddon - Manager of the Chicago Cubs was in the box next to us!

Me stalking Joe Maddon. 

A Dessert cart came around and I HAD to get this cookie!

Inside the box seats.  Free food and booze too. I did not fit in very well, but everyone was so nice.

In the box seat entrance. It was really cool. I felt like I stood out like a sore thumb though. 

Party bus from Oak Brook to Soldier Field.  I was definitely out of my element with all these folks. 

Charley at the Beach

Charley had her first trip to the beach in Beverly Shores, Indiana on June 20th!  Her first sleepover, too - we were at Lex's dad's house.

Look at those little pink feet sticking out!

Olive LOVES rolling over and over in the sand!

Lenny and Olive had a great time, too!  I haven't seen them that happy - well - ever!

City dogs need to be reminded to take their flea and tick medication. We found one on Olive a week later, and I found a HUGE tick on her just 2 days ago!  Whoops!