Totally On Purpose

Dear Baby TOP,

Today is January 26th. You are 29 weeks and 2 days cooked. We meet in about 11 weeks! 

The big news at Chez Giessler is the arrival of LOTS and LOTS of clothes for you. Since your future-buddy, Max, had a little sister (Sydney) last week (and not a brother), you are the beneficiary of hoards of adorable (sorry, I mean STYLISH and HANDSOME) clothes. We are so lucky that Miss Megan carefully held onto all of this stuff. I don't even want to think about the cost we'd be looking at if we needed to start from scratch!

I couldn't fit all the boxes and bags in one shot. Trust me, you are ALL SET for clothes through age 2!

So your future-buddy, Reid (age 3), your future buddy, Ethan (9 months), your big brother, Elliott, and I spent a good chunk of the afternoon going through and sorting the loot. I only wish I had a picture of the kitchen when we were at the peak of things. Sections of the floor were designated newborn - 3 months, 3 - 6 months, 6 - 9 months... etc. And by the end we were all just SWIMMING in Baby Boy Duds. Ethan had strong opinions on things. (Those opinions were mostly, "Hmmmm, this one looks yummy. I'll try that!") With the reassuring tones of "Talk of the Nation" (can't beat talking politics on Wednesdays with Neal Conan and Ken Rudin!) and "Fresh Air" (my old stomping ground) in the background, we ooh'd and aah'd and coo'd at the future stylish fella you are going to be.

And here's the biggest miracle of my week: 

What? Washed! And hung up? I hardly know myself!!

I got all of the smallest outfits, onsies, socks, bibs and whatnot washed, dried (sorry, in the dryer and not in an environmentally friendly way) and hung up in your future closet. I am more than a little bit excited and proud of starting and finishing this ambitious project in one day. Oh, yeah! I also have the bigger clothes in the garage, neatly labeled and ready for your fast and furious growth. I know, it's not rocket science, but it's SO much more organized than when your brothers were on their way.

Three picks for this pic...

One of the sweetest things about this project was that many of the clothes you received from Max are the same ones we gave to him! Take a look at your big brothers and imagine them in these clothes... incredible, huh? In the picture above, the outfit on the right is what Tommy wore home from the hospital (purchased by Gungah). The outfit on the left is the one Baby Sydney would have worn home from the hospital if she had been born Baby Eli instead! And the one in the middle is one that Elliott insisted needed to be in the photo because "it's got a train on it and the new baby will love trains." Okey doke!

So, that's the big news here in Mirror Lake, where the Mommy is strong, the Daddy good looking, and the children are above average. I think Garrison Keillor would agree.

You're being a very good boy in there and I sure appreciate it. I promise to stay healthy if you do! I love you like crazy.

Mom