Holy Six Months, Batman!

I haven't gotten around to taking Claire's six month pictures yet, but I know if I don't get this post up now, it'll probably never happen. This has been the fastest-passing six months of my entire life. It's like Claire was born and I blinked and now she's half a year old. Good grief...she is such a joy to Devin and I.

She is chock-full of personality now. She's almost always smiling or has some silly expression on her face. She giggles and squeals and "talks" to her toys. Claire is old enough now to really take an interest in toys, and I've had a lot of fun shopping around for age-appropriate things for her to play with. She'll stare at new things and move them around; it's so neat to see her little brain working to try and figure things out. What an incredible blessing to have the opportunity to be her mommy. I think it's safe for me to speak for Devin and say he feels the same way about being her daddy. I have to go off on a little tangent here and talk about what an amazing father Devin is to Claire. When he comes home from work, he can't wait to kiss her and hold her, and it melts my heart to see her break into a huge grin when he walks in the door. I know I'm always talking about how I want time to slow down, but I kind of can't wait until she's big enough to waddle/run to him with her arms up going "Daaaaaadddddyyyy!!!" Ugh, that'll make me cry for sure. Anyway, Devin is more than I could ask for in every sense, and I thank God for him at least once a day. I am so blessed. But, enough of the mushy emotional junk and on to more cute baby stuff. That's what you're here for anyway, right?

Claire rolls over both ways and now that we've unswaddled her, she's mostly a tummy sleeper like her daddy. She's almost sitting on her own! She can stay up unsupported for 20-30 seconds before toppling over one way or another. She's so strong though, and I think it won't be too much longer. When she's on her tummy she'll push up onto both hands and move her legs back and forth like she wants to crawl but can't quite figure it out. I think once she works it out, she'll be a whole new force to be reckoned with! No teeth have emerged yet, but I think it'll be any day now. Here in the last few days she's been up a few times at night crying because her gums are bothering her, and she's taken to chewing on her pacifier and sucking on her bottom lip. She had a few weeks of horrible sleep that were really rough on both of us, but before she started teething, she was back to sleeping from about 7:30PM-7AM with only one night feeding at around 4:30. Even with the teething though, she's usually only waking up one additional time. Most of the time I can just nurse her and that comforts her enough to go back to sleep, but there have been a few times where she's just inconsolable in pain and I've given her Tylenol. It seems to do the trick and she goes right back to sleep after it kicks in. Hearing her cry like that though breaks my mommy heart.

At her six month check-up on Friday she weighed 15 lbs. 5 oz. and is now 26 inches long. She's in the 75th percentile for height and the 40th percentile for weight. Her doctor gave us the green light for solids (purees) twice a day, so we're doing pears at breakfast after her first nursing session/bottle and then a veggie for dinner after her last nursing session. So far she's had avocado, sweet potato, green beans, carrots and pears. Claire loves pears and green beans. So far, those are her favorites. When we first started with avocado, she really liked it, but now that she's tried other things, it seems like avocado has taken a back burner. Maybe she's not my child afterall! I've been trying my hand at making her baby food. I'm adding in store-bought stuff that's out of season (pears) but want to try and do as much as I can myself. Turns out it's something that I really enjoy doing! Finding good produce this year has been a little more difficult after the heavy winter freezes in some growing areas and then this insane drought we're having. We'll see how it goes though! We got her convertable car seat last week and she's done really well in it. She seems more comfortable in it than in her infant carrier, but we still use that for our other car and for when she's at Devin's mom's. We went with Britax, due to its outstanding safety and user ratings. I also found the cutest print that looks like cowhide. The print is called cowmooflage, which tickles me every time I say it; pretty clever. To get the full visual, here's a picture of it:

I know, this totally outs what a redneck I am, but how cute is that? It goes perfectly with all her cowgirl stuff, and it's not girly if our next little love down the road is a boy.

I can't say enough about how much I love this little girl. She has changed our lives in ways I never thought possible. Claire has taught me so much about myself; I've learned that I am fiercely protective of her and her needs. When that "mama bear" instinct comes out in me, it always surprises me in how strong it is. She fills me with such pride when everyone tells me how happy she is and how she's such a good baby. I know I don't have too much to do with it, but it makes me feel like maybe I'm not a total failure as a parent. I feel really thankful that most of this whole mommy thing has come very naturally to me, but I know that I still have so much to learn. I can't wait to see the little person she becomes! I'll try and get pics done and added in tomorrow.

Cupcake Recipe

I posted a picture on Facebook a few nights ago of some cupcakes I made, and got some requests for the recipe, so here you go! They're a little labor-intensive, but I promise you these babies are worth it!

Lemon Cupcakes with Raspberry Filling

Cupcakes:
3 cups self-rising flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs, room temperature (Please don't use cold eggs. Your cupcakes will thank you.)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. lemon zest (I like them a little more lemonish, so you can use more zest and/or juice if you want.)
1 cup whole milk, divided (Seriously. I only drink 2%. Whole milk is always best for baking.)
2 1/2 Tbsp. lemon juice, divided

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sift flour and salt together. In another bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, then mix in vanilla and lemon zest. Gently beat flour mix into the butter mixture, one third at a time, alternating with 1/2 the milk and 1/2 the lemon juice. Beat until just combined, do not overmix. Fill cupcake tins 3/4 full and bake about 17 minutes. Let cool in pan 10 minutes before moving to cooling rack.

Filling:
1 pkg. frozen raspberries in sugar, thawed
1/3 cup sugar
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. lemon juice

Drain berries, saving the liquid. Add enough water to the liquid to equal 1 1/4 cups. In a saucepan, combine berry liquid, sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice; mix well. Heat and stir until mixture boils and thickens. Remove from heat and cool completely. Stir berries into cooled mixture.

I have to be honest; I'm a little stingy with my special buttercream frosting recipe, so I won't be posting that. You can Google any recipe though and it'll be almost but not quite just as good :o)

Y'all enjoy!

She's Definitely My Child...

because she loves avocado! Claire has been showing major interest in our food lately; she'll stare intently anytime we eat in front of her. She's also started reaching for whatever we have so we've had to kind of be ninjas about eating. Claire has such a personality and it's really starting to show through. I majorly failed at posting a five-month-old update but she's grown so much.

Anyway, we skipped over cereals because I find them revolting they really don't have much value in the way of nutrition. We're waiting until after her six month check-up before we really get started on regular solids, but I thought we'd give avocado a shot. I thinned it out with some milk so it'd be easier for her to digest, and she was all about it!

I tried to figure out how to post the video, but I'm not that savvy yet so until I figure it out, enjoy the other visuals! (Sorry, there are a lot of pictures. I couldn't slim them down any more...they're just too dang cute!)




Hmmm...lemme try, Mom.

This is great! Gimme more!

So what's this thing?

Thanks, Mom! This is awesome!

I don't have anything on my face, do I?

Happy baby = happy mommy!

 I can't wait to see her experience new foods! The little things like this really bring Devin and I so much joy. She is an amazing tiny human.

Weekend Getaway

The first weekend in June, we packed up and headed to Blanco for the weekend for a family reunion-type vacation. My grandmother and her sister arranged the whole thing, and there were about 20 of us there; aunts, great-aunts and uncles, first and second cousins...the works! It was Claire's first time to meet a lot of the family, and we had such a great time just relaxing and catching up on busy lives.

Unfortunately, Claire picked the weekend to hit some type of growth spurt and/or start having some teething pain. She slept horribly. I can't stress how bad it was. While we were there, I thought that she was just having trouble sleeping in an unfamiliar place. It didn't make sense, as she's always traveled wonderfully, but I figured that we had been in a routine for several months without going anywhere so it just threw her off. No. Not even close. It has now been almost two weeks since our trip and she is still sleeping like crap. I really try not to complain about it too much, but this is my blog and I do what I want. I have never been so exhausted in my life. Not even when Claire was first born. I know that part of her development includes sleep regressions, but good grief it has got to end soon. I digress. Vacation. We had a blast and it was really nice to hang around and do nothing for a few days. It was also our second time to take Claire swimming and she loved it. The first time, the water was a little chilly so it took her a while to get used to it. This time though, it wasn't an issue and she had such a good time being towed around in the water!

We all had such a good time that the family decided to make Chimney Valley Lodge a yearly tradition. We can't wait to go back next year! Now on to the pictures!

She's already a diva...

Claire loves swimming with Daddy!

My cousin, Shelby with Claire, and Shelby's boyfriend Ben.

Max and Henry

Plenty more updates are coming soon! I'm in major catch-up mode.

Wednesday's Ten on Tuesday

1. From your childhood, what do you miss most about summer vacation?
I miss actually having a summer vacation. Week-long trips to Lakeway, going to the pool every day, random fun day-trips, camping, floating the river…it was all so much fun.

2. Are you going anywhere on vacation this summer?
Probably the only one we’ll get is this coming weekend. My extended family is having a get-together on one of the rivers about two hours from us. We’ve rented an entire lodge facility, and I’m so excited! A whole weekend of being lazy by the water (pool or river, depending on if there’s anything actually in the river) with my family sounds just about perfect to me.

3. What foods do you like to barbecue?
I’m a Texas girl. You can BBQ (who actually spells out barbecue?) just about anything. My favorites are brisket and sausage though.

4. How do you celebrate the fourth of July?
Eeek! It’s my favorite holiday of the whole year! I love fireworks, I love that it’s summer, I love everyone’s sense of patriotism, I love everything about it. I actually have to work this year on the actual day, but I’m off the weekend before. All that to say I’m sure we’ll do something, I just don’t know what yet.

5. What’s your favorite beverage to drink in the summertime?
Ice cold beer. Not that I drink a lot of it, but it’s so refreshing when it’s nine million degrees outside and everyone is just sittin’ around the pool. I also love lime wedges in my water.

6. What movie are you looking forward to seeing this summer?
There are so many movies I’d love to see, but it just doesn’t happen with Claire here. I want to see Bridesmaids, Cars 2 (don’t judge me, I love Disney), Pirates of the Caribbean 32, and a few others I can’t think of right now.

7. In the car: windows down or AC?
Ummm this is Texas. Hot, humid, sweltering Texas. If you have the windows down, you’ll suffocate and die.

8. Have you ever had a summer fling?
Nope.

9. Do you wear sunscreen?
My moisturizer and my make-up have sunscreen in them. Other than that, not unless I’m going to be outside a lot.

10. Do you have any favorite summertime activities?
Laying out on the beach. I love going to the beach and listening to the waves. It’s my happy place. I haven’t been to the beach since before I moved here though :o(

Your turn!

4 Months Old...Almost a Month Late

It's not even a little bit funny how far behind I am on blogging. I can't believe how quickly time is passing. Let's see if I can re-cap Claire's month. At her four month check-up she was 13 lbs., 9 oz. and 25 inches long. She's staying right in the 50th percentile for weight, but she's now in the 75th percentile for length! I'm hoping that means she'll be tall like her daddy. 


Claire had a ton of firsts this month! She's grown so much and it's really amazing to see her experience new things. She's rolling in both directions, but I've only seen her roll belly to back. Devin and his mom have both seen her roll back to belly but she's holding out on me for some reason. She's sleeping in her crib now in her own room. My original plan was to keep her in the pack-n-play in our room for six months. On the weekends that I work, Devin is home with her and he had been putting her down to nap in her crib so she could start to get familiar with it. One day all of her stuff (blankie, sound machine, etc.) were all still in her nursery so on a whim I just decided to put her down in her crib to see how she did. The first night she slept ten hours straight! I don't know if she could sense how close we were when she was in our room or what, but she was waking up several times a night. She let us know she was ready, I guess! Claire usually goes to bed at about 7 and sleeps until 4ish. She comes into bed with us then and sleeps with us after she nurses until it's time to get up for the day. I know we don't want to make sleeping with us a bad habit, but Devin and I both enjoy snuggling with her so much that we're not ready to stop yet. I guess as long as it works for all of us, we'll keep going with it. 


Claire loves her momma and daddy. It's so neat to see her recognize us. She hasn't really gotten stranger danger yet; she does well with just about anybody. But when she sees me or Devin she gets the biggest smile on her face. She's becoming so independent. She'll play by herself in her jumperoo or on her playmat for 15 or 20 minutes at a time. She's really started to show an interest in food lately. When we eat or drink, Claire will watch our every move, and will reach for the cup or bowl. At her check-up we got the go-ahead to start rice cereal. Since there's really no nutritional value, and it's just to practice with spoon feeding, we've opted not to feed it. We've tried putting breastmilk on a spoon for her, but she hasn't lost her tongue-thrust reflex yet, so it all just runs down her face. We'll try again when that goes away, and then at six months we'll start her on solids. 


Claire loves: baths, playing with Mommy and Daddy, being outside, singing Itsy Bitsy Spider, looking at new things, Sophie the giraffe, putting everything she can get her hands on in her mouth, laughing and squealing and the bright lights on the TV. 


She hates being tired, staying on her tummy too long and being cold. There's really not much she just can't stand. 


We're so blessed with such a happy, easy-going baby. She is growing before our eyes and amazes us every day.

Ten on Tuesday!

Yes, I know (thank you, Jessica) that I'm terribly behind on blogging. I have posts about Easter, Mother's Day, and Claire's 4 month birthday that all need to go up, but I haven't had a chance to get pictures off the camera to go with them. I know that all three of you that read this regularly are dying for updates, and I promise I'll work on it during Claire's naps tomorrow. Here's a Ten on Tuesday to hold you over though.

1. If you could watch only one movie for the rest of your life, what would it be?
I really can’t choose between Lonesome Dove and Gone With the Wind. I love Lonesome Dove for the dry humor, and I love Gone With the Wind for the drama. Those are my two all-time favorite movies so I guess either one would work.

2. Let’s say someone wrote a screenplay about you; what actor/actress would you choose to play you and why?
Reese Witherspoon, because she’s classy and fabulous. I may not be either of those, but it’s my movie, so I do what I want.  

3. What’s the first movie you remember seeing in theaters?
8 Seconds. It’s nowhere near close to the first movie I ever saw (which was Lady & the Trap, if you’re curious.) But it is the first movie I remember seeing with my mom and all of my sisters. All five of us left the theater crying.

4. Did you ever make out at the back of a movie theater in middle school/high school?
Nope. I’m not, nor have I ever been, much of a PDA person. Gross.

5. Are you a Netflix-er, Blockbuster-er or a Redbox-er? (Or none of the above?)
We are a Netflix family that occasionally Redbox-es.

6. Name one actor/actress who you would give anything to have a dinner date with.
I don’t know of anyone that I’d give anything to eat with. It’d be fun to eat with anyone funny though. Jim Carey, Will Farrell, Vince Vaughn…those fools crack me up.

7. What’s the worst movie you’ve ever seen?
Atonement. Or The Painted Veil. They’re both terribly boring. Sorry, Amanda. It's true though.

8. Do you sneak snacks into the theater when you go?
I did when we went to the movies. It doesn’t happen anymore with having a baby and all, but yah. I’m not paying $43.50 for popcorn and a drink.

9. Movie theater popcorn: love or hate it?
Love it but never buy it. If Devin gets some, I’ll munch on some of his. I just get full and/or tired of it before I get half-way through the bag.

10. What is the all-time best Disney movie in your opinion?
Oooooohhh I don’t feel like I can’t give an answer to this question. I love all the old classic Disney. Robin Hood, Sword in the Stone, Aristocats, Mary Poppins…I could do this all day.



Your turn!