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!

The Royal Wedding

I know. I'm sure everyone is sick to death of reading/seeing/hearing about the Royal Wedding. I promise this is the last you'll hear about it from me. I'm bored though, and have a lot of random thoughts flitting through my head about this whole shenanigan, so I thought maybe if I wrote them down they would go away. So here we go. I had to get up early this morning anyway because I had to work, but I got up a few minutes earlier so I could sit and give my undivided attention to the tele (note my clever use of British terms). As I watched Kate ride to the abbey, I wondered what she was thinking about. I'm sure she had the typical bride-on-her-wedding-day jitters, but I wonder if she was feeling the extraordinary pressure of literally having the whole world watching. The news reported an estimate that billions of people watched from home, on top of the several hundred thousand that lined the streets and palace plazas. Can you imagine? I'm certain that my only thought would be "Please don't trip. Please don't trip. Please don't trip." I'd be saying it to the rhythm of my footsteps. Actually, that's exactly what's happened any time I've had to get up in front of people. So, I said a little prayer for her. Well, from my lips to God's ears, y'all. She. Was. Flawless.

I think her dress looks a lot like Grace Kelly's did. It's simple. It's elegant. It's timeless. It's proportional to the size of the church without being out of control. I love it.

I also loved seeing them smile and whisper to each other. They're obviously very much in love and it makes the almost-non-existant romantic in me go "Awwww!"

And the hats! Katie, bar the door! Anyone that knows anything about me knows how much I love big hats! My husband send me a text later this morning that said "This is soooo up your alley. Puffy hats everywhere!" I love him. Anyway, I wish I had been born in an earlier time when it was socially accepted/required to wear hats like that. I guess I could move to England, but I think I'd rather live in Civil War-Era Georgia than modern-day snooty England. That's just me though. Sidenote: How did Harry end up being the good-looking brother? William just hasn't aged well, bless his heart. Carry on. Where was I? Oh! The hats!

Also stunning: Kate's sister, Pippa. I know several people who adore that name. I'm sorry, I find it heinous. Okay, maybe heinous is a little extreme. I very strongly dislike it, but it doesn't matter, because her dress is gorgeous! I wonder if she feels any kind of pressure from her family. "Your sister is going to be queen one day. What are you doing with your life?" I hope that's not the case.

I just have to briefly touch on the two three things that really annoyed me. Two of them are hat-related, surprise surprise.

First, Posh, darlin (or should I say daahhhhling). I know everyone thinks she's such a fashion icon, and I'll be the first to say how smashing she looks all glowy and pregnant. But the hat. On her forehead? With black stick-like thingys coming off of it? No no no.

Secondly, and I'm not saying too much, because she's the Queen and all. But Your Highness. Really? Big Bird yellow is your color of choice for the day? Ugh! There's so much more to elaborate on about how horrid this color is, and there is no shortage in other color options. But she's the Queen. She does what she wants. Amen.

Last but not least, Princess Beatrice. Why? Why, why, why? She majorly annoyed me. Her make-up was a train wreck. But most of all...the hat! I found it tacky and pompous. A giant bow, like she was all wrapped up as the gift to the wedding. Puh-leeze.

So that's it. My take on the day. Did you watch it? What'd ya think?

Ten on Tuesday!

1. How many blogs do you read every day and what are they? (I’m talking the ones you NEVER miss)
*Points to my blog list* All of those. It’s part of my morning work routine. Facebook, Proverbs 31 devotional, blogs then The Bump. That’s pretty much my entire day on repeat. Unless it’s one of the few days we’re actually busy. Pathetic? You betcha.


2. How many “best friends” do you have? Do you have different “besties” for different areas of your life?
Hmmm. Devin is my very best friend; he was my best friend before he was anything else. Then there’s Amanda Denise. She’s like a sister to me. We don’t talk or see each other as often as I’d like, but when we get to catch up it’s like no time has passed. Really, that’s the case for all my best friends since none of them live even remotely close. I have a lot of really special memories that involve Amanda. Jillian and I have been friends since high school; she’s my oldest friend. The most random, life-endangering things always seemed to happen when we were together. She’s getting married in October and I can’t wait to be part of her day! I met Trish when I dispatched in Huntsville. She and I have been through more together than I care to think about. She’s become such a Godly woman and I wish we could see each other more.

3. What’s your daily make up routine?
BareMinerals is the best thing since sliced bread. It’s fast, easy, and pretty much a miracle. Amen. It takes about 6 minutes.

4. What is your ideal girl’s night?
Mexican food and drinks with all my best friends. I would just want to sit around and catch up on everyone’s lives and laugh.

5. Do you keep up with your nails/toenails or are they au natural?
If you know me, you know that’s the one “girly” thing I am stringent about. If you’re gonna wear sandals/flip flops, you better keep your hooves scrubbed and painted. I think that may be a southern “rule”, but I have a huge foot phobia so I feel like it’s only appropriate that if I have to look at ‘em, you could at least maintain them. I’m not as hard-core about nails. I think chipped polish is tacky, though. I stick with acrylic, myself.

6. What’s your best roommate story (assuming you had a roommate at some point in your life)?
Almost all of my favorite roommate memories are from when Amanda and I lived together at Gateway. We had so much fun…and we lived well together. I can't think of one specific best time though. There were a lot.

7. What’s your “go to” outfit that you wear more than anything else?
Jeans, t-shirt and flip flops. Pretty much every day. I’m in a weird place right now where my maternity clothes are too big and my pre-baby clothes don’t fit. It’s not very confidence-inspiring, but I’m working on gettin’ my slim on.

8. Do you have a beauty secret?
My beauty secret is to be friends with people who are think you are beautiful no matter what.

9. Did you read Seventeen magazine growing up?
Of course!! I always tried to pick up tips on being more “girly.” Clearly none of it stuck.

10. How did you learn to put on makeup?
The Clinique counter and Seventeen magazine. Then I pretty much threw it all out the window and was like, “Screw that, I’m low maintenance.”



Your turn!!

Springtime in the Bluebonnets

On my days off this past week, I loaded Claire up and headed over to a huge park that has about the only big bluebonnet field I've seen this year. I think that the fact that we've had almost zero rain really hurt the wildflowers this year, but we lucked out with the park. Of course, it's an unwritten law that all good Texans throw their kids off in a bluebonnet field for pictures every Spring. I know a lot of people think it's a ridiculous tradition, but I don't happen to be one of those people. I love love love bluebonnets; they're one of my favorite things about this time of year in the Hill Country. So of course, I find pictures with two of my favorite things (babies and bluebonnets) absolutely precious.

On Wednesday, we got to the park a little after noon and it was a gorgeous day. Not a cloud in the sky, about 80 degrees with a nice, light breeze. I got Claire ready to go, then took a few pictures with my iPhone. I got out the camera to get the good shots, and naturally, the camera battery was dead. Sooooooo frustrating, but I figured we would just go back on Thursday and try again. Of course, Thursday was cloudy and not nearly as nice. We made the best of it though and I got a few pictures. Claire refused to cooperate (don't all 3 month-olds know how to behave for photo shoots?!), and was only interested in chewing on Sophie and looking anywhere but at me. They'll suffice for the obligatory bluebonnet shots, but I'm definitely hoping for something a little more refined next year. I don't think you can go too wrong with a picture of that girl, anyway!

I tried to post the ones from Wednesday, but for some reason, they won't rotate. So, here are my favorite shots from Thursday.

Such a sweet smile!

Blue Steel. Probably not funny if you haven't seen Zoolander.



Listening to a secret from Sophie.



Ok, Mom. I've had enough of this.

I really did have a good time taking pictures of her. Hopefully I'll remember to bring the camera along for more everyday stuff, because she's always up to something cute! Hope y'all are having a great weekend!

What We've Been Up To...

It's really kind of sad when I think of how little we've been up to. We've done the odd fun thing here and there, but my days off are usually spent at home soaking up every minute I can with Claire. Leaving her to go to work has been really difficult for me. I thought it would get easier with time, but it hasn't happened yet. I try to put a positive spin on it; I'm working hard and making the sacrifice to provide for her. It just doesn't do the trick though. Blah. Anyway, this was not meant to be a depressing vent. I've been trying to remember to take lots of pictures, so this may turn into a lengthy post. Just FYI!

We've been reading to Claire for a few weeks now. She's now to the point where she will sit still and somewhat pay attention. I'm sure she doesn't care about the story yet, but will sit and stare at all the illustrations. Every once in a while she'll coo and squeal; I say she's reading along with me. It's so cute. Right now her favorite books are The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Corduroy and Goodnight Moon.

Last weekend we made trip to Houston to vist one of my very best friends, Jillian, and her fiancee, Ford. They're getting married in October, and Devin and I can't wait to be part of their special day! Jill and I have been friends since sophomore year of high school, and now that I live here we see way too little of each other. Of course I totally fail and only took two pictures the whole weekend. And they were of Claire, naturally.

We left for Houston on Thursday night after I got off from work. We stayed the night with Devin's brother Ryan, and his wife Andi. We had a good time hanging out and catching up Thursday night and Friday. They always make me laugh we always have a blast with them. Friday afternoon we headed to Jill and Ford's house. We just sat around and caught up and were gloriously lazy until dinner. The five of us met up with Devin's dad, step-mom, Ryan and Andi, and Devin's half-brother, Nicky and half-sister, Maddie. We had fabulous Mexican food and a great time visiting. Of course Claire was up way late and had a total melt-down in the restaurant. We all made it home and went right to sleep. Saturday morning, Jill's mom, who is very dear to me, came by the house. We got Claire ready and we ladies went shopping for Jillian's veil. She got the perfect one and she looked gorgeous! I can't wait to see the whole ensemble put together. Devin and Ford spent the day at the gun range playing with man toys. They came home happy and sunburnt, and totally fired up for the Zombie Apocolypse. I can't tell you how happy it makes me that Ford and Devin get along so well. Serious bromance going on there, let me tell ya! Saturday night we grilled burgers, put Claire to bed and stayed up playing Mexican Train dominoes. I had never played before, and I loved it! It was so much fun! Sunday we packed up and headed to The Woodlands to see my aunt. We had some more delish Mexican food and spent a few really nice hours at her house catching up. We finally forced ourselves out and made it home just a little past Claire's bed time. We had such a great time and wish we could've seen more of everyone!

Claire discovering herself in the mirror at the bridal salon. Please note the hilarious bald spot on the back of her head. That's where she turns her head back and forth when she's extra tired.

Claire and my aunt. I love this picture. Even though we don't catch up much, I'm very close to my her. We're very much alike and I love her to pieces!

We've taken Claire to a couple of baseball games, which she seems to enjoy. By enjoy I mean there are plenty of new things for her to look at. We went on Tuesday to a game that we got free (amazing) tickets to. It just so happened that one of my very favorite Texas country artists, Josh Abbott, was singing the National Anthem. Thanks to our awesome seats, we got to talk to him for a minute before he performed, and he was nice enough to take some pictures! I've been a huge fan of his for years. He's come a long way and it's really cool to see that his success hasn't gone to his head. Thanks, Josh!

I think that pretty much sums up our life lately! Hope y'all are enjoying this gorgeous weather we've had lately!

Claire Hearts Sophie

I know, I'm horribly behind! I'll (hopefully) get another post up later this afternoon with more of what we've been up to. Sadly, it's not that much, so there really isn't an excuse for how lame I've been.

So since Claire has come along I've seen a ton of hype about this teething toy. It's a giraffe, I thought. Big deal. Recently, Claire has started to gnaw on her hands/clothes/whatever she can get her hands on and slobbering like crazy, so I think teething isn't too far away. I did some research, and this giraffe comes insanely recommended. We came across a really neat baby boutique that had them for a good price, so I thought "Why not?" I was proud of myself for thinking to have the camera handy for Claire's introduction to Sophie (that's the giraffe's name) and I'm just tickled pink at the pictures I got. Her face is so expressive!

This is her very first look at Sophie as she came out of the box. "Mom, what is that thing?"

Just a split second later. "Wait a minute...she looks kind of friendly."

She's still working on learning to grip things, but it looks like Sophie is gonna be a big hit in our house! I just have to make sure the dog doesn't get a hold of her!

Three Months!

I wish I could tell you where the last three months have gone. Everyone told me that time would fly by, and boy, were they right. It's the strangest thing; it feels like it was just a few days ago that we were anxiously driving to the hospital for my induction. At the same time though, it feels like Claire has always been part of our lives. Like everything before her is so insignificant now. Does that make sense? It has been absolutely incredible to see how much she's grown and to watch her personality develop. We have been very blessed in that she hasn't been sick at all and that she's still overall a super content baby. I'm not sure how much she weighs. Devin estimates somewhere around 14 pounds. She doesn't feel that heavy to me, but I have never been good at guessing stuff like weights and distances. She isn't rolling over yet, but she's so strong. She's able to push off the ground with her arms and lift her head and chest up. Tummy time definitely isn't Claire's favorite activity, but she tolerates it much better than she used to. She'll also put her weight on her legs when we stand her up, and she doesn't need much support when she's sitting.

Claire loves to smile. When I come home from work, or pick her up first thing in the morning, she's all smiles. It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. She's not full-out laughing yet, but she has discovered her voice and loves to giggle and squeal. It's so precious. She adores car rides. She'll look around for a bit but almost always goes to sleep. She loves baths & showers. Sometimes when I take her in the shower with me she'll snuggle up against me under the water and start to fall asleep! She loves being outside. Almost any time she's fussy and nothing else will work, we walk outside with her and she immediately calms down. She seems so content just to sit outside and look at the world. Before I say this, put down your pitchforks and extinguish your torches. Claire loves TV. We don't plop her in front of it all day to avoid interacting with her. But I'm not above letting her stare at a cartoon for 30 minutes while I get a chore or two done around the house. It's not an everyday thing, but she's fascinated by the colors and sounds. She loves being swaddled. She'll nap unswaddled, but she sleeps much better all snug as a bug. Just this weekend she's started sleeping in her pack-n-play. She would only sleep on my chest for the first five weeks. Then we got the glorious rock-n-play. It took a few days for her to get used to it, but she slept in that bad boy like a champ. Here recently she hadn't been sleeping as well, and I think it had something to do with her not being comfortable in it anymore. So on a whim Thursday night I decided to try the pack-n-play. She's napped in it a few times but usually won't stay longer than 30-45 minutes. But she's sleeping great in it now! I think she's coming off a growth spurt and still gets up once in the night to nurse. But I read that it's almost unheard of for breastfed babies to sleep through the night at this age, so evidently the six weeks she was doing so was just a beautiful, glorious phase. I still count myself lucky though that she's not one of the babies that still wants to be fed every two hours. Praise God for small miracles! I'm so glad to see her adapting to changes well, but it also makes me sad that she's growing up.

There's not too much Claire doesn't like. She hates being cold and will let you know it in a hurry. Usually if you're not going to hold her, she needs a binky (pacifier) to be content. If she gets overly-tired she will have a complete meltdown. Other than that, though, she really doesn't cry.

She brings so much joy to our lives. We had no idea it was possible to love someone so much. Sorry this got to be a little long, but Little Miss has really come a long way, and I wanted to update y'all! I'll add some pics to the post as soon as I get them off the camera! Hope y'all had a great weekend!

4/15/2011

I finally got Devin to dump the pictures off the camera, so here are Claire's three month pictures!! I'll throw in a one month picture for comparison. I can't believe how much she's grown!

One month: (Sorry, it was before I knew of the glory that is month onesie stickers)

Three months! My girl's all grown up! I know I'm being dramatic here, but seriously.