Happy Halloween! (and only five weeks late)

I promised these pictures by Christmas and made it!  It was a great time, trick or treating with her cousins.  And I'm pretty sure you don't want a sappy account of how I was sad my baby was walking door to door with her big blue eyes and smiling at strangers for candy, so I'll jet leave you with pictures.  I'm pretty sure that's what you came for.

Getting Claire dressed.

Cousin Liam was a monkey

Claire's First Trick or Treat House

Claire and a bumble mee Mommy

Once they got tired of walking, it was into the wagon

How we will top Tinkerbell next year, I don't know.  But hopefully we'll come up with something!  Now, is it possible, I could also have Thanksgiving pictures up by New Year's.  We shall see.

License and Registration, Please

Please take a look at the adorable-ness (if that's a word) of my daughter...  I know you can't help but tilt your head to the side, say "aww" and only wish your kids were this cute.  Ok, I'm kidding.  About the last part, at least.  Totally sticking to the first part about how those bright blue eyes and oh-so-pinchable cheeks make your heart melt inside.

And please note that this picture was taken about a month ago before our lawn was covered in fallen leaves (like where you can't even see the starting-to-die-grass-at-all) and sandals were still appropriate for toddlers outside.  But you already know how speedy I am about posting pictures, so I'll leave it at that.

If she stays this way, she'll never get a speeding ticket in her life!  (Unlike her mother who has had more than you can count on a single hand in less than as many years.  What can I say?  I had a lead foot in college, but it has been over five years since my last ticket.  I have precious cargo now!)

Smashing

And here are the smash cake pictures... Yes, I forgot to do this at the party because there was so much going on, so a few days later, we all had cake.  And three weeks later, I'm finally getting around to posting about it!  In the mind of Claire (wait, I didn't tell you I was a mind reader? Ha, I wish!)  So if I could read minds, I think this would be her recap of events...

You let me put my tutu back on and now you expect me to sit here?

And then you put my hand in a brown pile of mush? 

And you think you can put a bow in my hair?

But this is pretty tasty!

And if I smear all this chocolate on the bow, you won't put it back in my hair!

I'm trying to push this tray off with my feet so you now I'm ready to get down and twirl in my tutu!

The End.

PS. Hope to have Halloween pics up by Christmas so bear with me here!

The Party

The party was amazing, but we are all exhausted!  We all took nice long naps yesterday in an attempt to recover.  The house is still in shambles, the floor covered in wrapping paper and cupcake crumbles smashed in the run.  All the serving platters are under the dining room table, which is where I put them for Cooper to clean since we literally ate.every.thing.  The balloons have deflated and bounce along the floor with little movement when someone walks by.

The party is over.  And the second year begins.  But here are some highlights!

(And if you couldn't already tell, I typed this up last Monday- over a week ago- and am just now getting around to posting it!  Ah, such is life!)

One Year

No way my baby is a year old.  No way, Jose.  But then again, I have learned that no matter how many times I say this to myself and others, Claire is still one year old today.

I am posting soon about how wonderful the party was, and how  much fun we all had, but today is all about her.  Her piercing blue eyes, that sweet smile, and the way she says "mama" that makes me want to call in sick to work every.single.day.

Yes, my baby is one.  I made it through a whole year of motherhood, and my child is still alive.  For all of those nights that seemed to drag on until she finally started sleeping through the night at SEVEN months, I take it back.  The rest of it went by so fast!  She went from a little baby to a toddler...




Things she loves:
* We learned from this party that the kid loves icing.  And loves getting icing all over herself.
* My mom tried getting her to drink from a water bottle and now she wants to do nothing else.  We may be rid of sippy cups before we really ever got started.
* Playing in her new sandbox (but she's not a big fan of sharing her new sandbox toys)
* Riding in the new Ride Along Buggy that Grandmomma and Grandbarry gave her for her birthday.  (And Luke has vowed to take her on nightly walks up and down the street now that the weather is so nice.)

Things she is amazing me with:
* The way she holds her arms up for me to pick her up
* How she can smile even when I had to wake her up early this morning.
* The fact that she is wearing 10 month clothes (Well, really this doesn't amaze me, it just reminds me that she is half Luke.)

Party fun to come soon... When I wake up from this walking sleep that is the result of aforementioned party!

Rite of Passage

I think taking your first baby to the ER must be some sort of rite of passage.  And one I wish I did not have to pass through.  But we did , and we made it out on the other side.

Thursday night as I was leaving work, Luke called to say that Claire had fallen and her mouth was bleeding.  She was crying and he was a nervous wreck.  He wanted to take her to the ER, but I thought they should wait and see how she looked when I got home.  Well, if you know men, they can't wait.  So I met up with them and off to the ER we went. 

Her mouth had finally quit bleeding, but it was still pretty swollen.  The nurse gave Claire a little teddy bear and combined with a bottle, you would have thought she was good as new.  And then the waiting began... first in the waiting room, then in the triage room, back to the waiting room, then in the exam room. 

Claire started acting much better.  She wasn't crying, but she was actually putting her whole hand in her mouth (result of the first year molar teething I am sure).  I figured she wouldn't be playing with her hands in her mouth if her mouth was hurting her.

The nurse looked inside of her mouth, and once the blood was wiped away and the swelling went down, we could see that she was fine.  A pit stop for a Frosty on the way home and we all survived the first ER adventure!  Let's hope we don't have another one any time soon!

Eleven Months

I know I've been saying "I'm not ready" for the past, I don't know... ten months, but today is the day.  I feel ready.  I feel like I can handle the whole "turning 1 thing," and that feels good.  And it's coming at a perfect time, considering I only have one month until this happens.

So here we are at 11 months.  Invitations are going in the mail this week, banner is under construction and there are lots of ladybugs are covering my dining room table.

And to top it all off, this girl is WALKING!



This she loves:
* Still on goldfish, scrambled eggs, french fries
* Trying spaghetti was really fun! (I'll have to post about that later because the pictures are priceless but I can't find them on my computer at the moment.)

Things she is amazing me with:
* A smile that lights up a room and have definately lit up our lives
* Two more teeth- one top, one bottom- bringing the grand total to nine
* Did I mention she was WALKING?  Enough said.



Not a whole lot of time to write much more, and I know I'll regret it later, but life has been crazy so I feel good getting this much down!

Ten Months

Aaaahhhhhhhh!!!!  Ten months?!?  Already?!?  I'm not ready for this.  I'm not ready for walking, for the first birthday party (which I am very behind in planning), and I feel like she'll be asking me to shave her legs next week.

But time doesn't seem to listen to me and continues to move at the speed of a jet plane.  And ten months is here.  So, I guess I need to embrace it and get ready for

Things she loves:
* The girl is all about some french fries.
* Goldfish.  Since my mom gave her some in the mountains last month, she reaches for everything small and orange thinking it might be goldfish.
* The library... Thanks to her Auntie Jessica and cousin Camille, Claire doesn't have to sit at home all day every day, and gets to go on lots of outings, like the library.
* Swimming.  We had so many fun days at Alabama Adventure with Bella this Summer and Claire was loving all the time in the water.  As a former swim lesson instructor, I am slightly excited for the day she can swim without that pesky life jacket.
* Oh, and one things she hates?  Bows.  It was quite rare that she kept this one on for most of Holly's shower.

Things she is amazing me with:
* Saying "bye-bye" with her cute little wave and stunning blue eyes makes it hard to leave her in the morning.
* Saying "Bella" to her sissy on the phone, makes me smile from ear to ear.
* Just saying more and more words every day.
* Her eight little teeth make her look like a little person and not like a baby anymore, and as sad as that is, sweet smile is truly amazing!

Nine Months

Three-quarters of a year?  How is that possible?  How is my baby girl this close to a year old?  Time, we already had this discussion, but to no avail, Claire continues to grow faster and faster- right before my eyes.

And now I have had officially had a baby outside of my belly for as long as she was inside of my belly.  That's a weird feeling.

She is crawling all over the place, to the point that we had to buy a gate.  I always teased people that had these, saying I would never gate my child and that those things were for dogs, but after her first attempt to climb the stairs, I was in Target faster than you could say "I told you so."

Things she loves:
* Scrambled eggs. She would eat a whole pan of them if I would let her.
* Bella's "fruit salad" - which is actually a combination of every flavor puff we have in the house (and that's a lot)

* Bella's "soup" - which is actually oatmeal
* Trying to crawl off the bed.  She thinks it hilarious to crawl to the edge of our bed and have us pull her back to the center, only to do it all over again. 
* Eating grass.  We have been doing some fun and exciting things in our backyard only to look over and see Claire eating grass.  Oh well.

Things she is amazing me with:
* Crawling everywhere
* Pulling up on everything

* Standing on her own
* Walking behind her Step Start Walk and Ride
* Everything.  She is constantly amazing me.

We are going to have Claire a mini-birthday party at the end of July before Bella leaves to go back to Hawaii, so that she can have her big sissy celebrate with her.  And, since last Friday's post, we are also going to have a baby dedication at out home with close friends and family.

Happy Nine Months Claire!  We love you sweet girl!

Eight Months

Oh my, I can't believe Claire is really eight months old already!  She is really coming into her personality and learning already how to get her way.  This also means we are a mere four months from her first birthday! 

:::runs off to start the planning because four months is not neraly enough time to arrange a proper first birthday party:::

Oh, hi!  I'm back.  So we have decided on a ladybug theme and I found some cute invitations, drafted the guest list and started brewing some fab party ideas.  But back to the present... eight months!

Things she is amazing me with...
* Crawling forwards.  Yes, last month she was only crawling backwards but now she has the hang of going forward!
* Six teeth.  All I can say about this is teething really stinks.  I hate it!  She was fussy and running a low grade fever for days, but we finally saw two more top teeth poke through last week. 
* She looks like a little person.  Maybe it's more teeth, but she doesn't look like an infant anymore.
* She is a toddler!  I can't get over how fast time has gone by.  I feel like I just write the Seven Months post earlier this week.
* Pulling up.  She was kinda doing this last month, but now she is pulling up on everything and trying to stand.  While it makes me think she is growing up too fast, she so darn cute doing it!  I think it's time to lower the matress.

Things she loves...
* Lots and lots of puffs.  Apple-strawberry, blueberry, cheddar, peach-mango and sweet potato are her faves.
* Apple juice.  We had been offering 1/2 water and 1/2 apple juice in a sippy cup for a few weeks, but she just recently began to really drink it.  Now she wants everyone's cup.
* Bedtime stories from sissy. (And I just love watching them together!)

So tonight Luke is taking Bella and her friend Hadyn to the movies while Claire and I meet up with some other moms from church.  Tomorrow we'll head to Tuscaloosa to celebrate Grandbarry's birthday and to see Aunt Benna and Uncle Michael, Haley and Thomas, and then go to a wedding shower for Matt and Kendall Saturday night.  Another jam packed weekend, but one I wouldn't trade for anything in the world.

Happy Friday!

And she's off...

::: insert the revving of car engine noises ::::

We officially have a crawler on our hands.  Evidenced by my placing her on the middle of the rug in our living room and then my looking up to find this...

Not sure -at all- how she got under there.  But she did.  Now I guess the babyproofing shall begin.  Any tips on how/ what to babyproof?  I've got outlet covers, but I think we need a baby gate for the stairs. 

I also need to figure out how to post videos so hopefully I can catch her in the act (it's like she won't crawl if she knows we're watching) and can post it for you guys!  (Any tips on that?  Please comment or email me.  Thanks!)

And can I please tell you about the time I had to pull a piece of plastic from her throat?  Again, not sure where she got it, but she did.  I just feel this whole new phase of life coming on- aka chasing Claire around & pulling things out of her mouth.  (Hopefully you won't report my inattentiveness to CPS.)

We're coming up on Memorial Day!  I am stoked for the three day weekend.  Lots of fun stuff planned.   Lots of sun to be had.  Lots of preparing for Bella to come!  Sorry for the short Friday post, and there probably won't be one on Monday since I'll spend the extra day off loving on my husband and baby, so please forgive me.  But have a fabulous and blessed weekend!

P.S.  Bella "asked" Claire on the phone last night to wait to crawl until she gets here next weekend, because Bella wants to teach her how.  Oops!  We never worked with Claire on crawling (if such a thing exists) but it has happened.  Any tips on unlearning/ unteaching (I know those aren't words but bear with me) crawling are much appreciated!

Claire Meet Puffs... Puffs, This is Claire

We tried puffs this weekend.  Or I say we, really Claire did.  Although Luke had to eat a few to show her what to do with this thing he had put in her hand.  Overall- big success & she loved them!

Not sure why these pics are so fuzzy, (see honey, I do need a new camera) but you can still see those sweet cheeks...

It was nice to let her snack as we ran errands without pulling out the spoon and baby food.  Her faves so far are blueberry and apple-strawberry.  But I can see some banana and sweet potato puffs in her future.  More to come from our wonderful weekend tomorrow!

Seven Months

30 weeks
210 days
5,040 hours
302,400 minutes

...since you entered my life.  And things were never the same.

I didn't make a big deal about six months and the whole half-birthday thing, and now I regret it.  So I am just going to make a big deal about seven months instead.

Yesterday, Claire went for her six month (albeit late) check up.  She weighs 16.5 pounds (50th% percentile) and was 27 inches long (80th% percentile).  I am completely surprised that any child of my husband's is only in the 50% percentile since he's built so big, but maybe she's got a bit of me in her too.  And it appears she'll be tall like her Auntie Bethany and Auntie Kristin.  (Sorry Auntie Jessica, you and I got hit with the short stick!)

Claire also got all of her shots (yuck!) and her H1N1 vaccination.  She cried for a minute, but was happy again in no time.  Doctor said her ears look good, and the tubes are still in place.  (I had no idea they could fall out, but apparently it can happen.)

Things she is amazing me with...
* Backwards crawling (but she'll get the hang of going forward one day)
* If not crawling, she's rolling to her desired destination
* Smiling and laughing like crazy!  I have a great video of her deep belly laughing that I need to figure out how to post.
* New teeth each week- we now have two bottom and two top teeth
* Reaching for things (like me!)
* SHE SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT!  (I think you'll agree this deserves caps, bold and italics.  It probably deserves a whole post in itself, but I am super busy this week so we'll see.)  Finally, at seven months the kid finally didn't make me get up to feed her.  I let her whine about five minutes or so at 2am and 4am, but just about when I was going to get up, she put herself back to sleep!

Things she loves...
* Sweet potatoes, pears, peaches (like momma, hates peas and green beans)
* Carrots- which is a story in itself, hopefully coming soon
* Being held- and while we love her to death, I hope this is just a phase
* Her exersaucer and Jenny Jumper
* Playing outside in the grass and rolling around
* Daddy's silly songs (he has his own words to Oh My Darlin' and other lovely tunes)
* Nomming on everything!

Here we are on Mother's Day after a long day and plane ride home from New Orleans.

Seven months also means she is closer to her first birthday than her birth. This is scary, people. I feel like we just brought her home from the hospital a month or so ago. Not seven months! I just wish I would have beleived the people who said "they grow up so fast!"

Memories and Milestones

Thanks to the grocery cart cover that my Zeta sister Allison sent to Claire and the fact that gravity no longer keeps Claire down face first when she tries to sit up, we made our first trip to the store without her carrier!  I was thrilled not to have to carry that seat from the parking lot to the closest cart regardless of their squeaky wheels because I simply need to put down this growing baby inside of an already heavy carrier....

But I was kind of sad because it meant she was really growing up.

I am confident that years from now I will not try to slap the younger version of myself and say "you should have stopped to note those memories and milestones because she is grown now."  Because, I am stopping.  I am even stopping in the middle of the grocery store to take pictures of my sweet babe in her first grocery cart ride sans carrier.  And I am stopping to pick up some new links for her to play with because I know how much she loves them.

This also made me think about all of the things I know about Claire and what she knows about me.  She knows I am her mommy.  Yes, she gets very excited when she sees Grandmomma, Honey and Auntie Jessica, but she knows that I am her mommy and nothing can replace the thought of that.

She knows that when Daddy lays her down at night, he is not coming back.  However, she also knows that when Mommy lays her down, even the slightest wail will bring me back into the nursery to scoop her up in my arms and rock her back to slumber.

Then I began to think about the things I wanted to teach her.  I want her to know that she is a child of God and that He loves her even more than I do.  I want to teach her to be kind, share, love people not judge people, nurture relationships and have faith.  I want her to know that she can follow her dreams, wherever they may lead, and that her family will support her as she finds her way through life.

No, I will not take on another thing that keeps me from my family a minute longer than absolutely necessary.  I will stop, breathe in life, and remember these memories and milestones.