4.26.2012

four

four years of being married to this guy...

LOVE him. And her.
It's been a great four years. I can't wait for the next four...and the next four...and the next four...

I have to say, though we've only, yet already, been married four years...this past one has been the best one yet.

It was around a year ago this time that we found out we would be expecting a beautiful baby.

Through pregnancy and becoming parents, it's been fun. sweet. amazing.

It just seems to keep getting better.

I don't sing Bob's praises near enough as he deserves them, but he really is the best. He picks up the slack when I drop it and does more for Claire and I than I imagine most men even think of doing. He cooks, cleans, entertains and provides.

And he's funny.

Of course, Claire laughs at him - she laughs at everyone! But he makes me laugh too...even when I don't want to. But he also knows when he's not funny. Sorry, Bob, sometimes my sense of humor is lacking.

I dare say, he knows me as well as I know myself. And though he might not ever understand me...he tries. 
 
And he loves us. Can you tell?


And we love him. For forever + 3 days...

4.25.2012

claire - four months old!


Claire at four months - April 24, 2012

Weight/Height: Big girl weighed in yesterday morning at 11 lbs, 7 oz! That is definitely an improvement. She's still smaller than most of the babies I know, and is only hovering around the 10th percentile, but we're all happy with her weight gain.

Clothes: Claire is still in 0-3 month old clothes and will be for a while, for the most part. The sleepers fit her perfectly, length-wise, but are a little big in the body. Onesies fit perfectly, and pants are just starting too. She's still too little for some of her 3 month dresses, but Momma's making it work! I've learned my lesson and am now buying a size smaller for those things I buy ahead of time.

Eating Habits: Since I've returned to work, Claire is nursing when she wakes up and right before bed. She takes a 5 oz bottle of pumped breastmilk at school, along with 2 5-6 oz bottles of formula. She has another bottle of formula at home.

Sleep: Claire is a champ in the sleep department - she must take after her daddy. She falls asleep between 8 and 9 p.m. each night and sleeps until I wake her up at 6:30 a.m. We've been surprised to find that she slept until 8 a.m. last Saturday morning. Keep it up, baby girl! She doesn't nap as long during the day, but that's okay.

Eye Color: Still blue-brown.

Biggest accomplishment: Claire is officially rolling over from her belly to back now. She has done it spuratically before this month but in the last two weeks, she had figured out that she can get off her belly just by rolling. Little girl does NOT like to be on her belly. 

I have a cute little video of my brilliant girl, but I can't figure out how to upload it from my phone to here. :(

How We Spend Our Day: With the end of my maternity leave and the beginning of full-time "school," our weekdays are pretty structured. Momma wakes up at 5:30 and gets ready for work. I wake Claire up around 6:30, she eats and then we head out the door around 7:15. After dropping her at school, I head to work. Depending on the day, Bob or I pick her up around 5:15ish. She usually takes a bottle soon after getting home, before Bob and I eat dinner. She hangs out with us while we eat dinner and then plays or snoozes afterwards. Then it's time for bath, jammies, bedtime snack and bed. Then Momma and Daddy straighten up the house, fix bottles for the next day and pack our lunches. Our time together passes very quickly during the week, but we make up for it on the weekend!

Likes:
  • "Talking" and being talked to. Claire engages in "conversations" with everyone around her now!
  • Toys - she is much more aware of her toys now and tries to hold them, shake them and stick them in her mouth.
  • Speaking of her mouth, Claire likes to put EVERYthing in her mouth now. She is drooling a lot and usually has to have her clothes washed purely from the amount of drool she lets out!
Hello, Mr. Bear
 Dislikes
  • Being interrupted while eating to burp. Little girl squeals until we give her her bottle back! - Claire is still not a fan of being interrupted while eating.
  • Sitting still for too long. Claire wants to be up and doing something!
Favorite Moments: While I do not enjoy dropping Claire off at daycare each day, I do enjoy the smiles we are treated to upon our return. It makes this Momma's heart smile to see how happy she is and hear the teachers talk about what a good baby she is. Just yesterday, Claire accompanied me to two doctor's appointments (hers and my own) and was the hit of both doctor's offices, especially mine. She was passed from nurse to nurse and smiled for each of them...despite just having her four month shots! Bob and I comment often on how lucky we are to have such an easy-going girl. When she gets mad, she lets us know, but most of the time she is her adorable, giggly, smiley self. We just love her so much.


Doctor's Orders: I'm adding this one, mostly so I can remember what Dr. B tells me. Claire should be getting around 30 oz of milk per day, so we will be upping her bottles a bit. Between now and her six month appointment, we are to start introducing solids. We will probably wait closer to five months, but then start with rice cereal or oatmeal mixed with formula. We'll add a meal a week until she gets three solid meals per day, in addition to her bottles. After rice cereal, we can try veggies/fruits - each for about 3-4 days to check for allergies.

Comparison:



4.19.2012

furbabies

Although they may not make appearances on Facebook or the ole blog as much, we do still love our little monsters! And don't worry, they are getting plenty of attention. And if we spend too much time loving on our little one and not them...they remind us!






4.05.2012

changes

Life as seen by my iPhone...

I used to take picture of sweet puppies...and friends...and nieces and nephews.








Now it's my sweet Claire...my sweet family...my sweet friends with my sweet Claire...and my sweet puppy playing with things that belong to my sweet Claire...



my, my how things change.

4.03.2012

first (full) day of school

"I got this, Mom."


What greeted me when I returned to work. It's nice to know when you're missed. 

 

Thanks, Shannon, Nicole and Jennifer!

4.02.2012

claire - three months old!

Well, I've become one of those bloggers who only posts once a month and only about their kid, but, honestly, who would want to spend their time on the computer with this cutie staring at you? 


 I'm going to try to become a better blogger, if for nothing else than posterity. :)

Claire at three months - March 24, 2012
Weight/Height: At her last appointment, about 3 weeks ago, Claire weighed 9 lbs, 3 oz. She wasn't measured, but I can tell she has gotten longer. I'd say she's close to 10 lbs now and maybe an inch or two longer.


Clothes: FINALLY! Claire has bridged the gap to 0-3 month clothes! She can still wear a few of her newborn outfits, particularly the pants, and the 0-3 month clothes are baggy on her, but wearable. Momma is happy. We've started a box of things she's outgrown, and it's quickly filling up. I can't believe my little girl was that small!

Eating Habits: We've introduced formula in the last month, and Claire is now nursing only in the morning and at night. She'll eat formula or pumped breastmilk at daycare. This was a huge change for us this month and has provided a lot more flexibility for Mom. She is a champ and had no struggles switching to a bottle and has shown no allergies or sensitivities to the formula yet. I'm still happy with my feeding plan thus far, but this has been a great move for us in light of me returning to work.

Sleep: Knock on wood, but Claire is officially sleeping through the night...and has been all month. She goes down between 9 and 10 and wakes up between 5 and 7. We've completely dropped the nighttime feeding, unless she just has a bad night. Perfect timing since I started back to work today. She is looking like she will take after her Daddy in the sleep department.

Eye Color: Still blue, but definitely leaning towards a brown blue now.

Biggest accomplishment: Claire is so much more alert now. She follows people with her eyes and knows when her Momma has left the room. She is laughing and giggling and we are just eating up the conversations we have with her.

How We Spend Our Day: Lately, we are spending more of our days outside the house. No two days are the same, but Claire goes with the flow and is so easy at the store, gym or with friends.We are also very excited to be able to spend more time outside the house.


Likes:
  • Looking at Mommy and Daddy and talking to them. We are apparently really funny!
  • Bathtime!
Dislikes
  • Being interrupted while eating to burp. Little girl squeals until we give her her bottle back!
  • The after bath routine - diaper, lotion, jammies. She'd much rather be in the water.
Favorite Moments: Claire and I have spent a lot of quality time together, but this month has definitely been the best. We took trips to Aliceville, Germantown and have spent lots of time with friends. Aunt Danielle and Uncle John came to visit and spoiled her. I really enjoyed just spending the time with her as my maternity leave wound down.