Clare is going to be a big sister!!!!!

I have been waiting for so long to finally write this post!! LD and I found out February 12th that we are going to have another baby. We are so excited and feel so blessed that God has granted our desire for a baby. We kept it a secret from everyone until we heard the heartbeat a few weeks ago, and then told family and friends. I am due October 23rd which makes me 9 weeks today. I had a few weeks of nausea, but no getting sick (thank goodness) and lots of sleepiness. But already I feel my energy coming back and no more nausea. So far, in both pregnancies I have had the first trimester pretty easy, so hopefully that continues.

We have told Clare about her new sibling, but of course she doesn't really get it yet. When I put her clothes on her after a bath she always kicks her feet just being excited and I started telling her that she couldn't kick because of the baby in my belly. So now when she kicks her feet she looks at me, touches her own tummy and says "baby." Not quite...but close.

We are so happy to add to our family, but know many challenges and much exhaustion lie ahead of us. Please pray for our little peanut as he/she continues to grow. Yes, we will find out the sex, I am not good with being patient and, being type A I need to have the plans in order :)

Schedule change...a big deal!!

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a schedule person. I am extremely type A and like to know what is going to happen throughout the day when I wake up in the morning. This was really encouraged when I was a nanny for 4 children under the age of 3 and their mother was an incredible scheduler. Poor Clare doesn't have much hope to be free spirited and laid back, but we shall see!

Anyway, I have been waiting til about 18 months, which is the suggested time to drop the morning nap. Clare would only sleep for 30-40 minutes in the morning and then play for a while in her bed. A few weeks ago she would only sleep 30-40 minutes in the afternoon as well and I thought "it is time!" I've actually been really excited about dropping this nap because it gives us so much more freedom in the day, but after 18 months of having a morning nap it really does mean she is growing up!!

Day one was not the most pleasant. We spent time at the park, she was overly sleepy and spent time with a babysitter...not a great equation. But the last two days have been great. She has been a happy camper all morning, so hopefully this will continue and this little shift in her rigid schedule will pass quickly.

The other new fun thing Clare is into is her "baby." She only has one baby doll and its called "Little Mommy." Her Grammie got it for her last Christmas and yes its a little bit creepy, kind of like Kid Sister was when we were little (mind you, I had a Kid Sister doll and loved her..I also had My Buddy). Little Mommy goes with us everywhere. Clare is usually carrying her by her hair running to her next activity. She talks in jibber-jabber to her with a real word slipping in every now and again so you have an idea about what they are discussing. Clare also loves to take her dolls clothes off to "change her diaper" and put her in the high chair for "nummies." Yesterday I caught her asking her doll "Daba Daba (long pause) Baumee??" Translation: So do you love Yo Gabba Gabba, or Barney??" Poor Clare is so desperate for someone other than mommy to play with!

Best Hubby Ever :)

I normally keep this blog simply about Clare for a lot of reasons, but mainly because I know that is all people are really interested in :) But today I can't let the moment pass without praise to my husband for his great secret keeping skills and grand planning expertise (also, I want to make sure this event is documented!) Are you in suspense?

Last Saturday my mom had planned to come to visit for a week when some friends of hers were planning a trip to visit some of their relatives in the Carolinas. So she hitched a ride with them and was excited about a long trip. Sunday was Valentines Day and I have told LD since we were first married to just get a card. No matter what holiday or event if I have a card waiting for me I will be happy. So Sunday morning...no card. I had cards and little gifts for everyone (including mom) and received not as much as a mumbled "happy valentines day" all day long. Needless to say by the evening I was a little bitter and happy to discuss it at great length.

Monday morning I woke up and LD told me to go get a suitcase and pack for 4 days...WHAT?!?! My serious type-A personality was so thrown off that I started spouting about needing to do laundry and the list of meetings and activities I had planned for the week. After about an hour of getting organized and packed (kind of) we headed off to an unknown destination. We ended up in Charleston, SC, which if you have not been there, it is beautiful. We don't do luxury often, so when we do, it is a huge treat. We stayed at French Quarter Inn, had breakfast in bed, wine and cheese in the afternoon, homemade cookies and milk before bed and Kilwin's chocolates on our pillows. Our days were spent roaming the beautiful historic city and walking town cobblestone roads to see the harbor...it was bliss!! We saw Avatar in Imax 3D, did some shopping and ate at wonderful restaurants. LD made it very clear that this was not a Valentines gift it was a belated 5 year anniversary gift so I should not expect something like this again next year...maybe in 5?? :)

Of course we really missed Clare, but it was great knowing she was in great care with "Grammie" and they had a wonderful time together. They visited the Nature Museum, did some shopping, went to a library class and the park. When we got home on Thursday Clare would yell "GAMMIE!" when she was ready to get up from a nap and they had definetely formed a great bond!

Life gets so busy and time spent with my husband is so extremely precious! I am so thankful for him and thankful for the way he makes me a priority in his life. I am incredibly grateful for the many many blessings God has poured over my life...two of the best, Clare and L.D.!

Busy Little Bee

I have been a really bad blogger the last few weeks and my goal is definetely to get better!! Clare is 16 1/2 months and is now a big girl about everything she does. I was just talking to a friend and saying I thought boys were the ones that were all over and into everything and Clare most definetely is all over and into everything. She is so fun and has the funniest little personality. She has started really testing us and we have no doubt she will be the traditional strong willed first child.

Last weekend was a monumental weekend for us as I met 6 high school girlfriends in Ft. Myers Florida for a few days and LD's mom came to have special time with Clare. It was my second overnight away from Clare, but this time was two nights so I didn't see her for two days. We both handled it like champs :) I had a very fun, relaxing, refreshing time with the girls and I know Grandma and Clare had a ball together! It was fun to come home and see her doing a few new things like babbling and pointing at things like she was telling full stories and she learned to say "miss you" which is really cute.

Clare's new favorite thing of the week is babies. We have had babies for a few months but she has shown no interest at all. This week she carries this little doll around with her everywhere, she even goes in the car with us. She sings to her baby, reads to her and shares her milk :) The funniest thing was when Clare wanted to take off the dolls ridiculous amount of hair. She kept pulling it and saying off. I kept telling her it was stuck on her head just like her own hair. So now Clare thinks hair is called "stuck" and walks around pulling her own hair saying "stuck."

The other funny thing Clare has learned is how much mommy loves purell. As soon as she gets out of her class at the Y she runs straight for the purell container or as soon as she gets into the car after her library class she holds out her hand and says please. I am definetely not hoping Clare will have my crazy behaviors, but I am not minding this desire to be germ free!!

This week my mom comes to visit for a week and I will do my best to blog and post pictures of our adventures together, as there are always adventures with Grammie!!

"Amen" for Clare!

The newest part of Clare's life has been her vocabulary...she's really talking and repeating everything we say. It is fun, but you really gotta watch what you say around her because it will be repeated. One thing I never realized how much I say is "oh man!" Now everytime Clare drops a toy or falls you can hear her yell "oh man" but she has somehow picked up my Michigan accent (thats what people in the south say I have) and it sounds more like "oh MEEn!" Her other new favorite word is "amen." She has learned that at dinner time we fold our hands and thank God for the food, ending with Amen. Last week she started standing in the kitchen with her hands folded saying "amen please" when she wanted a snack. It is so incredible to watch how their little brains work!

Since the new year Clare and I have a brand new place to spend some time, which is extremely exciting when you are a stay at home mom of 1! We joined the Y, which is literally at the end of our street. At first I was feeling a little guilty about putting her in childcare for an hour a few times a week while I went to cycle, step or yoga class (a few of my favs), but thankfully she loves playing in the childcare center so it has become a treat for her. One of her newer favorite words is "no" and when you ask her any question that is usually the answer you get, unless you prompt her that the answer should be "yes." So most days when we walk in I ask her if she is going to play with her friends and the answer is always "no." But when she sees all the toys she can barely contain her joy and walks right in without even a quick goodbye wave to her mommy! It is a blessing that Clare has quickly learned to adapt to new settings and people and it helps with the mommy guilt a whole lot!

In Charlotte when you join the Y you are members of all the Y's in the area. Last week Clare and I went to a different Y that has a beach style inclined pool (I don't know the proper name), a few water slides, and some spray areas. We were the only ones there and Clare just walked up and down the incline with her little cup for over an hour. I have a feeling that is going to be one of our favorite hang out places.

The other cool place we have been spending some time is the uptown Children's Library called ImaginOn. It is quite an incredible place with a lot of room for moving around. We went two weeks ago with a great friend and her little boy, Ayden who is the same age as Clare. We rode the light rail uptown (in FREEZING weather) and let them play. It was seriously one of our best playdates yet!!

Life could not be much sweeter as we are all healthy and so incredibly blessed in more ways than we could ever count!!

An Unexpected Christmas

So I will admit my blogs are usually pretty cheery and centered around our beautiful little girl. And as much as I wanted to skip blogging about Christmas all together, it was an event I dont think I will ever forget. So, grab a cup of coffee and prepare yourself for a Christmas story you won't believe...seriously.

We planned on heading to Michigan for Christmas for one week from Sunday to Sunday. The first half of our trip was spent at LD's parents house and the second half at my parents house. The first half of our trip was uneventful (which is a good thing!). We spent time with family, had lunch with LD's high school friends and their families, opened Christmas presents and Clare saw a ghost (yes I'm serious, but that is another story).

On Wednesday we headed to my parents house and stopped halfway in Chelsea to meet all my college roomies and their families at a childrens play place called The Treehouse (I personally think is where the curse began). After a fun time we headed to my parents, which is an hour away. Two blocks from my parents LD hit a patch of ice and we slid into a tree. Poor LD was so upset, but we were all unharmed, just my car suffered some damage. We went to my parents a little annoyed, but it was not going to ruin our day. That night we went to sleep and I was sick all night, blaming it on food posioning. I didn't feel sick, but I was up all night. The next morning I realized Clare had also been sick and figured we must have eaten something because she also did not have a fever....ready, here is where it gets crazy. From there 12 of my family members and friends (including Vanessa and LD) ended up with this "little bug" that was later identified H1N1. My poor sister who flew from Vegas never left her bedroom and never opened 1 present. By Christmas night LD was sick as well as my dad. When my dad got sick his blood pressure dropped and he passed out, which of course was a HUGE scare for us and we called 911. So my mom and I got Vanessa and LD situated on couches to take care of each other, Clare to my aunts house and spent Christmas night at the hospital, with only one other very big scare with my dad. They admitted him and my mom and I sat at the hospital laughing so hard we cried in between the actual crying. How does this stuff happen???? By the next day the "bug" had gotten to my older sisters family and the ambulance made a stop at their house that night.

My mom somehow skated by without ever getting sick. While she was getting my dad from the hospital I tied a scarf around my face, found some gardening gloves, a bottle of Lysol and went on a mission to kill this dumb bug that had ruined our Christmas. During my cleaning episode I had a few "ah-ha" moments. One is that God's mercies are new EVERY morning. It was very scary when my dad had passed out, and I am still thanking Jesus that He had the outcome he did in store for us and him. But I also was reminded that no matter what the outcome ever is in any situation, His mercies are still new every morning. I was also reminded that simplicity is so important. It's not about how far you drive, how many family members you see, how many presents you have or how many parties you attend...its about the simplicity of celebrating Christ's birth and spending time with those God has blessed me with.

Clare did great in the car, great through the sickness, and was a trooper. I continue to be very proud of her. Some of her favorite presents this year were a shopping cart, a puppy named Violet and her first doll house. We are blessed to have my sister with us this week and will spend this week celebrating our time together.

Though I pray we never relive this Christmas, God has taught me a few things along the way. I pray that your Christmas was spent SIMPLY celebrating the birth of our Savior with those you love.

My favorite things....about my little girl!

Here are some pictures of our trip to see the singing bears uptown...

Looking back over the past year its really hard to think about what has changed because it seems everything has changed. A year ago Clare was three months old and we were still struggling with sleep or lack of it, and caring for a newborn. Fast forward a year and it is amazing how our life has changed. Life with one toddler is simple compared to a year ago! Clare and I are in a great routine, our days are predictable with added adventure when necessary. We were at the park today and I told a mom that right now life is just good with Clare.

I have learned that Clare will quickly become my favorite person to talk to as her language develops. We have so much fun together and she already cracks me up! Clare has developed a fun and quirky personality...here are some of our favorites.

- Clare loves waving to the bell ringers and as soon as we get out of the car she is looking for them and waves as big as she can until we are inside of the store.

- At about 11 months Clare started winking, and she's really good at it. She winks at people in the grocery store, at church, walking down the street...to her its just as good as a wave, only cuter!

- Clares favorite word is "please" and it sounds like a squeak when she says it so most people don't really understand it. She also thinks that if she says please she should get whatever she requests. Just this week at the mall she said "please mama" about 1500 times until the lady behind me was laughing so hard.

-Clare LOVES the show "Yo Gabba Gabba." We never introduced her to shows but this one is truly her favorite. She is allowed one 30 min show a day and if you even mention the words "Yo Gabba Gabba" she sits in front of the tv immediately.

-Clare LOVES her lammie....a LOT. I dont know how she learned this, but she never never sucks her thumb until she sees her lamb. At this age it is not allowed out of her bedroom, but if she gets her feelings hurt or falls down she asks to go night night so she can have her lamb.

-Clare loves to skype. If she sees a computer she tries and tries to talk to it from all of her conversations with her grandparents. In this same category she also loves to talk on the phone and talk in general. When she talks she doesn't say one word, she tells a whole story and has more hand movements you ever thought possible. Yes, she takes after her mom in this way.

-Clare loves men....any men! When we go to the park she seeks out the first daddy she can find and books it to him with her arms up winking the whole time. Yes, its a problem! ;)

-Clare loves music and loves to dance in the kitchen. As soon as the ipod goes on she wants someone to dance with her and if you shut it off, she sits (or lays) in the middle of the kitchen floor and cries until someone turns the music back on (its sad, but LD and I have turned it off for entertainment purposes in the past...her reaction is so funny!)

I just can't get enough of this sweet little girl! I have already decided she is going to be a mover and a shaker. She is busy and knows what she wants! Every day I get to spend with her I am in awe of the love and joy she brings into our home!

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