Merry Christmas 2012!

What a great first Christmas for Claire (and us). We made it through Brian's crazy holiday schedule all in one piece and were off to Michigan for Christmas Eve mass and lots of family time! We left our home bright and early Monday morning and stopped at Cranial-tech and made sure her docBand was fitting as best it can, then stopped at Chic-Fil-A for breakfast then made our journey to Michigan.

We arrived in the afternoon and no sooner did we get settled...it started snowing! Big fluffy flakes! It was so beautiful! How wonderful that the snow held off until we made it safe and sound.

Christmas Eve gift exchange was fun, as always, and we all stuffed our faces with all the yummy food brought by everyone in the family. Fondue, meatballs, little wieners, homemade bread, veggies, dips...just and endless supply of foods to keep your plate full!

Christmas morning was full of much the same...only add about 100 gifts in the mix! Hour after hour of taking turns opening big and little treasures. The most rewarding thing is watching someone open your gift to them and seeing a genuine look of approval. It's also very exciting to see Christmas through the kids eyes! Every gift is a new and exciting adventure to dive into.

Now we have this weekend to look forward to because grandma Linda and grandpa Don are visiting. Even more wrapping paper for Claire to attempt to eat! Hopefully soon I can post some highlights of this weekend and our trip!

 

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6 months!

Quick update!

I just had to post and talk about how my baby is a whole SIX months old!  She's just about 16lbs and is getting more and more fun!  She has 2 bottom teeth and she has slept through the night quite a bit lately!

It's a typical December and it's hectic as usual.  Having a baby definitely adds a twist!  We made it through the 1st week of "holiday" and now we have 2 more weeks ahead of us.  Crazy!

Hmmm - 6 months...well Claire now eats just about any vegetable (except peas), any fruit (we haven't tried prunes) and we are now introducing MEAT!  Gross!  Meat in a jar just isn't right. Ever.  We are starting with Chicken & Apples (yes - both in the same container, that is a real-life mixture) and Turkey and Sweet Potatoes.  I figured we should ease her into the "meat" idea with a couple things she already likes. It's worked well so far!

Ok - I believe a couple of months have lapsed since I posted her "monthly milestone" pics!

Let's get ready to rumbaaaaaaal....

So when I was a child my dad always watched boxing. I never really understood what was so exciting about it. As a child it was sooooo boring. (Ok I admit, I still think it's boring)

One thing I always looked forward to was when Michael Buffer would get into the ring and say the phrase he's so well known for, "Lets get ready to RUMBLE." He made it sound SO exciting!

Anyway, I bring all this up because my little girl is now wearing what looks like a boxing helmet. It's not the same material, but the shape definitely reminds me of those helmets the boxers wear! Haha. I'm actually considering painting it like one and putting "everlast" on it.

I picked her up from daycare today and she had one of their "loner" shirts on, only it happened to be a boy onesie that's red and blue with a football on it! Lol, she totally looked like a boy! I definitely need to girl her up a bit with this new addition.

She will wear it anywhere from 4 to 12 weeks. We are hoping it's closer to 4! It's been kind of a pain to deal with...she just looks so incredibly uncomfortable! I can't even imagine what it's like sleeping in the thing! She has adjusted pretty well. I think she has a hard time staying asleep right now because she also has a bit of a cold right now. Poor baby. She's still in good spirits though and is taking it like a champ.

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4 Months Old!

Well, this will be a short and sweet post.  I have recently updated Claire's Sharesite with her 4 month "photoshoot." A lot of me wants to take her to a professional photographer, but we will wait until at least the 6 month mile-marker for that! 

Before I share some of my favorite pictures with you, I must say how blessed I am.  Seriously.  The past month has really been more challenging than I can really express.  I have been physically, emotionally, and mentally at the end of my rope.  I am not sure I have experienced that type of exhaustion on all levels before.  So much so that I felt incompetent to be anything, including a parent, employee, or even a wife. Everything in me wanted to shutdown and essentially not exist any more.

But...

Praise God for friends and family.  Words cannot express how incredibly blessed I am.  There's nothing quite like going through the thick of the storm and having your friends literally run to your rescue.  I must admit, I was very leery about having kids in Chicago.  We are at minimum 4 hours away from any grandparent and both sets of grandparents are very busy!  Our friends' lives are hectic as well, but it's really amazing to see how God used each of them in a special way to help us through the difficult time.

Now I will leave you with Claire's 4 month progression!!!  I chose a few different pics from the bunch...

Newborn

 

One Month

Two Months

Three Months

Four Months

Daily life

Let me just start by saying that we are blessed with the best friends anyone could request! The past month has been filled with challenge, sickness, and everyday difficulties. Claire has spent quality time with anyone who will take her this month! After the stomach flu, colds, coughs, and emotional breakdowns...I think we are slowly on our way to recovery.

My little peanut is just getting over a bad cold and the hubbs is currently walking through it. We've tried to make sure to wash our hands as much as possible, but nothing seems to keep us from kissing her cute face.

Today is my brother's, Matt, birthday! It's the last year of his 20s!! I can't believe it. It seems like just yesterday Brian and I were meeting some friends for tapas to celebrate my 30th. Ha! How time flies, right?

Well, I will leave you with some daily recent pictures of the cutest baby ever.

Trying on hats at Baby Gap!

She's always soooo happy when she stinks!

Ahhaaahhhaaaaaaaa.... Aaaaaaaeeeeeaaaah.... These words are really I love you so much in 'baby-code'

Pretty sure she's already embarrassed by us.

Shy about eating nowadays....

 

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It's been a while! Trip to MI!

HELLO!!!  It's been so long since I've had a chance to update everyone!  So much has happened, but before I go into all of it I must post about our (long past) trip to Michigan over Labor Day. 

Claire got to see her new cousin, Ayden, and she met the Tuckeys for the first time.  While we were out visiting the whole family got together and we had a couple professional photographers come and take pictures.  It was so much fun.  Barb and Les have such a great property that we didn't even have to leave the comfort of their own home.  

 Liz is getting so grown up!  I just can't believe it - stop looking so much older!

 The barn made a great backdrop for the pictures...here's grandma and grandpa and the kiddos.

 Here's "the peanut gallery" ha - always have something to say...and we were working hard to make Nate smile.

 Here's the kids getting set up for the next picture.

 HA - Brian is always a character.

Brian juggling for Kate and Viv.

 YESSSSS!!!!  More grill stuff!!!

 Happy Birthday Barb and Brian!

Claire and Ayden side by side - I can't believe how tiny he is!!  Was Claire ever really that small?!

Mandy made a wonderful cake with lemon curd in it...it rivaled her dreamsickle cake for sure!  We had a wonderful time celebrating and spending time with the family.  The weekend was over all too quickly.  Can't wait until the next time! (CHRISTMAS!!!!)

Family Visits - Part 1

We've had such a busy 2 weeks!  The weekend before Labor Day Claire took her first flight ever!  We went to Omaha and got to hang out with my family!  We also had dinner at my good friend's, Shannon, house, but I NEVER take pictures there!!! DUH!
 Anyway, it was a great trip!  Claire slept on the plane (and ate). We made it through both there and back without any crying! YAY! First stop in Omaha was Grandma Linda and Grandpa Don's.  We stayed there and had BLT's with Uncle Matt - then Aunt Jess came out later in the evening to say hi.  

The next day we went to Uncle Jeff's house and hung out with Kyle, Danielle, and Jeffrey - oh and Madison stopped by really quick to say hello.  Missy also stopped by on her lunch break.  Brian was so happy to hang with his buddy Kyle. 

Claire was ALL SMILES for Uncle Jeff...except when he was trying to take a good photograph in his studio.  Brian and I took are traditional "bunny ears" pics with Kyle.  Love HIM!

In the evening we went to have dinner at the "grill-master" Jude's house. (Jude has generously opened his home to Shannon and Luke) haha. I really wish I got a picture of Claire and Jude - he's roughly a year older than Claire - such a cutie!  NEXT time we get together - we must take a picture

Claire managed to take a nap on Grandma and Grandpa's KING size bed!!  She was very comfy!

The last day we were there we were in Omaha we went to see Great Grandpa Overton.  In the picture above Claire was very hungry and wiggly!  I believe she did get Grandpa Vic to crack a smile though, and that was good to see.  He said he wasn't feeling so good, so hopefully Claire was a good "pick-me-up" that day.  Before we knew it - it was time to head for the airport to fly home! 

Next weekend...MICHIGAN!

Back to work - short week

My sweet daughter sent me flowers for my 1st day back!

Going back to work on a Wednesday was a smart decision. I'm not sure if some one suggested it to me or if I came up with it, but either way I would highly recommend it to anyone coming back after an extended time away from work.

Claire was so good to me Tuesday night! She slept until 5:30 on the nose! I got up, fed her, put her in the bouncy seat in the bathroom while I took a shower, the talked with (at) her while getting ready for work. I was ready with enough time to spare to make sure all her daycare stuff was set to go and to dress her and still make it to the train station with enough time to buy a ticket for next week. Thursday morning was very similar only I had enough time to give her a bath! It was great! Friday she got me! Up at 4am!! Yikes! Up this morning at 3:30am! Thank God it's Saturday!

Overall I would say we both had a good week. By Friday I was aching to just hold her and have her smile at me. I nearly welled up when I picked her up from daycare that evening. She was pretty grumpy when I arrived, but when I got her home and laid her down to change her we discovered something new!!! Her LAUGH! I tickled her neck and she was giggling! It was soooo awesome! I'm trying to get a video of it now, but she's pretty stingy with her laughs right now! Brian I had some renewed energy after hearing that little giggle. How rewarding after my 1st week back.

This coming week will be a long one. It's normal for most other people, but I have something to look forward to at the end of it! We're going to Omaha on Sunday! We get to see great grandpa Vic, and grandma Linda and grandpa Don. Uncle Matt and and Jess...she gets to meet Jude - who sent her a gift before she was even born! Uncle Jeff and aunt Danielle Annnnd Uncle Kyle and aunt Madison....she's got a busy weekend coming! I hope we're all up for it.

10 weeks old today!

Overall it was a pretty good week. I love my boss and manager, love most the people I work with, and have a good job that has the potential to provide a good living for our family. I really can't complain one bit. It is difficult being so far from Claire during the day, but I really need to focus on how God has blessed me with everything else and not focus on what I don't have right now. Maybe some day I will be able to work part time or even stay home all the time, but for now I'm responsible for being grateful for my current blessings and challenges.

Here she is trying not to fall asleep

 

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It Begins.

Ready to go!

 There she is!  My little baby all strapped in ready to go to daycare.  Her "first day of school" - I called it all morning.  Despite having her shots yesterday she seemed to be in a really good mood this morning. 

I did have to wake up at 3:30am to feed her, but she really ate nothing yesterday, so that's fine - this chunker needs her milk!!

The morning went pretty smoothly.  As we all know (if you know me) Brian HATES mornings so this will be quite a transition for him.  He will not only need to get himself up and ready for work, but he will need to make sure she's fed and up and ready to go to daycare AND then take her there and some how get himself to work on time.  Hectic times are ahead!!

It's now 1pm and I'm dying to go pick her up.  They said I could call and check on her anytime, but I'm afraid to call because what if she's not doing well and screaming all day?  I don't want to know that!!  I'm meeting a friend to get some gelato in a few minutes then making a quick trip to Banana Republic to return a couple items...then darting over to the center!!  I can't help but wonder how today went?  There were SO many other kiddos when I dropped her off - I didn't think there were that many workers there either, so I just wonder how they take care of them all.  There were a few infants, but about 4 kids were walking. 

I find it interesting they don't have any swings or bouncy chairs!  Claire loves the bouncy chair - she will sit in it for 30 minutes perfectly happy...well...if you're talking to her and make sure you're not ignoring her.  She's a very social baby - likes to be talked to.

Anyway, first day of daycare is nearly over with - and I'm glad.  Tomorrow is my first day back to work!

Walking in!