Baby Dedication

Back in February, our sweet Clara Beth's was dedicated at our church. Derek and I made a promise to the Lord that we would raise Clara in a Godly way, prayerfully so that she will one day accept Jesus as her Lord and Savior. It was such a special day, one I will forever look back on fondly. We were so blessed to have so many of our family members come in town. Clara looked like an angel in the beautiful dress her Lee Lee smocked for her. She was chit chatting the entire time! After church, everyone came back to our house where we had fajitas. What a perfect day.

We are so blessed

Clara opening her presents

Everyone signed this sweet book for Miss Clara.

"I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD." - 1 Samuel 1:27-28

Clara is 8 Months Old!

{STATS}

• Clara is 21 pounds. I'm not sure her length...but I'm thinking long. :)

{FEEDING}

• Clara is still eating 5 6 ounce bottles of breast milk every 3 to 4 hours. She has oatmeal and a fruit with her second bottle (breakfast), then a veggie with her third bottle, and another veggie with her fourth bottle. Her appetite has been funny (due to teething) so she hasn't been finishing her baby food. We've had such fun with cheerios! She LOVES cheerios. I really should start giving her more table food, but since she doesn't have teeth yet, I've been a little nervous. We are planning on trying avocados and banana soon. Bring on the mess! (She is a MESSY MESSY eater!)

{SLEEPING}

• What a good little sleeping beauty we have. She continues to sleep through the night. She goes down between 6:00 and 7:00 and wakes up between 5:00 and 6:00. Normally I will just put her in her crib, turn on her sound machine and ocean, give her the bobby and she'll put herself to sleep. The past two nights, I've had to rock her and sing her to sleep. I know I should probably just let her fuss, but there is absolutely nothing sweeter than rocking and singing to your baby. It's moments like that, where the world all just makes perfect sense. It's moments like that I will forever cherish. It's moments like that, where I find myself wondering what I did to deserve this beautiful blessing from God. Wow.

{CLOTHING}

• I am shocked to say that Clara is still in size 3 pampers! She just seemed to go from size to size so fast, and she's been stuck here for awhile. I think she'll be in 3s for a while!
• 12 month clothing fits her perfectly! She's so long, so I've been trying to by WAY bigger so she can wear it longer. I love this warm weather so she can wear thos precious bubbles and sun dresses. Now she can show off those hams!
• She is wearing size 3 shoes.

{PERSONALITY}

• I think our Peanut is a little on the shy side...which does NOT surprise me at all considering I was a very shy little girl and Derek is still very shy. If someone abruptly comes up to her and talks loudly, she'll just kind of stare at them. It's kind of funny, really. Then she will eventually give her shy, tiny grin.
• She is truly the happiest little angel I've ever met. Everything makes her happy. Especially: her daddy, her puppies, a wash rag, playing on a blanket with toys, grabbing her bow, playing with her own remote, Mickey, mommy singing, books, squealing and screaming and baths! She is such a joy!
• She LOVES a shopping cart! She kicks those little legs and throws her arms up in the air. Shopping carts are such fun!
• Clara also LOVES high chairs at restaurants. Again, it's a great place to kick those little legs and throw her arms in the air...AND squeal!
• She wants to see what is going on...all the time. She wants us to hold her facing out so she can check it all out.
• She LOVES Miss Jessica (her amazing sitter). She just lights up when we get to her house each day. We've been so blessed to have someone watch and love our baby as much as we do.

Clara Beth, what did we do before you? You are my everything. I love you!

Clara is 7 Months Old!

{FEEDING}

• Clara eats 5 6 ounce bottles of breast milk every 3 hours. She has her first bottle around 5:30 in the morning. Her second feeding is a bottle, some oatmeal and a jar of fruit. Her second feeding is a bottle only. Her third feeding is a bottle and a jar of veggies (squash is her absolute favorite!) Her fourth feeding is a bottle. Then her fifth feeding is a bottle and a jar of veggies. So far she has had squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, green beans, bananas, pears, peaches, prunes, and apples.

{SLEEPING}

• Little bit is still sleeping through the night in her room. She's a great little sleeper. She takes GREAT naps for Miss Jessica...as in two 1 to 2 hour naps each day. That's a different story when I have her for nap time. She will take two 30 minute naps when she's with me. I like to think it's because she misses me during the week. :)

{CLOTHING}

• Clara is still in size 3 Pampers (Cruisers). They still seem to fit great...and no major blow outs!
• She wears size 9-12 month clothing. However, it always depends on the brand and how much the clothing shrinks. I'm so happy the weather is getting warmer so I can put her in sundresses and BUBBLES! There's nothing cuter than a baby in a bubble. :)

{PERSONALITY}

• I've never met a happier, more joyful baby. She loves everyone and everything. She is so laid back and is truly a champ when it comes to going out to eat, running errands, etc.
• She loves to sit in her Baby Einstein jumper. She "bounces" aka bobs her head and body back and forth. It's hilarious and precious all at the same time!
• She loves to sit on her blanket and play with her toys. Cooper often lays right beside her so she can grab at him. He's so good with her and so gentle. She's crazy about her puppies.
• She loves to be read to. We read each night. She reaches for the pages and wants to put them in her mouth.
• She crawls...backwards. Or should I say creeps backwards.
• She absolutely loves to be sung to. When we sing her "Clara" song...she flaps those little arms and bounces around. What a doll!Each month just keeps getting better and better. I am the luckiest mommy in the world!

I Love You So...

My precious Clara Beth. You are celebrating your very first Valentine's Day at Miss Jessica's with your buddy, Beau! All day, I've been thinking about how much I love you. I've been thinking about all of the precious things you are doing now that you are seven months old!

• I love how you flap your little arms when you get excited about something.
• I love your squeals...and your giggles...and your sneezes...and your "chit chat"...I just love every little sound you make!
• I love how you curl up on my shoulder when you are sleepy
• I love how your rub your eyes with your tiny fists when you are sleepy.
• I love how you LOVE your puppies.
• I love how you light up when you see anyone...but it doesn't compare to how you light up when you see your Daddy.
• I love how you play with your Daddy.
• I love how you love to grab my hair when I'm feeding you (even when you pull and tug...and it kind of hurts).
• I love how you hum to put yourself to sleep.
• I love how you look at me, with those sleepy eyes, as I sing to you each night, "Jesus Loves Me."
• I love how you grab for the pages when I read you a story.
• I love how you kick, kick, KICK your legs when you're in your diaper.
• I love how you love your toes.
• I love your tiny nose, your big brown eyes, your curly ears, your fuzzy head, your flat, chubby feet, your hams, your round little noggin, your storke bite on the back on that round little noggin, and those perfect pouty lips.
• I love that you are mine. I love the fact that God gave me you...my perfect, funny, joyful angel. Clara Beth, you are my heart.

Clara is 4 -6 Months Old! (I'm SOOOO Behind!)

{CLARA'S STATS}

FOURTH MONTHS

• 25.5 inches long
• 15.5 pounds

FIVE MONTHS

• 16 - 17 pounds (approximately)

SIX MONTHS

• 18 pounds 10 oz.
• 27.5 inches long...I think it's safe to say our baby girl is going to be a tall one!

{FEEDING} FOURTH MONTHS

She is eating 4.5 ounces of pumped breastmilk every 2 - 3 hours. She loves to eat!

FIVE MONTHS

Clara eats 5 ounces of pumped breastmilk every 2.5 to 3 hours. We tried rice cereal, just for fun, and she LOVED it! She just loves sitting in her bumbo like a big girl!

SIX MONTHS

Clara eats 6 ounces of pumped breastmilk every 3 - 3.5 hours. She eats 5 times a day. She is officially eating solids! For her first feeding, she has a bottle (around 4:30 AM). Then, she eats around 8:00 where she has a bottle, then rice cereal and a jar of pears. She has her third bottle. Then her fourth bottle and a vegetable. She has had sweet potatoes (which she didn't like at first), squash (which is her FAVE) and carrots (which she likes). Miss Jessica heats it up for a smidge to suit Miss Clara's fancy. We tried banana and vegetable Mum Mums, which have been a lot of fun. Messy...but fun!

{SLEEPING}

FOUR MONTHS

Clara is sleeping through the night! HOORAY! She is still in our room, sleeping in the pack-n-play. This whole sleeping through the night business has changed our life! She wakes up around 3:30 AM for her first feeding of the day and then gets up around 6:30 or 7:00.

FIVE MONTHS

Clara is still sleepin gthrough the night. She is still in our room in her pack-n-play. She can now go down by herself, without having to "walk and shush" her to sleep.

SIX MONTHS

At six months, Clara sleeps in her crib, in her room, like a big girl. Although I missed having her in my room terribly, our tiny one sleeps so much more soundly. She has been going down between 6:00 and 6:30 at night. She just has so much fun at Miss Jessica's! We read 2 - 3 books, sing Jesus Loves Me, and I put her down. She LOVES her caterpillar wubba and her lovie up by her cheek. She sleeps until around 4:30 or 5:00.

{CLOTHING}

FOUR MONTHS

Clara is in size 2 Pampers and size 3-6 AND 6-9 month clothing.

FIVE MONTHS

Clara is in size 3 Pampers (Cruisers). They seem so big on her! She is wearing 6-9 month clothing.

SIX MONTHS

She is in size 3 Pampers (Cruisers) still. She is wearing 6-9 month clothing. Since she's in pants right now, the 9 month stuff fits her best...since she's our long baby!

{PERSONALITY}

FOUR MONTHS

She LOVES her hands. They are the best toy ever. They are in her mouth 24/7! She holds her toy and passes it from hand to hand. She is such a happy girl. She still loves to cuddle! She hasn't met a stranger and is very smiley to everyone.

FIVE MONTHS

What a happy baby girl we have! She truly just loves everything. She loves her mommy, daddy, Lee Lee, Pop Pop, Lolly, puppies, hands, Sophie, napkins, zurberts from Daddy, playing in her diaper...the list goes on and on! She is so much fun! When she gets excited, her arms and legs just flaile about! It's the cutest thing I've ever seen.

SIX MONTHS

If I could describe my angel in a word it would be...joyful. She is so full of joy it hurts my heart. EVERYTHING makes her happy. She is especially in love with Karlie and Cooper. When they are around, nothing else matters. She loves to play with her toys, she loves to have stories read to her, she loves to give kisses, she loves to grab for my jewelry, hair, clothes, scarves. This little girlis truly the happiest little peanut. She can sit up now...and love sitting in a high chair! When she gets excited, she flaps her little arms so fast and breathes really loudly. AHHHHH, again it just hurts my heart. Every day, I look at her, in awe. How, on earth, did I get to be so lucky?

Happy Owl-O-Ween!

Clara's first Halloween has come and gone. Lee Lee, Pop Pop, and Lolly came over for dinner and to pass out treats to trick-or-treaters. Clara Beth just hammed it up in her owl costume! We took a bunch of pictures (of course) that I will share below. I cannot believe it's November! It's officially my very favorite time of year! Hooray for the holidays!

I hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!!

Coming to an End...

The time I've been dreading, since July 13, is here. This is my last full week of maternity leave. Time has truly never moved so fast. I cannot even begin to express how blessed I have been to have gotten this much time with my Clara Beth. I will have had 16 weeks with my precious baby. This time I've had with her will be something I will forever cherish. I've gotten so much more time than most mommies...but that doesn't make it any easier.

There is so much I'm going to miss. I'm going to miss cuddling with her in bed after her first morning feeding. Daddy would feed her around 5:00, while I pumped. Then, she always came back to bed with mommy. She's the best little cuddle bug. We would then often sleep until 8:00. I loved just looking over at her when she finally woke up for the day...big brown eyes with a big ole grin. MELTS.MY.HEART.

I'm going to miss having my coffee with her in my arms. By the time I had my coffee, she would often already be back asleep for her morning nap. Then, we would just lie in the recliner together and cuddle some more. I know I should probably put her in her crib...but that morning nap is mommy and Clara time. A time I would spend staring at her, in awe of what God had blessed us with.

I'm going to miss our morning walks. Now that the weather has been nice, we take a walk each morning. Clara would often stay awake for the first part, sometimes "talking" with mommy. But that didn't last long. Little Miss would be asleep before too long.

I'm even going to miss looking at the clock and realizing it's 2:00 and I'm still in my jammies! (Something I swore I'd never do!) HA! Sometimes everyone needs a jammie day! :)

I really could go on and on. I know I will still have beautiful, precious moments with my little girl. I know being a teacher gives me more opportunities to spend with her, as far as holidays go. I know I've gotten 16 weeks with her. But that doesn't mean that going back to work won't be the hardest thing I've ever had to do. I don't want to miss a single thing.

I am so thankful that God blessed us with this amazing little girl. This tiny bit has brought me more joy than I knew was even possible. Clara Beth, your mommy loves your more than you know.

I Heart Wreaths!

So I just discovered Pinterest. Yes, I know I'm a little late in the game...but I've had my hands a little full. Two years ago, I made this Christmas wreath. I basically just copied it from the one I love at Pottery Barn. I went back and added more ornaments too it and took off the bow...but I didn't take a picture of that one.I've been wanting to make a Fall wreath...but have not yet settled on what I want to do. Here are a few I found on Pinterest.

I love the colors in this one...maybe add an initial on the right?

I love the white pumpkins...I just think they are so pretty. I always put some white pumpkins out in the yard during this season. I also love the burlap rosettes. So cute! Now I just need to decide what I'm going to do. Maybe I'll head to Hobby Lobby this week!

Clara is Three Months Old!

{CLARA'S STATS}

• 14 - 15 pounds (based on us getting on the scale with her)

{FEEDING}

Clara is still eating pumped breastmilk. We are so thankful my supply has not dwindled. Fingers crossed it will stay the same when I go back to work in three weeks. Clara is eating 4 - 4.5 ounces every 2.5 - 3 hours. It comes out to about 27 to 30 ounces a day. She loves to eat and is thriving!

{SLEEPING}

• Our little love is mostly going 6 to 7.5 hours each night! YAY! Just getting that uninterrupted sleep is HUGE. She typically goes down for the night after her last feeding, which is often between 9:00 - 10:30...which is still pretty late. BUT, D and I are night owls so it isn't so much of an issue. We will lay in bed with little bit until that last feeding, get some cuddles in, and put her down. She is still in the rock - n- play. Once she outgrows the rock-n-play, we will move her to her pack-n-play, which is also in our room. She hates her crib right now (which I try just during nap time). Judge all you want, but I love having her in our room. :)
• She is getting a little more consistent with her naps. I put her in her crib once each day to TRY to get her nap, but she always ends up waking herself up and has to go in the rock-n-play. Maybe it's cozier to her? I'm not quite sure. She sleeps best on mommy...she took almost a two hour nap yesterday! But, I want her to get used to going down in her rock-n-play for now. So...we're still workign on it. For the most part, she takes 3 20 - 30 minute naps...but like I said, sometimes we get lucky and she'll take an even longer one.

{CLOTHING}

• We just moved her up to size two diapers. I'm hoping she will wear them for a while because she has a lot of room in them.
• Clothing varies. She can wear SOME three month things, depending on the store. But for the most part, the 0-3 month clothes are a little snug. So she's in 3-6 and 6-9 month clothes now. Like I said last month, I try to buy bigger so she can wear it longer.

{PERSONALITY}

• Oh my goodness is she showing her little personality! I feel like things just keep getting better and better each month! She has started giggling...and oh, is it the most precious sound. I love that our home is full of giggles and squeals now. It is the best thing in the world!
• She is crazy about her daddy! When Daddy comes home, he comes straight over to Clara and he gets the biggest grin from her. She'll grin, and then be all bashful and look away, then look back at him and squeal. It is one of my favorite things. There is something so special about a daddy and his little girl. Something that lasts a lifetime (take it from a girl who is crazy about her own daddy!)
• She loves books. She has just begun to "pay attention" as I read to her. She will coo and "read with momma" as I read. I hope hope hope her love for books continues to grow.
• She is our little drama momma! She will do this little fake cry thing, and then burst out into a grin or a giggle. Oooooh she is playing us! It's actually pretty funny though.
• She's still my snuggle bug. She loves to be held and cuddled. She just melts into you when you hold her. She loves kisses and loves to give her "kisses" back to anyone and everyone...including her puppies Karlie and Cooper.
• She still does not like tummy time...not one little bit! There have been times where it has litterally ruined her day because of it. I use the boppy to prop her up, but she just won't have. She gets very angry...and her little stork bites on her forehead and eye get so red! I'm just hoping when she's ready, she will really love it.

The Littlest Pumpkin

So yesterday we planned our first trip to the Pumpkin Patch with my dear friend Brittany, her precious baby, Reid, and our mommas. I know I have mentioned the Preston girls before, but they are our oldest and dearest friends. Brittany had Reid in May...so she's been my "go to girl" on anything and everything baby. We have had such fun doing mommy things together. Our moms are best friends and have taught together for years. They have had just as much fun doing "grandmommy" things together!

The weather could not have been more perfect yesterday. It was like getting a little taste of fall! We had lunch at Otto's at La Centera and then headed to the St. Peter's Pumpkin Patch for cute baby pictures. The babies were good sports, Reid a little more so than Clara. :) Her feelings were very hurt. This was not her idea of fun. (But boy did the pictures come out cute!) This is my favorite picture of the two of them. It pretty much sums up our day at the Pumpkin Patch. Baby Reid is Mr. Laid Back...Miss Clara is our little Drama Queen. Reid was all about the bows on Clara's outfit. He kept grabbing at them! She looks so heart broken in this picture, but I have to tell ya, there weren't any tears. This was the closest thing we got to a grin at the patch! (You can kind of see one of her tiny dimples!) Maybe this wasn't so bad after all?!

A Few of my Favorite Things

I cannot get over how all of Clara's baby "stuff" is taking over our house...and she's not even three months old yet! We have been so blessed with such generous family and friends who have given us so many wonderful gifts. I thought I'd share a few of my very favorites today while little miss is napping.

Itzbeen Baby Timer: This has to be, hands down, my all time favorite baby item. There are four buttons for four different timers (change diaper, feed, sleep, and one you can use for anything else...I use it for pumping). So let's say you are about to feed your baby. Instead of writing it down, you just hit the Itzbeen. That way you can see how long it has been since they last ate. GENIOUS! Every mommy and daddy should have one of these. AND they come in blue, pink and green. Seriously, Derek and I would be LOST without it! Rock 'n Play Sleeper: I have talked to so many mommies who would agree with me on this one. The Rock 'n Play sleeper is a must! It doesn't take up too much room and is light weight, so I carry this from room to room with me. This is the one thing she is perfectly content hanging out in while I do something quick (unload the dishwasher, put in a load of laundry, brush my teeth). She sleeps in this at night as well. I'm not sure what we will do when she outgrows it since she hates her crib. :( Sleep Sheep on the Go: We had registered for the larger Sleep Sheep for Clara's nursery. (It's a sound machine.) I had no clue they even made a smaller one for travel. Clara's Gramma bought her the Sleep Sheep on the Go. It is perfect for her Rock 'n Play. We just attach it to the bar and it puts it right to sleep.

Aden & Anais Muslin Swaddle Blankets: These swaddling blankets are amazing! They are so soft and light weight...perfect for this Houston heat! Plus, they are really big! They wash really well, and seem to get softer the more they are washed. I LOVE these blankets! Thank you Lolly!

Boppy Lounger: My sweet friend Brittany introduced us to this magic pillow! Clara just loves this. I carry this from room to room with me as well. Perfect to set up on the couch beside me as I fold laundry. It's wonderful!