Meeting Grace

Our niece arrived on January 20th, and we were excited to head down to Corpus Christi a couple days later to meet her.

Isn't she a beautiful baby?

Claire was really excited to meet Grace but didn't want to get too close at first.

Will really liked Uncle Jeremy and sat with him for a long time!


Getting footprints


I love this one of the new parents admiring their girl!


Trying to keep Claire entertained so she wouldn't destroy the hospital room. :)




Will and Grandmommy

We are SO happy that she is here and are looking forward to many adventures with the cousins.

First Day

Tuesday was my first day back at work and Will's first day of school. This first day was much easier than it was with Claire (having a familar place to leave your new baby helps so much!), but still harder than I expected. We wanted to get a photo of Will and Claire together, but Claire was not having it. She seemed pretty unsure as to how she felt about having Will coming to her school. We left him in safe hands, but I still shed a few tears.

Things got better once I got to the office and started getting back into a familar routine. I do enjoy my job and my co-workers, and the day went by quickly. I'm thankful that they are so flexible, and that I'm able to ease back into things at just two days a week for a couple of weeks, then three days in February.  Will had a great first day of school. He even took a 2 1/2 hour nap in his crib - now if we could get him to do that at home!

Today I found out that Claire and one of her teachers visited Will in his room, and she was pretty excited about it. I think she's decided that having him there is okay. :)

Project Life: Week 2

January 10 - 16


Monday

Will and I ran some errands on Monday morning, and I had time to pick up one of my favorite meals for lunch - a burrito bowl from Chipotle. I usually can make two meals out of one bowl, but today there were no leftovers.

Tuesday

Will is two months old today! Every day he gives us more smiles and tries to "talk" a little more. Such a sweet boy!

Wednesday

By the time Nana and Granddaddy arrived on Wednesday evening, Will had cheered up a little from his checkup. They brought Claire and Will each a teddy bear hand knit by my cousin Kay. Claire was not interested in posing for a photo, but Will was happy to oblige!

Thursday

One of Claire's Christmas presents from Nana and Granddaddy was a Learning Tower. We hadn't had a chance to put it together, so Granddaddy and Claire worked on it together today. She absolutely loved it and quickly used it to start exploring some of the kitchen drawers.

Friday

We went to Pappasito's for dinner, and Claire entertained herself with our iPhones while we waited for our meal. Her hand is a blur as she flips through the screens!

Saturday

My cousins David, Penelope and Tanesa came over for dinner, and Claire finally got to open her present that Penny made for her - a chalkboard mat. She couldn't wait to try it out!

Sunday

Play dough with Mommy!

Show Me the Mommy #2

Making pizza with Claire:



I love how she puts huge handfuls of cheese right in the middle of the pizza. Smart girl - she already knows that the cheese is the best part!

Two Months

1.11.11 was a special day - Will turned two months old!

He had his two month check up on Wednesday. The boy is definitely healthy. His stats were:

Weight: 13 lbs 4 oz (somewhere around the 85th percentile!!!)
Length: 23 inches

For comparison, here is a link to the results from Claire's two month appointment. Notice the 3 1/2 lb weight difference - crazy!

Just like Claire, he got 5 shots, an oral vaccine, and slept for about two hours straight in his car seat after the appointment. I also managed not to cry - it's so hard to see your baby hurt, even when it's for a good cause.

The night before his appointment he gave us his longest stretch of sleep so far - 7 hours. He regressed a little after his appointment, but he didn't eat well all day. I'm hoping he quickly gets back to the 7 hour (or longer!) mark. Dr. Benbow gave us the okay to start dropping night feedings if he'll go back to sleep without them. So far, he seems to be super hungry when he wakes up, so we'll see how he's doing in a couple of weeks before we start working on that.

Claire also had a visit with the doctor who wanted to check her growth. He was pleased with her progress over the past few months and seems less concerned about her small stature. We still have an appointment with a specialist in a few months to make sure there isn't anything going on that needs to be treated, but we feel like she is just a petite girl who will probably be about the same size as her little brother in a little over a year. :)

Busy Weekend

Last weekend was the first one in awhile where we didn't have a holiday event or family in town, but we still managed to pack in a lot of activities.

On Friday night, we all decided that pizza sounded good for dinner. Robert and Claire went to the store for ingredients. Claire had so much fun helping put the pizzas together. She really liked putting down the pieces of pepperoni, but her favorite part was sprinkling the cheese. She would take a big handful, put it right in the middle, and then follow my lead my taking some of it and sprinkling it on other parts of the pizza. She could hardly wait for it to cool off when it came out of the oven, and we had to put a piece in the freezer to quickly cool it off for her to eat. Yum!

Saturday started with a desperately needed haircut for Claire. She is not a fan of strangers, especially strangers who touch her, so haircuts can be excrutiating for all of us. Since her last haircut was in August, though, she was way overdue. While not a totally pleasant experience, we got it out of the way, and her hair looks so cute now in a little bob. Mommy learned a new way to fix her hair and keep it out of her eyes, too, so she doesn't have to wear a ponytail every day now!

We had no plans for the rest of the day and ended up going to Austin to see Robert's mother and grandparents who were visiting for the weekend. It was a quick trip, with time for lunch, a short visit, and a trip to Buy Buy Baby to check out double strollers. That place was crazy busy, so we didn't last long, but I was able to start narrowing down my choices. We were back in San Antonio in time for a quiet evening at home after a full day.

On Sunday, Claire seemed to have a slight cold, and we decided to take it easy and enjoy some quality time at home.

Will at 8 Weeks

Check out those cheeks! No weight gain concerns for Mr. Serious...

After I took Will's weekly photo, I laid him in the crib for a few minutes to gather up my camera and a few other things. He looked so cute cooing and waving his arms around, and I had to break out the camera again!

Project Life: Week 1 (1.3.11 - 1.9.11)

January 3 - 9

Monday

Will really enjoys his baths. Tonight he was getting bathed at the same time as his sister, who usually screams when her hair is washed. Will just relaxes and is so calm - until you take him out of the tub.

Tuesday

While I was feeding Will, Claire kept trying to pick him up. Not only was her timing bad, but there is absolutely no way she can pick him up since at 7 weeks he already weighs half as much as she does. I asked her if she wanted to hold him after he was done eating, and she could hardly wait. She was so excited and proud to hold him. It makes me so happy to see how much she loves her little brother - I can't wait to watch their relationship grow.

Wednesday

Claire has been on a big grilled cheese sandwich kick lately. Every night when I ask her what she wants for dinner, she says "Hot Cheese!" She can hardly wait for it to heat up and has to have a small slice of cheese while she was waiting. Tonight I convinced her to have a few bites of turkey, snap peas and bell pepper while she waited, so she had a somewhat balanced meal!

Thursday

Robert and Claire have a new game where Robert will flick the cards so that they shower Claire, and it blows her mind. She gets SO excited every time - it never gets old!

Show Me the Mommy!

On Fridays, my e-friend Laura usually has a feature called "Show Me the Mommy!" As moms, we typically tend to be behind the camera instead of in front of it, and one of my goals with Project Life 2011 is to be in more photos, especially with the kids and with Robert. I am prone to picking apart pictures of myself, but I know that my kids are going to want to see pictures of me with them later in life, and I am going to want those photos, too. So, today's picture is an iPhone self portrait with sweet baby Will - we were spending some time snuggling on the couch after a feeding.

I may look tired and have bags under my eyes, but every time I look at that photo I will remember how content I was in that moment just cuddling my baby boy.

2011 Resolutions

While I have a few quiet minutes at the computer, I wanted to take some time to document a few goals for 2011. This is not a complete list, but these are ones I'll probably blog about so I wanted to go ahead and share.

1. Lose the remaining pregnancy weight. By 3 weeks post-partum, I'd lost 24 pounds, leaving about 10 to go. I gained a couple back over the holidays - darn you tempting holiday goodies! I hope to be back to my pre-pregnancy weight in a few months, or at least replace some of those pounds with muscle! :) I had my first workout yesterday since about 5 weeks before I had Will, and I am SORE. Thank you Jillian Michaels and your 30 Day Shred video!


2. Complete my Project Life scrapbook. For a couple of years I've been thinking about doing a 365 Project where you take a photo a day for a year. Right before Christmas I stumbled onto the Project Life system, and it totally appealed to me. It makes the documentation so easy, and I like that it can be modified in so many ways. Instead of focusing on a photo a day, I'm going to try to get at least 5-7 photos each week. This takes a little of the pressure off for me. I started yesterday, so my weeks will run on Monday - Sunday (I didn't want to break up the weekend days). I plan to share my photos on Flickr - a link to the set is here. I am so excited to document a year of everyday life for our family and know it will be something we will love to review for years to come.


3. Do more sewing. It's something I love, and I tend to not spend time doing it because I am intimidated by patterns, don't want to mess up my nice fabrics, etc. I need to just jump in and do more, and now that I have a room set up where I don't have to put everything up right away, I'm running out of excuses. :)


4. Find a new balance as a mother of two, being intentional about my time with my husband and each of my kids while still having time for myself.

Catching up on Will

12/30/10 - Will at 7 weeks:

Will continues to be a healthy and happy baby! He is settling into a nighttime routine, going to bed around 9 or 10 and waking up around 2 and 5 to eat. He usually will go back to sleep for an hour or so after the second feeding which we all appreciate, especially now that Claire is back to sleeping until around 7. We're still tired, but feeling much more rested than we were a few weeks ago.

A few other things:

- Will has given us a few intentional smiles in the past week - I can't wait to see more of them! He gets excited when he hears Claire - I think her enthusiasm has rubbed off on him. She is still completely in love with her little brother, although we have to watch her very closely around him to make sure she doesn't smother him while showing affection.
- He can follow an object with his eyes and turns his head towards a sound.
- He sleeps great in his car seat, which helps when we have to run errands (and during our recent long trips to Dallas and Vernon!).
- He only gets really upset when he's hungry.
- He weighs about 12 1/2 pounds, which is more than Claire weighed at 4 months.

My full-time maternity leave is almost over. The school had an opening in the infant room for Tuesdays and Thursdays, so Will is going to start going to daycare and I will go back to work for those days as of the 18th. Right now the plan is to do the two day a week thing for the second half of January, then move up to 3 days a week in February. After that, my bosses and I are going to decide if I will stay at 3 days a week or go back to my 4 day schedule. I'm so glad my job is flexible!

I never posted Will's 5 & 6 week pictures, so here they are. Obviously, in week 6 I forgot what he was wearing in week 5. I really wanted to be sure to get a photo of him in this outfit, though. Before Claire was born, I bought this outfit in blue and pink to be the coming home outfit for her (not yet knowing she was a girl). It absolutely swallowed her, and she was a four months old before it fit properly - I wrote a post about it here. I was glad that I saved the blue one, and I think it really illustrates the size difference between my two children!

Five Weeks:

Six Weeks - Merry Christmas!:

Claire's Holiday Recital - Video

Here is a video of Claire's performance. The funniest part is just a few seconds in when she spots Robert and me sitting in the audience.




For a higher quality version, click here.

Claire's Holiday Recital

Claire's school had a holiday recital one evening. Her class "performed" to Christmas Morning by Raffi. She looked so cute up on stage in her PJs! Claire's Grandmommy (Robert's mom) was able to come down from Austin for the recital, and we were glad she was able to be there and join in the fun!

Will was asleep in his carrier, and we didn't want to wake him for pictures. :)

No time for a real update...

We are alive and doing well - just busy with life and the holidays. I have several things I want to post:

• Mommy & Daddy's visit to Claire's dance class
• Will's five week chair picture
• Claire's Christmas pageant
• Our visit to Austin for Carol's baby shower

But, I think it will be after Christmas before I'm able to get to it. In the meantime, here's a picture of sweet Will that I took today:

Merry Christmas!

Christmas List Updates

Lists have been updated with the items people are already purchasing for the kids!

Christmas Lists

We are super late in putting these together this year, but what can I say - we've been a little busy lately! If there's something in particular you'd like to get anyone, just e-mail me and I'll cross it off the list.

Claire:
Tricycle (with adjustable seat)
Learning Tower
Small step stool for her bathroom
Membership to McKenna Children's Museum in New Braunfels
Memory matching game (Original or one like this)
Skip Hop Zoo Little Kid Backpack, Bee
Skip Hop Zoo Lunchbag
Books - "Llama Llama Mad at Mama", "Llama Llama Red Pajamas", "Llama Llama Holiday Drama", "Thump Quack Moo" or "Duck for President"
Melissa & Doug wooden food sets (She has the cookie set and is already getting the pizza & sandwich sets)
Melissa & Doug 24 piece puzzle (she has the princess one)
Jack Johnson Sing-A-Longs & Lullabies for the Film Curious George CD
Gift cards for clothes - Baby Gap, Gymboree, Carters, The Children's Place, Babies R Us, Kohls, Old Navy

Will:
Activity Gym
Personalized labels for daycare from Mabel's Labels (need "Skinny-Minis" and "Tag Mates")
Sophie the Giraffe teether
Manhattan Toy Winkle
Lamaze "My First Mirror"
Baby Einstein Take Along Tunes
Gift cards for clothes - Baby Gap, Gymboree, Carters, The Children's Place, Babies R Us, Kohls, Old Navy

Amy & Robert - e-mail us!

Will - Four Weeks

The little monkey was in a great mood on the morning of his 4 week birthday.

It was a busy week! On Tuesday, Will and I went to the pediatrician for his one month appointment. He weighed in at 10 pounds, which meant that he gained almost two ounces a day over two weeks! Our doctor said that the gain was "exceptional" - not surprising, right? :) I'm officially predicting that by the time Will is 18 months old, he will weigh as much as Claire. The doctor told me to get prepared to have people asking if they are twins at some point in the future.

Will's umbilical cord still had not fallen off, so the doctor took care of it. A portion of the vein was holding on, so he quickly removed it. Will was hungry and ready for a little extra snack, so he sucked on a bottle the whole time and didn't even flinch when it came off. I was glad to be rid of it, and we were able to give him a real bath that night.

Will continues to be an easy baby - rarely fussy, and only gets really worked up when he is hungry. I'm already able to put him to bed "drowsy but awake" at night, and it usually doesn't take him long to go to sleep. He wakes up twice a night ready to eat, so I usually get a couple of 2.5 - 3.5 hour sleep sessions in a night before Claire gets up. Claire has been waking up really early (around 6), but the past couple of days she has slept a little later, which makes a huge difference for me. I need that extra hour or so!

Claire is still completely infatuated with her "Bubba". She squeals when she sees him every morning and every afternoon when we pick her up from school. Her new thing is laying on the floor beside him during his tummy time. She loves to help, and does a great job retrieving things for me and trying to pat Will when he is tired. We still have to remind her to be gentle and use soft hands, but she is doing a better job remembering on her own.

Now that we have had our first week on our own, and Will is settling into a good sleep schedule, I'm starting to feel like we are getting things under control!

Visitors

We were fortunate to have more family members visit us recently. On the Saturday after Thanksgiving, Aunt Carol and Uncle Jeremy stopped by on their way home from Austin. They are expecting Baby Grace in January, and we are so excited for them and can't wait to meet Claire and Will's new cousin!

Last weekend, Ma and Bob came to stay for a few days. They brought lots of presents from friends and family members, and Claire was excited to open all of them.

Will was content just observing.

She also had a great time making cookies with Ma - they were delicious!

We are blessed to have so many people who love us and who are excited to meet Will and spend time with Claire as we figure out how to run a family of 4!

Will at 3 Weeks - 12/2/2010

This was the best of the bunch!

Nana left that day after 3 weeks with us, and we were both a little tired. We are so thankful for all of her help - I don't know how we would've made it without her!

Claire at 3 weeks - click here.

Will's Second Week

Will is two weeks old today!

Claire got in on the chair pictures this week - brings back lots of memories!

Week Two started out great with a visit from Mommy's friend Lindsay, who drove 3 hours out of her way during a trip to Austin to come meet Will.

It was so, so good to spend some time with her, and Will was perfectly content in her arms the entire time she was here.

On Sunday, Will had his first trip to church and slept through the entire service.

We had a follow-up appointment with the pediatrician on Wednesday and were pleased to learn that he had gained 7 ounces since his last visit on the prior Tuesday, so he was almost back up to his birth weight. We have a scale at home borrowed from the lactation center at the hospital, and he's continued to gain a little every day.

Thanksgiving was at our house this year, and family started arriving on Tuesday. Our first guest was my niece, Kristin, who is a freshman at Texas State. Everyone else arrived on Wednesday - my sister ("Aunt La La") and her husband Robert, her son Jordan and his fiance, Kate, and my brother, Curtis, and my nephew Chris. It was a full house, but we were glad that everyone was able to come our way this year since it is too soon for us to travel.

Claire had a blast "helping" her granddad and Robert make the dressing - I think she put as much toast in her mouth as she did in the pan.

She also got an early Christmas present from Aunt La La and Uncle Robert - a Weeble treehouse. She loves it, and we all already have the music burned in our brains. :)

Our Thanksgiving meal was wonderful with great food and great company. We are so blessed!