10 Months!!

It's really hard to believe but our baby girl is 10 months old today!! And what a month we've had!! Right at the new year she began to wake up early. At first I thought it was a fluke, so I rushed into her room, patted her back, laid her back down and she just cried and cried. The next day I thought that maybe it was a diaper thing...so I changed her and put her back down. She cried and cried. Then I thought, maybe she's cold...so we turned up the heat at night. The following day I thought maybe it was a hunger thing...so I nursed her and put her back down. She was quiet for about 15 mins (like she'd gone back to sleep) and then cried and cried. Ugh...at this point I wasn't sure WHAT was going on!! I decided at this point to stop going in to get her. She ended up just playing in her room from the time she woke up (anywhere from 5:15 to 6:00) until the time I went and got her at the normal wake up time (7:30). Finally after 3 weeks, she's settled back down and is sleeping until 7 or 7:30 (at least I think so...if she's awake, she's quiet as a mouse). SO, all that said...THAT was new to us this month! Here are some more things that we've noticed about our little munchkin this month:

~She's standing steadily on her own now. In fact, just this week she took a couple of steps.
~She's FAST at getting around the house. She follows us from the living room down the hall to our bedroom.
~I've said this before but, OH BOY, she's a TALKER!! From the moment she's awake from a nap until the moment she falls asleep again, she's talking.
~Her appetite has increased! She's now eating 8-10 oz of puree every meal. I'm also giving her finger foods at the beginning of each meal. She's now eating cheese, biscuits, pasta, rice, tortillas, crackers, toast, cheerios, peas and diced carrots for finger foods. I'm ready to be at the point where she feeds herself all food at every meal. She's getting better at it.
~She weighs about 19 1/2 pounds. HUGE weight gain this month!
~She associates certain things with different people. For example, she knows that Grandma likes it when she snorts...so when she sees Grandma, she snorts. She knows that Nana likes her to stick her tongue out and go, "ah, ah, ah" so she does that when she sees Nana. She knows that when Mommy sits in the floor with her, she can jump on me and I'll catch her...so she does that with me. It's precious to see that she is playing games but also that she knows people.
~She is a social bug. She loves to be held by people, even total strangers. She loves to watch people talk and kids play.
~She's become an imitator. If I cough, she'll cough. If someone grunts, she'll grunt. If you make any kind of sound, she'll imitate it.

Claire, we love you more than you'll ever know. You've truly been a joy in our lives and we love every day that we have with you.

My New Hobby

A number of years ago I visited a friend of mine that had 2 small children and she introduced me to the world of making your own baby food. I never thought that it was possible before then...but she showed me that a jar of baby food ingredients were just the food itself and water (which is added to thin the food into a puree). I thought to myself...well, I could do that! And years later, I am. :) It's something that I knew that I was going to do from the moment that I got pregnant with Claire. A lot of people like to make their own baby food because they control what goes into their babies tummies (i.e. organic foods, whole foods etc). And yes, that is nice to me...but my main reasons are a little different. For one...I'm saving my family a ton of money!! And the second reason is that Claire is a picky eater and I enjoy that I can control the mixture of the foods that she eats and the texture (thickness) of the purees. I actually make my foods a lot thicker than the purees in the jars and she does great with them! As far as the money is concerned...with some foods, I'm not saving a ton of money. For instance, yesterday I purchased 3 winter squash for $5 which yielded approx 40 oz of baby food. This saved me about $1.50. BUT, I also purchased 7 bananas for just $1.23...this saved me approx $5.50!!

Another reason that I've enjoyed making Claire's baby food is that I've really developed a hobby of cooking. Before I was married I was NOT a cook. Don't get me wrong...I LONGED to be...but I never learned how. I knew how to make a box of Hamburger Helper and heat up a can of veggies but that's about as good as it got. Slowly but surely over the last 5 1/2 years I've learned and last year when I stopped working it became a fun hobby for me. I all of a sudden had time to spend in the kitchen. (And thankfully, I have a husband who will try out anything). Making dinner is no longer a burden...it's fun for me. I love to have a wholesome meal for Bradley when he gets home from work. I love to hear the words "this is delicious" from him. Anyway...I'm going off on a tangent. I mainly just wanted to share that I love making Claire's food. I feel like I'm not only helping her to eat healthy, but I'm also saving my family a lot of money. And it's super easy...if I can do it...you can too!!

Check out this website for more info on making your own baby food.


A can of prunes in the food processor about to be pureed.

Pureed prunes in ice cube trays. You freeze the puree in ice cube trays (each cube is approx 1 oz of food). Once the food is frozen, you pop them out of the trays and put them in a gallon size freezer bag. Then, when you need food for baby...you open up the ziploc, grab however many oz you need and thaw in the microwave.

Winter squash about to go into the oven.

Cooked winter squash cooling before getting pureed.

3 Winter Squash yielded approx 40 oz of puree.

Claire's 1st trip to Boone

This past weekend we were able to visit Jarrett, Lara and Colby in Boone. (Jarrett and Bradley were roommates in college). Bradley and I LOVE to go to Boone. I love to ride around and just look out the window. It is beautiful!! It was COLD this weekend though! The high on Saturday was around 18 degrees and the wind chill was around 0. That's ZERO! This TX girl isn't used to that kind of cold! Claire did really well though. Jarrett and Lara even babysat on Saturday for about an hour while Bradley and I had a "date"...we went to Walmart, the Christian bookstore, Food Lion and Chick-fil-A. :) I've got to tell you about a DEAL I got a Walmart too...let me preface it with saying that for YEARS I've wanted a pre-lit Christmas tree. But, I haven't ever been able to justify buying one just cause I "wanted" it when I knew I had a perfectly good tree. Every year though, Bradley and I hit the after Christmas sales looking for one and every year I talk myself out of a purchase. Even $75 for a tree that I don't "need" is too much for me. :) When we moved into the house that we're in my "needs" kind of became a little more justified because our living room is smaller and I have to SQUEEZE my tree in a corner...but, it still works. Well, last Thursday as I was taking down my tree I broke the base of it. The tree will no longer stand up on its own. So, while we were in Boone, we browsed the Christmas tree section at Walmart. And I found what I was looking for!! A slim, pre-lit, 7 foot tree for (drum roll, please)...$24.50!! It was 75% off!!

Okay, now that I've shared that...here are pics from our weekend. We had a blast hanging out with good friends and comparing notes on raising our first born children. :) (Colby is just 4 months older than Claire)

"Dad, can I check email too?"

Colby had a super-fun Lightening McQueen riding car. She loved it.

Loving to ride.

She snorts when she's happy.

Again, snorting cause she's happy.

Playing with Colby. He has some fun toys!

Colby was supposed to be in his room playing by himself...Claire was having no part of that. :)

They were so cute together. Claire loved playing with Colby (and I think Colby had fun too!)

Riding Lightening McQueen together. I love how Colby's hands are on her shoulders. :)

Ha ha...it looks like she's honking the horn.

All bundled up to go outside.

NOW she smiles...she's all ready to go outside...it's COLD.

We thought we'd get some pics of Claire in the snow...turns out it was pure ice. Boone was so cold that all the snow had a layer of ice over it.

She's not so sure what to think about it. She was slipping and sliding on it. Plus is was unbelievably cold!

Posing for a pic.

Okay, we got a smile out of her...:)

Family pic in the snow/ice.

Claire and Colby were constantly interested in what the other one was doing. Colby is supposed to be eating but Claire had other plans.

Christmas!

I know, I know...I'm late getting this post up...but it overwhelmed me to even think about weeding through all of my Christmas photos to put up on the blog...until today. :) We had such an amazing holiday. Bradley had 4 days off of work and we just got to hang out as a family. On Christmas Eve afternoon, my family in TX were opening up their presents and so we decided to open our presents from them during that same time. Then that night we went to the Wilkie's to open presents there. Then on Christmas Day Bradley, Claire and I opened presents (and stockings) for our family. Beforehand though we read Claire the "Christmas Story" in Luke. Years ago, I gave Bradley a family Bible and had our name engraved on the front of it, with the intentions of it being used for moments like this. We opened that Bible and read the story of Jesus' birth as a family. Our heart's desire is for Claire to grow up knowing that the reason why we give and receive presents at Christmas is because Jesus gave us the ultimate present in Himself. And we celebrate his birth at this time of year.

Bradley's giving me "the look" when I said, "Look at the camera, honey!" with such cheer. :) He he he...He's putting together the wagon that Nana and Grandpa gave to Claire.

Claire LOVED the wagon!

Our beautiful stockings.

Santa Mom passing out presents!

"All of these are for ME?!?"

The wrapping and ribbons were more fun at times.

"Thank you, Nana, for wrapping my presents in this super fun ribbon!"

"A ball popper?? That makes LOTS of noise? And will have Mommy and Daddy chasing balls all over the living room when they fly out of the top of the toy? THANKS Aunt Angy and Uncle John!!!!"

Claire LOVED the blocks that Uncle Jr sent to her!!

She's about to open up her stocking from Mom and Dad.

Helping Daddy open up her gift from us.

"It's a riding/walking toy! I'm super excited!!"

A yoga mat for the Wii! (I must be fair and put embarassing photos of me on the blog too)

Christmas morning Belgium waffles. Cooked on my NEW waffle iron that Uncle Jr sent to me. THANKS Uncle Jr!

Reflections on a Decade

As headlines on the Internet light up with the media's take on the highlights of the decade...I thought about the highlights in my life over the last 10 years. For one thing...I'm a little sad that I can now view my life in "decades". But at the same time...age brings a lot of experiences that are not forgotten. The past 10 years have been momentous for me. It's hard to imagine another decade in my life that could have as much activity as this past one...but I know there will be many (Lord willing). All that being said...I thought that I'd share some of the highlights of the last 10 years of my life:

2000~Graduated from college and began my first job. I was officially "on my own" and loved the excitement of the unknown of the future. I imagine that never again will I be as eager for the unknown as I was 10 years ago. :)

2001~My family welcomed 2 new family members...my brother-in-law, John, and my nephew, Jake. When Jake was born my life was completely changed. I instantly became infatuated with this precious child and LOVED him more than I thought I could love a child (little did I know that 8 years later I'd experience an even deeper love with my own child).

2002~I traveled overseas for the first time and simultaneously met my future husband on the same trip.

2003~I grew up a lot in this year and learned things about myself that were difficult but necessary to learn in order for me to become a better person, most notably a better wife to Bradley. This year I left the job that I started when I graduated college (this was VERY emotional and difficult) and also became engaged to Bradley.

2004~I married my best friend and instantly had 2 additional parents, 2 brothers and another grandmother. The Wilkie's have treated me as their own since Day 1!! We also purchased our first home and I started a new job...at an employer that I'd be with for over 4 years!

2005~We welcomed yet another person into our family...our sister-in-law, Tara. Little did I know at that time that I'd grow to truly love and value her as much as I do today!

2006~The birth of our 2nd nephew, Charlie and the passing of my precious Papa, both within 6 weeks of each other. Both of these people have filled my life with laughter...my Papa during my childhood and Charlie, well, the last 4 years. :)

2007~Bradley and I moved away from everything that I had ever known. One of the most difficult, yet rewarding things I've done. We sold that first house that year. I think I will always love that house. During this year we also went to visit family in East Asia and welcomed a niece to the family! Precious Adaya.

2008~We purchased our second home (where we live today) and became pregnant with our precious baby girl. I was also laid off from my job...a surprisingly emotional experience...and Bradley had a motorcycle accident that made us both realize that the Lord can take us home at any moment He chooses...

2009~The birth of our Claire. No other words need apply. :) We also welcomed another nephew to the family, adorable Elliot and said goodbye to Bradley's beloved grandmother, MaMa.

What an amazing decade. What does the next one have in store for our family??

So happy on our wedding day!

Claire Marie born March 29, 2009.

Christmas, 2009.

Nephews Jake and Charlie.

Niece and nephew, Adaya and Elliot.

9 Months!

Our happy girl on her 9 month birthday. Seriously, she's always smiling.


This is her new favorite face...wrinkling up her nose...sometimes it comes with a snort.


The favorite face again.


Riding in her new wagon.

I just cannot believe it...our baby girl is 9 months old!! Here are a few things that we took note of this month:

• This morning she weighed 18 lbs 2.5 oz. She's gained some weight this month but has considerably slowed since she was 6 mos old.
• She's still sleeping 11-12 hours at night and takes 2 naps a day (usually 2+ hours)
• She is standing and walking with support. Also, last week she started standing without support for short spurts of time.
• She is eating more food. She's still a picky eater, but we've managed to add a few things. Some new foods are prunes, pears, crackers and toast.
• She can eat a whole banana and some yogurt for breakfast...that's more than I eat for breakfast!!
• At every meal she typically eats 6 to 7 oz of pureed food in addition to nursing.
• She LOVES animals. I've said this before but this month it has magnified!! Any time she sees a pet she YELLS with excitement, smiles, laughs and snorts.
• She loves the wind in her face.
• She has learned the sign for "all done".
• She waved at someone yesterday (which is similar to the sign for "all done").
• She loves bath time.
• She is a TALKER!! She is constantly talking. Sometimes it's syllables and sometimes it's just yelling or baby talk.
• She loves to rough house. She has gotten to the point now that she'll crawl over to you if you're sitting on the floor with her and she'll stand up and jump into your arms. We really have to pay attention because she'll jump if you're ready or not!
• She loves strangers. If we are in a restaurant or out shopping, she LOVES to people watch!!
• She adores other children!

What a blessing it has been these last 9 months. Isn't it amazing that you can so easily forget the sleepless nights, the blow out diapers, the constant need for washing clothes? The joy of raising a child has completely overtaken us. Thank you, Lord, for giving us this precious child.