Home again

After being gone for over a week, Claire and I are back home in MN (and back to reliable computer access!) Grandpa P. delivered us home safe and sound last night, despite the crappy snowy drive. We had a very nice relaxing time visiting Grandma and Grandpa P. We didn't do anything too exciting, I pretty much just sat around and watched TV and gave up a lot of my parenting duties. But I don't get to do that here, so it was a nice break. I had two willing and eager people to play with Claire, read to her, feed her, bathe her etc. (for some reason they weren't quite as eager when it came to dirty diapers!) Nate was able to join us for a few days, and the two of us managed to get away for a mini-date 3 days in a row. Claire was great during the days, nights were another story. She's teething and that combined with being in a different place and different bed, led to some horrible nights. (Being home didn't help, she had a horrible night last night too with bad teething pain) All in all it was a nice get-away, but we are looking forward to getting back to our routine here.

This is how she spent time everyday, being read to by Grandpa!

13th Month

So when people ask me how old Claire is, do I say "13 months," or simply "one year?" Nate had always said that once a child turned one, that there should be no more using months (I think it's just because he's not so quick with math!) But a 13 month, one year old is a whole lot different than a 20 month, one year old. This whole baby age thing gets complicated! But anyway, this was the perfect first month to start off the second year of Claire's life. (yikes--maybe I'll stick with months, I don't like the sound of years!)

This month has been the best month yet by far. Claire is constantly learning new things and it's such a joy to watch her discover and learn. She is also so much fun to be around and she's always making me laugh. I'm so thankful that my "job" entails playing with her and laughing with her all day. There is no better job out there. Her personality is shining out in full force. She is so silly, goofy, and such a ham (like her dad!) and yet so sweet, gentle and calm (like her mom.)

I'm discovering that she's a really good kid. Several people have told me how good she is and how easy she is to take care of (I think I deserve an easy to take care of kid after the incredibly hard first few months.) She likes to explore, but she doesn't really get into everything and she listens to me really well and understands "No." I've heard some pretty outrageous toddler stories, so I'm thankful that (at least for the time being) she's so well behaved and easy to watch.

She's saying more and more words everyday and it's fun to try to pick out the "real" words from her string of baby babble. Her comprehension is amazing and she always responds appropriately when we ask her a question or ask her to do something. Maybe I'm just being a proud mom, but I think she is a smart little girl! She picks up things so quickly and is very curious and observant. Nothing gets by her. And she really seems to love learning. I think I'll be hearing the "Why mom?" a lot in my future.

Although she likes toys, she still would pick a new book over a toy any day. She has a few favorites and will even bring them to me when she wants to read. She also knows the titles to several of her books and can recognize them on the bookshelf and bring them to me if I ask her for a specific one. I love her love of books. I know that she's learning a lot from them and it's a fun activity that everyone likes to do with her.

Ever since she was a newborn, Claire has responded to music. What used to be swaying whenever she heard a good song, has now turned into full blown dancing. She bounces, spins in circles, claps her hands, raises her arms, and even does a few finger pointing disco moves! It's absolutely adorable to watch and she could entertain anyone with her dance moves.

She's been really cuddly and extra sweet this month. When she's off playing by herself, she will often come over to me for a quick cuddle or hug before getting back to what she was doing. It melts my heart! And when I'm standing, she loves to hang onto my legs. She's also been good at giving other people hugs and kisses and no stuffed animal within her reach can escape without a hug. I'm loving this sweetness! In addition to this, she has also totally overcome her stranger anxiety that was so strong a couple months ago. She still acts a little shy around a new person, but generally only for a very short while. There's certainly no more screaming and tears when a stranger gets too close.

Her appetite is still excellent. I often wonder where all the food goes! I finally introduced her to cow's milk a few weeks ago and it was a hit! She absolutely loves it and because of this, I've replaced a midday nursing session with cow's milk. I guess it's the start of a gradual weaning process.

Since Claire has turned one, our lives have been even more enriched. I am one proud and happy momma. It's amazing that I can be bursting with pride at her accomplishments and just a little sad that she's growing up so fast, all at the same time. We smile more, laugh more, and love more because of this little girl. I think it's impossible to understand this kind of love unless you're a parent. Life with Claire is incredible and it just keeps getting better.

Cousins

Claire -1, Owen -2, Ella -4

This is the best picture we managed to get of the three, although none of them look too happy!

I love this picture of Ella with her hand on her forehead. She was doing such a good job posing for all the pictures, but about had enough of the two little ones who wouldn't sit still!

Claire pointing out Ella's nose. Ella is always so gentle and patient with Claire. (Grandma P. bought the girls matching Christmas sweaters)

Giving thanks for family

I don't get back "home" very often these days, so it's nice to spend time here and it was great to see so many family members yesterday. Claire got to see all 4 of her great-grandparents (on my side), her aunt and uncle, 2 cousins, and of course Grandma and Grandpa P. The only one missing was Daddy, but he's here today. I have tons of pictures from Thanksgiving, but the dial-up connection here is So Incredibly Slow that I only had the patience to upload one picture. And it's the famous cheesy smile!

Baby's First Thanksgiving

I know, I know, this is technically Claire's second Thanksgiving, but it's the first that she actually got to enjoy all the good eats! And she did try a little bit of everything and seemed to like it all! No picky eater here. We had a wonderful day of food and family. I will try to get some pictures posted tomorrow.
Also, Quinn Constance was born early this morning....check out Katie's blog to see pictures of the beautiful little girl and send the new parents your best wishes!
Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving in South Dakota

Well Claire and I are headed out to SD tomorrow. Apparently my parents' computer has been acting up, so unfortunately no guarantees that I will be able to do any blogging. So you may just have to do without your Claire fix for a few days unless I can come up with a plan B for computer use. My wonderful dad is coming here to pick us up so that I don't have to drive 7+ hours by myself with a potentially screaming baby. We're keeping our fingers crossed that Nate will be able to join us in SD on Friday, but with his crazy schedule we can never be too sure.

In other news, our good friends Mike and Katie have a baby on the way. Katie is about a week past her due date and the doctors have decided to start the induction process this evening, so they will finally get to meet their little girl tonight or tomorrow! Send some thoughts and prayers their way for that little girl's safe and healthy entrance to this world.

3 weeks ago...

I finally got some cake pictures from Claire's birthday party!

Broken Car, Good Samaritan and Small World

1. Broken car. As you know our 'good' car was totalled in the car accident, so we've been driving our back-up car. Normally Nate drives himself to the airport, unless he's running late and then I have to give him a ride. Which was the case this week. And it also means, I have to pick him up. His flight got in after 10pm last night, so I got Claire bundled up and we headed out. Half way to the airport, a warning light comes on and I notice the temperature gage was way past the Hot. I call Nate, he says to pull over right away and that he would just catch a cab to where we were. I pulled off to where I knew were a few gas stations, but my luck they were all closed. So Claire and I, in the cold, way past her bedtime, waited for Nate at a closed gas station. When he finally got there, he took a quick look at the car and decided that we could drive it home, so he sent the cab on its way. As he started looking at it more, he was having second thoughts about it's ability to make it home.

2. Good Samaritan. This guy happened to pull up for gas right at that time and offered us a ride home. And he didn't change his mind about the offer even after he found out we were a good 10-15 minutes from home and not really in the direction he was headed. I wanted to get Claire out of the cold and home to bed, so I wasn't about to refuse the kind offer. So we loaded up Claire and our stuff in his vehicle (he also had his wife and daughter with him) and headed home.

3. Small World. We discover that he is a Northwest pilot and basically has Nate's dream job (and my dream salary!) and is a really good person to know when Nate decides to apply at Northwest. So the two of them talked shop on the ride home. Even smaller world...as we told him the turn off the highway to our place, he mentions that he and his wife lived in this part of town when they first got married 30 some years ago...in a townhome in the Heather Hills neighborhood--where we live! Needless to say, we didn't have to give him any further directions to our house!
It's so great that there are nice people out there! And Nate's dad being another one of those nice people. First thing this morning he shows up at our door, tows our car home and as I type, is out in the garage trying to figure out what's wrong with the car.

Funny Faces Friday

For every cute smiling picture you see posted on my blog, there are often twice as many not-so cute, goofy pictures (thank goodness for digital cameras!) So I'm stealing this idea from Mindy, "Funny Faces Friday." So here's the first edition of Funny Face Friday (although this one looks more like a scary face--but I bet it made you smile!)

Christmas music and a year ago...

Christmas music on the radio has started! When we turned on the radio last night and heard that Christmas music, it totally brought me back to a year ago. Boy, did Claire and I listen to our share of Christmas music last year!!

The first few months of Claire's life were extremely trying. And even though the days of all day crying seemed to drag on forever, the months flew by in one sleep-deprived haze. Being a first-time mom and having very little experience with babies, it's hard to know what is "normal." The common knowledge about babies is that they cry a lot. But how much is a lot? It wasn't until after Claire was a couple weeks old when I started hearing "Does she always cry this much?" or similar comments that I started wondering, how much is too much?
I knew that colic tends to be only(or mostly) a late evening issue but Claire was fussy morning, noon, and night. She was definitely not the easygoing, calm, happy baby I had envisioned, in fact quite the opposite. We had discussed the possibility of her having silent reflux with the doctor in relation to the apnea episodes she had in the beginning, but it wasn't until I came to the realization that babies should NOT cry this much, that we decided we needed to do something to help her. The only things that seemed to calm her were music and mom's singing, combined with up and down motion. I listened to Christmas music mostly because I knew the words to most of the songs (and by the end of the holiday season I did know ALL the words to all the Christmas songs on the radio!) So I spent the first month and a half of her life, constantly singing Christmas music to her as I walked up and down the stairs or danced with her.

Although I can still clearly remember that sad, fussy baby (and that tired, overwhelmed mom), it's definitely not the same baby I see before me now. The little girl I see now is full of smiles and happiness, and because of this, so is her mom. What a difference a year makes.

Dolly

Claire got a doll for her birthday (thanks Great Aunt Shirley!) Although she's still a little young to really play with it, we've been using it to practice pointing out body parts (she can point out parts on the doll that she doesn't on herself-go figure) Claire will also give Dolly (creative name, huh?) hugs and kisses if I ask her. And she loves to take Dolly's shoes off. And what should you do when you take some one's shoes off? Check for "stinky feet" of course!!



All weekend at the wedding, everyone was doing the "stinky feet" with Claire. It's a guaranteed way to get her to smile! Although Nate's worried that this may turn into a complex when she gets older!

Another baby??

We've been constantly getting asked a lot lately the question of when are we going to have another baby. And when we say we aren't sure yet, it then seems to lead to the spacing debate and everyone's opinions as to that. "What is the optimal spacing for the kids, is it 2 years, 3 years, closer together, further apart?? What age should the first be to make the transition easiest, how far apart should they be so that they become close friends?"

When we decide to have another baby it won't be based on "oh, we want our kids to be 3 years apart," but on when WE, as parents, are ready for another baby, whether that be tomorrow or 5 years from now. Yeah, I want the transition to be easy for Claire, and I would love for Claire to be close to any future siblings, but most important, is our ability and readiness as parents to handle more than one child. There wasn't a lot of pre-planning with Claire, we just woke up one day and decided that we were both finally ready for a baby. And I believe that will be the case with any future babies. One day, who knows when, we will just be ready. Until then you don't have to keep asking, we'll be sure to let you know when it happens. :)

Sleeping Beauty

Sleep. Sweet, glorious sleep.

Over the course of the last year, Claire's sleeping pattern has varied greatly and the only thing consistent about it, is it's lack of consistency. From sleeping entirely through the night, to waking up once, to waking up twice, sometimes 6 times and then back to sleeping through the night. When I put her to bed, I never really knew what was in store for me that night.

Until now. Seems like ever since she turned one, she has made the decision to be a big girl once and for all, and sleep entirely through the night every night. It's been over 2 weeks of this, which is the longest stretch we've ever had, and I'm loving it. In fact, last night she went to bed at 8:00PM and didn't get up for the day until 9:30 AM (she had a lot of sleep to make up for from the busy weekend!) Her more typical pattern is bedtime at 9-ish and up at 8-ish.

In addition to the wonderful nights of uninterrupted sleep, she has also been going down for naps and bedtime without much fuss for probably over a month now. It used to be the only way to get her to sleep some days was to rock her to sleep, amidst screaming and crying, and it would sometimes take 30-45 minutes or more. Now we just do our little bedtime/naptime routine, and I can put her down awake and she puts herself to sleep after a few minutes of babbling and rolling around. This may not seem like a big deal to some of you moms that have good sleepers, but for us this is huge! Of course this is only when we stick to a regular schedule; if she's overtired or overstimulated, then all bets are off.

I've also started changing up our bedtime routine. We did bath, then books and then I nursed her in the dark and immediately put her in her crib afterwards. Luckily she was never one to fall asleep nursing, so transitioning away from this isn't too hard. I just don't want nursing to be too big a part of her bedtime routine, so that when we do wean it won't become an issue in getting her to sleep. So now we do bath, nursing, then books and bed. So far, so good. Nate has tried to put her to bed a couple of times unsuccessfully, but she did go down easily for her Grandma K. this weekend, so I'm optimistic that I won't have to be the only one able to put her to bed forever.

There are those moms out there that have good sleepers and have never had to deal with these issues, lucky you! (I'm always shocked to see kids Claire's age asleep in strollers when we're out and about...I guess our stroller didn't come with that function!) And I've been told by countless people that if I just let her "cry it out," all of these sleep issues could have been solved months ago. Maybe so, but that method is just not for us. And we're doing okay on our own.

Wedding Weekend

Claire attended her 4th wedding this weekend (6th if you count the two while she was still in my tummy.) Her first wedding was one year ago today when she was just over 2 weeks old (Happy Anniversary Mike and Katie!)

We spent the weekend down in Mankato for the wedding of our dear friends Curt and Christine. It was a wonderful wedding and reception; the perfect mix of sweet and emotional with humor and fun. They are an adorable couple and we wish them the best!

A handful of people outed themselves as readers of my blog this weekend. It's fun to learn of all the different people that check up on Claire. (now I know who you are, so I expect a comment now and then!) :)

So Claire got to meet a few people that know all about her, but had never met her. I didn't get many pictures at the reception before my camera battery died, but got a couple of her getting her groove on! She loves the upbeat dance music!

Claire dancing with Carolyn (check out the matching color dresses)

With Daddy (she's clapping to the music!)

Changes

Nate and I have a lot of things swirling around in our heads lately. First is the vehicle issue, or lack of vehicle to be more exact. We do have a second car and we also are borrowing one from his parents for the time being, but neither of these cars are in great shape and I don't feel 100% comfortable with either car driving around with Claire in the winter. Of course we'll get some insurance money, but it won't be enough. So we have to decide what kind of vehicle we want vs. what we can afford.

Another issue is our living arrangement. I know some of you have heard this rumor for many months (we were getting asked by several people if we had found a new house yet, before we had even decided if we were really going to move!) So to end the gossip and set the record straight, we are planning to move. It's just a matter of when and where! As for the "when," as soon as we get our butts in gear and get our house in tip-top shape, we will be putting it on the market. But as you all know, it could be many months after that point before we actually sell. We are keeping our options open as to the "where" for now. We have lots of reasons as to why we want to move. --We would like to be closer to family. When Nate's gone 4 or 5 days in a row, it would be nice to have help nearby. --We really have no reason to be living in the metro area. Nate only has to drive to the airport once or twice a week, so an hour commute twice a week would not be a problem. And you can get so much more for your money outside of the metro. I could do my part-time work by mail, so it doesn't matter where I live. --We are currently in a townhome, and although there are advantages to townhome living, it would be nice to have our own private yard.--Oh yeah, and money. We have recently discussed at length and both decided that me continuing to stay home with Claire is the best thing for our family. And to live on a single income, sacrifices need to be made.

My Birthday

Last night the 3 of us went down to Mankato with the intentions of having Grandma and Grandpa K. babysit while Nate and I went out to celebrate my birthday. We were trying to decide what to do for the evening, couldn't decide between meeting some friends downtown for some adult beverages, or just going to a movie, or something else. Well the decision was made for us and it was the "something else." Nate and I spent the entire evening in the ER!!

Nate was driving in to town from his parents place (after he had dropped off Claire and I), and rear-ended a large grain truck. It was a quiet county road outside of town, in the dark and there was a farmer who apparently decided that night-time would be a good time to tow a large grain truck that had no tail lights, no flashers, NO LIGHTS PERIOD! Nate saw it only moments before he hit it, but going highway speeds, there just wasn't enough time to stop and there was traffic in the other lane. We are thankful, thankful, thankful that he wasn't seriously injured. He was pretty sore and in a little pain so he got a thorough check-up with x-rays and CT scans and everything came out fine. Nate's a very easygoing guy and it takes a lot to get to him, but he was definitely a little shaken up by this. He kept playing the "what if" game, but I just don't like to think about the other possibilities and just be so grateful that he must have had someone watching out for him and that he is ok. Our car, well that is another story. Not quite as ok. But a car is just a car and can be replaced.

So I spent the evening before my 28th birthday with my husband in the Emergency Room (happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me...)

Claire's Aunt Kallie is coming over tonight to watch Claire for a couple hours so that Nate and I can get our evening out together after all. Don't have any pictures from today yet, so I'll leave you with a picture of Claire and I from my birthday last year.

Time to eat

The last few days I've been trying to teach Claire to feed herself with a spoon. It's a messy, messy process and I'm not enjoying it. We tried it a couple months ago, but it was just so messy that I just stopped letting her try and gave her only non-messy finger foods or I spoon fed her. But then I started to think that in a few years the other kids in school might tease her when her mom shows up in the cafeteria at lunchtime to feed her!

She hates getting wiped off after eating and screams every time. She also manages to get whatever it is she's eating, all over everything and I have to practically hose down the high chair to clean it up. Claire may be advanced in some areas, but mastering the silverware and eating neatly are certainly not those areas. She also has yet to master the sippy cup when I know a lot of kids her age are pros at it. She can do it fine if it's full, but once it's less than half full, she just can't figure out how to tip it back. Maybe that has something to do with the fact that she never learned how to hold her own bottle because she so seldomly got one. I know I'm always saying I don't want her to grow up too fast, but this is one area where this doesn't apply.

Daylight Savings

Enjoying what's left of the flowers on our patio one last time before winter takes them.

Daylight savings ends. Yay! We get to sleep in an extra hour...except someone forgot to explain this concept to Claire. So what do I do now? We were doing really well on our 11:00am and 4:00pm naptimes and planned all our activities (playdates, classes) around these naptimes. Do I attempt to keep her up until 11:00 this morning, which of course would be an hour later than she's used to? Or just just up our naptime and bedtimes an hour? Hmm...

Month 12

Time (a little bit late) for my monthly wrap-up.

The 12th month....what a month, and what a year!!

A little defiant, stubborn personality has definitely started to show through the sweetness. Although she's ALWAYS had the "I want what I want when I want it" attitude, she's really developing the temper to go with it. She is really starting to test her boundaries and I have a feeling this will only get much worse (aka the "terrible twos") before it gets better. How many times a day can I say "No-no Claire," well apparently a lot! The standard "redirection" form of discipline appropriate for this age unfortunately doesn't always work. Don't dare try to take something away from her that she wants or get her to do something she doesn't want to do--you will be treated with kicking, screaming, and lots of fake tears. She is also Miss Independent and will get upset if you try to help her with something that she thinks she can do herself.

Her language development is moving forward, she has a nice handful of words that she regularly uses. And her language comprehension is amazing! One of Nate and my favorite games with Claire is to ask her where different random objects are and watch her either point to or get the item. It's really surprising some of the things she knows. Everyday we discover new words that she understands. She really seems to pick up on anything and everything that we say. She actually knows the majority of her body parts, but is not always willing to perform for an audience.

She's now walking all over the place and has gotten the hang of it enough that she prefers it to crawling. (she still crawls on occasion, like when she's trying to chase down one of the cats!) Her little waddle is so darn cute! Won't be too long before she's running! She's been climbing the stairs for several months, but she's now starting to try to climb other things. She tried to climb out of the bathtub last night (before I grabbed her because I was afraid she was going to fall flat on her face!)

Claire's appetite is HUGE, and some days I feel like she eats more than I do! I was glad to hear that her weight is in the normal range, I was starting to worry a little because you really should see this girl eat! She's eating pretty much anything now, the only things from the "high allergy" list that we haven't yet introduced to her are chocolate, peanuts (peanut butter), and straight cow's milk. But I don't foresee any problems with any of these as there are no food allergies in the family.

She has 8 teeth and we are awaiting the arrival of the first molar. Her hair is getting a little bit thicker and curlier in back. I don't think she will end up with really curly hair, but probably just a little wave to it. I don't notice it as much since I see her everyday, but my parents who were visiting last weekend said how much they thought her face had changed in the last 2 months or so--less baby and more little girl!

This kid is so much fun. Books are still her favorite "toy." Now that she's so interactive, it's fun now to come up with different activities and games to play with her. Playing is the best form of learning for a toddler and we do a lot of "learning" during the day! Late fall has always been a hard time of the year for me (with depression etc, maybe due to lessening of sunlight) but having her to be silly with all the time is a wonderful mood booster. One smile or giggle from her, can make the sun appear on even the cloudiest of days!

It has been a great month and the best year of my life. Claire is all my dreams wrapped up in one adorable little package. And I'm so grateful to have this wonderful little one year-old in my life.