Constant Beginnings

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Claire and i made her daddy some cupcakes to commemorate his big day. claire wanted to eat several even after she had a good portion of the batter and frosting. she is definitely a girl after my own heart. there is no significance to these pictures in regards to this post other than i advise you to take note of the 32 year old man who loves to feed the animals. he is definitely young at heart and it is obviously time to pull out the camera again. claire's daddy turns 32 years old today. "wow," she says, "that's a big number, momma." it sure is, baby. daddy is getting old, but we love him anyway! chris, you are a great daddy, an awesome husband and an incredible best friend. i hope that you have the most amazing year as we embark on a number of different journeys as a family of 4. It is hard to believe that one huge adventure will begin in less than 17 days, but I can't wait to let the craziness begin. Although our life has been far from perfect, certainl...

claire wanted me to give a big shout out to her favorite boy cousin, luke! he turns 8 years old today. wow how time flies! luke is such a fantastic kiddo. he is the nicest little/big guy to claire. he is very gentle and loves to play with her. he is truly this way with all kids, but especially those younger than him. she also told me not to forget about ava who celebrates her big day tomorrow. she is turning 4 years old! again, very hard to believe. ava and claire will be great little playmates if we can get them together again. ava generally is very motherly to claire and makes sure she doesn't get into anything she shouldn't. she's got a spunky personality and is adorable, of course. we love them very much and are hoping they have a fabulous birthday. we hope that we can see them some time this summer-chicago?? ava-are you coming in a couple of weeks? HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

my dad called this morning. my grandma passed away early this morning. such a bittersweet passing. on the one hand, such sadness to think she is truly gone, but on the other, a passing filled with no pain/suffering but simply peace. the doctors were able to tap one lung on sunday, and the other on tuesday, which allowed her to breath more easily. they determined the cancer began in her ovaries and spread to her lungs. at least there is an answer to that question. my dad and his siblings were able to share a few days with their mom before she said good-bye. definitely a blessing. i am having some difficulty with the fact that i won't be able to attend her funeral and say good-bye as i am at the point in this pregnancy where flights just aren't allowed. i know she'd understand completely, but it is still doesn't sit well with me. i did have a nice visit with her on friday, so i do feel at peace with that part of things, but it is not the same as mourning with my entire fa...

update 4/28: After much thought and deliberation, I decided to waive my consult with the perinatologist. I understand this whole thing is truly in God's hands and there isn't anything anyone can tell me that will change the outcome at this point. what will be, will be. We will simply trust in God's plan for our family and hope that this kiddo has a long, happy, healthy life. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ update 4/21: I called the doctor this morning to gather more information. I spoke with the nurse who confirmed my measurements were just above average. She said based on my risk assessment, negative First Screen results and previous ultrasound results, the chances of having a baby with Down's Syndrome around 1 in 6000. She also indicated that the primary reason for concern with enlarged ventricles is due to the baby having Hydrocephalus. Not much better than Down's Syndrome in my book as I have worked with a num...

UGH. i am on vacation this week, technically spring break. so far, 2 days in, it has been far from a vacation. you see, on friday i received word that my one and only living grandmother was in the hospital. she supposedly had pneumonia, but there were spots on her lungs that needed further testing. 2 days later and she has been diagnosed with lung cancer--2 masses, one in each lung. this, on a lady who has never smoked a day in her life. the masses need fluid, so the medication they are giving her to clear up the pneumonia are not effective. she is having great difficulty breathing and things don't look good. not good at all. life just sucks sometimes. i was very fortunate as a child to spend alot of time with all of my grandparents. this particular one lived on our family farm, so i saw her quite often in the summer. she never complained, is/was generally never sick and always put others first. my grandma is/was a great grandma. she pushed us on the swings, took us out to see/feed...

I had heard about Davis Farmland a year or so ago, but we had never felt Claire was really the appropriate age to take her. We finally ventured there today. It was a great little place and the best part is that it is only a few miles from our house. Everyone had the same idea as the place was hoppin. Anyone who knows Chris knows how he LOVES to feed the animals. This fascination has rubbed off on Claire. She enjoyed feeding the lamas, sheep, goats, and piggies. We tried to get her to take a ride on the pony, but she wouldn't budge. There were little play areas mixed in throughout the animal exhibits, which provided great entertainment. They even had a neat little town for kiddos to go shopping, visit the doctor, etc. Later in the season they have a sprinkler park and a maze to enjoy. We look forward to checking those out. It was a fun visit. Definitely somewhere we will revisit.

Claire is nearly 21 months old and I find myself recording fewer of her cute sayings and actions as each month passes. It is time I catch up...most of these have been occuring for awhile, but again---I am behind. 1. Anytime Chris and/or I say "ouch," Claire says, "ok?" as if to ask us if we are okay. 2. She says "I sorry" all the time. It is accompanied by a cute little snuggle. Love it! 3. Claire has the best manners of any 20 month old kiddo I've seen. She is constantly saying, "bless you," "please," and "thank you." Gosh, she probably has better manners than her parents! 4. She is sleeping in her own bed (started again (for the 3rd time) April 1st), which is going great. When I go in there and turn on the music, she often stands by the bed and whines for a second in anticipation of what is to come, but cries no longer than 15 seconds when we lay her down. She is such an easy kid. 5. She says "I love you" at t...

i had my 34 week appointment, which was actually a bit late--more like 35 weeks. anyway, everything looks good. i have been having contractions, especially when i am walking alot or doing alot of physical activity. claire actually accompanied chris and i to the appointment, which was a nice change. she wasn't so sure what doctor r. was doing to my tummy or what she was hearing when he put the doppler on my belly. she sort of stared in awe. everything went well. the baby's heartbeat was 132 bpm, blood pressure was great, and i am measuring on target. he wants me to make it 2 more weeks, which will be full term. during which time, i am to take it easy so i don't progress on my own, especially since i've been experiencing contractions. i am at the point of weight gain that i ended with claire. kind of scary considering i still have 4 weeks to go. ugh. we go back early next week for our final ultrasound. both chris and i are very excited about this as we haven't seen th...

claire found her basket. one lucky kiddo! we are working on smiling on command. now we'll move to differentiating cheesy from pretty. my work is never done. claire received her first Easter basket this morning. growing up, the easter bunny always hid our baskets, so i decided to keep the tradition going. although claire didn't quite get the idea until her basket was found, i imagine she will feel the same anticipation and excitement as i felt as young child. we don't give claire candy often. in fact, next to never, so we were especially happy when the easter bunny took our wishes into consideration. claire was brought a basket full of elmo toys. she was happy. another tradition i am continuing is the annual hunt for the easter dress. my sisters and i got a new easter dress each year. we found claire's dress at target of all places. love that store! she looked adorable and was a highlight at church. the rest of our day was spent relaxing as a family. we went to church an...

we dyed easter eggs today. claire had a blast. first she attempted to eat the dye tablet. green lips and green fingers later, we moved on to eggs. she enjoyed coloring the eggs with the wax before dipping them in the dye. chris also showed his creativity. it was a fun little family activity.

About a month ago, I had a bizarre, yet lovely dream that I was having a baby that looked like Jacoby Ellsbury. I said it was bizarre, but he is beautiful. Anyway, I shared this with Chris and his comment was something like, "is there something you aren't telling me?" Fast forward a month or so...we were shopping this weekend when Chris found a rack of kids' Red Sox gear. He found a shirt for Claire with Ellsbury's name and number on the back. He bought it with the intention of her wearing it on Opening Day, which was yesterday. However, there was one major glitch in his plan. He didn't share his wish with me--the one who picks out her clothes and dresses our child. Oopsie. Consequently, Claire didn't dawn her Red Sox gear. So sad. Chris thought it was intentional. I like to think it was a subconscious mistake. The situation came back to bite me as Opening Day was postponed due to rain. Claire wore the shirt and her little pink Red Sox hat this morning. Ho...

we had a packed day. with company expected around noon, claire and i awoke early this morning to whip up an angelfood cake, slice strawberries, whip cream and prepare beef stew. it was a tall order, but i had great help. claire loved licking the beater and spatula from both the cake batter and cream. what a kiddo. we went to church, which lasted extra long due to it being palm sunday. while there, claire went on a little easter egg hunt. she had a blast searching for each egg. we arrived home to greet our company. we sat ahead of a cute little old lady and two older men at church. when church was over, the lady commented about how cute claire was. claire immediately reached out to the lady and gently brushed her face from her cheek to her chin. it was so cute and delicate. the lady loved it. chris' two aunts and his cousin drove down to give us a little baby shower. they went a bit above and beyond with the gift giving. we were very fortunate for all their generosity. claire was sp...

sophie and claire are doing well. claire loves to take sophie's toys, sophie loves to chase claire and in the process, nibble on her shirt, pants or fingers. sounds like sibling love, huh? they are getting along quite well. i guess they are learning together. last weekend we were cleaning up the backyard, actually, claire was doing most of the work. sophie decided to jump on the shovel for a ride. needless to say, claire was less than pleased. i didn't get my camera until after the fact, but at one point, sophie was actually sitting on the shovel while claire scooted it around in hopes to get her off of it. meanwhile, chris and i watched and laughed. it was cute.

i think this one is my favorite. it looks like a model pose. if i had time, i'd scan the picture that i have from when i was a little tike, but as we all know...i have no time. so, you'll have to trust me when i say that claire makes the same face that i made as a kiddo. jessica will probably say that i continue to be guilty of scrunching my nose on occasion. claire is a drama mama. i've said it before and i am sure this won't be the last, but she really is. she loves to make faces and does so frequently. each expression melts my heart. i love that she has such a cute little personality.

Let me just start by saying, HOLY CRAP!! Where has all my free time gone?? I feel as though I have NONE! Since Chris' return, I find myself fortunate to find a clean pair of socks to wear or a kitchen counter that isn't infected with salmonella. Seriously, our time each and everyday just flies by. We definitely have our routines, which take priority--eating, walking the dog, bathing, etc., but honestly, I need my maid back. I canned her a couple of weeks before Chris came back simply because I thought her work was slipping. She didn't wipe off the baseboards & she wasn't exactly self-motivated--I had to tell her EVERYTHING that needed to be done. Honestly, how hard is it to figure out that the kitchen floor should be washed when you still have an hour of work ahead of you and there is dried dog food on it? Come on, lady! Anyway, there is obviously a bit more to my dissatisfaction with her, but that is the gist. In a nut shell, I miss her. I am a neat freak for the m...