Constant Beginnings

we officially have a big girl in our house. claire is wearing big girl panties--even at night and she just moved into her big girl room and slept on her big girl bed. she didn't want to go to sleep last night, so she actually cried when we put her to bed. however, despite her sadness, she didn't get out of bed. Yahoo!! in fact, chris and i checked on her several times throughout the night and we don't think she even moved from where we placed her. she is in heaven. the room isn't finished, but we bought new bedding. i am still trying to figure out the wall decor and decided not to paint the walls at this point. maybe in our next house.

I could stare at this face all day. There is nothing like a beautiful sleeping baby. The tides they have turned. finally. At 3 months and 1 week or so, things changed at our house. No longer are the uncontrollable tears falling. Mya has stopped being a "fussy pants" for no reason. She cries because she is hungry, wants to be snuggled or needs a diaper change. That is it. Pure and simple. As it should be. Words cannot express how difficult the past couple of months have been, only exacerbated by the fact that I've been on my own for much of it. Because this blog is also my journal/book for our children, I didn't want Mya to look back and see postings of frustration, so I tried to stay focused on the positives. She has been a complete joy, don't get me wrong, but dealing with her colicy moments has been difficult (I am now convinced she had colic although I tried hard to convince myself otherwise.) Regardless of what it was and why it was, she is happy now. I feel m...

chris returned last friday from his two week class in chicago. his return was anticipated by all. for the entire weekend, i constantly heard, 'no daddy do it.' SO, this is what happens when daddy does hair... i suggested a half-up style, but he insisted on attempting a pony tail. mmm hmmm. additionally, claire has commented/questioned everyday, "daddy you come home?" obviously she is at a point where she is remembering, but i hope not worrying that each day he leaves for work that he isn't leaving for another trip.

Look at that smile...it melts my heart. she is cooing and putting her hands in her mouth now. mya can hold her head well, stand with support and is much more interested in the things around her--us, sophie, claire, lights, toys, etc. mya is becoming less fussy and will finally sit contently for extended periods of time in her bumbo, bassinet, swing or playmat. she is getting easier to handle, but still generally has one fussy period per day, which tends to happen before bed. oh oh. someone figured out how to open the door. bittersweet. more helpful, but i think i am officially in trouble now. claire has changed so much recently. her little personality is shining through her words and actions. i love each day with her. watching her can bring tears to my eyes in an instant. --my parents bought her a cute little folding table and chair set for her birthday. she loves to have tea parties on it, do projects, and eat her snacks at it. she also loves to use the chairs to climb up to things--c...

ummmm...that may be just a bit too much toilet paper. yikes! how many times did you go potty on the toilet? someone is full of pride--sporting her big girl undies the potty training road has been hit or miss---mostly due to my efforts or lack thereof. i bought the potty chair around 18 months because claire was telling me when she was wet. i thought for sure that must be 'the sign" that she was ready for potty training. well, at that point, chris was gone, i was pregnant and quite tired from working full-time and being a single momma. i wasn't consistent and gave up rather easily. she was thrilled with the potty chair, sitting on it while watching tv and using it as a regular chair to eat her snacks. it became a love hate relationship. she became quite opposed to the idea of sitting on it at all. i gave up on the potty training idea, thinking that she just wasn't ready. well, jump ahead 6 months. our friends mark and april were busy working on their little guy, which g...

I realize I probably shouldn't be complaining, but it has been bloody hot and humid. I can deal with the heat, but the humidity is unbearable. As a result, we have been cooped up inside for much of the past week minus some shopping outings and a quick walk/playtime outside. Since Claire is loving the water, I picked up a great little pool at Target on clearance and filled it up much to her delight. She and Sophie were both loving it. I even dipped Mya's feet in the water, which she too enjoyed. It has been the best $7 spent this summer.

chris' mom and her husband came to visit us for a few days. it was having them spend some time with their granddaughters. claire enjoyed the extra attention and i think they enjoyed giving it.

i took the kids to the swimming pool for evening swimming. the weather was great and the water was really warm. they had a great time. we were joined by my best friend, nicole and her cute kiddos, kennen and abby. i thought i had a picture of all of the kids together, but i can't seem to find it. anyway, nicole brought some toys, which made swimming even more fun. initially claire hung out by the wall, but once she gained her confidence, she moved in towards the umbrella in the center of the pool. she ended up briefly going under the water, which scared me quite a bit, but she came up totally unphased and ready for more action. the kids had a great time swimming together. olivia was a great help keeping tabs on claire. even though it was a little pool, it was quite big and 1.5 feet deep. luke and olivia started out in the big pool, but it was lonely, so they joined ava and claire in the little pool. ava and claire hanging out.

Mya is three months old, which also means my time with her as a full-time Momma is nearly coming to an end. Sad to see it go. Our little girl is such a honey. She loves to snuggle. I especially enjoy her 4:00 feeding because when we are finished, I often lay her on my chest to sleep. There is nothing like a baby sleeping, snuggled up on her Momma. Speaking of sleep, she is great at it. Mya consistently sleeps 7+ hours per night. She wakes up at 4:00 like clockwork to nurse. She is eating well, but still very particular about bottles. We are continuing to use a combination of the Medela special nurser and nursing. She is doing well, eating 5 ounces per feeding. Mya has become accustomed to being held, so we've been working on tummy time and spending time in her supersaucer, swing or bumbo. She is beginning to like each one a bit more and has recently become interested in the toys on each. Mya really likes standing, so I'd say the supersaucer is her favorite. She is full of smile...

mya rolled over from her tummy to her back going to the right side yesterday and just did her tummy to back leaning to the left side a few minutes ago. i forget how amazing it is to see all these "firsts." it is pretty incredible. we said bye-bye to claire's paci last night--officially. we had planned on having a bye bye paci party when she turned two, but with our impending drive, flights and vacation, i needed to have the security of her happiness in the form of her paci. so instead of getting rid of it altogether, she has just had her paci at night for the past month or so. i had planned on "losing" it prior to going back to work, but someone got to it before i could do so. i couldn't find it last night at bedtime, so it was time. she did quite well. cried for a bit, but got over it. this morning she tried to swipe mya's one time, but thankfully i was there to stop her. we've already survived a nap without the beloved paci too, so things are going...

saturday was our first and last day together, alone, before chris left for two weeks so we decided to head to the zoo. the southwick zoo was a great choice. it had rides perfect for a toddler, a petting zoo, train rides, pony rides and every animal you would hope to see in a zoo--gorillas, zebras, giraffes, monkeys, rhinos, etc. it was perfect. we had a great time.

my family is awesome. they are the most generous, caring people in our lives. i am so thankful for all that they do for us and the strong role they have in our lives. since having children, i have come to realize more and more how good we have it. my parents make it possible for us to visit them a couple of times per year and my sister lisa has given us container after container of kids clothing not to mention baby equipment. i cannot thank them enough for their generosity. living so far away is difficult. i look at many of my friends who have family nearby to help babysit or help with a project. i wish we had that, but at the same time, given our situation, it makes me so happy the efforts they all go to in order to win the hearts of my children in the short time we have together. my family is incredible. i really feel very priviledged to call them mine. claire, mya and i had a great time visiting them all in nd. once again, i thank you from the bottom of my heart for all that you hav...

friends tend to come and go through each phase in our lives. in fact, very few friends are life long. i am fortunate to have had one since i was five years old. nicole was my neighbor. she moved next door when we were five and we've been the best of friends ever since. she is the kind of friend who knows me so well and i her. we don't need to talk every day, week, or month. in fact, i can not talk to her for 6 months, yet when we get together it is as if time has stood still and our friendship hadn't skipped a beat. it is awesome. she is awesome. she is a great mommy too. claire, mya and i had the pleasure of spending alot of time with them when we were in nd. we went to their house, they came to my parents house, we went to the pool. it was great. there is something special about great friends sharing their children together. we had that experience and we definitely look forward to more as we all grow older from afar, but together.