walking and talking and climbing, oh my!!!!!

I'll start with climbing.  This girl can climb!  Turn your head for one second and she's half way up the stairs.  Thank god for baby gates.  And thank god two times when we actually remember to shut the gate!  But it's not just the stairs - it's the couches, people, whatever.  She's so brave!

Walking:  she started taking her own little baby steps on January 24th with the urging of her parents, "walk to mama Claire, come on baby girl".  Now, no urging is necessary.  She will stand herself up using a table, chair, toy, etc, and walk away from it.  Sometimes it's clear that she's walking towards the dog or a specific toy, other times she walks aimlessly into the center of the room.  A few steps into it and she either loses balance and plops onto her butt, or she plops onto her butt "just because".  It's so adorable, though a little strange, to see my tiny little baby walking around.  She's so brave!  There's something wrong with the video camera I'm using - it's all blurry and crappy, so I apologize.  I also apologize for the wobbly shooting.  Lastly, please don't pay any attention to the filthy house!

And she speaks!  She said her first real word on Friday, March 4th.  We were in the Boscovs dressing room and Claire mimicked my mom and said "Uh Oh".  She continued to say it every time she (purposely) dropped the wallet she was playing with.  She has since said it at home a few times, as well as in the presence of her other grandparents.  Her first word couldn't have been something sweet and precious like Mommy or Doggy.  Instead she says UH OH.  hmmmph.  and LOL. 

claire is 7 months

I feel kinda bad that she's wearing the same dress in her 6 month photo, eeek

one sock, poor kid

She sure is getting big!  She's becoming very mobile as well.  She has found her knees, but hasn't quite figured out how to use them.  Instead, she rolls and rotates to get where she wants to go, which is often times toward one of Trent's toys.  She's also developing a feisty personality.  When she has something she wants, she holds tight and doesn't let go.  On the off chance she does let go (or you are able to pry her fingers off), she will scream for it.  This can be your hair, her spoon, a toy, etc.  Speaking of spoon, she's really starting to get this whole eating thing down.  She now actually enjoys it rather than gags.  She was lucky enough to have her first fruit last weekend - an apple right off the tree at Milburn (thanks Uncle Mikey).  We have since given her banana, which she seems to really enjoy....who wouldn't?!  So, so far she has had squash, eggplant, yams, carrots, broccoli, green beans, banana, and the lick of an apple (not in that order - and I may be forgetting one or two). 

She takes the bottle like she's been doing it her whole life.  In fact, she will now bring the bottle to her mouth and hold onto it without any assistance.  I have a feeling it's going to be difficult to keep Trent's sippy cups out of her mouth.  She has already expressed a good bit of interest in them. 

As for sleep - she's regressing.  For about a month, from age 3 months to 4 months, she slept through the night consistently.  Since then she went back to waking once a night.  That turned into 2 times a night, then sometimes three.  We are now at the point where it's very difficult to get her to sleep on her own for more than a few hours because she just wants to be in our arms.  You know that newborn phase where the child can be dead asleep in your arms but the second you put them down, their eyes shoot open?.....yeah, that's where we are right now.  I can't blame her....all I can do is ask her politely to please sleep like a good baby and thank my husband for being super dad and coming to my rescue regularly.  An easy fix is to bring her into our bed with us (which we do quite often, and it works) but co-sleeping really isn't for me.  I just don't like it.  I do it when I'm desperate but I definitely don't want to make a habit out of it.  One of these days she's going to end up falling to the floor, and that's a far fall from the top of our mattress. 

If you follow me on facebook then you know I've been on a crafting-streak.  So far I made Claire a few headbands, some babylegs, a stuffed animal, and a pair of shoes.  I'm about to start on a jumper and a pair of pants that I'm very excited about (i already have the supplies, now I just need the time).  Here are a few photos of my crafts, in case you missed them on facebook

 

Of course I made Trent a few things as well, but this post is about Claire!  I'm very sad to say I lost my SD card containing pictures from some recent activities but hopefully it will turn up soon!  Thankfully there was a second person taking pictures during a few of these events, so at least I'll have those pictures. 

Another milestone Claire has almost mastered is sitting up by herself!!  As Kevin puts it:  When she does fall, she falls gracefully (meaning, she uses her arms to catch herself/cusion her fall).  You can see it in the elephant photo above, but also here:

I love the picture, just wish it was a little clearer

And here's a video of Claire sitting up all by herself.  In this scene Daddy/Kevin just came home from work.  Although her expression doesn't change much, she was excited to see him.  You can even hear her grunt with excitement a little.

 

Isn't she just precious!  7 months old already.....where does the time go?

5 month old Claire

yeah....her outfit is way to big for her

Am I the only one who can not believe Claire is already 5 months old??  It's all going WAY too fast for me!  Here are some factoids:

• 
  
  Claire is able to roll from back-to-belly and visa versa, but she doesn't roll from her belly to her back very often at all
• 
  
  Just within the last week, she started rolling from her back to her belly when she's sleeping.  She now prefers to sleep on her belly
• 
  
  Her hair is finally growing back.  She had a nice head of hair when she was born, but she lost most of it within a month or so.  She was never totally bald, but the top of her head got pretty close to it.  She did get a bald spot on the back of her head from sleeping on it.  From day one she had a little bit of long hair in the back (below the bald spot) that continues to be there.  When she was first born her hair was very mullet-esque, but now there's just no description for it.  The new hair that is now growing in is still too short and thin for me to make out what color it's going to be.  Sometimes it looks dark, other times it looks a little light.  We'll see
• 
  
  I'm almost positive Claire is teething.  She's drooling all the time and I feel something on her bottom gums
• 
  
  She's reaching out for things!!!!!
• 
  
  She loves looking at herself in the mirror - it makes her laugh
• 
  
  Her legs are super strong....she loves standing up.  She's been that way since birth.  I think she will walk early
• 
  
  It's hard to get things done with her because her naps don't last long (unless someone's holding her)
• 
  
  She sleeps in her crib (has been for a couple months now) and she sleeps really well.  She went thru a phase for a month where she slept all thru the night, but she has regressed and now wakes once a night to eat.
• 
  
  She has the most amazing eyes.  They are a green-ish blue-ish color with a darker blue circle around the iris (contrary to the demon eyes she has in the picture above).  I think she gets her eyes from her daddy
• 
  
  We will soon be celebrating her first Halloween and we have no idea what she's going to be
• 
  
  I'm going to start scrapbooking her soon. 
• 
  
  As of yesterday, she found her feet!!!  It's so cute - she'll grab her toes and just hold on
• 
  
  she has out-grown her Moby wrap.  Technically, she's supposed to be safe in it until she's 25 lbs (don't quote me on that, I don't remember the exact weight) but she no longer feels safe in it in my opinion.  I had her in it the other day and I felt like she was going to fall right out.  I have since retired it.  Now I use the woven wrap I am borrowing from a friend.  A "woven wrap" is the same style as the Moby but it's a different material - a material that allows mom to wrap a child until said child is well into toddler-hood.  My plan is to return the woven wrap to my friend (because I don't want to take advantage of her generosity - otherwise I'd keep it for a long time) and possibly get an Ergo carrier.  Ergo's are a totally different style carrier.  Woven wraps and Ergos are both fairly expensive, which is why I don't own either (or both) of them.
• 
  
  so many people see her and think she's a boy, regardless of what she's wearing.  I think it's because she doesn't have much hair.  If I got her ears pierced (not going to happen) or put ribbons and bows on her head, I think people would get it right.
• 
  
  she's a mama's girl

Claire's baptism

We finally had Claire's baptism last weekend (August 15th).  We decided to once again keep it very small (no offense to anyone who wasn't invited).  It was at the same church that Trent was baptised in, the same church Kevin and I got married in, and the same church I (Barbie) was baptised in when I was a baby. 

Claire cried a good bit in the beginning (she was tired and fighting sleep), but then she fell asleep and slept through the remainder of the process.  The Deacon had a few screws loose, but he was nice enough.  There was only one other baby getting baptised, so that was nice.  We were allowed to stay afterward to take pictures, etc. 

Once we got all the pictures we could handle, we all headed to the Cheesecake Factory.  I didn't expect it to be very busy since it was between lunch and dinner, but it was packed (because of the rain, apparently).   We were told we'd have an hour wait if we all wanted to sit together.  I was so disappointed because I really didn't want us to split up, but after a mere 15 minutes or so, we were being seated...together!  The food was great and the service was wonderful.  I think (hope) everyone went home with a full belly - I know I did! 

Here are some pictures:

the beautiful bracelet Godmother Chrissy got for Claire

I had my dad videotape the event, so if anyone is interested in seeing it, just let me know.

mush

We started Claire on food the other day.  I was reluctant when the doctor first brought it up to me, but I have since opened up to the idea, knowing that it's a positive step in the right direction.  The biggest con (in my eyes) about giving her food is that now her poopy diapers are going to get nasty
:-(

I gave her a little bit of barley cereal the other night, pretty unsuccessfully.  She gagged a few times and mostly just spit the food out.  This is completely normal and to be expected.  Generally it takes time for babies to learn how to eat.  It's important for parents to have a sense of humor and patience when they first start food with their baby since most babies are like Claire, and don't accpet it rigth away.  It takes time.  I only gave her maybe half a dozen spoonfuls, but it was a start. 

Last night, I went to BINGO with my mom - it was my way of getting out of the house to do something recreational without the kids one last time before I start working again - leaving Kevin to deal with the kids alone.  If Claire would accept a bottle, I really wouldn't think twice about leaving Claire with Kevin, but since she's being stubborn I absolutely hate leaving her with anyone - it's just not fair to Claire or the person with her.  BUT, I went out anyway.  Kevin, being the doll that he is, encouraged me to go out and assured me everyone/everything would be fine at home. 

While I was out, Kevin tried to give Claire a bottle, but of curse she wouldn't take it.  At some point he gave her some cereal (in hopes of filling her belly and calming her down, at least a little bit) and I guess it worked.  He said she did really well with food and that she seems to really like it. 

I came home a little after 10pm, expecting to find an unhappy, wide awake, daughter and husband.  Instead I found Claire in her crib and Kevin in his.  I laid down, anticiparting Claire's hunger cries any second, but to my utter disbelief she slept until 4am - which is her normal wake-to-eat time (unless she sleeps thru the night).  I fed her at 4 then she slept until 8. 

Kevin said there was a rough hour or so while I was gone, but nothing he couldn't handle.  I had been feeling really guilty (from the time I agreed to go to Bingo until the time I got home) about the whole thing, but I see now that things are starting to get easier, and will only continue to get easier as the days/weeks/months go by.  Sadly, Claire will be independent before we know it and we will look back on these anti-bottle days and laugh (well, maybe we won't laugh.....). 

More about my work situation to come.

claire's on a roll

We are so proud of Claire. Our little angel is rolling from back to belly and visa versa. Here's a video for your viewing pleasure. It's long but cute! Enjoy

Speaking of weaning...

Trent is officially weaned from the bottle.  I'm not sure what the average timeline or age is for something like this, but at the Woodland house the bottles are officially in the cabinet waiting for the next baby.  It took Trent (and us) quite some time to master the art that is drinking from a sippy cup, and there were times I thought it would never happen, but of course it was only a matter of time.  His attachment to the bottle was never all that great, so the transition to only cup wasn't bad at all.  I'm thrilled to not have to clean all the bottle parts any more....well, at least not for another month or so.

my little walker

I guess it's safe to say Trent is officially walking.  We used to say "he's taking steps" when someone would ask if he was walking, but now I think its time to promote him.  He clearly prefers walking over crawling much of the time, and he takes the initiative.  When he was first starting out he would only walk to us if we egged him on.  Kevin was finally able to get some video of him


I'm not sure why the quality is so terrible..perhaps the screen was dirty.

I took Trent with me to a baby shower last week and he had me on the move majority of the time.  He wanted to walk, and see the other babies, and the gifts....oh god, the gifts.  He was not happy when I diverted him away from the pile of goodies for the mother-to-be and her fetus. 

baby steps

With the mention of being a ring bearer in the near future, Trent finally said, "I guess I have to stop procrastinating and show these people what I'm really made of" (his words, not mine). He decided to start taking his first steps last night!!!!!! His very first attempt to let go and walk to something should come as no surprise. He was....drum roll please....trying to get to Maggie! He didn't even get a full step in before tumbling to the ground, but at least he took that first courage step of letting go without sitting down first. Later in the evening Kevin and I sat facing each other and we did the "now walk to mommy. now walk to daddy. now walk to mommy" thing. He got several good steps in unassisted and we were so proud! It was a great night!

Gollum scoot

As many of you have witnessed (at Trent's birthday party, the blog, etc) my little man loves to army crawl. He's quick and it works for him. Well, a few weeks ago he started this half crawl thing. I like to call it the Gollum scoot, because it reminds me of the way the Lord of the Rings character got around. Until recently he only did it if he had a very short distance to go (like one or two scoots away), but starting this past weekend it became his primary method for getting around. See the first5 seconds of the video below. He's been doing it for less than a week and now he seems to be transitioning, once again, to a full on knee crawl!! I honestly thought he'd be one of those kids who never do the "real" crawl - they just army crawl then walk - but once again I am wrong. It's so weird (in an adorable kind of way) to see, and hear, him crawl now.

(I apologize for the double audio. If you really want to you can scroll all the way down and "Stop" the playlist so you can hear this video, but that's not necessary. The purpose of the video is to show you the crawl. There isn't any "important" sound to it)

his birthday, continued

Well, I finished my blog yesterday and Trent continued his nap. He napped for a good 2.5 hours. During his nap, Kevin came home from work and the two of us started to put together Trent's birthday present right away. We were 98% done when Trent woke up. Before I post a picture of him and his present, I want to give a little background info. Actually, there are 2 different background stories. First Story: I had this toy as a child and from my recollection, I loved it. I remember the day my mom "accidentally" sold it in a yard sale. And I even remember being too big to use the toy at the time it was sold (so who can blame her for selling it)- but I was still very upset about it. Every time I'd see this toy (on tv, at the store, in the neighborhood, whatever) I'd tell Kevin the whole story - "i had that toy and I loved it and my mom....". It got to the point where he'd see it and say to me (sarcastically) "did you ever have that?". ha ha. real funny Kevin. In the end, it really meant alot to me to be able to give Trent this gift.

Story #2: Our trip to OBX this year was our first family vacation as a family of 3. While in line at a souvenir shop Kevin spotted a rack of small novelty license plates. These plates are metal and say "outer banks" and are then personalized with peoples names. Surprisingly, they had "Trent" so of course we bought it. While putting together Trent's present last night Kevin had the genius idea to incorporate that souvenir license plate in place of a generic sticker. See below!

After we played with the car for a little bit, we had dinner and a little left over birthday cake (no, it was not even close to fresh or moist), then it was bath time and "hang out" time. We acknowledged his birth when the clock his 7:10pm and I recreated his first seconds in the world, complete with a fake push then a *pop* "it's a boy". Ok, that's a slight exaggeration (very slight, actually. I really am that gross). Then I had a sentimental moment where I seriously thought back over the last year and reminisced. I love my life!

Here is another random picture of Trent on his birthday.

We go to the doctor later today for his 12 month well visit! Stay tuned.

random updates

I feel like I haven't been blogging much at all lately. To be perfectly honest with you, I do most of my blogging while im at work and i've been in a big work-funk lately, so I just haven't had the motivation to sit and write about the things and people I love. Sorry!

I have, however, been actively trying to get a good video clip to post on my blog. Trent is really into giving High 5's right now and I want to share that with everyone, but every time i get the camera out, Trents mission changes from giving high-fives to getting the camera in his possession. He's actually been doing high-fives for a while now. Kevin started teaching him several months ago. It's so cute!

Trent still has only 4 teeth - but I really think he's about to cut his 5th (but i've been saying that for a couple months now, so....)

He has mastered the art of pulling himself up, and he has even dared to let go a couple times. Standing unassisted is very very rare and it never lasts longer than a second (in fact, Kevin has yet to witness it).

Trent is really into "walking" too - the kind of walking where you hold his hands and walk along with him.

He is obsessed with food!!!! We used to be able to give him a bottle while Kevin and I ate our dinner. If it wasn't time for a bottle we could feed him a jar of food while the other parent ate real food. Now, if Trent sees our food, he wants it. Because of this we have started to remove any and all jarred food from his diet all together. I'm glad that phase is over.

We have also started to wean him from formula. We've been adding one ounce of cows milk to his bottles each day. He will be on 100% cows milk by the end of this weekend. We are EXTREMELY glad the formula phase is almost over (it's inconvenient, it stinks, its messy)!! And even more thankful that he appears to have no milk allergies (or any food allergies for that matter).

I was going to blog about how he now eats the bubbles in his bath - but he only did it during the one bath a couple weeks ago. It was so cute, he kept gathering more bubbles on his hand and shoving them in his mouth, then he'd have a santa-like beard & mustache. very cute.

I'm sure there are other updates that I'm just not thinking about, but thats everything that came to mind!

Don't forget that you can ask me any questions you may have. Sometimes it's hard for me to come up with new topics on my own :-)

dear pump

Dearest Breast Pump,

I'm not sure what I would have done without you these last 10 months. We didn't see each other very often during those first 4 months, but when we got together, you really eased my pain and made me feel very comfortable. The 6 months following brought about a very tight connection between you and I. One could say we were attached at the, well....

We were together almost every day - several times a day. I brought you with me to work, on vacation, to jury duty, even to the 'rents house on Christmas day. I washed your parts every night - more often than I washed my own offspring. I tried to take good care of you, and in return you never let me down.

Now it's time for me to pack you away. I think you have earned a little alone-time...a little down-time.

But don't get too comfortable, I will be calling on you again in 7 months. I hope you'll be ready to perform for me like you have in the past.

Forever grateful,
Barbie

happy anniversary

....to my blog!



believe it or not, I started this blog 1 year ago today. I was 7 months pregnant at the time and thought it would be a cute way to keep family involved in our baby's life. Now, here we are 365 days later, and 229 blog entries later, and I find myself pregnant again and sharing more about my life than I ever thought I would (i used to be such a private person).

Here's to another year

another milestone!!

Last week Trent pulled himself up for the first time. He was in the bathtub of all places! He's done it a few times in the tub since, once at daycare, and once in the living room. Linda was able to get a picture of him doing it at her house. In the picture you can see Peanut - a precious little guy! Anyways - that's Trent's newest trick!!! Three cheers for the big guy!

Trent is in the NARMY now too

he's a little NARMY crawler!!!! Admittedly not the best video of him crawling, but.....

big boy in the car

The story behind Trent's travel system is really kinda cute.

This story is going to be longer than neccessary.

Let me start by explaining what a travel system is, in case you don't know. A travel system is basically a bulky stroller that comes with an infant carseat that fits right into the stroller. It makes for an easy transition from car to stroller. see pictures. Its a genius invention..very practical for those who can't carry the baby in ones arms while out and about. Once the baby is big enough, you can use the stroller without the carseat.




Ryan and Alicia bought us out travel system. They were in the process of moving at the time, so rather than wrap the present and move it from house to house, Alicia put it together and gave it to us early (a few weeks before my shower). She handed me a set of baby teething keys - as if to say "these are the keys to your baby's new ride". It was so corny and adorable. I loved it.



The carseat that comes with all travel systems is an infant carseats. Most infant carseats are good for babies weighing anywhere between 5-22 (give or take) pounds. I believe they are intended to get the average baby through his/her first year. Well, Trent is a big guy who's quickly approaching the weight limit. At his last appointment (2 months ago i guess) he weighed it at almost 19lbs. So we finally bit the bullet and bought the next stage in carseats. This one is called a 'convertible carseat' and is good for up to 65 lbs. Convertible carseats are not meant to be taken out of the car regularly (like the infant seat is). Now whenever we take Trent out of the car we have to actually unbuckle him and leave the carseat behind, which is strange/different. The only downfall to the new carseat is that it doesn't have a sunshade - and Trent hates the sun in his face. The best part about the carseat is that it was, coincidentally, on sale. I was also able to use a coupon. In the end I saved $41 on the carseat alone! Woot Woot. In that same shopping trip I also saved $10 on diapers and I got a price adjustment of $9 on the walker we bought a couple months back. I was (and obviously still am) so proud of myself. We took the money we saved and treated ourselves to a romantic dinner from McDonalds' drive-thru.

Spellcheck is telling me that carseat is actually 2 words...but im not fixing it. I'm too lazy.

chatterbox

Trent has been doing alotta jibber-jabbering for some time now. I remember the first time he ever "talked". I had Trent on my lap and I was reading an article out loud. All of a sudden he just started talking over me. It was the most precious thing ever!!! His ramblings are pretty random but usually happen when he is playing or just sitting around. Once in a blue moon we hear him talking to himself in his crib. I wish I could bottle up that sound!! If you listen to babies "talk" it's like they are discovering the different letters of the alphabet. For a while Trent was doing thhhhh. and aaaaaaa. and babbabab. A few weeks ago (around and during the time we were in OBX) Trent started saying "dada". Often times it came out as "ahdada" or "dadadadada" but of course we all got a big kick out it. Does this mean Trent's first word was dada? Some people we told this story to said Definitely! Kevin feels that it won't really count until Trent looks him in the eyes and knowingly calls him Dada.

First word or not it was precious. Just knowing that someday that little guy will be saying people words, and soon enough we won't be able to shut him up, is exciting.

Speaking of baby talk - here's a video that was recently emailed to me. I think it's hilarious.

Super Baby, Intersting, Little Girl Telling What - Funny video clips are a click away

OBX

(click on a picture to see it larger)

Where to begin....

The House

If you've ever been to OBX you know how massive the houses can be. Our house had 6 bedrooms, 2 living rooms, a play-room, pool & hot tub, wrap-around decks, and was across the street from the ocean. It was wonderful. The best thing about the house was probably the fact that they allowed dogs!!! We were thrilled to take Maggie with us. The room configuration worked out wonderfully for us. I originally envisioned us in one of the biggest rooms in the house, with the big King-sized bed, a balcony off our room & a huge bathroom complete with jacuzzi tub - but that's not what we got. We went for a smaller room with the queen bed that had a fairly small bathroom attached to it (complete with your everyday run-of-the-mill tub). Why then was this room so wonderful? Because the bathroom led us into another bedroom that we were able to use for Trent! He was close enough for us to hear him and get to him easily, but far enough away that we didn't have to become mute the second we walked into our room. It was great.

Weather

In the beginning of the week we had some cloudy & windy days but towards the end of the week we got some really sunny and hot days! I think we got maybe two passing showers and one over-night thunderstorm the whole time we were there. I was actually glad it was cloudy some days because I didn't want any of us to get too burnt!! A bad sunburn can ruin anyone's vacation. With that being said, Trent did get a little sunburn :-(. I felt like a terrible mother for letting it happen. We did sunblock and hats but it just wasn't enough.

Daily Activities

Every day down there was pretty much the same. We woke up, ate breakfast, showered, spent the day either at the pool or at the beach, ate dinner as a group, played a game, then went to bed. Yes, it really was THAT relaxing. Mrs. Woodland made dinner most nights, I made dinner one night, and the whole group went out to dinner one night. Kevin and I went out alone Friday night to celebrate our wedding anniversary (a little early). We went to

place called Ocean Boulevard that a coworker recommended. The food, drink, service and view were all great! After dinner we walked across the street and took a stroll on the beach as the sun was setting. After that we got in the car and headed for a putt-putt course but ended up at the Outer Banks Brewing Station. There we both sampled 4 of their beers and watched Tiger Woods get spanked on TV (BORING!!!). There was one cloudy day in the beginning of the week that Kevin and I decided to take Maggie and Trent to get antique photos taken. It was 15-20 minutes away (we took the scenic route) and well-worth it. The picture turned out great!!! The city we stayed in didn't allow dogs on the beach, so one evening after dinner we all drove to the next city over and let Maggie and Hannah play on the beach. I think they both enjoyed it....but I think the person who enjoyed it the most was Mr. Woodland. Before we knew it he had stripped down to his swim trunks and was running into the ocean.

Firsts

Trent went to the beach for the first time, felt the ocean water for the first time, and went into an adult pool for the first time!

Misc.

Jen and Maggie bonded

Hannah went nuts dropping the ball in the pool and would bark/pace until someone got it out for her

Overall it was a great trip and everyone seemed to have fun.