White Christmas

Christmas 2010 Mommy & Claire on Christmas Eve (Geoff and I got a new digital camera as our Christmas gift this year from Poppa & GB; this was one of the first photos Geoff took).
The only thing more exciting than the presents was NiNi's arrival - in fact, Claire didn't even notice the presents right away. Then, of course, the bows rivaled the presents a bit as well.

Yep, we definitely liked the bows! After unwrapping a few gifts, Claire finally realized that there was a big red wagon sitting behind them. She climbed right in and opened the rest of her gifts in style.

Fishing through her stocking...

Lacing beads - a stocking stuffer (Aunt Gini is going to have to teach us how to use these things; they're some sort of Montessori learning toy or something).

The weather wasn't great today, cold and rainy. We caught a brief break from rain mid-morning and took the wagon out for a quick ride. Claire had trouble deciding which seat was better, and of course Aubie (from Poppa & GB) had to ride along.

Christmas sure is tiring! Daddy and Claire are sacked out watching Claire's new favorite thing - "movie" - a word she knows well and apparently really only refers to the Baby Faith "God Made Christmas" video, for which we can't seem to offer a pleasing substitution. (Baby Faith videos are like Baby Einstein only better in my opinion, as they are based on Bible stories and concepts; Claire LOVES them).

And yes, we had a white Christmas ending to our day even way down here in the South. Claire thought the snow was just amazing, but she didn't have too much time in it since it came down after dark.

We bundled up quickly and briefly for a short walk in the front yard. She was fascinated with her footprints in the snow, and really enjoyed stomping the snow out of her boots when we got back to the front porch.

After the snow romp, it was straight into the warm bath to play with her new bath boat and it's accessories. If you ask Claire what the lobster says, she pinches her fingers together and makes a clicking noise with her tongue - so cute!

Altogether, it was a very enjoyable Christmas. She loved all of her gifts and mommy even got two very clear "thank you's" from her today - a first for using this word. Mommy's Christmas gift will be a little pink bundle who is all set to arrive in six short days. Yep, Evelynn's birthday is quickly approaching. Until then, Merry Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight!

Sweet Sixteen (Months, That Is)

Life with a 16-month-old is sweet, sweet, sweet. (But maybe that's just because this baby is so sweet)! A new favorite thing - putting on a pair of Daddy's socks (hey, they keep her feet & legs warm)
A bathtub tea party - so much fun!

At sixteen months, Claire is so much fun. She understands more, does more, says more, she is truly more of a blessing and a joy every day. Developmentally she has gained a number of new teeth, adding 3 molars in the past month and soon to add #4. She's a good teether - a little more restless at night, but generally I haven't had to deal with the fevers/diarrhea that I hear about from some moms. Her hair is also thickening up with a lot of new growth underneath. It was sooo dark when she was born, but neither of us is surprised to see it getting lighter as Geoff and I both had sandy blonde hair as kids. I describe her hair color as "honey."

She gives more kisses and makes kissy sounds at the dogs and cat - so very, very precious. She's very affectionate and loves to give hugs, sometimes clinging to Daddy's leg as he's trying to go to work. Her favorite person other than mom and dad appears to be her Aunt Lara who often helps keep Claire so mommy can go to doctor's appointments. When Aunt Lara goes to leave, Claire will wave bye-bye to mommy and try to follow Lara out.

Her vocabulary is astounding - not necessarily in spoken words, but in words she understands. She says words from time to time that we didn't even know that she knew. She seems a little self-conscious when trying a word for the first time. Often she will mouth it or whisper very quietly. What is astounding is the sheer number of words she recognizes. She loves flashcards and is quite capable of picking up the requested one out of a huge stack. We also discovered purely by accident that she has learned to recognize some of the letters of the alphabet - AMAZING! Her memory is powerful. Quote any part of any of her books and she will immediately go and get that book from the shelf and bring it to you.

Right now she's really into her baby dolls, which I'm encouraging. Our neighbor "Nanny Barb" gave her a baby doll carriage and she loves to take the babies all over the house in it. I can't wait to see how she'll do with a baby sister.

And on that note -

Evie is still doing great in the womb. Her C-section is now 15 days away. Her bags are packed for the hospital and I am so so so ready to meet this baby girl.

War Eagle, Baby! (aka, Snow Auburn Style)

Congratulations to our UNDEFEATED 2010 Auburn University Tiger SEC Football Champs and to the UNSTOPPABLE Cam Newton. We are excited to be contenders in the BCS National Championship game - coming January 10! For those who are unfamiliar, the town of Auburn has a tradition of rolling a couple of Oak Treees at a spot on campus known as Toomer's Corner in celebration of sports and other victories. While we didn't join in with the multitude yesterday night, we got up first thing this morning to show Claire her first viewing of snow Auburn style. "You mean I get to play with this stuff? This is right up my alley!"
Claire doing her part

I wouldn't want it in my yard - but it actually looks pretty amazing

Touchdown, Auburn! (Mommy is too pregnant for close-ups these days)

Claire tried to take home a souvenir, but Daddy had her throw it in a trashcan on our way back to the car.

November Phone Photo Digest

I would have created a photoshow for all of these, but Geoff always complains that he can't download the pictures from those directly to his digital frame at work. To make it easier on him (and other folks who are printing pictures from the blog), here are photos from my phone from November. Happy scrolling (there are a ton)! The new double stroller is getting a workout - she likes riding with a friend!
What a face! (Her shirt says "Happiness is all around" - it should say "Happiness is all over my face")

See my pink cowgirl boots? They're my favorite!

Not sure what this face is about, but Daddy thought this was a cute picture.

Bill Cosby moment in parenthood: "I got this paper for you. You don't want it? Can I have it?"

More time in the stroller - always with a friend!

In the past 6 or 8 weeks, the blanky has to go everywhere.

Cheese! (Grilled cheese that is)

Tuckered out after her doctor's visit - we're still working on this dropping the morning nap thing. This morning it was skipped for shots and that was too much!

Not sure why the tears, but she looks adorable in Daddy's hat (even while crying)

Nothing works better in our house for teething issues than a popsicle - except perhaps TWO popsicles

She LOVES the Christmas tree and expects the lights to be on EVERY time she sees it

Thanksgiving visit from South Carolina cousins - they each received free lessons from Uncle Geoff's School of Tree Climbing

Wyatt's turn - what a ham!

Love my Daddy!

Nothing goes better with a Christmas sweater dress than red stockings and pink cowgirl boots!

Four Weeks from Friday

Assuming all continues as well as it has been, we will meet baby Evelynn Jane on Friday, December 31st around 7:30am. I can't wait!

Evelynn at 33 weeks and 4 days

I had another routine ultrasound of Evie this morning to see how she's growing. She's looking great! She's 4lbs and 12oz (only 3oz shy of where Claire was at birth) and has a head full of hair. The environment is still looking good in there, so while I can't imagine another 5weeks and 3 days of carrying her, it could very well happen! Here are the best of the pictures, most did not turn out even this clear, so you will have to use your imagination. You would think ultrasounds would get easier to see as the baby gets bigger, but they're actually less and less clear... Above: Face (her little hand is covering part so it's a little hard to make out, but you should be able to tell at least the one eye and go from there)
Above: Her right ear (again, hard to see, but look near the label)

Above: Her hair - the white fuzzy stuff on the crown of her head is hair. Everyone always seems to wonder if you can tell if a baby has hair when you have an ultrasound, so here's the answer. I'm taking the ultrasound tech's word for it, because these pictures are getting fuzzier and fuzzier to my untrained eyes!

Fun Fifteen

So Martha Claire is fifteen months! It seems only yesterday I was updating you on her 14 month milestones - probably because I was behind on blogging...
She is ever growing and ever learning. We go back to the doctor tomorrow to learn how much she has gained and grown, but I feel confident the doctor will be pleased. She is up in clothing, shoe, and diaper sizes, so I know there has been some good growth in the last three months.
Claire has six teeth - 4 top and 2 bottom. She appears to be working on her two canines on top, but the way this girl cuts teeth, it could be another month or two before we see them. I'm not complaining, and luckily, neither is she.
We are working on consolidating her two naps into one. Some days this works great, and some days we go ahead and take two naps. This change has been harder on me (mommy) than on her, as in this 8th month of pregnancy, I need all the rest I can get! However, I have already found that having a big block of morning time without the need for a nap increases my productivity. We can run errands, do some cleaning, play a little and have lunch - our day is much less broken up than before.
She continues to love books more than possibly anything else in the world. We are patiently trying to teach her to put them back on the shelf as she finishes. Most evenings I end up with a pile of books beside me on the floor as we wait for Daddy to get home from swimming. Her other loves of the moment include her baby doll, walks in her stroller (much to mommy's chagrin as she struggles with sciatic nerve pain), and a new one - bubble baths!
Claire talks all the time and recognizes more words than she can say. She loves to point to things when you ask where they are in a book or around her environment. She also loves to make animal noises. Her favorite is the elephant (somewhat like blowing a raspberry), but she can also do a dog, chicken, horse, monkey and one or two others that I'm drawing a blank on at the moment. One of her favorite games is pointing to various parts of her body (or mine or Daddy's). She knows head, hair, eyes, mouth, tongue, teeth, ears, shoulders, knees, toes, and belly button. She also loves to blow whistles and to give kisses - so sweet.
Claire has recently begun working simple wooden puzzles on her own - a real treat to watch! She is also doing well with a fork and spoon much of the time. I am definitely encouraging all sorts of independent activities knowing that Evelynn's arrival is only weeks away. (For an Evie update, scroll past the pictures)...

Of course our cat, Irving, has to see what all the splashing and camera flashing is about.

Bubble Beard aka her best Poppa Peel impression so far

Little ladybug on Halloween - she wanted to don this costume over and over for about a week before and after Halloween, several times wearing it over her pajamas

Big girl helping mommy rake the leaves around her playhouse

Reading "Goodnight Gorilla" (a big time favorite) with her Daddy. This book afforded me one of my favorite moments with her vocabulary so far. She showed me the book and pointed to the elephant and said, "Elephant!" I was in the midst of praising her for saying that word for the first time when she quickly switched over to the armadillo and said, "Chicken!"

Evelynn Update:

Yes, in case you have noticed and wondered, we have decided to spell Evelynn's name with two "n's" at the end. Besides being a name Geoff and I liked and being popular during the same time period as "Martha," Evelynn is a nice way to combine my grandfather's name "Everett" with my middle name "Lynn." Geoff therefore thought it would be nice to make this connection more evident with the double "n."

In regard to her arrival, it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas! I have started the weekly non-stress tests to evaluate the condition of the placenta. On top of good results from these, we also have ultrasounds and measurements showing that Evie is growing well and flourishing in the womb. Additionally, my blood pressure remains low and my weight gain is much better than with Claire. The doctor is beginning to feel Evie is going to thrive all the way to the end and in a few more weeks, we will schedule a c-section, quite likely for 12/31 - my Nene's birthday!

New Ultrasound Pics

Some of the pictures from today would have required too much explanation. (It gets a lot harder to get a big picture of a baby when they're 15 inches long and you can only view a little at a time!) Here are two of the very best (per Nani's request). Her profile is rounding out nicely, showing she is putting on fat like she should be (something Claire failed to do in utero)
And that is one cute (tiny) little foot, isn't it??

She's in the 47th percentile for her current weight of 3lbs. This is a little lower percentile than the last ultrasound at 25 weeks, but still great. Everything is looking really great so far, so we're hopeful that this pregnancy may just continue to go more or less normally.

14 month Update

Well, we're past 14 months, but I think I forgot to do a blog update. It's hard work chasing around a toddler, especially when you add being in the third trimester of another pregnancy on top of that! The blog gets neglected sometimes, but I did this update and another post to make up for it.
So what does a 14 month old like to do? Well, she LOVES to get in the tupperware cabinet. Recently this has meant that she actually empties the whole cabinet out and crawls inside to play hide and seek. She has now taken to climbing in, and asking for her blankie and sippy cup before shutting the door. We have discovered the key to successfully getting Claire to eat just about anything: If she can dip it in something, she will eat it! It is messy, but we figure that just comes with the territory of letting her learn to self-feed. Here she is covered in tomato soup (the perfect dip for a grilled cheese sandwich). I have some great video coverage of her eating the soup with a spoon as well. It's messy, but letting her learn to be independent is worth it.
On a side note, this little booster seat has turned out to be one of Claire's favorite things. She likes to put it on the floor and sits in it whenever she can. I'm glad she likes it as the big high chair may have a new occupant in the coming months when sister Evie wants to join us at the table.

Claire has decided that any time not spent outside is a moment wasted. One of her favorite activities is going for a walk in her stroller. I'm glad she likes this as it is a good motivator for me to get out and walk. This was her last stroll in her single stroller. Nani and Pop gave us my awesome dream double stroller for Evelynn and Claire, and we are already using it every day (sometimes twice a day) for walks!

Claire also favors her independence and is really taken with the Cozy Coupe, although she's still not quite big enough to really get anywhere in it. Mostly we push her around the yard in it (constantly saying, "pick your feet up"). The other day she enjoyed her cousin Matthew climing in the thing and hoisting it up on his shoulders and running around the yard with it. It was so funny we suggested it for a halloween costume, although we were informed he was going as a white Bo Jackson.

Continuing her outdoor play theme, Claire loves to swing. We have an awesome playset in the backyard that isn't quite all put together and up and running, but will make our backyard as cool as a park when it's all said and done. We still find ways to use it now, and Claire has some growing to do before it can really be useful.

All in all, 14 months is tons of fun! She finally cut tooth #6, giving her a row of 4 on top and 2 on bottom - a very cute toothy smile. She is also showing good signs of growing, which I'm sure will be reflected at her 15 month check-up. Her shoe size has finally gone up, though she still can hardly hold up most 12 month pants. Her vocabulary grows faster than we can keep up with. She understands so many more words than she says. She can follow all sorts of directions and answer questions and point to tons of different pictures or items on command. It's so fun to discover all the things she has learned.

Third Trimester Update

On another note, we have entered the 3rd trimester with Evie. The best thing I can say for this trimester is that I feel constant crazy movement from her, which is mostly fun for me (though from time to time it does hurt). In another week we will begin weekly appointments and tests to help decide when the best time will be for delivery. The goal is to get her out before my placenta gives out, and we are all (including the doctor), wanting this to happen at least 5 weeks from now at 34 weeks. Any time before this and we will be delivering her in Birmingham. So we play the week by week game from now until December 31st. So far, so good though!

A Break from the Schedule

Claire got to have a little reprieve from her schedule this afternoon. We went to a fall festival for Geoff's office. One of the hi-lights was meeting Aubie! When we tried to take her away from him, she put on a big frown and said, "Oh Aubie!" So cute. :)The event was held at a local park which I used to walk Claire in when she was too tiny to remember it. This time she enjoyed the sights immensely, including a good showing of ducks and turtles in a small pond.

Nani bought Claire this little ladybug costume for Halloween, and we decided to dress her up. She was the only kid dressed up for the festival - and there were lots of kids and babies there. She didn't seem to mind, though. The outfit has a cute hat, but since she wouldn't keep it on, we just added a red bow.

The natural result of a break from the schedule is a little more trying evening for the parents. We had to go to the festival too early to feed her dinner and she was pretty cranky by the time we left. We opted to eat dinner out quickly on our way home and she squeezed her milk box all over herself in the restaurant. Luckily we all laughed about it and made it home with barely any grumpiness. Being in bed 45 minutes later than usual seems to have been worth it this time!