Claire's Horsey, Mo

When Claire turned one I got her a giant stuffed horse. She showed no interest in it so I put it away. Well yesterday I pulled it out during Claire's nap. I put him on the coffee table in the living room and when she woke up, I told her that I had a surprise for her. As we walked down the stairs Claire noticed the horse and said with total wonder "horsey." She then hurried down the stairs and ran to the horse, smothering it in hugs and kisses! I asked her what his name was and she said "Mo!" Now Claire and Mo are inseparable! It is so cute! Last night he sat with us while I read books to Claire before bed. One book had a similar looking horse in it and she kept pointing to the horse saying "Mo." Then, I had put him down when I stood up to sing and put her to bed and Claire said "Mo???". I had to pick him up and carry him around, too, during our songs! Needless to say, Mo slept in Claire's bed. Just had to share!

Things are getting better!

Well, since my last post things have gotten better...or let's just say they haven't gotten worse (other than that horrible loss to the Beavers on Thursday). Claire is doing great! She's become a little parrot and we need to really watch what we say. She's started to play make believe with her dolls and stuffed animals. I bought her a tea set, dining set and some baby bottles yesterday. She's a very good mommy and makes sure all of her babies are well fed. She even burps one of the babies. I told her the tall glasses are champagne and she hands Link a glass of champagne when I tell her to. Too cute! :)

Last Saturday Krista got married! She and Erik had a beautiful wedding and Link, Claire and I were all in it. I was a little worried about Claire going to down the aisle (I held her hand) but she was AWESOME! She realized everyone was watching her and marched down on her tippy toes. She did not fuss or cry once the entire day and loved dancing to the band. I was so proud of her!

On the job front, I'm waiting to hear back from one company. I'm hoping it works out because I can keep working from home. I should hear soon. Wish me luck! I also have a little work from a company called Risi, so that will help. I'm trying to remain positive. :)

Not much else to report. Link is into his football mode at this point...playing his football game every Friday night to determine the score of the SC games. We took Claire to the Ohio State game, which was fun but a lot of work for me!

I'll post again later when I have more to share! Oh, and of course, here is some new video footage of the Monkey!

It has been a tough month...

For those of you who haven't heard, I lost the baby last week. I started spotting on Labor Day (of all days) and saw the doctor the next day. They couldn't find a heartbeat or a baby on the ultrasound and I probably lost the baby about a week before. I had a D&C on Wednesday. It has been rough but we are getting through it. I think God that this happened the second time around. Claire and Link keep me going every day and I know that I can have a normal, healthy pregnancy since I've already done it once. I guess this just wasn't the right time. So bottom line, we are doing pretty well.

Onto happier stuff. Yesterday I met my cousin, Katie, and her daughter Alex at South Coast Plaza. We took the girls on the carousel and they LOVED it. In fact, we went six times because the girls loved it so much! I'm posting some of the pictures because the turned out pretty cute. Unfortunately, Claire wasn't too happy when we were all done. She had a lovely meltdown and kept screaming "More of that horsey!" I knew it was going to happen so all I could do was laugh! Enjoy the videos and the pics! :)

Oh, what a month!

Let's just say that this has been a very, very challenging month! Starting Aug. 1 Claire got sick. She ended up puking for 7 straight days. Once she was over it, Link got it. They were both starting to feel better when I got news that all of my freelance work was being pulled in-house, thus leaving me jobless. Oh, the stress! I'm still waiting to hear on a job so keep your fingers crossed for me! Well, the next day...yup, one day later, Claire developed a horrible, croup-like cough. It went on for a week and she was finally diagnosed with a sinus infection (she also has some kind of bad rash on her right thigh that is driving her nuts). The dr. put her on Amoxicillin, which she HATES! On top of all of that, on Tuesday night she decided that it was time to get up for good at 12:30 am. She did NOT go back to sleep until 8:00 am. And neither did I. Oh, and our credit card number was stolen AND Sweet Pea still refuses to poop in her litter box so we have to get rid of her. I CANNOT WAIT for September! To make matters worse, our first football game is in August. Let's hope our black cloud stays out of Virginia!

So on a happier...or more fun note, Claire had two milestones yesterday. First, she took her very first shower with me and LOVED it! I got it on video (her, not me). I also converted her crib into a toddler bed. She climbed out twice on Tuesday night and I'm too worried about her hurting herself. Last night was bumpy, but she made it through and did not fall out. :)

Stay tuned for happier posts. My next doctor appointment is next Thursday. :)

I heard the heartbeat!

Let me just stay, this last week has been ROUGH! Claire ended up puking from Saturday, Aug. 2-Friday, Aug. 8. She's been crabby because she doesn't feel well and I haven't slept because I worry about her. On top of that, Link got the flu on Saturday, Aug. 9 and he's even crabbier than Claire when he's sick. UGH! I think I'll move to Australia! But, there was a ray of sunshine in this week that was constantly cloud-covered. I heard the baby's heartbeat!

I went to the doctor on Thursday. I told her that Claire had been sick and that I'd probably lose it if I didn't hear the heartbeat. This kind woman (it was the nurse practitioner) was AWESOME! She started off by saying that in the 15 years that she's been doing this, she's only heard a heartbeat at 8 1/2 weeks with the doppler about 5-10 times. But she was determined. It took two tries and a trip to the bathroom but we finally heard it. It was amazing and instantly put my mind to rest. This baby is a keeper!

On a Claire note, these Baby Einstein videos are leaving a lasting impression! First she started saying "outback" and now she's trying to say goodbye in different languages! I've posted a video for your entertainment! :) ***Note: Claire is obsessed w/the camera so she freaks out when she sees me with it, hence the end of the video.

My poor baby!

Claire has been so sick these past few days! She started throwing up on Saturday around 8:00 pm. It lasted until Monday night/Tuesday morning at 12:30 am. She just isn't herself and is so lethargic. Mommy & Daddy aren't getting any sleep, either, so we are all pretty worn down. Hopefully she'll feel better tomorrow. I'm posting a pic of her right after she threw up yesterday morning. Poor thing!

That Little Monkey!!!!

So today I have two funny things to share about Claire. First of all, on Sunday we were watching Baby Einstein. She loves the Baby Noah DVD that has tons of animals. In the DVD they visit different regions and tell you about the animals in each region. Well, apparently Claire has decided that the outback is her favorite region. Whenever we get to the outback she yells "OUTBACK!" So we trained her...now if you ask her where a kangaroo lives she'll answer "outback!" So funny what they pick up!

On a separate note, we've come to discover that our nickname for her, "Monkey", is very fitting. On Tuesday morning at 4:00 am she scaled her crib and came down the hall. I heard her say "mommy" really close by and there she was, standing in the hall! I think she was pretty darn proud of herself, too! :D

As for the baby who has yet to be nicknamed (that will come after we hear a strong heartbeat), s/he seems to be doing well. The kid has been giving mommy an internal workout...I'm exhausted! I'm also starting to feel a bit queasy these days but it doesn't last long. Only a week to go until we see the doctor!