Ear Infection

Claire has an ear infection. Poor baby! Last night she was coughing so much and up half the night. The only way we could get her to sleep was to hold her at an angle so I took the first shift and Michael took the second shift of holding Claire on the couch. She was so tired today! I took her in to the pedi and I was going to throw a fit if they told me that it was just a little drainage! I was not leaving there with out something to make my baby feel better!!! However the Doc took a look at her ears and said that she had an ear infection and she was giving us a prescription for an antibiotic. Michael went to the health store for some garlic oil (Thanks aunt Debra for telling me about this when I was still pregnant!) and we have just been babying her all day :) I love when she wants to cuddle :) I don't like that she is sick though. The medicine seems to be working...but we shall see.

We have a tooth!!

On Saturday Claire cut her first tooth!!! It is on the bottom in the front, it has just barely broke through the skin so when you can actually see it with out putting your finger in her mouth I will take a picture to post!!! We are pretty sure she it cutting another one - we have low grade fever, messy diapers, lots and lots of drool, and constant chewing on fingers. We shall see!

More Christmas

Christmas was so wonderful!! Claire was spoiled beyond belief!!! Here are a few pictures from the day...they are all out of order but I will label them!

Waiting on Lunch! Claire is now eating what we eat so we gave her a few crackers to hold her over until everything was fixed...she didn't mind she loves crackers!

Claire on her zebra! She thinks he is very funny!

Mimi and Pops gave Claire a Radio Flyer Wagon for Christmas! Daddy took her for a ride around the backyard. She thought she was in a parade!

My brother currently works at Texas Road House as a cook and has learned how to make AMAZING mashed potatoes! So he took on the task of making the potatoes for our lunch! He said it was a little difficult to scale it down to only 5 lbs of potatoes - but he did it and they were by far the best potatoes I have ever had!!!

Michael and I wanted to cook for our family since we were starting new traditions this year. Michael found a wonderful recipe for ham, I made his step mom's mac-n-cheese, and I made my family's squash! It was so much fun getting to cook for everyone!

Claire now has her very own stage!! It has a mirror and lights and plays 5 different songs! She has spent literally hours in front of this singing and playing

We got her a frog pod for all of her bath toys! It is too cute!

My sister got her this toy that shoots balls into the air...Claire loves it but mommy and daddy have to chase the balls all over the house.

She got more pieces to her animal train! She likes that the monkey and polar bear make noises!

I love this gift!

Here is a short video of Claire riding in the backyard. My mom is video taping and at the end doesn't know how to turn it off - so it is a little awkward...but it is still great! You also get to hear all of the adoring grandparents in the background!!!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from our home to yours!!! We had an amazing first Christmas with Claire! I will be posting more pictures later but here are a few to get us started!!!

Waiting for Santa is hard work!!!

Good thing he came!

Such a sweet baby

Who's ready for Christmas??? ME!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Claire met Santa!

Claire met Santa today...and she LOVED the big guy!!! I was nervous because we were in line with several other babies who did not love Santa. Claire likes men especially men with facial hair so I just knew that she would like him...but when there are 7 other babies screaming their heads off at the sight of Santa you begin to wonder if your little one will be as scared as everyone else. But she went right to him and was looking around like it was no big deal! The first picture is the one they took - it's not blurry in real life. The 2nd two are the ones I snapped. What a fun experience this was for her!

9 months old!

Claire is now 9 months old! I know I say it every month but I can not believe how fast these 9 months have gone by and how much she changes every day!!! We took her to the doctor for her 9 month check up. She is 29 3/4 inches long and 19 lbs 14 oz! That puts her in the 95% for height and 75% for weight. We were very thankful that there were no shots at this appointment - they did however have to prick her finger to check her iron levels. All of this came out great! The doctor was very impressed with all that she is doing and says that we have a very healthy baby. I brought up that I was still concerned with her runny nose and cough...we have taken her in 3 times now for this cough. It, thankfully, has never been in her lungs but there are still nights that it keeps her up. The doc says that it is most likely allergies and that we can start her on some allergy meds to see if they help...the even better news was that the Zyrtec guy had just come in so we have 48 days worth of samples to use! We were also given the green light to start her on some dairy products - no milk yet, but she can have cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese etc.
New Things
1. She plays patty cake!
2. She is starting to let go of furniture while standing and reaching for other things.
3. (This is my favorite) When we say our friend Patti's name she claps (b/c she's playing patty cake) but the funniest thing is when we say Michelle's name she throws her head back and does a funny belly laugh! She has done this 4 or 5 times now! We love that she associates Michelle with laughter!!!
4. She is starting to mimick inflections and new sounds.
5 She is eating cheerios
6. She understands the word no...she thinks it is funny but she understands it
7. She has started using the baby sign for "more" and understands the one for milk and all done.

Christmas with the Baze's

On Saturday we had Christmas with my mom's side of the family. We get together the Saturday before Christmas. Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures until the very end...but here are a couple!

Amanda and Claire...Claire was not being very cooperative for these pictures! But we got one Manda!

Christmas with the Haffner's

Sunday we had Christmas with Grandpa Bill and Grandma Suz. Claire had such a good time out there. She also got to eat some very yummy stuff - mac -n-cheese, ham, peas, and pumpkin pie! She loved all of it!!! Here are some of the pictures we took that day. (She also got a Pottery Barn anywhere chair that is going to be here on Christmas morning)

Claire in her Christmas dress! She is so beautiful!
Bill and Suzanne have been so great to us...they supply us with diapers for Claire. Claire loves the box that they come in and the baby on the box!

Starting on her gifts

A very soft and sweet puppy...a very fitting gift from Grandpa and Grandma

Ready for the next gift!New pink Mary Janes!

Getting the hang of the paper stuff

The look on her face is priceless

She LOVES her new brown and pink coat and hat

Claire got this really cool box that plays a different song every time you flip it.
Michael got a light saber building kit...need I say more?

Claire and Grandpa Bill

Claire has "met" Bart once before - but she was 2 or 3 months old...She really loved this big guy!

She just kept running her fingers through his hair and laughing!

Daddy quit playing with his light saber long enough to let Claire play for a minute :)

Such a happy baby

"Hey I'm really good at texting Grandpa Bill...let me try"

"Mommy it's been a long day...I'm ready for bed"

An Amazing Birthday!!!

Today my amazing students threw me a birthday party with all the trimmings! I had Disney Princess placemats, cups, plates, and napkins!They invited my family to come! Claire LOVED all of the attention she got...and what all she got to eat!

One of my moms (who is beyond belief) made me a 4 tier rice krispy treat cake, with candles!!! (Look at Claire licking her lips!!!)

My kids brought me gifts!

And moms came the night before and decorated my door! It says "Pretty in Pink" - which I LOVE!

Today I was truly overwhelmed by the love my students and their parents showed me! My kids wanted to make today extra special for me and they did! It was almost as if they were told by their parents to compliment me every ten minutes - b/c that is what it felt like today! I feel truly honor and blessed beyond belief to be teaching in Aledo!!!

On top of all this my team made me lunch - Poppy Seed Chicken!! My mom left work early and went and picked up Claire from daycare so that she could be apart of my big day! My sister came - that was very special to me! And my mom took us out to eat at one of my favs - Olive Garden!! Thank you everyone for making my day special!!

Happy Anniversary!

Six years ago today I married my best friend! It was one of the most wonderful days of my life! I am so thankful that God blessed me with Michael - and He knew the plans for our life even before we did! This year has been the most amazing year of our marriage. One year ago I was pregnant with Claire and we were living in Cleburne. We now have the most amazing daughter and are finally living in the community we minister in! Michael and I have learned so much about each other this past year and our marriage has become even stronger! When we think back to 6 years ago we both just laugh - and are very thankful that God taught us how to serve one another better and to communicate with one another more effectively.
The best part of this year!

What a difference a year can make!

Just some pics from the week

This was from our youth party. The theme was tacky Christmas sweaters!Such a happy baby

I love my life!!!

We have started pulling her hair back into a clip and I think it makes her looks so big!

They melt my heart!