Out of Quarantine!

Tasting a leaf
Waiting on the front porch for Daddy to come home

Trying to grab the camera

Enjoying grapes and mac & cheese

Well, things have been pretty puny around here. After Claire was starting to get over her cold, she got some sort of stomach virus. Poor thing! She threw up Friday while Bucky's parents were keeping her. We got her some medicine and she was fine Saturday. So, we all worked around the house trying to get ready for spring. Bucky is re-doing our screened in porch. It is going to be AWESOME. Mrs. Street helped me arrange the front porch too. It looks really good. BIG difference. I will post some pictures once everything gets done and we plant everything. I am really excited because I know we are going to be spending a lot of time outside. That has always been Claire's favorite place. Sunday, I worked so the Streets stayed to help with Claire. She threw up again. Sad. Monday, we literally stayed at the house all day. I thought it was going to be good. I really needed to clean and organize some stuff. Claire went down for her nap really easy and had been asleep for 1.5 hours. I got some stuff done, but not everything (no shower). She woke up crying. I was hoping she would go back to sleep because she does that sometimes. She got more upset so I went to get her to discover diarrhea everywhere. Poor thing! So, she pretty much wanted to be held the rest of the afternoon. I didn't get much done but I did enjoy spending time with Claire. Ashley came to keep Claire for a couple of hours this morning. I went to the gym, got my haircut, and went to the dentist. It is amazing what you can get done when you are solo! Claire and I went to Natalie's birthday playgroup. We wanted to go to her big party on Saturday, but we didn't want to expose anyone. Claire was glad to see her friends. She played and has been eating better today. Hopefully she is back to normal. We played outside this afternoon. Claire sat on the front porch and played with leaves for a good 30 minutes. She probably would still be out there!

Enjoy the beautiful weather!

Back to Normal

This is as far out as Claire made it in the snow
You can't see, but the horses are in the barn

My favorite picture looking up our driveway

The Harkins came to Auburn this weekend

Claire at BabyGym the day we found out she was sick.

We had a great weekend. I was off Thur-Sun which is awesome! Claire and I had a great day Saturday but Bucky did not. He left us early to go to a field trial in Union Springs. Not 5 minutes after he left us, the weather started getting bad. Claire and I watched it and actually ended up sitting in our office during tornado sirens. We heard on the news that a tornado touched down at Chewacla State Park which is about 3 miles from our house. No damage here, thankfully. Just the loss of cable for a couple of hours. I decided not to go meet Bucky for lunch since the weather was iffy. Instead, Claire and I met our friends, the Harkins for lunch. We then went and let Claire and Smith play. While we were there, Bucky called to inform us that the buyer was bringing the truck back. Not good. Bucky was really mad and has been for a few days. He was a really young kid and didn't know what he was buying. I think his dad got involved and now we have to start all over. I knew it was too easy. Anyways, Allie came up and we watched Nights in Rodanthe while the cable was out. After that, we went to eat at Good Ol' Boys with the whole Harkins family. We always have so much fun with them and we miss them a lot. Everyone came back to our house to eat birthday cake for Mary's birthday.

Sunday, I got up and went to church to help with the nursery. Even though there was snow, there were a few people at church but no babies. Claire stayed home with Bucky and slept for 3 hours. They didn't need me in the nursery, so I enjoyed the contemporary service by myself. It was nice to not have to worry about an unhappy baby in the nursery. I came home and we ate lunch. Bucky and I played with Claire and Robbie and Allie came up for a while. I went to the gym and then the boys rode horses in the snow. Everything looked really pretty, but we didn't get out and play like everyone else. It kept snowing/raining/sleeting. I knew Claire would get wet and cold so we just ran outside for a quick picture. I honestly wouldn't have made one if Allie hadn't asked.

UPDATE: Claire is doing much better. I can tell she feels good. She has been playing, napping, and eating really well. I feel bad I didn't take her earlier. She seems like herself now. She is so sweet and really enjoys attention from me, Bucky, and Ashley. I am glad she is better. I was worried!

Please keep our friend, Laura, in your prayers. She is 36 weeks and in labor right now. Her BP has been high so pray for a good, safe delivery.

First Time for Everything...

Well, Claire is sick for the first time since she was born. She has been a little puny lately, but I thought she was cutting teeth. Thursday, we went to the pediatrician to make sure she wasn't anemic. When we got there, they weighed her (19lb 9 oz/5oth percentile) and checked her fever 102. I was shocked! She was showing no signs of anything other than her lack of a morning nap. They drew blood to check her iron. Dr. Greer check her ears. Perfect. Swabbed her nose. No flu. He was about to let me go until he checked her blood work. Her iron was a little low, but nothing to worry about. But, her white blood cell count was elevated to 15,000 (normal is 4,000-11,000). All he could figure is that it is some kind of sinus/cold infection. She is congested and her throat was red. He gave me an antiobiotic. I was not happy about that. I have put a lot of time, effort, and money into keeping her well. I guess we did really well to get her to 10 months with a clean bill of health. I am still kind of wondering what we are treating. But, I completely trust him.

We got the antibiotoic and headed home. Claire didn't take a good nap Thursday afternoon. I could tell she didn't feel well when she sat in my lap on the couch for about an hour. She NEVER does that. We watched a movie and ate a snack. She didn't sleep well last night because her fever wouldn't break. She had spit the liquid Tylenol out, so at 1:30am Bucky went to Wal-Mart to get the fast melts. She took one and went back to sleep until 7:30am this morning. We have had a pretty low key day. Claire and I went to Wal-Mart and hung out here. Bucky sold his old truck. We almost lost the sale because we couldn't find the title. Finally, after the guy had left and headed home, we found it. Bucky went and met him and is SOLD. Thank goodness! We are going to the field trial tomorrow in Union Springs if the weather allows. Hope everyone has a great weekend! I put up some pictures later.

10 Months Old

10 months old!

Riding around in Daddy's old truck which is for sale if you want it!

Playing at Eilliana's

Looking outside at Eilliana's dog

Natalie and Claire

Stealing hair bows

Claire turned 10 months old this past Saturday. Time is really flying by. We have about one birthday party a week these days. Sometimes, we don't get to go to them. But, we always try. It is so much fun to see your friends children hit that HUGE milestone of being a year old. I can't believe Claire will be 1 soon. I don't think I am ready. In some ways, Claire is a big girl. But in some ways she is still a little baby who needs her Mom.

We have been busy the past week. We went to a birthday party and baby gym on our days off last week. This weekend, the Streets came to see Claire. We hung around here and ran some errands on Saturday. Sunday, we went to church at 9:30 and Claire cried pretty much the whole time in the nursery. She usually sleeps from 8:30-10:30 so it was not a good time for her. I joined the gym this weekend which was way overdue. I used to workout all the time before we moved to our current house. I am not very good a dieting or watching what I eat. The only way for me to keep things in check is to workout. I am going to try to go 3-4 times a week, but only on my days off. I decided it would be too hard on me and Claire to squeeze it in before or after work. We'll see. I went Sunday and Claire really liked staying in the daycare. There were some older children which she ate up. She thinks she is big.

Sunday night, our neighbor Robbie and his girlfriend Allie came to eat. We have made that a Sunday night ritual. Claire was not very good. She has been super whiny and clingy the past few days. She has been sleeping a good bit during the day which is out of character. She has a bad habit of getting up around 5am. I try everything I know to get her back to sleep. I am usually unsuccessful, so we get up. She then whines until her morning nap around 8am. It is not a fun morning, especially when I work until 10pm. I am not sure if she is growing, cutting teeth, or doesn't feel well. I am taking her to the pediatrician on Thursday to check everything out. She hasn't been since she was 6 months old, so I figure it is about time. Hopefully, it is nothing.

Hope everyone has a great week! Happy 10 months baby Claire! We love you!

27 Years...

My Mom and Dad came down to spend a long weekend with us

We went to eat a Long Horn (my request) Sunday night

Hanging out on the swing

Claire and Gran spent the weekend together while I worked. The men finished putting up the railing on our screened in porch.

Claire came to see me on Valentine's Day at work

PePaw and Claire

Gran and Claire

Well, another year has passed. I am officially 27 years old. Each year that goes by is better than the last, but also goes faster than the last. I have to say, I am probably the happiest I have ever been in my whole life. I am surrounded by a wonderful family, good friends, and most recently, the true calling in my life. Motherhood. It is what truly defines me as a person. I have had a great year. I feel incredibly blessed by each day I have. I spend most of my time with my daughter, friends, and my wonderful husband. The only thing I could ask for is more time with my family. Thank you to everyone that touches my life, makes me smile, and makes me want to get out of bed everyday. I love each and every one of you.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Valentine's Parties

I entered this picture in Regis and Kelly's Beautiful Baby Search
Claire and her best friend, Bud

Stealing people's toys

Making Valentine's cards with Daddy

Claire pushing Natalie out of the way

Ruca and Claire

Claire, Graham, and Camden

We have had a fun past two days with all of our Valentine's parties. Wednesday, we had our play group over for Valentine's Day and for Graham's 1st Birthday. It was a lot of fun. We had all of our friends here (minus a few) to play and eat. We always have so much fun with our playgroup. After they left, Claire took a 2.5 hour nap which was nice. She woke up kind of whiny, but changed her attitude when Daddy got home. We ate supper and then Bucky helped us make Valentine's cards for our baby gym. He went to town and had 10 cards done in less than 2 minutes. That was easier than I thought. Claire went to bed and she let me sleep until 6:30 this morning. That is a nice change from 5am. We got up and played. After her morning nap, we went to Baby Gym. On our way there, we saw a dog get hit by a big truck. It was the worst thing I have ever seen. I can't get it out of my head. Poor dog. He was just looking the wrong way. Anyways, we had fun at baby gym. We exchanged Valentine's and made some crafts. Always fun. Claire and I ran into TJ Maxx. I swear I could spend hours and thousands in that store. We got away with 2 books. Then we went to the hospital for a weekly group. We had fun playing with everyone. Claire is now one of the older babies that goes. She seems so big and active compared to the little, sweet ones. She is all over the place. In people's diaper bags, playing with car seats, and begging for Cheerios. It keeps me busy. Needless to say, I am no longer sitting with her while she plays. I am chasing right behind her making sure she doesn't beat anyone up for a toy or something. We had a fun afternoon together. We swang outside and played with toys. I really enjoy my days off with her, especially when I can just play and not do housework. I will catch up on that tomorrow!

*If anyone has any suggestions on:

~Disciplining

~Spitting out food

Please let me know. Claire is a sweet baby, but we have to correct her sometimes.

Long Time, No Posts

Claire hugging the ball

In action

Claire (9months) and Berkley (2)

One of her new favorite ways to be held by Daddy

Celebrating Birthdays!


Gran (Ga-Ga) and Claire

Brady (2)

Claire was even happy to see her exersaucer

Well, the past two weeks have been a little hectic. Mainly, because we were in Birmingham the past 2 weekends. It just kind of messes up our little 'routine' and I use the word loosely. We went to Bham the first weekend in February to celebrate family birthdays with Bucky's side of the family. We enjoyed a busy Saturday seeing my mom, sister, and brother (and families) and then going to see Bucky's mom, sister, and cousins. We always have to pack a lot in when we are in Bham to get to see everyone (or more importantly, for them to see Claire). We came back early Sunday morning last week. Then I had a horrible work week. I worked Mon, Tues, Wed. I know I shouldn't complain, but it was rough! We had sick people and then are busiest week of the month. I was glad to leave Wednesday and not have to return until tomorrow. Claire and I got up early Thursday morning, packed the car, and headed back to Birmingham. We hung out with my brother and his family and Bucky's mom on Thursday and Friday. Saturday, we went to Decatur for a family baby shower for my cousin. Two of my first cousins (brother and sister) are both having babies soon. It was really nice to see them and my aunt and uncle. I am excited for their new babies! Saturday, when we got back, I ran up to see Brooke Patterson. She is doing amazing. I haven't seen her in forever, so it was nice to visit with her. This morning, Claire got up at her usual 5am. She was very whiny and my mom and dad weren't feeling well. So, we got in the car about 7:30am and came back home. Claire has been in a good mood since she's been home. I think she was ready to come home. We have been playing, doing laundry, and sitting outside with the dogs. It is our kind of Sunday.

Hope everyone has a great week! We have some Valentine's Parties this week so I will be sure and post some pictures.