Wednesday 28 November 2012

Thanksgiving!


Thanksgiving was so much fun this year! I have to admit, last year I was having some baby blues. Claire was born the week before quiet early and she was in the NICU. There is nothing harder than having to be discharged from the hospital and leaving without your baby. But having to spend her first holiday with her in the hospital was an extra sting to the heart. So this year Thanksgiving was a much happier day for me. I feel like it was her "first" Thanksgiving since she was actually home, even if it wasn't.

 We had a nice small Thanksgiving at home this year. Which was nice, no pressure just family and we all enjoyed it. In the morning we watched the parade and after that was over my sister and I went to work in the kitchen and my husband and brother in law went to work on the turkey in the back yard. On our menu was fried turkey, ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce, rolls, rum cake and pumpkin pie. Everything turned out perfect!Only one snafu with a broken thermometer but nothing major. We all enjoy our delicious feast (including Claire). Then spent the evening watching movies.


Our little turkey!

Watching the parade.

Watching daddy and uncle cook the turkey (don't mind the milk face)

Enjoying her feast!



Wednesday 21 November 2012

Minnie Mouse Birthday Bash

Claire's birthday party was on Saturday and it was a hit. Almost everyone we invited showed up and she had the most amazing time. It was wonderful to see how many people she is blessed to have in her life. The day was a happy and emotional one for me just thinking about what she was doing last year.

This time last year I was spending my days in the NICU day in and day out and this year I was watching my baby girl crawl around chasing her friends and laughing away. Not to mention last year she was getting liquid fat by IV in the NICU and this year eating her birthday cake. I hope you enjoy the pictures of her special day. The smile on her face made it all worth it. I love her so much!

Minnie Mouse Birthday Bash
Claire's Corner
Some of the details
Backyard
From birth to 12 months
Highlights from opening gifts.
Cake Time
Candid of our 1 year old!

Friday 16 November 2012

Happy 1st Birthday Claire Lucille

Hard to believe that one year ago she surprised us all when she came into this world early! She has been through a lot in one year and continues to amaze us everyday. She has brought us pure love and joy! She is our world and we love her more than she will ever know! Happy 1st Birthday Claire Lucille!



At birth she was 4lbs 4oz and 17in long and now at 1 year she is 16lbs 10oz and 28in long. She has quadrupled her weight which is amazing even though she isn't on the growth chart yet. She loves to eat, lately her favorites are cottage cheese and pineapples, quesadillas, mixed veggies and toast. She is now on whole milk (fortified for extra calories though) and loves it. Some of her favorite things is going to the park to swing and go down the slides, her sit to stand walker, Minnie Mouse and Elmo.

Her Minnie Mouse Birthday Bash is tomorrow and I am so excited. I made all her decorations, there will be lots of yummy food, friends, family, presents (of course) and I can't wait to see her smash into her cake. A lot of pictures to come from today and her party so stay tuned!


Wednesday 14 November 2012

Prematurity Awareness Month

Did you know 1 in 8 babies in the US are born premature? Claire is 1 in 8, weighing barely 4lbs when she was born. She has struggled to overcome some of the issues resulting from her prematurity but with the help of modern medicine, an exceptional NICU and a team of amazing doctors she is happy and healthy.

November is Premature Awareness month. I am thankful for organizations like the March of Dimes that work to help mothers have full term babies and research the problems the threaten babies lives.



Monday 12 November 2012

Sneak Peek

Here's a sneak peek of some of the decorations I've made for Claire's birthday party this coming Saturday. A lot more pictures to come, so be on the look out!



Tuesday 6 November 2012

Typical Day

Oh how my days have changed since I was a working mom. Before my days were non stop and exhausting, I didn't usually sit down until around 9:30/10:00 at night. I really don't miss those days. My job yes but not the scrambling to get everything done and ready for the next day. By the time the weekend arrived my husband and I were so exhausted from the week we didn't want to do anything. 

Now that I stay home with Claire and run everything in our home my days are filled with order, flexibility and Claire's doctors appointments (no kidding she has one almost once at week). It was a hard transition at first but after a month or so I settled into my new role. Myself and our family is so much more stress free now and we can actually enjoy our evenings and weekends together. I've also actually been able to go on extra trips home to California for family events, which before I always missed out on because of work. 

Thought i'd share a typical day for Claire. It's always interesting to see other babies schedules especially if your trying to work out a schedule for your own. Of course it's subject to change depending on her appointments and other events we have going on like MOPS. But this will give you a basic idea of how  we spend our days now. 

Claire's Typical Schedule

8:45/9:00: Wake up
9:00: Morning sippy cup (6oz) and breakfast 
9:20-10:30: Play time (toys, books, sit n' stand walker and her jumper)
10:30-12:00: Morning Nap
12:00-1:00: Snack time and table top toys or activity center
1:00: Midday sippy cup (6oz) and lunch
1:30-3:00: Errands or walk to the park and playtime
3:00-4:30/5:00: Afternoon Nap
5:00: Evening sippy cup (6oz) and a snack
5:30-6:30: Play time
6:30: Bath time
7:15-8:30: Play time
8:30: Night bottle (6oz)
8:45/9:00: Bedtime

*She drinks water and snacks at will throughout the day*

Saturday 3 November 2012

Fall Has Arrived....

Fall has arrived, which as much as I love fall, the cold weather and the change of colors it also means all the acorns and leaves start falling in our trees. The last few weeks the acorns have been falling. We will be in our living room and just hear them one right after another drop onto the house, roll down the roof and then drop to the ground.

Christian and I had been talking about raking them up over the weekend before the leaves start to fall, when he mentioned that he wished there was something we could do with all of them besides bagging them up to throw out. That got me thinking, surely I could do something with them.  I quickly did a quick search on Pinterest and then made a trip to the craft store and whipped up this wreath! Overall i'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I'm thinking I could do something similar for a Christmas wreath too. We'll see if I feel up to it once I finish all of the projects I have going on for Claire's birthday this month.


Thursday 1 November 2012

Claire's First Halloween

Yesterday was Claire's first Halloween. Its actually also her last "first" holiday though I don't know if I count Thanksgiving since she spent that in the NICU. Anyway as usual I like to go all out! I can't help it, I love any and all holidays! Unfortunately my poor Claire Bear was sick. She has been fighting a horrible cold all week so we didn't take her out trick or treating especially since at this age it would really just be for us anyway. We spent the evening watching Halloween movies and we dressed her up in her costume to help us pass out candy to all the kids trick or treating, she loved that! All in all it was a great Halloween. I cant wait till next year since she will be walking and talking and can truly enjoy this fun holiday.

Happy Halloween from Minnie Mouse