Claire 4 months

Last Monday Claire turned 4 months and I am just getting to updating her info! I have managed to lose our camera so I was holding off to add some pictures. Unfortunately I cannot find it so cell phone quality pictures will have to work for now.

Claire had her 4 month checkup and shots yesterday. She is now 15 pounds (63%) and 25 inches long (68%)! It is absolutely amazing how quickly babies grow and change. I am so glad I am soaking it all in this time more than ever. She did wonderful with shots, no fevers or much fussiness and she didn't even need tylenol!

At 4 months Claire is sleeping like a champ! I couldn't be happier with this. Typically she goes to bed between 8 and 9 and sleep until 7. The last 2 nights it has been 7-7:30pm to 7 am! I love a baby who loves her sleep! In turn, our nap schedule is not always the best and she is a very light sleeper during the day but I'll take it.



She is still 100% breastmilk for feedings but also started eating rice cereal Sunday. She LOVED it and tore it up! I expected some resistance or funny face but she acted like she has been eating from a spoon since she was born. She does want to take over the spoon so we are still super messy.


Cloth diapering is still on track, we even got a blue jean pattern one. Pictures to come if I ever find that camera! She is still in small size but I need to start preparing for the next size up. If we do not have more babies or have a boy, I will have quite a diaper sale!

Rolling over is not a priority for this girl! I know she is capable of it but she just does not care. She has rolled from belly to back several times but probably not for a month. She will roll from her back almost all the way over to belly then just lay there. All she needs is a swing of one leg and she would be over. She gets floor time everyday but could probably use more. I am just afraid for her since she is likely to have big sisters doing cartwheels over her head, no joke!

Claire can grab and hold onto almost everything now. It is amazing to watch this develop, it literally happens overnight. One day she realized she could do it and nothing within reach is safe! And of course, it all goes straight to her mouth.

With all of this good comes some bad. We have a problem.....of a big kind. I have never dealt with this with any of our babies......we have a thumb sucker! She seems to go for it while sleeping but she is just so cute doing it!!

And look at that nice round head, I know my anencephaly mommies understand! I don't think I will ever take that for granted again, it could be the size of a bowling ball for all I care, as long as it's all there!

OAP Week 3!

Operation After Picture Week 3

I'm very excited to report my 4 pound weight loss in the last 2 weeks!! I was too busy in the beginning of last week to weigh myself so when I finally did I saw 4 lbs and it stayed off!

My goal 25 pounds total and 10 pounds by Christmas. So yay! Only 6 more to go in about 5 weeks is attainable. I am not getting as much exercise as I would like. I was able to get a day of Turbo in and some walking this week. I have been eating much better overall and hope when the exercise is stepped up the results come in faster.

I am keeping this one short, so much cleaning to do this morning. Have an amazing week!!!

OAP Week 2

OAP or Operation After Picture, Week 2 is here! Sadly, I have been so busy the last 2 mornings that I have forgotten to do my weigh in. Mornings are very critical for this timing. I have to empty my bladder and pump off whatever Claire does not eat before I weigh myself. Funny as it sounds, it makes at least a 2 lb difference!

Here's how last week went:

Monday-Did a short Turbo Jam video and had a blast! I love this workout and thought I could handle more but did not want to push my luck.

Tuesday-I know I did something but cannot remember! Hello MommyBrain!

Wednesday-Met with a friend at the rec center in Effingham to walk. At first I thought it was a long shot because Claire was just not in the mood. I got her fed and we were able to get some laps in. We also added in lunges and squats. HOLY MOLY! My legs were just not ready for the amount I did, which is still small compared to where I left off.

Thursday-Hurt so bad that the thought of getting up and down off of furniture left me standing for long periods of time and/or not getting up unless I absolutely had to. No scheduled exercise but I did try to work my legs in the hotel pool.

Friday-Still tortured walking, standing, sitting, ect. My wonderful hubby really massaged my legs and it was a life saver! Now I can get busy again this week since I can actually walk and using stairs at church was not a torture chamber for me.

Weekend-LAZY LAZY LAZY :P

I will post weight loss next week when I rememeber to weigh myself! I hope if you are joining on this journey, you are having great success!!

A Night Away

Last night we had a much past due night away. Makayla had no school Friday and Greg was staying in Champaign for work so we all ran away again. Champaign is only about an hour and a half away but Miss Claire did not approve of this journey apparently and cried half the way there.
This was a low key getaway so Greg and the big girls went to pick up pizza while I fed Claire in the hotel room. After dinner we hit the pool. This is always the highlight of an overnight stay for Makayla and Hannah and it was Claire's first time in the pool.

Check out the swim diaper!


Daddy and his girls going down the elevator



Claire loved the pool, it was a little cool but as long as she had Mommy she was a happy baby



"Mommy, help me!!!"



Makayla loved the "hot, little pool"


I was pleasantly surprised that everyone slept so great. Claire did not wake up and the girls did not even try to fight going to bed. I was woken up in the morning by Hannah standing by my head telling me "I like staying at the hotel but I like staying at grandma Judy's, grandma and grandpas and home more than the hotel."

After breakfast we headed back home and Daddy went back to work. On the way home we stopped in Arcola. Since this is this a huge Amish area, I thought it would be fun to try to find horses and buggies out. We did not see any but we really should have driven over to Arthur for this adventure. Arthur is not too far but Claire was starting to get cranky and I was not sure where to stop to feed her so we got back on the interstate.

We stopped to see our favorite veteran in Mattoon on the way home, my great-grandpa. It was neat to talk to the girls about Veterans Day. They now know what veterans are and they were so excited that they knew so many!

The girls with their great-great grandpa. Hannah is being very difficult with pictures lately and as long as I have her in one, I do not push for too many.


Claire and Bob, sharing wisdom


Now we are home sweet home, Makayla and Hannah are staying the night with grandparents. It will be awhile before our next adventure, darn school! But I'm sure the timing will be just right when we all need a break :)

Lazy Day

This is about all we are getting accomplished today in this house! Claire is napping on my belly, Hannah is snuggled up with a blanket on my feet, cartoons are playing. We do not do enough lounging and I feel a little worn out so here we are! I just wish Makayla was home with us too :(



I need to go grocery shopping so I'm debating venturing out to Subway for lunch but not sure if I even want to do that. We have more than enough food to get through the rest of the month, I'm sure, but the easy stuff is gone and it will take some preparation.
Hannah and I have decided Subway is on the menu. If you see us out, don't judge my comfy clothes or Hannah's non-matching clothes. She has a purple leopard shirt and pink sequined tulle skirt. I have just started letting the girls pick their own clothes and most of the time I cannot ignore combos like this. She will not let me take a picture, this blur is the best I have!

Operation After Picture: Week 1

Last summer, after I had Olivia, I began my first round of Operation After Picture. What this means is that I am ready to lose some baby weight and working toward an "after picture" that I can feel proud of :) Fortunately I did not reach that first goal because I have my sweet little Claire to show for it. But now Claire is out of my body and I'm ready to shed the evidence that she was in there!!!

I typically do not share my weight with anyone but since I am turning over a new leaf, here's a picture to start this journey.....

Seriously though, my goal is 25 pounds to lose. I would love to lose at least 10 by Christmas, which is completely doable if I lose about 2 pounds per week.

It will be a challenge this time of year to stay motivated to do enough exercise at home but I am hoping blogging on Mondays will help keep me accountable. At this time gym memberships are just not in the budget but I am pulling all the knowledge that I already have and going fully in!

Please say a little prayer for me that I am actually physically able to exercise at home. While pregnant with Claire, I developed pelvic pain for the first time. By the end of the day, if not sooner, I would be unable to walk and get up and down of the couch. Sometimes just walking from the living room to our bedroom would be nearly impossible and I would have to roll myself in bed because I could not lift my own legs up. I have not fully recovered but I have confidence that I will not push past my limits and will only work to make myself stronger.

Feel free to share some of your own weight loss journey with me, we can help encourage each other!!!

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Phillipians 4:13

Halloween Weekend!

As always, our family had a busy busy weekend. I love Halloween and just about any reason to do something fun as a family. I love picking the costumes and getting the girls dressed up and all the festivities that come along with it.

Friday night was slow and relaxed at home since it was game #7 for the World Series. I had one happy hubby though when the Cardinals won!!! He was very excited knowing the last 3 times the Cardinals won the World Series were the same years he, Makayla and Claire were born.

Saturday was a great day but we had tons of running to do. Makayla and Hannah had sold Krispy Kreme Donuts as a fundraiser for their cheer team. We did not sell that many but got all those healthy donuts delivered! We had the Altamont Halloween parade Saturday afternoon with Step by Step. It was a great weekend for weather, it was a little windy but tons of sunshine! I got pictures of the girls on the float after it was over. The studio got 1st place and Best of Show for the float, at least I think that's what the two awards were!


Sunday afternoon they were in the Effingham Halloween parade which we almost missed because sleepy mommy took a long nap! We did make it though but the girls left the parade candy in the back seat. I met them half way through to give them the candy and walked the rest of the way with them. That evening we took the bigger girls to Panic in the Park while my grandma came to sit with Claire. The park is only a block from our house so we walked there. I did not think it was a great idea but the girls had seen the stuff getting set up and were begging for over a week to go. We had to carry them after about 2 minutes into it but we survived with no tears until the chainsaw at the end, haha.

Of course Monday was the biggest day of all, trick or treating!!!! This was probably my favorite year for it since having kids. Makayla and Hannah were excited to say "Trick or Treat!", last year they were still really shy about it. We had planned on using a theme for the whole family but the girls really wanted to pick out their own costumes.

Makayla was a cowgirl


Hannah was a purple bat but the wings broke Sunday so she was calling herself a cat.


Claire was a baby piglet, I absolutely love animal costumes for the first year!


Claire was asleep within half an hour and stayed sleeping for awhile, then she was over trick or treating and ready for bed. What can I say? This girl loves her routine!




And a family picture, they didn't turn out well but at least we have one :) The girls wanted us to have costumes on so I told them our sweatshirts made us college students, haha, that satisfied them.


Needless to say, the girls are candied out and still on a sugar high. Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!!!