Size, smiling, sleeping, singing, sitter and salsa...

This is the blog of 6 s'es.  Claire has now graduated to 3-6 month clothing.  She is getting so big so fast.  I miss the baby already.  She is smiling and talking a lot.  She has been sleeping through the night.  But there is a trick to that.  She is able to roll from her back to her belly now.  So every night she rolls over during the night sometime and stays asleep all night.  Claire also loves her fingers. She is definitely more of an eater than Sophia ever was.  With her talking, we have also realized that she can sing! She loves singing Twinkle, Twinkle with Momma.  

Sophia is really starting to love playing with her! She is really a great big sister.  I think we have future best friends on our hands for sure.  She always wants to help with Claire and she love talking to her when she is fussy.  It makes Claire smile.  Sophia is also very excited to be back at Julie's, her baby sitter. 

Today we made some fresh salsa and canned it.  It is too hot to try yet, but it looks delicious! Can't wait until supper. We are having enchiladas and salsa and tortilla chips! Should be yummy! I hope everyone is having a great weekend and a great Labor Day! Until next time...

And there she rolls...

Claire is officially rolling from front to back! Although the video is a bit painful to watch, I hope you enjoy it!! :) 

I am also attaching a few pictures that we took recently! 

School starts tomorrow so Sophia will be going back to daycare and Claire will start daycare full time starting tomorrow. I will miss them immensely.  We are heading outside to enjoy the fantastic weather.  Until next time...

The vacation of a lifetime...

So you are probably thinking we went to Hawaii, Europe or Australia but the fact is, we went to Des Moines! Yes, Des Moines was the vacation of a lifetime for Sophia.  She has been wanting to go to Disney World since those silly commercials came on where they show home videos of parents surprising their kids with a Disney World commercial.  She could be out of the room and if she hears those commercials she comes running yelling "Disney World, Disney World. I want to go to Disney World." So naturally seeing the Adventureland commercials, she was slightly interested.  When we told her we were going to Adventureland, she was as excited as she was seeing those Disney World commercials. 

Last Thursday, Joe worked until 3:00 and then we heading out to the big ol' city of Des Moines.  Thursday night we were set to have dinner with friends at Jethro's (a Man vs. Food restaurant) and then go swimming at the hotel.  Sophia couldn't contain herself! She was so excited.  We got back to the hotel around 9 pm and she got to swim with Joe for about 30 minutes.  We went back up to the hotel room and got ready for the next day full of fun!

Sophia getting ready to jump in the pool.

Claire at the pool.

Sophia jumping in.

Friday came fast with not enough sleep in a hotel bed. Sophia was excited to get moving.  We had breakfast and put our sunscreen on only to realize that it was going to be cloudy all day with a chance of rain.  The whole week we planned on no rain!! WHAT happened!? We went ahead and checked out and drove the 3 minutes to get there.

We parked and walked right in! Right in the gates was the carousel.  I am not going to lie when I say that I was a little choked up by Sophia's joy just walking through the gates much less going on the carousel the first time. 

 

Sophia on the carousel.

After the carousel, she went on the airplane ride.  From that, one of two things could happen: Sophia would hate the ride and be scared and we wouldn't have anything to do the rest of the day OR she would love it and want to ride every ride under the sun.  Luckily it was the second of those.  She loved it and wanted to ride ALL the rides.  We had to tell her no on a few of them.  

  Sophia's favorite ride although it may not look like it!!

She figured out that she could make it go up and down.

Riding in the semi with Daddy.

She even tried some of the more adult rides.

It started sprinkling around so we rested while watching a show about rain forest animals. She enjoyed seeing all the animals up close.  Luckily the rain stayed away except for a few sprinkles.  We did some shopping and saw some Adventureland characters before we left.

We headed out of the park around 5:00 and started making the trek to a friend's house to stay for the rest of the weekend. 

Saturday we went to the Blank Park Zoo.  Sophia loved seeing all the animals.  Her favorite animals were the monkeys and giraffes.  She actually got to feed the giraffe. 

We went to eat that night at a restaurant called The Tavern with our friends Megan and Ryan and their son Graham as well as Ryan's mom, sister and sister's boyfriend.  It was great pizza and a fun time. Then we went to MaggieMoos for a Cold Stone type ice cream.  Delish!

Joe and Ryan their their semi-matching clothes

Sunday we went to the Jordan Creek Mall for some shopping.  Sophia is quite small and we have a hard time finding jeans and pants that fit her.  I have some coupons and there were some good deals with it being the tax free weekend.  We did get a few things for both girls. We also ran into a show that was going on for Chow Gymnastics where Shawn Johnson trained. 

After a long weekend, I am happy to be home. I am sad to say that this is my last week home with my girls before school starts again.  I am not real ready to go back yet, but it is coming whether I like it or not.  Tomorrow and Thursday, both Sophia and Claire are going to the sitter for a few hours. 

Hope this finds everyone well...until next time...

Photo Book

Click here to view this photo book larger

Baptism, size 1, sadness and partytime

Claire was baptized on Saturday evening.  Other than a little wiggling, she did a great job. It was truly a fantastic time with family.  Both sets of grandparents, Joe's brother and sister-in-law Hayley (godparent), Luke, as well as Matt (godparent) and his family were there.  We are truly blessed to have such a wonderful family and had a great time celebrating at the church and then afterward at The Star in Dubuque.  

She also turned one month old this past week.  I can't believe it has already been a month.  It is unbelievable and she is growing entirely too fast.  With that said, we used our last newborn diaper and have moved on to size 1's.  I am not sure how this happened, but we want her to stop growing so fast.  

We have received some sad news in the last couple weeks.  A good friend that I worked with and just retired last year has been diagnosed with stage 3 liver cancer and the prognosis is not good.  Her family and friends are praying for a miracle.  She is a strong woman and she is loved by all that know her. 

I also received the news that a long time friend of the family has passed away at age 98.  Lyda was an amazing woman that I have had the pleasure of knowing for around 25 of my 29 years.  She was like a grandparent to me as well as her husband who passed away about 2 1/2 years ago. Life has not bee the same since he died and she missed him terribly.  I have been assured that her last days were peaceful and comfortable. She will be laid to rest on Thursday and join the love of her life for eternity. She will be missed. 

Sophia will be having her 3rd birthday party on Saturday.  Again great times with great family and friends will be had.  Sophia is excited for her Tinkerbell party even though it is over a month late! 

To close...

I know it has been awhile since I have added any pictures or posted for that matter.  I will get around to it one of these days when I get some more new pictures on here of the baptism and such.  I hope I get better at posting on here, but it seems like the days just fly by and I can't seem to get my footing.  

Until next time...

2 week appointment

Claire had her two week appointment this morning (yeah...I can't believe it has been 2 weeks already.)  She is a whopping 7 pounds 6 ounces and everything checked out great.  I am enjoying my time home with her and Sophia this summer.  Our schedule looks something like this: 

Sleep

Eat

Change diaper 

Sleep Eat 

Change diaper

Stay awake for a few minutes 

Sleep Eat 

Change Diaper

You get the point :) She is awake several hours a day not including feedings, but the majority of her day is eating and sleeping! Sophia is getting used to the idea of having a little one around.  She is still figuring out how to handle Claire without hurting her.  Sophia enjoys jumping up and down next to her head and pushing a little too hard on her. :) Needless to say...Momma and Daddy are watching her like a hawk!

We just got her pictures from the hospital in the mail.  Please enjoy them! :) 

Until next time...

Introducing Claire Alice...

So...it has been awhile since I wrote and it has been awhile since I actually had the baby, but I am now finally getting around to updating the blog.  Claire Alice was born after 21 hours of labor at 6:33 pm on June 2nd.  She was 6 pounds 10 ounces and 19 and 3/4 inches long.  We had a great stay in the hospital and have settled in well at home.  

Sophia is not sure what to think about Claire.  She tries to be a good helper, but often times gets upset when it isn't all about her.  Little does she know that she will love her little sister and always have a friend in the house! Sophia has her ups and downs, but I am sure she will adjust just fine.  

So everyone is asking about the name.  Claire is just a beautiful name with no connection to family or anything.  Alice is my grandmother's name (mom's mom) and is who I was named after.  She was an amazing woman and I wish that Joe would have been able to meet her before she passed away 7 1/2 years ago. Using her name as Claire's middle name is a perfect way to remember her. 

Now that Claire has been introduced, stay posted for updates on how life is going as a family of four. Check out the pictures of our mini-Sophia :)