Just Chillin'

We bought a new chair for our living room. Here is Clara, the first to test it out.


And I just love taking photos of her so any chance I get, I take one or some. Getting a new chair is not that big a deal but it makes for a cute photo with a baby.

Can't wait, though, till her Aunt Melissa comes to town and takes some photos of her. I just don't have the eye or the equipment to get really really good ones. Check out her website: http://www.sweetpeaphoto.biz/ , she is really good.


Some more onesies for Clara. The first one is so silly, from her Grandma and Grandpa B. The second one, "Bear Doggie," is by her Aunt Jessica. Thanks Aunt Jessica for the onesie dedicated to Bear.

And you gotta love her face in the doggie photo one, looks like she is having her mug shot taken. It is so funny, she just gets this look of concentration sometimes, so cute. I also think she wonders why there are so many flashes in front of her eyes all the time.


Just a cute photo of daddy and Clara bonding :) . He is telling her all about life, teaching her all there is to know about music probably.

And not all photos we take these days are of the baby. Here is Bear, just chillin. We love you Baby Bear. You are our number one doggie :) .

Hawaii

I cannot believe I didn't write a post on Hawaii yet. Guess my mind is totally on one thing-person :) - these days. I could live in Hawaii, for a few years at least. A beautiful state. Mike and I went there for our honeymoon. We started on the island of Oahu, then went to the Big Island-Hawaii, then to Kauai. Each island is its unique self. These photos don't do the place justice.

A sunset on Mauna Kea on the Big Island. A sunset at Ke'e Beach on Kauai.

Christmas in Hawaii, 80 degrees and sunny.

Outside our hotel room in the Big Island. At the volcano on the Big Island.

We went to Pearl Harbor and took a helicopter ride in Kauai. We stayed busy but it was also very relaxing.

The next big trip for us, to Alaska. I want to visit that state too.

Someone is waking up, gotta go...

Adam Sandler

So I joined facebook. I signed up but never posted nor wrote to anyone till now. Facebook is kind of cool. For those who saw where I wrote, I met Adam Sandler in Hawaii, it is true. My husband and I met him while on our honeymoon in Dec 2007. Picture to prove it:

Other famous folks I've met, Matt Lauer from the Today Show; he is a classmate of mine from OU. Yep, he graduated with his bachelor's from Ohio University in 1997. He was our commencement speaker, gave a great speech. Also met Colin Powell. I was a banquet server at dinner he was spoke at. Shoke his hand and everything. He is a nice man.

Birth Class cookout

We got Clara all dressed up and smelling all pretty and went to a cookout with some of the couples (5 of the 8 made it) from our birth class series (taken in December and January) on the Saturday before Mother's Day. It was great to see everyone. Now Clara is the only girl and the last one to be born. There is about a month and a half between the first baby and Clara. The babies below are in birth order: Lathan, Hayden, Braydon, Luke, and last but not least, Clara.

It was so nice to see the little boys and the mommies and daddies. I had met Hayden, Braydon, and Luke before but my how they have grown since I saw them last. And I met Lathan for the first time. He's a big boy, I think he is going to be a professional football player. All the babies are so cute. And it was so much fun to hang out with the mommies and daddies and talk about our babies. All of us are first time parents. I love it.


Picture above is Luke and Clara: a budding romance? :) ...Luke reached out and grabbed her hand first.



The mommies with their babies and the daddies with their babies. We all our proud parents.

My first Mother's Day

My first real Mother's Day, May 10, 2009. It was a beautiful spring day in North Carolina. These pictures were taken in our back yard next to our Red Maple tree.


We went to church and when the priest asked all the moms to stand up, I was able to stand up and be recognized. It was kind of weird but also nice. Last year at this time, Clara was only a thought in God's mind. This year, she is here and the best little daughter anyone could ask for.

Mike cooked both lunch and dinner. It was great; he tried a couple new recipes. One was for chicken burgers. Very healthy and yummy.

Have to get a photo of daddy and his little girl :) .

Flowers from my baby girl and my bestest man. Thank you both for the very pretty bouquet.

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Some more photos, 2 months old

Two of Clara's friends keep her company in her pack n'play. I thought I'd introduce her to her angel security blanket (from Grandma and Grandpa B.). The stuffed dog came from Holly Springs High School Band.

She really grabs stuff now, especially blankets and her burp cloths. She likes to take blankets and pull them off her feet and over her head. We then play peek a boo and where is Clara....

The other day, she grabbed a rattle and put it in her mouth. Not sure if she liked it too much, she'd rather put her hands in her mouth. I know she is young, but I think she is starting to feel her teeth (not breaking through but starting to form underneath). She is drowling a lot now and blows bubbles, which I read at this age they start doing that too.

We have our own little talks. I ask her how her day was and she answers. One evening she was on my shoulder and started saying "a goo." I responded and said "a goo" back. She said it again so I said it again. She caught on that I was imitating her, pretty smart girl. I also read that babies like to be copied with their sounds. We had our little "a goo" conversation. I loved it.

We went for a walk and she looked at some bushes, I said "bushes." She smiled, she liked that word. I planted some petunas in our yard and she likes that word too. It is fun to ask her a question and get an answer or listen to her tell a story. She is really growing up.

A great picture of our neighbors, Ms. De and Mr. Ray, with Clara. They have been great. They watch Clara for mommy so mommy can go running.

It is probably good that she stays with other people sometimes, that will get her used to being with other people, besides mommy and daddy. But it is still makes me feel extra special when no one can soothe her but me. She is crying and as soon as I take her, she stops. I'm her world.

Oh and it is great, she is starting to laugh. I hear her making a laughing noise, it is the best sound. Besides her laugh, she is so cute when she cries. She gets her little pouty face, her bottom lip sticks out, and just looks so cute. Her cry has gone from that newborn cry to a "bigger girl" cry.

And I am certain she said "Bear" the other day. We went for a walk and I was calling Bear to come inside, I kept going "Bear, Bear, Bear," and Clara went "Ba." No "r" at the end but it certainly sounded like "Bear."

And "daddy." I was putting her in her carseat after church and she was not liking that and I believe she called for her daddy to save her. I'm trying to get her to say "mama" :) .

2 months old

So let me try to get a post in before I have to get the baby ready for bed and catch a new show I got into while on maternity leave, Fringe. Tonight is the season finale.

Clara turned two months on May 1. We took a bunch of photos of her in a row trying to catch her very cute and beautiful smile. My goodness when she smiles, her whole body gets into it and it melts my heart. She can melt anyone's heart :) . The first photo below she is smiling pretty. The second one it looks like she is shouting to the mountain tops that it is her two month birthday.

Here she is with her daddy catching up on the sports scores during the evening news. One sport she really enjoys is hockey. She really likes the Carolina Hurricanes.

Oh, I took her to UNC's campus so she could watch her Grandpa M. run a road race and asked if she wanted to be a Tar Heel and she just smiled big, guess we know which basketball team she will cheer for later.

Soon she will watch her mommy run a marathon. I plan to run two this fall. I started running again after a little over a six month break from it (I hadn't run since Sept 29. The appendectomy and then being in my third trimester, running took a back seat). I started after my birthday, which was April 25. We won't say what year I turned. Let's just say, it was my 14th anniversary to my 21st birthday. Today I ran 36 minutes which for someone who just had a baby and has not run for quite awhile, that is pretty good. Yesterday, I ran 3 miles and felt great. I think I am losing these last few pounds on me and hope to be back to my old running self soon.

Anyway, let me see if I can remember what happened in her two months of life. I think the blogs below sum it up pretty good. She did roll over again when my family was in town. Her Aunt Sarah and Uncle Dave got to see her do it. Her daddy has yet to catch it but at least this past time, I got the video camera out and caught some of it happening.

And a little bit more wildlife, Clara saw her first moth. Photos below. It was a real pretty moth. I was planting flowers in our front yard and it was sitting there on our front porch.

I'll have to get some photos of our flowers posted. We bought some at Home Depot and some at Walmart. Needless to say, Clara has now been to the infamous Walmart.

Oh, and one last thing to mention, she got her first round of shots on the 6th. She did not enjoy that doctor's visit. But she did really good. She took a nap afterwards and when she woke up she seemed a lot better and back to her old self. We did give her some infant tylenol before bed and she slept real well. The next day, she was fine and it was like nothing happened.

I'll post more later. A lot has happened since her two month birthday...