Wednesday, September 12, 2012

5 Month Milestones - Claire

5 month milestones - 5/22/12

Height - 24"

Weight - 14 lbs 5 oz

Diapers - size 2

Clothes - 3-6 month

Sleeping - bedtime is usually around 8:30. You were doing so great sleeping for long stretches at night then you started getting out of your swaddle. We were still swaddling you at the first of the month until you and big sis spent the night with Nonna and Poppa. Mommy had a women's retreat with church and Daddy had to work. Nonna was able to get you to sleep without your Swaddle. You had a rough night though.

Turns out you had Roseola. You had the crankiness and fever but the rash came later. Poor baby!

Eating - You eat every 3 to 3.5 hours during the day. You eat for shorter amounts of time during the day and longer ones at night. You started taking Dr. Brown bottles but they still aren't your favorite. Maybe someday. You tried avocados and bananas this month and weren't a huge fan but you didn't hate them either.

New discoveries - Everything you can get your hands on goes into your mouth. Toys, blankets, clothes, sister's hair.  Teething has started although I can't see any tooth buds yet. You love to jump in your jumperoo. You enjoy walks in the stroller.

New accomplishments - Rolling over both ways! Sorry, Mommy didn't write down the exact date.

Places you went - OK to stay overnight with Nonna and Poppa.

Special Memories - Staying overnight for the first time without Mommy & Daddy.  Your first real sickness (Roseola and a cold). Celebrating Avery's 2nd birthday with an owl party. Your dedication at church with Mommy, Daddy, big sister, Nonna, Poppa, Mim, Papa, Uncle Daniel & Aunt April.

Dear Claire - 5 months old and getting so big so fast.  This was a rough month for you.  Having your first real illness was a new thing for all of us. You stopped sleeping well and preferred to be held. Which isn't a bad thing, I love it. I just didn't get much done at all. :) Plus Mommy and sister got a cold too and we pretty much were all sick the whole month. I'm hoping next month we all feel better. Praying you are on the mend and the rest of our summer is a healthy one. We love you baby girl!

Love,

Mommy & Daddy

Love,

Mommy &Daddy

Monday, September 3, 2012

Mercy Project

Today I'm taking part in a blogging party of sorts, helping to bring awareness to human trafficking and the Mercy Project in Ghana, Africa.
Mercy Project

There’s an estimated 7,000 children who work in the Ghana fishing industry. Some of these children are as young as 5 and 6 years old. All of these children are slaves. -Mercy Project

Today many in our country will take a day off from our jobs to celebrate the social and economic achievements of American workers. No matter if we’re celebrating at home or at the beach, we’re entering into a tradition that has largely been shaped by Labor Unions - organizations that are dedicated to protecting workers’ interests and improving their wages, hours, and working conditions. Today as we lounge around or hang out with friends and family, we’re not only celebrating hard work, we’re honoring fair, ethical working practices and the laws that prevent discrimination, abuse, and child labor in our country. Without these laws in place (and enforced), the most vulnerable members of society suffer. Who are the most vulnerable? Children.

Today as we’re celebrating the systems in our own country that strive to prevent injustices like child trafficking and child labor, we’re mindful of the many child slaves around the world who are unprotected and the organizations, like Mercy Project, who are working to free them.

As a mother, it’s difficult for me to imagine my children working 14 hours a day, 7 days a week. I’m unable to wrap my brain around the thought of my children engaged in long, hard days of physical labor, eating one meal a day, and then falling asleep at night on a dirt floor filled with other slave children. Yet this is the daily reality for kids who have been trafficked into the fishing industry in Ghana, Africa. As with much of Africa, there is a great deal of poverty in Ghana. Unfortunately, this leaves many mothers in an unimaginable position: sell their children to someone who can take better care of them or watch them starve to death. Most of the mothers are told their children will be given food, housing, and an education. Instead, the kids are often taken to Lake Volta where they become child slaves and their mothers never see them again. Thankfully, Mercy Project is working to break the cycles of trafficking around Lake Volta by providing alternate, more efficient, sustainable, fishing methods for villagers – ultimately eliminating the need for child slaves. Because of the work Mercy Project is doing in Ghana, the first group of children will be freed this month from Lake Volta.


We invite you to watch this moving, 10 minute documentary about the issues surrounding child labor and trafficking in Ghana and most importantly the hope Mercy Project is bringing to children and entire communities in Africa. Mercy Project is the only NGO working on Lake Volta addressing the injustice of child labor and child trafficking at its root - by strengthening the Ghanaian economy and eliminating the structures that cause the demand for trafficked children.

Whether these ideas of child labor, child trafficking, and modern-day slavery are new to you or you’re aware of these injustices, but need to hear some good news every once in awhile, we invite you to become a part of what Mercy Project is doing in Ghana. When Mercy Project frees their first group of children this month, we can all celebrate together.

Learn more and get involved by –

• Watching Mercy Project’s short documentary.
• Following Mercy Project on Facebook.
• Connecting with Mercy Project via Twitter.

• Spending some time on Mercy Project’s website.

• Sharing about Mercy Project’s work in Ghana with your friends.

Although child trafficking, child labor, and the unstable economies that result in these injustices are a tragedy, we’re grateful for what Mercy Project is doing to protect the vulnerable and for allowing us to be a part of this story. While we’re commemorating labor laws and ethical work in our own country today, we invite you to follow along on this journey with Mercy Project to protect and free children in Ghana.

"The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world that it leaves to its children.”
-- Dietrich Bonhoeffer
"...in serving the best interests of children, we serve the best interests of all humanity."
-- Carol Bellamy

“When the lives and the rights of children are at stake, there must be no silent witnesses.”
--Carol Bellamy

"God does not want us to merely give the poor perfunctory help, but to ponder long and hard about how to improve their entire situation."
-- Tim Keller in Generous Justice

"If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong."
-- Abraham Lincoln

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

4 month milestones - Claire

4 month milestones - 4/22/12

Height - 23.5"

Weight - 13 lbs 5 oz

Diapers - size 2

Clothes - 3-6 month

Sleeping - bedtime is usually around 8:30. You sleep til 2 or 3. Eat then go back to sleep til about 8. Eat again and usually sleep until 9:30. Still swaddling you with the Aden and Anais blankets. Your naps aren't scheduled like Avery's were at this age. I think it's because we have different schedules almost every day. As long as you get to nap though you are in a good mood.

Eating - You eat every 3 to 3.5 hours during the day. You eat for shorter amounts of time during the day and longer ones at night. Guess there is too much to see and do! We finally found a bottle you would take. The Playtex Dropins. No more gagging!

New discoveries - your feet! You aren't quite as limber as Avery but you love to hold your feet. You are ticklish and laugh when tickled.

New accomplishments - Smiling. Laughing. Getting really close to rolling over.

Places you went - to Tyler for Easter. To Tiffany and Brent's for Easter. To Ok for Mommy's birthday.

Special Memories - seeing you and Layla play on the floor at Mim's house. Getting to watch big sister hunt Easter eggs knowing you will love it next year. Celebrating Mommy's birthday. Seeing your sweet personality develop. In so many ways you are so unique and in a few things just like your sister. It is fun watching you two interact.

Dear Claire - 4 months already?! It can't be. You have grown from that tiny newborn into my chunky monkey. I smile whenever I see your leg rolls. They are so cute. Your hair does this faux hawk thing and your Daddy is so proud. I try combing it down and he messes it up. You love being held, and rocked, and talked to. If I could do one of those all day I think you'd be content. You sleep so soundly while I'm holding you but the second I put you down you start to stir. I know these days go by fast so I try not to rush through our rocking sessions. You are so loved. Avery asks about you when she wakes. She knows when you need a diaper change. She plays rough with you sometimes but you smile at her anyways. Daddy likes it when you laugh at him and he can hold you for longer than 10 minutes at a time. What can I say? Right now your are a Mommy's girl! I pray you always know how much you are loved. First by God then by your family. I pray we are able to let you experience true love do you can let God love you. Sweet girl you are so blessed!

Love,

Mommy &Daddy

23 Month Milestones - Avery

23 Month Milestones - 4/4/12

Height - 30.5"+

Weight - 22 lbs+

Sleeping - You usually go to bed around 8 or 8:30. You sleep til 9:30 or 10 and still take a 1.5 to 2 hr nap in the afternoon. You still sleep all night without waking so we are very blessed in this area.

Eating - This month you started to get more picky about what you eat. You love sweets and ask for "chocolate" if you see it around. :) Mommy has had to get more creative about finding things you will eat. You love peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (all natural peanut butter and Simply Fruit strawberry spread). 

New discoveries - You love to wash dishes in the sink. If Mommy is rinsing dishes or loading the dishwasher you pull up your stool and want to help. We have to set a timer otherwise you would play in the water for hours!
New accomplishments - You moved to your big girl bed this month (& did great in it)! Mommy was worried at first. Then we moved the toddler bed into your room and said let's do this. Daddy got all your stuffed animals and blankies and tucked you in for the night. You went to sleep and slept til 9:30 the next morning! Whoo-hoo! Much easier than I thought. Naptime has been a little bit of an adjustment but you are getting better at it.
Places you went - To Tyler for an early Easter celebration with Mim, Papa, Uncle Andrew, Aunt Kristi, Bella and Layla.
Special Memories - Playdates with friends. Walks with Claire in our new stroller. Playing with your puzzles. Washing dishes with Mommy. Hunting easter eggs in the living room. Hunting easter eggs with Bella.
One more story for your memory.  You keep me on my toes every day. We had run an errand and you had left your taggie in the car. Claire was fussy so I had her in the Moby Wrab on me. You said, "blankie car Mommy." I remembered you had left it in the car. No biggie, I would just go get it for you. I walked to the garage, you were watching a cartoon. I shut the door to the garage behind me so you wouldn't get in to something that might hurt you. I walked around to your seat, got your taggie and heard you giggle from the door. My thought was, I hope she doesn't lock me out. I should have moved a little faster after that thought. I walked back around the car and sure enough you had locked me out of the house. Really?! The saving grace was Claire was with me and it was only you in the house. You were knocking on the door, playing a game you and daddy do. You knock on one side of the door and Daddy knocks on the other.  Back and forth until you laugh. I guess you thought I would do the same. I kept knocking on the door to keep you near it, hoping you might unlock the handle.  I was about to give up.  I was going to walk next door and ask to use the neighbor's phone since mine was in the house. Just before I opened the garage door, I heard a click. You unlocked it! I was never so happy.  You thought it was all a game and laughed when you saw me. Stinker! Let's just say I never go out to the garage without my keys anymore. And I've installed child safety covers on the door knobs.
What a month! I definitely have to learn to stay one step ahead of you. You amaze me with what you learn and remember. You really are more of a toddler than a baby now. My big girl. Daddy and I love you more than you know. We hope you will always remember that. Know that God has big plans for you. So blessed to be your Mommy and Daddy.

Love you Punkin-doodle!

Mommy & Daddy

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Testing 1..2..3..

I am so behind on blogging right now.  Have every intention of catching up because I want the girls to have this to look back on someday (its their virtual baby books).

A friend (Precious Moments) has been having problems with Blogger so I thought I would log in and see if mine was still working. She is able to post from her blogging app on her phone, but not her computer. Any ideas? Leave me a comment or email me and I'll pass on the info. Thanks!

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Avery - 22 Month Milestones

22 Month Milestones - 3/4/12

Height - 30.5"+

Weight - 22 lbs+

Sleeping - You usually go to bed around 8 or 8:30. You sleep til 9:30 or 10 and still take a 1.5 to 2 hr nap in the afternoon. You still sleep all night without waking so we are very blessed in this area.

Eating - Breakfast is usually eggs with cheese and fruit, oatmeal with frozen blueberries, or a waffle with yogurt and fruit. You can finish off 2 scrambled eggs with no problem. Depending on when you get up, sometimes you have a mid-Morning snack of cheerios, fruit, or crackers. Lunch is either left overs, chicken nuggets (5), or our muffin tin lunch. After nap time, you have a snack (again) and usually munch on something until dinner. For dinner you mostly eat what we have but occasionally you won't touch it. I found out you love carrot sticks and sliced cucumbers. Really you will eat pretty much any veggie if we give you ranch to dip it in. You call it "honey" and we aren't sure why. You also now have 16 teeth, 8 on top and 8 on bottom.

New discoveries - Playing outside with your chalk and wagon are your favorite afternoon activities. You won't let us pull you in the wagon, you insist on pulling it yourself. It looks so sweet you pulling it up and down the sidewalk.

New accomplishments - Your hair is long enough for a pony tail! I think Mommy is more excited about this than you are. I love fixing your hair each morning. You don't share my fondness for it.

Places you went - To Oklahoma to Nonna and Poppa's for Uncle Daniel's birthday and for your great-grandad's 80th birthday party.
Special Memories - Watching you learn to love Claire. You like to play with your baby doll like I take care of Claire.  Going to our first Valentine's Day playdate with friends and helping you make Daddy a Valentine.

Two more months and you will be 2. Really?! How did it go by this fast? You really should still be Claire's size in my mind. But you are talking in full conversations. Making decisions on what you like. Helping Mommy take care of Claire. Telling Daddy "love you Daddy" before bed. You are more little girl and less baby each day. I'm excited about the days to come, but miss the days before. We pray your heart is always big - big enough to love Jesus, your family, your friends, big enough to share, big enough to dream. Love you baby girl!

~Mommy & Daddy

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Claire's 3 month Milestones

3 month milestones - 3/22/12

Height - 23"

Weight - 12 lbs plus some

Diapers - size 1 but getting snug

Clothes - 0-3 months but some are getting too tight

Sleeping - We finally are in a semi-routine.  You usually eat around 8 or 8:30 each night then go to bed til about 2 or 3 in the morning.  You eat then go back to sleep til 7 or 8, eat again, go back down, then up around 9:30 or 10. Its not all night but its not a bad schedule either. You usually sleep about 1 to 1.5 hours about 3 times during the day. You nap and sleep swaddled.  We did switch you from the flannel swaddle to the Aden + Anais muslin swaddles and they seem to work so much better.

Eating - You eat every 3 to 3.5 hours during the day.  Stil have a good appetite, but you suddenly are very distracted while nursing.  I have to try everything, covering you with a blanket, walking around, playing music.  Eventually you get hungry and eat but wow! Mom is getting a workout. 

We had an appointment with Dr. Cole at the end of February to check on your tongue tie and lip tie.  Apparently your lip tie was very tight and your tongue was about half-tied.  We had both corrected, hoping it would help you be able to take a bottle and a paci and help you not take in so much air while eating.  You were a champ. Mommy held you (while you were swaddled) while they did the procedure.  Nonna thankfully had come home with us and stayed with sister during the procedure.  Everything went well the first 24 hours.  You had a swollen lip and wanted to sleep alot but nothing terribly bad.  Then the next day came.  You refused to eat from about 11 am to 11 pm.  You were miserable and Mommy was worried.  I was afraid to give you a bottle because I really didn't want you to give up nursing and prefer a bottle.  You finally ate a little late that night.  Mommy asked around and someone suggested Tylenol.  I said a prayer and gave you a dose early the next morning.  It made all the difference! You finally felt better enough to eat.  It took about a week to get you back to your normal eating schedule.  You can take a paci now. We still are trying to find a bottle you like.

New discoveries - Pacis and bottles are actually good! Of course it probably didn't help that you couldn't really take either until we got your lip/tongue ties corrected.  You have found your hands. You love chewing on them.  You can recognize Mommy, Daddy and big sis Avery. 

New accomplishments - Sleeping 7 hours straight! Woo-hoo! Your colic/fussiness is getting better.  Mommy and Daddy love that you don't have screaming marathons right before bed anymore.  You actually take naps by yourself on your own.

Places you went - to OK for your great grandad's 80th birthday.

Special Memories - Watching your big sister Avery learn to be sweet and gentle with you. I walked to the bedroom and back and found her trying to push on your eyes! Needless to say Mommy says Avery, be gentle! At least 20 times a day. Big sister does love you though. She calls you Pear. Pear is sleeping. Pear is crying. Hi Pear! Are some of her favorite phrases.

Dear Claire - these past three months have flown by. It's hard to think how much has changed in such a short time. I love getting to stay home with you and Avery. Life is really different than it was 6 months ago. These days I hardly ever get on the computer unless it's at nap time. And nap time is something I try to participate in as often as I can. :) Play dates and errands are our fun trips out. We picnic on the living room floor on beach towels. My favorite parts of the day are rocking you to sleep, chasing down your crazy sister after bath time and listening to Daddy make you both laugh. I pray you always find joy in life. God puts so much all around us if we just stop and look.

Love,
Mommy & Daddy