I'm so behind on blogging. I keep telling myself I will catch up and I plan on it. Someday. Until then here's a peek into our lives at the moment.
We went to the pumpkin patch a few weeks back with friends. We had a great time and came home with 6 pumpkins. :)
We also went to see Veggie Tales Luve with our favorite college student/babysitter/photographer/adopted aunt ever - Tiffany!
Then today is Halloween. The girls are dressed up as Little Bo Peep and her sheep. The costumes have special meaning behind them. A dear friend has a little girl about a year older than Claire. She had the most adorable lamb costume last year. So I asked and Courtney let us borrow it. Thanks Court! Courtney and I were college roommates at ECU. Go Pesagi! Avery needed a little Bo Peep dress. My mom had kept some of my dresses from when I was little and I found the perfect one for Avery. Thanks Mom! All we needed was a candy cane turned staff and bloomers from another friend and ta da! Cute cute costumes.
Sorry if the pics are all out of order. I'm currently rocking a cute little lamb who will only nap in my arms today. Thus blogging from my phone. :)
Sleeping - We try for bedtime usually around 8:00. You sleep for 30-45 mins then wake up and are up until 10:30 or 11. You usually sleep til around 2, then eat, back to sleep, wake around 6 then sleep til 9! so different from when Avery was your age. But she had to get up early so mommy could work so thats probably why. Your dr recommended sleep training at your appointment today. Let you cry it out for a week. A week?! I don't think I can. I'm trusting that eventually you'll want more sleep and it will be when you are ready. Plus I know trying to eat/nurse with you lively big sis around is sometimes a challenge so if this is what we must do then I'm ok with it.
Eating - You eat every 3 to 4 hours during the day. You eat for shorter amounts of time during the day and longer ones at night. You eat baby food/table food two times a day. You love Cheerios, veggie straws, strawberries, sweet peas, and bananas. Baby food - you like any fruits and veggies go down better when mixed with apples or pears.
New discoveries - Your voice and your hand waving! We hear dada and mama along with funny grunts and growls all day long. You figured out how to wave with your right hand and its the cutest thing!
New accomplishments - Your first tooth broke through! Yay! You learned to crawl and pull up this month. You started really crawling the week after Labor Day. You learned to pull up about two weeks after that. Now you are impossible to stop. I anticipate many bumped chins and foreheads in your future. :) You are so proud of yourself when you pull up though. You can finally keep up with Avery too.
Places you went - Tyler for Labor Day to visit Mim & Papa, Andrew, Kristy, Bella, & Layla. You also spent the weekend at home with Daddy and Poppa while me and Nonna went to Women of Faith.
Special Memories - Watching you crawl and pull up for the first time. Seeing you wave bye-bye!
Dear Claire - 9 months already! I'm wishing time would slow a bit. You are growing into a big girl each day. crawling, pulling up, waving - please don't start walking yet! I love your sweet cuddles and hugs as I rock you to sleep each night. You are a big girl but still let me baby you. thank you! Daddy also has become funny to you. He can make you laugh better than anyone. I pray you always are able to laugh. It makes life so much better. Don't grow too much in the next 3 much. Just kidding!
Love,
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!
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.
• 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."
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!
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.
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!
