I solemnly swear...

...to get back to regular blogging!

I've been so bad at it lately, but I've also been really really busy! I know we all say that, but whatever. I work full time, go to school part time, and have 2 very active kids at home. By the time I put the kids to bed at night I'm exhausted!

So anyway, back to my purpose for writing.

Back when I found out I was pregnant with Clara, I got on the interwebz to try to find all the information I could to learn about what I'd be going through during my pregnancy. That led me to theBump. The Bump is a message board that is designed for women who are trying to get pregnant, have lost babies, and who have babies. My due date was in November so I found the message board specifically for moms who were pregnant and due in November 2010 (meaning we found out we were pregnant around Feb/March 2010).

Fast forward 3 years later, and there is a rather large group of us who are still friends. We've mostly moved over to Facebook now, but we're still going strong. We've been through a lot: divorces, new houses, new babies, dating...yet it is still amazing to have this group of friends (whom I've never met in person) to vent to, ask for advice, whatever.

Five of us have now set up a blog together about our trials and tribulations with "2u2". Our blog is called "Between Naps" and there's a link to it in the sidebar of my blog. I encourage you to go check it out sometime. It's really neat to see the difference in personalities of us five ladies....and we all have some wicked cute kiddos, too!

Clara in February

Well, what kinds of things has Miss Clara been up to in February?

She participated in her first Valentine's Day exchange. The November moms have one every year and this year she AND Sam got involved. She got quite a few Valentines from her friends, too! I addressed them but she helped me decorate them. It was fun.

She  has been going to Story Time at the Library on Mondays. She always has a good time there. Sam has even gone along a time or two.

Everyone in our house is finally starting to stay healthy so we've been trying to get out more often.

Developmentally, things have been a bit up and down. We thought we pretty much had her potty trained. She would stay dry most of the day and almost always told us when she had to go. Now she could care less if she pees through her underwear. She'd rather wear a Pull-Up. And if you notice her doing the "pee pee dance" and ask her if she has to go, she says no. It's really frustrating.

The fits have also seemed to really ramp up, too. She throws them over the smallest things! And we're not talking just a little fit. Oh, no. She usually ends up crying like someone pushed her down. And poor Sam...if he touches something she doesn't want him to she either yells at him or pushes him down (or takes it away from him all together).
Eating has been interesting. Some days she'll barely eat anything and then the next day she's putting away 10 chicken nuggets for lunch.

She has been sleeping really well at night. She sleeps through most nights...probably 9 out of 10. Naps, on the otherhand....She will go lay in her bed, but she usually doesn't sleep. She will play in there for as long as we let her. I think most days she doesn't nap anymore. I think she may be trying to drop the nap all together, but I don't think she's quite ready for it. On the days she doesn't nap she often falls asleep before 8pm.

In March we have my birthday, Mimi's birthday and Sam's birthday. I think we'll be having lots of fun! I also hope the weather starts improving. I know we all have a bit of cabin fever and I look forward to having both kids be able to go outside and play. Last year I always had to have Sam in the stroller or in the carrier and it wasn't much fun. Now he can come out and toddle with us, too! I know we'll be going for lots of walks and trips to the playground. And even to the beach, hopefully, too!

She really is the sweetest thing, though. She loves to give hugs, snuggles, kisses and nosies. She's always excited to see us when we've been gone. She still loves to read books with us and she really likes her new LeapPad that she got for Christmas. She is really going to town with learning how to write her letters and learning how to make words. Her manual dexterity is really getting impressive.

I can't wait until we can get out of the house and enjoy Spring...when it finally gets here!

Sam-11 month survey!

Monthly Survey

1.       How old is baby? 11 months (ok, well more like 11.5 lol)

2.       Doctor’s appointments?: April 25, 2013

3.       Stats:

a.       Weight: Probably around 25lbs

b.      Height: Around 32 inches

c.       Clothes size: 12-18 months for everything.

d.      Diaper size: Using up the last of the 3's and have 4's standing by.

e.      Hair color: Blonde.

f.        Anything else? This kid is just solid. And adorable. :)

4.       Milestones:

a.       Verbal skills: He still jabbers constantly. He says "dada", "mama", "ot", "up", and I don't know that they're all words exactly, but those are the main sounds.

b.      Rolling: Oh no, he's got way more important things to do!

c.       Crawling: Very rarely anymore.

d.      Walking: YES!! He started walking on February 10, 2013! It's actually 2 weeks sooner than Clara did! Now he's all over the place. He even started walking with his hands down by his side!

e.      Anything else? He likes to point at stuff. He loves walking around the house and likes to carry things while doing so. He likes to eat, a lot! And he enjoys putting things into and taking things out of other things. Sometimes it drives Clara nuts. He claps, waves, and even dances a little, too.

5.       Things he likes: He loves to play, pull things off of shelves and tables, walk everywhere, do anything with his sister. He likes to clap along when he hears someone else clapping, even on TV. He ADORES SuperWhy. He likes to read his Highlights Hello magazine with us.

6.       Things he dislikes: Trying new foods and getting his diaper changed. :)

7.       Sleeping: At night he has been sleeping really well. He's usually in bed by 8pm and sleeps pretty consistently until around 6am. He will usually take one nap anywhere from 1-3 hours and either in the morning or afternoon. Most times he'll sleep in the car if we're out and about, too.

8.       Eating: He's still eating a lot of jarred baby food, but we're starting to feed him more from the table. He loves yogurt!

9.       Nicknames: Captain and Stormageddon.

10.   Things we’re looking forward to next month: His 1st Birthday (which is actually at the end of this month)!!! We're also having 1-year pictures taken and having pictures taken at his party. It's also my birthday. He and Clara are going to Mimi & Papa's for the evening so Daddy & I can go out for dinner.

11.   How I like motherhood: I still love it (most days, anyway)!! I think there will always be days when I wish I had more time for myself to do things besides homework and housework, but I love spending time with the kids. And honestly, when I've put in a hard day at work nothing warms my heart more than when both kids come running over to me after I walk in the door.

a.       Likes: Watching them play together and even breaking up their fights and arguments.

b.      Dislikes: Not having quite as much time to myself as I would like.

Pictures!!