a holiday challenge

i'm not talking about a diet challenge. i'm talking about a give-your-heart type of challenge.

since matt and i got married, we vowed to always give at christmastime. not to one another, but to someone less fortunate. this will be our seventh year of giving. typically, we choose two kiddos from the angel tree at our post office- we've always picked a boy and a girl. we go shopping, bring the goods home and wrap them up. on a special date, we deliver the gifts to a designated drop-off location. it's the best feeling ever.

sadly, last year, we didn't do any and i feel terrible about it. we were in a rough spot due to matt's injury and work situation and we didn't feel like we were in the position to do it. but now, when i think about it, we could have done something. after all, something is better than nothing.

this year will be different. we will be giving to three little ones. one for each one of us. if that means we don't buy as much for claire, that's a-okay. she has everything she needs plus so much more.

when you work in the school district, you see a lot of children in sad positions. so many of the student's clothes are tattered, dirty, and too small for their growing bodies. it breaks my heart. i tend to see a lot in the school i work in and it's something i will ever get used to.

so, friends, i challenge you to give. give to someone less fortunate this season. wether you donate time, money, food to a pantry, or gifts to a local charity {or the toys for tots}. do something. please. there are so many children who deserve to have a warm meal and something under their tree on christmas morning. you can make that happen.

Pregnancy: this time around

i'm going to preface this by saying that i feel as every bit blessed by this pregnancy as i did when i was pregnant with claire. please believe this.

but lets be honest here.

the excitement and all the magic i felt when i was pregnant with claire is something i just cant seem to achieve this time around. it's not because i'm less happy or anything of the sort, but i think it has more to do with the fact that i have a child to care for. i don't have time to sit and daydream about my growing baby.

we wanted this pregnancy, and it happened after only trying a couple of times. i think i had my post-pregnancy period three times and then BOOM! it happened exactly when we wanted and we were thrilled. matt's reaction was fantastic (a lot better than the last time) and we've been thrilled since.

the weeks are flying by. seriously, flying by. i cannot even begin to believe that i'm going to be 18 weeks {in 3 days} and that we are going to find out baby's sex in 11 days!

i started feeling sick at 5.5 weeks {the exact same time i did with claire} and just recently started feeling better within the last couple of weeks. i've lost about 16 pounds and my appetite is yet to return. when i do eat, it's garbage. i do enjoy bananas, oranges, and clementines on a daily basis  :)

remember how exhausted you were when you were pregnant?! now try to imagine that times infinity. seriously, infinity. thankfully claire started sleeping through the night a few days after i stopped nursing her- she was right about 11.5 months. i still need to take a nap when i get home from work. if i don't get that nap, oh brother, all hell breaks loose.

i feel bad because not only is my energy not returning, i'm feeling more and more bitchy cranky each day. this causes me to be more impatient, even with my sweet little girl. makes me feel like the worst mother ever. ugh.

here's a bump shot from monday, it's a bit grainy because i took it with my ipad but oh well!

Claire's first birthday.

So I have a one year old.

Wow. 

How did that happen? Where did the time go?

I can't really answer either of those questions but I can tell you that it's been an amazing ride. More incredible and wonderful than I could have ever anticipated, or even dreamed of. I can't say that our life is perfect, because it isn't... not even close. However, I can say that we are beyond blessed for so many reasons and so many of those blessings stem from the greatest little person I've ever known.

I dreamed up a lot of things for Claire's birthday day but for some reason I had a hard time materalizing most of the things that I envisioned. I blame it mostly on the fact that I've been feeling miserable due to the tiny baby growing inside me. Even though certain details were missing {in my mind} we had the perfect party, for the most perfect little princess! 

catching up.

a few weeks have went by since i shared our little secret and while i really don't have intentions of doing weekly updates like i did with claire, i would like to periodically check in with an update. i am also going to try blogging a little more. its hard with everything i'm up to but it is something i enjoy and i really need to start doing a thing or two for myself.

i hit the big ol' 13 weeks on monday, which means we're almost though the first trimester. waahoo! im still sick sick sick! i literally at 4 baby carrots, 2 celery {single} stalks, half and apple and some tortilla chips yesterday. i force myself to drink water when i can stomach it. i don't throw up, but most days i wonder if i should just force myself to... perhaps i might feel better? 

we had our monthly checkup with my midwife and we got to hear our little pumpkin's heartbeat. it still hasn't hit me that this time next year i'll be toting around a 19 month old AND a 6 month old babe. 

we celebrated claire's birthday with a big party (must upload some pictures to share) and it was the perfect fall day. we have been busy with playing outside in the sunshine and leaves, visiting pumpkin patches and enjoying claire. speaking of her, that little girl is smart as a whip. i'm sure every parent thinks that, but goodness gracious! she amazes me on a daily bases. i swear she talks like an older toddler and the things/mannerisms she exhibits is unreal. for example, the other day she spilled her cheerios... she cleaned them up... without me asking her to! like where on earth did she learn that?! 

matt taught her how to "jump" and it's the funniest/cutest thing EEE VAAA! she kinda just bends her legs and then stands up really straight, really quickly. ahh haha funny stuff peeps! she also started saying "hi" this past week and it's so stinkin' adorable. she says it in the most high pitched, girliest voice   i've ever heard.

we recently started teaching her animal noises and she seems to be picking up on them rather quickly. she can moo like a cow, pant like a dog (adorable!), and ah ah ahh like a monkey thus far. when i ask her "what does a duck say" she tell me "du du du" (duck duck duck). ohh the warmth she brings to my heart!

well folks, i think that's about all i have for tonight. i have to go fold about 5 loads of laundry. i've already decided that it's not going to get put away tonight, but i'm going to at least get it folded and ready for matt to take upstairs {he doesn't let me take things up and down the steps... other than claire}.

goodnight {or good day} friends!

Hello again and some good news!

remember us?! it's been a super long time since i've written anything. life is crazy. like more crazy than i could have ever imagined. claire is going to be 1 in less than two weeks and work and my college courses. ay yi yi!

claire is walking and talking and doing all these wonderfully awesome things that blow my mind each day. she knows 8 signs, says 8 words. signing really has fallen by the wayside since a lot of the signs i taught her were basic communication words than she can speak now.

claire is super de duper tiny. people are always shocked when i tell them how old she is. she's still not 17 pounds and still wears mostly 3-6 month clothes. she is starting to fit into her 6-12 month clothes... it's really hit and miss though.

we are planning a massive birthday bash. complete with a white tent, cotton candy machine, and other super amazing goodies! we figured we would go all out since this was going to be her only birthday party as an only child... yeah you just read that right. Claire's going to be a big sister!

her baby brother or sister is due in april and we are over-the-moon excited! we started trying and i just assumed it would take us a while since i was still breastfeeding... two months after my cycle started... BOOM!! we really wanted a spring baby and God answered our prayers. i'm ten weeks today :) 

i don't know if i'm going to do weekly posts, mostly because i just don't have the time, but i am going to make it a priority to write something to this sweet lil babe growing inside me.

until next time, i can't wait to start posting again and look forward to catching up with all of you!!!