3 Months

Sweet Pea is 3 months old today! Gonna say it again ... I just can't believe it! She is the snuggliest, sweetest, most kissable little thing right now. I am totally loving this little stage in her life. I am such a more relaxed, laid back mama with her. I'm really trying to soak up each stage with her because I know from experience how fast it goes.Some things about Clare from this past month:

1. She is completely on formula and her tummy seems to have settled down a lot since we did this. She takes 4 5 ounce bottles a day, and one 1 4 ounce bottle around 5:30ish. That bottle is more of a snack for her. She's a eater ... and those squishy little cheeks prove it!

2. She's mellowed a lot more in the last month. She no longer fusses big time in the evening, and will lay on her play mat and be content for quite awhile. I'm glad for this because, with me being back at work and Josh in school, evening time is very busy. It's nice that she's happy. :)

3. Since the night she was 2 months old, she's basically slept through the night in her own room. For quite a few nights of the past month, she would wake up anywhere between 3:30 and 5:30 in the morning. She wouldn't eat though -- just want her pacifier or to be swaddled. As of today, she lays down about 8:30 and we get her up about 6:15 because ...

4. She's offically a Sissy baby now. She started going to Melinda's last Wednesday and has been doing just fine. I've had my moments, and I miss both my girls like crazy. Glad they get to spend their day with Sissy though ... makes it easier on me knowing they are where they are! :) Like Lila said the other day ... "I love my Sissy."

5. We don't totally swaddle anymore. She doesn't go to bed with it at all, but I will put her in it if she wakes up in the middle of the night and has a hard time settling back down. It doesn't go to Sissy's with her, so she naps there without it too. I have a hard time getting her to nap without it, so a lot of times she ends up back in it.

6. She is the easiest baby to get a smile from! I LOVE them! Just last night, Lila got her to chuckle for the first time too. It was one of the sweetest sounds I've ever heard.

7. She has rolled from her back to her stomach, but it's not habit yet. Most of the time she gets stuck on her side. She's started grabbing and noticing her toys too ... especially on her playmat.

8. She is still a snuggler and a mama's girl...love that too. :)

9. These two munchkins love each other and I love that. Nothing like a sister. It's amazing how much Clare adds to our little family...she's definitely our baby.

Hard

Life sure was difficult last week. From last, last Friday till Wednesday, Josh was in and out of the hospital and, for his sake, I won't go into all the details. Thank goodness for grandparents, and it took ALL of them to help us out this go around! When Daddy's sick, everything seems to get more chaotic. Anyway, we're glad to report that he is feeling much better and life seems to be a bit more calm.
On top of all of that, guess who had to go back to work last Wednesday?? Yep, that'd be me. Whew, those last 6 weeks flew by and I was definitely not ready or prepared for Wednesday. Josh's sudden ailments didn't help on the preparedness either. It was quite difficult leaving Clare at Sissy's, and the first morning she was there, I sure enough cried all the way to work. But she was a champ and did just fine. I'm glad that the girl's get to spend their days together...that makes it better for me.

So it was important for us to chill this weekend ... Josh was determined to watch football all day Saturday, particularly the Alabama game. I had earlier reported that if the Alabama gear was purchased, then it would be worn by my two girls. I'm an Auburn fan, and they mostly wear Auburn gear. There are, however, quite a few people important to Lila and Clare's lives that are big ol' Alabama fans -- Daddy included. I think it's important to respect that, and teach them to respect that. We're a "house united." There was a good blog post about that...I came across it here while perusing through blogs one day ;). I digress ... here are the girls sportin' their Roll Tide gear with Daddy-0. They're pretty cute in whatever they wear, I think.

This morning I (being Mama) took both of these munckins to Sunday school and church service by myself. Whew, Lordy-Day, I was beat by the time we pulled back into the garage, but it was worth it. I know Lila had a blast, and Clare was a sweet girl. There were several nice ladies along the way who helped me out, and that was very much appreciated!! I attempted to get a picture of them in their sweet little dresses, but....this is what I got. I tried!!

Happy Sunday!!

12 Weeks

Sleeping Sweeties

I got a new phone a couple of weeks ago ... not one of the cheap, 2 year contract phones, but a cool one. I was excited to say the least ...
In playing with it, I found this app and it takes neato pictures. I took these of my sleeping sweeties. They're so peaceful (and quiet) when they sleep. They're my hearts.

Beach Highlights

We just got back from a great few days at the beach with my parents and sister. I took nearly 200 pictures, but I wheedled through them and came up with these. Too many for commentary, but there was a lot of beachin', swimmin', picture-takin', and eatin'. We had a ton of fun!! Just what I needed at least ... I felt like I hadn't seen the sun in the 2 months since Clare's been born! She was an absolute trooper for being so little, and Lila was so sweet and played hard. Hope to do it again next year!!

It's that time of year again...

for Mama to say "War Eagle" and Daddy to say "Roll Tide"!
The girls just say "Roll Eagle."
Except today ... Mama got ahold of them and they looked sweet in the orange and blue.
They can wear crimson and white ... but somebody else (ahem, Daddy) is gonna have to take care of that! :)
Happy Footballin'!

Video Preface

Blogger is being super uncooperative about this video post, so here's my preface to the video below. It's rambly. I sound silly (once again). Lila's singing is fantastic, and Clare's smile is the sweetest. Enjoy ... if you can stick with it! :)

Video of the Girls

A Birthday Wish

Just wanted to wish Grammy a very happy birthday! We love you very much and hope that you have a fabulous day!