39 weeks in. 39 weeks out. {LONG}

OH MY DEAR LORD. Claire has been here with us on the outside world as long as she was in my womb.


That is just mind blowing.

She does weird things with her hands...ha!

Naturally, 39 weeks carrying her inside of me completely draggged.

Random pictures  taken on my iPhone. Ya, I got an iPhone for MOTHER'S DAY! I guess I really have sucked at blogging.

But 39 weeks with her here with us? HAS FLOWN. I absolutely cannot express that feeling. Obviously all of you moms feel the same way, I'm sure.


Anyway, our Claire Lula is NINE months old yesterday. Like Lindsey stated on Twitter, "too close to being a year old for comfort". So true. I can't even stand the fact that she will be a year old in 3 short months. Oy.


Even though I just did her 8 month update like two weeks ago, because I was lazy & neglected to update. I will jot down a few of the things she is up to as of late:


* Weighs approixmately 16 pounds. Give or take a few ounces
* Just barely in size 3 dipes. They are a tad big, but more comfy on her than 2's.
* Wearing 6 month clothing & size 1 shoe.
* Eating 3 solid meals & drinking four 5-6oz bottles a day.
*Will not eat purees anymore. She's 100% into feeding herself. Miss independant.
*Takes 2 naps. At 10 & 2. Always an hour or less.
*Loves to mock us. WE ARE IN FOR IT.
*Still sporting just her two bottom teeth.
*Sleeps 12-14 hrs a night. Always in bed by 6:30-7:00. We have tried to push back her bedtime, but she always dictates that she MUST be in bed by then. Or else...
*Still no interest in crawling, but we can tell she WANTS to get moving. She just isn't quite sure how.
*Enjoys standing while holding onto something. She feels very big.
*Says "dada" and can smack her lips & makes the "B" sound. That's about it. Ha!
*She poops in the tub at least 4x a week. GOOD FREAKIN' TIMES.
*Taught herself to play peek-a-boo. MOST ADORABLE THING!!

One thing we've realized in the past month, is that Claire MUST have her naps & MUST be in bed by at least 7pm. There have been a few instances lately that we've been out & about at her naptime/bedtime, and she is just a complete GREMLIN. And the sad thing is, she refuses to nap or go to bed anywhere BUT her crib. So, sleeping in her stroller? Not an option. I really hope this changes in the next month, or else the trip we are going on is going to be a nightmare! She's by no means an easy going baby, & that worries me. HAHA!

That's about all of the updates I have on the baby front. She brings so much joy, and laughter to our family. It's just amazing to see her little personality continue to come out every day. She's so sensitive & sweet. I love her.

********************************************************************************


Now, since Claire has offcially been out as long as she was in, I thought it would be fun to do a comparison of how momma looks now & then.


9 months ago, I was huge, swollen & miserable with 3 chins & cankles:

Now? I'm about 57 pounds lighter & much more comfortable & happy {duh}.


In all honesty, I have never been as small as I am now. {not bragging, or complaining} Granted, it has taken about 7 months to get here, and I attribute most {if not all} of that to this:

I never realized how much of a "workout" pumping is. I'm enjoying my body now & eating whatever the hell I want, because let's face it, when Claire hits a year old & I retire my old friend, I'll be sure to gain some weight back. Shoot. I've been slowly weaning myself from the pump. Going every 5-6hrs between sessions. It feels so weird to have that much free time!


I pray that my metabolism stays as speedy as it is now when I quit pumping. I know, it's wishful thinking. 


Anyway, here I am 9 months post partum. I look pissed. But, I'm not. Promise.

So ya, that's where we're at on this 9 month update. 


If you're still following along, bless you. 


That's all I've got! 

I have entirely too many clothes

 Here I am, again, with yet another blog post with more clothes that I don't wear anymore.

You know the drill:

E-mail me if you see something you like {laur8153@gmail.com}Prices are negotiable. All sales final. I'll send you an invoice via PayPal. $2.00 shipping in the U.S.  $5.00 to Canada.

I still have oodles of things on the Raid My Closet Page also.

Enjoy!

DKNY Scrunchy Tunic

Color: Peach

Size: Small {but stretches!}

Price: $15

Forever 21 Tunic with tie around the waist.

Color: Navy Blue

Size: Medium

Price: $9.00 SOLD

 Forever 21 Floral Top with lace

Size: Small {elastic waist, fits like a medium}

Price: $6.00 SOLD

Forever 21 Tunic 

Color: Grey

Size: Small {Fits like a medium}

Price: $9.00

Forever 21 3/4 Sleeved Dress

Color: Grey w/black tie around waist

Size: Medium

Price: $12.00 SOLD

Juicy Couture Terry Cloth Sweat Jacket

Color: Black

Size: Medium

Price: $25.00

 Lush Black & White Tank {Nordstrom}

Size: Medium

Price: $9.00

H.I.P. Tribal Top w/elastic waist {Nordstrom}

Size: Medium

Price: $10.00

H.I.P. Flowy top w/elastic waist {Nordstrom}

Size: Medium

Price: $10.00

Forever 21 of the shoulder top {looks wide, but fits cute!}

Size: Small

Price: $9.00 SOLD

Merona Ruffled Top {Target}

Size: Small

Price: $12.00

Merona Green Blouse {Target}

Size: Medium

Price: $10.00

You want to know how to torture my child?

Blow bubbles in her direction.


Yes, I am serious.


I bought her this friendly little gadget at Wal- Mart yesterday, thinking it would be so fun for bath time, since she's getting bored of her usual rubber ducky type toys.


So, last night, I ripped that sucker out of its package, had hubs get it all set up, plopped Claire in the tub, turned the bubble machine on, and.... she frowned, then she cried, then she screamed. She screamed like I have never heard in my life. It was like we were chopping her leg off.


uh... ok.


I scooped her little body out of the tub & hubs  I looked at each other & just started laughing hysterically.


Our child is afraid of bubbles? Wow. 


We took the bubbles out of the machine to see if it was the noise of it that scared her. We blew the bubbles & more blood curdling screams. 


Fine. We'll try again tonight.


I kid. Kinda. 

I'm here. & getting all spiritual on you.

So, hi. It's only been a week since I blogged last, which has been my routine lately, so that's nothing new. Anyway, it's been a ROUGH past few days. Emotionally, mentally exhausting.


Why, you ask?


My sweet, 13 year old family Bichon Frise almost died this weekend. On Friday, my mom & dad noticed he wasn't quite acting himself. He had this awful cough, he wasn't eating or drinking & the biggest red flag was that he wasn't eating his treats. The boy loves his treats. So obviously, something was wrong.


Long story short, they took him to the vet on Saturday, they immediately sent them to an animal hospital where they put him in an oxygen chamber, did tests & kept him there for the weekend.


The doctor ended up concluding that he has a heart disease. Told my parents on Saturday that he gives our pup a 50/50 chance of making it until Monday. We thought for sure we would have to put him down. 


We hoped for the best. But prepared for the worst.


Well, that was two days ago and? HE'S BACK HOME!!!! Thriving on his own. Without oxygen. Granted, he's on about 10 different medications & he will never be able to run & frolic around again, but HE'S ALIVE. And HOME. Where he is supposed to be.


Now, anyone who knows me, knows that I am so not a religious person. I was raised Catholic & technically still am, but I haven't gone to church since I was 18. It's never meant anything to me. {that's a WHOLE other post} But, that doesn't mean that I can't be spiritual. I believe in God & talk to Him quite often, actually. We're pretty close, God & me.


I haven't prayed so hard this past weekend since I was pregnant. & I truly believe in the Power of Prayer. God wasn't ready to take our sweet boy. In fact, in 2 days, he did a complete 180 in his health. A serious miracle. Thank you for all who sent your thoughts and prayers, as I was blowing up Twitter with my requests.


Our prayers were answered. & I am forever grateful. 

This was taken last night. Pal looks a million times better than he did. According to my mom.

On a lighter note, my kid pooped in the tub last night.

Complete with the straining of the face & clenching of the fists. 

Thank God for husbands that have no problem cleaning crap up. I laughed & gagged while he did so.

Such a good wife, I am.

And just like that, another month has passed by.

My sweet, baby Lu. 

You turned 8 months old on April 30th 

 I'm not even going to go into how unreal this seems to me.

You're growing up RIGHT before your daddy & momma's eyes. 

Time is flying. Like I say every month.

 You're just about outgrown of size 2 dipes.

Size 3's fit just right. We know this because we had to buy you a pack on Mother's day. As your idiot mother only brought ONE diaper with her on our entire day out. 

 You're a very long little lady. And about 15.5 pounds.

You're still in size 6 month clothing. 

 You have zero interest in crawling. HATE being on your stomach. So, I'm not gonna push it.

You just like to sit. And sometimes rock back & forth.

You also like to stand up against things. But only for a minute or two.

 You're obsessed with saying "dadadadada" & "yayayaya". Daddy & I love your little voice. It's just precious.

We're working with you consistently to get you to say "Mama", but you aren't havin' it. 

You also enjoy to fake laugh. It's hilarious.

You love your sleep. You go to bed no later than 7pm & sleep until about 7 or 7:30am. Eat, & then back to sleep until 8:30am.

You take 2 naps every day. At 10am & 2pm. For about an hour. 

 You also LOVE food. However, within the last day or two, you've been resisting purees. 

This is fine by me. Less food to make. Haha.

You're enjoying feeding yourself.

You adore:

*Baby Mum Mums

*Puffs

*Bananas

*Mango

*Yogurt

*Mashed potatoes

*Sweet potatoes

*Cheese

You only drink about 15-20oz of breast milk a day. And no more than 6oz at a time. 

& momma is still pumpin'. 

 You love to wave & give kisses to momma, daddy, puppy & your toys.

You absolutely LOVE the outdoors. Wind & sunshine are your favorites.

We've been taking advantage of every nice day & going on walks. You squeal with delight every time.

 You love books.

 You love bath time. Still.

BUT, we've graduated to the "big girl" bath now. That was a sad day for me.

You have two teeth. Bottom. No more in sight.

 You're a very sensitive little lady. Stranger anxiety has definitely hit you.

That's fine by me :)

 We set up your Jeep Walker last week. Just to see what you would do. As we suspected, you just sit there & want us to push you around. HAHA! You'll catch on sooner or later.

 You love music. Blues in particular. So random. Haha.

 You're just a little love & daddy & I are ADORING watching you grow & learn.

I love you, sweet baby girl. Stay a baby a little longer. Ok?

~Momma.

Now, I get it.

There really is no other love like the love a mother has for her child.

Thank you, mom, for showing me this love. & Thank you, Claire, for letting me love.

**Happy Mother's Day, to all of the Mothers out there. We have the best job in the world.**

Life: 1 Blogging: 0

Wow. Has is seriously been an entire week since I posted last?


I seriously had no clue it had been that long since I posted OR commented on any blogs.


 I mean, it's already MAY. May! 


Not much has been going on lately for me to not have blogged. I'm just so busy with my 8 MONTH OLD during the day & when she goes to bed, I hardly have the energy to type out a quick post. So, pardon my laziness. 


But, I quite enjoyed my little hiatus. I don't want blogging to be a chore. & quite honestly, that's how it felt this past week, so that's why I didn't do it. I want to WANT to blog. So, I'm back & willing. Haha. 


So, what happened while I was away? Oh ya, The Royal Wedding {omg. Kate, you're gorgeous}, Osama Bin Laden got shot in the face & died {good riddance! Seriously so proud to be an American} & last but not least, my baby turned 8. MONTHS. OLD. holy crap. 


She's getting so big, you guys. She even takes her baths in the big person tub now & doesn't want to be swaddled at night!! wah!!


I'm working on her 8 month post. There are quite a few things I want to remember. 


In the meantime, I will leave you with some pictures I've taken over the past 2 weeks. 


Also? I am SO damn excited about my first *official* Mother's Day on Sunday.

Sitting in a high chair. At dinner. Such a big girl!

LOVES the outdoors

Momma & baby. Not sure what I was saying when I took this.

Playing while momma tries to work

Saying "dadadada" really loud at dinner :)

My tired, adorable girl in her spring get-up.