October

I can't believe it's been so long since I've written! I'll just title this post "October" since it will pretty much sum up the month. Looking back on this month, trying to figure out what to write about, it seems like a blur. Every day goes by so fast! Clara is growing so fast and I can't believe she will be 3 months this coming Friday. She is starting to "talk" more and can reach for things now. When I feed her she likes to reach her hands up and touch my mouth. Monday's are "date night" with Jessica and Madilyn since Brandon is in school that night. It's fun to watch Madilyn grow as well. They are surely becoming best friends. :)

Two weekends ago we went on the high school youth retreat in Livingston. It was an absolutely beautiful weekend. I was a little stressed about bringing Clara but she was perfect! She slept in her pack in play in the cabin with all the girls, got held a lot during the day and hung out in her stroller during services and rec time. She enjoyed watching daddy climb the rock wall. The theme for the weekend was REVEAL. We learned about how important it is not to pretend like you've got it all together and that it's okay to "reveal" your struggles with others in the body of Christ. That we as believers are to love and support and challenge each other in our daily lives. It was really cool to see God working in the students' hearts as they opened up. I know even as a leader I sometimes become naive to the fact that even MY girls struggle with some hard core stuff. Knowing that some of my precious girls deal with depression, suicidal thoughts, body image issues, anger, bitterness, jealousy, etc broke my heart. It was yet another time to remind them of the grace God gives and that He is our ultimate healer. Because so many of them opened up about these issues, Christy and I can now take steps in getting them help. I just love them!

This past weekend we had our first garage sale with our friends Robin and Lee. It was neighborhood wide so there were a lot of people. Again, the weather was perfect and we had so much fun sitting outside and making a little money. We made $164! Woo Hoo! It's funny to see some of the stuff people will buy.

Looking forward to Clara's first Halloween! Ok, here's a ton of pictures...

Staying warm at the garage sale

Preslee is priceless

Robin teaching Preslee about not going into the street. Go momma!
Jason hanging out with Clara and Madilyn

We've got the goods

Daddy Clara time
What's up Madilyn?

Well Hello
I love camp!

Us

Callie about to climb the wall

Jason about to sprint up the wall...
3 seconds later...
Pretending to hang from the edge
Mission accomplished
Time to get down now. Zip line!
Jason and Chaz, 12th grade guy leaders. Oh, and of course best friends as well. :)

Somehow she slept through crazy loud music
Camp Cho-yeh

Some of our girls

On our way home. Camping wore me out.

Little Pumpkin
My friend Marissa's son, Kanin, turned one this month. I can't believe he's already one! He's so cute.
Hanging out with the family. Grandma Mary.
Gramps
I like to sleep, can you tell? (in Grandma Mara's arms right now) My mom and dad very much appreciate it. :)
Little gangster baby See ya

2 Months!

Today Clara had her 2 month dr appointment. Praise God for a healthy baby! She weighed exactly 11 pounds (with clothes and diaper on) so she is right at the 50th percentile in weight. She was 23.5 inches "tall", which puts her in about the 80th percentile. Maybe she won't end up like all the women in my family (shorties)! I know all these "percentiles" and such don't matter, but it's still fun to see where she's at. She got a couple of her vaccines today and did so good! One was oral and the other a shot. I was really nervous because I can't stand to see her in pain but she only cried for like 30 seconds. She was so brave. :) Speaking of pain, I have been quite the klutz lately with her. I had been dreading the first time I was going to accidentally hurt her and it coincidentally happened twice last week! The first time I was carrying her in a sling and as I went to sit down in a rocking chair I bonked her head on the arm. She cried a little bit and it was in front of a bunch of moms I didn't really know so I felt like a real loser. And then the next day I pinched her leg skin (or shall I say leg roll) in the car seat buckle. She screamed, got a tiny bruise and I ended up crying myself. I know, I know, I'm a little wimpy. I called my dad (Poppy) crying like a little girl! I felt so horrible. He immediately made me get over it though and Clara quickly recovered like she always does. I think she forgave me. ;) Another "milestone" Clara has reached is sleeping a very long stretch during the night. Woo Hoo! For three nights in a row now she has slept from 9:30-6:30. We are very lucky parents to get so much sleep!

This past weekend Jason and the 3 other guys in our small group did a service project at a house in San Leon (very close to where we live). Apparently it was in very bad shape. I will put up some pictures of it soon.

Other than that, nothing really new going on. I am absolutely loving this "stay at home mom" thing. I wasn't really sure how I was gonna like it, but there has not been a day that goes by that I don't love every minute of it. I really haven't been bored a single second. I just love taking care of her and watching her grow. And even the most seemingly mundane things bring me joy, like changing her diapers and cleaning spit up off the couch. Maybe I won't feel this way in another 6 months, but I sure do now! I'm sure Clara being a super easy baby helps as well. I think the last time she woke up in the middle of the night was at about 3 weeks old (knock on wood). It sure does make the days much more enjoyable when you are well rested. Jason and I always joke around about not having any more kids because they will probably be little hellions after having such an easy one! But of course we're just joking :) .........

So cute. Look at those Popeye arms.

Hanging out with the puppies

Stare down with the birdy

Great-Grandma Nana babysat for the first time while I was at mom's bible study. Clara was a perfect angel for her :)

"Aunt" Christy

Clara finding her fingers (the littlest things excite me and make me run and get my camera)

Socialite

Clara has been quite the socialite lately. Last weekend she got to meet her 4th great-grandma (my grandma) at Poppy's house. We all had a really good time together. Also, my neighbor started a playgroup for babies that met for the first time last week. Clara is the youngest and can't really "play" yet but will be able to soon! I put up some pictures of her hanging out with some other friends throughout the week as well. I would also like to point out that we are so lucky to have a baby we can take anywhere. She has been to volleyball games, football games, church (which can be very loud in the youth session), etc. and has always been nothing but perfect! We are really trying to enjoy this now before she wants to run around everywhere!

This morning Jason ran in his first race in a while (a 5k run). His fans (Clara and I of course) must be pretty dedicated because they got up at 5:30 to cheer him on! Go Daddy!

Getting to stay home has really allowed me to spend quality time doing some bible studies on my own. I have also been able to really prepare for the study my friend Christy and I lead with our senior girls. We are going through a book called "Forgotten God" by Francis Chan. It is a follow up to his AMAZING book "Crazy Love." It's soooo good and has really challenged me. I highly recommend it! Anyway, tonight I had the girls over for our study and can't get over how much they have blessed me. Here are these 17 and 18 year old girls who drive THEMSELVES to the study (not being forced by their parents or anything) all because they want to grow in their relationship with Jesus. As time goes by it is typical for groups to diminish in size. This is mainly because students are given more freedom with driving and making more decisions on their own. But our group size has nearly doubled! That's why I'm in such awe of how the Lord is working in these girls' lives. I can't believe they are already seniors. It was just yesterday I had them as little freshman. :'( Ok, well, get ready for a lot of pictures!

Great Grandma Betty meeting Clara for the first time

Great Grandma and Poppy

My dad and his brother (uncle glen). They wore the exact same shirt and not on purpose. Glen wasn't very happy and told my dad to change. :)

Playgroup (yes, all girls)!

Clara with the next youngest baby in the playgroup, Lydia

Clara and our neighbor Maddison

Hanging out at Robin and Lee's house. Preslee (Robin and Lee's little girl) liked to pretend Clara was one of her dolls.

Jessica?!?! Madilyn wants to eat for the 14th time, where are you? HAHAHA.

Clara and little Madilyn

Ok, this makes me want to cry. This is Clara at about 1 week old...

...and this is her at 7 weeks old in the same outfit. Look at that
little chub.

Smiling more and more. Look at those dimples!

The past few days she's really been starting to find her hands. These are definitely the 2 fingers she likes most. :)

I thought this was hilarious. The other day when I was changing Clara's diaper I looked over to see Dakota in her play gym. These are the things that amuse me throughout the day. HAHA. (She looks mean in this picture for some reason).

Gooooooo Daddy!!!!!!

Our girls!

Our church is trying to promote serving in a ministry on Sunday mornings so they made posters of a few volunteers in the church. Somehow I got asked to be on one of them. I feel famous! I always laugh at the fact it says fulltime "homemaker." That's quite comical to me. HAHA

Clara's preferred sleeping position. Ok, putting up all these pictures has taken forever. Good night...

Clara's First Trip

We went on our first out of town trip with Clara this past weekend to Austin. Everything went great and she got lots of attention of course :) We all were spoiled by Gramma Mara and Grandpa Richard. During our trip Clara got to meet some of Jason's old roommates and my maid of honor, Cindy, and her husband Justin. It was really fun to catch up with them. It was also my friend Amber's birthday so they drove up to hang out in Austin with us. We did some really fun stuff around the city like canoeing and eating yummy crepes. Her birthday fun ended with Cindy and Justin surprising her by meeting us at dinner. We are all best friends from aTm and don't get the chance to all hang out because of our busy schedules. I miss my Cindy!

Clara is starting to smile more so I posted a video of her in action. My heart melts every time she does it. :)

Me and my Cindy

Canoeing

The hour wait for the crepes was very worth it

Friends! (Amber and Philip)

Justin imitating Clara

Poppy with his motorcycle earlier in the week at our house. What a cool Poppy. :)

Clara's Smile

We bought her a play gym last week.