Random catch up!

Here is an adorable picture of you and Chloe! This was your second professional photo shoot, my cute little super models!  I love this picture so much, I am to lazy to lookup the exact date but I think you are about 4 months old.  Okay I looked it up,May 22, 2011

This is just a gorgeous shot of you at the antigravity place we took the kids.  May 31, 2011

These next few pics are from a trip we took to Salt Lake City in the begining of June.  We camped at Cherry Hills and had loads of fun.  Youare such an easy awesome baby.  The first night was cold so you slept in the bed with me and dad, completly under the covers, nice and toasty!

We wemt up for a triple combo, to celebrate GG's birthday, Chloe's birthday, and Tysons blessing.  This picture was taken after the lunch we had for GG.  You and Zoe are super duper cuties!

Heres a shot of all the cousins on daddys side.  I have no idea whos looking I just picked a random shot and posted it!

Here is a picture of all my favorite people in the whole world!!  I love you guys so much, you mean everything to me.

hello baba baby

I came to the realization today that you are quickly turning into a baba baby :(  I guess its not the baba so much that bothers me but whats coming out of it.  I shouldn't say it bothers me I just feel sad about it but I have to start giving you formula.  It's no big deal, I know, lots of babies take formula but not mine.  I have been worried for the past two weeks that maybe you weren't getting enough from me and so I started pumping to see exactly what you were getting and it was not much!  So far I have been able to give you frozen breastmilk but today for the first time I gave you formula.  I was worried that you wouldn't like it since you have never had it but you didn't hesitate at all, you drank 8 oz! You are the happiest sweetest most special baby and I love you so much!  I can't believe you are almost 6 months old, where did the time go? You have been a little squealer lately and also LOVE to stick out your tongue.  You make everyone in the family so happy and the kids all think you are so funny, no matter what you are doing!  Cooper just told me yesterday that when you are 8 and he is 16 he wants to help you with your homework.  I wanted to write it down so I can hold him to it!

4 months

Hello little Claire Bear,
You will quickly see how horrible I am at regularly writing or posting anything!  You turned 4 months old last Thursday, I thought that would be a good milestone to remember!  You and Chloe went to the doctor together last week, you for your 4 month check up and Chloe for her Kindergarten physical.  You weigh 13.9 lbs and you are 24 inches long!  Very tall for your age, 96th percentile. 
You are a super happy little girl and I have never seen a cuter smile.  I can only say that because I have a horrible memory and I can't remember what all your brothers and sisters smiles were like! (You will also quickly notice that I have an addiction to exclamation points)  You are getting more and more ticklish everyday!  I remember at some point I mentioned your horrible sleeping patterns and said I would talk more about them later but I wont!  Well, I wont dwell on them, I will just say that there were way to many nights that you and I (and sometimes you and Daddy) were up until 3 or 4 in the morning!!  I am glad to report that it is only 10:15 and you have been asleep for at least 10 minutes already.  That is soooo much better then 4 am!  You even sleep through the night already!  (All these statements deserve exclamation points, by the way)  I was telling your Doctor, Dr Nygaard who is awesome by the way,  about your sleeping schedule of 10-12 hours at night and just little cat naps during the day to make sure that was an ok schedule.  He said that sounded like a pretty good trade off, I agree.
You love attention and have just recently started babbling a lot and making little high pitched screams to entertain yourself.  It is very cute!  I can't get anything done during the day because that would mean I would have to look away from you for more than 10 seconds at a time and that is a lot harder than it  sounds!  You make my life so full of love and happiness and I cant imagine it any different.    
I was getting ready to lay you down tonight and you just had the sweetest little look on your face.  I started to think about your future, how special you are, and all the potential you have.  I hope your life is full of great things and nothing but happiness. You are a sweet and precious daughter of Heavenly Father, always remember that.  I know that is true, I know it with all my heart.  I love you more than I could have ever imagined and yet I know that we have a Father in Heaven who loves us both more than we will ever understand.  I am sure I have said it before and I will say it again, I LOVE being your mommy, thank you for being my baby.  Thank you for making me smile a thousand times a day, and for teaching me all about love, happiness, and true joy.  
I love you!!

3 months old

 

Man, Claire, just look at that face! How could anyone not love you? (everyone does, don't worry) You are 3 months old, you big girl. I know that time goes by fast but I still cant believe it, it seems like just yesterday that I was pregnant and miserable!! This picture was actually taken on the 12th when you were just months old.

 

Here you are asleep in your baby carrier, you have done this a few times and Joni thought it was cute so she took your picture. I agree, it's pretty cute. I'm glad I got to see it! I gotta be honest, you get a lot of attention from strangers when you are in this thing, now I see why!

 

Oh I love this one. I took it right when you first started smiling and I was so excited to catch one!

 

Here you are with Brighton, as you can see he is a little bigger then you! Karen said you guys looked like an old couple sitting together. You are asleep in your bassinet right now and I am basically just waiting for you to wake up! It sounds like you might be sucking your thumb though which is AWESOME! You have fallen asleep with your thumb twice now and I love it. It's so cute that I dont even mind paying for you to have braces later!

Blessing Day

You were blessed on March 27, 2011 in the Hurricane 20th ward by your Dad and so many others who love you! I will try to remember all of them, Uncle Jason, Uncle Matt, Uncle Codee, Uncle Aaron, Uncle TJ, Grandpa, Papa and Bishop Peterson. This picture was taken later in the evening after everyone had gone home. I bought this sweet little outfit for you while we were in Vegas for my baby shower. It might be the only time you were it, when it was cold enough to wear it was to big for you now it fits so cute but itsto warm outside!

We went out in the backyard to take some family pictures but it was way to bright out there! Joni snapped this picture of us on our way out to the front!

Here we are out in front of the house. I love the look on your face in this picture, you sweet girl. I love your fancy little blessing dress too. I was planning on having you wear the same dress Chloe was blessed in but I changed my mind at the last minute and decided you needed your own! (the little pink sweater is the same sweater that Sophia was blessed in)

Here is the whole family. It was a lot of work to gather all the kids up and get them in a picture! I think it turned out pretty good considering how many kids we were trying to get to look and smile!! I love you my little Claire bear! I have a few more random shots I will post of you later and we will talk about your bad sleeping habits then :)

Newborn pictures

Here are your precious newborn pictures, I love them so much! You are the only one that had them done and I can't stop starring at them. They were taken on Feb 1, 2011 you were almost 3 weeks old and super cute, I love you sweet angel!

 

 

 

 

Soooo much love

 

Here is a little collage of the first time your brothers and sister got to meet you. They were all so excited and they love you so much. I feel like that is something so special about our family , there is so much love to go around. It wasn't just me that was anxious for you, it was everyone! I added some extra pics of you with Chloe and Campbell because those two were constantly asking to hold you. I guess Carter and Cooper were too they were just gone at school most of the day. Needless to say, you didn't get put down very much for the first few weeks of your life.

 

Since i am a litte behind with the pictures (because we take about a thousand pictures of you everyday) I thought I would just start adding pictures in to my everyday journaling. You are in your swing right now, you were asleep but you just woke up. You haven't been sleeping very good lately, I just thought I would write it down so when you have a baby of your own and you ask me about this and I can't remember anything we will have this to look back through and find the answers! I really thought you were going to be my one easy baby. The one who falls asleep on her own a=without having to be put to sleep. You were for awhile, but then one night you stayed up until 3 am, and that has pretty much been the norm eveer since. You take a night off every once in a while and give me a normal nights rest. Last night we stayed up till 4, that was awesome. Dad is pretty good to give me a break every once in a while too so hopefully between the two of you I can make it out of this still sane.

 

It's a little frustrating because I can't help you feel better. Some nights you are calm but awake and other nights you are fussy and noticeably uncomfortable. Sometimes I can hear and feel your tummy rumbling and I wish I could do something. I tried a prescription last night but it didn't do any good, Dad is at the store right now getting gas relief drops but I'm very doubtful that they will help either. You sleep like an angel all throughout the day which at least allows me to get stuff done around the house and shopping or whatever. I know it wont last forever and it makes no difference in how much I love you! Well maybe it does a little because every once in a while I catch a little glimpse of your sweet face and I love you a little more, even at 3 in the morning!

The Good Stuff

 

Your first day here on earth!! I love these cute pictures of you and all your little fat rolls, double chin and everything! You precious,precious little girl. This may sound weird but I actually love these pictures of myself. The look on my face in both the pictures I am in really brings back the feelings I had when you were born. I can't even describe it in words, disbelief and pure joy I guess would be my best try.

 

All clean and bundled up for daddy to cuddle.

 

This is your going home outfit! It took me a while to find it but as soon as I saw it I knew it would be perfect for your first outfit. You couldn't have looked any cuter :)

 

Ready to head home and meet your brothers and sisters who were anxiously awaiting your arrival!

My sweet little Claire Bear,
I thought I would start your blog/book off by telling you all about my pregnancy with you. It's a really good idea because I have a horrible memory, I have already forgot so much about when Chloe was a baby and that was only 4 years ago. After I had Campbell we were pretty sure that he was going to be our last. When he was almost 2 I decided to go back to school. I thought it would take me a few years to get my nursing degree and by the time Cam was in school I would be all set to go to work. It was a hard decision for me, I knew I would miss the kids and Daddy being gone 3-4 nights every week, but with Daddys support I did it. I think it was pretty close to the first week of going back to school that I started to doubt our decision to be done. It seemed to be on my mind alot, mostly when I was in the car alone on the way to school, the thought of NOT having another baby made me feel so sad and I guess deep down I knew I couldn't be done.
I continued on with my school work and really got into the swing of things, I did really well in class and was really enjoying myself. I signed up for the next semester and continued to do well, it finally seemed like becoming a nurse was a realistic goal for me. However, I still thought about (you) regularly. By the end of my second semester I had told Daddy my feelings and we both agreed that maybe we should try to have just one more baby and see what happened. Right before school was out (April) I went to the Dr and told him we wanted to have another baby. I got off my birth control and told myself I would give it until the begining of the fall semester (August), if I wasn't pregnant by then I would just continue on with my schooling and be officially done with having kids!
I finished up the semester and was so relieved to have a break in the summer. May quickly came and it was mine and Daddy's anniversary. Grandpa had taken all the kids to Marysvale for the night so Daddy and I could go on a date. As we were getting ready to leave I started thinking about things and realized that I might be pregnant already! I mentioned it casually to Dad and he kind of said, huh. I don't think he really thought about it again that night, but I did, I couldn't stop thinking about it. We went on a really fun date to a place where you paint your own pottery, and then to eat at a delicious steak house. On the way home I brought it up again and suggested we go by a pregnancy test, and we did. I took it and well you can probably guess what the result was! POSITIVE!! It was a pretty faint positive and Dad wasn't sold that it was positive at all. I went back and looked at it again, I knew I was right, it was positive! I could hardly believe that I c=got pregnant that quickly and I felt like that was a confirmation that we had made the right decision.
We headed up to Marysvale the next day, the whole family was there for Grandma and Grandpa's birthday party but it was too soon to tell everyone. I think Daddy may have told Grandma but I'm not sure. We told my family the next weekend at Morgan's birthdayparty, I wrapped up a card for him that said for his gift I was giving him a new cousin. It was a pretty fun way to tell everyone. Billy told the rest of his family and the rest was history! Aunt Kylie and Aunt Emilee were already pregnant and soon after we found out that Aunt Melissa was pregnant and after that, Aunt Debbie!!
It was a hard pregnancy for me physically. I did start school again in the fall and I was also in Young Womens. There was a lot going on. Luckily I had an easy class but by the time school was out I didn't know if I could make it any longer. You weren't due until January 22 but for some reason I thought for sure you were going to come over the Christmas break. Well that came and went. I went into the hospital with false labor twice, total dissappointment both times! My doctor agreed to induce my 1 week early, so that is what I was planning on. Saturday the 15th you were going to be born. I had a Dr appointment on Wednesday January 12th at 1040 a.m. I woke up that morning with some good contractions and bleeding. What the heck? I thought for sure you weren't coming on your own. We took the kids to Aunt Jonis and went into labor and delivery for a third time. I forgot to mention that I had been dilated to a 3 for about 3 weeks. This time I was a 4, good news, not great, but good. We got to the hospital at about 9 in the morning and they came in about 9:45 with the good news that they were admitting me! Hooray, you were finally coming, I couldn't believe it. It felt like I had been waiting for you forever, I would day dream about you and sometimes (lots of times) it felt like you were never really going to be in my arms. Finally, I knew you would be.
They started me on pitocin right away and said Dr. Ott would come over at 10:40 (since that was my scheduled appointment time anyway!) to break my water. As soon as they started the pitocin the contractions got pretty serious. I am pretty sure my water broke on its own but Dr Ott showed up anyway to make sure. By then I was dialated to a 6 and more seriously considering an epidural. The nurse kept telling me you weren't low enough but I kept telling her that it was time. I decided to go ahead with the epidural, I think the nurse ended up calling both doctors at the same time. I got the epidural and it only worked on the right side, I could still feel every contraction on the left side, not fun. Dr. Ivy finally came back and gave me a little more medicine but by that time Dr. Ott was there and we were in the heat of things. I think it finally kicked in just in time for the delivery, thank goodness. You were born at 12:36 pm on January 12th 2011. You were 8 lbs 15 oz. and 21 inches long and you had a ton of hair!! You were born very quick and easy. Me and Daddy were of course there, Gramma Loni and Aunt Misty were also there. I loved you right away. You were absolutely beautiful. I remember everyone talking about how big you were and ALL that hair. I got to hold you right away, and I got to hold you for a long time before they came in and cleaned you up and moved us upstairs. It was pure Heaven.
Right after you were born Aunt Kylie showed up. Actually I think she was there before you born, waiting outside the door. Shortly after her Auntie Karen showed up. Neither of them realized that you had already been born, they both were just dropping by to visit while I was in labor and they got a nice little baby suprise when they showed up! Joni was still home with all your brothers and sisters and had to wait for someone to come relieve her. She showed up right before we were about to head upstairs and stayed for awhile while Karen watched ALL the kids; Carson, Jackson, Sophia, Cooper, Carter, Chloe, and Campbell!! That is ALOT of kids!
We only stayed one night, the rest of the kids weren't allowed in the hospital to see you and we were anxious to get home so they could see you. We had the best nurses, aids, and Doctors taking care of us. It was a wonderful experience. I love you so so so much and I am so glad you are here with us. You are a sweet special little spirit and I KNOW you will have a wonderful life!
Love Forever,
Mommy

Dear Claire,

Joni and I had this genius idea to start a private blog for you that could be more like a journal/scrapbook. I was feeling guilty that all the other kids had at least a few pages of scrapbook and you don't but it's just not happening anymore. So in place of that I started this blog for my sweet baby girl and I will print it into a book for you to keep after a year or so. I love you so very much and I never ever want you to forget that. You are my precious little angel and I love having you for my baby. I love you lots and lots,
Mom