May & June Photodump

Well I see that a monthly update is too much for me to handle! So go grab a cup of coffee and get comfy... I have a lot to share and a lot to say :) And I like hearing myself talk (and I'm the quiet one of the family! haha!).... so here we go!!

5/7/16 Weekend: Ross & I have the best group of friends! In May, they planned a winery weekend at the Finger Lakes, and it was our first time being able to go (yay for being closer to home!). So this was also our first weekend away from Claire. The trip was lovely. We rented a beautiful house with our friends with lake views, wined and dined for 3 straight days, and left with our hearts filled! And I only cried once from missing my baby girl.

Here, I let Claire pick out a new toy for the upcoming roadtrip! (She only had to drive half as far, as we met my parents in NY to watch her.) It's a big deal when I buy her a new toy as I'm very set on the 'minimalist' mindset. But a roadtrip called for a new toy and she loved it :)

Caption: 'See mom... I buy Claire SOME new toys!' I couldn't pass up a cute owl from the one winery.

Ross & I at Wagners Winery & Brewery. Ross loved having the option of beer or wine. He goes for beer. I go for wine. We are both happy campers.

A picture of the whole group!

Ross & I have perfected feeding Claire during long roadtrips! One of us will jump in the backseat to feed her a bottle while the other continues driving.... it's a win-win because she's buckled in and happy eating, and the other person is buckled in the middle seat, and we don't have to take the time to stop. This is the first time for Ross to take over feeding duties in the car (and he dozed off!) so I had to take a pic! ha!

5/17/16: Sometimes the simplest toys are the best toys!!
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5/18/16: This particular night, Claire was hilarious. She was purposely putting the burp cloth on her face... I think it was her game of hide-n-seek. And she kept giggling over and over. We finally got one round on camera!!
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5/22/16: Ross, Claire & I went to check out this place here in Cleveland called the Holden Arboretum. They have a canvas walk through the trees and a tower that you climb to see out over the trees. It was so much fun!! And we had a gorgeous day for it. I carried Claire in the back-pack which she loves. Afterwards, we had a nice picnic for lunch then headed home :)

Goofball likes eating the carrier!

Family selfie!!

Panoramic Views!! And it's worth mentioning the I carried her up all 202 stairs!!! Ross carried her down. Safe to say I was huffing and puffing when we finally reached the top!

She loved playing with an empty water bottle during our picnic... again, the simplest toys are the best toys!

5/23/16: Claire and I love going to our beach, Lake Erie. Did I mention already it's 5 minutes from our house! haha  It's not the nicest beach or the 'bluest' water... but it's our beach and we love it! And I'm not even a beach person. Make me drive 8 hours to get to the Atlantic... no way! 5 minutes, sure!! I love our town here in Bay Village!!

5/26/16: 6-month checkup, all is well! And she was such a champ with the shots this time! I can't get over how much I love these headbands... headbands all the time :)

5/28/16 Memorial Day weekend: Here was another big event.... our first time camping this season and first time camping with Claire!! Boy, it was work! But I still won't give up camping no matter how much work it is! I love it too much and it brings me too much peace. Hopefully Claire eventually enjoys it as much as Ross & I do! Unfortunately, this time, we got some rain and a TON of mud... so remind me next time to bring tennis shoes or rain boots! whoops.

Claire's wearing my hoodie while we were stranded under our canopy in the pouring rain. She didn't mind and eventually fell asleep in it!

She loved the tent too. She eventually slept peacefully at night by stealing my sleeping bag. *sigh*

Family selfie...

Girl loves selfies. hahahaha....

Aunt Ang and Aunt Kris loved spending time with Claire too!...

Tent Selfie...

 

And finally, a picture of the whole gang before we all departed! (minus Dakota. She hates camping and had had enough!  She was sitting by the car waiting to go!)

Ross took the next day off too to have an extra long holiday weekend so we explored Cleveland a bit. Can you guess whose drink belongs to who?!

6/2/16: Another beach day! And another selfie. She cracks me up!!!! This was our first and only pic of the day...we're getting too good at this!

6/3/16: She discovered her tongue! ha!

This was also an exciting day b/c I received my Welcome Kit for my new job. I'm officially a contractor with eGroup for Southern Nuclear Company!! I sent this selfie to a few of my coworkers who also work through eGroup and said we could now be 'TWINSIES!' hehe

So basically, I got my old job back as a Project Analyst but as a contractor since I live out of state. I'm SO happy to be back working full-time and I think Claire's happy being back in the home daycare she was at previously with a few other kids. It's good for both of us. I'm regaining my sanity and independence and she's learning how to make friends :)

6/9/16: The tough life of shopping. She fell asleep like this in her stroller.

 6/10/16: Another giggling video... I can't resist!!!
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6/11/16: Another beach day. This time she discovered sand!
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6/18/16 Weekend: Last weekend, I headed home to Pittsburgh to celebrate one of my best friend's, Steph, on her upcoming wedding! It was her bridal shower and bachelorette party all rolled into one weekend! Everything went off without a hitch and we had a blast!!

Ross & Claire stayed behind for the weekend, so he ended up spending his first Father's Day watching Claire all by himself. I heard that they had a really good weekend though!.. that may or may not have had something to do with also seeing her grandma (Ross' mom) and her uncle (Ross' brother) for the weekend! I'm sure she was spoiled with attention!!!

Back to the beginning of the day, Steph's fiance asked for one gift... a chainsaw. And he was ecstatic! priceless!

 

Group shot at the shower!

Steph and her coconut rum punch! Yum!! We ended up having a Makeup-Tutorial party, dinner catered by Mad Mex, then out on the town to a club to dance!

One more shot before our night out! Let me remind you that we only went OUT at 9:30pm... a time when most of us are in bed! So bets were talked about whether or not we would make it out and not fall asleep beforehand. Answer? We are still young! The evening was a blast and we were up until 3am!! It only took me 5 days to recover from the sleep I lost....

So worth it!!

At the club, I'm sad to report that it's evident that I'm a MOM. Every time I saw a girl dressed scandalously, I cried and prayed that Claire would never wear such a thing. "Put some clothes on!" or "Don't dance like that!" I would yell. Oh, these poor poor girls. Have some respect for yourselves. ....What happened to me?!!! I never asked for a daughter and look what it's become of me!!

At the club!... (what an *awesome* pic of Kris & I, ha!)

And lastly, a pic of Ross' weekend with Claire! I think Claire loved her daddy-daughter weekend!

 

6/24/16: And lastly, because it happened today and I'm still giddy over it... our new fridge!!! Well, sort of. We live in a rental house and the fridge died... so the Landlord went out right away and bought us this shining beauty. I'm giddy over it!! I didn't know if they'd buy something cheap since it is a rental after all... but seriously, I feel like I won the lottery! 

It's so pretty. I pet it and stare at it every time I walk in the room. 

Yes... my name is Kristin and I get giddy over new appliances.

 

Ross & I are thinking about re-signing our lease for another year and this def. helps sway the decision! We are just so happy here and are not interested in buying a house yet. And I'll tell ya... it's nice to have a break from home renovations :)

Well, that is all! I warned you I had a lot to share!

*Kristin*

April Photo Dump

Here we are again! Another month has passed since I've last blogged and I don't know where time has gone. It is so fun watching Claire grow and learn new tricks, my oh my, how fast they learn!

I'll be back soon with another post with some May updates... I have some cute videos :)

4/1/16: Remember this fb post?? Well yeah, she has maybe only rolled from tummy to back again one other time since then. She hates it! Ugh. I've let her cry it out time and time again, hoping she'll roll over and figure it out again. But geesh. I've given up. I usually end up saving her. She is stubborn. Or lazy. but I can't stand the crying.
Claire = 1, Mom = 0

 4/5/16: Trying out her snowsuit!! haha.... let me explain. I needed a solution for camping and what she would sleep in since she can't sleep in a sleeping bag, I found the perfect solution while spontaneously stopping in at BabyGap with my mother-in-law (just to drool over all the adorable clothes which I refuse to pay their prices for, ho hum). A snowsuit! ...on clearance for $12! Actually, it might be a little too warm... so I also have a lighter alternative. It's a 12-month size... so it's a little big, but if we don't use it for camping, she can use it next winter :) and she loves it!! haha

Sorry for the video being sideways...



4/5/16:  She still does this a lot... gotta have 2 fingers in her mouth at once!

 

4/10/16: Michelle & Luca came to visit us for a few days. Luca loves his Baby Claire time :) Michelle gave us Luca's old bouncer and Claire LOVES it. Michelle's just trying to clean out her house and clutter up mine!! *ahem*

Bff's!

4/15/16: Trying out my baby carrier with Claire while cooking dinner. She's been in it a few more times since then and she really enjoys it, even falling asleep in it once.

4/15/16: The week she learned how to scream! Here's a different video than the one I shared on FB. Just some more vocalization :) She's starting to add consenants and will talk up a storm in the back of the car with her toys! Ross & I usually get a good laugh, wondering what it is she's saying...

I'll share this video since it's not sideways ;)




4/16/16: "Sorry ma'am, I'm gonna need to see some I.D." Oops.

4/18/16: Trying out her new bathing suit!! She was only fascinated with the tutu and just wanted to eat it.  I guess whatever keeps her entertained, lol. I can't wait to take her to the beach (aka Lake Erie) this summer and to our neighborhood pool! I'm considering baby swimming classes right now and can't decide if it's worth the cost?!

4/20/16: Looking cool in her new shades. Unfortunately they only stay on for about .7 seconds until she rips them off so she can eat them!

4/27/16: Some naked time after her bath. Some days we get restless so whatever entertains her, goes.

4/30/16:  Helping to wash the car?! No. Sleeping on the job. Thanks kid.

*Kristin*

March Photo Dump

Well here goes my last 30-day dump of photos and catching up :)

Friday, 3/11/16. Dinner at Outback Steakhouse with Ross for my last day of work at Southern Company... for now!

Long story short, but back when Ross & I made the decision to move north, my boss agreed to let me stay on as an employee until after maternity leave, so I could get my maternity leave benefits. Never in a million years did I think they would do that for me. But in the long run, they don't typically support employees full-time telecommuting. So basically, they asked me to resign and come back to work for them as a contractor instead. Sounds like a great plan to me!! Except for the small print that says 'when an employee resigns, they must be separated from the company for 90 days.'  So that's the story of why I'm home again full time with Claire. Hopefully in June, when my 90 days is up, I will get to return as a contractor. It would be a dream come true to work from home full time doing a job I loved. So fingers crossed :) Until then, I'm trying to make the most of my time at home with Claire.

3/13/16: Claire in her swing. I walk away only to come back and find her flopped over. oops! I've since started buckling her in, haha.

3/14/16: One of our weekly daily(?!) shopping trips to Target. On this day, I found the perfect bunny ears for her Easter photos that we tried out in the store!! Yippee.

 

3/24/16: Claire was supposed to help me pack for our Easter weekend to Pgh but she fell asleep on the job. Thanks kid. 

3/26/16: Easter Weekend was a whirlwind for us. We got to see both of our families along with my group of friends and Ross' group of friends!! It was a great weekend. Claire was a champ through most of it. She had a few meltdowns thanks to not getting enough naps, but for the most part, Ross & I are getting better at knowing when the meltdown will ensue and how to prevent it :) Easter day she was pretty much done with being passed around to people and was pretty cranky all day (except for these morning photos in her Easter dress). I don't blame her though, it was a busy weekend with a lot of new people and not enough time to relax and nap!

 

Quick family photo before our Easter day began:

 

 

Photo at my grandma's house for Easter: 

Not often we get a family photo! Next time I'll remind us to not face the sun... Seth was the only one smart enough to cover his eyes! lol

Testing out Claire's bouncy seat!! haha My MIL bought this for Claire to use Easter weekend but Claire is still just a bit too small/too young for this. So we practiced with Dakota instead :)

3/28/16... Claire's 4-month checkup. She's 13 lbs. 9 oz. (42nd percentile) and 26" long (95th percentile). She's long and lean :)

Happy before the shots...

3/29/16... I have to remind myself that babies can be quite cranky the day after vaccinations. This day was no exception. Geesh.

And that's my photo dump for March. Hope you enjoyed!

*Kristin*