Could Be Walking?!

So, Daddy needs to hurry home because his little girl is getting REALLY REALLY close to walking... at least I think.  My mom was in town this weekend, and she helped me get video of it. 

In other Clara news:

- She loves to dance to music or just to books with a rhythm (Hand Hand Fingers Thumb or any Dr. Seuss for example)
- We played outside yesterday and she didn't really like being in the grass, but she would play with the grass if the rest of her wasn't in it.

- This past month, she has added chicken, turkey, mangoes, and nectarines.  Next up is zucchini.  (I'm really bad about trying new foods every few days so we are moving slower with this than we probably should.)
- She has started to feed herself more either with just picking things up off her tray or with a fork I hand her.  A lot of times, though, food just ends up falling in her lap.

 
- Her ear infection is now cleared up.  When we went to the doctor, she told us that Clara had a yeast infection.  I'm pretty sure that has cleared up now, too.
- We are working on not giving Clara any milk during the night.  The first night, she was up for 2 hours with me checking on her every 15 minutes.  The second night, she woke up once and went right back to sleep.  The third night, she was up for an hour and a half with me checking on her every 15 minutes again.  Then, she slept through the night two nights in a row.  (HALLELUJAH!!)  And, last night, she was up for 2 hours in the middle of the night again.  Just when I thought we had made a break through!!
- And finally, we can't wait until Daddy gets back!!

Clara's First Birthday Party Theme!!

Yes, I realize that it is February and her birthday isn't until May, but I have decided on a theme for Clara's 1st birthday party: Dr. Seuss/Theo LeSieg!! 

I have gotten a lot of DIY ideas for this party from Pinterest and just by looking at and knowing Dr. Seuss and Theo LeSieg books.  For example:

Invitations:
Printed on copies of book covers

Activities:
Silliest Socks Contest (Fox in Socks)
Oobleck to play with (Bartholomew and the Oobleck)
Footprint Cards (The Foot Book)

Food:
Fish in a Pot (from Cat in the Hat) = Goldfish in a teapot

Green Eggs (from Green Eggs and Ham) = Deviled eggs with green food coloring

Ham sandwiches (Green Eggs and Ham)
Apple Slices (Ten Apples Up on Top)
ABC Cookies (Dr. Seuss's ABC)
Red and White Hat Smash Cake (Cat in the Hat)
Pink Ink Yink Drink (From One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish) = Pink Lemonade

 
Favors:
Toothbrushes (The Tooth Book)

I would LOVE to get seeds or trees for people to take home and plant (The Lorax), but I'm not sure if that will be practical for military families or for my budget.
Some sort of something in a box/envelope made with maps (Oh The Places You'll Go)

Decorations:
Books

I'm sure a lot of these ideas will be changed and/or tweaked, but this is basically what I have so far.  If you have any suggestions, please let me know!  I am REALLY excited about this!!

Goings on in my World... According to my Emails to Caleb

So, I obviously have not been as good at posting here lately.  Caleb is currently gone at NTC.  He had access to his phone for a week, and now he doesn't have any communication at all.  Since he has had his phone locked up, I have been emailing him everyday or every other day.  Here is what has been going on while he has been out of touch:

February 12
Clara was awake from 12:30am to 3am last night.  Needless to say, I didn't get to go to church since I was SO tired!  I would have maybe tried to go to late service (at 11:30am), but I have a personal training session at 1pm.
Miss Lady has finally stopped pooping with every diaper change.  HALLELUJAH!!
The little girl said "mamama" when I got her out of the car seat today!!

February 14
I made homemade chicken pot pie yesterday.  It was DELICIOUS!!  I gave Clara some of the chicken pot pie, and she loved it!!
(Chicken Pot Pie Recipe-boil carrots, peas, and green beans in half chicken broth/half water for 10 minutes; boil chicken cubes for 15 minutes in water; drain vegetables and save broth/water; drain chicken-do not save water- and mix into vegetables; put vegetables and chicken into pie crust; mix 2 tablespoons flour with chicken broth/water mix saved; pour chicken broth/water/flour mix into pie; cover pie with another crust; cover edges with foil; bake for 15 minutes then take foil off edges; bake for another 15 minutes; ENJOY!!)
I also made cupcakes to take to PWOC.  Everyone LOVED them!!  I might be eating WAY to much icing!

February 15
Happy Valentines Day yesterday!!  Thanks for my flowers!  They are GORGEOUS!!

Clara and I went swimming tonight!  She wasn't really sure about the water at first (it was cold) and she was really hanging onto me pretty tightly.  But, after a while, she warmed up and was putting her face in the water (trying to drink it), kicking her legs, splashing, and smiling.  I plan to go back to the pool when Mom comes.  I just need to get some swim diapers since I'm still not sure about swimming with a cloth diaper.
Oh, and I saw that Jeff Dunham bought the Batmobile... I just thought that was funny! 

Before his phone got taken away:
Clara started pulling herself up and letting go to stand by herself very frequently!
She now has 2 bottom teeth!
And, she thinks that Sookie is hilarious!

We can't wait until Caleb come home!  I'm sure a lot more will happen before he gets back.  Who knows, Clara could be even closer to or actually walking by herself by then!!

POOP-pocalypse!!

We have a little bit of catching up to do!!


Last week we took Clara to the doctor.  She had been snotty, coughing, feverish, and pulling at her ear.  Sure enough, the doctor said she had an ear infection.  Now she is on Amoxicillin, and I think she is getting better.  But, any mother who has had their child on Amoxicillin knows that that stuff will make your kid POOP!!  Yesterday, she pooped seven times before I stopped counting.  Today, I changed her a total of 11 times... only two of them were non-poopy diapers!  (I know this because we cloth diaper.)  To make it even worse, Clara has started to roll over on the changing table when I change her.  So, I have to get everything ready, lay her down, give her a toy, change quickly, and hope that I can get one side fasten before she rolls over (I can put the other fastener on while she sits).  I CAN'T WAIT until she is done with this!      

Last week I was sick.  I never threw up, but I was feverish, achy, and all over feeling like poo.  This was okay only for one reason: Caleb got to stay in Kansas an extra day to take care of us!  He had to wake up at 2am thinking that he was going to work at 3am, but I couldn't get out of bed without feeling nauseous (NO, I am not pregnant).  So, they let him stay back a day to help me out.  He did SO much that day, and I CANNOT tell you how blessed I am to have that man in my life!!  I am now feeling MUCH better, but Caleb is gone to California for a month.

In other news, Caleb is scheduled for an MRI on March 5th!!  YAY!

Not much else has happened.  Now, I'm going to go enjoy some Double Stuf Oreos with some milk and watch my new addiction: House Hunters.  I promise, my next blog post won't take so long!