Random

I feel like all of my posts are a conglomeration of what actually should be several lately, but I guess that's what it will be as long as I cram everything in to one or two per week. I feel like I should do a fair post since everyone else has. So here are our pics:

on the mini ferris wheel

riding his pony, Midnight

This was actually his 2nd trip of the week to the fair, but I didn't go the first time, so no pictures were taken. Claire went with us, but she just watched everyone until around 8 when she had a breakdown and forced us out the gates.

This picture of Claire and Grant is the first time that I've put Claire in the grass. She may have been in it before, but I hadn't ever seen it. She wasn't as puzzled by it as I thought she'd be, but she did just stay put which isn't normal at all. This is a miracle shot since they're both somewhat smiling and looking at the camera.

One of Claire's new favorite toys is the Pooh airplane. Grant got this from mammy his first Christmas, and we literally just put it up right before Claire was born. We got it back down a few weeks ago for her, and she loves it too. I strongly recommend this toy to anyone with little ones. I haven't seen a Pooh one in a while, but there is a Mickey Mouse one that is very similar.

Claire's name painting came in, and she is very proud of it as you can see!!

One embarrassing moment to record...I mentioned in Claire's 7 month post that she had a double ear infection. As a result of being on antibiotics, she ended up with a yeast infection. Her dr. said just to get her some Monistat. That is not something I would normally run to the store to get, but when you think your child may be uncomfortable you don't think twice. So, I ran down to the local Walgreen's and as I'm trying to figure out exactly what I'm supposed to be buying, I look over and see our preaching minister like 10 feet from me. Normally, that would be someone I would definitely say hello to, but how do you explain that you're buying yeast medication for you baby? I wasn't sure he'd understand, so I did what anyone would do. I turned my back and did my best to avoid and remain anonymous. My plans to check out in the pharmacy changed and I went, quickly, to the front of the store. It really wasn't that big of a deal, but I'm certain I would've made a lame attempt to explain my purchase which could have ended in even more embarrassment.

A Giveaway You Shouldn't Miss!

I just wanted you guys all to see this giveaway. Go to http://www.kimwheeler.blogspot.com/ and leave a comment to be entered to win a free painting! I've ordered Claire's name already and one as a gift too, but now she's giving away #250! You can see Claire's here. I entered for this too because I have so many more ideas of ones I'd love to have, both for me and as gifts. Besides being incredibly talented, Kim is really funny. I don't know her personally, but I love reading her blog. I'm certain you will too. She has 4 small children, and by small I mean they're all in diapers and she paints! I have no idea how she does it seeing how I can't manage to do anything around here with only 2 kiddos. Her business site is called Small Words and her stuff is really really cute!! Good Luck, but I really hope I'm the winner, hehe!

The Hills

How bad is it that I'm still watching reality tv on MTV, no less? Most of it has gotten too outrageous for me, but I still love The Hills! The season premiere is tonight at 9 in case you didn't know it. I'll probably have to put it on the DVR because I'm usually in bed with Grant at that time. Anyway, I just couldn't contain my excitement and had to post about it!

Claire is 7 months old...and other stuff!

Claire turned 7 months old yesterday. I had planned to post then, but things don't always go as planned as you know! This past month has been full of new things for her. I'm ready for her to slow down just a bit.

Just in this past month, Claire has taken to full fledged crawling. She is EVERYWHERE! I swear she is non stop motion. I do not remember Grant being like this. I cannot put anything near her, or she grabs it and puts it straight in her mouth. She has no fear! She is also pulling up on pretty much anything. She's even trying to pull up on things that roll, which is a little scary for me. She lets go and stands only holding on with one hand and has even tried to go from holding on to one thing to something else that's near her. She is really motivated to get to all of the cool toys that we brought out of storage!

Please disregard the "do" in the above pic. It's getting so long in the front!

Her first bottom tooth made its debut about a week and half ago. She's totally obsessed with this new fixture in her mouth and keeps her tongue right on it. I had her monthly pics made on Saturday, and in every pic, her tongue is right on that tooth! This whole teething thing has not been fun! Grant had teeth we never even knew were coming in, but this girl is a drama queen. Last week was awful. We went 4 nights with almost no sleep, and while the last few nights have been better, they haven't been great. She's waking 3-4 times per night! She's started wanting to eat again 2x's at night, which she hasn't done since she was newborn! It's exhausting, so I'm hoping it ends very very soon! Each time a write a post about her sleeping habits, she totally changes them, so maybe this will be good luck!

Grant and Claire are playing better now. They always want the same toys..go figure! She loves going in brother's room and pulling stuff out. I never imagined a baby could make such a mess so quickly, but this one can! I think she tries to irritate him already, which cracks me up! She grabs his cups every time she sees him with one. I bought her a few new ones and she's doing great with them. She just sucks the water right out. She can even drink out of a straw, which I thought was pretty impressive. I'm pretty sure Grant was over 1 before he mastered that. Claire is just changing so so fast! I feel like she'll be walking around in no time. I cannot believe how fast 7 months has gone by. This is a really fun stage, but it will be SOOOO much better if she ever starts sleeping!!

In other news....We celebrated our 4th anniversary on Thursday, 8-7. The intentions were there to do a special post, but it didn't happen! Maybe next year, haha! The below pic is not from our anniversary, but from my birthday. I just have to post it because I think it's hilarious! This is so us!

My new job is keeping me busy, hence the lack of posts. It's good, just a busier day. I'm going to try to do at least one post a week, but we'll see!

**Updated 8/11/08 afternoon**After over a week with no sleep, I decided to take Claire to the dr. this morning because she's just not right..not sleeping AT ALL, not really eating her food, and just fussy, fussy! Well, it's not without a reason. Both of her ears are infected. Now I feel bad for waiting so long, but she's had a cold (and so do I) and she's teething, so I just figured I'd be wasting my $20. The one time I try and wait it out, and she really is sick...go figure! Hopefully, she'll be back to her cheery self in a day or two!

Just to post something..

My lack of posts lately has been due to a change in my life, a job change. Tomorrow will start my 4th week at my new job. I don't really want to go into details about the switch other than to say I was very conflicted about leaving, and really I still am. I'm driving further and working longer, and it's tough on me and, I think, my whole family. Everything is still spinning here though. My house may be even dirtier than before, if that's even possible!

Grant continues to be a total mess. He's absolutely obsessed with Taylor Swift. He walks around singing Picture to Burn all of the time, but he calls it that "stupid ole pickup truck song." This is by no means the only song of hers he knows. That's just been his fav for a few weeks. He is really ready to go back to Mother's Day Out, but they don't start back until after Labor Day. In the meantime, he's been spending some of his days hanging out with his cousin Ella, whom he adores!

Claire is amazing us with how fast she is changing. I feel like just a month or so ago, she just laid on the floor. Now, she's sitting up, crawling, pulling up, even trying to let go!, and her first tooth just broke through her gum today. How can all of this happen within like a 6 week time span??? It's making me really sad. On another note, she is sooo hard to get to sleep. We have a good week or so, and then she goes totally back to getting up every night. Right now, she wakes almost every night between 3:30 and 4:30. She is the world's lightest sleeper and every little noise wakes her up. She and Grant are totally opposite in this regard. They are starting to play together some, until Grant decides to body slam her or try to drag her across the floor. I think he's just trying to make sure she knows who's boss. I have a feeling she'll show him who really is boss very very soon!