Friday Morning...

Could there be anything more beautiful for me to wake up to in the morning than my wife and daughter?

first day back at work...

Today was my first day back at work part time... I had gone in a few times for an hour here and there, but this was my first day back on my 30 hour a week schedule. It was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be... i thought i would be on the verge of tears all day long... I am so thankful to have practically a perfect situation for me to feel comfortable and not have as hard of a time leaving my little baby bird. I initially wanted to work 20 hours a week, but to have health insurance (which was very important for us), I have to work 30 hours. The plan is to get to work around 8:35 or so and work until about 3 and then come home to wake up Claribel to eat. Maria (our WONDERFUL nanny) comes at 8:30 and wakes up Claribel to eat around 9, she takes another nap and then wakes her up to eat around noon (unless of course she wakes up on her own) and she leaves at 2 with C asleep in her crib. At first I was not waking her up, but I don't think she was getting enough feedings in... We will see what the Pediatrician has to say at her next appointment on the 11th.

What makes it so much easier for me is that Ray works from home and is here should anything happen, it also allows me to get that extra hour in after the nanny leaves. I may or may not go into the office on Fridays (if there is enough for me to do from home during naps during the week and on Friday) and Ray will keep her if needed on Fridays, since he is still not working Fridays.

I am so thankful to have such an amazing workplace with a flexible, amazing boss that is letting me decide what works best for my family. SO THANKFUL! I am so thankful that the Lord brought us back here to live, this flexibility would NOT be the case at my workplace in Dallas and I would have a really hard time working full time and not get to spend time with her during the day. I think for me the hardest part about full time in my job is how drained I am after the day/ week and I am afraid that I would feel like I didn't have much left to give to children.

So, this is a perfect solution for us. I came to the realization (when someone asked at work when I would resume full time work) that I might not ever. I would love to always be there after school when they get off and to have time to make dinner... it would also help me balance "me time" being able to get to the gym, etc. later on. Well, that is where I am... working, at home, thankful, and blessed!

The best part of my day was coming home to these two loves of my life!

some pics from this week...

A few pictures...

you talking to me bird?

This is the outfit that we got to bring her home from the hospital in... It actually fit her pretty good- is a size 0-3 months (but a pretty small one) and I am afraid this was one of our last wears of this outfit (now that we are in the cloth diapers (they put a little more junk in the trunk). It is one of our favorites and I hope that we have another girl or some girl cousins to wear it also! sweet baby grin- it is so fun to start getting those smiles!

funny face...

my 31st...

I had a wonderful 31st birthday yesterday. d and Monie brought over steaks from Readfield's and d and Ray gave them the Weber touch. We had PW's crash hot potatoes (seriously, if you still think that baked potatoes are the best choice with steak- you MUST try these), and corn on the cob. Topped it off with Brownie sundae's... yummy!

Of course mom loved holding Claribel while she napped and we watched a movie- Mall Cop, pretty entertaining...

And Monie fed Claribel her bottle. I wish I would have gotten a better picture of her in her outfit... she looked so cute in this little dress that was one of the first things that Monie bought her... and I love those trumpette mary jane socks. Unfortunately, Ray saw them at Blue Kangaroo on display on a little plastic baby foot and has had a hard time getting that creepy image out of his head (i think it is getting better though, seeing them on cutie Claribel's feet).

pictures for my aunties...

So, I am going to try and be better about posting at least pictures really regularly for little Claribel's Aunties that don't live close but love her dearly!

cutie belly button after bath time,

with Frannie close by to try and lick off lotion after we put it on

another sleeping baby in one of my favorite gowns (great find by Monie)

daddy time... working on getting tired to go to sleep

lunch time break with Daddy

here comes frannie...

cold nose!

cheese!

meeting Meme and Aunt Barbara for the first time- Lunch at Jose's today

One Month...

One Month old... it has gone by so fast, yet has felt like we have had you in our lives for much longer! The pics below were taken on your one month birthday... you have grown so so much and we just think you are the cutest baby- don't even get GrandE started...

The one below is what we call "angry elf" (from the movie Elf with Will Ferrell). It makes me so sad when you are sad and this was definitely the last picture of the bunch. I know pretty soon we are going to have to let you cry some to learn to go to sleep by yourself, but I am not ready quite yet.

Your head control is pretty strong thankfully since we have not done a lot of tummy time. You do sleep on your stomach (I know, I know...) so you get to practice your head control then as well. We got the Angelcare monitor which senses movement (good for tummy sleepers) and are hopefully going to get that all set up this weekend and start at least napping in your crib. The buggy is great, but you are getting pretty big in there and I think I will sleep much better when I can't hear all the noises so much... maybe...

We had some sadness at the beginning of the week. Your tiny big toenails were not growing in good and one had gotten a little infected. Your poor toe was bright red. So, we went to visit the doc on Monday and it turned out you had a slight fever and minor ear infection in your right ear- poor baby! So, we have been giving you antibiotics (Daddy is really good at it) and you seem to like it as much as I did when I was little- yummy ammoxicillian (sp?). The doctor said just to rub the toe nail out with a warm washrag which I did on Sunday when we noticed it and it was already looking better when the doctor saw it. It is not even really pink at all anymore. You also seem to be feeling better with the antibiotics (we had noticed that you were a bit fussy which was so abnormal for our sweet, happy baby).

This is a picture of some awake time on the baby einstein mat (Thanks Aunt Rachael). She does pretty good laying here looking at the whale. I know once she gets older it will be more and more fun for her!

Finally, our sweet sleeping baby, nothing cuter than a sleeping baby.

We will hopefully be posting some pictures soon from the photographer that came and took newborn pics (www.tinybirdphotography.com). They turned out really good and she was such a joy to work with. Sadness that she is moving to Houston, but hopefully she will still be up for CS shoots as our family grows.

Claribel, you have already brought immeasurable joy and love to our hearts and we can't imagine life without you sweet baby! We can't wait to see what the future holds for our now family of three (well, 4 with frandog) and know that the Lord has much in store!

We love you our little Bel-

August 7th...5 years!

Last Friday we celebrated our 5th anniversary! I can't believe that we have been married 5 years- the time really has flown by, yet I also feel like I have known Ray for SO LONG... much longer than 6 years. I am so thankful for the blessing that he is in my life and can't imagine life without him. It has been so fun to see him grow into a wonderful daddy as well. He loves Claribel so much and she has him wrapped around her little fingers.

Above is a picture from when we were first dating- We went to Daniel and Amy's wedding in Beaumont with Lori and this guy Vlad (remember that character Lori?).

and a few pictures from the wedding- definitely one of the happiest days of my life- the happiest until July 10, 2009 and that day ranks up there pretty high as well!

Here we are in Jamaica on our honeymoon- What a wonderful vacation- I really can't believe that it was five years ago!



And finally, we went to La Riviera for our anniversary dinner. Monie kept Claribel which was nice, since when she is with us we are a little distracted (not that I don't mind being distracted of course :) ) It was just nice to be able to focus on the two of us for the night.

It was a lovely dinner with my honey.

Happy 5th Ray- I look forward to MANY more years to come!

CG's Baby Shower...

I am a little late in posting this, but I had the pleasure to help hostess a baby shower a week ago Sunday for a friend from High School, Christina, with some other friends from High School that I have not seen in FOREVER! It was so nice to catch up with so many people that I have not seen in 10+ years... Laurel, Jessica L, Anne W, Whitney, Kendra, Dara... Of course it was all I could remember to make sure I had anything I might need for Claribel that I completely forgot my camera... Hopefully I can track down some pictures since Christina's sister Mary had her camera... I did take pictures of the diaper cake I made for a center piece. It was a fun project and looked really cute with the cake and flowers on the table. I have a feeling there might be more of these in my future :) I included a few other homemade items on the cake that I was planning on making for CG before we decided to do a diapercake: 4 burpcloths with fabric topstitched down the center, a little taggie blanket, and a flannel blanket with yellow on one side and a handsome navy stripe on the other. Most of the items on the cake were ones that CG registered for- the shoes, rubber duck that has a "hot" indicator on the bottom, the toys, pacifiers, and the baby soap and baby lotion that is at the center of the cake. Here are pictures going around the cake to the right...

outings...

We have enjoyed a few outings as a family of three including dinner at Jose's and sno-cones at JJ's, dinner at Jose's and shakes with d and Monie, a few Target runs, Cheddar's, and Sunday School and lunch this past Sunday. This is a picture of little bell after her bath and in her sleeper right before we went to Cheddar's last Saturday night. She just looked so cute all ready to go I had to get a picture. Her little cheeks are chubbing up quite nicely :)

This is a picture of some snuggle time during a movie last night. She was wearing a onesie from Ray's co-worker Shanthi that says "Who needs a superhero when I have my dad?" Indeed...

family...

Grand-E and Popsi Uncle Tuck and Aunt Rebecca

Aunt Rachael
Auntie Allison

Poppop and Becky (Becky is also waiting to see what Claribel calls her)

2 weeks...

Claribel, I can't believe you are already 2 weeks old (and a few days...)! The time has flown by and we just can't imagine life without you in it. You are such a good baby and hardly ever cry unless you are hungry or need a new diaper. Of course, your daddy and I think you are just the cutest and sweetest little thing we have ever seen! I think you are quite spoiled as far as being held most of the time, awake or asleep. You have both of us wrapped around your tiny fingers and daddy really loves time with his "little bell" as he calls you.

Your daddy had two weeks off from work which was really nice, but he had to go back to work this week, which has been a transition not having his help all day long. It is nice that he is here for work so we get a nice lunch break together and there is no "commute" time home from work.

You have some crazy hair that just sticks up all over and we just love it!

It seems that you enjoy bathtime most of the time, just so long as we have the warm water running on you and you don't get too cold. We always wrap you up in the cozy hooded towel and take our time getting you lotioned and dressed in your gown. You look so cute in that hooded towel, all bright eyed.

You really like your Wubbanub pacifier that I got for you in Dallas. The lady at the shop was suprised that I wasn't buying one when I went to pay for the pages for your baby book. It is a pretty neat little thing and you can hold on to it pretty well to help it stay in your mouth... you are quite the sucker...

I really enjoy our special times together when I am feeding you, something only I do right now and I am not eager to give up that time. I am always so amazed at how perfect you are while we sit there in the rocker... your tiny little fingers, toes, and sweet little nose... I had to stop listening to the Lullaby CD that Monie gave us because every time your daddy walked in I was crying just thinking about the words to the songs "that you are only little for a little while" and how I was so happy to finally be "welcoming home my little traveler that I had waited for so long. I had to convince him over and over that it is not postpartum depression and that I was just happy and overwhelmed by the love I had for you right when you were born. I have to wait awhile until my hormones settle down a bit and then we can listen to that CD again... We have been enjoying Fernando Ortega though and other songs that your Daddy put on a playlist for us.

and Frannie... she likes you pretty well too. She doesn't like it too much when you are upset and makes sure that we are paying attention to you when you make those little squeaks. She was really excited when we brought you home and was pretty wound up- she has definitely settled into the new normal watching over "her baby", making sure you are safe and happy.