Lucky Number Seven

Fact: I'm too lazy tired to post blogs as often as I would like. In a perfect world I would be one of those people who could document every waking moment of my kids's lives. But alas, I am not. I'm sure you're probably happier this way.

My baby girl was seven months old on December 29th. She's seriously the cutest thing ever. Don't agree? Click that red little 'x' up in the right hand corner. You are dead to me.

I'm kidding.

Seriously though, look at this precious creature:

Baby Claire weighed in at 18 pounds 6 ounces on the seven month anniversary of her birth. She's up from 17 pounds 13 ounces a month ago. She's really packing on the pounds.

In addition to be an incredibly fashionable seven-month-old (as demonstrated by her cowgirl garb in the photo above), Claire also celebrated her first Christmas with her big sisters.

Normally, I'm not one to place enormous bows on my kids' heads. I make a few exceptions on major holidays. She looks pretty cute, even though the bow is bigger than her head.

Finally, at seven months, Claire is preparing her little body for crawling. She's mastered the army crawl over the past month or so and can get around pretty well. She has now figured out how to get up on her knees but hasn't quite figured out how to get moving. She'll figure it out soon enough!

In closing, I would like to wish my favorite baby daddy a happy birthday. I surprised him with some Thunder tickets for his birthday tonight and we had a blast, despite the Thunder's loss.

Happy New Year all!

Until next time,
L-Dogg.

6 Months!

Claire is halfway to her first birthday! It's so hard to believe.

Isn't she just a cutie patootie?!

She likes to hang out with me when I'm getting ready in the morning.

Stats from her 6-month checkup:

• 17 pounds, 13 ounces...up from 17 pounds last month and 9 lbs, 3 ounces at birth
• 28 inches...up from 27 inches last month and 21 inches at birth.

Baby girl is growing so fast and we're loving every minute of it. I never realized I would be able to love my third child as much as I loved my first child. She is so precious and the sweetest little thing.

Also, I finally decided to give her some solid foods. I had a big goal to exclusively breastfeed Claire for the first 6 months...no formula, no food, nothing else. Mission accomplished.

First food on the menu...delicious rice cereal!

She actually did pretty well, despite the mess. She's slowly getting used to the idea of eating solids.

Other cool things Claire is doing:

• army crawling across the floor
• spitting - especially entertaining when you're feeding her peas.
• smiling anytime anyone starts talking to her
• sitting up all by herself!
• generally being the best baby ever

Love this little girl to pieces.

Peace out.

Give Thanks

Yeah, I'm a day late on this whole thankful thing, but in my opinion, it's never too late to be thankful for what you have!

Like most people, I have much to be thankful for. I couldn't possibly name everything.

Number 1 - the most important person in my life

He gets up early with me to help get the girls ready - even if he doesn't have to be at work until 3:00. He rubs my feet when he is really tired. He goes to the grocery store when I don't want to. He's my best friend. He let's me boss him around - but knows when to push back. He is my complete opposite in many ways - outgoing, friendly, not into details, fun. He the best husband a girl could ask for. He's the best dad our three baby girls could ask for. It doesn't hurt that he's easy on the eyes too.

Three-way tie for number 2:

Who wouldn't be thankful for these precious girls?

I am thankful for so many other countless people and things I have been blessed with. In no particular order:

1. My mom and dad - they're pretty awesome (Happy anniversary to them on Monday...30 years!)
2. My little brothers - they've grown into such amazing people.
3. Friends - From those that have been in my life for over 17 years to those who I've recently met.
4. In-laws.
5. Grandparents.
6. My brother- and sisters-in-law.
7. Countless extended family members - cousins, aunts, uncles, etc.
8. My job - I have been blessed to work for an amazing company for 6 years (and counting). It is fun and certainly keeps me on my toes!

This list is by no means exhaustive - just a few things that came mind.

In closing, just a little video of my sweet baby Claire (and her sisters being cute in the background). She has really mastered the art of sitting up on her own and is just precious. She'll be six months old next week, so I'm sure I'll have and update at that point with her latest stats!

Love to all!