Trapped!

Ho hum....I believe this is the fifth time I sprained my ankle and each time it seems more annoying. I am pretty sure both are comprised of bubble gum at this point. The ice on my drive way got the better of me on Monday. A simple recycle bin mission has lead me to be completely immobile. I thought I could 'walk it off'...not so much. Kevin took me to the Doctor and yes, it is a sprain, two sprains actually. It's the kind that goes all the way around the foot. I can't flex, bend, twist, put any pressure at all... now, I am trapped (day 2)in my bedroom, doing RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation). Yes, I have my laptop and cell phone but no one waiting on me hand and foot :) Seriously, I am going stir crazy, I can't do anything, barely dressed myself today and my house is a wreck...twitching just thinking about it. This is probably a good diet plan actually because I can't dream of eating in my bed, I've tried and it's a mess. I've considered asking our nanny to be my nurse but can't do it, she has enough on her hands with my very upset, teething girl, bad week for both of us. Which leads me to why this truly is the pitts, I cannot play, hold or tend to my baby as a good mom should. It is breaking my heart! She is wanting her mom but I am literally leg up with ice in the bed so it is somewhat difficult, especially because she wants to wiggle all around and I can't chase after her when she tries to jump off the bed.
All and all I know this will pass and I will be up and around soon, although not soon enough! I guess I should try to enjoy the lounging, who knew it would be so hard to do that? I am going to try to not take the simple things like walking and holding my baby for granted anymore!

Goodbye 2009....

Hello 2010! Well, this was an eventful year to say the least! Looking back on the last 12 months(10 months with Claire in our lives), I wonder where the time went? I remember holding my little baby and she was just a peanut snuggled up to my chest. Now, she is a tall, wiggling, chatty girl. Oh, it's been a fun year! I truly feel blessed and lucky to be in the life I am in.
We had a fab Christmas in Ohio, 8 days full of food, family and more food. Since we stay with Kevin's family for 3/4 days first and my family the next 3/4 days, it is a week long party and a full week of eating and drinking! Oh, and this year lots of presents for a miss Claire-bear, she is one lucky girl! The only down fall of our Christmas break was the 'stranger anxiety' Claire had...(Oh, and the 12 hour drive home..it was way to LONG!) Claire loved everyone from a far, but didn't want anyone getting too close. She did let her g'mas hold her here and there, hopefully next visit she will be more about all the love.
She is all about mom for now, I know this won't last long. She'll be off and running...which will be any day now! She is a crawling fool and already standing up, with the help of my pant leg and/or a foot stool. She is exploring her world, and who could blame her? I just love how everything is new to her and she wants to know what everything is. She looks at something and says "That", so we tell her what "that" is. When we tell her "no", she laughs and squeals...it's funny for now but soon there could be trouble. She is a very curious, energetic girl we'll have our hands full soon enough.
We are excited for the spring/summer, we have a few trips planned with our families and we are looking forward to showing Claire the swimming pool! Can't believe she'll be one in just a few months?! We are eating up every second!
Barga family Christmas!

Pic before Church. Claire was hilarious in church, laughing, singing...it was somewhat innapropriate, but a great memory :)

Claire got her very first baby doll from MaMa, a Bitty Baby from American girl. So cute!

My first set of Christmas PJ's


The snow was fun! We went sledding with Kevin's sled from his childhood


Claire and her second cousin Leah, these two were too cute together!

I am Thankful

for these two...

Mini me??)

This adorable face woke us up many nights throughout month 8. Although, who wouldn't want to wake up and see this?(even if at 2am)

Also started saying "mama", "dada" and "baba" this month, she is growing up so fast!

Charlotte Friends and our first annual Chili party

Lovingly named "The Wednesday night Chili", mine didn't get any votes:(


The below speaks for itself. Who's counting down until June?

Fall Happenings

Lots going on this fall so far, time really does fly!
Claire started crawling-ish...she loves the remote and our cell phones


Our girl is about 19lbs and 28 inches long, so tall! She is also so goofy, lots of funny faces and babbling A LOT(where does she get that?). She started saying "Da da" and "Ba Ba". We love her so much, each day is more fun then the next!


First Halloween, she was a sweet pea and pumpkin. We passed out candy to all the kids. I can't wait until I hear her say "Trick or Treat" :)




Play dates with friends, Carson and Lila...soon to be BFF's



Fun visit with Kelly and Brandon, dear friends from Ohio.

Brandon was so sweet with Claire--Kelly found a keeper!



Our 3rd wedding anniversary, many fun memories over the last 3 years. 1 new house and 1 new baby. Our wedding was so much fun, the best day of my life!

Road Trip!

Ready to go!
Laura and Claire
Claire in Kevin's high chair from when he was a baby
Uncle Matt
Hanging with my cousins Jack and Colin
Great Great-Gram Party!
Great G'ma Pohlman
I LOVE this pic!
Grandma and Grandpa Barga
Claire took her first trip to Ohio last week. It was so much better than we thought..9 hours in the car can get hairy with a 7 month old, but she was a trooper! I am absolutely amazed how well she did sleeping in 2 different beds, skipping naps, and being off schedule in general(I am pretty strict with the schedule). I am learning she simply loves being around people and activity, so much so that she doesn't want to miss a thing by having to eat or sleep...who needs that?! She got to see all her cousins and grandmas and grandpas, even her two Great G'mas on Kevin's side. It was so special to see them hold her.
One thing we know about her at 7 months, she is Miss Personality, she loves to squeak and laugh and smiles at everything. It is so much fun to watch her charm everyone :)

Comedy

People have said, "I don't know what I did before kids" WELL...I remember very clearly and it didn't involve a full day conversation about poop. How much, what did it look like, how did THAT come out of her, and so on. Claire started formula this week and you know what that means, poor girl. Although, she seems to like it, she has been a bit stopped up. Sunday she unleashed the fury (all day) and now, today(Monday) she is happy as a clam.

In between diaper changes, a very funny/adorable moment occurred.
Claire sitting on daddy's lap, looks at me and starts laughing--a low tone giggle

Me: laughing at her in the same low tone
Her: laughing at me laughing at her
(and so on...)
Her: more laughing at me laughing, then oops...hiccups at the end of the laugh. (exp: hee heee..heee...huuuck)
Me: mimic the laugh/hiccup scenario
Her: heavier laughing/hiccup continues
So...this went on back and fourth for a good while and it was freaking adorable. And since I didn't want to interrupt the precious moment to grab a camera, the blog memory will have to do.

Here are some photos I was able to snap in her 5th month of life. (also, thinking this 5-7 month stage just may be my favorite!)

Daddy put together my excersaucer--who knew it would take so many batteries?!

I got in my jumper..not quite ready for it, but soon!

I also started eating cereal-YUM :)

Summer is flying and we're not crying...

Summer is already flying by and I have to admit, Facebook has consumed my time over the 'ole blog. I will try to cram the lst few months in a quick update. This summer has been one like no other. Talk about a change in the Pohlman house, new parent syndrome? To say the least! Although, we have the normal paranoid new parent stuff, we also encountered a lot more with Claires' health issues. I definitely have a new perspective on life and the meaning of family. We are so lucky she is doing well, we are eating up every moment with her. Having her has made our lives so full of joy and we continue to be amazed by her strength and spirit. Her health is good, although she still has 3 holes the Doctors want to monitor. They have not gotten smaller as all the other did(and eventually went away). The cardiologist seems to think she will live with them and still grow and be healthy and happy, a relief but we continue to hope they do go away. Our next visit with the cardiologist is in January.

And happy she is, she wakes up every day smiling and giddy, wishing I had that spirited morning attitude! She'll be 5 months old on Aug 4, weighing in at about 15lbs and 26 inches long. She is starting to roll, twist and turn, finding her feet, laughing and smiling all the time. She is definitely,a "know what I want" kind of gal. I already see what a determined girl she is. I cannot get over how much I love watching her expressions and seeing something different in her every day, it really is a miracle. I never knew how exciting it would be to just stare at my baby :)

We have been enjoying the great indoors lately, just doing family time, sans cable. It has been surprisingly liberating! Kevin is back on the school front, doing an on-line program, just a few classes, may eventually get another masters but isn't for sure. He is also working on some projects to 'ensure the future of our family' :)I support his efforts and glad he is keeping busy, as that is his "Happy Place".

I made it back to work but thankfully work from home a bit so get to see my girl often. We hired someone to come to our house and it has been a great blessing and relief on a new mommy's mind. I consider myself to have the best of both worlds and Kevin has a happy wife which equals a 'Happy Life'(right?!) ha...

My new obsession-TWILIGHT...I am just in love with some Vampire fiction, it's addictive and my little mommy escape. I just recently finished the series and feel as if someone broke up with me. I am desperate to find a new reading obsession, hopefully one that will keep me occupied, perhaps another series? I am open to suggestions! I am greatful to my other addict friends, thankfully I have many friends to discuss all that is VAMPIRE (Team Edward, of course!)

We had many family visitors this summer, it was great to have everyone come to us. We really miss our families and of course all the love they give Claire is pretty great too. We'll be heading up North to Ohio for Christmas, excited to show Claire her first snow.

Overall, the theme around here is keep cherishing each day, we know now more than ever how precious these days are. There are a few new motto's I have adopted in my every day thoughts, "Quality over Quantity" and "If you have your Health, you have everything"
Bring on the Autumn and all that is cool, breezy and colorful!




Aunt Kelly




Claire and her Papa


Sitting in my bumbo seat