FIRSTS AND LAST

We've been experiencing lots of firsts in the Freeman household this past month. Claire has had some good firsts, Carter some not so good! Claire is getting more mobile all the time and has found her feet AND can get them in her mouth now! Apparently toes make for a good chew toy! It is getting harder and harder to change her diaper, bathe her, dress her as as soon as her clothes are off she is grabbing for her tootsies! I wish I was this flexible!







Claire has also tried her first vegetable! We are on day 3 of sweet potatoes and so far so good. I decided to go with something a little sweeter for her as she still isn't crazy about the rice cereal and has a hard time eating it. I didn't figure she would go crazy for some green beans or peas for her first food.







Claire had a 6 month check-up today. She weighed in at 15lbs 2 oz (25%) and 26 3/4 inches long (75%) and her head was 16 1/2 inches (50%). Other than having a snotty nose like the rest of us she got a clean bill of health and more shots!

Carter also went to the Dr today to confirm his first ever ear infection! After a sleepless night for him and dad (thanks hon for getting up with him) I toted him along to Claire's appointment and was able to get the doc to see him too. Although Carter felt awful, he squeaked out a little smile when Dr Steve told him he had pus in his ear. "Cool" he said. Must be a boy thing. So that makes 2 of the Freeman's on antibiotics this week. Jeremy is also recovering from Strep. Will summer ever get here? We need to open the windows and debug our house! I am taking stock in Clorox wipes!

Carter also had another first a couple of weeks' ago. A strange object fell out of his nose one night while he and dad were having a wrestling match. After looking closer, we determine the object was a kernel of corn...from the corn pit...from OCTOBER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He quickly admitted that his friend John from preschool told him to do it. We had a long discussion about not putting things up our nose. We were so amazed that it never hurt him or complained about not breathing well!

Claire's first guard dog.

Lastly, we celebrated our beloved Max's birthday this past week. He turned 13 on the 31st. It is somewhat bittersweet as we know this will probably be his last birthday. He has beaten most odds and lived this long for a big dog. We wonder if any of his litter mates are still living. We sang Happy Birthday to him and made him a steak dinner and served it to him on a special plate. Max has been through a lot in his 13 years, living in 11 places, surviving the addition of Charlie 5 years ago and then the kiddos.

Recovery phase....

We're still here....just recovering. Our bellies our recovering from the overload of yummy food we ate, our house from the overload of toys, and our pocketbook from overspending. Christmas is much like a wedding, so much planning for the big day, then it is over way too quickly. Carter is already asking when Santa is coming back. For the first time, we spent Christmas eve/morning at home, just the four of us, and it was SO wonderful! Jeremy and I made up a super special candlelight Christmas eve dinner including crab legs and prime rib, appetizers and of course dessert. We got out our Christmas plates and used our dinning room table for the second time ever! Carter was excited to have his milk in a special wine glass just like mom and dad (ours had the real stuff in it). We opened presents that night and did stockings and Santa gifts the next morning before heading out to see both sides of our family. It was a crazy day but nice to be home in our own beds at the end of the day. On the 28th, we headed back home for 2 more Christmas' totaling 4 in all. Carter was pretty funny as he really never asked for anything this year, however everything he opened he squealed in 3 year old delight " THIS IS JUST WHAT I WANTED!!) I hope his excitement over things he never asked for continues for years to come. He was also excited to help Claire open her gifts "she's too little mom". Thanks to everyone who remembered us at Christmas this year. We feel so lucky to have such great family, friends and neighbors. Here are some shots from the big days:





our big feast



Christmas at G&G Berry's

Batman jammies from Aunt Darcie he HAD to put on!

Trying out his new computer from grandma and papa

Yet another picture under the tree

Claire enjoying some paper

Claire telling Carter he better tell Santa what he wants instead of posing for the camera!

We spent New Year's at home with pizza and a movie. Carter was sick and I had to work on New Year's Day so we just hung out at home. I think the kids and I were in bed by 8:30. Pretty exciting!

In all the excitement, Claire turned 5 months old on the 27th.

Poor girl has had a rough last couple of days. She is battling a bad cold (snotty nose, cough, the works) and her first tooth decided to make an appearance. Our normally happy go lucky baby is needing a lot of extra love right now. I have been spending quite a bit of time snuggling with her. I'm not sure who enjoys it more, me or her. She has been spending a lot of time sleeping and sucking on her favorite fingers which seems to soothe her too. She even found the exercauser a good place to rest her head for a quick nap.

She is getting braver and more motivated to get things out of her reach. Luckily I had her buckled in the bouncy seat when I caught her doing this trick trying to get a hold of a toy on the floor.

She is close to sitting unsupported and is really loving touching our faces and reaching out to touch the dogs if they get close enough. She is also able to get a hold of her feet now but her chubby thighs stop her from getting them into her mouth just yet!

Gotta run, the new season of 24 starts tonight. Let's hope Jack Bauer can save the world once again!

Bowling, Blood, Bugs, Beaters, and bowls...of cereal

Although the title suggests these things may all go together ( and they probably could) it's just a sampling of what we have been up to the last couple of weeks. Last Saturday we took Carter bowling for the first time at Warrior Lanes, our little hometown bowling alley. Jeremy was a little leery to go bowling as every time he goes, he ends up hurting himself somehow. He is so competitive that he tries too hard and either throws his shoulder out or pulls a muscle. Well, I thought we were safe since his competition was a 3 year old and myself whose bowling average barely breaks 2 digits. This time his ring finger took a beating and I thought for sure he was going to call in sick to work because he couldn't bend his finger. After some ice and a lot of complaining, it seems to be better. Carter had a great time. We bowled 2 games, and during the second game, they turned out the lights so everything glowed which was pretty cool.

Carter also experienced his first bloody nose last week. I have to say he kinda deserved it. He has been told numerous times not to climb up the kitchen drawers to get something off the counter. Well, this time the counter won and he caught his face on the edge of it as he was trying to get down. Of course we made a big deal of it, pictures and all. After all the crying stopped, he said, " I can't wait to tell Miss Ashley at preschool that I got a bloody nose" Dad came to the rescue and pulled out one of his old wrestling tricks and stuffed a bunch of toilet paper up his nose.

I was home all last week with some crazy bug ( sorry no pictures) I was tested for strep throat and mono both and it all came back negative. When the Dr told me he was going to test me for mono I about passed out. All I could think about was "I can't have mono, I have 2 small children at home...are you crazy? Whatever it was, thankfully it is gone and so far (keep your fingers crossed) nobody else has had it yet.

We have started some holiday baking at our house. Most of the year sweets aren't allowed at our house, but we do get to enjoy some at Christmas time as we perfect our cookies for Santa Claus. Carter is such a good help if I bribe him with licking the beaters when we are done. He is learning how to measure things, crack eggs, and cut out cookies. He even helped Grandma Berry make some cinnamon Christmas ornaments and of course loaded our tree up with them.

I broke down last Sunday and bought some baby cereal for Claire. We've only found time to try it once and I think that has been enough for her too. She really wasn't too sure about it, and pushed most of it out of her mouth. Carter was brave enough to try it and reported it tasted like glue...hmmm, wonder how he know that.

The kids and I had plans today to go see Santa and finish up our shopping today, but old Mother Nature blessed us with some frigid temperatures with the wind chills topping out at -25. So we've spent the day bundled up at home with hot cocoa, movies, games and of course a nap, but I couldn't resist this picture of Claire all bundled up when we go out.

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, safe travels and joyful times with family and friends. We are lucky enough to have family fairly close so we were able to spend some time with both sides of our family, which also means twice the amount of food! I always feel somewhat sorry for Thanksgiving as it seems to be overlooked by the upcoming Christmas. Is anyone sick of the Christmas music yet? Maybe I am just being somewhat grinchy (is that a word?) We definitely have a lot to be thankful for this year and we try to think about this every day, not just at Thanksgiving. Each night before dinner we sit down and go around the table and say something we are thankful for. When Carter was younger most of what he was thankful for was whatever was in his sight such as forks, milk, napkins, table, etc, you get the idea. Sometimes this could go on and on. The best ones are those he has to ponder for awhile. One night he said he was thankful for Walmart because that's where we get our food from and another time he was thankful for dog slobber so the dogs could give us kisses. Sometimes Jeremy and I find ourselves biting our lips as not to laugh at some of the stuff he comes up with. As he has gotten older and wiser he mentions being thankful for his family and friends (this gets him a lot of praise) or his toys or his soft bed. I am really glad we started this as he never lets us forget to be thankful for something each day, even if it is only a fork!

Claire turned 4 months old on Thanksgiving day. She had a well baby check today weighing in at 13lbs, 7 oz (50th percentile) and was 25 1/2 inches long (75th percentile). She is wearing mostly 6 month clothes now due to her length. She had 3 more shots today with big brother holding her hand. All else is well with her. For those of you wondering, the red spot on her forehead is a vascular birthmark called a hemanigoma. It showed up at about 4 weeks and will continue to grow for another couple of months before it will slowly start to disappear and will likely be gone by the time she turns 2. It is a collection of blood vessels that didn't form properly in that area. Sometimes surgery is needed to repair the skin after they disappear if they get really big as the skin will sag. Hers is not likely to get that big. Something to be thankful for! We were also given the ok to start cereal! For some reason I am not as excited about this as I was with Carter! In my mind I am thinking "when do I have time to fit this in?" I can't see myself being as regimented with doing this as I was with Carter. She continues to be such a content baby. We have found she loves Baby Einstein videos and will squeal as soon as we put one in for her. She is also having a harder time nursing if there is other things going on at the time as she is much more interested in her environment than eating sometimes! She started a new daycare this past week and so far so good. She is at the hospital's child development center, so I take her to work with me each day and drop her off. The best part about this is I can go check on her anytime I want. She seems very happy there so far!

















Did anyone go shopping on Black Friday? I seriously need to get some shopping done, but was not tempted by the early morning sales. Carter and I put the tree up today and have been to see Santa already, although Carter wouldn't talk to him and hasn't really told us what he wants for Christmas either. It was so fun watching him help with the tree today. If anyone actually sees our tree, they will immediately understand a 3 year old decorated it. We was adamant on putting on EVERY ornament we have and since he is only a little over 3 feet tall, the bottom of the tree is LOADED! It was very hard for me to leave it that way but I know if I move things around he will know and be upset. I am slowly learning to pick my battles!










We added a new member to our household this week. His name is Sam and he was a gift from Santa Claus. The story behind this little guy is that Santa sends him to watch over you at Christmas time to see if you are being good. Each night he goes back to the North Pole and gives Santa a report and returns before you wake up in the morning. This is the greatest invention! The key is to remember to move him each night before you go to bed as in the morning you look around your house to see where he came back too. Carter has had so much fun looking for him each morning in his new spot to "sit and watch" plus, we get to use this as trickery for good behavior, "Remember Sam is watching and will talk to Santa tonight". If anyone is interested I ordered him off Amazon for 29.95. It comes with the elf and a book that tells his story. Elf on the Shelf.





Lastly, we woke up Sunday morning to some pretty white stuff outside. I think winter is officially here as it was only about 20 degrees outside this morning! BRRRRR...Carter didn't seem to mind....








Stay warm!

Some me time....

Ah..how important it is to get some "ME" time every now and then. Jeremy and I have both been fortunate to do just that these past two weekends. Two weekends ago, Jeremy and his friends Chris, Tom and Josh headed to Minneapolis for their annual "guy weekend". They got to enjoy two football games that weekend, Michigan vs Minnesota on Saturday and Vikings vs Packers on Sunday. You can tell they are getting old though, as the weekend has slowly turned from drinking 24/7 to hitting the hay at 10:00.

This past weekend, it was my turn! My friend Amy and I met up with some friends from my hometown and spent the weekend at PJ's-n-Pigtails, a bed and breakfast located in Stuart, IA. This B&B caters to crafters and this weekend was a scrapbooking weekend. This place was totally awesome! They served the best homemade food and desserts and pampered us to no end. It was fun to catch up with old friends and get some work done on the kids' books. The only rule there was you had to wear your pajamas! It was like a big slumber party! I will definitely make this an annual event and look forward to going back next year..anyone want to join me?

Carter got to enjoy some special treats both weekends, like staying up late, movie night and sleeping on the floor in mom and dad's room. Both weekends were a nice reminder on how much each of us does do to help out with things around the house and with the kids. We were both exhausted after being the single parent for the weekend and realized what a really good team we make.

The kids have been good. For the first time, Carter engaged in playing with Claire this past week. He got out his doctor kit and wanted to give me a check-up. As I was in the middle of something, he decided Claire was fair game. He played the part of the Dr. perfectly, even saying things like, " Since you were a good girl, you can pick a sticker" and, " It's your lucky day, no shots!"

checking her ears

checking her blood pressure

Carter has really gotten into the hang of preschool and has gone from crying every morning he has to go, to asking me on the weekends and Monday's if he can go to preschool! This past week, the theme was "clothes" so they had to dress up a couple of times. Here is "Dress as silly as you can day".

We also got our first snowfall last week. Although it didn't last long, Carter had fun playing on the deck. We filled squirt bottles with water and green food coloring and colored the snow green.

Claire has mastered rolling from her back to her tummy and although we haven't seen her do it, from her tummy to her back. This morning she was lying on the floor in her room on her back near the changing table. I ran downstairs to grab something and when I came back up, she had rolled herself clear under her crib! I know the only way she got over there was to roll several times, but when we put her on her belly and coax her to roll to her back she just smiles at us.

I didn't make my goal of getting video downloaded this week. I did figure out how to take video on my camera and get it onto the computer, but after 3 hours of the 30 second clip attempting to download I cancelled it, so I must be doing something wrong..stay tuned, I'll attempt again!

Trick or Treat...smell my feet

Okay, so much for the weekly updates. I have come to the realization that I can't keep up, so those of you who faithfully check the blog weekly, sorry, but it isn't happening! I have also realized sometimes our weeks only consist of going to work, coming home, getting dinner, baths and going to bed. Pretty boring but that's reality I guess.

We spent the majority of the week preparing for Halloween! This is one of my favorite holidays and I was so excited that Carter really got into it this year too. Although, he still has a problem with getting his hands dirty when carving pumpkins and prefers to use a spoon to dig out the seeds. This Halloween really made me realize how old he is getting. We went trick or treating on Thursday night (does anyone know why we don't trick or treat on Halloween?) and I helped him at the first stop to make sure he said trick or treat and thank you. At then next stop, I tried to help him again and he said, "Mom, I'm old enough to do it by myself" Okay then... He had fun trick or treating with his friend Lilly and they came home with a ton of loot. On Friday he got to wear his costume to preschool and trick or treat at some Waukee businesses. I was pretty impressed his favorite things in his bucket were some playdoh and a glow in the dark stick.









Claire didn't dress up this year, but wore an outfit Carter had as a baby. We took some pictures of her in the candy bowl. We did the same with Carter as a baby...here's the comparison.




Claire had a big week. She is officially laughing and she rolled from her back to her belly last night! Jeremy and I were just talking how we don't think she is as developmentally as far along as Carter was at this age. Carter rolled over at 15 weeks, Claire is 14 weeks today. She totally surprised us. She has such a laid back personality that it shocked us that she went after a toy placed out of her reach, as she usually just smiles at things. She didn't even make a peep when she had her arm pinned under her and was "stuck" she just kept smiling! She also turned 3 months old on the 27th. Here is her 3 month picture with bear.



Jeremy and I had our first official date since Claire was born. We went to the Metallica concert last Sunday night. I felt really old watching the "kids" in the "mosh pit" and I kept thinking to myself, " I hope nobody ends up with a head injury after all that banging around" We ended up with great seats as the section we were to sit in was closed ( they apparently didn't sell enough tickets). My ears are still ringing. It was so loud our seats vibrated the whole time...maybe it jiggled some fat off.

My goal this week is to figure out how to download some video so I can share Claire laughing with everyone! It will make you smile! :)

PICTURES

I wanted to share some more of the family pictures we had taken this past Sunday. The very talented Julie Glascow took these for us. She took these at Jester Park and even though the wind didn't cooperate she was able to get some good shots. Check out her website at http://www.landryannadesigns.com/ Enjoy!