January happenings.

January was just one of those blah months... we spent a couple weeks of it passing around a cold and then I got food poisoning so that of course was no fun. I did manage to take some random pictures so you'll get an idea of our January :)

Sometimes daddy puts a blanket over Clara so that she looks like a little ghost and chases Olivia around!

Clara excited to go on a little walk.

I love this picture of Olivia. She is always more than excited to be at the playground.

Time to go down the slide together!

My view. 

I sure love my new stroller.

Drinking my nightly chamomile citrus tea in my new tea cup. 

Thanks mom!

Chilling with my girls :)

This is what I found when I told Michael to share his breakfast with her haha.

Olivia's very first day of swimming lessons! She has them every Saturday morning with Michael.

She loves it!

One day I walked into the room and found this.

Haha Olivia.

Olivia's first day of Sunbeams!

I can not believe my baby girl is old enough to be a sunbeam.

Trying on sister's sunglasses.

Messy face, but loving that baby food!

Oh my goodness, how perfect is my sleeping Clara?!

Cheesy selfie.

I just couldn't resist. After a long day I was finally able to sit down, watch some t.v and eat a peaceful dinner of a Jimmy John's sandwich all by myself.

The best sandwich ever!

Learning how to ride her new scooter!

She hasn't quite gotten the hang of it :)

Every night, after baths, Olivia gets the brush and asks Michael to brush her hair.

It is so sweet.

Excited to see me after a little nap!

Snuggles with mommy after a nice oatmeal bottle.

We bought Olivia a bath fizz dinosaur egg that popped out a baby dinosaur at the end.

It turned the bath pink and freaked Olivia out a little bit until she saw the little dinosaur!

My very favorite crepe from The French Press.

Sometimes when you are sick and fussy you just need your daddy to snuggle you close.

Another selfie...I have no idea what I am so excited about.

We probably just got the babes in bed and are getting ready to sit down and watch Downton Abby :)

Tree climbing with daddy!

And now for some videos...

Bath time has to be one our favorite times of the day!

Singing "Let it go" from Frozen.

Clara loves playing Peekaboo with dad!

I can hardly stand how cute this is.

I heard her in her room a few days prior singing so I turned on the music and she performed well :)

Olivia likes to hook Clara's bouncer toy to her horsey and pull her around ha.

Don't worry, I am not completely done with January :)

Clara's 8 months.

Oh my goodness Clara, time is just flying by.

You are 8 months old!

Here are some things about you:

*Although you have been rolling over for a few months now, you never really did it a lot. In fact it was very rare. But something happened this month and you decided that you are going to roll all over the place. And you are very quick about it. It sure makes diaper changing an interesting process. Sometimes it takes both your dad and I to hold you down:)

*Sadly you got your very first cold this month. You got a little runny nose while in Utah but nothing serious. But this month you got the real thing. And it was bad. I feel so proud for keeping you safe and healthy these past 8 months and so it was really hard to see you so sick. You had a really bad cough that kept you up most of the night a few times, a runny nose, and yes you even got your first ear infection. Thankfully it was nothing a little antibiotics couldn't fix. We also had to do a few breathing treatments because you were wheezing. You always sat so still and would take big breaths of the medicine. Good job! This cold sure was a rough one and lasted weeks.

*You still can't quite sit up on your own. We usually will put the nursing pillow behind you and that seems to help keep you sturdy. But it will happen soon!

*Now for sleeping and eating...your grandma came up to help because we had all been so sick and she of course could not stay away from you and your sister for too long. She told me that it was time to sleep train you a little bit since you were waking up between 2-5 times during the night, which of course made for one tired momma. So your schedule is as follows: baby food-a vegetable and a fruit (as much as you'll eat) at 5:00 pm, bath time and playtime until 7:00 pm. You then have an oatmeal bottle and go to sleep. I put you in the little bassinet in our room. When your dad and I go to sleep I come and nurse you and then transfer you to your crib in Olivia's room. While grandma was here she would have Olivia come sleep with her and then wake up with you in the night and come pat your back when you fussed. But we didn't feed you until the morning when you woke up around 7:00-7:30 am. First of all, you are stubborn. Second of all you definitely are capable of sleeping through the night so yay you! We are still working a little bit but oh my goodness I feel like a completely different person getting more than 2 hours of sleep at a time! And thank you to grandma for helping us with this new schedule and taking care of you during the nights so that I could sleep! So we are down to you nursing once a day. You drink your formula and different juices. Eat your baby food and really anything else we decide to give you. You really will eat anything! Which brings me to my next point...

*Where are your teeth?! You have no signs of any teeth coming in. This is fine but I do feel bad because you love eating grown up food and well that's just hard to do without any teeth:)

*You are starting to scoot a little. You pull yourself forward using both your arms. It's pretty impressive!

*You are so curious and just love your toys. You smile and giggle when you touch things. I'm thinking you may be a little ticklish on your hands!

*Your legs are absolutely scrumptious. Oh my goodness! The rolls!!!

*You are really starting to interact with Olivia. And it just melts my heart. You honestly think she is the greatest. We can tell by the way you look at her that you really look up to her. Of course you'll always be the best of friends!

Clara, we love every inch of you. 

You could not be more perfect.

I know I say this every month, but we are so blessed to have you in our family.

We love you!