Welcome to April

Just a quick update. Brad is doing well. They're just busy. Communication isn't the greatest, but it could be a lot worse. We email regularly. Phones aren't that reliable, but we've talked at least once a week. Hopefully the phones will get better.

We've been good here. I've tried to start some regular activities to get us out of the house. Trying to keep busy but not too busy, since being at our house is in itself busy these days.

Clara and I dyed Easter eggs last Saturday. It was the first year she could really do it, and she loved it. Easter was one of my favorite holidays growing up, and dying Easter eggs is something that I have really fond memories of doing, so I was excited to share that with her.

Clara with her finished eggs in the background   

Very serious about the task at hand   

She loves it!

Sam is doing well. We had a bit of a scare over the weekend. He developed a fever on Saturday night. It had gone down by morning, but we were advised to go in and get him checked out anyway since he's so young. These things always happen when Dr. Daddy is gone, but luckily we have some other doctors as friends that are always helpful (thanks, Dr. Johnson!). They didn't find anything, and think he had a virus. Clara was a little under the weather last week, so that was probably it. He's doing a lot better now. And he's changed so much in the last few weeks. He's smiling a lot and he loves to look at his toys on his swing in his bouncy chair. Here are some pics. 

Happy Sam  

"Ooooh"  

Love this sweet boy  

Love these kiddos

The Deployment Begins

Our soldier

Well, the day that I had dreaded has come and gone. Brad left last Thursday. It was supposed to be Sunday, but they told him on Wednesday morning that his flight had been moved up. It was upsetting to have the day moved up like that, since we thought we had a few more days. But we made the best of it. Clara and I made Brad a nice dinner and we got him a birthday cake, since he isn't going to be here for it.

The day that he left was very difficult. Brad had to be on post around noon. We could have stayed a couple of hours more until they boarded buses to go to the plane but the kids wouldn't tolerate the waiting and I think Brad kind of wanted to get the goodbyes over with. So we stayed there for a little while and then said our byes.

Here we are at the armory.

I held it together for most of the day until Brad texted around 10 that night to say that they had boarded the plane and were about to take off. We can hear the planes from our house, so when I heard a plane about ten minutes later, I lost it. It hit me that he had really left.

Other than that, we are doing ok. I definitely have my low moments, but they pass relatively quickly. Mostly because I have two very demanding, very cute, distractions.



Clara is doing well. She misses her Daddy and asks about him often, but she is easily distracted. She also has no concept of time, which I'm glad for because she doesn't get sad that it's going to be awhile before he comes back. She is also having a ball this week because my Mom is here helping. She loves having someone here that can take part in her elaborate make-believe games with her imaginary friends, Baby and Bogie.

Brad has been able to call a few times and he's doing well. He will be in training a few more days and then he will be traveling to the base where he will be stationed. He called this morning and said that there was a big sandstorm. Very different from North Carolina!

I just received his mailing address, so if you would like to send him something, let me know and I will forward it to you.

Thanks for the thoughts, prayers, and kind texts and emails that people have left for us. I haven't gotten a chance to respond to all of them, but know that they are appreciated and have meant a lot.

We'll keep you posted!

2012 in the Boothby House

Well, it's proving to be an eventful year in the Boothby household. First of all, on February 7, we welcomed our sweet Sam. He's the cutest. We are totally in love.



Clara has done pretty well so far, but she's definitely had some challenges. Her tough times come when I can't do something for her right away like I used to. And I think it's still sometimes hard for her to see me loving another kid. She's become very whiny. I think that's her way of coping. But I've been trying to really make an effort to encourage her when she does something good, as well as making sure to remember to give her special hugs and kisses. Hopefully that will get her through this transition.

Here she is wearing her favorite outfit, her Cinderella dress. Thanks, JJ!

Sam has been fairly easy so far (besides of course waking up at night). The challenging part has been figuring out how to manage two kids with two very different schedules.

The other big event for this year isn't joyful. Brad will be deploying in a little under two weeks. I am dreading it. I don't want to wish the time that he's gone away, because I know our kids will only be this age once. But on the other hand, I really hope this time passes quickly. I'm stressed out about him being over there. As for myself, I've been contemplating the logistics of handling two kids by myself. It's totally manageable with Brad here because each of us takes care of a kid. But now I have to figure out how to do everything alone. Things like how to get them both to bed, how to get dinner ready, how to travel with them this summer, etc. But I take comfort that other military wives have done it multiple times for longer than we have to. It gives me encouragement that I can get through this. I've met some very strong ladies here, and they give me a lot of strength just by seeing what they have managed.

One positive to come out of this experience so far is to realize what good friends and family we have. I have received really sweet messages. It is amazing to know how many great people we have in our lives.

So I know that I am terrible about keeping up this blog, but I'm going to try really hard to update it during this year, even if it's just a short sentence or two at times. I will try to post as I hear updates from Brad as well as letting y'all know how we are doing in stateside. And please let me know if you are interested, we would love visitors to North Carolina! Hope to talk you soon!

Continuation of the Moving Saga

So, after dealing with the crazy HOA ladies, we drove to Fayetteville. It was a long day of driving, plus, the HOA ordeal, and it was also about 103 degrees. I know that being from SA, I should be used to this, but it is so much worse here because it is so humid. My parents will attest to this. It's not just me. Anyway, I wasn't in the best mood. And to top it all off, I had been trying to contact my moving company to find out what time they were delivering our stuff the next day, but I hadn't been able to talk to anyone. Our stuff got to NC before we did, so it was in storage.

Finally, as we pull into the Hampton Inn, I get in contact with someone from the company. He looks up my info for me, and then says, "Well, this might be a typo, but I have your stuff being delivered on the 27th." The next day was the 22nd. This would have been five days later. I just kept thinking that I couldn't stay in a hotel for five more days, especially in a place like Fayetteville where there is nothing to do. The guy told me that he would investigate and call me back. At this point I was trying not to have a breakdown. A few minutes later, I head into the hotel and get a call from the guy. Indeed, my stuff was not scheduled to be delivered until five days later. As I'm receiving this news, I am simultaneously walking into possibly the most disgusting Hampton Inn ever. There is no air conditioning and it smells like bleach. It was a terrible moment and I proceeded to have the breakdown that I had avoided a few minutes earlier.

We decided to move hotels. I don't know what was up with the hotel. Usually Hampton Inns are really clean. We moved to the one in the next town and it was much better. Then the HR lady from the moving company called and apologized profusely and said that they would try to get my stuff to me sooner and that they would pay for our hotel if it did take the full five days. That helped but I still really didn't want to stay in a hotel for five days. Well, I guess they didn't want to pay for it, because the next morning, I got a call that they could get a crew together for that afternoon.

So we got moved in. It was exhausting, and I was so grateful to have my parents there to help, especially with Clara. My parents left on Monday, and we were both sad to see them go. Clara says that I'm not nearly as entertaining as Nanny and Grampy. But I have been taking her to the pool the last few days, which she is really into. Brad gets back Saturday, and I'm really excited to get back to some sort of normalcy.

Oh, and sorry for no pics or videos. Brad has our laptop with him and I just have my iPad and can't figure out how to export to the blog. I'll post some soon!

Road Trip!

Well, we have made it to NC and are settling in. I'll post some more about our move in, but I wanted to recap the journey here. It was marked by laughter, tears, fun, and not so much fun.

Brad was not here for the trip because he is in Georgia learning how to jump out of planes at Airborne training. So my parents graciously agreed to drive with me.

We decided to make the journey into a four day trip because we didn't know how Clara would do on long days in the car. Most of the days we drove for about six hours, some more and some less. Clara did great everyday. She got a little fussy at times, but she slept some. Also, my iPad saved us. It!s the best investment that I've made in a long time. She spent hours watching Sesame Street, Muppets, and playing her apps.

Here is a recap of the days.

Day 1 - from San Antonio to Texarkana

We didn't leave until about 9 because we didn't want to hit Austin traffic. I had my last Whataburger for lunch that I will have for awhile. Man, does it take a long time to get out of Texas! We spent the night on the Texas side of Texarkana.

Day 2 - Texarkana to Memphis

We decided to make this our short day because we wanted to spend at least one night in a cool place. And I absolutely love Memphis. Brad and I have stopped here before and it is one of my favorite cities. I don't really know exactly why. Maybe it's the laid back, casual vibe. Maybe it's the cool downtown with Beale St. (they've also done a lot of work to revive the downtown area). Maybe it's the great food. Or maybe I've just seen "The Firm" one too many times. We stayed downtown. We took Clara to see the ducks at the Peabody. For those who don't know, here is the story of the ducks. Then we went to the Rendezvous. It's a restaurant that Brad and I happened upon by accident. We had no idea that it was a Memphis institution until afterwards. They're known for their pork ribs, which have this amazing dry rub. Different from Texas barbecue but delicious. Clara was happy because she got a sausage and cheese plate. It was kind of a dream dinner for her. When we got back to the hotel, Clara and I could hear the music from Beale St from our room. Luckily, we were so tired that we could still sleep.

Day 3 - Memphis to Knoxville

We crossed the entire state of Tennessee. Well, almost. I love the drive through Tennessee. It was even better this time because I had forgotten what green landscape looked like, since Texas has been in a drought. The terrain of Tennessee changes dramatically as you cross it. Near Memphis, it's flat farmland. As you get near Nashville, there are more dramatic hills. And from Nashville to Knoxville, you get into rocky, almost mountainous hills. Knoxville is really close to the Smoky Mountains, so you start to get that type of terrain.

Day 4 - Knoxville to Fayetteville

This was the most beautiful drive of all. We went right through the Smokies. I've always heard people say that Ashland, NC is beautiful, and now I am really eager to drive back out there, because it really was spectacular. We stopped at a rest stop in the mountains and you could feel the mountain breeze. We made it to the house and I picked up the keys, and everything went pretty smoothly, aside from a run in with the crazy HOA ladies in my neighborhood. I had to get an access card for the neighborhood entrance, because it is gated. I am not joking, you could do an SNL skit about my HOA. I found it more difficult to obtain this access key than I have to obtain any sort of government ID. If TSA hired these ladies, there would be no more lapses at airport security.

Anyway, after that was over, we headed down to Fayetteville to stay for the night before my stuff was delivered the next morning. Or so I thought. More on that in the next post...

Clara the Bookworm

I took this video today of Clara reading in her room. Very often, while I'm getting ready in the morning or doing laundry, she will go into her room and read to herself. I love how much she loves her books. As you can see from the pile next to the chair, they never stay on her bookshelf. I had to sneak up on her to capture this, so I apologize for the poor camera work.

Push-ups with Daddy

Doing push-ups with Daddy is Clara's new favorite thing to do. She also does some animal noises in this video. Some of the noises are, shall we say, creative? But they are always consistent.

Snow Day

Well, SA actually got some snow. Only a dusting, but it has shut the city down. Luckily, Brad didn't have to go in so we're enjoying a snow day together. Here are some pics of Clara experiencing snow.

Pondering what this white substance could be.

Snow Bunny

The Hot Dog Dance

Clara is really into dancing these days, and her favorite song is the "Hot Dog Dance." It's from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on the Disney Channel. At the end of each episode, Mickey and friends do this dance and Clara goes absolutely nuts. She not only dances, but also sings along. Apparently, love for this song is typical among many toddlers. My nephew Jackson loved it when he was Clara's age and all of the kids in our playgroup react the same way as Clara. Here she is watching it from our computer.

New Video

Here is some new video of Clara. She is learning the names of body parts and can now point to her head, feet, belly, eyes, ears, and mouth. I've been trying to film it but it's difficult because as soon as she sees the camera, she wants to play with it. Here's a little sampling.

The Fashionista

One of Clara's favorite things to do these days is play with clothes and shoes and try to put them on herself. She is especially into putting things on her head, both hats and other articles of clothing.

The other night she was playing after dinner. She was just wearing her shirt and diaper. She brought me her white shoes and motioned to me that she wanted them on by holding up her feet. She then took a shirt from one of her PJs and put it on her head.

The finished look (complete with the perfect accessory - the pacifier).

Here are some other looks.

Pajama pants on the head.

Bloomers on the head.

Her head piece fell off right before I took this, but I thought it was a funny pic. It captures Clara's laughter perfectly.

Perhaps she's the next Vera Wang? Carolina Herrera? Donna Karan?

Clara update

Things have finally settled down a bit in the Boothby household. Brad returned a couple of weeks ago from two weeks in North Carolina. We've settled into our house, although we are constantly having to move items as Clara learns how to get into more places.



Clara has been standing on her own for awhile, but she is now able to stand for about ten seconds and is trying to take steps. Her new favorite thing is standing up from her chair and trying to walk. I videotaped it but I'm having trouble uploading video to the blog right now.

Also, Clara has really gotten into music and dancing. And she loves to watch dancing. One day I had "So You Think You Can Dance" on and she would watch routines and clap after they were finished.

We are highly entertained by our girl everyday and can't wait to see what she learns how to do next!

Happy 1 Year, Clara!

A couple of weeks ago, Clara turned 1! I can't believe how fast the year has flown by. I don' think I will be able to write a really long post about the occasion for another couple of weeks. We have had a bit of a chaotic month and will have another few weeks of it.

Last month, the owners of the house that we are renting informed us that they were going to be coming back to San Antonio earlier than they anticipated. They offered to let us stay at this house until December, but since we are most likely only going to be in SA for another year, our options were either to move into another house now (since most houses want a year lease) or stay here until December and rent an apartment for six months. We decided to move now. So after we knew that we had to move, I quickly started looking at houses. It was the worst possible timing because Brad was working nights and so couldn't really go see anyplace with me. Luckily, we found a decent house in our present neighborhood. We like the neighborhood a lot and we won't have to alter our routines at all. Clara can also keep the neighborhood pool that she loves so much.

Anyway, we move next week. We've been busy doing all of the annoying things that you have to do when you move. And during all of this, we celebrated Clara's birthday! Brad's parents and grandparents came down and we had a party with family and friends on the 4th of July.

So...I most likely won't do a longer post until a couple of weeks from now. Just know that Clara is doing splendidly. She is all over the place, destroys our house daily, and is discovering new, exciting things all of the time. She also talks nonstop, complete with hand gestures. I can't wait until I can understand what she is talking about.

Clara - 11 Months

We hit a major milestone a few weeks ago with Clara learning how to crawl. At first she was reserved and a little cautious, choosing only to really crawl to us or to toys. She was hesitant to go off the carpet. However, that soon changed and now she is fearless. Her favorite thing to do is to pull up on our coffee table, which really made me nervous since it is glass and iron. But I gave in and let her do it. I just try to be close by in case she takes a bad fall.

We've been going to the pool a lot lately. It has been so hot and humid that it's really the only pleasant thing to do outside. Clara likes the kiddie pool. She will stand up while I hold onto her hands. She also loves lounging pool-side with a sippy cup and people watching.

Here are some pics from this month.

At the pool with Daddy.

Looking at the baby in the mirror.



Pulling up on the coffee table.



At my friend Deana's wedding shower. From left, Elizabeth, Deana, Jennifer, and Jenny.

Here is Clara's shriek, one of her many impressive sounds.

Clara at 9 & 10 Months

Clara's been busy these last months learning new skills. At her 9 month appointment at the beginning of April, she weighted 17 ibs, 2 oz and was almost 27 inches long. This puts her in the 23rd percentile for both.

She hasn't been eating as well lately. I think that she's sick of her purees, but she's not quite into finger foods yet. The only foods that she really enjoys right now are yogurt and her teething biscuits. I have been eating meals with her at the table so that she knows that we eat meals as a family. For dinner, I have been trying to give her something that Brad and I are eating. She mostly just likes to play with the food though. She also likes to handle the spoon herself, although she ends up flicking most food off of it before it reaches her mouth. Through reading about it online as well as talking to other Moms, I've heard that this is pretty typical. Also, our pediatrician told us that any food besides breast milk or formula is still just practice food (it's not affecting their nutrition yet), so I'm not too worried. I just hope that she gets more into it in the next few months.

Although she is still pretty bald, she is getting some hair. And she seems to be getting some curls. Right now it's really just the hairs behind her ears, but I'm hoping the rest of her hair follows.

Some other milestones and firsts for Clara:

*She is pulling herself up on objects. About a week ago, Brad went to check on her in the night and she had pulled herself up in her crib. We had to lower it to the lowest setting.

*She can wave good-bye.

*She gives hugs.

*She plays coy, smiling and then quickly turning her head into my shoulder.

*She sings with me.

*She went swimming for the first time the other day. She didn't quite know what to make of it, but she started splashing with her hand after a while.

Here are some pics from the day we went swimming (unfortunately I forgot the camera at home, so these are taken post-pool) and yesterday in the backyard.

Spring Has Sprung

This has been a busy, although fun, month. Aside from this week, we've been having really great weather lately. Clara loves being outside. Unfortunately, we've also had a little bit of a challenging month because Brad spent most of the last month in Houston on a rotation. Clara and I really missed him and I know that it was hard for him to be away from Clara for so long, since she changes everyday. Luckily, he is back now. One of the upsides of Brad being in Houston was that Clara and I went to visit him during some of his days off and got to visit and stay with Scott, Amy, and Jackson. It was great to see them. Here are some pics from the last month.

We went to a park that had a little lake where you can feed the ducks.

Hanging out on the dock.

Jackson the Duck Whisperer.

Clara loving being outside.

She loves her sun hat.

Easter morning, next to her first Easter basket. I had to get a little creative since she can't have candy yet.

The tube that her new bath toys came in was her favorite present.

In her Easter dress, in a very ladylike pose.

A Typical Conversation

Clara at 7 & 8 Months

I've really dropped the ball on blogging lately. The Olympics were on last month, which is kind of a sad excuse. But if you know me, you know how much I love them. After taking care of Clara all day and catching up with the Games at night, there was no time.

Clara has really changed in the last two months. It sounds corny, but each stage really does get better. She is turning into such a funny and sweet little girl. Here are some developments.

*I'm not quite sure what she weighs, since she hasn't had a doctor's appointment since she was six months, but I think that she's at least 16 pounds, if not more. She's 27 inches.

*New sounds. She talks all of the time. Usually she is pretty loud (see previous posts' videos). But she has developed this really cute softer voice. She sounds more like she is actually trying to have a conversation with you. Her latest sound is W (as in wa wa wa wa wa). She also has started stressing certain sounds. She will raise the pitch of the final syllable of sounds that she makes, like she is emphasizing it. I'm trying to capture it on video but she tends to stop talking when she sees a camera.

*She loves standing up and can now pull herself up while holding my hands. It's one of her favorite things to do. She can also hold herself up while supporting herself on the coffee table.

*Still no crawling. She will lean on all fours but hasn't moved herself yet. She sometimes scoots by laying on her stomach, putting her butt up, and moving her legs.

*She's eating three little solid meals a day in between breast feeding. She has been doing oatmeal in the morning, a veggie or fruit in the afternoon, and a veggie or fruit (depending on what she ate in the afternoon) early in the evening. Her absolute favorite is roasted sweet potatoes with roasted bananas. It's a Tyler Florence recipe. She loves it so much that she dives into the spoon. She also loves apples, peas, carrots, and zucchini. She tried avocado last week and seemed to like it but I think the texture was still a little coarse for her. I'm going to try mixing more ingredients together and adding some seasoning soon. I also want to try chicken towards the end of the month.

*I have totally dropped taking her anywhere in her infant carrier. She's just too heavy for it. I take her floppy seat to the grocery store and restaurants so that she can sit in shopping carts and high chairs. She is two inches off from being too tall for her carrier, so we need to start shopping for a new car seat.

At the zoo with Daddy.

In her Valentine's outfit.

Playing.

Playing on her tummy.

My happy girl.

Clara at 6 months

Clara has changed so much over the last month. She now weighs a little over 14 pounds (20th percentile). She has gotten a lot more hair, although if you hadn't seen her before, you would never know that, because she is still pretty bald.

Also, her little personality is really starting to come out. She interacts a lot more than she did even a month ago. We have been going to a library story time for a few months now, and we have had play dates with some of the other kids that go. I think that it's been good for Clara to see and play with other babies. Some other things that Clara has been doing:

Talking. This isn't new, but she is making a lot more consonant sounds, like "ga," "ca," "da," "ta," etc. She has also developed a high pitched squeal that I liken to a dolphin. It's not my favorite but apparently it is a developmental milestone, so I guess it's good that she can do it?

Sitting on her own. She doesn't have it completely down, but she can sit on her own for maybe a minute at a time before she wobbles.

Kissing. At least I think that is what she is trying to do. She puts her mouth on my cheek and just freezes there for a minute.

She also has been really interested in my water that I drink while I feed her, so I let her try it one day. She enjoyed it, so I got her a couple of sippy cups and have been letting her practice. She doesn't have it completely down yet, but it's pretty funny to watch. She also does this really cute thing where whenever I am holding her and drinking water, she immediately puts her hand on the bottom of the glass like she is propping it up to help me drink. So helpful!

In not so great developmental news, she has really regressed in her sleeping patterns. Before, she was waking up once in the night to eat and went right back to sleep. It was great. Then out of nowhere she has started doing this thing where she either completely freaks out when we try to put her in her crib or she goes to sleep but then wakes up 30 minutes later and freaks out. It was really bad because when she first started doing it, Brad was on his month of nights. I was so exhausted that I ended up just letting her sleep in bed with me. Since Brad is here now, we have been better about making sure she is sleeping in her crib. I tried to let her cry it out one night. She kept it up for an hour and a half and I finally couldn't take it anymore.

She has been getting a little bit better, so hopefully she will come out of it soon and get back to her old self.

On another note, she loves playing in her exersaucer. Here is a video. The lighting is bad, but it gives you a good idea of what she does in it.

Solids as a Rock

Clara turned 6 months old on January 1. To celebrate, we started her on solid foods. She probably could have started them sooner, as she was exhibiting all of the signs that books and articles that I read said babies should be doing. However, I really didn't want to start too soon because it was so much easier to just nurse, especially since we were traveling at Christmas. But I have to say, I was really excited to see what she would do.

I first started her on rice cereal that I mixed with breast milk. I know...yummy! But that's what her doctor told us to start her on and I think that the texture and familiar taste was probably a good starting point for her.

She's was so excited to be in her big girl high chair!


She's a little skeptical, but she's trying it.


Even though the above picture does not convey it very well, Clara does like rice cereal. Since she handled that well, I decided it was time to try some vegetables. Her doctor suggested trying some veggies before fruits just so she wouldn't get used to a lot of sweetness.

I have been eager to make baby food for awhile. I decided to start with sweet potatoes. I roasted one for about an hour and a half so that it would get really soft. Then I pureed it in the food processor and added a little water to smooth it out. I thought it was delicious, but was disappointed that our first feeding went like this:



But then I read that it sometimes takes babies up to ten tries to accept a new food, so I decided to keep trying. By the third try, Clara really liked it.

This week I tried carrots. I tried baking them because I really prefer veggies prepared this way and I was able to find a baby food recipe that did this. Unfortunately, they were disgusting. They were really dry. So instead I steamed them and again, pureed and added water. They were pretty good, but not as good as the sweet potatoes. I think Clara might feel the same way, because she tolerates them but doesn't eat as much as with the sweet potatoes.

I will introduce her to a new food each week, so that I can make sure that she doesn't have any allergies. My plan is to try peas, green beans, and squash. I want to try a green veggie next. Then I might break it up and do some fruit. I want to try apples, bananas, and pears first. I can't wait until we finish the single ingredients and can move on to combinations.