Claire - 18 months already!

Claire had her 18 month check up last week - she passed with flying colors, but had to get two shots which is just always so not fun. I dread those shots more than anything - holding her down while the nurse gives them to her is awful! Whose face do you think Claire sees while getting the shots? Mine!!



I know I have the paper somewhere with all of her stats, but I do remember her weight and most of the percentages:

Weight - 23.1 pounds; as a frame of reference she weighed 20 pounds at 6 months old

Height - she had a growth spurt, she used to be in the lower percentage and now she is in the 50 to 75 percentile

Head - still small, in the 25% range. I hope her brother has a small head too!

Seriously...


She repeats most words that we say to her - and they are at least recognizable as the same word, if not exactly the same word. I'd guesstimate she knows at least 50 words now and is starting to put two and three words together more regularly. My favorites lately are "I'm coming!" "what's up?" and "where'd he go?"

She has started a bit of a sassy streak complete with serious looks and I swear she almost has the eye roll down. Most of the time she is still very happy and likes to run EVERYWHERE.

Claire and Ryan


The doctor said we could start potty training her if she shows us the right signs - she has the language skills and the interest (poop is her new favorite word!). But I guess a dry diaper after a night's sleep is a sign her body is ready and we are not even close to that yet. That's ok - we can wait awhile. Meanwhile we have the toddler toilets and books on using the toilet all ready to go! I would so love to only have one child in diapers at a time.

Shopping for Boy Clothes...

... Yes, I already started. Just one outfit - I've decided sports stuff can be really cute.

We found out today that we are having a little boy. Matt and I are really excited - we both agreed that the actual finding out was not as exciting as waiting, but I am just happy to have time to prepare. I think it will be fun to have one of each. And then, if we have #3, I am totally up for being surprised because I will be prepared for both a girl and a boy.





Everything looks good. Baby is healthy and a good size - my doc said he seems big already...or maybe that's just my ever-growing Buddha belly. Ultrasound technician said he has my nose... we'll see.

Countdown to Friday

So, an overwhelming 95% of you said to find out what the gender of the baby is at our ultrasound this Friday... that is if the baby cooperates. I think I have Matt convinced - I know it won't be the same dramatic build up, but I will be excited just the same to find out who is in there.

I came up with my own list of top reasons to find out:

1. I can call the baby he or she - that was SUCH a tough thing for me last time - you can't say "it", that just sounds so callous; so you have to say "the baby" or make up a nickname. This way it's a no brainer

2. More presents - I think our family will spoil us more if they know in advance what we are having (hint, hint)

3. The economy - knowing ahead of time allows for budgeting and planning; what do we really need, how long do we have to save for it, etc. Smart, eh? No bailouts coming our way anytime soon so we have to make the best of things

4. Decorating - I can decide what to do with the office, make it Claire's or the baby's and have fun with a gender specific decor. Although I do love Claire's room, it turned out so cute! I kind of want to leave her in that room.

5. Name selection - with Claire we went into the hospital with at least four boy names and four girl names. I liked every single one of them too - we just had to see which name matched the baby that we were about to meet. This time we will have an even better chance of narrowing in on the perfect name to match the little spirit who comes to our house.

So, stay tuned. It will be just my luck that Junior will decide to be shy on Friday...

Wild Kingdom

We have been seeing a lot of animals lately - a week and a half ago at the Sacramento Zoo, then last weekend at my aunt and uncle's house with dogs, fish and a turtle, and then Monday Matt and Claire went to the petting zoo at Bonnie Springs with his sister Jonelle and her daughter Evie. I got to work. Claire loves animals so we are hoping to go back to the petting zoo another day when I don't have to work.

Here are some recent pics.

Feeding the Fish


Petting Zoo with Jonelle & Evie

Visit to California

We took a long weekend to visit Grandma and Grandpa Johnson last week - we had a great visit and got the perfect mix of fun day trips and just hanging out. We did a bit of local touring, going through a small town called Jackson and ending up near an even smaller town called Volcano.

The sign when you enter the town says population 100, with the 100 crossed out and 103 handwritten in. Some great views, a beautiful picnic spot with a creek to play in, and the curviest roads you've ever driven on. We saw plenty of cows and sheep, which Claire loved and even cried over when we had to keep driving - yes, a car did come along every now and then so we had to move on.



We also visited the Sacramento Zoo with my brother and his family - Claire and Lily had a great time. We broke down and got Claire a "leash" so we could keep track of her at the zoo. Hey, I'm not above it. And it was a monkey so it fit right in at the zoo - plus she liked wearing it so I didn't feel too much like an over protective mom.

Interview with Claire

Claire recently took time out of her busy schedule of running, climbing, pulling things down and generally moving a mile a minute to answer a few questions about her current repertoire of sounds. As you can see from these video clips, she has much better things to do than talk to me about horses and cows, so I had to break it up into a few different segments. I had a few repeats, but you get the general idea. For our journal, she is just a few weeks shy of 18 months old now, and she knows the sounds for the following (some she's known for a long time, some recently added):
Dog
Cow
Cat
Duck
Rooster
Chicken
Monkey
Snake
Car (beep! beep!)
Train
Lion
Bear
Horse
Elephant
Sheep
Pig
Bear

Pros and Cons

With Claire, we waited until she was born to find out what we were having - a boy or a girl. It was honestly one of the hardest things that this very impatient girl has had to do but I made Matt a deal that I'd be suprised.

I am honestly torn about the decision this time around - that one moment of finally finding out after months and months of pregnancy and hours and hours of labor was very intense and rewarding. But I live by lists, spreadsheets and planning things out. If we are having a boy, doesn't it make more sense to know what we need to get, and conversely with a girl, to know we don't really need anything? I mean, we are in a recession! Budgeting counts.

Check out this list of pros and cons that I found on BabyCenter.com and then take the survey to the right... we have an ultrasound in less than 3 weeks where we can find out.

Benefits of finding out:
• Many women say they feel a deeper bond with the baby once they know the sex and can picture a little boy or girl.
• You can prepare an older sibling for the arrival of a new little brother or sister.
• You can narrow down your list of baby names.
• You can pick out a gender-specific nursery theme or baby clothes, if you want to.

Benefits of waiting:
• You, your partner, and your family will have a delightful surprise on the day you give birth.
• Your desire to know whether your baby is a boy or a girl might motivate you during the toughest parts of labor.
• You'll be following in the tradition of your parents, your parents' parents, and so on.
• There will be no mistakes — what you see is what you get!

I Don't Remember This

Mother Nature has a funny way of erasing all the bad memories of pregnancy from your mind just long enough for you to want to have another baby. But soon enough you remember all those crazy things that happen... and the not so fun parts come crashing back in.

I am now 14+ weeks along - in the 2nd trimester, fourth month, for those who don't count in weeks (I never did until I was pregnant). The baby is roughly the size of a lemon, which helps me visualize he or she a lot better.

I told Matt that this pregnancy feels a lot harder than with Claire - I am sick a lot more, and not just in the morning. Just because I am having kind of a pity party today, I'll tell you that I have been throwing up so hard that my nose starts to bleed and blood vessels break around my eyes. Yeah, it's not fun.

But then Matt says to me yesterday - well, you're complaining a lot less than last time. Wrong thing to say to a pregnant lady! :) He means "commenting on my pregnancy" less than last time. I'll give him his talking points, after all I am in PR.

Maybe I am toughening up, who knows?