Our Weekend Away

Earlier this year Andrew was asked to usher a wedding in Wisconsin for a college friend. In our naivete as new parents we thought we'd take Julianne and make it a fun filled family weekend in the Midwest. Thankfully this year has been packed full of weddings and we have learned the hard way that quiet churches filled with lovely people trying to enjoy the nuptials of friends is not the place for our baby. Not only to we spend the entire time trying not to disturb others, but our girl ends up exhausted and on edge for sometime afterward. All this to say, we elected not to take Julianne on the 6 hour trip and asked Gran and Gramps (Andrew's parents) to babysit instead.

They were eager to oblige us and came to our house for the weekend. I feel like I was supposed to feel sick about leaving and anxious about someone else taking care of Julianne for 2 nights, but honestly I was super excited over the idea! Getting some alone time with Andrew, going through airport security with just my stuff, sitting on a plane without breastfeeding, eating meals without worrying about when and what Julianne would eat, and waking up whenever I wanted, was all very appealing to me. I knew we would miss her, but knew also that it is good for our marriage to leave every now and then. She has been much easier to care for lately too and I had gallons of milk stored up in the freezer, so I knew Gran and Gramps could handle it. 

We had never been to Wisconsin and I have to say it is beautiful there in the fall! My goodness the colors were amazing! The wedding was lovely too and it was also fun to catch up with old friends. We had a nice time, but were ready to get back after all the festivities were over. Turns out we missed Julianne more than we thought! I also didn't sleep all that well so the whole wake up when I wanted thing was not realized. All in all though a nice time, and a good exercise in leaving our baby in capable hands in order to spend time together. We will be better parents if we are good spouses first.

Julianne is 8 Months Old!

Dear Julianne-

Gosh it feels like I just finished writing your 7 month post. I always have these great intentions of writing throughout the month and then find myself on the 29th trying to re-cap the whole thing. All I can say is I will attempt to do better next time. Where does all the time go?

As I was thinking on what to include this month it occurred to me that I have pretty much covered all of your likes in life in the last 7 posts. So today I thought I would highlight some of your dislikes. These are quite apparent to us lately as you are excellent at showing your dissatisfaction with anything on the following list. Can we say tantrum? I didn't know an 8 month old could throw tantrums but along with many expectations of motherhood I was completely wrong. So without further a-due, a compilation of things Julianne McClish would rather do without:

1. Putting on clothes.

I have tried to explain that dressing for the day and night is something we are going to do at least twice a day everyday and usually more. This conversation to date has seemed to fall on deaf ears. I know someday you will love to wear clothes and trying them on will be a fun activity. Today is just not that day. Dressing you is a lot like something you would see on Wrestle Mania as I constantly fight against your arched back and quick arms that attempt to push me away. Unfortunately for you, I always win and you end up dressed. You are over it as quickly as you got mad about it but for the few seconds it takes to put on your clothes you are not a happy camper.

2. Avocado


The fact that you seem not to care for avocado troubles and saddens me. Avocado is one of my favorite things in the world and I long for you to share my passion for the fruit. You still eat it if I serve it, that is how it goes in our family, but I just wish you liked it more. I still have hopes that you will come around to it if we can afford to buy them regularly. They are very expensive these days!



3. Pack n Play/Sleeping away from home


This month Mommy and Daddy took you to Colorado to visit Opa and Cita. Since you had been sleeping 12 hours at night consistently at home we were very much looking forward to our long cozy nights in the mountains. That is until we realized your uncanny ability to know when things aren't quite the same. Not unlike our other trips (remember the lake in August?) you reverted to your newborn schedule waking every 2-3 hours forcing Mommy to nurse you as quickly as possible in hopes of not disturbing the rest of the house. Even nursing wouldn't get you back to sleep some of the time and left us pacing around the house trying to keep you quiet, all the while loosing our sanity and REM cycles. Naps did not go well either and none of us got much sleep until we got home. I am really going to start praying that you work out these issues before our holiday travels.

4. Having your face/nose wiped



Now to be fair, I am not aware of a kid that likes having a wet washcloth smeared across their face in hopes to get the food/booger crusties off. That said, I can always count on some yells of distain when this happens. This month you had your first stuffy nose/cold and were not a fan of the snot wiping or sucking for that matter. I never understood before how parents could let their kid's nose just run and run. I thought it was so nasty. I see why now...there is no stopping the flow, and sometimes it is just a battle not worth fighting.

All in all this is not that long of a list. You are such a joy baby girl and we are so blessed to have such a curious, smart, active, healthy, girl. I think you are going to start crawling any minute and I can only imagine how life will change when you become mobile. Mommy and Daddy love you so much and are in total awe of how God made you.

Love,
Mommy

Team McClish

Well I put my money where my mouth is and actually did something about the fact that I miss running. A few weeks ago, with encouragement from Andrew, I signed up for the Dallas White Rock 1/2 Marathon. The race is on December 3rd and getting into 13.1 mile shape has not been easy. Part of that might be the fact that I am pushing a stroller and holding a very energetic dog during my weekday runs. Andrew stays home with Julianne on Saturday mornings for a longer run with just me and Wesson. So far we are up to 4 miles with a 5 mile run this Saturday.

Meet the team:



1. THE BOB: this is the greatest stroller on the planet. We bought it used before Julianne was born because they are also one of the most expensive strollers on the planet. Well worth it though since I don't think I could run with the baby without it.



2. THE CHEERLEADER: She is my companion and selflessly spends 30 minutes in the morning taking in the fresh air and "cheers" me on during the ride. Couldn't do it without her.....



3. THE ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNER:
He may me a tan and white canine, but this dog loves to run! If we miss a day I know it because he is asking to go as soon as we get up in the morning. I love and hate this about him, but that is how it should be with any good accountability partner. He pushes me to keep going threatening to take off without us if we can't keep up.


4. HOW WE ROLL:
With leash in my left, and stroller in my right, we are finally ready to set out. I think this somehow tones my arms...not a bad side effect of the pushing.

I have to admit I am slightly intimidated by the race. Even though I have run at least 10 1/2 marathons, I have never trained alone or attempted to prepare this quickly for a race. I think as long as I keep in mind that I just want to finish it and have fun all will go well. I am really enjoying the runs even if it is a pain to get us all out the door.

Nathalie

Julianne is 7 months old!

Dear Julianne-

You are 7 months old and your monthly pictures are becoming increasingly difficult to take. You are interested in anything and everything and putting a paper sign within reach of you is just too tempting not to grab and eat! I really needed a helper to get a good shot...maybe next month someone will be around when you are awake, happy, and dressed. That is a tricky combination but I have noticed your "happy window" is open much longer than it used to be. You have really chilled out this month and are getting better and better at going with the flow.

I have to note once again that I am still trying to adjust to the fact that you are ours. You are such a delight and more beautiful and sweet then I ever imagined you would be. It is just so humbling that God entrusted us with you. It seems each day you surprise me with something new you are learning or doing. This is a fun age and I almost wish I could slow down time a bit to linger here. That however is impossible, so I am left with trying to cherish every moment while it lasts. Here are some of things going on I want to remember....

1. Your Laugh:

You have been laughing for some time now but it becomes easier and easier to get you rolling especially for Wesson. He seems to tickle your fancy by just existing. Mommy and Daddy on the other hand are only funny when we do ridiculous things by trial and error. Still, your laugh brings us much joy and I caught it on video this month.

2. This month you began sitting up unassisted!

 This new skill has given you a new perspective on the world and our house which seems to interest you very much. I love this stage because you are quite content to sit and play for a bit and I know you aren't going to go anywhere. I realize this is short lived because soon you will be crawling, but I am savoring this sitting stage. I will also note that sitting was an "all of a sudden" development. One day you were falling over anytime I propped you up and the next you just had it down and didn't fall anymore. I think that means you are a quick learner:)

Wesson can also play alongside you better while sitting. He is still your favorite playmate....makes since since you both love to put things in your mouth. 

3. Your first  second trip to Possum Kingdom Lake

Last summer your Daddy and I went to the lake but you were in my tummy. This year you joined us out of the womb and had a grand time. Really you spent most of the time indoors being loved on by Gran, uncle Marty, and Aunt Amy's mom "D" while the rest of us played on the lake. Daddy did a lot of fishing and Mommy took any chance she could to go out on the boat. I thought I was in good shape since I tote you around all the time, but was deeply humbled when after several rounds of water skiing I could barely move my muscles. It was so fun though! The only downside was your decision to revert back to you newborn sleep schedule while we were there. You woke 3 times each night and since we were sharing walls with others, we didn't want to wait too long to quiet you by nursing. Thankfully you are sleeping better now. Below are some shots from our time there. Thanks to "Big Wayne" for these pictures....

Gran and Aunt Pam on the boat

Daddy getting ready for some water sports....

Mommy on the water....pretty sure I fell right after this was taken....

Mommy concentrating as not to fall again.....

Mommy, Macy, and Daddy on the tube....turns out Mommy is not a fan of tubing...scary! I asked to get off shortly after this was taken and let Daddy and 10 year old Macy have a grand time without me. 

We did take you swimming though and you loved the water! 

You also loved inside time with all the family loving on you....

Daddy on the Seadoo

4. You started school...well Mother's Day Out once a week.

Mommy has a new job doing some office work from home. It has been great to have something else to do in the day while you nap. I do need to be in the office for a few hours each week though and decided to enroll you in a Mother's Day Out program one day a week. You are LOVING it and I always get a happy report from your teacher when I come to pick you up. I may need to write an entire post on "school" sometime soon.

That is all I can manage for now baby girl. You are currently up from your nap and are ready for action.

I love you,

Mommy

Stuff I have been meaning to blog about.....

Since becoming a Mommy, I have really dropped the ball on keeping up with my blog. I used to have time to write about the comings and goings of our everyday life in a smart witty way. Well.... I tried to make it clever at least to the extent of my writing abilities. There are always situations where I think, "I need to blog about this" and then never get to it. I should work some regular time into my schedule for blogging...it is something I enjoy and I love having to look back on.

So in an effort to catch up, I have compiled a list of stuff I have been meaning to share on this here blog.

1. We cloth diaper

Before Julianne was born we did a lot of research and found that cloth diapering may not be as gross, annoying, or inconvenient as we thought. Really the things have come a long way since the safety pin days, and we like it a lot for several reasons.
First, they are economical. Going down to one income and trying to account for the diaper expense was a bit overwhelming. I think we figured we'd be spending around $40 each month diapering our baby...yikes! The Flip Diapers by Cotton Babies cost us less than $200 for 24 diapers and 8 diaper covers and they can be worn up to 35 lbs. (Julianne will be potty trained before she ever reaches that weight Lord willing). There are costs to washing them with water etc...and we do buy disposable for babysitters and sometimes nighttime. We still feel like we are coming out way ahead though especially when you think about using them on subsequent children.
People always ask me, "isn't it gross to wash them?" I personally don't think so. There is no soaking or scraping. I basically get off what I can then send them through a rise, hot wash, and extra hot rinse. We keep them in a pail and wash every other day. Really it is not that hard to run this load amongst the other laundry.
Then there are other benefits such as avoiding chemicals in diapers on Julianne's bottom. There are some out there that think those chemicals could be harmful down the line. I am not sure about that but if that does turn out to be true I will be glad we used cloth! Also, I feel a little "green" that we are saving a small part of a landfill somewhere that doesn't have to decompose our diapers (each one takes 7 years I think to decompose).

2. I have really enjoyed making baby food



My new hobby is cooking for our baby girl. My hope is to expose her to as many different foods as possible and make them for her if I can. I have also found making your own is very thrifty as each jar costs about  $.75 in the store. I can buy organic fruits and vegetables, bake or steam them, puree in our food processor, and freeze in ice cube trays for much less. Plus I know there are no added preservatives just the veggie and sometimes breast milk to make it smooth. I even make my own cereal with oats and rice. The best resource I've found is wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com they tell you how to prepare everything and include nutritional information as well as best times to introduce any given fruit, vegetable, or grain.

3. I miss running

I used to be a runner. Not that I was good at it but enjoyed it and completed 2 marathons and countless half marathons. Running has been at the bottom of the priority list but I would really like to change that. I miss it. I miss the feeling of air in my lungs as I try to push through one more mile. I miss the high I got afterwards, I miss the way my muscles looked. Now that Julianne is older I am making an attempt to get back into it. It isn't easy. With 100 degree weather every day the only time we can go out is first thing in the morning and sometimes that is not logistically possible. Also, I can't just grab my shoes and go. I have to pack up the baby in the jogging stroller, put the leash on the dog, make sure I have my mace, cell phone, and sunglasses. Then I have to leash up the dog, grab the garage door opener out of my car, and make sure J has her hat on. If I can accomplish all of this I then have to bring myself to run with the dog and stroller when I am out of shape to begin with. So it is slow going. I am able to jog a few blocks but walk mostly still. Hopefully I can work back up to it.

I think that is enough for now...sorry for the novel...