31 weeks and GROWING...

I feel huge. I look huge. I am huge. I feel pretty good physically. Claire certainly keeps me busy. I don't sleep anymore so I am pretty tired. I rest every chance I get (which is not very often with a 2 year old) I guess the lack of sleep is good practice for countless hours to come where I will be up all night feeding, rocking, burping, changing diapers, etc...

Update on baby- still no name, no nursery, no gender known...YIKES!!!!!!!! Should we be worried? Christi, I promise we are trying to find a name. Daren and I have never disagreed more on any subject than we are on Baby #2's name. (in a good way) I have a feeling this one will be born nameless and will remain so until the nurses force us to put a name to him/her.

This baby moves non-stop and rarely sleeps for long. Baby #2 has the hiccups at least twice a day and they last for at least 30 minutes each time. Daren is fascinated with feeling this. Baby #2 loves music and dances non-stop if Mommy is singing. Baby #2 loves Claire bear and kicks when Claire loves on my belly. Claire is fascinated that my belly button (or as she calls it "my Bebo") is gone and she LOVES to lift up my shirt in public.

Here you go, Catherine. Enjoy! Can you imagine what I am going to look like in 9 more weeks?! Scary thought... If you don't want to see my belly, then don't look at the pictures.

Find your Wings

"I pray that God would fill your heart with dreams, and that faith gives you the courage to dare to do great things. I am here for you whatever this life brings, so let my love give you roots and help you find your wings."


This quote sums up my job as a parent as beautifully as I could possibly ever articulate. Claire has completely and wholly stolen my heart. She has been pure joy from the start. Baby #2 is 30 weeks old. The top picture is profile and the bottom one, he/she is sucking his/her thumb. Claire sucks her thumb too, so I loved seeing that. There was something about it that, for Daren and me, connected them immediately as siblings. I love being a Mommy and I couldn't ask for more in my life. I think Claire will be a great big sister and I can't wait to meet the little mystery in my belly.

She talks in her sleep...

It's 4:27 A.M. and Claire wakes up crying, at least I thought she woke up. I decide to flip on the video screen before I go running in to Claire's room. Good idea...because she is sound asleep, still laying down and holding her precious cow, crying and saying "I want jelly beans." Yes, you read it right..."I want jelly beans." She said it about four times and I give her about 30 more seconds and she is back off to her sweet little dream world. I hear a few thumb-sucking noises, wait about 15 minutes and go check on her. She is sound asleep. I don't think she ever woke up.

She takes after her Mommy who also LOVES jelly beans!! Daren was sound asleep and at the tail end of the outburst, he rolls over and says to me "Did she just cry for jelly beans?" We both started laughing and he rolls over and goes back to sleep. Mommy never really goes back to sleep...oh, the struggles of pregnancy. At least Claire gave me a good chuckle to go along with the sleepless nights. Thanks, Claire bear. :-)

Mommy Getaway

We have been friends for as long as I can remember. We went to elementary, junior high, and high school together. Monica and I were college roommates too. I guess that is proof as to how much we love each other. We were all in each other's weddings. Now, we are Mommies together. It is a special bond and it is really fun to watch two of my closest friends be Mommies. We spent two days in beautiful Fredricksburg- our Moms, our kiddos and us. We ate well, played lots, shopped and enjoyed catching up and hanging out. I treasure these friendships very much and I hope we spend the rest of our lives taking fun getaways like this one.

Wynn and Curt Pitts (Elizabeth's kiddos)- One year old!
They are both busy crawling. They love to say "hi" and they talk about their sweet dog, Gauge, all the time. They are full of smiles.


Kyla Buskuhl (Monica's daughter)- 8 months old!
Kyla is already trying to walk and smiles more than you can imagine.


Claire gave them a glimpse of what having a two year old is like. She went down for her nap in a bed for the very first time ever (we couldn't use the pack n play because she is both too heavy and too long). We thought she slept like a champ and I felt so proud of her. I went down to get her from the big girl bed when she woke up from her nap and she had painted her entire face and body with my lipstick. She was so covered in makeup that I didn't know what to do or where to begin to clean her up. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of it but it is almost impossible to even imagine what she looked like. Grandma and Mommy had a sleepover in the bed with Claire. It was a long night but I think Claire really enjoyed rolling one way and seeing Mommy, then rolling the other way to find Grandma. She kept saying "Hi Ga-mma," "Snuggle Ga-mma," "Hi Mommy," and "Snuggle Mommy" all night long. I am not sure how much she slept but she had a fun night. :-)

She loved walking Miss Kyla around. Can you believe that Kyla is already trying to walk?! You go, girl!! It was good big sister practice for Claire bear and I thought she was very sweet with all the kiddos.

Sadie the psycho Lab

At first sight, she looks like a sweet, innocent dog, doesn't she???
We are adding on to our house. Since they have begun construction, our Lab has begun her own construction. She ate a metal door...yes, a metal door. It looked like a scene from a horror movie. She was covered in blood and the metal was completely pulled away from the styrofoam inside the door. It was unreal. Somehow, she walked away pretty much unhurt. We even had to check with X-rays and such because her diarrhea got so bad. Imagine the bill for that one?! This picture is post-clean up so you aren't getting the full scene, but it says enough...
She vomited for days. We had to take her in to get an anti-nausea shot to keep food down. She is leaking urine because her incontinence medicine needed a higher dosage...another trip to the vet. She ate a box of Claire's markers, a full HUGE jar of Daren's protein powder, a whole package of frozen chicken breasts that were down in our sink thawing, 2 wine glasses that were on our counter drying when she decided to eat the chicken, a box of cereal including the box and the plastic bag. There is probably more that she has destroyed or eaten in the last two weeks, but I can't keep track anymore. I have spent the last hour on our play area rug with OxyClean and a vacuum trying to clean up the protein powder that she made her morning snack. Rescue me, please, before I seriously hurt this dog!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So picture a 7 month pregnant Mommy, a two year old running all over the place, an old PSYCHO Lab named Sadie, lots of workmen, and a sweet itty bitty Chihuahua who is now pooping in our house because someone ate her doggie door. Wanna come and visit? Someone help us, please!!

Kids say the funniest things...

Kids say the funniest things...

I have realized through my pregnancies that a woman loses her personal privacy when pregnant. Every person I encounter offers opinions, advice, rubs on the belly-- you name it. They are usually very well-intentioned and I am not offended, but it takes some getting used to. Perfect strangers will rub on my belly, comment on my need to gain or lose weight, tell me the gender from the looks of my belly, give me opinions about names, parenting, anything.

Hence, an example of the funniest pregnant moment to date:
Claire, Daren and I went to Yogurt Planet. Claire wanted me to "Hold You" while she filled up her yogurt so I was busy balancing a two-year old on my basketball of a belly while also trying to work the ice cream machine. Needless to say, I was not paying too much attention to the rest of the world around me. All of the sudden, I feel two cold hands on my belly. I look down and see a girl about 3 or 4 years old with her hands on my belly. (Sidenote: Her Dad is across the restaurant with another child paying no attention to this)

Here is our conversation:
Random little girl (very sweetly): "What's wrong with your stomach?"
Me: "I have a baby in my stomach." (I am immediately nervous about my answer because who knows what she knows and what she doesn't know?!)
Random little girl: "Why do you have a baby living in your shirt?"
Me: I laugh hysterically...Claire then proceeds to lift up her shirt and tell the girl "baby in belly." I answer "Well, the baby is going to live there until it is ready to be born."
Random little girl: "That's funny" and walks off...

July 4th Fun Times!

We headed to Steiner for the 4th of July parade with Christi, Corey, Chris, Charlie, Grandma and Pops. We decked out in flags, red, white and blue...the works. Tow (pronounced like cow but with a T?!) even made the parade journey with us.
It wasn't too hot yet and it was a nice walk. We met Pops at the UT Golf Club for breakfast afterwards. We had a good day. Happy Birthday America!

Uh-Oh...fingernails

Background: Claire wanted her fingernails painted. Mommy painted Claire's fingernails. She was ecstatic! She walked around all day with her fingers outstretched. She showed everyone everywhere we went "Claire's fee-gerrrr nails!!!" She was so proud!!

Here's our interaction with Daddy:
Daddy comes home from work.
Mommy: "Claire, show Daddy your fingernails."
Claire: "Daddy, look." She then holds out her nails for Daddy to see, smiling and so proud.
Daddy: "Oh, Claire, they look so pretty." (Thank goodness he didn't say anything in front of the kiddo!)

Later on (without Claire bear present)...
Daren: "Camille, she is too young to have her fingernails painted, don't you think?!"
Camille: "No, I don't think so or I wouldn't have done it. Daren, she is a little girl and we were having fun. She plays with make up and she plays dress up and all sorts of girly things like that. You will just have to get used to them."
Daren: "Okay but I don't know..."
Camille: "Daren, don't be silly."
At this, we both start laughing hysterically and the conversation then turns in to all the things that Daren might possibly keep Claire from doing. Will she be allowed to wear a skirt after age 5? Will she be allowed to date before 30? Will she be allowed to go anywhere by herself? We laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed... This interaction turned in to BIG laughs for Mommy and Daddy. Looks like this might be the first of many times that either Mommy or Daddy struggle with Claire bear growing up a bit.

Summer Daze

Claire, Daren and I are really enjoying summer time. Even though it is hot as Hades and Mommy is "large and in charge," we have had good times.

I have definitely had my share of nesting issues. I have cleaned and re-lined the kitchen shelves, cleaned out the pantry, reorganized Daren and my closet, cleaned out Claire's toys and donated some to Goodwill (she has WAY TOO many!!!), donated 3 bags of books to Goodwill while trying to clean out our study, and my next stop is the guest room AKA baby #2's room. There is MUCH to do there... I will keep you updated as we make progress. :-)

Claire update-
1. Catherine came in town last weekend. That was lots of fun! We ate lots, swam lots and played outside lots!! Claire loves her Catherine. I will post some pics soon. I haven't uploaded them yet.
2. We have gotten to see Claire's cousins, Chris and Charlie, along with Christi and Corey a lot which is always good fun for all of us. Claire loves playing with them and she loves Christi and Corey.
3. We have had playdates with friends and have had lots of fun catching up with people.
4. Claire and I started swim lessons yesterday at Emler. She will learn to hold her breath 10 seconds underwater and she will learn to swim 3 feet. Can you believe that? She loved it yesterday. She learned how to get herself out of the pool (with no step to help). I was pretty impressed with that.
5. Claire and I go to the Austin Children's Museum for Baby Boomers. Her favorite part is the Sing-a-long where she usually decides to join the song leaders in the middle of the circle.
6. Claire is going to school several days a week and loving it. She got to ride a train which she talked about for days. She has Splash Day every Friday which is BIG fun!! And, she gets to be a social butterfly with her friends Olivia, Wyatt, Zahn, Hannah, Eleanor and more...

Overall, we are having big fun and we are beating the heat. :-) Summer is flying by! I can't believe it is already July?!

Our Beach Princess

The Nixes took our family to Destin, Florida this past week for a wonderful vacation of clear blue water and white sands. Claire LOVED the water and she loved playing in the sand. The trip was special and fun; easy and relaxing; beautiful and nice. We had a great, great time.
Claire was the bravest in the water with her LaLa. LaLa could take her out to neck deep water, ride waves, ride floats, sing, dance, do anything and Claire had a ball with her. We got a kick out of watching them. She loves her LaLa very much!!Claire spent her shady time in the sand. She loved building castles and then smashing them the minute they were finished. One of my favorite moments on the beach is when Claire talked her Papa, Daddy and Mommy in to Ring Around the Rosy. It was a pretty funny sight and she got the biggest kick out of it.
After all that hard work in the sand and the water, her favorite place to be was snuggling with her Mimi. She loves to snuggle with Mimi. Mommy caught a few snuggles too.

A little girl who loves her Daddy...

Happy Father's Day to Daren! We had a wonderful day filled with breakfast for Daddy, a trip to church, the UT Club for brunch, a good nap, a small shopping excursion that Daddy has been wanting to take, a quick trip to the grocery store, Daddy's "dinner of choice" and good snuggle time to put Claire to bed. ;-) Now, Daddy has his feet up, is watching 24 and drinking a good glass of wine. Life doesn't get much better, huh!?
Claire is a lucky girl to have a Daddy like Daren. He is patient and kind; loving and compassionate; and fun and silly. She is blessed. I love watching the two of them and seeing their bond grow.

I am a lucky girl to have my father who fully participates in my life and Claire's and isn't afraid to be open and honest, but also to "let his hair down" and have fun. I feel blessed that the men in Claire's life play such instrumental roles. She has a Daddy, a Papa, a Pops, a Corey, etc...who all shape her and love her. She is lucky!!

La, la, la, la...Elmo's World

No matter how you slice it, Claire loves Elmo! She has an Elmo doll that laughs. She has an Elmo baby. She has an Elmo book from her LaLa that we read every day and every night. She recently discovered that Elmo is on TV. We drove to Oklahoma for Daren's grandmother's funeral. An 8 hour drive seemed a bit LONG with a 2 year old who refuses to sleep in the car anymore, so we decided to purchase some Elmo DVDs. It worked like a charm for the trip but it increased the obsession ten-fold. Anyways, Elmo is a full-fledged obsession. Grandma found this Elmo outfit and Claire had to have it!! Of course, Grandma got it for her. :-) Claire was the happiest little girl you'll ever see yesterday wearing it. She smiled the entire day and told everyone she saw that she had "Elmo shirt." LOVE THAT ELMO!!

25 weeks and growing...

This one's for the Cat...If you are embarrassed by skin, don't look at the pictures. Catherine wants to see my belly (Remember, she is in San Diego)and a sista's got to give a girl what she wants. We went to the Dr. this morning. I had to drink the nasty orange drink to check for gestational diabetes and other things. I crashed and burned after I drank it. It is a good thing Claire Bear was at school this morning because I sat down to read a book and woke up 2 hours later. :-) The Dr. told me it is the equivalent, in sugar, of 10 Snickers!!?! Can you imagine? No wonder I crashed. Anyways, I gained a pound since the last appointment on May 15 which was shocking considering my big ASS belly, but the Dr. says it is okay because...the baby is measuring big...27 weeks in size!!?? I don't know if that means I should expect another early BIG baby like Miss Claire Bear or if that just means Daren and I make big ass babies. :-) Heart beat sounded strong and solid (156 bpm). All is well in babyland. Keep praying for us...

Here I am in all my pregnant glory:

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Dear Daddy,

Happy Birthday!! I love you, Daddy. I love when we swing, but "no spin, okay?!" I love to dance in the living room with you. I love when you take me to the store. I love to go swimming with you. I love to feel your whiskers and I love when you make silly faces at me. I love when you play copycat with me at the dinner table. I love when you read me books and when we let balloons go to the sky. Thanks Daddy for being so good to me. I hope you had a special birthday. You deserve it so much. I hope you like your new driver. I am sorry it rained on our tee time. Let's plan another day to play, okay Daddy?! Mommy tells me all the time how lucky I am to have a Daddy like you and I agree. I am the luckiest girl in the world. Happy Birthday, Daddy. Mommy and I love you very much!!!

Love,
Claire Bear

PS- This is late, but if you have read the blog then you know why it is late. It took a while for the Nix family to have a computer.

Princess Claire and fingerpaint!

Claire loves to dress up like a princess! My favorite thing, though, is that she always makes me "get camera," as she puts it. She likes to look at herself dressed up. What a princess!
Claire's latest favorite outdoor activity besides swimming and the swing is to fingerpaint. Mommy found the best washable paint around and she goes to town! Sometimes she forgets the paint is on her hands, though. :-)