La,la,la,la Elmo's World

Claire LOVES Elmo!!! Watch her rendition of "Elmo's World." Enjoy!

The latest and the greatest...

This is Harper at 6 weeks old. She looks just like Claire to me! It freaks me out how much they are looking more and more alike as Harper grows. She smiles now. She makes those wonderful baby noises. She can hold her head up and she will follow you with her eyes. We are working on tummy time and she loves it! She loves her baths too. She is giving me 5-6 hour stretches at night from time to time which is nice. She still doesn't love her crib but we are working on it.Daddy has been trying for almost 2 weeks now to give Harper a bottle, but Miss Thang is stubborn. But we will win this battle. We continue to try every night. We have tried different bottles, nipples, locations, times, etc... This kid LOVES eating from Mommy and will not relent. Mommy would love a break every now and then, and Daddy would love the bonding time so pray that Harper gives in.Daren and Johnny headed to TX/OU two weeks ago and had a blast! It was Johnny's first TX/OU and it was Daren's first night away from his new, bigger family. Hook 'Em!We are adjusting to life with two little girls well. It is busy and there is very little break, but it is full of fun! Mommy loves to take walks and get some fresh air with the girls. We don't have a double stroller so it makes for a tough walk sometimes, but I am getting good exercise. I just put Claire in the stroller and attach Harper to my chest and off we go...!

ACC Fall Fest 2009

We went to the annual ACC Fall Fest to celebrate Halloween and the kids had a blast! They watched a magician and were totally fascinated. They decorated pumpkins and cookies. They ate snowcones and LOTS of candy! All of the kiddos loved all the witches, kitties, ghosts, etc...that the club had out and around. They enjoyed the fun of Halloween! I didn't take many pictures because we were ALL over the place. Harper meandered around with me in the Baby Bjorn when she was awake and she spent her sleeping moments hanging with Pops and Daddy.

This was the best attempt by the photographer at a group photo. You can imagine trying to keep 3 excited toddlers still...yikes!Enjoying lollipops and watching the magicianClaire ran around all night yelling "ROAR" at peopleCharlie cast many a web on people and LOVED wearing his mask. He was a GREAT Spiderman!

Jesus Loves Me

Claire loves her Sundays at church. This last Sunday, they learned that Jesus makes children happy if they accept Him in their hearts. She sang me "Jesus Loves Me" to go along with what she learned. She melts my heart!

Sweetberry Farms

Last weekend, we drove to Marble Falls with the Nixes to Sweetberry Farms for their annual fall festivities. There was so much we could've done, but unfortunately we ran out of time. We were able to play in the pumpkins, run around the maze with Mimi, ride a pony with Mommy, take a hayride with Mimi and Papa and take family pictures. Claire had a blast and is still talking about it. Harper was a trooper the whole time!! She is such a good little baby!

Claire on a tractor
She got to take a hayride with Mimi and PapaClaire played on the kid maze with Mimi
She climbed in a wheelbarrow
Claire played in the pumpkinsShe rode a pony with Mommy

Hallelujah Halloween Hoedown!

This past Wednesday night was the annual Hallelujah Hoedown at our church. It is a huge Halloween celebration. Claire was so excited for the "party," and we were very excited to watch her play and have fun. When we left for the party, Claire was certain that she wanted to be a Bevo cheerleader. This threw us off because it is not either one of her two Halloween costumes but we obligingly dressed her up in her Longhorn cheerleading outfit. Daren was brilliant enough to suggest that we bring both of her costumes in case she changes her mind, and sure enough, she changed her mind. By the time we got to the party, Claire wanted to be a pixie.
We had some really fun times and some "not so fun" surprises. Claire had an all-out meltdown when she saw the Chick-Fil-A cow and Nemo the fish (AKA the man completely covered in a big cow and a big fish costume). She was so scared of these costumed creatures, that we were unable to convince her to go in to the dining room to eat dinner and enjoy the band. So, the Nix family ate outside on the bench. :-) Claire is still asking Mommy, "Mommy, cow won't get me???"

On the upside, Claire loved the moonwalk bouncy house. She loved it so much that we had a very hard time getting her to leave the bouncy house. We were starting to worry that she might spend the night in there.

She loved the pigs in the petting zoo

And, she loved the grape snow cone

And in case you are wondering about sweet, sweet baby Harper, she enjoyed the comforts of her stroller throughout the entire Halloween Hoedown. I guess that's where the saying "slept like a baby" comes from, because that's what Miss Harper did. :-)

Rain, Rain Go Away!!

It has rained non-stop in Austin for the past week. For the plants, grass and trees, this is a great thing. For our restless 2 year old, it is not so good. It made for a long weekend but we tried to make the best of it. Claire bear is quite the outdoor adventurer, so keeping an outdoors girl inside is difficult. We played lots of dress up. Claire wants to be a tiger for Halloween. We tried to sway her towards a more girly costume...we tried a princess, pixy fairy and others and finally realized that Claire should be a tiger if that is what she wants to be. She loves it! She loves to run up to you, whip her paw at you and yell "ROAR!"
Lashelle brought Claire a flamenco dress from Spain. Claire spent lots of time dancing and singing in it this weekend too.And, we even enjoyed some snuggle time in the bed as a family. Too bad, Mommy had to take the picture. :-( I promise...I snuggled too!!

Happy Birthday to Pops!

Happy Birthday, Pops! We love you and here's to many more...
Pops' birthday celebration began at 3 Forks downtown; and, yes, we brought the girls to the fancy restaurant. Harper slept most of the time, but when she woke up she wanted to snuggled with her Christi. Christi had the special touch and rocked her right back to sleep. Claire was in heaven. There was a dance floor with a piano and a man with a microphone. She danced the night away and everyone took turns twirling Miss Claire across the dance floor. On top of that, she got to sit between Christi and Grandma.

Grandma found a Spiderman shirt for her and the boys LOVED that she was the latest super hero. We continued the birthday celebration by swimming, playing by the pool, eating burgers and having lots of fun! The boys made surprise appearances as Spiderman and Batman and Claire had a ball swimming with her Pops. The kids loved that the cake made their lips turn blue. We even managed to get a picture of Pops with all of his grandchildren. It was a wonderful birthday celebration!! Claire wore out last night, but fell asleep talking about Spiderman and Batman. It makes me laugh at how much she looks up to her sweet cousins. She hangs out with them and then wants to play with superheroes, trucks, Thomas the train, and collect logs. Cracks me up!!

Harper at 3 weeks and Miss Claire the big sister

Mimi came in town for 2 days and took some great pictures. I posted my personal favorites and will give you the latest update of our girls.

This is Harper at 3 weeks old. She is a good baby. She eats, sleeps and poops. Right now, she is eating about every 2-3 hours unless we have a blowout. In that case, she wants to eat again immediately. She doesn't cry much, except she has her fussy time from about 10 pm to 1 am. It isn't as bad of a fussy time as Claire's was, but it lasts longer so that is tough on Mommy and on baby Harper. Because of Claire, Harper gets out quite a bit. We like to take walks, go out to eat, run errands, and play at Grandma and Pops' house.
People keep asking me "How is Claire doing?" Claire is doing great!! At the beginning, she had her moments. She was definitely jealous of someone invading her space, but life is back to normal now. She is a great big sister. She helps me change diapers, loves to pick Harper's clothes out and helps me give Harper baths. She wants to hold Harper every now and then, but her attention span with that is very short-lived. Mostly, we try to keep Claire busy and happy and playing in hopes that Miss Harper can just sleep wherever we are and adjust to what we are doing with Claire.

I love this picture of my girls and me. Claire didn't want to take her picture but we tricked her in to giving Mommy a hug. Mimi was quick with the camera trigger and it is the perfect shot of life right now...a little chaotic but filled with lots of love.

And here is the photographer extraordinaire with Harper Ann.

Harper's BIG smile and the Dr.

I know everything you read says that newborns don't smile, that it is just reflexes but I beg to differ...

Harper's 2 week check up went great!
Weight: 8 lb. 12 oz. (50th percentile)
Height: 20 inches (25th percentile- SHORTY!)
Her head circumference was also 50th percentile.
She has gained over a pound since birth!! Way to go, Harper!

LaLa's 1st visit with Harper and ESPN Game Day, baby!!

LaLa came this past weekend for her 1st visit to see baby Harper and also to see her biggest fan, Claire bear. LaLa was great help and lots of fun for Claire. They golfed, took walks, went to UT Game Day, swang, played in the balls, went to the store, and more... When LaLa is around, she definitely has an attachment named Claire with her at all times. :-) It is pretty sweet. They have a special bond.

My personal favorite moment, though, is when Daddy convinced LaLa to go to ESPN Game Day with him. He even got Lashelle to wear a burnt orange shirt and a hat!! Oh, the things family members will do out of love for each other... Thanks to LaLa for a great weekend and for some much needed rest for Mommy!!! We love you!!!!!!!

Family of Four

Harper Ann Nix arrived on September 10, 2009 at 10:13 am. She weighed in at 7 lbs. 10 oz and was 20 inches long. We had a 4 day stay in the NICU due to transitional issues regarding her stomach, but she has been home since Monday and is a sweetheart. During Harper's stay in the NICU, she dropped down to 7 lbs. 2 oz, but we went to Dr. Ramirez today and I am proud to say that Miss Harper is now up to 7 lbs. 15 oz!!! So, the nursing is going well. YAY!!!

It is so funny how quickly you forget that babies spend all of their time sleeping. Eat, sleep, poop. She is a sweet, sweet snugglebug. Claire is doing pretty well with the changes. She has her moments, but she loves to help me "wipe Harper's bottom." Today, Harper pooped in to the clean diaper Claire picked out for Harper, and Claire thought it was hysterical that she pooped right after she pooped. :-) She eats about every 2-3 hours. Mommy is fairly sleep deprived, but I honestly feel more rested and calm than I did the last 3-4 weeks of Harper's pregnancy. There isn't much daytime napping going on due to Miss Claire bear, but I feel blessed and I feel lucky. I have a happy, good family. Yay for our new family of four!!

A race to the finish line...

Warning: If you don't want to see skin, then don't look at the pictures. Just enjoy this one of Claire holding up my belly. :-)

I am being induced in 2 days so it is only right to record what I look like at the bitter end...very tired, I must say. I think it is so strange that I no longer have a belly button?! When I look at these pictures, I now understand why my back hurts so bad!

Baby Mama Drama

After much drama (or lack thereof) this past weekend, we are scheduled for an induction on Thursday, September 10 at 5 am. It's going to be early in the morning, folks, and judging by this baby's stubborn nature, it may take ALL day for him/her to grace us with his/her presence. :-)

Here's what happened (for those who don't know):
Daren and I went to our appt. with Dr. Cowan last Thursday only to find out I was dilated between 4-5 cm. and 70% effaced. With a 7-8 pound baby, Dr. Cowan decided to put me out of my misery, strip my membranes and this was SURE to push me in to labor. Well, it didn't work. It tricked my body. I had false labor on Thursday night...2 hours of hard, awful contractions that were 2-3 minutes apart and then nothing. It was so frustrating. Catherine flew in. The Nixes came. The Ferinas were ready. Mom and Dad were with me. It was perfect. I guess this just goes to show that it wasn't in God's plan for the baby to arrive on Labor Day weekend. So, all is set for the baby to arrive on September 10th and we can't wait to meet Baby #2!

Gender Predictions

So, a close friend of mine emailed me a bunch of links to take tests that predict the baby's gender. Now we all know that this is just for fun and that nothing means anything, but Daren and I had fun playing. :-) The results are very mixed so I guess we will have to wait until the baby's birthday to find out what he/she is...

Chinese Lunar Calendar- BOY
Heart Beats Per Minute Test- consistently in the 150s- GIRL
Sick in the 1st trimester?? YES!! - GIRL
Cravings for sweets or sour?? SWEETS!! - GIRL
Carrying the baby high? YES!! - GIRL
Wedding ring on a string test- the string went side to side- BOY
Gender prediction test based on both families' histories- GIRL

There you have it! Mixed results, people... What's your vote???