Workin' 9 to 5

...or more like 8 to 4. Or if we're being honest, 8:06 to 4. Punctuality, before 9 am, is not my thing.

So, first of all, I realize that it's been nearly 2 months since I updated. So sorry.  It's Russell's fault - he made me go back to work. Well, him plus the threat of having to live under the bridge if I refused to go back.

I'm actually incredibly lucky to have had 6 months of maternity leave. I took all of my sick days and then a few months of unpaid leave, but it was worth it to be home with this all day:

There was a lot of this:

And a lot of this:

Plenty of this:

This face is the one that will get her a pony someday

which was usually followed by this:

        

We hung out with our favorite people:

                     And our favorite guy: 

 Some days were really hard, but most were full of this:

I'm glad to be back to work: I don't think I'm cut out for being a stay-at-home mom forever. But I sure do miss that baby all day! 

Baby stats:

How old is Claire?: 29 weeks. Next Monday, 30 weeks. How does that happen so fast???

How Claire is eating: Well, we introduced solid foods starting with rice cereal, then sweet potatoes, then peas. She was a big fan of rice cereal and sweet potatoes. Peas, not as much, but she won't turn them down!

How Claire is sleeping: Claire is sleeping so well, I'm afraid to type these words because I don't want to jinx it. She goes to sleep most nights with very little crying around 6:30 pm and sleeps straight through til 6:30 AM. It's amazing.

How much weight I've lost: 43 pounds, out of the 48 I gained during pregnancy. I am soooooo stuck with 5 pounds to go. Going back to work isn't helping, nor is daylight savings time. It sucks to work all day, come home, play with the baby for a couple hours, put her to bed, and then head out, in the dark, to the gym. Blah. Maybe if I whine about it more, the pounds will melt off?? Sigh.

How Russell's doing: PRAISE JESUS, BAND SEASON IS OVER. This is a blessing for all of us. Besides having the sinus infection from hell, Russell's doing fine!

Milestones this week: How about milestones this month, since I never update :) Claire can sit up on her own now, although she'll fall over eventually, so we can't wander far. She loves to hold her own bottle and blow raspberries. I think she recognizes the words "daddy", "mama", and "Bijou", who is the love of her life. She doesn't care much for the swing anymore and barely fits in her "shaky seat". She can sit in her high chair for solid foods. Basically, we're applying for colleges next week.