Halloween Cajun Style

Last weekend we attended a family wedding in Donaldsonville, LA...just outside New Orleans. We had so much fun and I have ton of pictures to post but just don't have the time right now. But I could not resist sharing pictures of our little ballerina princess. She was so serious all night...she is such a people watcher she just did not know what to think about all the people or all the costumes. More pictures to come of our trip to Cajun Country....stay tuned!!!

Check-up, Whole Milk, and Camels

First Camel Ride=Happy Girl



These boots are made for walking!!

Reading her book while riding in her birthday wagon...her favorite thing to do!

Cracker?

What's new at One Year?

Let's see what has Miss Claire been up too? Had her one year check up; weighs 20 pounds 5 ounces and is 29 inches tall. She is now riding forward in her car seat...which I told her if she loses any weight she will have to ride backwards again. Although Claire likes riding forward and I like seeing her cute little face better, it has created a little whining out of my good car rider. She can now see everything that sits on the console...and points and whines until I give her what she wants...or heaven forbid I eat a snack or take a drink in the car now because guess who thinks she needs whatever I have? Claire also got her one year shots...all six of them. I about died and she was not happy either. After a couple days of being a little fussy she was back to her old self.

Talking, talking talking....we hear new words everyday...she has several down with no wondering of what she said....momma, dada, nana, pepaw (or in her language ta-tall), tractor, cracker, night night, (ni-ni) outside (which is simply "side"), thank you...and several others that I can't quite make out.

DHA Issue???

Claire has transitioned completely to whole milk and solid foods. (I am very blessed to have and can't believe I have breastfed her for one year. Lord knows, I wanted quit a thousand times. This experience was the hardest, most selfless, most rewarding thing I have ever done or probably ever will do in my entire life!!!) I am having a few issues with the whole milk though...I don't think her little belly likes the DHA. Call me crazy but when I started her on whole milk she started with organic with DHA...the throwing up began (not all the time but just every now and then)....then WalMart was out of the milk with DHA, so I settled for the plain organic milk...throwing up stopped......WM got the DHA milk back in, so I switched back...throwing up started up again. My Claire had a whirlwind of a time with throwing up/ spitting up until she was about 8 months old. With DHA naturally part of breast milk, I am starting to think she and DHA don't mix. I am not the brightest bulb in the box when it comes to science/health/medicine but I can't help to notice this common link.

Camel ride

A traveling zoo, as I call it, came to town...literally set up cages of animals on a parking lot. One of those was a camel, so of course we had to have our first camel riding experience. Claire laughed and smiled the entire time. Who would have thought walking around in 3 big circles could be so entertaining???

Claire's Paw-ty....and more

HOPE YOU HAD A GREAT BIRTHDAY WEEK BABY CLAIRE!!!!

WE LOVE YOU! Eating Birthday Pancake

Walking in school on her birthday

Swinging on Birthday Night

Birthday Night Cupcake

Exactly One Year Old picture.....10/7/2009 8:24pm
Happy Birthday sign at school

Birthday Party at school

YUM!

Walking into her PAW-TY

Claire and her Daddy

Birthday Girl!

Let's open presents:)

Daddy helping open gifts!

A yawn on her birthday...just one!

Cake in her dog bowl!

Hello...talking on her phone!

What a week....Claire turned ONE!!! Wednesday was the big day:) Miss Claire got up early and ate her birthday pancake and watched Playhouse Disney....then the birthday girl, walked to her class at school that morning for the very first time! Wednesday night we played, played, played and enjoyed a birthday cupcake! Then, on Friday Claire had a birthday party at school. She and another little boy shared a birthday week so they shared a party together. It was so nice of her teachers to have them a party! Of course, I had to go and take pictures of this event.

Saturday was the PAW-ty!!!!! It was a little chilly so we pulled out the heaters and PAW-tied!!! Claire had so much fun and loved all the people and all her gifts!! Thank you to everyone! She was so good the whole time. The playhouse from Nana and Pepaw was a BIG hit and the little Elmo kitchen! Iggy and Gagi gave her the most beautiful cross necklace that she can wear forever! Claire is now riding in style thanks to Gamie and Pop Pop. She loves facing forward...just kicking her legs and laughing. We had so much fun planning this first birthday party! All the little kids loved wearing their dog ears and eating their cupcakes out of dog bowls! Too Cute:) Happy First Birthday Week Baby Claire....you are now taking a much needed nap...you played so hard yesterday you are still worn out today! Love you baby girl!

12 Months

I got up this morning with a one year laying next to me! Really? One Year? Sounds so big! And then I was told this morning at Claire's school that she will move up to the Toddler class in January! Seriously? I am the Mom of a toddler!! I just don't think I can take it! Yesterday being Claire's first birthday I had to stop myself from crying several times. Don't get me wrong I love the little person Miss Claire is developing into and all the new things she does but it is still just hard to imagine my little baby a year old and entering toddlerhood!

We have not been to the doctor for our 12 month check-up but she did visit him last week (3 sick days) and she weighed in right at 20 pounds.

A few of my favorite things about my 12 month old:

- love being outside
- love swinging
- are a "picky" eater....I have to give you 4 or 5 things for dinner
- love going to school
- take your sippy cups during the day and have one bottle before bed
- yesterday was the first day of no nursing or pumping
- transition to whole milk "moo milk" fairly easy...had to mix with breastmilk for a couple of weeks
- walking around like you have been doing it forever
- like to have your quiet time before bed...sitting in your bouncy, watching einstein, drinking your "moo milk"
- were sick last week and had to miss 3 days of school
- crawling up on everything
- 4 teeth on top and 4 teeth on bottom
- want to feed yourself

I can't describe how I feel about my Claire. She is my world and my purpose. She has her Daddy so wrapped up its not funny. He already talks about the days when he can take her up in the deer stand....he even wanted her to be a hunter for Halloween...I had already bought her ballerina costume. (thank goodness) This past year has brought us so much change...new baby, new jobs, new hometown....we have been so blessed throughout our transition to our new life! I am so thankful for everyday, every hour, every minute, every second that I spend with my little girl, my little one year old!!! What do the next 365 days have in store for us?

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HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY CLAIRE!!! Momma is so proud of you and I love you more and more everyday! I can't wait for your "Paw-ty" this weekend!

First Birthday Eve!

Today is Claire's First Birthday Eve! Wow! One Year ago today my life was a little different...got up went to work, walked and walked and walked around, and prayed and prayed that she would come naturally and that I would not have to be induced...my prayers were answered in the wee hours (2:34 am) the next morning..."did I wet my pants", oh! no! it must be time...TIME, really! Nick, WAKE UP! My water broke! Really? Yes, Really!! It was raining that night and the barometeric pressure had dropped so I am convinced that helped along with all my walking! When I stopped blogging back in February I did save all my posts and I LOVED reading these! This little girl has filled our home with an unimaginable love, a contagious laugh, a ray of sunshine every morning, and is a constant reminder of how great our Lord is!

Monday, September 22, 2008
Waiting on Forever!
That is our new motto around our house...waiting on forever! Many of you are wondering what is going on now that the countdown has started...17 days until Baby Claire's due date. Will she come early? late? or on the 9th? In a perfect world she would come on the evening of her due date but we all know that we don't live in a perfect world. Nick is VERY ready for her to arrive while I am enjoying the little bit of sleep I can still get and just taking care of things that need to be done. The bags are packed and ready to go, her nursery is ready, and the "to do list before baby arrives" has pretty much everything marked off. So here we are waiting on forever... waiting to meet the little girl that will forever change us, waiting on our new life, waiting on our new reason to get up every morning, waiting for the smile that will brighten our day, waiting on laughter that will forever fill our home, waiting on a love that we have yet to experience, waiting on a new reason to thank God everyday.
Posted by The Wades at 11:31 AM 5 comments


Thursday, September 25, 2008
38 weeks
After another weekly visit it is safe to say that Baby Claire is perfectly content for now. (Yes, I do know that can change overnight) As the doctor put it yesterday, she is living in my rib cage...meaning she has not dropped. There is also no progress in the dilation department. Good news is that she appears to be head down. Most friends I have that are expecting right now seem disappointed with the "no progress" appointments but in my mind she still has 2 weeks to live in her cozy environment. I really want her to come when she is ready...not rushing to be induced...although it might end up that way if she thinks she is going to set up a permanent residence. Who knows??? This weekend should keep us pretty busy. Nick is going to be pretty brave and take me and my 34 weeks pregnant bestie, Amanda, to Bikes, Blues, and BBQ on Saturday. Eat some funnel cakes, enjoy the nice weather, watch the Hog game, listen to some great music....and just continue to wait..... on little miss forever to arrive.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Still waiting...
Little Miss Claire Carter is still perfectly cozy! I will have to admit I am getting a little anxious at this point. I was sure that some progress had started but I was completely wrong. She has dropped a little bit but not as much as she needs to. So, we go back to the doctor next wednesday for another check-up. If she does not come between now and then, (out of nowhere) then we will start talking about inducing. Hopefully, she will be a true surprise and just come on her own!!!
Posted by The Wades at 10:54 AM 4 comments


Thursday, October 9, 2008
Miss Claire Carter Wade has made us the proudest parents. We thank you all for the phone calls and your prayers. After 18 hours of well worth it labor she made our little family complete on October 7, 2008 at 8:24pm, weighing 7 pounds 5 ounces and 20 inches long. We are truly BLESSED and God is truly AMAZING!
Nick and Aunt Emily were the most amazing coaches and I could not have done it without them! Thank you for helping bring our little girl into the world!

One Year Pictures!

We love our One Year pictures!!! Thank you Mitzi!!!