Claire's 15 month update and stats

Birth:

7 lbs 8 oz

19 inches long

Two Week Appointment:

8 lbs 8 oz 75%

20 inches long 75%

Two Month Appointment:

12 lbs 4 oz 75%

 21 inches long 75%

Four Month Appointment:
  16lbs 5oz  75%

25 inches long 75%

 

Six Month Appointment 

19 lbs 75%

27.5 inches long 95%

 

Nine Month Appointment

20lbs 3 oz 75%

28.5 inches long 75%

 

1 year appointment

22 lbs 0 oz 80%

31 inches long 95%

 

15 Month Appointment

23lbs 12 oz 50%

31 inches long 75%

 

Stats:

Wears 18 month clothes now although the 18 month size pants are a little too big for her still. 12 months are to small so she needs an in between size. I put away all her 12 month clothes into storage already and purchased all her new clothing within the last month and a half. FYI Target has a new brand out for babies called Cat & Jack and it's so cute! The shirts are only $5.00 so go check that out. 

Sleeps through the night, 8:00 to 8:30 without waking up. If she does wake up she puts herself back to sleep so I usually just wait and listen to her on the monitor to make sure she's okay. 

Down to one nap a day which ranges anywhere from 1 hour to 3. Usually around 2 hours though. 

Eats all the food we eat and only has a bottle at nap time/ bed time now. She loves cookies, chicken nuggets, eggs, pasta, and french fries. I am trying to make sure she has a more balanced diet now, which in turn makes me have a more balanced diet so win win. 

She can walk now, she actually started walking about 3 weeks before she turned one but would still crawl every now and then like most babies. She officially started walking all the time about 3 weeks after she turned one. Now she is running, literally all over the place. 

She still whistles, and now loves dancing. She is very aware of music, and loves to lead the music in church when everyone is singing. 

She loves people! She will go up to anyone and just ask them to hold her. It's so cute. 

She has all her molars in and most of her teeth in now actually. We are just waiting on her k9's.We have started brushing her teeth and she really likes that a lot. 

She can say about 30 words right now and knows some body parts, some colors and animal sounds. She is so smart, our pediatrician actually said we will have to watch that to see how she continues to develop because of how fast she is learning everything. 

As for us. I recently had another miscarriage earlier this month (December). We were so excited to be pregnant but also a little overwhelmed. We do want our kids to be close in age but have decided to wait for a little bit before trying again. I have been diagnosed with progesterone deficiency which is why I have miscarriages. Basically my body doesn't produce enough progesterone at all and so we are looking into ways to regulate that. 

Zack recently graduated from his electrician school at the top of his class. I was so proud of him and he got a lot of awards for being at the top. 

We also moved! We honestly weren't planning on doing that but things just worked out and we ended up purchasing a house in Payson Utah. We have loved living here and although we know we wont live here forever we will be here for a while and we are excited to be apart of the community here. 

I am planning on blogging more in 2017. I kind of fell off the track with it when I started my new job but I really want to get back into blogging more. It's been so fun looking back at all my posts from earlier this year and I don't journal very good so this is a good way for me to do that. 

Here are some pictures from the last little while. Thanks for reading!

XO

Caitlin

Holiday Gift Guide 2016: Gifts for her $25 - $50

I got this idea from the amazing Jennifer Ross over at Pretty Neat Living. She does a holiday gift guide every year and I thought this would be fun to do on my own blog. Hope she doesn't mind that
I am piggy backing off her idea. Please go check out her site here to find her reviews and gift guides as well.

Today we are doing the category of gifts ranging in price from $25 - $50.
For Her:
 1. Sonix phone charger.  Retails for $45.

This is the perfect gift, especially for someone who uses their phone a lot. I have found that I needed a portable phone charger more often now. I use my phone constantly, for pictures, for social media, for internet research, for how tos, etc. I mean we all use our phone on a daily basis so a portable charger is a great gift for someone who may need that extra battery life but doesn't have access to an outlet.

2. Plaid Boucle Square Blanket Scarf. Retails for $35.10

I love scarf's. This one is perfect for winter. I especially love the colors as it reminds of Christmas. I haven't actually seen it in person but I think this is the perfect plaid scarf to have on hand. It's also on sale so that's a great bonus.

3. Target Tote Bag. Retails for $29.99

I want this bag! It's the perfect bag for a carry on for flights, or for a long day outing like to the zoo. It's also a great diaper bag. I am always looking for a bag with lots of pockets. I don't carry around as much stuff as I used to but this would be a great every day bag to have.

4. Skull candy Headphones. Retails for $29.99

Headphones! My husband loves this brand so when I came across these in this gorgeous coral color I knew I had to include them on this list. These headphones are known for being noise cancelling so the surrounding noise around you isn't distracting you from your task. These would be great for someone who spends a lot of time on the computer. I would use these daily and am hoping my husband sees this list and gets the HINT that I love these. (Will it work?)

5. Erin Condren Life Planner. Retails for $55.00 Use this link here to sign up and receive $10.00 off your first order making it $45.00 (plus shipping).

This is my planner I currently use. Check out my planner Instagram here. I love this planner. A planner is a great gift for someone as they start the new year, it's a way to map out your life so your goals can be accomplished. Planning helps with my anxiety and I am so grateful I have found the planning community. It's fun to share spreads with each other in Facebook groups and to gain inspiration for your planner from others. If you know someone who would love a planner this is a thoughtful gift that they will love for the entire year.

6. Two Faced Grand Hotel Cafe Holiday Gift Set. Retails for $49.00

Look how cute this set is. This is for all the makeup lovers out there, this gift is perfect because it's already in cute packaging. Just put it under the tree and you are good to go. I love the color scheme of the different palettes and feel that I would use all the different shadows. For someone who loves makeup this gives them a variety of blushes, a mascara, and eye shadows. It's a great collector's item as well.

Well I hope this was helpful for you. I will be doing another post this week on gifts for him in the $25 - $50 category and I will be doing two more posts of gifts in the $50 + category. I have a lot of great ideas for those gifts. Now to link this post to my husband's facebook so he sees what I want.

XO
Caitlin

 

Mommy Favorites 13 Month Old

These posts will highlight all of the products Claire and I have been loving for the past month of her life. Most of these products are toys, books, or other items that make my life and hers easier. I hope it's helpful for those of you are have babies and are getting to this stage in life.
I have to say I think this is my favorite stage so far. She is so fun right now. She can walk which has been so entertaining, she can communicate a lot better now. She knows a few words in sign language but she can mostly tell me what she needs by talking and showing me. She sleeps great, naps great and is just a fun baby to be around. So here is all of our current favorite things for her.

1. B. LucKeys: Claire is really into keys right now. Anytime we are going in the car, which seems like a lot lately, she always try's to grab for my keys. She can say keys and points at them and goes keys keys keys until we give her some. These baby keys are perfect! They have the metal end so she can chew on them, they aren't pointy at the end so if she falls with them in her mouth they wont stab her. The main key makes sounds when you press the buttons which is a lot of fun. They are awesome and I highly recommend purchasing them.

2. Baby Einsteins Learning Piano. This piano is awesome. I love music and want Claire to learn to the play the piano. She'll take lessons in a few years but until then I can teach her the basics at home. For now this is a great introductory toy to the piano. It helps them learn numbers, animal sounds and instrument sounds with the different settings that's on the piano. Then it plays classical music from Beethovan, Vilvaldi, etc. It plays 20 different musical melodies so I don't get sick of the same song being played over and over which is good.

3. Vtech touch and play phone. We got this toy to try and divert her from grabbing our phones. Of course she still would rather have our phones but she likes this one for a few minutes. It's nice because it has sound, the apps do different things when you touch them and you can call people. Claire is so smart so when I answer my phone she'll pick up this play phone if she is near it and say hi, just like I do.

4. Carter's baby onesies. I love onesies. I know some mom's it's not their favorite thing but I love it. Especially during the summer because most of the time she would just wear a onesie. I am still picking her up and holding her quite a bit so they work better for me because then her shirt doesn't get all bunched up from me holding her. I love the five pack ones you can get for $13.00 or so because I feel like that is the best deal.

5. Walmart Pajamas. All of her pajamas right now are from walmart. They are great. So inexpensive, they have the zip up footie pajamas I love as well as sets like this one. Claire loves anything Mickey and Minnie right now so this is a perfect set for her. She will be getting a lot of pajamas for Christmas this year.

6. Yogurt Melts. Claire is only on solids now. She has a bottle occasionally but its only about 3 times a day. One in the morning, one at nap time and one before she goes to bed. The rest of the time she eats regular food. For breakfast we do anything from eggs to waffles. For lunch we do chicken nuggets, ravioli, cheese quesadillas, vegetables, fruit smoothie, sandwiches, etc. Then for dinner she just eats whatever we eat. She needs some snacks in between meals and usually I go for cheerios, fruit, applesauce, but these yogurt melts are awesome. She loves them and they are already the perfect size for her so I don't have to cut them down or anything. Highly recommend them if you are looking for a snack.

7. Paw Patrol. Claire is really into show's right now. Paw patrol comes on in the mornings on the nickelodeon channel and she loves it. Of course because it has puppies. I usually try and limit her TV time to only about an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon. This show keeps her occupied while I do laundry, and get other chores done around the house.

8. 101 Dalmations. Anything to do with puppies Claire is all over right now. So this show I watch at least once a day. Usually it's right when she gets up from her afternoon nap, she is still kind of groggy, and takes time to get her energy up to play. It isn't a very long movie so it's good for that time frame right when she wakes up from her nap.

9. Fisher Price backpack. Last but not least is I got a new diaper bag. I know I've gone through 4 already. I really needed a good sturdy backpack for a diaper bag. I don't use it every time we go out but when we are at my parents or in laws for family dinner, or she has to go to daycare for 30 minutes at the gym, or we are going to church we need a diaper bag. It's easiest to have the backpack because then we have both arms free and we can chase her around. Since she is walking this is what we spend most of our time doing. This bag is great because it has pockets for so many things and can fit everything we need in it plus more.

There you have it our current favorites for this past month. Thanks for reading and I hope you got some great ideas. Please share some things you have found helpful as I am always looking for new products.

XO
Caitlin

Scriptures to help with depression & anxiety

Many of you know of the struggle I've had with mental illness over the last 10 years. I feel great right now, and my postpartum anxiety is finally at bay so I feel like I can share this with a perspective of looking into the glass instead of being on the other side of it trying to get out. During my bouts of depression saying prayers was one of the hardest things for me to do. I didn't pray as much because I felt unworthy to pray. I felt that I was too worthless and not good enough to pray. This is so untrue, I know this now but in the middle of it no matter how many times I tried to tell my self that was untrue I never grasped that concept. Reading scriptures and conference talks was what helped me the most. I felt they gave me the strength that I needed to keep going and it also gave me a testimony of our Savior Jesus Christ and how he can help me with my struggles.
I had a list of go to scriptures that would help me the most, as well as stories of prophets and apostles who also struggled with mental illness. Did you know these stories exist? They do and I hope this list will help some of you. Remember that "the worth of souls is great in the sight of God" (Doctrine & Covenants 18:10) , and you are worth it, I promise!!

Old Testament
Deuteronomy 3:22
Deuteronomy 31:8
Joshua 1:9
Psalm 13
Psalms 40: 1-3
Isaiah 41:10
Jeremiah 17: 7-8

New Testament
Matthew 5:4
Matthew 26: 37-38 (one of my favorites. It talks about when Christ was going into the garden of Gethsemane and how his soul felt. This one helped me the most realize that even our Savior has felt these feelings)
John 3:16
Romans 8:35-39
1 Corinthians 15:19
2 Corinthians 1: 3-4
Philippians 4:13

Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ
 2 Nephi 4
Mosiah 27:29
Alma 8:14
Alma 26:27-31
Alma 36: 1-24
Alma 37:45

Doctrine & Covenants
Section 18:10
Section 121: 1-9
Section 136:29

General Conference Talks
April 2009: None were with Him Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
Oct 2009: Hold on Ann M. Dibb
Oct 2013: Like a Broken Vessel Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

XO
Caitlin