Walking for Austism

Clara Grace and Storm Trooper

This particular storm trooper is my friend Christine's husband's friend. You can check out the 501st Legion here http://www.501neg.com/ Courtney and Clara (with Christine's in-laws) during the opening ceremony
more pictures of the 501st

Clara Grace and Courtney stopped for a moment to blow some bubbles as the walk began.
Shortly after the walk began
My view when turning around. Christine is pushing the stroller.
Clara Grace crossing the finish line with Ryan right behind her! Courtney zipped by so quickly I missed her in the shot.

I'm so glad we decided to join my friend Christine's team Koz for an Effect to walk for autism. We had a great time and discovered Colt State Park! We will definitely be enjoying that park during our last year in RI. The event began with an opening ceremony followed by the 1.3 mile walk, then a hot dog lunch on the grounds. There were bands playing and then we took the kids over to enjoy a couple of the bounce houses and slides that were available. In addition there was cotton candy and face painting, but we didn't partake in all of that. The weather was absolutely beautiful!

Worlds of Fantasy!

Our Saturday was spent in a very nice fashion. To begin with we showered and went to eat breakfast at Cracker Barrel, where Clara Grace devoured her pancake and two sausage links. That was after eating a bowl of cheerios at home. Sometimes her appetite is frightening.

From there we went to the Disney on Ice Worlds of Fantasy show. We had a blast and have included some pictures from the event. Yes, we had Clara Grace purchase her own cotton candy from the vendor and she did a fabulous job. I'm still amazed that we spent $10 on cotton candy...however if I recall they actually charged more for it at the circus!

After the show we started back home but decided to swing through Bristol, RI. While there we stopped at the boat launch at Colt State Park and let Clara Grace throw rocks in the water. That is the bottom picture. When we were done there, we stopped at a state street fair that turned out to be a bit of a dud except for the free balloon given to Clara Grace. We finally made it home only to see the neighborhood kids out playing so she and I walked down to the end of the cul-de-sac and let her play for a bit. All in all it was a delightful Saturday with fabulous weather and a good thing we were able to fit in so much as Chuck has to work both Saturday and Sunday next weekend.

Another Dr Appointment

Today I had my second dr. appointment which I scheduled during Clara Grace's school day. Here are the pertinent details:

• I heard the baby's heartbeat! 140 beats per minute!


• I have gained two pounds.


• All of my tests from last appointment were normal.


• My next appointment is October 17, at 17 weeks.


• We will schedule the big ultrasound at the next appointment to be between weeks 18-20.

I'll not bore you with a lengthy account. It was a pleasant appointment but I could not help but notice that the waiting room was "lively" on a Friday morning. My appointment was for 10:00 am and I quit watching the clock at 10:30, but was entertained by the number of people entering and exiting. Luckily I was out of there early enough to not be cutting it close to pick up Clara Grace.

In case I've not updated you personally, I'll let you know that I am now at that point where I feel great! I've been making sure I get plenty of exercise, although sometimes I'm not overly motivated to do so. My energy level has increased and I no longer have a queasy stomach.

Hopefully I've not jinxed myself by making such bold claims of my blooming health!

In case you are wondering about the ultrasound picture, no it isn't a new one. I've just been looking for a reason to put it on the blog. It is the one done at 9 weeks, 5 days.

Ballet Benefits

I'm not really sure how to set the scene for this one and opted to not take a picture in order to preserve the dignity of my four-year-old so you'll just have to follow my description.

As part of the process to prepare for bed, Clara Grace was asked to remove her clothes. I sat there watching as she struggled to pull her left arm in through the sleeve, which looked difficult but it is certainly an acceptable method for removal. Then she surprised me by pushing that arm up through the neck to expose her whole left arm and shoulder. Hmmm...this looked interesting. I made a suggestion which was ignored as she knew what her mission was all about. The next step was an even more labored removal of the right arm, but she managed it. At this point you might think she was going to pull it up over her head. Nope. With the neck of this shirt wrapped around her chest, she began to shimmy it down her torso. She then removed her shorts and pulled the shirt down so that the neck is around her waist. Now she stops and just looks down. I began wondering if she was stumped as to how this happened or if she just doesn't know what to do next.

Then, she looks up and begins sashaying around the room and dancing and asked, "Do you like my tutu? I'm Sleeping Beauty!"

And yes, they do Sleeping Beauty as part of the fairy tale ballets in each class.

It truly was adorable, but I'm not sure that Tinkerbell shirt will ever be the same. Who knew putting Clara Grace in ballet would provide such humor during the bedtime routine?

One of the most delightful consequences of motherhood is that I actually have developed the ability to quietly accept the way things very often do not go according to plan. This of course was difficult for me to learn as I have one of those Type A personalities people always complain about that like to make sure all things are planned and executed to my expectations.

Moving on, today was originally going to be a laid back day however when I arrived home from our fun afternoon yesterday (read yesterday's blog if you aren't following me) there was a message from a friend needing a babysitter for today. I agreed. He is a delightful little boy and Clara Grace just loves him. As you can see above, she was able to feed a baby for the first time. I have no doubt she will be a wonderful big sister. That being said, it was a change of plan, one that I truly enjoyed.

However, I did not quite enjoy the afternoon as much as my time with baby Jeremy. I was able to schedule an appointment to get a new military ID for this afternoon at 2:30 PM. As I go to get on base, the guard realizes that my ID has expired so he confiscated it (in the nicest way possible). He gave me a receipt for the confiscation and sent me on my way to the appointment. I checked in and then waited over half an hour for my appointment only to find out that I cannot get it renewed today. Charles either has to come in or take my new form to be notarized.

Needless to say, the commissary trip has been delayed for yet another day! Since I could not go to the commissary and Charles wants to make his yummy baked ziti tonight we stopped at Stop & Shop again today to get all the fixings. Of course Clara Grace wanted to say hello to the lobsters and being the sweetie pie she is, the man pulled out a lobster and really entertained her! She had a blast and he was super friendly to her and answered all of her questions.

Suffice it to say that each day I wonder what new adventures we will experience, and hope that each minor bump enhances my overall outlook. I'm also working hard to not give myself TOOOOO much grief over allowing my military ID to expire...but at least I have learned to go with the flow whether it is unexpected babysitting, grocery shopping delays while Clara Grace learns more about lobsters or prolonged efforts to remedy my own lack of attention to details!

Just another day...

Ultimately, today has been nothing more than busy, however I am absolutely exhausted as I prepare for bed.

The day began rather routinely with a 3.5 mile walk with Jackson, Clara Grace in the stroller along with my walking buddy and her 4-month-old son in his stroller. We returned home so Clara Grace could eat breakfast while I did some chores around the house. I was invited to try out a stroller class at the gym on base, so we went. It was GREAT! An hour packed with swift laps around the gym, lots of squats, lunges, and strength training. I'm telling you...I felt the burn.

After the workout, CG and I went home where I showered and we prepared for our outing for the bank, Blimpies and commissary. At the bank the teller informed me my military id was expired but was able to conduct my transaction with my driver's license. CG and I grabbed lunch at Blimpies, but after consuming half of her food she announced she was done, then climbed off her chair clutching her stomach and doubling over. She was clammy and listless but refused to admit her stomach hurt. We did quickly stop by the office to check about getting a new military id. Turns out my neighbor works there, but he gave me the information to be able to schedule my appointment online since they no longer do walk-ins. CG is still in the same condition and I am carrying her everywhere. Long story short, I took her in to the naval clinic to set up an appointment. Her pedi wasn't available so family practice it was. While we waited for our appointment, they decided to send us to radiology for X-Rays so we did that and returned to wait. After being taken to the back for vitals and then waiting for the doctor, CG finally raises her head off my shoulder and begins to talk, seeming much more like her usual self. Turns out she had a lot of air on her tummy so we are now armed with drops for possible future bouts.

Needless to say, we never made it to the commissary but did swing by Stop & Shop for oranges (sending orange slices for snack for preschool tomorrow), bread, and a quick skillet dinner option since the idea of serious cooking was now out of my head. We made it home around 5:30pm, then cooked, ate supper, and readied CG for bed.

By now, my muscles are screaming at me for the work out, and while I'm extremely relieved CG is fine, it was a bit of an emotional roller coaster there for a bit this afternoon. I'm signing off and hoping for a very relaxed and uneventful day tomorrow.

Between the Lions

Clara Grace has these audio stories from long ago Chic-fil-A kid meals that she has recently been listening to in her room. I've noticed that when the Between the Lions song is coming on that she runs to grab her Green Frog Mooskit Show (this is the frog cd player in case you didn't know) and joins in before settling down for the story. I managed to grab the camcorder in time to document it. Oh, and yes, the room is dark because she refuses to listen to the stories with the light on. She likes to pretend she is in a theatre.

Testing, testing, 1-2-3

You are experiencing my test run as a blogger! After watching numerous friends launch their own blogs, I've been inspired to create my own. I'm hoping that it is easier to maintain than the family website. Please provide feedback as to which format you like better, the family website or this blog. If it turns out the majority prefers the babyjellybean site, I'll stick to it. If not, I think I'll delete the site.

Now that I have my first post behind me, I'm going to tinker with the format etc of this blog and see what I can do!