6 months on Wednesday!

I can't believe our little girl will be 6 months old this week. Oh, how time flies. Brandon and I have been thinking back to the day she was born and how fast our life changed and how great it is now. We are blessed far beyond what we deserve.
My top 6:
1. The way she wakes up in the morning- talking, smiling and now bouncing in the bed.
2. The fact that she said "MaMa" this past week!
3. The way she laughs- especially at Carter when the two of them are "talking" to each other.
4. The noises she makes when she is done drinking her bottle before she goes to bed.
5. Her dimples and the giant smile that comes with them.
6.The way her face lit up when she saw me today after Bible class.

Yesterday, we went to the pumpkin patch with Ben, Amy, Carter, Christy and Collin. Christy is becoming an amazing photographer. I am so glad we live close to family, especially when they take great pictures of my child.



Happy Fall!

Claira update on the past few weeks:
Grammy (and then Pa) came to visit.
Went to Atlanta to see Nonna, Papa and the rest of the Ellis family.
Tittle family progressive dinner.
Got her first two teeth in three days. (Lots of crying)
Went to her first Harding football game and tailgate party.
Slept all night- three nights in a row!
Started scooting all over the place (not crawling yet, but she can get where she wants to go).




Hanging with Grammy.

Loving on Pa.

Working on her second tooth.

Roll Tide with Nonna and Cousin Owen.

Enjoying the Bison football game.

I was afraid of this.

Well, it happened. Something I have been trying to avoid for almost 5 months now. Yes, it is gross but I thought I would share. Claira spit up in my mouth. I was holding her over my head looking up at her, she was smiling and laughing and out it came. I tried to dodge but it came too fast. It was awful. I was screaming (scared Claira half to death) and Brandon came running in. Unaware that it was in my mouth he did what we always do when one of us gets spit up on- he got a burp cloth and tried to clean me and Claira off. I was screaming- "Take her, it's in my mouth!!!" It was disgusting but also hilarious. You should have been there.

And in the latest Claira news:
She has figured out how to scoot around on the floor in the past two days. She is everywhere- ate the corner off of a book while I was putting clothes away in her room. She has also figured out how to push off with her feet when she is laying in the bed. She wakes up screaming because her head is rammed up on the bars of the crib. No, it doesn't matter how far down on the other end I put her. And today she turned completely around in the crib and rolled over. I don't even know how she had room to do all of that. She is pretty excited about her mobility. I think she will be crawling real soon. I'm not sure if I am ready to have her mobile- I think she will stay at my feet all the time. Oh well, here it comes.

And in Tittle family news:
Brandon's mom is flying in today to stay for a few weeks and help keep Carter while Ben and Amy go on a trip. I am so excited about having her here and having an adult to hang out with during the day. We are also going to Atlanta this weekend to see my family. I am super excited about getting out of town for a few days. I love where we live but I love to travel too. Claira will turn 5 months old while we are there. Crazy how time flies.

A couple pictures of our dimple face girl.

Brandon's Birthday.

Brandon had an awesome Birthday. When I get as many gifts as he does, I think it's pretty great.

Brandon came home for lunch on Friday and had bought me a new CD I had really been wanting. (Never mind that it was TJ McLoud's new children's CD.)
Christy, Collin, Ben, Amy, Carter and Lloyd all came over for Brandon's birthday dinner. We made taco stack up and I made a red velvet cake with cream cheese icing. We had a great time and Lloyd brought his Wii over.
Then today, Brandon surprised me with a date. He had it all planned out and Ben and Amy took care of Claira. We went to Little Rock (stopped by the mall to check out the Gymboree sale). Next, we saw Batman on the IMAX. It was sooo good. Then, we went to dinner at P.F. Chang's (my favorite). On the way home we stopped by Krispie Kreme to get some donuts for us and Ben and Amy. It was a wonderful date. **

**Side note: In case you didn't know, we don't really have the money right now for such an evening out. A wonderful couple that we are close to gave Brandon some money and told him that he had to take me out with it and had to get a babysitter. As always, God keeps blessing us.


Happy 27th Birthday Brandon! (Yes, that's right 27... he thinks he's getting old).

Carter and Claira enjoying Brandon's party.

Cleaning my house.

When Brandon and I first got married, I told him that as long as I was working I needed him to help out with keeping up with laundry and cleaning the house. I also told him that if I ever got to be a stay-at-home mom that I would take care of the laundry and cleaning. Well, easier said than done. I've made myself a cleaning & laundry schedule to help me stay on top of everything instead of spending my Saturday scrubbing the whole house. So far it is working wonderfully. One load of laundry plus one chore each day.

Sunday: Mop kitchen floor + load of whites
Monday: Hardwood floors + load of darks
Tuesday: Clean bathroom + load of bath mats
Wednesday: Dust & organize + load of reds
Thursday: Scrub kitchen + load of Claira's clothes
Friday: Make baby food + load of towels and rags
Saturday: Vacuum + load of sheets

I might be a little OCD but it makes me so happy that our house is clean and I never have 5 loads of laundry to do in one day. Don't know if this will help anyone else but it sure had made my life easier. I wish I had done this when I was still working- I hated Brandon and I spending Saturday morning cleaning.
Today I scrubbed the outside of my cabinets and stove. Last Thursday, I cleaned my oven and the week before that I cleaned out the frig and microwave. I might be the only one that notices that the cabinets are spotless but it sure does make me happy. I know I'm weird.

Our Christmas present being put to good use.

This past Christmas, Brandon and I decided to not buy each other gifts but instead buy a video camera. With a baby on the way, it was something we really wanted to have. So, here is our first edited video of our little girl. No, we don't have too much time on our hands. This only took about 30 minutes to do. If you are surprised... you should get a Mac.

Life as I know it.

Today, as I was elbow deep in dirt in the inside of my oven at 1:15p.m. on week day, made me realize that my life a year ago is very different from my life now.

August 28. 2007
6:15a.m. - wake up, get ready to go to work
6:45a.m.- eat breakfast with my husband, load dishwasher, switch laundry, etc.
7:25a.m.- go to work
7:35a.m.- greet precious children as they come in for school
8:15a.m.- elementary chapel
8:45a.m.- work on projects (anything a Kindergarten, 1st or 2nd grade teacher ask me to do)
10:45a.m.-set up in the cafeteria for lunch
11:00a.m.- try to manage a bunch of 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th graders while they eat
11:30a.m.- open ketchup packets, juice boxes, lunchables, etc. for K,1st and 2nd. (also wiping noses and chocolate covered faces)
12:00p.m.- answer the phone, take temperatures, wipe tears and put on bandaids in the office
12:30p.m.- eat lunch
1:00p.m.- work on more projects
3:00p.m.- attempt to get 300 children in the right car without being run over
3:45p.m.- go home and take a nap (remember I was pregnant at this point)
5:00p.m.- Brandon gets home from work and I might help him with dinner if I have the energy
7:00p.m.- doze in and out on the couch- waking up to talk to my husband every once in a while
10:30p.m.- Brandon wakes me up off the couch and I get in bed.



August 28, 2008
7:00a.m.- wake up by the sound of my little girl talking in her bed.
7:15a.m.- snuggle in the bed with Claira after Brandon gets her up and changes her diaper
7:30a.m.- take a shower and throw on a t-shirt and shorts (yes, I love not having to dress up)
8:00a.m.- Carter arrives, breakfast time- feeding two small children and myself at the same time
8:30a.m.- load two kids up and go to the children's consignment sale at the fairgrounds
9:45a.m.- get Carter out of the car, go back and get a sleeping Claira and diaper bag
10:00a.m.- play with Carter while Claira takes a nap , fold laundry and clean up after breakfast
11:15a.m.- give Claira a bottle when she wakes up from nap
11:45a.m.- start getting lunch ready, trying not to step on Carter who likes to follow me around
12:05p.m.- Brandon comes home and we all eat lunch (hiding the pizza from Carter while I feed him his veggies first), spray inside of oven so I can clean it during nap time
12:45p.m.- Carter goes down for a nap, talk to mom while Claira plays for a minute
1:00p.m.- Claira goes down for a nap
1:15p.m.- clean the nasty oven (not sure when it was cleaned last), switch laundry
2:00p.m.- talk to a friend on the phone who is also at home with her little girl
2:30p.m.- surf the internet, read blogs, check facebook, etc.
3:00p.m.- both kids get up from nap
3:15p.m.- snack time
3:30p.m.- give Claira a bottle
3:45p.m.- play with the kids on the floor, sing "If you're happy and you know it" more times than I can count
4:45p.m.- turn on baby einstein to relax before Carter goes home
5:10p.m- Brandon comes home, Carter goes home
5:45p.m.- start dinner
6:00p.m.- feed Claira
6:30p.m.- dinner
7:00p.m.- Claira is always cranky in the evening so we give her bath because it makes her happy
7:30p.m.- Claira has her last bottle
8:00p.m.- prayers and tucking Claira in
8:15p.m.- hanging out with my husband until we are too tired to hold our heads up (which sometimes doesn't take very long), pick up and clean bottles
3:00a.m.- wake up to Claira screaming because she is starving, feed and rock her back to sleep

Oh, how life has changed.