The End of Spring and Into Summer

 April to June involved a lot of hanging around the house and enjoying the sunshine outside in our yard as we were still getting used to having two little munchkins around instead of just one. Luckily for James he had Cici (my mom) here for a few weeks, lots of extra Dad time, and a visit from his Grandma and Grandpa Kendall and Uncle Jade to keep him occupied. Prepare yourself for a whole lot of pictures.

James loves riding his bike.

James joining Claire in some tummy time.

Claire enjoyed snuggling in her carrier on walks.

Serious little cutie.

Sleeping beauty

James decided to give Claire some of his cars to play with.

James enjoying the zoo with his grandparents.

James and his uncle Jade at the zoo.

Excited to be back to story time.

James loving his new sandbox.

We went to the Dayton airshow and saw helicopters, big planes, and some cool flying. Here's James sitting in a helicopter.

Inside a huge plane at the Dayton airshow.

Waiting to watch the Thunderbirds flyover show.

In June Jed had to go to a conference in California so the kids and I went down to Georgia for a quick trip mostly so that I could avoid being on my own with both kids for several days. Here's Claire on her first airplane ride.

Look at those wings.

James had tons of fun swimming while we were in Georgia.

Swimming in the lake with Aunt Danielle.

James was super worn out after a fun day at the lake during our Georgia trip.

Hanging with the penguins at the Georgia Aquarium.

On the way back to Cincinnati.

Claire's first day of church.

Claire at 2 Months

Claire on June 16, 2015 - 2 Months and 5 Days Old

Claire continues to charm the pants off of everyone she meets. She smiles like crazy and occasionally will even give a giggle of approval if she thinks that you are charming as well. Claire sleeps pretty well - she usually wakes around 2 am and 5 am every night but goes to sleep pretty quickly after having a little midnight snack.

Claire is a super chill baby. She doesn't cry much and is able to go with the flow, which is good because, lets be honest, this house is essentially run by a 2 year old dictator. At her 2 month well visit Claire weighed 11 lbs 12 oz (68% CDC; 55% WHO), was 23 inches long (67% CDC; 66% WHO) and her head measured 15.25 inches (44% CDC; 59% WHO). She didn't enjoy her shots, but otherwise had a great appointment and looks wonderful.

We're enjoying the warmer weather outside and are starting to get out more now that Claire isn't such a tiny little thing. We love this little Claire Bear more every day.

Claire Bear with her size comparison bear.

Claire at One Month

Claire at 1 Month and 1 Day (May 12th, 2015)

It is hard to believe that it has been a month already (actually 6 weeks, but this information is from when Claire was just a month old). The time has honestly flown by, and not even in that "the days were so long but in retrospect it flew by" kind of way; it really does seem like the last month has gone by in a blur.

Claire is an absolute sweetheart - even if she does just eat and sleep most of the time. She's a great nurser and a pretty good sleeper: she of course wakes up a couple of times to eat, but she usually goes back to sleep pretty quickly after finishing. She's not a big fan of tummy time so hopefully she understands that we make her do it for her own good.

At her one month appointment (which was at exactly one month) Claire weighed 8 pounds 13 ounces (45th percentile for the WHO, 46th for the CDC), Was 22 inches long (87th percentile for the WHO, 77th for the CDC), and her head was 14.5 inches (60th for the WHO, 45th for the CDC). She's growing like crazy and is just now starting to transition out of newborn clothes.

We're excited for all the changes this next month will bring for our little princess!

Claire with her size comparison bear. She really stretched out in this one to show how big she is.

James wanted to jump in on the little photo shoot.

Claire's Newborn Photos

We had newborn pictures taken of Claire a few days after we got home from the hospital. I've had them for awhile now but am just now remembering to post them (of course). Claire was of course adorable (and oddly enough for a newborn insisted on being awake the entire time) and James absolutely loved having some pictures taken of himself as well. I was less fond of pictures being taken of me since I had just had a baby less than a week ago but managed to jump in for a couple.

Without further ado, here they are:

Baby Claire is Here!

Say hello to Claire Jean Kendall. She was born on April 11th a little after 8 in the morning and was 7 pounds and 20 1/4 inches long.
Jed had a retreat for his MSTP program overnight on the 10th so we had joked for weeks that I would go into labor that night while he was an hour away and of course I did. I ended up having to call Jed at 12:30 to head on home so that we could go to the hospital just as he was going to sleep. Once Jed got home we got James up to go to a friend's house to stay while we were at the hospital.

Because of the long wait for Jed to get home and having to get James ready to go I was already a 6 by the time we got to the hospital and I was definitely ready for an epidural though it still took 2 hours for me to get it what with waiting for paperwork and blood work, etc. But once that epidural was in it was smooth sailing.

Around 8 I called the nurse in because I was feeling some pressure and after a quick check she confirmed that I was complete. The nurse went to have me do a practice push but then told me to stop mid-push because baby was right there and she needed to get the doctor. Once the doctor was there and everything was set up I started pushing and Claire was born just a few minutes later!

This labor and recovery has been a completely different experience than I had with James, though I did go into labor with both of them at night :) With James I pushed for 2 and a half hours before he was born with the assistance of forceps. I needed 33 stitches and then fainted shortly after labor because of blood loss. Even after having to get a blood transfusion I still felt weak for weeks after having James. With Claire pushing was super fast, I only needed one stitch and I've been feeling so much better. Thank goodness too because even with my Mom here James still wants attention from me and of course Claire needs lots of love!

James is doing great with handling the new baby in the house. Occasionally he tells me to put the baby down but for the most part he likes to help and is super cute with her.

We love our little Claire and can't wait to spend even more time snuggling with her!