falling behind

Oh, I am so behind on posting, y'all! Clara has changed so much in one month. I now have a 6 month old...that still sounds weird! She is such a joy and is getting more of a little personality every day. She turned 6 months on T-giving and we had such a great day with SO MUCH to be thankful for.
We were blessed to have 2 Thanksgiving meals this year as we have 2 families nearby. the 25th was spent at the DelG's playing games and eating meal #1 (unfortunately, I forgot the card for my camera, oops!) And then on Saturday we had meal #2 with my family after picking out our Christmas tree.

everyone sitting down to enjoy meal #2

the motley crew who volunteered at a friend's non-profit Christmas tree lot and then loaded up our own tree

Oh man, Clara is learning new things every day. I will try and sit down to write a 6 month update, but here is a little video in the mean time (hopefully it works... :/)

cutes

the cool thing about having a baby is that there are so many photo ops :) i just can't get enough of this sweet thing. she is 5 months old now!!!! I just can't wrap my mind around that.


She is still such a calm, relaxed and observant little girl. Sleeping, eating, and learning so well. She rolled over about 3 weeks ago and finally a couple of days ago rolled over again... I think that might be partly my fault for not putting her down very often :)


She's becoming more and more interested in what's going on around her. I can no longer eat or drink with her in my arms because of her tiny hands swatting at whatever is within reach. She's able to sit for about 2-3 seconds before wobbling over. She loves to be held close but doesn't like to lay her head on your shoulder. She loves to be read to and talked to and looooves listening to her own voice.

Thanks for tuning in to see the updates :)

my chubby baby

Happy Tuesday!

4 months!

Yes, it's true. Clara is already 4 months old! where does the time go? Here is a little picture journey of the past couple of weeks:

Yay! this was taken on her 4 month b-day :)

smiling more and more!

she's seen so many people! Here's Clara with her Grandma Kathi and Great Grandma Elsie

She even got to meet her Great Great Grandma Honey Bea! She's 98 years old and still going strong!

She hung out with her Great Mema

She tolerates tummy time but really prefers to be held

took her first nap on her stomach (and actually takes a lot of naps like this)

Finally got to meet her favorite Auntie Sheels! We love her

and sat in the bumbo for the first time... which she liked more than it appears :)

Clara at 4 months old you:
-are such a happy and chill baby!
-loooove to suck/mawl your fingers and fists
-are still eating about every 2.5-3 hours and weigh almost 14 lbs! We are loving breastfeeding. it is such a special time for the two of us... although you're starting to get distracted at times.
-are up and down with your naps :) sometimes you do great in your crib and other times will only sleep if mom or dad is cuddling you. Daddy noticed that you always like to hold on to our shirts when we're cuddling-- so sweet!
-sleep for about 7-8 hours at night, eat, and then sleep for another 3ish hours. this has actually been hit or miss the last week or so and i'm not sure why.
-are sooo strong! you love to stand on our laps and can hold your head up very well when on your tummy
-smile at us all the time. all we have to do is make a silly noise or smile at you and you respond with that sweet gummy smile and sometimes a little giggle.
-every time you sleep in your bed, you end up rotating sideways.
-the other night you woke up and started talking so sweetly in the dark. your dad and i just laid there and listened to your sweet voice.
-really like laying on your changing table and talking to daddy.
-love looking at trees. whenever we're outside, you are mesmerized by the leaves blowing in the wind.
-are still loooving your baths. it's such a relaxing time for you.
-are very close to rolling over and finding your toes. This will be so exciting!!

sorry for the long post! hopefully everybody feels caught up now!!

She laughs!

and smiles!!! Clara has been doing an "almost giggle" for the past week or so but last night she finally laughed! It was seriously so sweet. I was holding her and my mom was leaning down just talking to her like she always does and Clara got so tickled! She kept smiling, talking and giggling. I LOVE IT!!! I can't wait until she laughs all the time.

oh, and she's started to suck on her fingers a lot!

my sweet, happy baby.

"Time will pass. She will grow. Rather than trying to hold onto each day, each moment, I stood in the stream with my arms outstretched and focused on the delight of the feeling of the water as it flowed by my fingers. Far from trying to stop it, I instead celebrated the sensation of it passing."

i read these words on another blog today. it is what is in my heart.

Still love them Cowboys...just not #71

and i still cannot really catch her smiles on camera...she's a sly one :)

we went out to eat with B's parents on Friday night. We had a great time and Clara was super alert the whole time watching the waiters go back and forth. AAAAAAADorable :)

hello again :)

yes, we're all still here :) I really want to upload some new pics of Clara B but unfortunately our internet at the house her is uber-slow and not friendly to uploading massive amounts of pictures. sad day. (i was able to fit a few on here) however, i did want to update y'all on the latest and greatest news of the DelGrosso fam.

We did make it to Colorado (for those of you who don't fb and are hiding under a rock)! Colorado is beautiful and warm. The mountain range is huge and glorious. I really had forgotten how beautiful and majestic it is. (shhhhh...don't tell, but I'm really excited to see it dusted with snow!).


Our time until now has been filled with family, super-great friends, and reacquainting ourselves with ourselves. We are currently living in my parents basement which has been a huge blessing to not have to worry about rent, plus the bonus is Mimi and Poppi get to see Clara whenever they want AND we have free babysitting when we can steal away to Sbux for a minute. We've been blessed to see Gma and Gpa DelG a few times as well and are actually going to meet them tonight for a little impromptu dinner. We are so fortunate to have such loving and involved parents who want to be in Clara's life.
It's been so good to reconnect with Colorado friends and to have some kind of moral support through this huge transition. We are so thankful. You know who you are and we LOOOOOVE you :)
And as this is the first time in 3 whole years that B has not been buried in schoolwork, we are actually getting to know each other in a new way as well. Becoming parents, graduating grad school, and being jobless is completely different! :) We are having fun and enjoying where God has us right now--- while also praying that the "jobless" part changes soon.

Speaking of job, Brandon actually just got a job with the YMCA referee-ing (no idea how to spell that) part-time. This is a HUGE blessing! God is so faithful and continues to provide for us. He is still in the process of interviewing for a youth pastor position not far from here so if you think about it, pray for us! It would be an awesome opportunity to serve our community with each other. The thought of it is so exciting!

Oh, and Clara :) haha, like I forgot. She is incredible (not that I'm biased). She's 3 1/2 months old and is our joy. It's so hard to believe that I have an almost 4 month old! She is learning new things every day and melts our hearts in the process. She is talking, smiling, on the verge of laughing and rolling over, and grabbing things now. Brandon and I went on a date last night and I found it hard to think about much else but her and what she was doing for the whole 1.5 hours we were gone :)

(do you see that red hair?! ugh, love it)

Being a mom has taught me so much and I'm continually learning. It is a joyful and difficult process. Our relationship teaches me so much about my relationship with the Lord (thanks, mary) and I'm always discovering ways I need to be growing as a mom, wife, and child of God. Even small things such as nap time are a growing process! I'm always asking myself the question "is this the best for Clara?". Putting her needs always in front of mine is a privilege and struggle all at once. All of that to say, being a mom is even better than I ever imagined it would be.

Welp, I think that's about it. Just a few random thoughts to leave you with:

--Summer is still going strong here in Colorado and I'm really enjoying the sunshine :)
--I really miss crafting/sewing.

--I miss Portland terribly and all my peeps there!

--And I miss my other peeps in other parts of the u.s./world

--I really should be showering while Clara sleeps instead of blogging...oops!

time to go!

packing, packing, packing today/yesterday/the day before....loading the truck tomorrow...as well as cleaning....and then headin on out!

we'll catch y'all up later :)

Colorado Here We Come!!!!

Birth Story

Hey all! I just wanted to let you know that in case you're interested, Clara's birth story is posted on Alma's website! :) click on the link and then click on Clara's photo.
http://www.almamidwifery.com/stories/index.html

my first birthday as a mama was wonderful. Brandon kept it low-key and relaxing which is my favorite.
we got up and got ready to go to a vaccine class...i know what you're thinking. this was actually not a part of the celebration but just happened to be going on yesterday :) it was actually very informational and not a bad way to start the day. i actually enjoyed learning what all the vaccines are for! hmmm. maybe i missed my calling as a nurse. haha
after that we headed on over to chipotle and sat in the sun. ahhhhh. that by itself would have equaled a great day. oh, how i love a great chicken fajita bowl. then we went to babies r us to find a sun hat for clara (by the way, it's really hard to find a sun hat in july i guess. go figure) which we used after that when we went to a street fair in Portland. all the cute little boutiques had sidewalk sales, restaurants had samples everywhere, and there was even a sidewalk chalk art contest. some of the pictures were aaaaamazing! the weather was a perfect 85 degrees with just enough shade by the buildings for miss clara.
after we were thoroughly worn out from walking we headed home. Brandon went and got some dinner from one of my favorite places here in Portland: screen door. it's an incredible restaurant here that serves local/organic southern home-cookin foods :) so with the evening ending in fried okra, pulled pork and a movie i was one happy little girl. my husband seriously knows how to spoil me!
i was actually upset that we forgot to take pictures the whole day :( so i made brandon step outside with me after we ate dinner in order to document the wonderful day. the color is really weird from being in the shade, but you get the point. isn't the peanut super cute in her polka dot hat?? :)
Thanks Brandon for making this day so special. love you! and thanks to everyone else who called/texted/facebooked me to let me know you were thinking of me. i love you all and wish i could have celebrated with every one of you!!!

too many goodbyes!

this part of moving is nooooooooooooooooooo fun.

you know, the part where you start to miss everyone that you're leaving. i really hate the saying goodbye to everyone. it's way more fun to look forward to what's coming and be excited than it is to look around at what you're leaving. after today i think i'm giving up goodbyes.

i got to hang out with little Mo and his mom at the park today to say ..... that word. remember this little guy?

well, he doesn't look like that anymore. here is little man at the park today.

the first picture was taken the first week that I worked with little Mo. He was about 8 weeks at that point. It's crazy to think that my own baby is now almost 8 weeks old. He is such a sweet boy--giving me hugs when he sees me and telling me that he likes me :) we're so thankful to have known this family and loved on them just a little.

ugh, see this part really sucks. but this also reminds me that i should post 'then' and 'now' pics of all the babies i've loved on since being here in Oregon. you'd be shocked at how fast they all grow.

well, for now i'm going to forget about all the goodbyes and focus on relaxing with my little fam for my b-day tomorrow. sunshine and cake in my future!

new nickname

instead of calling her peanut now, I think we'll have to start calling her chunka munka :)

6 week and final appointment :(

Well, Clara is now 6 weeks old...i just can't believe it! I know everyone always says that time goes by so fast, but it's soooo true :) In some ways it feels like just yesterday that I held her for the first time, but in other ways it feels like I hardly even remember being pregnant--like I need the pictures to really prove it.

So today we went to her 6 week appointment which was also her last appointment with the midwives. I felt like crying knowing that it would be the last time we would see them and visit the birthing center. Such an emotional place for me. It wouldn't be so bad if I knew I'd be back in a few months with another pregnancy, but since we're moving it's a little more final. It's like we built this unique relationship with these women as they took part in such a huge event in our lives, and then we had to say goodbye. Luckily we remembered the camera and took a few pictures with everyone. I will always look back on this place, women, and time with fond memories as I remember how special they made it as we brought our first baby into this world.


Stephanie, Tarra, me, and Kori

Happy 4th!

I hope everyone had a great day celebrating our nation's independence. We had a super weekend hanging out with friends and picnicking. But the most exciting thing that happened this weekend was Clara's dedication at church! We are so blessed to have this church home here and love that they dedicated Clara and sent us out before we left. Here are a few pictures of Sunday :)




and yes, that is a scowl on her face...maybe she was mad that she slept through the whole thing??

picture love