Claranna at Four Months

Claranna was officially four months old on August 26th--how the time flies! She is such a joy to have as part of our family and we already have forgotten what it was like to have only two children. James and Ella continue to adore their baby sister. Ella loves to hold her and James loves to make her smile. Both kids know that their sister is the happiest right after she has eaten, so they love to spend time with her then, making her laugh and giggle. Although, Ella is quick to ask if she has already done her spitting up. Ella doesn't like to get spit up on her, but who does?

Speaking of spit up, if medals were awarded for spit up amounts, Claranna would surely win a gold. Mark and I continue to be amazed by the amount and frequency of her spit up. We try to manage it with Zantac and I am trying to keep dairy products out of my diet (which is hard for a former dairy princess to do!). The medication seems to help with her comfort level, but doesn't really keep any more food down in her tummy. It seems Claranna has been to the doctor quite frequently lately. When she has a couple of bad days in a row, we head in to the clinic where Claranna performs her amazing spit up routine, then they promptly weigh her and increase her Zantac dose.

Claranna had her pediatric urology consult and kidney ultrasound in mid August. Since her ultrasound at birth was normal we were hoping for a clean bill of health and a dismissal, but that wasn't the case. Her left kidney showed mild hydronephrosis and a prominence of the collecting system in the upper pole. As Claranna grows and has a larger urine output, the problem will either correct itself (like if there is a kink in the ureter, the larger urine volume going through the tube could un-kink it) or the problem could get worse with more urine output and require an intervention. Right now, since her right kidney is normal we'll just wait, watch and return to the doctor in the spring unless there are some complications before then.

Last Wednesday, Claranna had her official four month measurements taken. She weighed 10 lbs. 15 ounces. Though on Saturday when she was in to have her eyelid examined (she has an infected eyelid), she only weighed in at 10 lbs. 13 ounces. Regardless, she is almost 11 pounds and she is 22.2 inches long. She is a little bundle and is still easily wearing all 0-3 month clothes. Thankfully, Grandma Judy is happy to alter all the little summer outfits we were given as gifts so that she can wear them while it is still warm out!

Good things come in little packages!!!

Claranna

Here are some more beautiful shots of Claranna from the very talented Chris! We love the pics--THANK YOU Chris!

Little Cousins

My cousin, Sara, and her little twins stopped by to visit us last week. Her babies have grown so much in the past few months and it was fun to get our babies together again. Derek and Emaleigh are exactly one week older than Claranna.

Happy Birthday Mark!!!

Today was Mark's birthday and we were all very excited to celebrate with him. As James would say, "Daddy had to go to boring work." While he was away today, we kept busy by baking a chocolate birthday cake. The kids love to help in the kitchen and this time Claranna was in on the action too! She loved holding the spoon as you can see...

Happy Birthday, Mark!

Claranna the Contortionist

Someone has found her little toes!!! She discovered them about a week ago and has been having fun with them ever since. Tonight she discovered that they come in quite handy when she can't find her pacifier... It's cute on a baby!

Sucking on her big toe!

Here's our baby contortionist in action:

I love these pictures!!!

My friend, Chris, and her camera visited yesterday morning when the big kids were at gymnastics camp. She spent some time capturing some of Claranna's sweetness. She sent me some of the results last night. I think she is an amazing photographer and am so happy to have these beautiful and artistic pictures of Claranna! Thanks, Chris!!!

The first one is a favorite... It's Claranna in the bowl I usually keep on our coffee table. Makes me wish we had taken her picture in it when she was born. She would have fit inside the bowl then.. Though she is still a peanut, she really has grown!

Daddy's Got a Heart of Gold

Claranna still thinks her daddy is super funny. Tonight she was all giggles for Mark's serenade. His singing was inspired by a concert on VH1 Classic and Claranna's smiles.

Flashback a Decade!

Mark and I are celebrating our 10 year anniversary today! How can it be that ten years have gone by so quickly? To mark the occasion, here are a few pictures from 10 years ago today...

Happy Anniversary to my wonderful husband! Mark, we've had ten great years together and I so look forward to many more decades of love with you! As I sang to you ten years ago, "Grow old along with me...the best is yet to be!" Though... I think we already have found the best with Isabella, James and Claranna. I love you!

For those of you who weren't along for the ride 10 years ago and are wondering what's up with these pictures, here's the story... Our wedding took place during fair week and since the fair was a big part of my family's life, we went to the fair between our wedding and reception. We had a toast at the "All you can Drink Milk Stand" a first dance on the street, a live radio interview, a caricature drawn and a lot of fun.