My Girls Have The Best Dad.

Though Claire is saying "mama" a lot more often, she will forever be a Daddy's girl.

This little lady is already walking in her big sister's footsteps. She is a SQUIRMY thing. Which is great! We love active babies. Whenever I go in for my appointments, my midwife has an extremely hard time getting her heart rate. She is constantly moving and really doesn't care to much to be found.

It's funny though how much she already favors Ross. I'm not sure what it is about little girls and their daddies, but our two ladies LOVE theirs! When I was pregnant with Claire, it didn't matter how I was sitting on the couch, or which side of Ross I was on, she'd scrunch herself up as close to Ross as she could get. This one is doing the exact same thing already. Hello, lopsided tummy!
It's a little awkward when I'm trying to balance my jug from the hospital, or some form of snack on my belly and she's shoving herself as close to Ross as possible.

It's so fun to see her personality come out little by little. We're so excited to meet our littlest Miss soon! Claire just turned 1, and it's been fun looking back and remembering the very end of the pregnancy, birth, and her first few days at home. I loved having a November baby, and admittedly, I miss it! It seemed perfect!

With the Holidays right on our doorstep, I'm getting more and more excited about this March baby. I'm looking forward to eating whatever and however much I want with no shame! I'm 100% POSITIVE my midwife would give me a kiss and a doughnut if I came in next month having gained 10 pounds. To be completely honest, we have Thanksgiving at our house about 4 times a year. Who doesn't love Thanksgiving food?! Once a year is simply not enough.

Happy Thanksgiving and Happy EATING everyone!!

Quotes From The Loveland House. Part 2.

I'm really glad I write these down, I'm 100% positive I'd forget the funny things that happen in our family if I didn't keep track.

Me: Claire laughs now whenever she farts.
Ross: *Rolls eyes* She definitely got that from you.

Sadly, he's right. I'm 21 and farts are still funny.


I was making dinner last night. Here's how the conversation went.

Me: Hey Ross, how many mozzarella sticks do you want?
Ross: How many do you usually eat?

Uhhhhh wrong question, love. Let's NOT ask the pregnant wife how much of something she eats.


Me: Claire, say "DADA"
Claire: MAMAMAMAMA <-- my dream come true!!!

Ross taught Elder's Quorum last week. After church, I was asking how it went.

Ross: So crazy guy talked to me for a few minutes afterwards about how he found his soul mate in NY and how he knows they're perfect for each other. He said he wants to be better so he can help her and be a better partner for her.
Me: Oh yeah?
Ross: Then I found out he was talking about Madonna.



I suppose I can give you all an update on our family while I'm at it. The last day of classes was yesterday!! Woo Hoo! Only a few finals and Ross is free! Well, kind of. We're staying in Utah for Christmas, our first family Christmas! He'll be working over the break, but we're excited!

Claire's finally over her flu bug, and now she's working on 4 or 5 teeth. A couple of which are molars. Ouch! She can reach the doorknobs now and especially loves opening the bathroom door. (Just a head's up for everyone!)

Since painting the bathroom in our room, I've become obsessed with having a spotless house. I even make the bed upon waking up. It's actually been really nice. Claire makes it near impossible to have a clean house, but I've been trying!




I really wanted to send out Christmas cards this year. However, once I realized the cost of the cards, envelopes, and stamps, I decided I'd rather have a box of diapers. Sorry everyone! So here's our Christmas card. Enjoy! Also, I do realize I spelled "merry" wrong. It took me so long to make the stupid thing, I refuse to go back and fix it. Good thing I decided not to print and send these.

Michael Jackson.

I have some confessions to make.

I'll begin by stating that this post all started while I was cleaning this morning. Claire and I had Michael Jackson blaring and I was so proud of my little girl dancing away to Beat It.

As I write this, I'm a little embarrassed for myself. In my iTunes, you'd probably find more Michael Jackson than anything else. It was my solution for everything. Gotta study for that chem homework? At the gym? Cleaning? Road Trip? Oh, you can bet I have a Michael Jackson playlist for that!

I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when my then fiance texted me and told me Michael Jackson had died. I was on the treadmill listening to none other than, that's right, Michael Jackson. Ross was at Disneyland with his family when I got the text, which was almost in a mocking tone. (Serves me right.) My sweet husband is NOT a Michael Jackson fan.

Don't worry MJ. You're still going strong in the Loveland house (As long as Ross is not present). Especially on cleaning days.

How I've Spent November.

Well, besides chasing Claire, picking food out of the carpet, and singing "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" over and over again, of course.

It's been a productive past three days. Which is weird, considering I've also spent the days pouring over five hours of Pride and Prejudice. It makes the laundry much less of a chore.

Five hours of the ever delicious Colin Firth? Yes please.

It's been such a pleasant way to spend my "me-time", perhaps I'll spend the rest of the month watching flicks I'd never force Ross to watch with me. Nap time just became all the sweeter.

Quotes From The Loveland House.

Claire had wandered off one evening while I was cooking dinner. I heard the shower curtain ruffle and knew exactly what she was doing.

Me: Claire, come out of the bathroom, please.
Claire: Uh-Oh!


Me: Is Big Bum Guy Crazy Guy's Dad?
Ross: Big Bum Guy would have to be like 70. There's no way he's Crazy Guy's Dad.
*We bust up laughing*
Jake: Those are actually really descriptive names. Now that I've met them, I know EXACTLY who you're talking about.


Me: Claire, say "mama".
Claire: DA DA DA DA DA DA. *She then laughs like she's heard the best joke."


Jake: I'm so glad I'm not a pregnant woman.


Captain America Movie: "Hile Hydra!"
Jake: It's like they're on a roller coaster!



We've had a lot of laughs this week. Claire's little personality is growing funnier and funnier each day, and having Jake live with us just adds to the fun.

What's In A Name?

It'll probably be a while before we even start discussing names for this little lady. Ross likes unique names, while I prefer "old lady" names. We have such different taste, it really is the compromise of all compromises.

With Claire, we each made a list of twenty names we liked. From the list, we pulled the ones we had in common, 5 from Ross' list I liked, and he was supposed to pick out five from my list, but he honestly HATED every name I came up with.

From the new master list, we researched where the name was from, the meaning, paired it with potential middle names and eliminated them one by one. Typing out the baby naming process makes me feel a tad ridiculous, but it really was fun!

Growing up, I knew a family where the mom got to pick all of the kids' names. I'm starting to think this is a grand idea.

I'm going to start writing up my list of names. And you can bet I'm going to include Beatrice, Eleanor, Lucy, Alice, and Penelope. All of the ones I like, but will probably end up being pet's names through the years. Wish me luck!

Sugar And Spice, So Nice We're Doing It Twice!

We decided we just couldn't wait any longer to find out what our little bean is and went in for an early ultrasound.

Ross called it before we even went in. This morning I asked him what he thought and he wasn't sure. I asked again while we were waiting and he said, "It's a girl." He knew that Claire was a girl before the ultrasound, too. He's amazing.

This little lady was stubborn and bashful. She had her little rear shoved as far as she could against the wall, trying to hide, and would not budge. After a few tries of jiggling, we finally got a clear shot. Claire's going to have a little sister!

We couldn't be more thrilled. I was certain we were having a boy, so it was a wonderful surprise. I am so excited to bring in a whole lot more pink and ruffles. I am determined to have very girly girls who love Barbies, pink, ribbons, lace, princesses, and everything girly and sweet.

I'm already planning out how to make the nursery even more girly for my little ladies. Poor Ross is getting overrun and outnumbered.