After Shark Bait's arrival, Bruce had two and a half weeks off work for paternity leave. Since our summer consisted of staying right here in the steaming hot valley as I was too far along to do any traveling, we decided we had to make the most of his time off. We toyed with the idea of an overnight stay somewhere cold (relatively speaking, of course!), but ultimately decided to do a one day trip to Prescott. We knew we'd have cooler temps and there is a great little lake up there where the girls could try fishing, plus they recently opened a Panera Bread in Prescott and I was dying for a Panera soufflé. All around win!

We loaded up the car early on a Friday morning and began the drive north. The drive to Prescott is about as pretty as it gets here in the desert. I love saguaro cacti and the drive is full of them. Our first stop when we arrived in town was Panera where we all enjoyed our favourite breakfast treats. Once we had eaten our fill, we headed to Lynx Lake where we unloaded all our gear, both baby and fishing, and set out to find a spot. We ended up at a little sandbar where Man Cub could dig in the dirt and throw rocks in the lake while Bruce taught the girls to fish. No one caught anything, but they all had fun. Beebs was especially good at casting off. After about an hour of fishing, we packed everything up and went for an easy little hike through the forest. It was green and beautiful and I really enjoyed the chance to stretch my legs and get in a little light exercise. Shark Bait was a dream through it all. He was peaceful and content when awake but spent much of our time in Prescott fast asleep.

After fishing we headed into the downtown area to walk around a few of the little shops. We stopped at the candy store to stock up on our favourite tropical flavoured salt water taffy and at a little western store so Bruce could buy a picture he'd had his eye on for quite some time. We spent a good amount of time sitting inside a little ice cream shop so Man Cub could watch the toy train that ran around a track up near the ceiling of the shop. We wandered the pretty courthouse square and enjoyed the shade of the gigantic old trees that surround the area. Dinner at The Office, one of our Prescott favourites, finished off the day. We loaded everyone back into the car and headed home.

As we approached the valley, we decided to make one final stop at a well known pie shop in Black Canyon City. We bought an apple pie for the family, which Bruce ended up eating practically by himself, and a slice of pecan for me. Then we drove the final stretch of our drive, arriving home just in time for bed.

It was really nice to take a day of Bruce's time off to run away. We were desperately in need of some time outdoors to enjoy some fresh air and sunshine after weeks and weeks of being cooped up inside. And Shark Bait was a dream to travel with, making our first getaway as a family of six a huge success.

See Claire Run Again

Today was my first post baby run. It was scary. I've been telling Bruce for a good two weeks now that "tomorrow I'm going to get up early to run". But every time it was tomorrow and time to go run, I would find a reason not to. I was terrified.

My journey to becoming a "runner" (and I am still hesitant to call myself that, even after completing two half marathons) was slow and painful. When I started, I could barely run for 3 minutes before I had to stop and walk to catch my breath. It took me one full month of training to be able to run a mile without stopping. It took another two months before I could run two miles. Slow and painful. But 6.5 months after I laced up my running shoes for the first time, I ran my first half marathon. It was exhilarating to cross that finish line and realize I had accomplished such a huge feat. 3 months later I ran my second half marathon and that one felt even better. I had not only learned to run, but I had learned to love running. And then I found out I was pregnant. The morning after completing my second half marathon, I saw two pink lines and while excited, I knew that morning sickness was not far behind.

I managed to go for three runs while pregnant. The first was just a few weeks into my pregnancy. I made it 6 miles and it felt great. I was hopeful that I could continue running throughout the pregnancy. Then I got really, really sick and running was no where near an option. When I started to feel better, I decided to try again. On two occasions I went out for short 1 mile runs and found them to be too difficult. By that point my belly was heavy enough that it just wasn't comfortable and I didn't enjoy it. I decided I needed to give up running until after the baby was born but I knew the consequence of this would be that I would have to start from scratch.

After putting it off for several weeks, this morning I tied up my running shoes and found the Mormon Channel app on my phone. I told myself that I only had to go 1 mile and that it was ok for me to stop and walk every few minutes to ease myself back into things. I was beyond ecstatic when not only did I run the entire mile, but I did it at an 11:30 pace, which is exactly what my pace was before getting pregnant. I couldn't go further than a mile, but the fact that I finished one mile non-stop at a good (for me!) pace was huge. I can still run. I didn't lose as much of my running ability as I thought I would. And I enjoyed it! It wasn't easy, but it was fun. I got to listen to a conference talk and push my mind and body to do something I didn't think I was capable of anymore. It felt amazing.

I know it will be quite some time before I am ready for another half marathon and that is ok. I am just so excited that I am still able to run and I look forward to many more peaceful morning runs in the months to come.

Newborn Shark Bait

I am really, really blessed to have a wonderful friend who is also a very talented photographer. Mary has not only been at the births of Man Cub and Shark Bait (and done a wonderful job of documenting those wonderful days!) but she also did Shark Bait's newborn photos and they are just fantastic. My favourite part is that just a week after he was born we had a new family portrait worthy of being hung on the living room wall.

I can hardly believe how much Shark Bait has changed since these photos were taken. I love having this reminder of what he was like as an itty bitty newborn. And I am really, really grateful that I was not the one who took them! Don't get me wrong- I love photographing my kiddos and I am grateful to have the equipment, knowledge and ability to photograph my children, but newborn shoots are exhausting! I was already more tired after having Shark Bait than I have been with my other three kiddos births combined, so it was really nice to hand the task of newborn photos off to Mary. She let me give my thoughts and suggestions so I was able to play a role in his session, but she did the exhausting part that I did not have the energy to do.

If anyone in the Phoenix Valley needs newborn photos, let me know and I'll point you in Mary's direction. She is incredibly talented! You won't be sorry.

My New Crew

When Shark Bait was just a few days old, I was anxious to get a picture of my four wee ones together. We had a nice overcast day, so KJ and I decided to take advantage of the prime photo weather and head to my favourite waterfall to snap a few photos. Of course, just as we got there, the sun decided to come out, so the pictures turned out much more squinty than I had hoped. But regardless, I got a picture of my new crew. And what a darling crew it is.

After getting a group shot, Beebs wanted a picture of her and Shark Bait together. She loves our new little guy so so much. He is her baby. 

Before we left the waterfall, I used my phone to snap a quick photo of KJ and my kiddos. There are not enough words in the world to express my love for KJ and how grateful I am for the sacrifice she made in leaving her family for 11 days to come and take care of me and my crew. She helped to cook and clean, she took care of my kiddos so I could just snuggle Shark Bait, she slept at my house so Bruce could stay at the hospital with me. She lost a lot of sleep timing contractions for me. She rubbed my back when I had horrible back labour. She kept me sane while I waited for our new little guy to arrive. I can never repay her for all she did for us while she was here. Thank you so so much KJ, for all of the service you did for our family in the days surrounding Shark Bait's birth and for being the best friend a girl could dream of.

Shark Bait's First 48

Imagine that, I've fallen a little behind on blogging again. But at least this time I have the best reason in the world. His name is Shark Bait and I spend pretty much every spare moment I have snuggling him which leaves little time for blogging or anything else! But just in case he is my last, I have to soak up every moment of these precious newborn days and I don't regret it for one second.

Since Shark Bait is snoozing peacefully, it seems like a good time to back track a little bit and fill in some holes. Let's rewind to the day of and following his birth.

The first 48 hours after Shark Bait's fast and furious arrival were just as much a whirlwind as his birth. I had hardly slept in five days, yet, as is customary after I have a baby, I was unable to sleep due to the adrenaline rush of giving birth. I attempted to sleep for about an hour/hour and a half while Bruce took the girls to his dad's house, but it wasn't quality sleep by any means as I kept waking up to peek over at the sweet little boy laying in the bassinet next to me. I was so enamored with him from the moment he was placed in my arms. I couldn't stop staring at him long enough to get any true rest.

While I sat in the hospital not sleeping, Bruce was able to get a little rest laying next to me in my hospital bed while KJ sat nearby putting in a few hours of work. The girls were with Grandpa and they too were unable to sleep and instead spent their morning hours having a waffle breakfast then going to see the Minion Movie. Man Cub was the only one of us who got any real sleep and he didn't wake up until gone 9:30 that morning at which point I was able to Face Time with him and show him our new baby. His response when I told him our baby had arrived was "Really!?" in an excited tone. Then he quickly ran off to play with Papa Blas. He was having so much fun with Barb and Blas that I managed to hold off sending Bruce to pick him up, even though I was so anxious to have him there at the hospital with me.

Around noon the visitors started coming. Bruce's brother stopped by with his wife and son around the same time that a hospital employee stopped by to do Shark Bait's hearing test. Then Bruce's dad came by with the girls and he got to meet the baby and enjoy a few snuggles. After he left, I decided I couldn't wait any longer and sent Bruce to pick up Man Cub.

Man Cub's meeting with Shark Bait was pretty funny. He looked at the baby and got just close enough for us to snap a picture, then he just wanted to run around the hospital room. My favourite part was Man Cub's conversation with me- he wanted to know "who him mom is", pointing to Shark Bait. I told him I was and he responded "No! You my mom!". I explained that I was his mom, and Beebs' mom, and Sunshine's mom and now I got to be Shark Bait's mom as well. It took awhile, but eventually he started to understand that he was going to have to share both Bruce and I with this new baby. Sine we finally had all of the wee ones together, we took the chance to give each of the older three a gift from Shark Bait- everyone got a new book.

As afternoon turned to evening, my friend Amy stopped by with a beautiful bracelet for me and Sonic drinks for everyone. She is always so thoughtful. She enjoyed some quality time with Shark Bait and then Bruce's dad came back and brought Bruce's grandma with him. She was so excited to meet and snuggle her 11th great grandchild. Everyone kept asking me who Shark Bait looked most like, so while he was being passed around, I pulled up newborn photos of each child on my phone and put together a little collage. I think Shark Bait looks most like Man Cub, but with Beebs' very round face shape.

Top Row: Left- Sunshine, Right- Beebs
Bottom Row: Left- Man Cub, Right- Shark Bait

Once Bruce's dad and grandma left, Bruce and KJ headed back to the house with all the kiddos to get them settled for the night. No one was shocked when all three sleep deprived wee ones fell asleep on the short drive home. After tucking them into bed, Bruce returned to the hospital to stay  the night with me and the baby. We watched a little HGTV before I was finally knew I was exhausted enough to fall asleep. Unfortunately, despite sleeping soundly all day long, Shark Bait had a hard time sleeping for the first half of the night... He was extremely gassy and I was so scared that something I had eaten was upsetting his tummy. I had visions of needing to eliminate all sorts of foods from my diet to help calm his tummy. It ended up being the percocet I was taking for my after-birth pains that were wreaking havoc on his little system and as soon as I stopped taking it, his tummy ache cleared up. From that point on, he's been a great sleeper, often going 4-5 and even 6 hours between feedings, especially at night. I've never had such a good sleeper, which is a blessing since I was so incredibly sleep deprived before he even got here!

At 2:30am, Shark Bait was scheduled for his 24 hour newborn tests. Bruce got up and went with him and this was my first chance at getting a good chunk of rest. During the testing they discovered that Shark Bait was jaundice so things were a little chaotic for a bit while the nurse got him situated with a bili-blanket. He was the cutest little glow worm baby and I don't know whether the percocet had finally worked it's way out of his system or if he just really liked the bili-blanket, but he slept very soundly from that point in the night onwards. I was beyond excited to finally settle in for some quality sleep after six very long days and nights. The jaundice did end up pushing back our release from the hospital, but only by a few hours. We were very blessed in that regard as it could have prolonged our stay by a night or two, but he improved quickly and we left the hospital just before 5pm on July 14th, about 38 hours after his arrival.

Bruce, KJ, Beebs and Man Cub escorted Shark Bait and I home from the hospital (Sunshine was at Grandpa's house, helping him to rearrange some furniture and hang pictures on his walls). Once arriving home, we just took things easy and started to figure out our new dynamic as a family of six. Beebs and Sunshine had no problem adjusting to our newest member, but it took Man Cub a little while before he really caught on to the fact that Shark Bait was ours and was here to stay. At one point, he was convinced that Shark Bait would be leaving with KJ when she returned home to her family. It was so funny to watch him figuring out Shark Bait's place in our home. And of course now, six weeks later, we can hardly remember what it was like before our sweet baby boy arrived. He has been such a wonderful addition to our family. He is so calm and peaceful and we all just adore him, Man Cub included.