First an update on our weekend since for now pretty much anyone who reads this will know us and can use this as a way to follow us.

We have had a wonderful weekend, Saturday I did the grocery shopping (since I didn't get the chance to go on Thursday when I normally do), then made some apple/pear mash for Claire. Saturday night we went to Daniel and Dennae's to celebrate his birthday- Dennae made the most wonderful chocolate cake. Thankfully she told me in advance so I could ration my calories (as I am getting healthy this year)! Today was church and now Brock and Claire are napping and I am putzing (cleaning/this/facebook/dinner). I do enjoy the relaxed pace of Sundays.

Next I want to post our schedule- one because as a mom it helps me to see what others do, and two because I know some (especailly our family) isn't quite sure when the good times to call are.

Our basic daily schedule is as follows:

Claire wakes up at basically 7:30- give or take 10 min. so I get up with her, give her a bottle and we all have a few minutes before Brock leaves for work just before 8.
8-9 is excercising/play time. Most of you have heard me say that I have the best baby in the world- here is a great example. While I am doing my kickboxing tape she will just play. She has found her toy box and loves to stand at it and pull stuff out. She also likes to crawl over to our shoe bench and stand up there.

After excercising we eat breakfast- Claire gets baby/table food and then sometime between 9:30 and 10 she goes down for her morning nap.

While she naps I work on an cleaning/special cooking (meaning anything that needs to be done ahead of time for dinner or if I am baking or making something for church)I also talk to my sister in law at this time (more about her and the special blessing she is to me in another post).
Claire will sleep between 1.5 to 2 hours in the morning. When she gets up(around noon usually) we play until she is hungry then have some lunch. Now on grocery day this is when we go, otherwise we just hang out- play, clean, organize.
At 2 we like to watch Rachael Ray-this is the only time I really have tv on when Claire is up. That one hour is the one hour of the day where I have said that I am going to enjoy just doing nothing- it is sort of the time I claim as mine to relax b/c all I have to do is relax and play with my sweet baby!
By the end of RR Claire is ready for her afternoon nap- lately its been about 3:30-5. While she is sleeping I finish any cleaning(like laundry) and make dinner.
Thankfully Brock's schedule is really set and He is always home by 5:30 so timing dinner is pretty easy. We eat when he gets home. Then he and Claire play while I do the dishes. If you really want the best time to catch the three of us it is between 6-7 because she is talkative and playful.
7 starts bedtime- bath, diaper, bible story, bottle. Brock and I both do the bath, then I do the diaper, then he does the bible story and putting her to bed. The few minutes of him reading the bible story are the BEST moments of the day. I like to watch from the door- seeing Claire cuddled in Daddy's arm is just incredible. I enjoy my time with her but seeing that... it brings tears to my eyes!

After Claire is in bed then we do a little devotional and then relax until around 10 when we head to bed.

Later I will explain some more of the specifics about why we do some of the things we do- as I know a few of you reading this will not have children yet and it may be helpful to hear a mother explain why they do certain things.

God Bless,
Lottie

I really enjoy learning and reading other's blogs but I also need a way to keep family and friends updated and so I am going to try this blogging thing. I want to keep track of our family as we grow- thus the idea of sharing the heartbeat of our family (in the sense of just sharing the mundane/funny/interesting parts of life but also of sharing the things that are important to us). I like the idea of a place to write about what I am learning as a wife, mother and most importantly a Godly woman. When we found out we were expecting I felt this whole new calling to become the best wife and mother I can be and I want a place to keep track of that journey. I hope that our family and friends will enjoy reading about our life, but I also hope that those who read this will do a few things for us:
- I hope it will keep me on track, I want the accountability that this could bring
-I hope that as I grow I will learn things that I can pass on to others, so I hope for them that they learn from me.
- I hope others will use this as a place to teach me!

God Bless,
The Haiderer's