On August 22, sweet baby munchkin turned 2-months!  I really am not liking how fast this is all moving.  With Kate it seemed that I took in every single moment with such amazement and awe.  It was such a learning experience and such a new experience.  Poor Clare has to compete with a crazy toddler needing constant attention as well.  I’m trying to catalog the moments in my head but it is definitely a challenge.  Clare already has way less pictures and videos than Kate did.  This is why I am so glad that I am again utilizing the talents of  Tonya for the monthly photo sessions for Clare’s first year.

In addition to Tonya’s pictures I also want to take monthly photos of Clare in Kate’s pink kid chair.  I did this with Kate in the big rocking chair in her room. I almost forgot to do this so Clare is fast asleep.  I wasn’t about to wake her up!

Clare received her first round of shots and was a trooper.  She was shocked and cried but was calmed quickly.  Her weight was 12lbs and length 23 1/4″.  The doctor said she is in the 75th percentile for weight and height.  She seems so much bigger than Kate but I looked back to my blog post for Kate’s 2-month and she was exactly 23 1/4″ and weighed 11.10lbs and was also in the 75th percentile!

Clare smiles like crazy – especially in the morning.  It is as if she missed me all night and is very happy to see me again.  She also loves/is starting to watch Kate intently and gives her some great smiles.  I am so lucky to have such adorable little girls if I do say so myself!

On August 24th, Brett and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary.  Things are very hectic right now and actually over the past two years we haven’t had much time to focus on just us but we still manage to laugh at ourselves and have fun.  Luckily, I have an amazing babysitter who is practically part of the family.  Brittany came over after her day job to watch the girls so Brett and I could go to dinner.  I was exhausted and felt greasy but it was nice to have some adult time.

August 24, 2003 – Trump National Golf Course, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA

August 24, 2010 – Downtown Orange, CA

All we did pretty much was talk about the kids.  At one point Brett said how much he loved Kate and how he was sitting the other day with both the girls on him and he just couldn’t believe it was him there with them.  As much grief I give him, both deserved and undeserved, I know I couldn’t have picked a better father or for that matter some one that would put up with me!  I  know he won’t believe this but I truly know it was God that brought us together.

Here is a recent movie of Kate that I shot with my new FlipHD camcorder, received as a gift from my family at my birthday.  Make sure you go to youtube and subscribe to my channel so you can be notified when new videos are up!  If you can’t find my videos search for “tmdunst”.

It is important to make sure all children are properly acclimated to their new siblings when blending a family.  Of course by blending I mean natural children and their furry predecessors.   Brett and I achieve this by breaking in our cats to their new, more dominant sisters much as one would do when training a horse to be ridden.  The picture below illustrates.  As you can see, Corky is now submissive to Clare and has accepted her into the family hierarchy.

Today Kate is 2.5 years old!  Here are some pictures of her in her chair.  I took monthly pics in this chair her first two years and now I am doing it every 6 months.

It is hard to believe that little munchkin Clare is already 1-month old!  I can barely remember being pregnant.  Clare already has a distinct personality and I think she is going to smile really soon.  I am having so much fun with her and I love cuddling all her chubby goodness.

Tonya Joy came out today for Clare’s 1-month shoot.  You can see a sneak peak on her site and below are some photos I snapped.  I’ve been wanting to get the girls in their matching Golden Shop big and lil sis shirts before Clare grew out of the tiny onsie.  The onsie was previously worn by Miss Bailey Simerson before she handed it down to Clare.  Thanks, Maya!

Also a big thanks to my friend Lyn who handmade the adorable tutu and headpiece that Clare is wearing.  I am surrounding by such creative and talented people that I am lucky to have as friends!

Disturbing at the time.  Funny now…

Clare was born June 22, 2010 at 12:35 pm.  She weighed 8.14 lbs but was probably over 9 lbs however immediately after birth she had several large poopies before being weighed.   She measured at 20 3/4″ long.

Clare’s birth story is much different from Kate’s.  Kate came the natural route after 36-hours of labor and 3 hours of pushing.  Kate was 7.4 lbs.  My water broke with her but I was no where near having a baby so I had to have several rounds of medication to induce me into labor.

My water broke with Clare as well, around 2 am on the 22nd.  Brett and I rushed to the hospital because we knew she was very high in the womb and the doctor said there could be a risk of cord relapse if my water broke. Luckily, this was not the case and I was so happy (if that is the right word) that I started having contractions naturally.  At around 7 cm I gave in and had the epidural.  Physically I was progressing fast but the baby was not.  Eventually I was completely dilated and ready to push but because she was not in the birth canal I couldn’t.

Then it started to get scary.  More and more nurses started to come in and more frequently.  The doctor calmly told me that they were going to give me meds to stop my contractions.  She said it so plainly that it took me a moment to realize that this wasn’t good.  The baby was in distress (also the reason why she pooped so much at birth) and in addition to stopping my contractions they also had to pump water back in to the womb.  They did all this to try to alleviate the baby. Ultimately the doctor was not happy with how Clare was tolerating labor and decided on a c-section.  I was shaking from the drugs and very scared but I am grateful that they were able to get her out fast and she was healthy and safe.

It took me a while to get over the fact that I had a c-section.  The process of delivering a baby the original way is such an amazing experience and I felt cheated that I did not get to have this with Clare.  I know the bottom line is that I was able to have a healthy baby and I must focus on this and get over the surgery aspect.  But, it disturbed me that I was cut open and she was pulled from my body and that I had a huge incision that had to heal.  There are so many things set into motion by coming through the birth canal.  Clare had to have fluid sucked from her throat for quite a while and she failed  her hearing test in one ear several times, which is common with c-section babies due to fluid in the ear.  I was open to having a third child but if I have to have another c-section I don’t think I will go forward with it.  I am dealing with it much better now and am amazed but how quickly the body heals itself.  And of course I am so happy to have this precious little munchkin to cuddle with.

Kate definitely knows that something has changed but thankfully has not attributed it to the baby.  She loves her “baby sistah” but perhaps a little too much.  We really have to watch her with the baby because she is very hands-on and treats her like a rag doll.  It has been a real challenge dealing with Kate’s over zealous attitude and defiance with the little sleep we have and when taking care of an infant.  I feel really bad for her.  The post-partum hormones really did me in during the first week. I cried pretty much every day because I so missed my special relationship with Kate and was so sad that it was gone forever.  I know I can still do special things with her but our time of just the two of us was gone.  It makes you realize how much you must cherish every moment you have with your kids.  Because of this I try to spend extra time just staring at Clare’s little body and taking it all in in hopes that I will remember this precious time in her life.

I am really looking forward to all the fun times together as a family of four when Clare is a little bit older and we can go on fun adventures!  We have already had a few outings together and it was a lot easier than I thought!

We already had our first photo shoot with the talented Tonya Joy so be sure to check out some of the pics here.

And here are some of our own pics of Clare’s first few weeks.  I love this squishy chub!

Pretty much every day I think how lucky I am to have the amazing father that I do.  No one is perfect but it was clear and evident throughout my childhood that my dad’s #1 priority was his family.  Because of this I never felt that I wanted to for anything and I can honestly say that I had the best childhood and wouldn’t change a thing.  The main sentiments that I remember are fun, love and adventure.  My dad wanted this for my brother and I and, along with my mom, did everything he could to make it happen.  I am proud to have my dad as my father and I hope I can give my children the same memories he provided to me.

When you get married, you are thinking of your new husband as how he fits with you.  You can really have no concept of how they will be as a father.  Boy did I luck out!  Brett has been a hands-on dad since he slept every night in my room at the hospital when Kate was born.  He changes diapers, makes food, packs the diaper bag and a lot of the time makes me feel guilty for how much he does!  We definitely have different parenting styles but they compliment each other well.  Kate is so blessed to have an amazing dad like Brett.

Moreover, I am grateful to have so many wonderful men in my life from my Grandpa, my uncle and the great family I now have because of Brett – his dad, uncle and grandfather.  Here’s to all the men out there that take an active role in their childrens’ lives and are the strong role models we all need to become responsible parents ourselves!!  I love you guys!

Kate was 6-months old in this picture.

A great picture of Brett, his dad Frank and grandpa Frank + Kate.

I can’t find any pictures of me with my dad when I was little.  My mom has most of these.  Here is one that I love of my dad and Kate.

Brett is 6’2.  I am only 5’5.5.  It is highly possible that Kate could be quite tall.  In dance recently, the other moms were commenting that Kate seems to have had a growth spurt. I didn’t really see it until I looked that these two pictures.

Kate and her “best friend” Layla on September 1, 2009.  Pretty much the same height.  Layla is about 2-months older than Kate.

And Kate and Layla on May 20, 2010.

OK, so maybe there was a slight growth spurt.  I am sure everyone will catch up.  Also, Layla is quite petite. Otherwise, I think we may have an amazon on our hands!

I think Kate’s favorite part of dance class is the lollipop she gets at the end.