Birthdays

I had a great first birthday as a Mom yesterday. It's crazy to think that around my last birthday, I was beginning to tell people that I was pregnant. What a difference a year makes.

Brad had to work during the evening, but he made me a delicious breakfast. And my parents came over for dinner and cake. Brad is going to take me out to dinner on another night. We were going to go tomorrow night but have to wait and see if the snow in the forecast actually happens.

Clara of course did not know it was my birthday, but I felt like I was getting extra affection from her all day. I was actually thinking this to myself when she had her worst diaper accident to date that got all over my jeans, her clothes (new, of course) and the chair that we were sitting in. Happy Birthday to me! I don't even know how it got some of the places it got. Thank goodness for OxiClean.

In addition to my birthday, Clara turned 5 months old on Monday. She is growing up so fast! Highlights from the past month include:

Rolling over. This isn't really new, but she now does it all the time. It won't be too long before she's mobile, which is both exciting and scary for me. I know that it's going to be so much more tiring when she can move and get into things. It's nice to be able to put her down and know that she will be there when I get back. We still need to baby-proof parts of our house.

Laughing. She doesn't do it a whole lot, but it is definitely happening more often than last month. The thing that never fails to make her laugh is this clapping song that I sing to her. I move her hands in a clapping motion while I do it.

Loving songs and stories. She has always enjoyed these, but now she really gets into them. For about the last month, I have been taking her to a Baby Story Time at our library. It's only about 30 minutes and they do songs and short interactive books. Clara absolutely loves it. She smiles and focuses on the librarian the entire time. She also loves watching the other babies, especially the ones that can crawl.

I love watching her little personality develop! She is the best gift that I've ever received.

Thanksgiving Weekend

We've had a busy and fun Thanksgiving weekend with several gatherings.

On Thanksgiving we went to my Aunt Connie and Uncle Larry's house for Thanksgiving dinner. We had a great afternoon. Clara was a little fussy. I think that Turkey Day may have been a bit overwhelming for her. She also might have just been upset that she couldn't eat any turkey yet.

The wonderful host and hostess.


Clara with her Thanksgiving bib.


Clara with her Nanny.


Clara and I.


Resting with Dad after all of the excitement.


On Friday, my best friend Elizabeth had a Sip & See for Clara with our girlfriends Kristin, Jennifer, and Deana from high school and their significant others. It was so good to see everyone.

Our hostess with Clara.


Kristin & Clara.


Jennifer & Clara.


Curtis, Jennifer's husband, with Clara. He's a natural!


Jennifer, Kristin, and I. The three of us have known each other since elementary school (almost 20 years...eek!).


Kristin & Deana.


It was a great night. I absolutely love these girls. Whenever we get together, even though we don't get to see each other very often, it's like we go right back to where we left off. We missed the other four girls from our group that couldn't make it. As I get older I realize how rare really good girlfriends are and I feel so blessed that I have a great group of friends both from high school and college that still keep in touch with each other. I hope that Clara can find as good a group of friends.

Clara's Room

Here is the room where many late night Mommy/Daughter bonding sessions happen. It's finally pretty much done. Of course, it took me almost two and a half months after Clara's birth to get it to this point. This didn't really matter all that much because she spent almost the first three months in our bedroom. There are still some things that I would like to add, but I'm happy with it. I think that Clara enjoys it too.


The dresser and changing table. Hopefully she can use this dresser for years to come. I want to add either a cork board or a ribbon board above it, but I haven't found one that I like. I might have to get crafty and make one myself.


Her glider and table. Lately, she really enjoys looking out of her window.


The crib with her name above it. This is where I tried to be crafty. I bought plain letters at Hobby Lobby and painted them myself. I wasn't prepared for how complicated it would be to hang them, as there was no hardware on the back of them. Hence, the shelf. Lydia, my former coworker, suggested this, and it ended up working perfectly.


Another view of the crib and her bookshelf.


Clara reading a book in her room. She loves her books!

Clara at 4 months

Clara is rapidly growing and gaining new skills. It's really amazing to watch. Here is a rundown of what she is up to these days:

In the morning, I put her in her bouncy chair while I shower. The chair has toy bugs hanging over the top, and she loves to talk to them. The conversation can sometimes get very loud and passionate. I like to think that she's holding her morning meeting. It's hysterical to listen to and makes my morning. I took some video of it. Sorry for how far away it is. I had to keep my distance while I shot this because she gets camera shy.



She is talkative for most of the day, although she is quieter around people that she isn't used to. She has also begun to laugh, which I have yet to be able to capture on video. I think we are going to have a chatterbox on our hands when she learns how to talk.

In addition to the vocal skills, she is gaining a lot of physical strength. She holds her head up really well. In fact, she does not want to put it down. She also likes to sit up whenever she can. Here she is in her Bumbo chair.


She can also hold her head up during tummy time.


She has rolled over a few times from her back to her tummy, although she still seems a little bit confused about what to do with the arm that is underneath her.

It's really fun to see her growing and developing every day. Each day with her just gets more fun!