Clara at 6 months

Clara has changed so much over the last month. She now weighs a little over 14 pounds (20th percentile). She has gotten a lot more hair, although if you hadn't seen her before, you would never know that, because she is still pretty bald.

Also, her little personality is really starting to come out. She interacts a lot more than she did even a month ago. We have been going to a library story time for a few months now, and we have had play dates with some of the other kids that go. I think that it's been good for Clara to see and play with other babies. Some other things that Clara has been doing:

Talking. This isn't new, but she is making a lot more consonant sounds, like "ga," "ca," "da," "ta," etc. She has also developed a high pitched squeal that I liken to a dolphin. It's not my favorite but apparently it is a developmental milestone, so I guess it's good that she can do it?

Sitting on her own. She doesn't have it completely down, but she can sit on her own for maybe a minute at a time before she wobbles.

Kissing. At least I think that is what she is trying to do. She puts her mouth on my cheek and just freezes there for a minute.

She also has been really interested in my water that I drink while I feed her, so I let her try it one day. She enjoyed it, so I got her a couple of sippy cups and have been letting her practice. She doesn't have it completely down yet, but it's pretty funny to watch. She also does this really cute thing where whenever I am holding her and drinking water, she immediately puts her hand on the bottom of the glass like she is propping it up to help me drink. So helpful!

In not so great developmental news, she has really regressed in her sleeping patterns. Before, she was waking up once in the night to eat and went right back to sleep. It was great. Then out of nowhere she has started doing this thing where she either completely freaks out when we try to put her in her crib or she goes to sleep but then wakes up 30 minutes later and freaks out. It was really bad because when she first started doing it, Brad was on his month of nights. I was so exhausted that I ended up just letting her sleep in bed with me. Since Brad is here now, we have been better about making sure she is sleeping in her crib. I tried to let her cry it out one night. She kept it up for an hour and a half and I finally couldn't take it anymore.

She has been getting a little bit better, so hopefully she will come out of it soon and get back to her old self.

On another note, she loves playing in her exersaucer. Here is a video. The lighting is bad, but it gives you a good idea of what she does in it.

Solids as a Rock

Clara turned 6 months old on January 1. To celebrate, we started her on solid foods. She probably could have started them sooner, as she was exhibiting all of the signs that books and articles that I read said babies should be doing. However, I really didn't want to start too soon because it was so much easier to just nurse, especially since we were traveling at Christmas. But I have to say, I was really excited to see what she would do.

I first started her on rice cereal that I mixed with breast milk. I know...yummy! But that's what her doctor told us to start her on and I think that the texture and familiar taste was probably a good starting point for her.

She's was so excited to be in her big girl high chair!


She's a little skeptical, but she's trying it.


Even though the above picture does not convey it very well, Clara does like rice cereal. Since she handled that well, I decided it was time to try some vegetables. Her doctor suggested trying some veggies before fruits just so she wouldn't get used to a lot of sweetness.

I have been eager to make baby food for awhile. I decided to start with sweet potatoes. I roasted one for about an hour and a half so that it would get really soft. Then I pureed it in the food processor and added a little water to smooth it out. I thought it was delicious, but was disappointed that our first feeding went like this:



But then I read that it sometimes takes babies up to ten tries to accept a new food, so I decided to keep trying. By the third try, Clara really liked it.

This week I tried carrots. I tried baking them because I really prefer veggies prepared this way and I was able to find a baby food recipe that did this. Unfortunately, they were disgusting. They were really dry. So instead I steamed them and again, pureed and added water. They were pretty good, but not as good as the sweet potatoes. I think Clara might feel the same way, because she tolerates them but doesn't eat as much as with the sweet potatoes.

I will introduce her to a new food each week, so that I can make sure that she doesn't have any allergies. My plan is to try peas, green beans, and squash. I want to try a green veggie next. Then I might break it up and do some fruit. I want to try apples, bananas, and pears first. I can't wait until we finish the single ingredients and can move on to combinations.

Christmas in Maine

Ok, so I'm finally getting back to blogging. I was working on this last week and our computer froze and I got so fed up with it that I gave up.

We went up to Maine during Christmas week to celebrate the holidays with Brad's family. It was great to see everyone. We hadn't been up there since we moved down here, about a year and a half ago.

Although the travel days were long, Clara did really well. And she had her first celebrity sighting at the airport. Bruce Bowen, a Spur who retired last year, was in the security line with us and Clara kept staring at him (maybe because she has never seen anyone that tall before). He looked down at her at one point and smiled.

Clara had her own seat, which helped out a lot. Not only did she have her own space, but we had a row to ourselves, which made things like feeding her so much easier. And luckily we missed all of the excitement of blizzards and terror threats that were occurring during this time.

On Wednesday, Brad's parents had the family over for a great meal in which Brad's Dad made a fantastic roast (22 pounds if I remember correctly).

The ladies had fun visiting with each other.


The men had some bonding time as well.


Clara got to meet her first cousin once removed, Adney. Adney is Brad's Uncle Rob's baby. She is two months younger than Clara. Brad's sister, Kate, got this picture of an initial meeting. They were somewhat curious about each other. I don't remember Adney being bigger than Clara. Maybe it is just the camera angle? She certainly has Clara beat in the hair department.


For Christmas Eve, we went to Brad's Grammy's house. We opened presents from everyone except Brad's immediate family.

Clara loved her Aunt Kate.


She also thinks that gift wrap tastes great.


On Christmas morning, we opened presents at Brad's parents' house.

Here is Clara with her new stocking that Kate, Tim, Annika, and Gunnar got for her.


Annika, our niece, really took to her new cousin. She was giving me helpful advice on what Clara wanted and needed. Very Mother Hen.


Clara also enjoyed spending time with her Mimi.


Here she is enjoying a present with Dad.


Christmas morning is tiring!


We had a fantastic visit with everyone. It was great for Clara to get to see her Maine relatives and for them to be able to meet her. Things got a little difficult at the end of the trip because Clara was completely off her schedule and was not sleeping well. Still, it was sad to say goodbye to everyone. Brad and I are lucky to have such great families.

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!