so this is what it's like to be a proud parent

When you discovered your toes a few weeks ago, you started hanging onto them like knobs at first.  You'd lie there and wiggle around with your toes in your hands, happy as a clam.  Eventually you started trying to get your toes closer to your mouth, but your ample & delectable belly thwarted your attempts.  You've been trying and trying to get those darn toes into your mouth to no avail.

Until today.

Today, on the changing table, you grabbed hold of that foot and gave it your all and I finally saw that toe go into your mouth.  It was an amazing moment of victory for chubby babies everywhere!

The satisfaction I got from putting your wet toe back into your footie pajamas was priceless.

Please don't ever stop being so much fun.

slow your roll, please, missy!

Clara can now officially:

• Sit up on her own, unsupported.
• Crawl.
• Pull my hair.
• Pet the chubby cat.

We are:

• Proud.
• Excited.
• Horrified.

things we love about you (so far)

• When you figure out exactly how your toys work and you start actually using them regularly instead of accidentally.
• That you get such a kick out of seeing yourself in the mirror.
• How excited you get when we walk into the room and shoot a smile in your direction.
• When I wake up to the sounds of you sucking on your fingers and blowing raspberries.
• How sometimes you get one little big toe out of your footie pajamas and it is so tiny and chubby.
• That you love sitting in your exersaucer at the front door and looking out the window at the cars that pass and the mailman.
• How you love to hold onto your toes when you're on your back.
• How you have become such an expert at rolling over that I really shouldn't even bother putting you on your back anymore.
• That you chuckle and grin every time I tickle your face with my hair.
• That you've taken a liking to sitting and standing and now sometimes they are the only things you want to do (with our help).
• How much you love sitting in your little red baby chair and playing with the tray toy.
• That you can fall asleep pretty much anywhere and in any position but as soon as you are moved you wail as if being put in a more comfortable place was the worst thing we ever could have done to you.
• That you still like the Christmas tree lights being on as much as your mommy does, no matter what your daddy thinks.
• When you are on the verge of crying but end up laughing instead.
• When you make grumpy face.
• How you can make us happy, any place, any time.

a bundle of joy, indeed

Clara sucks on three fingers, no thumb.  She flips over onto her stomach on the changing table.  She grabs onto her toes while I try to change her diaper.  She stares at her hands for ages.  She pulls and bats at toys.  She laughs with us all the time.  She is the light of our lives.

ROCK AND ROLL

You've been teetering on the edge of a roll-over for months, it feels like.  You'd get as far as your side and kind of get stuck there, not really knowing what to do with your arm that was in the way.

But last night: YOU ROLLED.  From your back to your belly.  Twice.  You did it again today.

These are exciting times!

screaming, sitting

These days Clara is really into screaming and sitting.  She's a happy screamer.  She wakes me up just screaming happily.  Just awake and excited to make some noise.  It's pretty great except that sometimes her daddy can't tell the difference between happy screams and angry screams.  "What's wrong with her?"  She was just happy and noisy!

Sitting is her other passion.  She likes to be upright, looking at stuff.  I can understand this as I also enjoy to sit.

I CAN'T WAIT TILL CHRISTMAS.

 This is a picture of two happy ladies.

YAY!

You pulled on the owl's foot!  I heard the pull and then the jitter!  I'm so proud of you!

Next up: rolling over.

Come on, you know you want to.

round one of the holidays

You've had your first Thanksgiving (delicious) and the Christmas tree is up and you love to look at those lights.  Today you reached up for the legs on your hanging jitterbug toy and grabbed it and would not let go.  I was hoping you would pull and realize that makes the toy vibrate, but I think that was a little too much to hope for on your first grab.  I was delighted that you just held onto his foot for so long.  You've been holding on to your lion with the rings and the rattle too, lifting him up sometimes.

You're so close to rolling over!  It's excruciating to see you on your side: so close yet so far.  You just hang out on your side for minutes at a time but you really don't seem to want to roll onto your stomach at all.  You're pretty good at rotating yourself 360 degrees on your play mat though.  I'm pretty impressed by your leg muscles!

Today your daddy was reading to you about table saws from a home improvement magazine and you loved it.  It's probably because you love anything he says or does for you.  I do too!  :D

Oh and just so you know: there are probably a million sandwich kisses in your future.  You're not allowed to ever stop liking them.

This was your first Thanksgiving dinner:

And here's you holding onto your toy for a long time:

3 months

You turned 3 months old yesterday.  It really snuck up on me--so much so that I didn't realize the date until about 8pm.  I can't believe how fast you've grown.

I was hugging you yesterday and your dad remarked that you're almost half as tall as me.  (An exaggeration of course...but not by much.)

I can't believe how cool you are.  Yesterday you were in your swing for a while and when I walked up to you again after a few minutes, your face lit up completely.  You were so happy to see me and I was so happy that you were happy I shed a few tears.

Don't ever stop being awesome.

Clara Beara!

Clara enjoys staring at herself in the mirror and shrieking.

you're growing too fast

I was reading an article in a baby magazine today about fetal movements.  They were talking about flips and kicks and all of this and I remembered when you were in my belly and moved around all the time and I started to cry.  I miss you being so close.  Of course, the smiles and the laughs are wonderful--but feeling your every movement inside of me was wonderful too.  Every day you get bigger and bigger and it just reminds me that someday you'll be so big you'll have to go out on your own and I almost don't want that to ever happen.

You're the sweetest, Clara-beara.  I love you a million.

my baby is 2 months old

Almost doing her Tim Gunn impersonation.

leaving you is hard!

Your dad and I went out for the first time last night since you were born.  It was county fair time, you see.  We thought about you coming too but ultimately decided that loud rock music and a huge crowd of people would not be good for a 6 week old baby.  So we asked Grandma to watch you.

It was so hard to leave you.  I kept thinking of you the entire night and whether you were okay.  I saw babies and kids at the fairgrounds and just kept thinking that we should have brought you and maybe you would have enjoyed a blinking light toy.

Next year, okay?  Maybe then you'll be ready for loud music.  :)

Almost 6 weeks old!

It's been a while since I've updated, but life with a baby is a bit hectic--please forgive me.

This is what has been up!
- Clara gained almost three pounds in 5 weeks.  On Monday she weighed 8 pounds 11 ounces.  Un-freakin'-believable.
- When she was born, her pinky fingernail was the size of a sesame seed.  It's a lot bigger now!
- I have become much more closely acquainted with bodily fluids of all sorts.  This is not exactly pleasant, but I am glad the projectile vomiting only happened thrice so far.
- Our experiences with pee, however, seem to be much more frequent.
- When she smiles and holds her head up, I am the happiest mom.
- We finally seem to be getting into our groove around here.  Diaper change, eat, play, sleep.  Repeat.  Repeat.
- When Clara sleeps I cook and try to try to clean.
- Daddy helps with feedings all the time.  He's especially good at giving her tummy time on his chest.  It's the cutest thing in the world to see!
- Swaddling has saved us.  She sleeps so well in a swaddle!  We didn't have a proper swaddle blanket but my husband invented an awesome double swaddle with two smaller blankets that is working wonderfully!

On the post-partum side:
- My pre-pregnancy jeans are too big now.  You think I'd be happy about this but mostly I'm annoyed that I need to buy new pants.
- No more pains or bleeding!  I feel right as rain.
- I've got some hormones making me a little extra emotional right now, but I'm sure that will pass soon.

Things are good.  There are challenges, but we're getting through them okay.  Everything seems to be getting better.

You have your daddy's feet.

belly pictures slideshow time!

How Clara grew in my belly.

dance

Today you had your first dance!  It was with your daddy to "Tenth Avenue Freeze Out".

Just thought you should know.

:)

this melts my heart