10 months...

Dear Clare,

Oh my girl. You really are such a fun little girl. Always happy and smiley. I love it! This month has been one of watching you go from a "passive" family member to a much more active participant. It's very clear you understand what's going on and what we're talking about. You love interacting with us and carrying on your own little conversations. It's been a great month...

As far as talking goes, you've started shaking your head no while saying "uh-uh." You usually do this when I ask "Are you ready for a nap?" or when you are about to do something you shouldn't... Like climb on the fireplace. You've also started meow-ing and woof-ing. And you love to say BOO to Damian during peek-a-boo. 

You've started taking more steps and can now stand yourself up without pulling up. We all know it's just a matter of time before you're running. 

We all got horribly sick this month. For almost a week, it sounded like you had been smoking a pack a day for the last 20 years. Thankfully we seem to all finally be better now. You got to come back in the bed with us while you were sick which kinda caused a regression on all the progress we had made on sleep. However...

Before that, we had kicked you out of the bed and were working on convincing you that you could sleep in a crib without nursing. I had changed up our bedtime routine so that nursing was not the last thing we did and instead would walk with you until you were asleep. And then one night you asked (pointed) to get in your crib. I thought I was going mad, but sure enough you happily played with your doll and animals. I sat on the floor for almost an hour but you finally just fell asleep. I thought it was a fluke but you kept doing it every night until you got sick...

You love to eat and so far like everything I've offered you other than eggs and blueberries. We still nurse about 5 times during the day, but you also love drinking from a straw. Especially if that straw is attached to Damian's cup...

Speaking of you and Damian, it's a constant game of "monkey see, monkey do" around here. Even when y'all are being bad, it's still kind of cute....

You love your daddy! Often you'll leap out of my arms for him and will give him a ton of kisses. You are very, very generous with the kisses. Unfortunately your favorite game is to smack us in the face and then when we tell you No to give us a big kiss as if to say "sorry." Over and over and over again.

You've graduated to the big kid tub with Damian. It was a little crazy at first, but now you both know the drill and no one is crying (usually) during bathtime anymore!

In typical girl fashion, you love having me do your hair. I hope this continues... But if you find a bow or hair tie on the floor, you will bring it to me and then point to your head. I'm always amazed by all the little connections you make. 

Alright my big girl, I love you and I'm looking forward to another month of adventures with you! 

Love,

Mama

9 months...

Dear Clare,

I don't know how much longer I'm going to be able to do these letters if you continue to crawl straight at me every time I go to take your picture. I have 100 pictures of your forehead and only about 2 that were sort of acceptable representations of you. You are a mess, and that is why we love you so much! All this to say--your personality is really starting to come out! I know in a few short months you'll be officially a toddler, and as sad as I am to see my baby growing up, I'm so excited to get to hear you talk and watch you do new things. Every day is an adventure. You're always on the move, into everything, and keeping us very, very, very busy. However, you are still so sweet and love to cuddle. I'm not sure which of the three of us you have more wrapped around your little finger. 

This month...

You've discovered your ability to climb stairs and you LOVE them! I cannot carry you up the stairs without you trying to jump ship and crawl up them yourself. You will also walk up them if we hold your hands. I respect your attempt, but it's hilarious seeing your little legs climb stairs. 

Speaking of climbing, I think we have our "climber." You will climb anything and everything you can. And even if it's still too tall for you, you will at least give it a shot. I bought bumper pad things for the fireplace, and your favorite activity is to peal them off and then climb up and thrown them down. Clearly they don't work very well. Time to invest in so many more gates.

You say MaMa now!!!!! Music to my ears. You also say Day-Day for Damian too, which is also pretty cute. Most mornings I will get you up from your nap, ask if you want to go downstairs to see Damian, and you happily cheer Day-Day the whole walk down the stairs. 

The two of you have really started having fun together. Damian loves to fuss at you when you're "being bad," and you love to destroy anything he's working on. Neither of you understand sharing, and Damian hoards all the toys you want. BUT when none of that is going on, you two seem to really love each other. I will occasionally catch Damian giving you kisses and you will attempt to hug Damian despite his new hatred of "kid hugs."

You still love giving kisses and hugs. When Daddy comes home, you hop in his arms and give him lots and lots of love. 

Your hair is still the topic du jour. It's crazy, in the best way possible. It's also really long and getting pretty curly. But unless I put it up, it just goes in any and every direction. You're a baby, so it's precious. When you're older, I will buy you hair products.

We had started solids awhile back, but you're really getting into trying new foods. I usually give you a little bit of what we are having each night unless it's spicy. However, your favorites are carrots and corn. You've started saying the Ka sound for corn and typically bounce excitedly until I give you some. And you've been known to get carrots out of the fridge if I leave it open too long. Also, this probably goes without saying, but Cheerios are our new treat for Mass, going out to eat, keeping you awake in the car so you don't nap, etc etc. And along the lines of eating, I guess you are going to be a baby who never took a bottle because it seems we've jumped straight over that and on to straw sippy cups. Oh well...

You still nurse a few times during the day and a few times at night. Night time sleep still stinks, but you've started giving me two solid naps during the day and that's lovely. 

I'm not convinced it wasn't a fluke since it's only happened once, but you took your first step. We have yet to be able to get you to replicate it. You will stand without holding on to anything for as long as you don't need to go anywhere. The second you realize you need something you sit down and crawl. Hopefully since you seem to have good balance now and can walk holding just one of our hands, you will be toddling around here soon. 

Well that is all for now sweet girl. I love you so very much!

Mama

I'm a Believer!

On Sunday morning I did something very, very, very dumb. I took off Clare's amber teething necklace. Why I ever did that is beyond me. I think my reasoning was something along the lines of "this doesn't really match your outfit." This is what vanity gets you.....

I will be the first to admit that I wasn't really sure the thing worked. I had read all the reviews and talked to enough "not crunchy" mamas who swore by them to at least give it a try though. "It couldn't hurt, you know." She's done pretty well with teething so far, but Clare's laidback as it is, so I never knew if the necklace really had anything to do with it.

For those of you unfamiliar with the workings of amber teething necklaces, they are a natural teething remedy. The amber contains succinic acid which is released from the amber when warmed by the babies skin. This is absorbed and helps with pain, inflammation, and even drooling. This all sounds great, but... really? Reallllyyy??

No really.

After a horrible day of tears and whining, and a even more horrible evening trying to get her to sleep, I realized she hadn't been wearing her necklace all day. I couldn't imagine that this was really causing her funk but, hell, I was running out of other options so I went to get it. Unfortunately, it had gone missing. The 3 year old claims he "threw it in the playroom," but I don't know that he even knew what I was talking about when I woke him up in a panic searching for it. So I don't completely blame him. Completely. 

Regardless it remained lost and we decided to give her Advil as often as we could, which also helped. The next day her attitude was even worse and she wouldn't nap, so what does a crazy, sleep-deprived mama do? I overnighted a new one of those bad boys to us. Within an hour of putting it on her, she was back to her normal happy self. An hour! 

Nate and I are still in awe. 

So... I'm a believer. Big time.

I'm also hoping I can find the old one and try it out. Maybe it will help with soreness from running/working out? 

Damian and Clare

I love having more than one child. Of course there are days I consider locking myself in the bathroom with a bottle of wine and crying on the floor because I'm all class like that. But usually having two is awesome and on most days I'm like LETSHAVEALLTHEKIDS. And then 5:30 rolls around (both AM and PM) and then maybe ALL the kids seems a little ambitious.

Anyway, this isn't about me. We're talking about them.

I know Damian was a bit of a difficult journey into motherhood, so it's probably not fair to compare. But life's not fair so we're going to. This second baby has been SO. SO. SO. much easier. And I say this while she is still waking up every 2-3 hours. (Another day, another post.... ugh) She has a much more laidback personality, so I know that helps. But having Damian around to entertain her is pretty nice. On the days Damian spends with my mom, Clare is so bored.

"Wake Up!! I miss you!!!"

They're best buddies. And already get into mischief together. I really thought I had a few years before that would start. Oh well...

Who else would take her glamour shots while her parents sleep?

Anything one of them does, the other one has to follow. Is one eating? The other is suddenly starving. Is someone playing with a toy that used to be the most boring toy ever? Then the other has to have it.

Buds

It's sometimes hilarious, sometimes a little painful. But she's doing her best to keep up and when he's not hoarding all his toys, he does a great job showing her how things work or what to do. 

Because grainy and shadowy pictures become cute when it's of them playing nicely together

It's silly to think how worried I had been about them getting along or Damian loving Clare. I would have never imagined this...

And now after 9ish month, I'm finally feeling like I can do this. I'm sure once she starts running with him I may change my tune. But for the most part, I feel pretty confident in my ability to manage them. Or maybe I've just accepted our Survival Mode and have completely forgotten what sanity I used to have. It's probably a bit of both and I'm ok with our new normal. 

7 months...

Dear Clare,

7 months... Per the norm, this past month was a lot of fun! You've done so many new things, and I'm starting to worry my days with a "baby" are number as you race full steam ahead to toddlerhood. I blame Damian (as we usually do when you start to cry) because you are sooo intent on keeping up with him. I understand, he is a lot of fun. But darling, I don't know that your mama is ready for it all. Let's just go ahead and recap this month shall we. This month...

You started crawling! Woot woot! You are on the move and go go go go. After the second day of you crawling around, Damian finally noticed (typical male) and asked "Mama, what is Clare doing?" I said "She's crawling!" to which he responded "No, she's too little to crawl." My thoughts exactly.....

And now that you are crawling, you are pulling up on anything and everything you can get to. It's caused a lot of falls and boo-boos for you. You've probably cried more since crawling than you have since being born. However, you are also pretty good about rolling with the punches and getting back at it after a fall.

Because you can pull up on everything, you also want to walk. You love walking around holding on to our fingers and you take the cutest GIANT baby steps. You've started cruising some on the sofa, and even think it's fun to let go occasionally and see how long you can stand (only a few seconds.)

We went to the doctor last Wednesday, and you weighed in at 20 pounds 1 oz. and 28.75 inches long. You're off the charts for your height; both Daddy and I are tall, so that's not too surprising. He was very happy with all your development and couldn't believe how well you were doing. It was a proud mama moment, even though I know I have nothing to do with it. You're a motivated little girl.

Sleeping... Well girlfriend... It's still pretty inconsistent. We tried for a few weeks to not let you in the bed with us but you kept us up all night (even Damian) and after weeks of no one sleeping, I just gave up. You are definitely teaching me that every baby has different needs... So now you go down around 7 and sleep for a few hours, wake up and I feed you, you sleep until somewhere between 12-2 and then come to bed with us. I'm working on night weaning you in an effort to convince you that mama isn't the only place you can sleep. On a positive note, you have gotten a bit better about naps though and that's been really nice. Usually I can get 1-2 naps in the crib each day, and they can be anywhere from 15 minutes to over 2 hours. So while sleep overall is still not what I would love (you and Damian sleeping in your own beds for 12+ hours every night and napping for hours during the day) when I look at where we've come from since you were born, we are still progressing.

You love to talk and babble. You will say DaDa if we ask you to, and if I ask you to say MaMa you say BahBah which, considering you don't take bottles, is kinda appropriate for me... sigh... I guess that's just how you see me-- a giant bottle.

I bought you some 2nd Foods baby food and you like those much better than First Foods so you will let me feed you as long as you have something you can feed yourself. Therefore most "meals" include a squeeze pouch and finger foods.

You make some of the best faces. When you laugh, cry, or make your "I'm full" face your eyes completely disappear and you become all cheeks and mouth. You still only have your two bottom teeth, but I can see little swollen spots so I think the top ones will be coming in soon. I bought you an amber teething necklace so we will see if that helps.

Now that you are crawling I'm starting to notice that you are understand words/commands. You respond to your name and usually will come to us when we ask you to. It's always fun to realize when babies actually understand much more than you think they do. I'm also able to see what are your favorite toys, which are usually the 'not actual toys' (i.e. shoes, my purse, wipes) and then of course any lego project Damian is working on. I see a lots of fighting in the future over toys. Can't wait...

You hate hate hate diaper and clothing changes. I think you would much rather be my naked baby.

Well, that's about all for now! I'm looking forward to another month with you cuddle bug.

Love you!!

Mama

7 Quick Takes--Our trip to Philadelphia

1.

We left Saturday for Philadelphia. It was Clare's first plane ride, and I was hoping she would do as well as her brother did on flights. The trip was for my brother-in-law's graduation from Penn. We decided since it would be a lot of walking and a lot of sitting at ceremonies, dinners, and such it would be best for Damian to stay with my parents. I don't think he minded one bit considering all I heard was on their agenda for the few days we would be gone.

2.

Clare did great on the flight there. She acted a little loopy at first, but I finally got her to settle down and sleep. Everyone said she was the quietest baby they had ever experienced on a flight, so I guess she didn't bother anyone.

3.

I had never been to Philadelphia so I was excited to see a new city.

Clare loved the fact that we got to have a king sized bed "all for her."

4.

Before we left I wasn't sure which carrier for Clare to bring... I know... I don't know how I handle all my problems either. Anyway, I have a Maya Wrap ring sling and a Boba. The Boba would have been easier to carry her around walking-wise, and she's starting to like back carries. However, I really hate using it to nurse and since I knew the chances of having quiet places to nurse would be limited, I went with the Maya. I'm glad I did because she really likes sitting on my hip so she can see as we walk, and I was right, I was often feeding her on the go. 

5.

Graduation was much different from ours at Furman. Definitely much bigger, and the commencement speaker was John Legend. Afterwards Nate and I thought and thought about who spoke at ours and we could never remember. I guess that's what happens when our entire school was smaller than Penn's graduating class.

After the ceremony, we went to lunch that turned into dinner after hours of eating and celebrating. SO much yummy food! Clare slept in my arms for a good majority of it, so I got to enjoy most of my meal without fighting little hands for all my food.

6.

The flight home was also good. She slept and ate mum mums. I think we were all exhausted from all the walking and fun we had had in Philly. 

7.

We then came home to Damian who is our high energy little man. It was fun having a chance to get to know Clare without Damian constantly "telling her how it is" but I was so glad to have our little family back together. It's not quite the same without D... It's too quiet... and perhaps too easy ;-)

Linking up with Jen

A Day in the Life

7:30

 

Wake up to Clare patting my face. I attempt to nurse her in hopes I can get a few more minutes of sleep, but she continues to be adorable. and awake.

7:33 

Hear Damian whining downstairs to Nate about something. Pray I can hide just a bit longer

7:44

 Damian finds me, and he's crying. 

I continue to ask him why, and he continues to ignore me. Finally he calms down and tries to tackle me and Clare. Family snuggle fest commences.

7:58 

Nate makes it upstairs to get ready for work. He gives me that "you're still in bed" look because he's been up for hours at this point. We chat about the morning before he sneaks in the shower. 

8:15 

Realize Damian not only has my phone but he's managed to pull up a random video online. We all get sucked in watching it, and Damian doesn't get the humor. 

8:20 

Finally I get up... Let the day begin, world. I moan and whine a bit.

8:24 

Now begins the fight for my phone. Damian repeatedly tells me it's his and finally pry it out of his hands. Tears... sooo many tears.

8:26 

Nate says goodbye and for some reason Damian was not satisfied by the farewell he's received.

8:30 

Chase Nate down in the driveway because Damian is in hysterics and saying that he needs another hug from Nate. Normally I don't cater to every whim this kid has, but he's never acted this way about Nate leaving before so I deem it kinda cute and try to stop Nate from driving away. Of course, he still cries when Nate leaves, so I carry him and Clare back into the house. Work out for the day--completed.

8:40 

 

Despite the fact that she now hates diaper changes because it means she can't go anywhere, she finally has a clean diaper on. 

8:42

Everyone is unraveling again about who knows what, so I decide we need to get out of the house STAT.

8:43 

Get me and Clare dressed. 

8:58 

My timer goes off?? For some reason Damian must have set that while playing with my phone earlier... sigh...

9:03

 Wrangle clothing on to scooter boy, although I have to wait until he's done taking his call

 and head to the car.

9:13 

Yes a whopping 10 minutes later we are all finally in the car and on the way to Whole Foods. Clare naps.

9:30

 Make it into WF thanks to bribery. Head straight to coffee and pastry section and load us up. 

Damian's diet has started off stellar and I just thank God that this chocolate croissant he chose is as big as his face because it means I will get to shop in peace.

9:40 

Damian starts yelling about something. WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT KID?!?!?! Finally realize ooohhhh Bees. Like actual buzz buzz sting bees. Right.... 

9:42 

Go look at bees.

9:50

 Still walking around WF trying to find bread crumbs. WHERE ARE THE BREAD CRUMBS?!?!?! Finally ask someone and she says "Oh, they're over here by the tuna." I give her the "Oh. Logically." face, grab some, and bolt to the check out because there is still way too much Ice Coffee in my cup and not enough chocolate croissant left in his pastry bag. 

10:00

 Make it to the car and let Damian help me push the cart back to the drop-off spot. He insist he must also throw away his pastry bag because, judging by the tone of his voice, his life depends on it.

10:14 

Time to go home. Talk to my mom on the drive back. Adult conversation. Woot Woot. Clare sleeps and Damian is surprisingly quiet-ish.

10:45 

Car is unloaded, and Clare is asleep in her carseat. I get to actually cook some!!! 

10:46

 Damian wakes up Clare.

10:47 

Stop myself from killing my child.

10:48 

Start to really regret the fact that I didn't make this dish the night before like I had originally planned. 

10:53 

Clare lets me finally put her down, and Damian is scooting around the house playing. She slowly dismantles the fridge and cabinets and I don't even care one little bit. 

I get to chop chop chop with two hands!

11:21
Everything is finally chopped after some "help" from Damian

 and a few intermissions from Clare. I realize that trying to triple a recipe was perhaps a bit ambitious... 

11:30 

Realize it's been 4 hours since I've nursed Clare, so we take a little nursing break. Wonder if 11:33 still counts as morning as I read my Morning Offering email.

 She falls asleep so I put her in he Ergo and keep on keeping on.

11:38 

Let Damian "wash dishes" because the environment isn't going to win today. 

11:50 

Recipe calls for wine and wonder if it's acceptable to drink wine before noon if I'm using it to cook.

11:51 

Curse the wine gods.

12:00 

Damian is playing by himself. Praise the real God for this miracle that last until lunchtime. At some point I notice that playing by himself also means hanging out in the dog crate.

12:50 

Casseroles are in the oven and I've got lunch on the table for Damian. I eat cashews because I have to fix this... It's just... yea it's bad.

1:29 

Kitchen is clean enough.

1:41

 Put on George and sit down for a second. Clare doesn't want to play and seems pretty cranky.

1:50 

Nurse Clare while wondering what Tibi is barking about while also making oatmeal for me to eat.

1:55

Eat oatmeal while nursing Clare and attempting to blog. I get no where because she wants to help type.

2:03 

Go upstairs to grab laundry and to change. Clare falls over pulling up on something and wants to comfort nurse. Damian notices we are missing and comes upstairs. I put Clare in the Johnny Jump-up so I can attempt to make myself look half way decent. She and Damian bounce while looking at each other in the mirror. I can't decide if this is incredibly cute or just kinda vain. Gotta love little kids.

2:20 

Casseroles done! 

Start getting Damian and Clare ready to go. We're delivering a meal to a mama friend who just had a baby (hence all the casserole making.) Also remember I need to pack a few packages from the eBay business and stick them in the mailbox.

2:50

 Finally get out the door 30 minutes later. Clare sleeps and Damian is silent. This. Is. Bliss. I'm completely recharged by the time we get to her house.

3:23

 Make it to friend's house and end up having an impromptu playdate for a bit. Damian's shy self seems to be finally warming up a bit right as we need to leave. Typical typical. 

4:50

 We're back home and Damian wants to go on a walk. Also, judging by his tone, this too is life or death and if we don't walk RIGHT NOW we will all die. But I tell Mr. Doing the Potty Dance he has to go to the bathroom first. He and I argue for a good 5 minutes before he finally just goes. I will never understand this dilemma. Never. (Can I mention how glad I am that dinner is already done! I also make a mental note to start cooking every meal early.)

5:00 

Strap Clare in the Ergo, Damian grabs his scooter, and we finally go on that walk. I tell him he has until 5:30 because then we have to go home to warm up dinner and take a bath. 

5:25

 Run into/meet our neighbor who has kids and end up talking for WAY too long. But we get a dinner invite out of it. Damian has had one too many interactions with humans and is losing it. The world is crumbling around us. We are all hot. We are all melting. There are puddles of despair everywhere. I'm fairly convinced the dinner invite has been revoked. But new friends bring Damian a frozen yogurt pop to help us make it back home. They are officially amazing.

6:03 

Finally start warming up dinner. Damian struggles. Clare is a sweaty mess and hungry.

6:08 

The moment we have all been waiting for finally happens as Nate walks through the door. Hallelujah choirs begin. Or, wait, is that the sound of my child still. wailing. 

6:10

 Dinner begins. After an epic battle over what he was eating, he decides that he suddenly doesn't like THESE chicken nuggets. He wants to go get different ones. I sip my wine faster. Finally we bribe him with milk to eat and he realizes, oh wait. THESE ARE SOOOO GOOD! Sigh.... We recount the day to Nate, while I feed Miss I Love To Eat So Much I That Bounce While I Eat And Therefore Make A Mess. Thankfully, the day seems to be ending on a happy note as everyone's mood is much better with a little food.

7:10

 Go upstairs and begin the bedtime routine with Clare while Nate tackles (literally) Damian. Rock and nurse Clare while I pray and decompress from the day.

7:50 

Sneak out of Clare's room. Catch up briefly with Nate while he cleans the kitchen from dinner. I then go outside to water the plants.

8:24 

Decide I just need some quiet time and swing outside for a bit. I worry about Damian some and hope I'm doing the right thing with him. 

8:36

 Go back inside and apologize to Nate for unloading all my frustrations about Damian and his "social skills" on to Nate the second he walked in the door. He, of course, doesn't care because he understands. 

8:40

 Start blogging.

9:06 

Realize the number of pictures I have for this post is unreal.

9:32 

Start texting all the people I've accidentally ignored in the last few hours. 

10:10

Finish post. Contemplate bed or ice cream. Bed or ice cream. And then think... Oh wait, didn't I do laundry at some point today?? Oops...

7 Quick Takes

Just some good ol' day in the life type stuff...

1. 

If I had to pick one food to live on/take with me to that famous deserted island everyone always references, it would be Greek Food. I LOVE Greek food "soooo much" as D would say. So when I found out Charleston has a Greek Fest both in the Fall AND last weekend, you know we hit that up! 

We tried to get there in time to take a tour of the church because the Greek Orthodox sure do know how to do a church, but they got all tricky and change the times on us so no dice there.  A little baklava sundae and all was forgiven.

2.

Parenting has been going great recently.

Ha!

As seen here when Clare apparently found the recycling bag and decided a beer can was THE MOST FUN TOY EVER. (And no, my kids do not wear clothes.)

3.

Damian has been ever more helpful around the house, minus all those times he's not. We recently started our eBay business back up so the boxes are appearing once more. We're going to have to break this FedEx man in because he hasn't learned the ropes quite like our ATL guy.

Damian told me he would move all the boxes into the house for me since they were delivered behind my car and not to our doorstep.

4.

Before I spill more secrets of my survival mode parenting, let's stop for a moment to look at these pretties.

 I never thought of myself as a "garden person" before, but now that we have a house, I can't stop. Between all the veggies and the 48235879 potted plants I keep getting... It's becoming a sickness.

5.

So back to parenting wins... Lesson learned--when two kids are mobile they team up and you will never win. 

Damian started this little cabinet emptying project and Clare came in as relief pitcher to finish the game. All day, every day. 

6.

I'm realizing that I have approximately 3984345 versions of this picture on my phone. I hope that as he gets older, he will still go on the occasional coffee date with his mom.

7.

Speaking of getting older, I started filling out his application for preschool the other night. 

After looking over tuition costs, I immediately began researching home schooling. When did he grow up?! Why is catholic school so expensive?! all the whines, all the whines.

Linking up with Jen!

6 months...

 

Dear Clare,

Could you be any cuter?! You're killing me! 

Anyway, we've made it half a year and so far so good I'd say. It's been an exciting month for you, and after looking back at your 5 month letter, I realize how far you've come. At some point this past month, I think things finally clicked with me being a mother of two. Or at least it seems to have gotten a lot easier. Or maybe I've just forgotten how easy it used to be... Sigh... I still think having two of y'all around is much easier than having just one. You've got constant entertainment in your brother and that makes my job a little bit easier. But, back to you. Let's recap your month...

You have not only mastered sitting independently but you can now sit yourself up on your own. It's weird to come get your from your crib with you sitting up staring at us. It also means I've had to lower your crib down a level because...

You have also started, though not quite successfully, pulling up on things. The last thing I need is to not be one step ahead of you and have you falling out of your crib, sooo down it went.

Speaking of cribs.... And I mean this loosely, so very loosely, you are sleeping half the night in your crib. Woohoo! Usually you go down anywhere from 6:30-7:30 and then proceed to wake up between every 1-4 hours until I finally wave the white flag (usually between 2-4am) and bring you to bed with me. We've tried letting you cry it out, but that seems to have failed miserably in getting you to sleep longer stretches. I have my theories, but I'll save that for another day. Looking back at last month and realizing a month ago you were still in your swing and not able to put yourself to sleep gives me hope that maybe one day you will sleep long enough for me to get to REM cycle. Until then I will continue to keep all the coffee shops in business.

Since we're on the topic of sleeping, or really not sleeping, I should probably mention two of the reasons I think any 'sleep training' we attempted failed and those are your two bottom teeth. We said goodbye to that gummy smile and now you have two cute little teeth that are delightfully sharp and ready to chew.

And with those teeth, you've decided you are too old and mature for baby food. No ma'am. You will not be fed. You are a big girl and will do it yourself thank you very much. I have tried and tried and tried to feed you baby food with a spoon, but you break down into hysterics if I don't give you the spoon and "let you do it." You do get it in your mouth, eventually. It's only after all the baby food has been slung around the room. Tibi loves it. If only you could be fooled by us both having a spoon... So I've started cutting up things for you to eat with us, and you're happy as can be chowing down on an apple or pear or sweet potato fry.

You are still a huge fan of the raspberries and blowing bubbles. Each morning I wake up to you patting my face and blowing raspberries at me. It's cute... and I will probably miss that most when you finally sleep the night away in your room. You've also started babbling some. Hearing you say da da da da da has definitely melted some hearts. I'll let you in on a little secret... You've got daddy wrapped.

You aren't officially crawling yet, but using an interesting technique of sit, fall over and roll, sit, swing leg around, army crawl, roll, sit up, fall down, etc etc you can get wherever you want to go. I've lost number of the times I've witnessed you faceplant because you're legs go and your arms don't. I'm amazed at how well you take it in stride and keep moving right along. I went ahead and cleared out all of Damian's choking hazard toys. He wasn't amused, but I say it's pay back for how rough he is with you. He has no concept at all that you aren't a 3 year old little boy who loves to be tackled. I'm not sure what's going to happen once you're really crawling/walking and can go get back all those toys he steals from you.

In other news, I finally finished all your nursery bedding! I was hoping it's beauty would inspire you to sleep. I guess you just want to get up and look at it all the time. It's ok. I understand.

We haven't been to the doctor yet, so I have no official stats for you other than you are wearing 12 month clothing. I guess that means the 9 month dress I bought you before you were born for 4th of july will not be fitting you. Sigh. Maybe now that I'm not sewing your bedding I can make you one.

And that my sweet girl is about it! Keep being the sweetest little girl I know!

Love you, 

Mama 

5 months...

Dear Clare,

Is it really 5 months already?! This month has been "the best yet" just as all months have been. You continue to be so happy and sweet--full of smiles, squeals, and laughs. You're an absolute joy, and I swear you're getting cuter by the second. In other words, we are still completely smitten by you and wrap around your chubby little finger. 

This past month...

You began to sit independently. At your four month appointment, your pediatrician said that we should be on the look out for you pulling up on things around 6 months. I'm not ready for that. Ok?

Speaking of your 4 month appointment... Your stats are as follows-- Weight: 17 pounds 11 oz Length: 26.5 inches. You are "sturdy" for sure. But your cheeks and rolls are delicious.

We played peek-a-boo the other day. You thought it was hilarious to lean over to your feet and then pop up when I would say "Where did Clare go?" You've also started reaching out for me some, rolling over in the bed towards me to hug my face, and giving what I call kisses but I know is just you hungry and attempting to nurse my face. I'll take it though! It's fun seeing these beginning moments of social interaction and communication.

You've attempted to get into the crawling position twice.... And I may have stopped you... Once again, I'm not ready... I love you, so when I say this, I mean it will all the love in my heart, but I think you're buddha baby chub may keep you from moving for a bit anyway. This is a fun stage where you can just sit and play, so let's enjoy it a bit. Although, I do look forward for when you can go steal your toys back from your mean big brother who apparently has a new love for baby toys. I guess this is what being the second child is like...

You LOVE to bounce in your Johnny Jump Up. 

The newest trick you've got is blowing raspberries, and you are SO proud of yourself. It's also the way you seem to be trying to start conversations with us. If I say hi, you blow me some bubbles. And it's even more fun to blow them on my shoulder and arm. 

We're still working on you sleeping in your crib. You're doing better sleeping for 'longer' stretches in your swing, but the crib is still not working out well for you. On the bright side, you've got a bit of a schedule going. You nap 3-4 times a day starting at 9 AM, and then we start bedtime routine at 7 PM. We rock, nurse, and pray and it's really a nice way to end the day. Now if only you would stop waking up multiple times at night.

You still love your brother and seem to have finally noticed we have pets.

This is just a small thing but you got to ride in your stroller without being in the carseat for the first time and it was so thrilling you fell right asleep.

We tried solids with you considering your desire to put our food in your mouth. I wasn't expecting you to like rice cereal, but you were more than unimpressed by it. Mostly baby food in general does nothing for you. You'd much rather num on a whole banana or a piece of my lettuce. I guess I should look more into Baby Lead Weaning...

And that's about it for this month. 

Love you sweet cheeks,

Mama