Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Saturday, July 25, 2009
A Good Day
Today was a really good day. We've been going, going, going lately, and this morning we were all able to spend some quality time together. Robert is in a running class on Saturday mornings, so Claire and I ate breakfast and played until he got home. We had an appointment for Claire to get a haircut at 9:30, and after my last experience, I made sure to pick a time when Robert would be able to be there. Let's just say that Claire was Not Happy about having to sit still and have a strange woman touch her, but it went quickly and turned out well.
We enjoy going out for breakfast on Saturdays, and we decided to try a new place today - Twin Sisters Bakery. Claire was pretty wiped out from getting her new 'do and slept most of the time while we were eating. This gave Robert and I a chance to actually have a conversation over a meal. :)
On our way home we realized that we were not too far from the Quarry, and we'd heard that a new frozen yogurt shop, Red Mango, had opened there and they were giving away free servings today as part of a grand opening celebration. We got there right when they opened, and since we were some of the first in the door, we got gift bags with free t-shirts and other little goodies. A local radio station was there, and they snapped a photo of Claire as she bobbed along to the music. We enjoyed our free yogurt and will definitely be going back.
We enjoy going out for breakfast on Saturdays, and we decided to try a new place today - Twin Sisters Bakery. Claire was pretty wiped out from getting her new 'do and slept most of the time while we were eating. This gave Robert and I a chance to actually have a conversation over a meal. :)
On our way home we realized that we were not too far from the Quarry, and we'd heard that a new frozen yogurt shop, Red Mango, had opened there and they were giving away free servings today as part of a grand opening celebration. We got there right when they opened, and since we were some of the first in the door, we got gift bags with free t-shirts and other little goodies. A local radio station was there, and they snapped a photo of Claire as she bobbed along to the music. We enjoyed our free yogurt and will definitely be going back.
Last week we bought a new table and chairs for the dining area in the kitchen, and the delivery guys were supposed to come between 12 & 3, so we headed home. Robert got some rest while Claire and I played. She looked like such a big girl with her hair fixed.
The delivery went off without a hitch, and Claire and I headed to the mall to pick up a couple of things. She took a good nap while I browsed around in Jo-Ann's. We went back to the house for our regular routine, and Robert and I got in a movie ("Rachel Getting Married") after Claire went to sleep.
A perfectly ordinary, but perfectly nice day!
Friday, July 24, 2009
Our Little Comedian
From Claire's activity report today:
"Claire entertained her whole table during snack this afternoon. She splashed her spilled milk and they all thought it was hilarious!"
I can totally picture it. She's figured out how to get milk/water out of her sippy cup by turning it upside down and holding it against the table, and there have been several times I've caught her making a little puddle and then splashing it with her fingers. It is clearly time for us to switch to the cups with sturdier spouts.
"Claire entertained her whole table during snack this afternoon. She splashed her spilled milk and they all thought it was hilarious!"
I can totally picture it. She's figured out how to get milk/water out of her sippy cup by turning it upside down and holding it against the table, and there have been several times I've caught her making a little puddle and then splashing it with her fingers. It is clearly time for us to switch to the cups with sturdier spouts.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Evening "Snack"
Our terrific sleeper has been having a hard time getting a good night's sleep the past couple of weeks. She's been waking up in the middle of the night coughing and having a hard time settling down again. We had a really rough night on Sunday but things were back to normal on Monday, so I thought we were back on track.
Last night I put her to bed around 7, and she went to sleep pretty quickly, but then I heard her fussing around 7:45. I rocked her and walked her around for awhile, and she didn't go to sleep. We tried leaving her in her crib for a few minutes to put herself to sleep, and that didn't work. Robert walked her around for awhile, and that didn't work. Finally after about 45 minutes we decided to see if she was hungry. She'd eaten a pretty good dinner, but at this point we were trying everything in our bag of tricks.
She ate:
Last night I put her to bed around 7, and she went to sleep pretty quickly, but then I heard her fussing around 7:45. I rocked her and walked her around for awhile, and she didn't go to sleep. We tried leaving her in her crib for a few minutes to put herself to sleep, and that didn't work. Robert walked her around for awhile, and that didn't work. Finally after about 45 minutes we decided to see if she was hungry. She'd eaten a pretty good dinner, but at this point we were trying everything in our bag of tricks.
She ate:
- 1 container of YoBaby yogurt
- A small bowl of applesauce
- Most of a piece of toast with cheese
- About half of a banana
Usually just one of those items satisfies her when she needs a snack, so we don't know where she was putting it! Every time she finished something she'd look at us like "What's next?" We were slightly amazed. After the banana, I took her back to her room and rocked her for a couple of minutes before laying her in her crib, and we didn't hear a peep until morning. Success!
Claire's Television Debut
About six weeks ago Claire's school let us know that a crew from a local morning show would be coming and filming her class doing their baby yoga exercises. They do yoga everyday - modified versions of the regular poses. It's a chance for them to stretch and learn body awareness in a fun way. The day they were supposed to come ended up not working out, so we weren't sure if they would ever come back to film. We kind of forgot about it, but I set up the DVR to record the show the morning they had originally thought the kids would be on.
One day a few weeks ago I went to drop Claire off and the directors and teachers asked me if I'd seen the show the day before. I told them I hadn't but had recorded it just in case. They told me that Claire was "the star" and that I had to see it.
Sure enough, there were close-ups of Claire all throughout the segment. She was smiling and happily doing her yoga in one of teacher's laps (similar to this). We have the segment saved and are planning to either get a copy or figure out a way to save our copy to save it for posterity.
One day a few weeks ago I went to drop Claire off and the directors and teachers asked me if I'd seen the show the day before. I told them I hadn't but had recorded it just in case. They told me that Claire was "the star" and that I had to see it.
Sure enough, there were close-ups of Claire all throughout the segment. She was smiling and happily doing her yoga in one of teacher's laps (similar to this). We have the segment saved and are planning to either get a copy or figure out a way to save our copy to save it for posterity.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Claire at Fifteen Months
Claire is fifteen months old - how is it possible that she's already a quarter of the way through her second year? Her checkup was last week, and she weighs about 18 pounds and is 28 3/8 inches tall (still around the 5th percentile for both). Her head is in the 40th percentile, though - got to have room for that big brain!
Claire has been eating more things - she still loves her yogurt, blueberry waffles, applesauce, Puffs, and cereal bars. I can usually get her to eat things that are breaded - chicken nuggets, fish bites, mac & cheese bites, and broccoli cheese bites. She doesn't really like many vegetables, but we still offer them almost every meal. We introduced peanut butter, and she loves it, so peanut butter sandwiches make frequent appearances in her meal rotation. We also found that she really likes grilled cheese sandwiches. Girl loves her carbs.
Pointing at everything - even the camera lens
The biggest development we've seen in the last month is Claire's comprehension. Although she only says a few words, she understands so much of what we say to her and is learning to follow directions. Our development has community mailboxes, so most nights we walk over (a block or so) to check the mail. A few days ago we started talking about going to get the mail, and she was getting excited. We told her "Go get the key!" and she took off towards the hook on the wall where we keep it. She loves this time and gets so excited when we start out the door.
Her favorite toys right now are her books, the giraffes from her Little People Noah's Ark, and any sort of cup or lid. She loves nesting cups and putting lids on things (and taking them off).
Claire has been eating more things - she still loves her yogurt, blueberry waffles, applesauce, Puffs, and cereal bars. I can usually get her to eat things that are breaded - chicken nuggets, fish bites, mac & cheese bites, and broccoli cheese bites. She doesn't really like many vegetables, but we still offer them almost every meal. We introduced peanut butter, and she loves it, so peanut butter sandwiches make frequent appearances in her meal rotation. We also found that she really likes grilled cheese sandwiches. Girl loves her carbs.
Claire is still really shy but observant. She loves to watch other people but ducks her head when they look at her. She definitely likes to sit back and watch until she feels comfortable joining in. She will "ham it up" for us, though. She is a character!
Claire loves hugs and kisses from Mommy and Daddy, and is a great snuggler. We love our sweet Claire!
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Family Reunions 2009 - #2
I've been meaning to post this now for a week and a half, and life has gotten in the way! Picking up from the last post... so we were in Nashville, and on Friday we all loaded up in the cars for our trek to Mississippi. Claire got in a good nap on the patio before we left.
Most of the day was spent driving with a stop along the Natchez Trace for a picnic lunch. We made a detour through Calhoun City, Ma's hometown, to meet up with a couple of her friends. The highlight of the day was seeing Ma's childhood home. She made arrangements with the current owners for us to stop by. They have been doing some renovations but have maintained the character of the home, and we enjoyed seeing the home and hearing Ma's stories of growing up there.
That evening we arrived at Lake Tiak-O'Khata for the reunion. The grounds were lovely, and on Saturday morning Claire got her first experience with a sandy beach. She walked right into the water and had a great time until she got her face wet. After a few tears, she perked up again. She really enjoyed taking a couple of trips down the waterslide with Daddy.
On Sunday morning we gathered everyone for a family photo before returning home. We flew home out of Jackson and had an uneventful trip home. Overall it was a good trip, and we were especially glad to get a chance to learn more about the family's history and actually see the places where a lot of memories were formed.
Most of the day was spent driving with a stop along the Natchez Trace for a picnic lunch. We made a detour through Calhoun City, Ma's hometown, to meet up with a couple of her friends. The highlight of the day was seeing Ma's childhood home. She made arrangements with the current owners for us to stop by. They have been doing some renovations but have maintained the character of the home, and we enjoyed seeing the home and hearing Ma's stories of growing up there.
That evening we arrived at Lake Tiak-O'Khata for the reunion. The grounds were lovely, and on Saturday morning Claire got her first experience with a sandy beach. She walked right into the water and had a great time until she got her face wet. After a few tears, she perked up again. She really enjoyed taking a couple of trips down the waterslide with Daddy.
The resort is just outside of Louisville, MS, which is Bob's hometown. Saturday afternoon Bob gave us a tour of the town, and we enjoyed poking around in some antique shops before making a stop at Sonic. Later that day Claire continued her trend of finding fun ways to entertain herself in a motel room. Her new favorite game is walking under our legs - or when we sneak up on her and walk over her. She laughed so much she fell down - funny girl!
On Sunday morning we gathered everyone for a family photo before returning home. We flew home out of Jackson and had an uneventful trip home. Overall it was a good trip, and we were especially glad to get a chance to learn more about the family's history and actually see the places where a lot of memories were formed. 
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